CATEGORY ARCHIVE: Bay Buildings
May 17, 2012
From The Dotcom Days To Today As Viewed From A Penthouse
Purchased as new for $3,980,000 as the dotcom days were in decline in December 2000, the Brannan’s tower one penthouse #18D resold for $2,810,000 in August 2005 at which point its HOA dues were $780 per month.
The HOA dues for 219 Brannan #18D are now $999 per month and the 2,005 square foot condo is back on the market and listed for $3,310,000. Call it 17 percent ($670,000) under 2000, but 18 percent ($500,000) over 2005 at asking for the penthouse.
∙ Listing: 219 Brannan #18D (3/3) 2,005 sqft - $3,310,000 [Redfin]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
May 16, 2012
North Beach Pagoda Theater Set To Be Sold To New Yorkers Today?
According to a tipster, Joel Campos who purchased the long shuttered North Beach Pagoda Theater in 2004 and waged a long battle to secure approvals to develop the blighted building is in contract to sell the shell to a New York based developer today.
While we haven’t been able to confirm the details, we’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.
And once again, as the approved conversion of the Pagoda Theater into 18 condos over ground floor commercial and 27 parking spaces was last rendered:
∙ North Beach Pagoda Theater Plans Approved By Planning, But... [SocketSite]
∙ Inside The “Landmark” Pagoda Theater (And Tussle) In North Beach [SocketSite]
∙ Pagoda Theater Preview (And Signs Of Progress All Around) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
555 Mission In Contract At $800 Per Foot, Highest Price Since 2007
Having leased the 14,718 square foot penthouse atop 555 Mission Street for seven years at a rate of $84 per square foot in 2008, in 2009 Sequoia Capital subleased the penthouse to Novak Druce Quigg for the remainder of their lease at a 40 percent discount ($50 per square foot) without escalation.
As plugged-in people know, Sequoia had "intended to use this space for creating a new public securities investment fund, not for making SF-based VC investments."
With 555 Mission now 88 percent occupied, Union Investment is in contract to buy the building for $445 million, or $800 a square foot, "the highest price paid for a downtown San Francisco building since Morgan Stanley Real Estate bought One Market Plaza for $925 a square foot...in 2007."
∙ 555 Mission: Sequoia’s Penthouse Sublease At 40 Percent Off [SocketSite]
∙ Tishman to sell 555 Mission for $445M [Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
May 15, 2012
Bay Area NIMBY’s Take Note (Golden Gate Bridge Edition)
As John King and a reader note: "Critics depicted the [Golden Gate Bridge] as financially unsound, legally dubious, an aesthetic blight and an engineering hazard in the decade before the start of construction in 1933."
∙ Golden Gate Bridge construction - and indignation [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
May 14, 2012
55 Laguna: The Latest Rehabilitation Plans And Progress
Having purchased the former UC Berekely Extension campus at 55 Laguna last year, the new owners have filed an application to rehabilitate Richardson and Woods halls.
The proposal is to rehabilitate Richardson Hall for use as senior services, senior housing (40 dwelling units), and retail and/or office space in new excavated space created behind the Hermann/Laguna Street retaining wall; to rehabilitate Woods Hall for use as housing (21 dwelling units); and, to rehabilitate Woods Hall Annex for use as a community center.
At the exterior, the work at all three buildings will generally include creating several new wall openings, selective window replacement and/or modification, seismic upgrades, maintenance and repair work, and in‐kind roof repair and/or replacement.
The redevelopment and building of 413 housing units on the six acre Hayes Valley campus was first approved by Planning in 2008 and subsequently entitled.
With respect to the latest designs for the buildings and open space to be built in the middle of the campus, which includes 109 apartments sponsored by Openhouse for low-income LGBT seniors, we’ll keep you plugged-in.
∙ 55 Laguna Back In Play [SocketSite]
∙ 55 Laguna: Approved On Appeal And In Front Of San Francisco’s BOS [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
May 10, 2012
Forget 50 Offers, How About Under Asking But 50 Percent Over 2010?
While the penultimate penthouse a floor below was listed for $2,000,000 in early 2010, the Infinity Tower Two unit #42D which wasn't listed sold for $1,500,000 that February. Three months later, 338 Spear Street #41D sold for $1,425,000.
This past March, 338 Spear Street #42D was listed for sale, it closed escrow two weeks later. While the recorded sale price was $250,000 under asking, at $2,250,000, it was also $750,000 (50 percent) over its 2010 sale price on an apples-to-apples basis.
∙ Happenings High Atop The Infinity’s Tower Two [SocketSite]
∙ Infinity Sales Update And A Few Additional Details For Tower Two [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
Yelp Inks An Eight Year Lease For One-Third Of 140 New Montgomery
Yelp has inked an eight year lease for 100,000 square feet of the 295,000 square foot Pacific Telephone Building at 140 New Montgomery which is currently undergoing a major renovation and repositioning (click image to enlarge, link for details).
Yelp is expected to make its move from 650 Mission in the fall of 2013.
∙ 140 New Montgomery: The More Things Change... [SocketSite]
∙ 140 New Montgomery: Renovation And Rendering Scoop [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
May 9, 2012
Up 15 Percent Year-Over-Year For A Polished South Beach Apple
As we reported with respect to a polished South Beach apple back in February:
Listed for $1,288,000 in January 2011, the 2,097 square foot #320 at 200 Brannan sold for $1,260,000 last April. Back on the market ten months later and listed for $1,450,000.
With new hardwood floors in place, it’s not perfectly apples-to-apples, but we’ll call it close enough. And if you think you know South Beach, now’s the time to tell.
In the words of a plugged-in LegacyDude on the record at the time:
I think I know South Beach. And I know this building, although I've not seen this particular unit. If it's the floor plan I'm thinking of, it's really more suitable for a couple, as the layout would not work well for roommates despite being a 2/2. So not a great rental.
That said, dumb tech money is back in Soma, so I don't think the ask is outside the realm of possibility. I don't follow 200 Brannan that closely, but looks like recent sales have averaged ~$700 psf. Assuming this unit has no critical flaws that are hidden in the pictures, and the square footage is accurate, it could go for/close to asking. I'll guess $1.35 to hedge myself.
No need to hedge, Dude, the sale of 200 Brannan Street #320 closed escrow today with a reported contract price of $1,450,000, up 15 percent ($190,000) year-over-year.
∙ South Beach Apples-To-Apples And Year-Over-Year [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
May 8, 2012
What The F-Line
The discussion surrounding the design competition for concepts to "enliven and integrate" Fort Mason appropriately turns to the proposed extension of Muni's F-line from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Fort (click the image to enlarge).
The extension would cover less than a mile along City streets and through an existing rail tunnel adjacent to Fort Mason Center. The new terminus of the extension would be in the Fort Mason Center parking lot adjacent to Building A. The National Park Service has completed the environmental impact Statement (EIS) for the extension.
It would cost an estimated $40 million to design and construct the extension.
∙ Creative and Practical Concepts To Enliven and Integrate Fort Mason [SocketSite]
∙ Extension of F-Line Streetcar Service to Fort Mason Center [nps.gov]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
May 7, 2012
Creative and Practical Concepts To Enliven and Integrate Fort Mason
While there’s currently no budget to implement, invitations have been sent to a select group of firms to participate in a design competition for "creative and practical" concepts to "enliven and integrate" the 13-acre waterfront campus that is San Francisco’s Fort Mason.
While Fort Mason Center has been successful in offering programming and events that are diverse and engaging, the campus lacks a clear identity and cohesion that often prevents visitors from understanding the variety of uses on the site.
In addition, the campus includes spaces and amenities that have not been fully utilized to further Fort Mason Center’s mission, notably the vacant Pier One and the campus’s public realm, with a 437-space parking lot and an advantageous location on the bay.
Designed by the military with gates and retaining walls to separate the Fort from the city, ideas for improving its connection is a key element on which concepts will be judged.
A public presentation of the finalists' concepts is tentatively scheduled for October 15.
∙ Fort Mason Center 2012 Design Competition Brief [fortmason.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
May 4, 2012
In The Land of Rising Sea Green Rents
Built in 1915 for the Rainier Brewing Company, the "Hamm’s Building" at 1550 Bryant operated as a brewery from 1915 to 1975. Vacant from 1975 to 1985, the 182,669 square foot building has since been converted to office space, just sold, and is about to undergo an "interior renovation program to further reposition the building’s creative space."
UPDATE: When the brewery was shuttered in 1975, the iconic Hamm’s sign atop the building was removed. And while the buyers of the building have expressed interest in returning the sign to its place of prominence, its whereabouts are unknown. Readers?
∙ What happened to the Hamm’s Brewery sign? [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
A Painted Lady On San Francisco's Postcard Row Seeks A Suitor
One of the six famously photographed painted ladies on San Francisco’s Postcard Row, 710 Steiner last changed hands in 1993 when it sold for $575,000. The 2,500 square foot Victorian is now back on the market and seeking a suitor at $2,295,000.
From the Full House opening credits to The Dead Pool, this lady gets around.
UPDATE: Speaking of painted ladies, a plugged-in reader adds: "The owner's mother (woman in red dress in painting over the couch) was the first woman elected to the Connecticut State Legislature and a personal friend of George Gershwin."
∙ Listing: 710 Steiner (5/2) 2,500 sqft - $2,295,000 [Zephyr]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
May 3, 2012
The Jewish Home Of San Francisco’s Plans To Expand
The Jewish Home of San Francisco sits at the corner Silver and Mission in the Excelsior with a campus that provides 430 beds and facilites for seniors. On the boards as rendered below, a plan to update and expand to 526 beds with a goal of breaking ground by 2014.
∙ Jewish Home of San Francisco: Vision for the Future [jhsf.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
May 1, 2012
The Heights Takes Another Hit
Having traded for $4,911,000 in March of 2008, the full floor Pacific Heights co-op Unit #6 at 1940 Broadway ("The Heights") resold for $4,200,000 in March of last year.
Listed for $4,350,000 this past September, the sale of 1940 Broadway #6 closed escrow today with a reported contract price of $4,000,000, down 5 percent ($200,000) on a year-over-year basis, down 19 percent ($911,000) versus March of 2008.
And while we still can’t confirm, if a plugged-in reader is correct, the unit quietly traded for $4,100,000 in February of 2010 as well (and it hasn't been occupied since 2008).
∙ A Heights Of The Heights Apple Returns (1940 Broadway #6) [SocketSite]
∙ A Quick Sale At (And From) The Heights [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
155 Fifth Street Rendered And Reopening (Wide) In 2014
As we reported last year, The University of the Pacific purchased the seven-story building at 155 Fifth Street with plans to reface and renovate the building with the first five floors to become the University’s School of Dentistry while the top two floors will be leased.
The SmithGroupJJR has been tapped to lead the redesign of the existing building which is expected to reopen (wide) by the middle of 2014.
∙ 155 Fifth Street Refacing, Renovation And Repurposing In The Works [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
April 30, 2012
Is Bruce Lee's Birthplace Historic Or Soon To Be History?
As plugged-in people know, the Chinese Hospital plans to raze their 29,793 square foot building at 835 Jackson and build a 101,545 square foot hospital in its place, a plan which will be presented to San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission this week.
Yes, Bruce Lee was born in the building. And no, still no word from the Mayor’s office with respect to any demands for approving the needed project.
∙ The Chinese Hospital's Plans, Will The Mayor Make Demands? [SocketSite]
∙ CPMC And The City Reach Agreement For Cathedral Hill Hospital Plan [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (67) | (email story)
Apples-To-Apples And Two Years Later At The Artani
While the Artani sales office still has around ten unsold units left to sell over at 818 Van Ness Avenue, #203 has returned to the market as a resale and two-year apple to be.
Purchased for $549,000 in June of 2010, the 781 square foot one-bedroom has been on the market for a week seeking the same.
The sale of 818 Van Ness Avenue #203 closed escrow on Friday with a reported contract price of $579,000 ($741 per square foot), up 5.5 percent over the past two years on an apples-to-apples basis.
∙ A Two-Year Artani (818 Van Ness Avenue) Apple To Be [SocketSite]
∙ The Artani (818 Van Ness) Opens And A Plugged-In Reader Reports [SocketSite]
∙ Artani (818 Van Ness) Inventory Starts To Return As Expected [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
April 26, 2012
100 Van Ness Repurposed, Redesigned And Rendered
In the background of the aerial rendering for the proposed tower to rise at One Van Ness, the existing 400 foot building at 100 Van Ness lurks.
As proposed and rendered above and below, however, the old AAA headquarters will be re-skinned and re-purposed as a 399-unit apartment building with ground floor retail, 118 parking spaces, and a 12,000 square foot rooftop resident’s playground above.
Features of the proposed 29th floor roof deck (click image to enlarge) include fire pits, lounges, a dog walk, a hot tub, lawn, plants and trees.
And yes, there's a good reason why apartment buildings are currently all the rage.
∙ An All-Star Architect's Design For The All Star Site At One Van Ness [SocketSite]
∙ AAA Complex At Van Ness And Hayes About To Get A Jump Start [SocketSite]
∙ Surprised By A Spike In San Francisco Rents? There's No Excuse. [Socketsite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
How One Rincon Could Really Become A Giant Ionic Breeze
Alcoa is currenlty testing EcoClean, a new coating for its Reynobond building panels.
As a photocatalyst, titanium dioxide interacts with sunlight to break down organic matter both on and floating around the surface of the building panels, leaving the organic matter sitting on the surface of the Reynobond panel, ready to be washed away. When it rains, water doesn’t bead on the surface. Instead, it collapses and runs evenly off the building, taking most of the broken down pollutants with it.
