1770 Fell
You should know we’re suckers for natural light and indoor/outdoor living (especially when off the kitchen). Radiant heat, three car parking, and proximity to the park never hurts.
1770 Fell #5 Kitchen
And the saunas (both dry and steam) atop 1770 Fell are simply a bonus.
∙ Listing: 1770 Fell #5 (3/2) 1,984 sqft – $1,600,000 [1770fell.com] [MLS]

42 thoughts on “Contemporary Penthouse Under Cover Of A Victorian Facade”
  1. “just minutes from Freeways” should read “just seconds from Freeways” as in right at your front door. That is an insane price in Nopa, especially to live on Fell. Will be interesting to see how much they have to drop the price to get it sold.

  2. mostly lovely, but what happened in the kitchen? horrendously overpriced for a condo (on Fell?)

  3. especially since the developer bought the entire building in 2005 for $1,625,000. that sale also included permits and plans for the condo conversion. the budiling was an SRO hotel prior. it sold for $600,000 in 2002.

  4. Nice place, I live down the street from here and was always wondering what the inside looked like, so its 5 condos huh.

  5. Uh oh. Yuppie design plus too high price means we’ll be getting shill posts from the owner and all their friends, gushing about how “fabulous” this place is, within about 24 hours…
    BTW, that park across the street isn’t what I would call the friendliest place to be after dark.

  6. Horrible place. Cold and sterile. Why have a victorian if you’re going to strip it of all the things that make up its character on the inside. This place will be dated in a bad way in 10 years.

  7. Wow, I think it’s a beautiful remodel.
    As for “cold and sterile” and “stripping a Victorian of all its character”, certainly we can agree that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think Victorians are pretty to look at, like a museum, but to me they are creepy, dark, and completely unlivable with their warrens of tiny useless rooms and narrow hallways.
    As for the panhandle and its level of “dangerousness”, clearly we know from years of SS posts that people have very different definitions of what “dangerous” is. I’m from Detroit — nothing ever seems dangerous to me. But that doesn’t mean that someone can’t feel that Noe Valley is getting “dangerous” when they see competing gang tags on side of the Starbucks building, hiding behind the knot of strollers and Irish Setters.
    But all this is just a very personal opinion, just like anyone else’s — all of which are equally valuable or valueless as the case may be.
    Vive la difference 🙂
    I predict it goes for $1.5M
    * lays down a dollar on the table *

  8. Agreeing with Kurt Brown here. Beautiful remodel, outside the box concepts – the kitchen skylights in long rows instead of boxes in the ceiling. Loved how the living room ceiling was raised to feature and tie into the exterior. Loved how the master shower had very narrow stationary panel in the corner to attach glass to instead of 2 sides of glass butted up together. Agreeing with Conifer about placing the bath in the bedroom though. No sleeping in for the better half, they get to participate in other half’s 5 a.m. shower and blow dry.

  9. don’t forget there’s a toilet in that bathroom, too.
    is there some permit thingy that forces an open bathroom like this? they show up only occasionally, so i don’t think there’s a trend per se, but something must be inspiring people to do this. color me bemused.

  10. Good thing there is plenty of parking inside, otherwise your car’s windows will be shattered at night if parked on the side of Fell or Oak that faces the park (I drive there every day and see glass littering the curbside for blocks). The Panhandle is not really a park to be fond of, in my opinion. It’s full of dirty hippies, hobos and drug addicts.
    Nice place though (not sure about the green cabinets, however).

  11. I doubt there was much original Victorian detail up at this level. Depends on whether there are four entry doors — four units originally — or not.
    Guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

  12. $1.5? Not so sure; there are a lot of SFHs that can be had in that range, and there are a surprising number of TICs with high SqFtage around town at very low psf’s. I’m going with $1.3-1.4. I think they over build this place a bit for the nabe. But hey, with the new MLS district zoning in a few years this will be Lower Pac Heights.

  13. 1.6M for the pleasure to cook in Shrek’s kitchen.
    Will be outdated in 5 years when “warm earth tones” will be back in style.

  14. I actually rather like the green. As one can see from the images (#14 & 15), the cabinetry is modular and probably modestly priced. I can probably repaint them, or worse case, replace them. The 36″ Subzero looks good here. The usual wide angle images again made the rooms look larger than they are.

  15. 1.6 mil and you get to live in the attic….
    It will be a “steal” at 1.25. No comment on who is the thief.

  16. I really like it – I love the open space; the fact you can see from one side of the unit through the living room, dining room, kitchen and out the back deck. This place would be perfect for a childless couple like me and my wife.
    But the open bathroom in the bedroom kills it for me. What are they thinking? There’d be no sleeping in as one of you would be awoken to the sounds (and smells) of your partner using the bathroom.
    I think it’s just too expensive for this location. Fell right off Masonic can be a bit busy. The safety aspect of this location wouldn’t deter me – but then again there aren’t too many places in SF that I would consider “dangerous”.