Reynobond with EcoClean actively works to remove pollutants by using sunlight, water vapor, and oxygen in the air to clean the air itself. In fact, 1,000 sqm / 10,000 sq ft² of Reynobond with EcoClean on your building can have approximately enough cleansing power to offset the smog created by the pollution output of four cars every day, which is the approximate air cleansing power of 80 trees every day.
In the words of a reader: "So if we coat One Rincon Hill in this stuff it won't just look like a giant Ionic Breeze, it will actually be one." There's still time for Tower Two.
∙ Reynobond with EcoClean [alcoa.com]
∙ No Story, Simply A Fresh SocketSite Perspective On One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
∙ The One Rincon Hill Tower Two Timing, Design And Details Scoop [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
April 25, 2012
The San Francisco Bay Guardian Sells (Out?)
Union Property Capital (UPC) is in contract is to purchase the San Francisco Bay Guardian’s Potrero Hill headquarters building at 135 Mississippi for $6.5 million. Guardian owner Bruce Brugmann purchased the building for $4.7 million in 2002.
From the Business Times with respect to a bit of sale hypocrisy irony:
The Bay Guardian has been a vocal opponent of development in the city, railing against highrise construction, luxury housing, and zoning rules that favor tech and knowledge-based companies over more traditional blue-collar jobs.
Ironically, it was UPC that assembled and did the early planning on one of the most prominent highrises built in downtown San Francisco in the last decade: Tishman Speyer's two-tower Infinity project at 300 Spear St.
UPC also developed a data center at 365 Main St., built a luxury residential loft project at 150 Powell St., and repositioned SoMa buildings like 330 Townsend St. and 840 Brannan St. for dot-coms. The company also completed a condo conversion of a former rental building in Alamo Square — the sort of project that the Guardian routinely opposes in the interest of protecting the city's rental housing stock.
And yes, we do believe UPC has set its sights set on developing the property.
∙ SF Bay Guardian seeks to cash out in hot real estate market [Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
April 23, 2012
Hugo Hotel Hangs On As Redevelopment Agency Is Dropped
The proposed Kennerly Architecture & Planning designed nine-story mixed-use building slated to rise at 200 6th Street has been waylaid by the loss of San Francisco’s Redevelopment Agency which Mercy Housing had been counting on to finance the demolition and replacement of the existing four-story, and rather storied, Hugo Hotel.
As plugged-in people know, the Redevelopment Agency acquired the Hugo Hotel in 2009 for $4,600,000 by way of eminent domain.
∙ Defending The Design For 200 6th Street And Adieu To Defenestration [SocketSite]
∙ Sixth Street landmark ready to hang around a bit longer [Examiner]
∙ And Now Back To The Hugo Hotel (And Eminent Domain On Sixth) [SocketSite]
∙ Hugo Hotel's Flying Furniture Update, No Word On The Graffiti [SocketSite]
∙ The Hugo Hotel Has A Date With A Different Kind Of Bench [SocketSite]
∙ Eminent Domain Suit Semi-Successfully Snatches Hugo Hotel [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
Cathedral Hill Hotel Demolition Paperwork Filed, Poised To Fall
With a special Planning Commission hearing scheduled for Thursday, at which approvals for CPMC’s Long Range Development Plans, including a new Cathedral Hill Hospital, are expected to be approved following the "extraction" of $115 million in affordable housing, transit and streetscape concessions from California Pacific, as a plugged-in tipster reports, CPMC has officially applied for the permit to demolish the Cathedral Hill Hotel.
∙ CPMC’s Long Range Development Plan Renderings And Draft EIR [SocketSite]
∙ CPMC And The City Reach Agreement For Cathedral Hill Hospital Plan [SocketSite]
∙ Planning Commission Special Meeting: CPMC's Development Plans [sf-planning]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
Apples-To-Apples, And 2008 To Today, On Russian Hill
As we wrote three months ago:
Back in March of 2008 we first featured the before and after floor plans for 1080 Chestnut #7D which had just hit the market listed for $1,350,000 at the time.
Having sold for $1,295,000 that July, the remodeled one-bedroom "located on one of Russian Hill's most distinguished flat blocks" returned to the market in early 2011 asking $1,149,000 but failed to find a buyer.
Yesterday, 1080 Chestnut #7D officially returned to the market listed for $999,000, 23 percent under its 2008 sale price on an apples-to-apples basis.
On Friday, the sale of 1080 Chestnut #7D closed escrow with a reported contract price of $975,000. Call it twenty-five percent ($320,000) under its July 2008 sale price on an apples-to-apples basis for the remodeled Russian Hill one-bedroom with views.
∙ This Time It’s...Apples-To-Apples On Russian Hill [SocketSite]
∙ A New Floor Plan And Major Remodel Turns An Apple Into An Orange [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (35) | (email story)
April 20, 2012
Let There Be The Light (And Rooftop Garden) Of Day At 601 Dolores
As we first reported last year, it was the Children’s Day School that ended up purchasing the "Castle on the Park" at 601 Dolores with plans to convert the 17,000 square foot building from a private residence into a school.
Next week, San Francisco’s Planning Commission will review the Children’s Day School’s application for the conversion of 601 Dolores and its plans for the building.
As proposed, a roof deck and garden will be built upon the southeast corner of the building and the garage at 601 Dolores will become the school’s reception hall and classrooms, with the garage entrance on 19th Street becoming the school’s primary entrance.
And with respect to increased traffic concerns around the park, "CDS would have students that attend 601 Dolores dropped‐off at 333 Dolores Street and the students would walk to the school from there."
∙ Castle On The Park (601 Dolores) In Contract For $6,600,000 [SocketSite]
∙ Bonds, Tax-Exempt Bonds (To Fund Day's Purchase Of 601 Dolores) [SocketSite]
∙ Sweet Jesus (So To Speak): 601 Dolores On The Market And Inside [SocketSite]
∙ 601 Dolores ("Castle on the Park") Conditional Use Request [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
April 17, 2012
The Chinese Hospital's Plans, Will The Mayor Make Demands?
The original Chinese Hospital building at 835 Jackson was built in 1924 and converted to a Medical Administration Building for the hospital when the adjacent 43,368 square foot Chinese Hospital building at 845 Jackson was built in 1979.
As proposed, the 29,793 square foot building at 835 Jackson will be razed and in its place a new 101,545 square foot hospital and skilled nursing facility will rise.
The existing hospital at 845 Jackson would become a Medical Administration and Outpatient Center in 2015 when the construction is finished as proposed.
With Mayor Ed Lee having successfully extracted over a hundred million dollars worth of affordable housing, transit and streetscape improvements in return for approval of CPMC’s plans to build a hospital on Cathedral Hill and rebuild St. Luke’s in the Mission, we’ll let you know what the Mayor demands for approval of the Chinese Hospital's project.
∙ Chinese Hospital Replacement Project: 835-845 Jackson [sfplanning.org]
∙ CPMC And The City Reach Agreement For Cathedral Hill Hospital Plan [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (57) | (email story)
April 4, 2012
2799 Pacific: The Behind The Scenes History And Plugged-In Scoop
A plugged-in reader delivers the behind the scenes history for the Ellinwood Mansion at 2799 Pacific, the namesake Ellinwoods, a ghost, and a gift from Queen Victoria:
Anne Ellinwood died this year, it was she that saved this house from being torn down in the 70's and the property sub divided. It was worth 350K at the time in 1976. I worked in that house for a year on and off for Miss Ellinwood, it was an amazing depository of all and everything Victorian and saved from a long line of savers.
Miss Ellinwood had grand plans for the house and restoring it to its 1893 grander was one of them. She had restored all but the basement and it was a spooky basement at that. I kid you not there was a ghost in that house and other persons that worked there felt the presence too. Anne made many bad decisions in regards to selling and marketing that grand house and in the end lost the house to a predatory lender.
In regards to Ellinwood's grandfather, Dr. C.N. Ellinwood, Anne and her Father, Lathrop Mc Dowell Ellinwood, spent their lives trying to right the wrong that had been done to Dr. Ellinwood by the overzealous Dr. Rix and the faculty at the time of Cooper Medical University.
A bit of history: The Ellinwood property in 1893 comprised all the property the depth of the main property and all the way down to the corner on the lower hill of Divisadero [to Clay], Divisadero was the end of the city limits.
Dr. Ellinwood kept a carriage and a buggy in the barn / carriage house and a full complement of horses to pull [the carriage, driven by] Carl the coachman whose father was the coachman to the king of Sweden.
Prior to the new swimming pool being added [atop the carriage house], there was a Cecile Brunner rose bush that had been given to Mrs. Charles Norman Ellinwood, Dr. Ellinwoods wife, by Queen Victoria herself.
If you haven’t looked at the property site since we first published our piece yesterday, you might want to look again as numerous new photos have been added. We’re keeping all comments on our original thread. And no, we don't know what happened to the rose bush.
∙ A Foreclosed Upon San Francisco Landmark Mansion's Return [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | (email story)
April 2, 2012
The Gold Dust(up) Continues
As we first reported a few weeks ago, over the objections of the owners of the building in which the Gold Dust Lounge resides, in February the operators of the 46-year old bar at 247 Powell Street requested landmark status for the establishment in the hopes of thwarting an eviction, and conversion of the space into retail, scheduled for December.
While the Planning Department found the operators' request without merit and recommended San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission reject the application for landmark status, a motion to disapprove landmark initiation for the Gold Dust Lounge failed on a three-to-three tie vote with commissioner Wolfram absent.
On Thursday, San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission will revisit and revote on the operators' versus owners' request to landmark the Lounge.
∙ A Non-Historic Win For The Owners Of 247 Powell Street [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
Two Years Late(r) And $245,000 Short
Purchased for $640,000 in early 2007, the one-bedroom 310 Townsend #309 returned to the market a little over two years ago listed for $465,000.
In and out of contract having been reduced to $425,000; relisted for $500,000; reduced to $475,000; relisted at $450,000; reduced to $435,000 and then relisted as a short sale for $399,000 in December 2010, the resale of the 789 square foot condo has finally closed escrow with a reported contract price of $395,000, 38 percent under its 2007 sale price.
∙ 310 Townsend: Available And Selling [SocketSite]
∙ Shorter Still For 310 Townsend From The Beginning To End Of 2010? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
The Shoreline In San Francisco Circa 2006
Purchased for $1,150,000 in October of 2006, the two-bedroom 41 Federal #21 returned to the market last month listed for $1,149,000.
The sale of the 1,365 square foot Shoreline condo #21 closed escrow on Friday with a reported contract price of $1,135,000, one percent below its sale price in 2006.
∙ Up, Down, And Back Again In South Beach [SocketSite]
∙ The Scoop On The Shoreline (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
March 27, 2012
Where’s Waldo The Couch?
With the two-bedroom 301 Main Street #14D currently rented for $4,800 per month, we don’t know if it’s the $4,950 per month asking rent for a furnished one-bedroom at the Infinity, or the furnishings themselves, that elicited the "OMG" comment from a reader.
∙ To The Infinity And Beyond 2008? [SocketSite]
∙ $4950 / 1br - Fabulous Furished (sic) Pied-A-Terre @ The Infinity [craigslist.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
Historic Humboldt Building (785 Market Street) Slips Into Default
Down the Street from the CityPlace parcels which were foreclosed upon last week, the owners of the historic Humbolt Building at 785 Market Street have slipped into default on $13.3 million interest only loan which is currently in forbearance until May first.
Designed by Meyer & O’Brien in 1905, delayed by the great quake in 1906, and completed in 1908, the Humboldt building rises 19 stories and is topped by a wedding cake dome.
According to a tipster, while expenses for the building have been rising, revenues have been declining despite the surge in demand for commercial space south of Market.
∙ CityPlace Parcels Lost To Foreclosure [SocketSite]
∙ The Humboldt Building (785 Market Street) [785marketstreet.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
March 26, 2012
Electrifying Mission Bay And Transbay Transit Center News
As we wrote and quoted back in 2008:
While Proposition 1A passed last week giving San Francisco hope of realizing a high-speed rail line, the hope that rail lines will be extended the 1.4 miles from the current Caltrain station at Fourth and King to the new Transbay Transit Center to rise at First and Mission might have taken a hit.
“We do not need First and Mission. I am satisfied with Fourth and Townsend,” said Judge Quentin Kopp, chairman of the High Speed Rail Authority. “We are not going to pay an extra billion-plus dollars to take the high-speed rail an extra 1.4 miles.”
The extension will have to be resolved — and funded — by The City and Caltrain, he said.
In related news, the realization of high-speed rail could help speed the electrification of Caltrain which would greatly benefit the residents of Mission Bay (think diesel noise and pollution).
Last week, a plan to spend $1.5 billion dollars to electrify Caltrain by way of a mix of bonds, tax revenue and federal grants was agreed upon and included a "pledge by Bay Area leaders to build a 1.2-mile tunnel through downtown San Francisco to connect the line to the new Transbay Terminal."
The electrification is expected to take five years and construction could commence as early as next year. Now about the potential to develop the Fourth and King Streets railyard we first mentioned a few years ago…
∙ Transbay Terminal Moves Forward, But Payments And Terms Change [SocketSite]
∙ California High-Speed Rail Peer Review Questions Plans For HSR [SocketSite]
∙ While San Francisco Might Get High-Speed Rail, Will The Transbay? [SocketSite]
∙ $1.5 billion Caltrain deal packs some big extras [SFGate]
∙ Fourth and King Railyard: Now You See It, Perhaps One Day You Won’t [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
To The Infinity And Beyond 2008?
With a built-in media cabinet, Sub-Zero wine storage, and dry bar installed since purchased for $1,225,000 in June 2008, the resale of 301 Main Street #14D won’t be perfectly apples-to-apples, plus there’s a tenant in place paying $4,800 month-to-month.
That being said, the Infinity two-bedroom is back on the market and listed for $1,275,000 with HOA dues of $781 per month. We'll let you run the numbers, assume and speculate.
∙ Listing: 301 Main Street #14D (2/2) - $1,275,000 [301main-14d.com]
∙ To Rent Or To Buy, That Is The Question (That Only You Can Answer) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
March 22, 2012
Central Subway Station Site "Under Wraps" (And Renderings)
With bids to build the Chinatown Station for San Francisco’s Central Subway due May 8th, and construction scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017, the now-vacant building at 933-949 Stockton Street that was acquired by way of eminent domain to make way for the station has been wrapped for its protection prior to being razed later this year.
The solicitation for bids to build a $189 million Union Square/Market Street Subway Station is expected to be advertised next month.
∙ Central Subway Eminent Domain And Last Resort Housing Plan [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco's Central Subway: Make That 2018 And An Extra $278M [SocketSite]
∙ Decorative wrap at Chinatown Station site [centralsubwayblog.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
Piers 30-32 Back In Play For The America’s Cup (And Beyond)
Having been dropped from the development plans last month, Piers 30-32 are back in play with respect to the America’s Cup. Under the latest proposal, the Port of San Francisco would invest up to $8 million to refurbish the piers and prepare them for use as the base for the five competing teams but would maintain control of the piers after the Cup.
The new proposal awaits a vote from San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors and a reaction from "Waterfront Watch," the group which filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block, or at least delay, any race related development.
∙ Piers 30-32 Dropped From AC34 Development Plan, Lawsuit Filed [SocketSite]
∙ Pier Pressure And The Price San Francisco Taxpayers Might Pay [SocketSite]
∙ Rendering Scoop: San Francisco's Major America’s Cup Venues [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
March 21, 2012
A Beacon Of Hope
In April of 2006, the 1,476 square foot Beacon two-bedroom known as 250 King Street #802 was purchased for $906,666 ($614 per square foot) with not only no money down, but five percent back.
In November of 2009, the eighth floor unit was purchased off the courthouse steps for $527,077 cash. And in May of 2010, the Beacon condo resold for $670,000.
Listed for $850,000 last month, yesterday the sale of 250 King Street #802 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $811,000 ($549 per square foot), up 21 percent versus 2010 but still 10 percent below 2006.
∙ A Beacon Of Distress (250 King #802) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
March 19, 2012
A Non-Historic Win For The Owners Of 247 Powell Street
Over the objections of the owners of the building in which the Gold Dust Lounge resides, in February the operators of the 46-year old bar at 247 Powell Street requested landmark status for the establishment in the hopes of thwarting an eviction, and conversion of the space into retail, scheduled for December .
From the Planning Department with respect to the application:
The Department does not believe that the analysis demonstrates significance of the GoldDust Lounge under any of the National Register Criteria that would justify its recognition as a City Landmark.
The Department recognizes that the Gold Dust Lounge is an important local business and gathering spot of many locals and visitors. Unfortunately, Article 10 Landmark designation, in this case, is not the appropriate tool to protect what is valued most –the continued operation of the bar. The Department does not believe that Article 10 designation of the Gold Dust Lounge would result in a positive outcome for the parties involved.
If the designation were to move forward, only the physical features associated with the Gold Dust Lounge could be protected. The lounge could be repurposed for another use, such as retail, as long as these physical features were retained and respected. As indicated by Mr. VerPlanck’s documentation, the Gold Dust lounge could not be relocated without impacting its historic integrity; therefore, should the owners find another location, the designated physical features could not be removed from the current location.
On Wednesday, San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission is expected to affirm the Department’s findings.
∙ Consideration to initiate Landmark designation for the Gold Dust Lounge [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
March 16, 2012
One Rincon Hill Tower Two Site Sold, Rentals Likely To Rise
As we first reported in January, the One Rincon Hill second tower site was in play, but Miami based Crescent Heights wasn’t the buyer. Instead, Principal Global Investors picked it up for $29.75 million out of foreclosure (which plugged-in people knew to expect).
According to the Business Times, "the development team is aiming to start construction by this summer, and...the units will likely be rented out rather than sold as condos."
Or as a reader suspected a few months ago, "this tower will be built as apartments, with a condo map put on it so that it can be converted at some point in the future."
∙ One Rincon Hill Tower Two Site In Play [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill Phase II Partnership Interests Headed For Foreclosure [SocketSite]
∙ New tower to rise on San Francisco's Rincon Hill [San Francisco Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
March 15, 2012
Over Asking And 2008! (Not Including A Million In Upgrades)
With a reported contract price of $2,656,000 versus a relisted price of $2,650,000, it’s yet another "over asking" sale for 845 Montgomery Penthouse #1.
While that's $23,000 more than the seller paid for the condo in early 2008, which industry stats will reflect, a self-reported $900,000 worth of upgrades were invested after the purchase not including the just-completed roof deck, which industry stats will neglect.
∙ 845 Montgomery Penthouse Triptych And Listing Take Three [SocketSite]
∙ A Bit Of Vertigo As An 845 Montgomery Penthouse Is Withdrawn [SocketSite]
∙ The 845 Montgomery Penthouse Pineapple Returns [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
March 13, 2012
The Latest Fad Sweeping Through SoMa
Citing an office vacancy rate of 8.65 percent in SoMa at the end of 2011 versus rates of 23.6 percent in 2008 and 25.5 percent in 2009, and an overall office vacancy rate of 9.3 percent for San Francisco, the owners of 808 Brannan are seeking Planning’s approval to legally convert the 45,723 square foot building from showroom (PDR) to office use.
Formerly the headquarters for Georgiou Studio, a local clothes designer, Mr. Georgiou lost the building to foreclosure in 2010 and it’s been vacant since. The Planning Department recommends approval of the conversion.
∙ 808 Brannan Street: Request for Office Authorization [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
Marina Chateau Vintage 2009
Purchased for $639,000 in early 2009 after which the kitchen was completely remodeled and an electrical subpanel moved, the 785 square foot number 409 in the Marina Chateau at 2701 Van Ness Avenue returned to the market in late 2010 asking $649,999.
Withdrawn from the market a month later having failed to find a buyer, the one-bedroom has now returned to the market listed for "$525,000" as a short sale but without any mention of being pre-approved at that price (and "no longer staged").
And no, that's not the official bedroom above.
The sale of 2701 Van Ness Avenue #409 has closed escrow with a reported contract price of $525,000, 17.8 percent below its price in early 2009 prior to the new kitchen.
∙ A Two Year Show And Tell (And Short Sale) At The Marina Chateau [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (56) | (email story)
March 12, 2012
Yes, The Proposed Transbay Transit Tower Shrank A Hundred Feet
As plugged-in people have known for five months, the height for the proposed Pelli Clarke Pelli designed Tansbay Transit Center Tower to rise at the corner of Mission and First was shortened from 1,200 to 1,070 feet.
From the Chronicle today with respect to the revised design:
The revised tower keeps the obelisk form of the original design with office floors giving way to a see-through crown. The changes are subtle ones: The skin's lattice-like metal-work would taper in toward the glass at the curved corners, creating what the architects say will be a smooth vase-like effect.
The glass would be a neutral color, behind aluminum mullions and spandrels painted pearlescent white. The outer grids would double as sunshades to reduce the tower's energy use.
The shorter Transbay Tower will yield 1.3 million square feet of office space versus the 1.6 million square feet as originally proposed, pitched, and rendered:
∙ The Plan For San Francisco's Tallest Tower And Transit Center District [SocketSite]
∙ Hines And Pelli Clarke Pelli Bid The Most (And Get The Transbay Nod) [SocketSite]
∙ Plans revamped for SF's tallest skyscraper [SFGate]
∙ The SocketSite Scoop: San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal Designs [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (48) | (email story)
March 9, 2012
140 New Montgomery: Renovation And Rendering Scoop
As we noted yesterday, Wilson Meany Sullivan’s renovation plans for the 26-story Pacific Telephone Building at 140 New Montgomery no longer include condos and the building will remain an office building targeting "tech start-ups, venture-capital firms and others."
So here’s the inside and rendering (click to enlarge) scoop. Ceiling heights will range from 13 to 20 feet on the upper floors, windows will be replaced and be operable (think fresh air and cooling breezes), and the targeted others include law and design firms.
The ground floor of the building will house two restaurant spaces while the building’s south facing service yard will become a private outdoor sculpture garden.
Tenants will have access to secure bike parking, locker room, shower suite and a "bike spa" that "repurposes 140’s historic wood-paneled executive board room as a place to tune up your bike before heading out for a lunchtime ride or the commute home."
And yes, there are a few parking spaces below the building for the big hitters and a secured entrance near the adjacent parking garage for everyone else.
∙ 140 New Montgomery: The More Things Change... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
A Two-Year Artani (818 Van Ness Avenue) Apple To Be
While the Artani sales office still has around ten unsold units left to sell over at 818 Van Ness Avenue, #203 has returned to the market as a resale and two-year apple to be.
Purchased for $549,000 in June of 2010, the 781 square foot one-bedroom has been on the market for a week seeking the same. Ole!
∙ Listing: 818 Van Ness #203 (1/1) 781 sqft - $549,000 [818vanness203.com]
∙ The Artani (818 Van Ness) Opens And A Plugged-In Reader Reports [SocketSite]
∙ Artani (818 Van Ness) Inventory Starts To Return As Expected [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
March 8, 2012
On A Day Like Today, We'll See You At The Pool...
Purchased for $2,675,000 in 2002 but since upgraded with a new kitchen, baths and bamboo floors, 1750 Taylor #2003 has just returned to the market listed for $2,850,000.
Yes, there are big views from the three-bedroom including the maid's. But as importantly on a day like today, there are also big views from the Royal Towers outdoor pool.
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor #2003 (3/3) 1,920 sqft - $2,850,000 [theroyaltowers.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
140 New Montgomery: The More Things Change...
Five years ago Wilson Meany Sullivan purchased the 26-story Pacific Telephone Building at 140 New Montgomery for $345 a square foot with plans to spend an additional $500 a square foot converting it from an office building to a five-star hotel and condominium tower, with a spa, restaurant and bar.
In 2008, the hotel component was dropped and new plans were floated for 135 condos on floors two to twenty-six over an 8,500 square foot restaurant on the ground floor.
Plans for any condo conversion have since been dropped, and as the Wall Street Journal notes, the office building will simply, but expensively, be upgraded and return targeting "tech start-ups, venture-capital firms and others."
∙ Conversion Of 140 New Montgomery Moves To Environmental Review [SocketSite]
∙ Another Office To Hotel/Condo Conversion: 140 New Montgomery [SocketSite]
∙ New Call by Developer on Historic Tower [Wall Street Journal]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
March 7, 2012
The Bluepeter Building Loses Its Battle
As a plugged-in reader reports, the fight to save the Bluepeter building at 555 Illinois is over and the wrecking balls and heavy machinery have won.
While neighbors had wanted the building to be repurposed as a community center, the land on which the Bluepeter Building sits will become part of Bayfront Park, part of the Blue Greenway and Regional Baytrail open space initiative, stretching over seven acres along the waterfront from Agua Vista Park to Mission Bay.
∙ Not A Typical NIMBY Fight To Preserve The Bluepeter In Mission Bay [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco's Great Blue Greenway Vision And Interconnected Plans [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
March 6, 2012
Piers Exploratorium 60 Percent Complete, Opening Spring 2013
Having broken ground (or Piers) at the end of 2010, construction of the new Exploratorium on Piers 15 and 17 has reached the 60 percent complete mark and is on schedule for a spring 2013 opening with $70 million of the budgeted $300 million left to be raised.
The new Exploratorium will yield 330,000 square feet of indoor space for the institution; edcuational space for teacher development, after-school programs, and educational camps; and a cafe and bay view restaurant.
Outside, there will be 1.5 acres of free, open civic space with educational displays.
∙ Embarcadero Exploratorium Ceremonially Breaks Ground Today [SocketSite]
∙ Piers On Which People Can Play (Albeit More With Their Minds) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
Clearing The Way For Postcard Row 2.0
As a tipster captured last week, the demo of the non-historic addition behind the mansion at 940 Grove Street has begun in order to clear the way for the three new houses to rise at 802-808 Steiner, down the street from San Francisco's historic Postcard Row.
As the block recently looked before:
And yes, the three new house will have views.
∙ Whiter Than The Colgate Mansion (But Not As "Improved"): 940 Grove [SocketSite]
∙ Rendering Scoop: Proposed For 802-808 Steiner Below Postcard Row [SocketSite]
∙ The Designs For Three New Houses Below SF's Historic Postcard Row [SocketSite]
∙ A Future Postcard Row: Three Houses That Don’t Yet Exist [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
An Ethereal Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Designed $3.2M One Bedroom
It’s not (yet) official inventory, but 1170 Sacramento #15A which was redesigned by Orlando Diaz-Azcuy with white Japanese crystallized glass floor tiles, white lacquered wood wall panels and highly polished Japanese steel is on the market for $3,200,000.
While the condo was redesigned as an "ethereal" white space one-bedroom, there is a deeded studio in the building for guests or staff as well (click floor plan to enlarge).
And yes, two car parking (and monthly HOA's of $3,025) to boot.
∙ Listing: 1170 Sacramento #15A (2/2.5) - $3,100,000 [sfproperties.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (34) | (email story)
March 2, 2012
Macys.com Headed To 680 Folsom Street As First Reported
Two months ago a plugged-in reader first reported a deal with Macys.com was in the works to lease 250k square feet at 680 Folsom Street. Yesterday, a 15-year lease for 242,573 square feet on floors 8 through 14 at 680 Folsom was officially announced.
With a projected re-opening in late 2013, 680 Folsom Street is now 80 percent pre-leased.