  17. See everyone at the open today!
    I’m hoping for some nice snacks…
    something with bacon…
    or dipped in chocolate…
    or bacon dipped in chocolate…
    something like that.

  18. There was a condo on Nob Hill, off Sacramento, recently that had an open bathroom, although the toilet had a pocket door.
    This is a crazy arrangement, but we have seen the same thing on occasion in Paris.
    The can probably get away with this on Nob Hill, because of the views, but Fell Street is a different “location.”

  19. Went to the open today…
    o Rooms look smaller than the wide angle lens shots, of course, but I think they are all very good size. But the overall size of the place seems bigger than the pictures indicate. The layout hides how big the unit is, which I think is a feature, not a bug. Some people want a place to seem big tho, so they feel like they’ve got their money’s worth. For me, I like to feel a little more cozy than cavernous, and I’m actually willing to pay more for that. I’m weird, I know.
    o As for the much discussed “bathroom in the middle of the bedroom” it’s actually its own room. They just removed the door. Quite traditional in person. You can easily put a door back up if that kind of thing freaks you all out.
    o The kitchen cabinets are less green in person than the pictures indicate — they seem more grey-green. I liked the color. Actually, I like all the colors and surfaces a lot. As discussed, the kitchen floor is awesome.
    o HOA was around $560.
    o The building as a whole is quite nice — high end materials and maintenance.
    o Outdoor deck was really nice.
    o Double pane windows pretty much eliminated any street noise problem.
    o As for the hood, you like it or you don’t. My comments are immaterial.
    o No snacks at the open. Sign of the times?
    o Feature not mentioned in the listing: only 10 minute walk from the DMV!

  20. I went to the open house as well. Nice layout, but the rooms seem smallish in person. One bedroom has a Murphy in it. Very little light from front of house, but lots in back. Didn’t see a W/D or hookups. No mention of them in the flyer either. For 1.6MM I want in-unit W/D. 1.1-1.2 is the range I would have guessed this would be priced at. Time will tell.

  21. I went too. I agree, it’s not huge in person but it’s still nice. I do think it will go for under asking and more like in the 700 per square foot range. That will still be very good. There’s definitely a market for this sort of product these days. Those 736 Valencia condos are doing great and they’re somewhat similar.

  22. W/D behind full length cabinet doors in the kitchen. Don’t need much furniture as all the bedrooms have built in closets and shelves – only a bed needed.

  23. I live around the corner from this place, and while I have to disagree with the comments on the safety of the neighborhood or the park, the noise from the freeway is undeniable, and in my view the finishes in the place are exactly the sort that get made by people with more of an eye toward contemporary fashion than practicality. Aside from the bathroom situation, who actually wants marble countertops in the kitchen?
    Plus, the price is ridiculous. Consider http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/52-Palm-Ave-94118/home/1708747 – a place that’s just as big, just as updated, and in Jordan Park rather than NOPA – is priced at 10% less.
    Hey, I’d love to see NOPA reach the same ridiculous pricing as PacHeights, but this is a bridge too far.

  24. @Nils: this is why real estate valuation is so fun — because phrases like “just as updated” and “more of an eye toward contemporary fashion” are clearly subjective and personal.
    In my subjective and personal opinion, the property you point to as a comparable has all the style of a Home Depot display, and the 10% discount, for me anyway, is too low, since I’d have to rip out all of those hideous “updates” if I bought it. You, of course, might do the exact same thing if you bought at 1770 Fell, thus your demand for a discount.
    And voi la! We have good-natured valuation fun!
    I agree about the marble counter tops, BTW, as I’m a big stainless steel counter top fan. However, I know some amazing gourmet cooks who swear by their marble counters — and so we have yet another subjective and personal assessment.
    You should put out your bet at what it will sell for. Hopefully the SS overlords will watch for the close and award a prize cookie for the winning prediction. Don’t be left out!
    Currently we have:
    o Me at 1.5M (probably on the high side)
    o Eddy at 1.3-1.4 (cheating a bit, with a range, rather than a single point, but I’m in a giving mood 🙂
    o Dogboy at 1.25
    Other predictions of “less than the list price” are a tad too broad, IMHO, to compete for the prize cookie.

  25. ^^^”For 1.6 mil I demand an elevator.”^^^
    Indeed! Would you have to climb 4 floors up stairs from the garage to access your unit!?

  26. “Built In Air Conditioning”… how often does that get used? This is SF, not NYC. Just open your giant double doors.
    1.6 is way too much. How are they even comping this home to? 1.1-1.2 MAX

  27. I missed the SS update. Thanks for that!
    I guess that means we ALL bet too high 🙂
    * settles in to await the relisting at a new price, and “one day on market” 😉 *

  28. Nah, $1.2M was probably about right, the owners just haven’t figured that out yet. That is still a pretty penny for The Panhandle, but it is a nice place.

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