∙ A Re-Skinning Crane Has Risen At 680 Folsom Street [SocketSite]
∙ The Reskinned 680 Folsom Will Be Home To Riverbed In 2013 [SocketSite]
∙ Renovation Of 680/690 Folsom Slated To Get Going This November [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
March 1, 2012
Conversion Of 1945 Hyde Street Set To Get Started
Following a two year approval process and failed appeal led by the Russian Hill Community Association to block development, permits have been pulled for the Ogrydziak/Prillinger led residential conversion of the two-story garage at 1945 Hyde Street.
The project will yield 7 new housing units over ground floor commercial and 17 parking spaces, all unbundled from the dwelling units and with one space for car share.
And according to a plugged-in tipster, they’re about to start (re)construction.
∙ 1945 Hyde Street Revised, Rendered, And Ready To Be Approved [SocketSite]
∙ Appealing The Impact Of The Approved Rebuilding Of 1945 Hyde [SocketSite]
∙ 1945 Hyde: Planning's Decision Upheld As Appellant A No-Show [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
February 29, 2012
Up, Down, And Back Again In South Beach
Back in January 2008 when covering the bank-owned (REO) auction of 41 Federal #42, we noted what we perceived as a change in the market, a perception not everyone shared:
…this whole thread is about REO as indicator. Is it not? Socketsite said it "just might speak" to that. Baloney. It is an REO. REO as trend? LOL.
Having been purchased from the developer for $880,000 in December 2006, 41 Federal #42 had become bank-owned in September 2007 and sold for $700,000 the following May.
Purchased for $1,150,000 in October 2006, two months before the first sale of #42, 41 Federal #21 has just returned to the market as pictured above and listed for $1,149,000.
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #21 (2/2) 1,365 sqft - $1,149,000 [Redfin]
∙ Going Once, Going Twice…Going Five Times At Shore|Line: 41 Federal [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco Bucks CA Foreclosure Trends, But Not In A Good Way [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
February 27, 2012
Piers 30-32 Dropped From AC34 Development Plan, Lawsuit Filed
Following weeks of contentious negotiations, the America’s Cup Event Authority is dropping Piers 30-32 from its development plans and giving up its claim on Seawall 330, the undeveloped lot adjacent to the Watermark. Race teams will now be berthed at Pier 80.
At the same time, having unsuccessfully appealed the Planning Commission’s certification of the Environmental Impact Report for the venue work necessary to host the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco, "Waterfront Watch" has since filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block, or at least delay, any race related development.
Former San Francisco Board of Supervisors president Aaron Peskin is listed as a petitioner in the lawsuit, which appears to have been filed as leverage to renegotiate the terms of the City's Host Agreement with race organizers.
Originally scheduled to be reviewed by San Francisco’s full Board of Supervisors tomorrow, a vote on the new new terms of the old host agreement is on hold.
∙ Pier Pressure And The Price San Francisco Taxpayers Might Pay [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco’s Last Minute Giveaways To Get The America’s Cup [SocketSite]
∙ Appealing The Impact Of The America's Cup In San Francisco [SocketSite]
∙ Lawsuit filed over key America's Cup environmental report [Examiner]
∙ Rendering Scoop: San Francisco's Major America’s Cup Venues [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
February 24, 2012
Millennium Tower Apples-To-Apples Take Two
With Millennium Tower 70 percent sold and sales volume picking up, we turn our attention to a one-bedroom apple to be in the building.
Purchased for $884,000 in March of 2010, 301 Mission Street #17C hit the market this past October listed for $849,000 before being withdrawn from the MLS in December.
Today, the 833 square foot corner condo was listed anew for $849,000 and with an official one day on the market once again.
∙ Listing: 301 Mission Street #17C (1/1) 833 sqft - $849,000 [Redfin]
∙ Millennium And One Hawthorne 70% Sold, Madrone Closings In July [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
February 17, 2012
845 Montgomery Penthouse Triptych And Listing Take Three
As we wrote this past August:
With a self-reported $900,000 worth of upgrades since being purchased for $2,633,000 in April 2008, the listing for 845 Montgomery PH#1 has been withdrawn from the MLS after another 117 days on the market without a reported sale, last asking $2,950,000.
On a positive note, plugged-in readers now know where to get a Vertigo triptych made.
From the triptych to take three, the 845 Montgomery Penthouse #1 has just returned to the market with a just-completed roof deck and listed for $2,650,000.
∙ Listing: 845 Montgomery PH#1 (2/2.5) – 2,018 sqft - $2,650,000 [McGuire]
∙ A Bit Of Vertigo As An 845 Montgomery Penthouse Is Withdrawn [SocketSite]
∙ Comments: The 845 Montgomery Penthouse Pineapple Returns [SocketSite]
∙ A Penthouse Pineapple And Lower Floor Apple At Jackson Square [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
February 16, 2012
188 King Street Number 207: Then, Now, And Tomorrow
The marketing materials for the newly minted 188 King Street noted "Sold" next to #207 and a price of $1,650,000 in 2006. In 2007, the 1,799 square foot South Beach condo hit the market as a resale asking $1,595,000 but failed to find another buyer.
According to public records, the sale price in 2006 was actually $1,450,000. And if we’re not mistaken, the purchase was financed by way of a $1,000,000 first, a $215,000 second, and $235,000 down. Relisted or reduced four times since 2007, and asking $1,150,000 this past December, by the end of 2010 the first mortgage was already $82,973 in arrears.
Tomorrow, 188 King Street #207 is currently scheduled to hit the courthouse steps in San Francisco with $1,118,835 owed on the million dollar first mortgage alone.
∙ 188 King Street: Sales Update [SocketSite]
∙ A Quick Resale At 188 King [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
230 Ritch Is
In 1998, the tri-level loft at 230 Ritch was created when Santos Prescott & Associates led the conversion of a 1930’s South Beach warehouse to live/work condominiums.
In 2004, the 2,640 square foot unit with two outdoor patios and twenty-two foot ceilings in the master suite was purchased by a local architect for $1,420,000.
A few weeks ago 230 Ritch returned to the market and yesterday it was officially listed for $2,499,000 with a bit more style and built-ins in the living room versus its listing in 2004.
∙ Listing: 230 Ritch Street (4/3) 2,640 sqft - $2,499,000 [230ritchstreet.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
February 14, 2012
New Life, Food, And Beer For The New Mission Theater As Proposed
With plans for condos to rise where the Giant Value store at 2558 Mission Street currently stands in the works, tomorrow San Francisco’s Architectural Review Committee will review plans to convert the adjacent New Mission Theater to a five-screen venue with food and adult beverage service operated by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
Inside, the theater would be converted from one to five screens, "utilizing and dividing the existing balcony levels (one auditorium on the ground floor, three new auditoriums on the lower balcony, and one new auditorium on the upper balcony)" while the projection room on the first floor would become a bar (click image to enlarge).
On the outside, the plan "would maintain and restore the character-defining elements on the exterior, including the Art Deco façade; free-standing pylon sign with neon tubes spelling out “New Mission;” cantilevered marquee; and streamlined parapet."
UPDATE: By way of a plugged-in reader, a (good) feeling for the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema culture in the form of their R-rated "Don't Talk or Text" PSA:
∙ Giant Value Housing Or Headache To Come In The Mission? [SocketSite]
∙ New Mission Theater (2554‐2558 Mission) Plans [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
February 10, 2012
Pier Pressure And The Price San Francisco Taxpayers Might Pay
The latest budget report analyzing the financial impact of the 34th America’s Cup to be held in San Francisco favors an outcry to remove Pier 29 from the deal between the city and the America’s Cup Event Authority. From the Examiner:
Under the terms of the current deal, the authority would initially invest $55 million in pier improvements in exchange for a 66-year lease at Piers 30-32 and ownership of Seawall Lot 330, a property already approved for condos.
The authority could then opt to do additional pier work and get 66-year leases on piers 26, 28 and 29, which would trigger repayment from The City with an 11 percent interest rate. The report recommends that a cap be placed on the amount race officials can spend on improvements, or else The City could end up being roped into repayment for up to 91 years after the event.
The report suggests The City should nix Pier 29, at the foot of Telegraph Hill, from being transferred to race officials after the event. Board of Supervisors President David Chiu has been pointing to the lucrative property as a problem spot in the deal.
The Event Authority, however, has a different take (so to speak).
Stephen Barclay, a board member of the authority and the group’s primary negotiator, has been talking tough in recent weeks, saying concessions have already been made to mitigate the financial stress on the Port. Barclay said on Tuesday he will "draw the line" with Pier 29, because it is essential to the authority seeing a return on the total $111 million it plans to spend.
Also according to the report, should the America’s Cup Organizing Committee fall short of their $32 million fundraising goal, San Francisco taxpayers will be on the hook for the vast majority of the difference. To date, The Committee has raised $8 million.
∙ Regatta deal might sink San Francisco's coffers [Examiner]
∙ Rendering Scoop: San Francisco's Major America’s Cup Venues [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco’s Last Minute Giveaways To Get The America’s Cup [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
February 9, 2012
A New Lease On Life And Light For 1800 Pacific Avenue
Recently unwrapped, the fractured9 led re-skinning breathes new life and light into the apartment building at 1800 Pacific and Franklin. As the building looked last year, prior to its re-skinning (and in more of a skin-crawling state):
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
February 7, 2012
Scoop: A Record $3,000 Per Square Foot In San Francisco Within Sight
Quietly delisted from the MLS last week, tongues are wagging, and lips are being licked, with respect to Penthouse B atop 1170 Sacramento Street. And yes, it’s in contract.
According to our sources, the sale of 1170 Sacramento #19B should close at $6 million and set a new all-time residential record in San Francisco at over $3,000 per square foot.
The buyer hasn't been revealed. And while the sale hasn’t yet closed, don’t forget those invitations to the housewarming. Cheers.
∙ Shooting For A Record $3,000 Per Square In San Francisco [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
February 6, 2012
And…Scene! As The Developer's Unit At Stagehouse Lofts Sells
As we first reported when 465 10th Street #401 hit the market this past December:
One of two lofts kept by redeveloper George Hauser before being lost to the lenders this past May, 465 10th Street #401 has hit the market listed for $895,000.
In addition to two bedrooms, two bathrooms and two car parking, number 401 features a two story great room with wood burning fireplace and direct access to a 900 square foot exclusive use deck with San Francisco cityscape views.
The sale of 465 10th Street has now closed escrow with a reported contract price of $897,500 ($641 per square foot), officially "over asking" by $2,500 but a bit less than we were expecting considering the design, quality of finishes and views.
As always, don’t forget those invitations to the housewarming, preferably on a clear night.
∙ Behind The Scenes At Stagehouse Lofts (465 10th Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
The Reskinned 680 Folsom Will Be Home To Riverbed In 2013
Along with the latest rendering for the $87 million remodel of 680/690 Folsom that's now underway which highlights the corner of Folsom and Third on which a new 15,000-square-foot retail or cultural building will rise, we’ve also got news that Riverbed Technology has leased a third of 680 Folsom on floors two through six of the twelve-story building.
The renovation of 680 Folsom is on track to be completed in late 2013, the Riverbed lease is for ten years.
∙ A Re-Skinning Crane Has Risen At 680 Folsom Street [SocketSite]
∙ Renovation Of 680/690 Folsom Slated To Get Going This November [SocketSite]
∙ The Latest Design For 680/690 Folsom: Back To The Bank [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
February 3, 2012
Metreon 1.5 Opens Tomorrow (2.0 And Target In October)
The makeover of the Metreon kicked-off last May. Tomorrow, the new dining terrace and first wave of restaurants and retail will open for business with others following over the next six months. And in October, San Francisco’s first Target, an 85,000 square foot CityTarget with merchandise tailored for city-dwellers, including fresh groceries, will open as well.
∙ Metreon Makeover Breaks Ground Today [SocketSite]
∙ A Few More Metreon Makeover Facts [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
February 1, 2012
A Little Bit Of SOHO Down In SOMA Take Three (357 Tehama #4)
Plugged-in people have perused numbers two and three at 357 Tehama Street, now it’s time for a peek inside the top-floor number four which is back on the market and asking $3,995,000 having been purchased as "raw space" for $1,990,000 in 2005.
The full-floor brick and timber #4 measures 3,535 square feet and was built-out with two bedrooms and two baths, including a 7 foot "airbath" and double shower in the master.
In terms of entertaining, the kitchen features a 6-burner Blue Star range with 22,000 BTU's and there's a 800-bottle temperature controlled Redwood wine room. Oh, and the 3,535 square feet doesn't include the deeded roof deck with outdoor kitchen and fireplace.
And yes, there's two car parking below to boot.
∙ Listing: 357 Tehama (2/2.5) 3,535 sqft - $3,995,000 [mcguire.com]
∙ A Little Bit Of SOHO Down In SOMA Take Two (357 Tehama #2) [SocketSite]
∙ A Little Bit Of SOHO Down In SOMA (357 Tehama And #3) [SocketSite]
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A Rather Suite Comstock Apple Is Picked
As we wrote about 1333 Jones #705 this past September:
The master suite within #705 at the Comstock (1333 Jones) sports a big San Francisco view, a designer bath (or at least shower), and a rather master worthy closet.
Unfortunately the guest bath didn’t get the same designer makeover as the rest of the unit. But if you were our guest, we'd say help yourself to a few of the 300 bottles in the built-in cooler and spend your time soaking up... the views.
Purchased for $2,400,000 in September 2007, the Comstock two-bedroom is back on the market listed for $2,349,000 four years later. As plugged-in people know, the unit two floors below sold for $2,000,000 in 2010 but wasn’t nearly as well "designed."
The sale of 1333 Jones #705 closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $2,269,000, down 5.5 percent ($131,000) on an apples-to-apples basis versus 2007.
∙ The Master’s Sweet Suite Within 1333 Jones #705 [SocketSite]
∙ A Comstock (1333 Jones) View Comp Closes A Little Bit Down [SocketSite]
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January 30, 2012
A Colorful Take On Life Inside The Hamiliton (631 O’Farrell)
While not measuring much more than 500 square feet, 631 O’Farrell #412 is one of those studios in The Hamilton that live much larger. Purchased for $210,000 in 2002, the colorfully decorated unit is now back on the market and listed for $239,000.
∙ Listing: 631 O’Farrell #412 (0/1) 520 sqft - $239,000 [vanguardsf.com]
∙ Pay For 520, But Live Like 800 (With Bonus Points For "Trendyloin") [SocketSite]
∙ Life At The Hamilton (631 O'Farrell): A Plugged-In Reader's Report [SocketSite]
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A Penultimate Drop From The Penultimate Floor Atop The Ritz-Carlton
As we reported this past November:
Purchased for $2,201,500 in March 2008 on the penultimate floor atop the Ritz-Carlton Residences in San Francisco, 690 Market Street #2301 returned to the market listed for $2,299,000 eight months later.
Reduced to $2,099,000 in February 2009 and then to $1,999,999 that April, the 1,660 square foot two-bedroom was withdrawn from the market that June.
It’s now two years later and 690 Market Street #2301 has returned to the market listed for $1,350,000. Recently rented asking $6,800 per month in rent, but delivered empty at close of escrow according to the MLS, it’s not a foreclosure, nor a short-sale. And if a reader is correct, the buyer in 2008 paid cash.
The resale of 690 Market Street #2301 closed escrow on Friday with a reported contract price of $1,340,000. Call it 39 percent ($861,500) below its 2008 purchase price which isn’t too bad considering the foreclosed upon two-bedroom the floor below sold for $1,050,000 this past March having been purchased for $2,173,000 in 2007 (a drop of 52 percent).
∙ Following In The Footsteps Of A 52 Percent Drop At The Ritz-Carlton [SocketSite]
∙ Reductions And Returns At The Ritz-Carlton Residences (690 Market) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
January 27, 2012
Sorry Cardinal, But Let’s Hear It For The Blue And Gold...
As we first reported in 2010, a structural observation of the Willis Polk designed Hallidie Building at 130 Sutter Street determined it was "just a matter of time before portions of the façade supported by [deteriorating steel brackets] will fall off of the building."
A plan to rehabilitate the façade of the Hallidie Building and prevent its character-defining curtain wall from falling was approved eight months later, which includes a repainting.
While previous analysis and historic accounts had identified the original colors of the building to be Cal Blue and Gold, the Historic Preservation Commission requested additional investigation to determine the original scheme.
While the investigation determined that all decorative metals and balconies were originally gold leaf and only the curtain wall and ladders were blue, the proposed scheme differs slightly with blue for cornices and at the bottom of the balconies that were originally gold.
The proposed scheme "addresses current tastes and is similar to the scheme that has been associated with the building in recent history." And no, gold leaf will not be used.
∙ Heads-Up Near The Hallidie Building (130 Sutter) [SocketSite]
∙ Hallidie Building Color Investigation Report And Proposal [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
Has The Fat Lady Sung For The Opera's Warehouse At 800 Indiana?
Contingent upon City approvals to develop the site, the San Francisco Opera has agreed to sell its set-construction warehouse at 800 Indiana Street to Archstone which has filed an application to build 350 units of housing on the site.
The opera’s building at 800 Indiana is a long, skinny parcel that stretches the length of two blocks between 20th and 22nd streets. Plans call for the property to be sliced in half, creating an "on-grade east-west plaza" where 21st Street would be if it didn’t dead-end 14 blocks to the west at San Francisco General Hospital.
The frontage of the complex would be further broken up by a series of courtyards. The five bottle-shaped courtyards are generally 50 feet wide, narrowing to 25 feet at the entrance.
Archstone has asked to build parking for 263 cars (and 350 bikes) and residents of Esprit Park should recognize the parcel as it runs the length of the development to the west.
∙ San Francisco Opera set-making site to become homes [San Francisco Business Times]
∙ Esprit Park Two Years Later, Apples-To-Apples Style [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
January 26, 2012
Shooting For A Record $3,000 Per Square In San Francisco
Listed for $4,900,000 in a very different condition back in 2008, 1170 Sacramento Street #19B (aka Penthouse B) sold to a local real estate agent for $3,125,000 in February 2009.
The 1,999 square foot unit (per tax records) underwent a complete transformation in 2010, and was rebuilt as a two-bedroom with truly luxurious finishes, design and flow.
Penthouse #B is now back on the market and listed for $6,000,000, just over $3,000 per square foot which would be an all-time record for a San Francisco property, we do believe.
And as plugged-in people know, the larger, but deconstructed, Penthouse #C atop 1170 Sacramento sold for $5,750,000 as a shell late last year.
∙ Listing: 1170 Sacramento #19B (2/2) 1,999 sqft - $6,000,000 [penthouse-b.com]
∙ A Peek Inside The Deconstructed Penthouse Atop 1170 Sacramento [SocketSite]
∙ The Shell Of The Northern Penthouse Atop 1170 Sacramento Sells [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (43) | (email story)
January 25, 2012
A Glimpse Inside "The Glint" And The Story Behind "The Mansion"
While not quite in the same league as the "Party of Eight" house up on Billionaires Row, a plugged-in reader recognizes "The Glint" (Peter Thiel's "hero accelerator in a mansion") to be 170 Saint Germain, in which Thiel's fellows now reside.
First listed for sale asking $4,500,000 last March, the 6,744 listed square foot home (per its last listing) was withdrawn from the market last asking $3,699,000 in November and then offered for rent at $15,000 per month.
∙ Party Of Five Eight Move To San Francisco’s Billionaires Row [SocketSite]
∙ This San Francisco Mansion Is Where Peter Thiel's Genius Kids Party... [businessinsider]
∙ 170 Saint Germain: Before, After And A Peek Inside (Poke To Follow) [SocketSite]
∙ 170 Saint Germain: The Aforementioned Poke [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
January 24, 2012
A Perch From Which To Watch Boulders (Or Condos) Roll
Featuring big Coit Tower views and both indoor and outdoor perches from which to watch boulders (or condos) roll down Telegraph Hill, the 1,784 square foot condo #2202 at 611 Washington Street was purchased for $2,668,000 in June of 2007.
Built as a one, the now two-bedroom is back on the market and listed for $2,200,000, eighteen (18) percent below its 2007 sale.
And yes, we know the most recent boulders rolled down the other side of the Hill.
∙ Listing: 611 Washington (2/2) 1,784 sqft - $2,200,000 [611washington2202.com]
∙ Just Quotes: This Is (Going To Be) A Mess On Telegraph Hill [SocketSite]
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Converting 888 Brannan To Attract Tech Tenants (And Rents)
In 2010, the Planning Commission approved the conversion of 138,580 of the 423,133 square feet between the interconnected buildings at 850 Brannan and 870 Brannan, collectively known as the 888 Brannan GiftCenter and JewelryMart, from production, distribution and repair (PDR) to office use.
Foreclosed upon by Wells Fargo prior to conversion, SKS Investments acquired 888 Brannan for $36 million in 2011 and is now seeking approval to convert a total of 257,243 square feet from PDR to office use "suited to technology tenants."
The more prominent of the two buildings, 870 Brannan is the five-story reinforced concrete building on the corner of 8th and Brannan which was constructed in 1917 and is on the National Register of Historic Places and California Register of Historical Resources.
As part of the conversion, the exterior of 870 Brannan would be rehabilitated with repaired or replacement windows, behind which parking for 31 cars and 80 bikes will be added.
With the support of the Planning Department, and scheduled to be reviewed by the Commission this week, the sponsors hope to start reconstruction next month.
∙ Request and Plans for the redevelopment of 888 Brannan [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
January 18, 2012
An Attempt To Settle For With San Francisco's Planning Commission?
As we first reported yesterday, San Francisco’s Planning Commission is slated to meet behind closed doors with legal counsel to discuss the pending litigation and consideration of settlement proposals with respect to the proposed development of 1601 Larkin Street, a site on which the dilapidated First St. John's United Methodist Church currently stands.
The proposed development which was blocked by Planning last year featured the modern Stanley Saitowitz design as rendered above. But as a plugged-in reader notes, it would appear that Ian Birchall has been quietly drafted to redesign the development as "a contemporary interpretation of a European city apartment building" with "French-style balconies and tall glassy bays in a crisp limestone-like exterior cladding."
Perhaps it's an attempt to "settle" on a less modern design which San Francisco’s Planning Commission might find more appealing (and which the building’s more conservative Russian Hill neighbors might be less likely to appeal).
Which brings us right back to our 2010 piece entitled, "1601 Larkin Reignites An Architects Versus Planning Design Debate." Yes, it’s déjà vu all over again.
∙ Behind Closed Doors: 1601 Larkin Settlement Discussions This Week [SocketSite]
∙ Development Of 1601 Larkin Disapproved By Planning Commission [SocketSite]
∙ 1601 Larkin: Comments, Responses And Latest Renderings [SocketSite]
∙ Planning Disapproves Of Proposed Height For 1601 Larkin Project [SocketSite]
∙ 1601 Larkin Reignites An Architects Versus Planning Design Debate [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
January 17, 2012
Behind Closed Doors: 1601 Larkin Settlement Discussions This Week
In a special closed door session this week, San Francisco’s Planning Commission will conference with legal counsel "to discuss pending litigation and consideration of settlement proposals" in Pacific Polk Properties, LLC v. City and County of San Francisco and California-Nevada Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church v. City and County of San Francisco.
The two lawsuits challenge the Planning Commission's June 24, 2010 failure to certify a final environmental impact report and denial of a conditional use authorization for the proposed project at 1601 Larkin Street to rise in place of the rundown church.
While the Commission will likely assert attorney-client privilege with respect to the matters discussed in this special session, as always, we’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.
∙ Planning Commission Special Meeting: January 19, 2012 [sf-planning.org]
∙ Development Of 1601 Larkin Disapproved By Planning Commission [SocketSite]
∙ 1601 Larkin: Comments, Responses And Latest Renderings [SocketSite]
∙ 1601 Larkin Reignites An Architects Versus Planning Design Debate [SocketSite]
∙ Planning Disapproves Of Proposed Height For 1601 Larkin Project [SocketSite]
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January 13, 2012
While Well "Over Asking," 250 King Street #430 Still Comes Up Short
As we reported this past August:
Having been "extensively upgraded" with hand milled woodwork, built-ins and flooring since purchased for $841,500 six years ago, the corner Beacon two-bedroom known as 250 King Street #430 is back on the market listed for "$599,000" as a short sale today.
No mention of being pre-approved, but a successful purchase at asking would represent a savings $242,500 versus 2005 (not accounting for the value of the upgrades) and a comp at $448 per square foot.
And yes, the seller is currently in default on a first mortgage for $630,918 being $29,721 past due as of last month. A second for $52,500 also exists.
The sale of 250 King Street #430 closed escrow this week with a reported contract price of $707,000 ($528 per square foot).
∙ Extensively Upgraded And…Then Discounted 29 Percent [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
January 12, 2012
A Remodeled St. Paul's Primary School Condo Returns
Purchased for $1,200,000 in July 2005, last year a new half-bath was added within the 1,910 square foot envelope of 300 Valley Street #6.
Back on the market and listed for $1,199,000, the listing for the three-bedroom "best of Noe" St. Paul's Primary School condo also notes: "recently remodeled to include a state of the art kitchen" (although we don’t see any permits for the kitchen remodel online).
∙ Listing: 300 Valley Street #6 (3/2.5) 1,910 sqft - $1,199,000 [Redfin]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
Don’t Stop Conceiving (And Architect's Quote)
In the words of the architect, David Baker, with respect to the Bi-Rite rendered in the designs for Mission Bay Block 7 West:
Unfortunately the Bi-Rite logo was only an "artist's conception". Every neighborhood deserves a Bi-Rite, the best grocery store in the world (my opinion).
And a Bi-Rite Creamery as far as we're concerned (with respect to what every neighborhood deserves).
∙ Mission Bay Block 7 West Rendered With A Bi-Rite In Mind [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | (email story)
January 10, 2012
Demanding Validation And Disputing One's Own 2008 Era Debt
In September 2009, a notice of default was filed on the $671,995 first mortgage employed to purchase 425 First Street #1307 for $830,000 in February 2008. At the time of the notice, the buyer of the 819 square foot condo was already $25,338 past due on his debt.
Having signed a promissory note for the $671,995 first mortgage back in 2008, as well as for an $83,910 second, the buyer of the One Rincon Hill one-bedroom subsequently decided that "fraudulent and deceptive" banking practices were to blame for his mortgage woes. And in February 2010, the buyer filed a 190 point DEMAND for validation of his debt, without which he would have "no choice but to dispute the validity [of the bank's] lawful ownership, funding, entitlement right, and the current debt [they] allege [he owes]."
As best we can tell, and including disputed fees, the past due amount is now over $100,000 on the first mortgage alone without a currently scheduled auction.
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
January 9, 2012
A Re-Skinning Crane Has Risen At 680 Folsom Street
As a number of tipsters have noted, over the weekend a construction crane sprouted at 680/690 Folsom Street as the $87 million building overhaul we first showcased back in 2008 finally moves forward. As the re-skinned building will eventually appear:
Once renovated, the building will yield 505,000 square feet of office space and a public plaza on the corner of Folsom and Third Streets on which a new 15,000-square-foot retail or cultural building will also rise.
∙ Renovation Of 680/690 Folsom Slated To Get Going This November [SocketSite]
∙ Wet Weekend Special (And Scoop): The Designs For 680/690 Folsom [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
January 6, 2012
Seeing Red At The St. Regis
Purchased for $2,700,000 in 2008; on the market for $2,550,000 in 2009; and listed for $2,100,000 last year, the 1,670 square foot St. Regis two-bedroom known as 188 Minna Street #33C has just returned to the market anew, now asking $1,995,000.
∙ Listing: 188 Minna #33C (2/2.5) 1,670 sqft - $1,995,000 [paragon-re.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
January 5, 2012
One Rincon Hill Tower Two Site In Play
Back in 2008, the phase two second tower of One Rincon Hill was officially "put on hold." And as we first reported early last year, the 64 percent partnership interest held by Urban West Rincon Developers II, LLC in the One Rincon Hill Phase II Limited Partnership and the entire general partner interest held by Rincon Developers Phase II, LLC were headed for a foreclosure sale.
While not a done deal, according to a plugged-in source the undeveloped site for the second tower of One Rincon Hill is now in contract. And if our source is correct, Miami-based Crescent Heights which has started construction on 749 units at 1401 Market Street and owns the parcel at 45 Lansing on which a proposed 320 units will rise across the street from One Rincon Hill should emerge as the buyer, or possibly an equity partner.
As always, we'll keep you posted and plugged-in.
∙ It's "Official," One Rincon Hill's Tower Two Is Indefinitely On Hold [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill Phase II Partnership Interests Headed For Foreclosure [SocketSite]
∙ 1401 Market Street: Redesigned And Cleared For Construction [SocketSite]
∙ 45 Lansing Site In Contract, No Imminent Eviction For The Bees [SocketSite]
∙ 45 Lansing Take Two: Latest Renderings And Smaller Units Proposed [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
December 23, 2011
Happy Holidays
Happy holidays to all and safe travels if you’re traveling, perhaps one day departing from San Francisco's Transbay Transist Center which is slated to be unwrapped in six years.
Have a great weekend; we will see you on Tuesday to review the latest Case-Shiller home price report. And our thanks to steelblue for allowing us to share their holiday handiwork.
Cheers!
∙ Transbay Center Plans: Revised, Refined, And Unveiled Today [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Transit Center Project Construction Schedule [transbaycenter.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:45 PM | Permalink | (email story)
Apples To Oranges To Apples (And Three "Free" Years) At 501 Beale
Already $87,355 past due on a $652,000 loan by the time a notice of default was filed last December, a past due amount which had grown to $115,828 this past July, last month 501 Beale #14E was finally taken back by the bank with no bidders at $477,000 in cash.
Purchased for $711,500 in April 2006, the Watermark one-bedroom has just returned to the market listed for $499,900, priced 30 percent below its comp setting sale in 2006.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #14E (1/1) 759 sqft - $499,900 [Redfin]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
December 19, 2011
Still Nearly 30 Percent Short At 310 Townsend Versus 2007
As the apples-to-apples "Regular Sale!" of 310 Townsend #108 closed escrow earlier this month selling for 26 percent ($136,000) under its 2007 purchase price, the "short sale" of 310 Townsend #411 closed escrow this past Friday with a reported contract price of $575,000. Call it 29 percent ($235,000) less than the $810,000 which was paid for the 835 square foot one-bedroom back in 2007 when the condo hit the market priced at $865,000.
∙ A "Regular" Apple At 310 Townsend Drops Into Our Cart [SocketSite]
∙ 310 Townsend: Available And Selling [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
December 16, 2011
Penthouse Atop San Francisco St. Regis Sells For A Record $28 Million
As we first reported earlier this week, the bank-owned penthouse atop the San Francisco St. Regis was in contract having been listed for $35 million, down from $70 million in 2008.
According to our sources, the sale of the penthouse atop 188 Minna has just closed escrow with a recorded contract price of $28 million, nearly double the previous record for a condo in San Francisco set by the penthouse atop the Royal Towers with an unreported but rumored sale price of $15 million a decade ago.
As plugged-in people know, it was real estate developer Victor MacFarlane who deeded the penthouse atop the St. Regis back to the bank earlier this year having purchased the space as three unfinished units for roughly $30 million in 2005 and having invested 5 years of time and money combining the units to construct and finish the 17,000 square foot penthouse with 2,900 square feet of outdoor terrace space.
As always, don’t forget those invitations to the housewarming and thanks for plugging in.
UPDATE: A plugged-in reader with photoshop skills submits, "So, how good do you have to be to find something like THIS under your tree?"
Full Disclosure: The co-listing agent for the penthouse atop the San Francisco St. Regis advertises on SocketSite but couldn't comment on the sale.
∙ Buyer Emerges For The Most Expensive Bank-Owned Condo In The US [SocketSite]
∙ $70M St. Regis Penthouse Goes Back To The Bank And Drops To $35M [SocketSite]
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Asking $70M: Is San Francisco All Growns Up? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
December 14, 2011
Buyer Emerges For The Most Expensive Bank-Owned Condo In The US
According to a plugged-in tipster over at the St. Regis, a buyer has emerged for the $35 million bank-owned two-floor penthouse atop the building at 188 Minna, the most expensive bank-owned residential property in the U.S.
We’re working on details, but "no comments" and apparent non-disclosure agreements keep getting in the way. That being said, according to our tipster, the buyer isn’t Mark Pincus unless he was wearing one hell of a disguise.
A sale within two million dollars of asking would make it the most expensive residential sale in San Francisco history, with 2840 Broadway relegated to runner up we do believe. Oh, and remember that uberexpensive staging job we first reported? It’s now on display, so grab some popcorn and take a peek inside while you can.
Full Disclosure: The co-listing agent for the penthouse atop the San Francisco St. Regis advertises on SocketSite but couldn't comment on the sale.
∙ $70M St. Regis Penthouse Goes Back To The Bank And Drops To $35M [SocketSite]
∙ The Confidential Sale Price For 2840 Broadway On Billionaire’s Row [SocketSite]
∙ A Half-Million Reasons To Start A Staging Company [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: The Penthouse atop the St. Regis Hotel [museumtowerpenthouse.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (35) | (email story)
December 13, 2011
Round Three At Planning For 527-529 Stevenson As Proposed
The plans for the proposed conversion of 527‐529 Stevenson Street from a 42,600 square foot, four-story industrial building to residential use have once again been modified following another round of meetings with San Francisco’s Planning Commission and staff.
The number of proposed dwelling units has been reduced to 60 from 62 with the number of studios reduced from 43 to 27 and the number of one-bedrooms increased to 33. Parking has been reduced to five spaces from eight. And courtyards have been combined and expanded to provide more light and air to all units.
The Planning Department recommends the Commission approve the project this week.
∙ 67 Units For Young Professionals Between 6th And 7th As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ Fewer Units And A New Façade For 527-529 Stevenson As Proposed [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
December 12, 2011
1401 California: Trader Joe's And CVS Authorization This Week
With Cala Foods lease at 1401 California expiring in nineteen days, the Prado Group goes before San Francisco’s Planning Commission on Thursday seeking authorization for their proposal to divide and modify the existing 30,087 square foot space to house a 14,578 square foot Trader Joe’s and a 10,956 square foot 24-hour CVS Pharmacy.
The Planning Department recommends approval with the condition that a "no queue" policy is enforced for vehicles attempting to enter the parking lot at 1401 California.
If a recurring queue occurs, the owner/operator of the parking facility shall employ abatement methods as needed to abate the queue. Suggested abatement methods include but are not limited to the following: redesign of facility layout to improve vehicle circulation and/or on‐site queue capacity; employment of parking attendants; installation of LOT FULL signs with active management by parking attendants; use of valet parking or other space‐efficient parking techniques; use of off‐site parking facilities or shared parking with nearby uses; use of parking occupancy sensors and signage directing drivers to available spaces; travel demand management strategies such as additional bicycle parking, customer shuttles or delivery services; and/or parking demand management strategies such as parking time limits, paid parking or validated parking.
The Prado Group plans to start six to nine months of construction in January.
∙ From Cala To Condos To Trader Joe's At 1401 California [SocketSite]
∙ 1401 California Conditional Use Application [sfplanning.org]
∙ From Cala Foods To "1401 California" By 2012 Or Bust As Proposed [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (29) | (email story)
December 9, 2011
Coming Up Short At The Marina Chateau
As we noted in August, 2701 Van Ness Avenue #711 was purchased for $671,000 in 2006, hit the market listed for $599,000 this past February, and was eventually reduced to $449,000 as an approved short sale.
This past Wednesday, the sale of the 768 square foot top floor condo closed escrow with a reported contract price of $455,000. Yes, that's officially "over asking" according to industry stats, but 32 percent ($216,000) below the comp setting price paid in 2006.
∙ No Shortage Of Short Sales At The Chateau [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
December 8, 2011
Behind The Scenes At Stagehouse Lofts (465 10th Street)
Constructed circa 1924 to serve as a stage scenery factory for the Rothschild Entertainment Group and converted to lofts in 1998, the landmark Stagehouse Lofts building at 465 10th Street contains 18 lofts ranging in size from 700 to 2,500 square feet.
One of two lofts kept by redeveloper George Hauser before being lost to the lenders this past May, 465 10th Street #401 has hit the market listed for $895,000. At least one other Stagehouse unit was foreclosed upon earlier this year while another is in preforeclosure.
In addition to two bedrooms, two bathrooms and two car parking, number 401 features a two story great room with wood burning fireplace and direct access to a 900 square foot exclusive use deck with San Francisco cityscape views.
UPDATE: A plugged-in reader reports:
When the foreclosure happened earlier this year, it listed 2 units as collateral, but I think one of the units was a phantom unit. It existed on paper but not in real life.
The two foreclosures we were referencing above are #402 (identified as a 900 square foot one bedroom) and #306 (identified as a 694 square foot studio).
UPDATE: As we had previously noted above, as best we can tell 465 10th Street #401 never hit the courthouse steps. That being said, according to a plugged-in reader, the unit which was previously owned by (re)developer George Hauser was taken back by Redwood Mortgage Investors this past May, perhaps deeded in lieu of foreclosure.
∙ Listing: 465 10th Street #401 (2/2) 1,400 sqft - $895,000 [465-10th-street-401.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (32) | (email story)
December 7, 2011
A One Rincon Hill "04" High Floor Resale, Oh My!
Referenced by a reader on our rundown of One Rincon Hill 04 stack condos headed for foreclosure, the resale of 425 1st Street #3604 closed escrow last month with a contract price of $455,000 but was just reported today.
The 605 square foot one bedroom had been purchased from the One Rincon Hill sales office for $707,254 in September 2008 before being lost to the bank this past May.
The 2011 sale represents a 36 percent drop below its 2008 value for the vacant view condo with "Italian cabinetry" and "State-of-the-art appliances" all intact.
∙ Four More One Rincon Hill ‘04’s Headed For Foreclosure [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (47) | (email story)
"Over Asking" At The Beacon (And Only 48 Percent Under 2005)
Purchased for $646,594 in 2005, the 896 square foot one-bedroom #1007 at the Beacon (260 King Street) was taken back by the bank last October with no bidders at $333,480 on the courthouse steps (and versus a $517,200 note then past due).
Currently occupied (no word on whether or not by the former owner who put a prideful 20 percent down), the "well kept" unit is back on the market and listed for $293,000, a sale at which would break the 50 percent off its previous open market sale mark.
Last week the sale of 260 King Street #1007 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $338,000. Yes, that’s officially 15 percent "over asking" according to industry stats and only 48 percent ($308,594) under its sale price in 2005.
∙ Fifty-Five Percent Off Its Two Thousand Five Sale Price At The Beacon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
A Potential Flag On The 49ers Move To Santa Clara
On the heels of Santa Clara announcing it has lined up $850 million in pledged financing to construct a new stadium for the San Francisco 49ers, the JMA Ventures led group which included the York family, owners of the 49ers, has dropped its plans to purchase the Great America amusement park down in Santa Clara.
That being said, while the current owners of Great America had once objected to the plans to build a stadium next to their park, they have now "reached a long-term agreement with the San Francisco 49ers related to the construction of the stadium and parking for NFL and other stadium-related events for the life of the new stadium" according to the San Francisco Business Times.
∙ Santa Clara Scores $850 Million To Finance New 49ers Stadium [SocketSite]
∙ 49ers "Affiliated Entity" Partnering On Acquisition Of Great America [SocketSite]
∙ First And Goal For The San Francisco Santa Clara 49ers Stadium [SocketSite]
∙ JMA drops plan to buy Great America, but 49ers stadium plans proceed [bizjournals.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
A "Regular" Apple At 310 Townsend Drops Into Our Cart
As we noted when we first reported the relisting of 310 Townsend #408 which had been purchased for $665,000 in 2007 and ended up selling short for $435,000 (36 percent below 2007) last month:
At the same time, the list price for the "regular sale" of 310 Townsend #108 has been reduced to $389,000 ($569 per square foot). The one bedroom was purchased for $525,000 ($768 per square) in 2007 as well, an effective drop of 26 percent at asking.
Yesterday, the apples-to-apples "Regular Sale!" of 310 Townsend #108 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $389,000, down $136,000 (26 percent) below 2007.
∙ Apples-To-Apples (And Short To "Regular") At 310 Townsend [SocketSite]
∙ A Short Apple Drops A Long Way At 310 Townsend [SocketSite]
∙ 310 Townsend: Available And Selling [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
December 6, 2011
A Modern Apple 2B At 1234 Howard
As we wrote in early 2010 when the resale of 1234 Howard #2C defied the commodity condo price trend: "Yes, design matters (whether you like it or not)."
And while #2C isn't a signature louvered unit at 1234 Howard, #2B is and has returned to the market listed for $869,000 having been purchased for $785,000 in March of 2008.
∙ Listing: 1234 Howard #2B (2/2) 1,295 sqft - $869,000 [Paragon]
∙ A Modern Apple At 1234 Howard Defies The Commodity Condo Trend [SocketSite]
∙ Those Amazing Automated Aluminum Louvers On 1234 Howard [SocketSite]
∙ 1234 Howard: The Budget To Build (Around $200 A Square Foot) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
November 30, 2011
SFMOMA Expansion Design: New Details, Renderings And Video
Back in May the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) revealed the rough massings and early Snøhetta design for the expansion of the museum. Today, SFMOMA released refined designs for the building as rendered above and detailed below.
The design of the interior spaces synthesizes the current Mario Botta–designed building and the new Snøhetta expansion into one seamless whole. Two main entrances (the current entrance on Third Street and a new one on Natoma Street) will lead into a central space that will serve as the public entry point to all galleries. To create an expansive, flowing space on the entry level of the museum, the original staircase will be removed from the Botta atrium.
The galleries in the existing and new buildings will be unified and total 130,000 square feet, double the current square footage. The building also introduces a façade on Howard Street that will feature a large, street-level gallery enclosed in glass on three sides, providing views of both the art in the galleries and the new public spaces. Upon opening, the Howard Street gallery will house one of the gems of the Fisher Collection, Richard Serra's masterpiece Sequence (2006). The sculpture will be visible from the outside even when the museum is closed.
On its east side, the new building will feature a sweeping façade and an entrance in an area that is currently hidden from public view and largely unused. This will be realized through the creation of a mid-block, open-air, 18-foot-wide pedestrian promenade running from Howard Street through to Natoma Street that will open a new route of public circulation through the neighborhood and bring Natoma Street, currently a dead end, to life.
Additionally, the design opens up a direct pathway between SFMOMA and the Transbay Transit Center currently under construction two blocks to the east of the museum. The public promenade will feature a series of stairs and landings terracing up to an entry court that extends from the new east entrance, providing additional public spaces.
Groundbreaking for the expansion is currently scheduled for summer 2013 with completion projected in early 2016. And a link to the aforementioned video atop the page.
∙ The First Sign Of Snøhetta’s Design For SFMOMA Expansion [SocketSite]
∙ SFMOMA Expansion, Fire Station Relocation And…Housing Project [SocketSite]
∙ SFMOMA Design: Architectural Sketches and Video [sfmoma.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (32) | (email story)
Basilica Loft: High Ceilings And Lower Expectations On Eddy
Purchased for $599,000 in July 2005 having been "REDUCED TO SELL!" at the time, 1826 Eddy Street #203 has just returned to the market listed for "$375,000" as a short sale but without any mention of being pre-approved at that price.
The 917 square foot two-bedroom and top floor Basilica Loft condo #203 features a lot of light and a seventeen foot ceiling in the living room.
This past April, the 920 square foot two-bedroom Basilica Loft #101 sold for $418,000 having been purchased for $635,000 in July 2005 and then taken back by the bank a year ago. While on a lower floor, 1826 Eddy Street #101 features high ceilings as well.
∙ Listing: 1826 Eddy Street #203 (2/2) 917 sqft – $375,000 (short sale) [Coldwell Banker]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
November 28, 2011
Another Bank-Owned Sale To Believe At The Brannan
Referenced by a reader at the time we noted the listing of 229 Brannan Street #9J for $919,000 (the price at which it closed escrow this past October having sold for $1,230,000 in 2006 and $980,000 in 2004), the sale of 229 Brannan Street #3A closed escrow last week with a reported contract price of $863,000.
Taken back by the bank in May with no bidders at $933,620 in cash versus $954,000 in debt having been purchased for $1,065,000 in 2004 (19 percent more than its sale price last week), the 1,486 square foot corner unit #3A at the Brannan had been remodeled prior to being listed by the bank.
∙ Is It Time To Believe At The Brannan? [SocketSite]
∙ Believe It (At The Brannan) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
November 23, 2011
155 Fifth Street Refacing, Renovation And Repurposing In The Works
The University of the Pacific has purchased the seven-story and 395,000 square foot building at 155 Fifth Street for $47 million with plans to reface, renovate and repurpose the building (five floors for university use, two floors to be leased) over the next two years.
As is currently envisioned for the building above and as currently exists below.
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
November 22, 2011
Following In The Footsteps Of A 52 Percent Drop At The Ritz-Carlton
Purchased for $2,201,500 in March 2008 on the penultimate floor atop the Ritz-Carlton Residences in San Francisco, 690 Market Street #2301 returned to the market listed for $2,299,000 eight months later.
Reduced to $2,099,000 in February 2009 and then to $1,999,999 that April, the 1,660 square foot two-bedroom was withdrawn from the market that June.
It’s now two years later and 690 Market Street #2301 has returned to the market listed for $1,350,000. Recently rented asking $6,800 per month in rent, but delivered empty at close of escrow according to the MLS, it’s not a foreclosure, nor a short-sale. And if a reader is correct, the buyer in 2008 paid cash.
We’ll note 690 Market Street #2201, the same two-bedroom a floor below, was foreclosed upon in 2010 having been purchased for $2,173,000 in 2007 by way of a $1,500,000 loan.
And having been listed for $1,326,000 last November, the resale of #2201 closed escrow this past March with a reported contract price of $1,050,000 (52 percent below 2007).
∙ Listing: 690 Market Street #2301 (2/2) 1,660 sqft - $1,350,000 [Redfin]
∙ Reductions And Returns At The Ritz-Carlton Residences (690 Market) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
November 21, 2011
Woot Woof!
Forget the bike storage and in-building showers, the feature of "San Francisco's First Green Office Conversion" at 543 Howard Street that caught our eye: the rooftop dog park.
Purchased for $6,600,000 in 1999, converted and refinanced in 2006 with a $17,500,000 loan to which a second mortgage for $4,500,000 was added in 2009, the roughly 23,000 square foot building at 543 Howard Street is scheduled to hit the San Francisco courthouse steps tomorrow with $18,588,582 now due on that first alone.
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
Is That The Fat Lady We Hear Singing Over At CitiApartments?
Pledged as collateral on a number of loans which are now in default, it’s a plugged-in tipster that notes "the Debtors’ respective membership interests in the limited liability companies" which own the following properties are scheduled to be sold on December 12:
78 Buchanan Street
233-241 Church Street
252-258 Church Street
950 Franklin Street
1844 Irving Street
1401 Jones Street
2677 Larkin Street
2075-2083 Market Street
2099 Market Street
1870 Pacific Avenue
500 Stanyan Street
645 Stockton Street
1340-1360 Taylor Street
1320 Washington Street
1461-1465 Burlingame Avenue (Burlingame)
Some might recognize the 2099 Market Street adress as the headquarters of the group formerly known as CitiApartments and from which "Frank Lembi used to listen to opera on Wednesday evenings from his office on the mezzanine" according to our tipster.
UPDATE: As a reader quickly catches, it’s the Membership Interests in the LLCs that own the properties above which are being auctioned against $29,700,000 in mezzanine debt that’s in default and the properties listed above remain "encumbered by a deed of trust that secures the Property LLCs’ total aggregate indebtedness to a senior mortgage lender in the original principal amount of $103,300,000."
∙ CitiApartments Is No More! Well, Sort Of… [SocketSite]
∙ The Story (And Faces) Behind The Rise And Fall Of The Lembis [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
November 18, 2011
Testing The Waters To Develop Four Infill Acres At Fifth And Mission
It was back in 2007 that the Hearst Corp. first started to seek a developer for their four-acre mid-market site on which the Chronicle Building stands. And now, four years later, Forest City has filed a preliminary project assessment application with San Francisco’s Planning Department to build "1.3 million square feet of commercial space, 700 units of housing and a wide array of cultural and arts uses" across the site at Fifth and Mission.
For now, the plan envisions eight buildings that will range from quite small on the western side of the property closer to Sixth Street to nearly 400-foot towers on the eastern side, closer to Fifth Street and downtown. The site, currently 50 percent surface parking, extends from Mission to Howard streets between Fifth and Sixth streets.
The project calls for 35,000 square feet of open space, including 22,000 square feet on the roof of the Chronicle building and 13,000 square feet of ground-level public open space. About 85,000 square feet would be dedicated to arts and cultural groups.
According to the San Francisco Business Times, "Forest City hopes to have the project approved by 2014 and build in phases between 2015 and 2026."
∙ Forest City unveils futuristic plan for Chronicle site [Business Times]
∙ A Huge (Potential) Development For The Mid-Market/SoMa 'Hood [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
From Seals Stadium, To Strip Mall, To 1,800 Rental Units On 16th?
The site of the old San Francisco Seals Stadium until 1959 and currently home to a 227,000-square-foot strip mall anchored by a 60,000-square-foot Safeway, the Potrero Center at 2300 16th Street has been put up for sale.
Under the Eastern Neighborhoods rezoning, the nine-acre site at 2300 16th St. is part of a mixed-use district that allows for 85-foot heights. The site sits on the top of a hill on the border of the Mission District and Potrero Hill. The property has 704 parking spaces.
Whatever development occurs at the site would have to involve Safeway, which has a long-term lease on its 60,000-square-foot market. No redevelopment plan has been filed with the city’s planning department, although the firm Christiani Johnson Architects has done some preliminary drawings of what might be built on the site.
Based on the size of the site, a redevelopment could yield up to 1,800 apartments.
∙ Potrero Center for sale; 1,800 apartments eyed [Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (49) | (email story)
November 17, 2011
A Short Apple Drops A Long Way At 310 Townsend
As we first reported in August with respect to a couple of resales down at 310 Townsend:
At the same time, 310 Townsend #408 has just hit the market listed as a short sale for $425,000 having been purchased for $665,000 in 2007 as well. From the listing: "Currently tenant occupied, the condo commands $3100 per month in rent, making it an excellent investment vehicle for cash flow." Of course, there's also capital preservation to consider.
And as we added last month:
Having been purchased for $665,000 ($828 per square foot) in 2007, and having fallen out of contract last week when listed for $425,000, the "approved" short sale of 310 Townsend Street #408 is once again active and available and listed for $435,000 ($542 per square), a 36 percent drop in value at asking.
At the same time, the list price for the "regular sale" of 310 Townsend #108 has been reduced to $389,000 ($569 per square foot). The one bedroom was purchased for $525,000 ($768 per square) in 2007 as well, an effective drop of 26 percent at asking.
The short sale of 310 Townsend #308 closed escrow today with a reported contract price of $435,000, thirty-six (36) percent below its sale price in 2007. 310 Townsend #108 is now in contract, but the sale is still contingent.
∙ Apples-To-Apples (And Short To "Regular") At 310 Townsend [SocketSite]
∙ Capital Preservation Versus Cash Flow At 310 Townsend [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
November 14, 2011
Not Only Kinky, But Perhaps Somewhat Hinky As Well
A pair of emails forwarded from a plugged-in tipster reveals that the owner of the Armory, who was leading the charge against the development of 49 Julian, had made an all cash offer for the property and was seeking "to move forward ASAP with escrow, in order to avoid any additional work having to be done for the [Historic Preservation Committee] and Planning Commission hearings."
Following the offer to acquire the entire property, and despite continuing to publicly oppose the project, the owner of the Armory then proposed "to pre-purchase units on the top two floors [of 49 Julian]" in order to "assist [the developer in] financing and remove a certain amount of risk of house price fluctuations from [the developer’s] plate."
Once again, following a few modifications, the project appears to be headed for approval this week. And as far as we know, all offers from the owner of the Armory to purchase the property in part or in whole have since been withdrawn.
∙ The "Kinky" Opposition To 49 Julian Avenue As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ Working Out The Kinks To Build Eight Homes At 49 Julian [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
Working Out The Kinks To Build Eight Homes At 49 Julian
As we first reported last month:
As proposed, the vacant single-story warehouse at 49 Julian Avenue would be razed and a five story, 50-foot-tall building with eight two-bedroom residential units over at-grade parking for eight vehicles would rise adjacent to the Armory.
Opposing the project as proposed, the owner of said Armory who acquired the building in 2006 for the primary purpose of film production for Kink.com. The argument against:
This development raises 3 issues which are of concern to the preservation of the Armory, and to the ongoing restoration efforts. Each of these issues would be partially mitigated by requiring the developers to adhere to [new zoning limits which would limit the project to 45 feet].
1. Loss of light: Light will be lost to south facing, historically and architecturally significant Drill Court windows.
2. Obfuscation of curved roof: The signature curved roof will no longer be continuously visible from the exterior.
3. Incompatible adjacent Use: The proposed development places housing 4 feet from the Drill Court, where Armory Studios has pemitted work in progress to restore a place of legal assembly, with maximum occupancy 4080 persons.
In response to comments by San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Committee, the Project Sponsor has since removed a nine-foot high stair enclosure to roof and sloped the roof line of the required exit stair in an effort to reduce shadows on the adjacent Armory Building Drill Court windows and moved the fourth and fifth floor walls two feet to allow more light and create a wider separation between the Armory and the proposed project.
On Wednesday, the Historic Preservation Committee will have a chance to comment on the revised project before it heads to San Francisco's Planning Commission on Thursday with the Planning Department’s recommendation for approval.
∙ The "Kinky" Opposition To 49 Julian Avenue As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ From (Proposed) Condos To Kink [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
November 11, 2011
Approval For Landmark Metro Theater Conversion On Tap Next Week
With a reworked façade that’s been toned down a bit since that which was proposed in 2010, the request to convert the Landmark Metro Theater at 2055 Union Street into a gym, restaurant and retail appears to be headed for Planning’s approval next week.
The changes to the exterior envelope of the building as now proposed:
1. Installation of a total of eight new window openings at the third and fourth floor levels of the front façade. The windows would align with the historic window openings below and would be within the recessed plaster panel, which is a remnant of the 1924 façade design.
2. Installation of six new window openings at each of the east and west secondary facades with one window at the third floor level and five windows at the fourth floor level.
3. Replacement of the aluminum‐frame storefront systems with new aluminum‐framed storefronts with a painted finish. The storefronts would have a minimum 8‐inch‐tall bulkhead at the base and would have framed display windows and doors. The bulkhead would be clad with tile.
4. Installation of metal, pin‐mounted, halo‐lit retail tenant signage at both storefronts between the plaster stringcourse and the transom windows; installation of the fitness center tenant signs (“Equinox”) in metal lettering on both sides of the historic marquee; installation of message signage in metal lettering on the face of the historic marquee; installation of two “Equinox” metal, pinmounted, halo‐lit vertical signs at the inner wall of the foyer space; and, installation of metal, pinmounted, halo‐lit “Equinox” logos in two locations flanking the second‐story windows. The historic blade sign with the “Metro” copy would remain.
5. Replacement of the non‐historic entrance doors with new entrance doors and restoration of the exterior foyer. The footprint of the restored foyer would align with the historic coffered ceiling above. The coffered ceiling would be removed and reconstructed approximately 1.5‐foot lower to accommodate the new second floor plate and the re‐graded ground floor.
6. Installation of an elevator penthouse, mechanical equipment, and a skylight at the roof. The height of the elevator penthouse would be limited to 55 feet above grade (or approximately 7 feet about the existing roof parapet height) and the height of the mechanical equipment and skylight would be limited to 50 feet above grade (or approximately 2 feet about the existing roof parapet height).
A drafted condition for Planning’s approval: That the two "Equinox" logo signs at the second floor level will be removed from the proposal (see point number four above).
As the Metro Theater which has been shuttered since 2006 currently appears:
∙ The Proposed Façade For The Landmark Metro Theater At 2055 Union [SocketSite]
∙ Union Street’s Metro Theater: Saving Its Skin In Order To Un-Shutter [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
November 10, 2011
The Montgomery Produces A Pair Of Potential Apples
The Montgomery first hit the market in 2007 and sold out in 2009 with a round of reductions in between. In July 2008, the 832 square foot 74 New Montgomery #612 sold for $730,000. Today, the one-bedroom has returned to the market listed for $689,000.
At the same time, 74 New Montgomery #503, a 714 square foot one-bedroom, is currently in contract, listed for $525,000 having been purchased for $469,000 in October 2008.
∙ Listing: 74 New Montgomery #612 (1/1) 832 sqft - $689,000 [liveatthemontgomery.com]
∙ The Montgomery (74 New Montgomery): Pricing And Reservations [SocketSite]
∙ 74 New Montgomery: Soon To Be Sold Out Assuming Contracts Close [SocketSite]
∙ A Plugged-In Reader’s Perspective On The Montgomery And Its Cuts [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
November 4, 2011
Forty Percent Below 2004's Below Market Rate At 333 Grant
As we first reported this past July:
One of 39 post-conversion condos [at 333 Grant Avenue] and a Below Market Rate (BMR) unit as designated by the Mayor's Office of housing, 333 Grant Avenue #405 was purchased for $234,000 in November 2004 with $263,218 in loans to which a note for $25,000 was added in 2008.
In 2009, the 441 square foot studio was taken back by the bank. Unsuccessfully listed in 2009 and 2010, 333 Grant Avenue #405 has just returned to the market asking $140,000.
The resale of 333 Grant Avenue #405 closed escrow on Wednesday with a reported contract price of $140,000, forty (40) percent below its 2004 "Below Market Rate" sale, fifty (50) percent below what was borrowed.
∙ From Foreclosure To Foreclosures At 333 Grant Avenue [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
November 3, 2011
From Tangerine To A Gold Coast Dream
Okay, while we weren’t going to name names, apparently the Wall Street Journal did, and the buyer of 2950 Broadway was musician (think Tangerine Dream) turned real estate and natural resource investor Peter Baumann.
∙ 2950 Broadway Sells For $29,500,000 (And No, That's Not A Typo) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 PM | Permalink | (email story)
Have No Fear, Red’s To Remain In Place For The America’s Cup
While it might have been obscured in the race venue renderings, have no fear, Red’s Java House will in fact remain in place when the America’s Cup sails into town.
∙ Comments: Rendering Scoop: San Francisco's Major America’s Cup Venues [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | (email story)
October 28, 2011
SFMOMA Expansion Comments, Responses And Simulation
Comments and Responses to the Environmental Impact Report for the proposed SFMOMA expansion and Fire House One relocation to 935 Folsom Street have been published.
While the law firm for KSSF Enterprises (owner of the expansion adjacent W Hotel) starts "by expressing [their] support for the Project," their 17 pages of objections and concerns might suggest otherwise, at least for the project as proposed.
At the heart of KSSF’s concern, the impact of the proposed SFMOMA expansion design on views from their hotel, a subtle simulation of which they comissioned below:
∙ SFMOMA Expansion Context And 935 Folsom Street Station Design [SocketSite]
∙ SFMOMA Expansion and New Fire Station: Comments and Responses [sfplanning.org]
∙ The First Sign Of Snøhetta’s Design For SFMOMA Expansion [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
October 26, 2011
The New Plans And Latest Recommendations For Japantown
With the grand plans for a complete redevelopment of San Francisco’s Japan Center Mall and Peace Plaza waylaid by the economy back in 2008, a Japantown Organizing Committee has been exploring the possibility of forming a Community Land Trust (CLT) to acquire the property from 3D Investments and team with a development partner to renovate the mall, making it "more user-friendly, landscaped with plantings characteristic of Japanese gardens and [incorporating] Japanese style lighting and signage."
Assuming 3D would be willing to sell for $22,500,000 having paid $19,700,000 for the parcels in 2006, and assuming the ability to secure financing, the CLT would likely need to attract philanthropic funding/grants of between $5.1 million to $7.1 million, and raise average exisiting rents by up to 50 percent, in order to make the project "pencil."
On Thursday, Planning is scheduled to present the latest recommendations for moving forward with the redevelopment of Japantown to the Planning Commission, the plan for which plugged-in people can get a sneak peek (click any of the images to enlarge).
∙ The 4 Design Concepts For The Future Of San Francisco’s Japantown [SocketSite]
∙ Japantown’s Better Neighborhood Plan Update: Draft Acknowledged [SocketSite]
∙ Japantown Community Planning Process and Initial Recommendations [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
October 24, 2011
Apples-To-Apples (And Short To "Regular") At 310 Townsend
Having been purchased for $665,000 ($828 per square foot) in 2007, and having fallen out of contract last week when listed for $425,000, the "approved" short sale of 310 Townsend Street #408 is once again active and available and listed for $435,000 ($542 per square), a 36 percent drop in value at asking.
At the same time, the list price for the "regular sale" of 310 Townsend #108 has been reduced to $389,000 ($569 per square foot). The one bedroom was purchased for $525,000 ($768 per square) in 2007 as well, an effective drop of 26 percent at asking.
∙ Listing: 310 Townsend #108 (1/1) 684 sqft - $389,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 310 Townsend #408 (1/1) 803 sqft - $435,000 [MLS]
∙ 310 Townsend: Available And Selling [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
October 20, 2011
Fifty-Five Percent Off Its Two Thousand Five Sale Price At The Beacon
Purchased for $646,594 in 2005, the 896 square foot one-bedroom #1007 at the Beacon (260 King Street) was taken back by the bank last October with no bidders at $333,480 on the courthouse steps (and versus a $517,200 note then past due).
Currently occupied (no word on whether or not by the former owner who put a prideful 20 percent down), the "well kept" unit is back on the market and listed for $293,000, a sale at which would break the 50 percent off its previous open market sale mark.
At the same time, we count six (6) other Beacon condos currently scheduled to hit the courthouse steps and at least fifteen (15) more in preforeclosure and headed that way.
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #1007 (1/1) 896 sqft - $293,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
October 18, 2011
Fewer Units And A New Façade For 527-529 Stevenson As Proposed
Last month the project sponsors behind the proposed conversion of 527‐529 Stevenson Street from a 42,600 square foot, four-story industrial building to 67 residential units with eight parking spaces and a 210 square foot ground floor commercial space presented their plan to San Francisco’s Planning Commission.
At the hearing, the Commission "expressed concerns relating to the design of the building, the small size of the commercial unit, and the high number of dwelling units that require a Variance for the exposure requirements of Planning Code Section 140."
And at the request of the Commission, the sponsors have made the following changes:
• Reduced the number of dwelling units from 67 to 62,
• Decreased the number of studio units from 48 to 43,
• Reduced the number of affordable dwelling units from ten to nine,
• Expanded the commercial space from 210 square feet to 535 square feet,
• Dedicated one of the eight spaces in the garage for car-share parking,
• Moved bicycle parking closer to the residential entrances and exits,
• Expanded the interior courtyards to provide more light and air to all units and to reduce the number of dwelling units that require an exposure Variance from 40 to 24, and
• Modified the exterior design by: changing finishes, replacing the proposed windows with windows featuring a muntin pattern similar to the existing windows in the building, eliminating the “eyebrows” above the windows on the top floor, eliminating gates from, and recessing, the ground-floor residential entrances, and placing glass awnings over all the ground-floor commercial and residential entrances.
On Thursday, the Planning Commission will review the revised proposal and designs.
Click either of the images above to enlarge.
∙ 67 Units For Young Professionals Between 6th And 7th As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ 527-529 Stevenson Street Proposal and Variance Request [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
October 17, 2011
The "Kinky" Opposition To 49 Julian Avenue As Proposed
As proposed, the vacant single-story warehouse at 49 Julian Avenue would be razed and a five story, 50-foot-tall building with eight two-bedroom residential units over at-grade parking for eight vehicles would rise adjacent to the Armory.
Opposing the project as proposed, the owner of said Armory who acquired the building in 2006 for the primary purpose of film production for Kink.com. The argument against:
This development raises 3 issues which are of concern to the preservation of the Armory, and to the ongoing restoration efforts. Each of these issues would be partially mitigated by requiring the developers to adhere to [new zoning limits which would limit the project to 45 feet].
1. Loss of light: Light will be lost to south facing, historically and architecturally significant Drill Court windows.
2. Obfuscation of curved roof: The signature curved roof will no longer be continuously visible from the exterior.
3. Incompatible adjacent Use: The proposed development places housing 4 feet from the Drill Court, where Armory Studios has pemitted work in progress to restore a place of legal assembly, with maximum occupancy 4080 persons.
On Wednesday, San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Committee will review the project and the opposition's plea for the Committee to recommend that the Planning Commission vote against the Residential Conditional Use permit for 49 Julian next month.
UPDATE: An additional bit of context in terms of position of the proposed project:
∙ From (Proposed) Condos To Kink [SocketSite]
∙ 49 Julian Avenue As Proposed and Opposed [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (37) | (email story)
Believe It (At The Brannan)
From the listing when 229 Brannan Street #9J sold for $1,230,000 in September 2006: “Wrapped in luxury, this 2bed, 2 bath unit is a sanctuary in the sky...This is San Francisco living at its finest!”
As plugged-in people know, the 1,412 square foot unit at The Brannan was taken back by the bank a year ago with $1,113,492 owed.
This weekend the two-bedroom returned to the market listed for $919,000. In 2004 the "Unbelievable" unit (per its listing at the time) sold for $980,000. Believe it.
The resale of 229 Brannan Street #9J has closed escrow with a reported contract price of $919,000 ($651 per square foot). Call it 25 percent ($311,000) under its 2006 sale or 6 percent ($61,000) under 2004.
At the same time, 229 Brannan #7J ("Best of the Best 2 Bedrooms at The Brannan") has closed escrow with a reported contract price of $1,050,000 ($661 per square foot). Keep in mind #7J is 177 square feet and a half-bath larger than #9J.
And no, The Brannan isn’t located on Lombard.
∙ Is It Time To Believe At The Brannan? [SocketSite]
∙ Up (And Down) Atop The Brannan: 229 Brannan #17J [SocketSite]
∙ An Apple Falls At 3208 Pierce While A Foreclose Is Postponed [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (57) | (email story)
October 12, 2011
Out Of Contract For The Fifth Time At 235 Berry But Now "Approved"
As we first reported this January past with respect to 235 Berry #304:
Asking $750,900 when the building was 89 percent sold in January 2007, 235 Berry #304 sold for a reported $751,000 that March ($702 per square foot).
Returned to the market (mis)priced at $849,000 this past May, perhaps based on market (mis)expectations, the asking price for the two-bedroom was reduced to $829,000 in June and then to $675,000 as a short sale in August.
In contract and then relisted twice since last September, on Tuesday the list price for the 1,070 square foot "spacious corner residence" was reduced to $599,000, 20 percent under its 2007 sale and $560 per square, a value which shouldn't catch any plugged-in buyers or sellers by surprise.
Having fallen out of contract twice since, most recently after being relisted for $699,000, the list price for the two-bedroom condo in the "landmark building" (according to the listing, don’t ask us) is once again $675,000 but now noting: "Approved Short Sale - Buyer walked last minute - cold feet."
And as a plugged-in reader reported back in January: "I…looked at this unit and the listing agent made it clear that the buyer will need an additional approximately $50k in cash at closing to clear liens by the HOA and PMI company."
∙ Listing: 235 Berry #304 (2/2) 1,070 sqft – $675,000 (short sale) [MLS]
∙ Shorter Still For 235 Berry Street #304 At $560 Per Square Foot [SocketSite]
∙ 235 Berry Street Update: At Most 89% Sold (And Moving On In) [SocketSite]
∙ An Under $600 Per Square Foot Two-Bedroom Comp At 235 Berry [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
An Apple Falls At 3208 Pierce While A Foreclose Is Postponed
Purchased for $1,200,000 in June 2007, the 1,277 square foot Marina condo known as 3208 Pierce #102 hit the market listed for $1,085,000 this past July.
Reduced to $995,000 in August, this past Friday the sale of the "light filled townhouse [with] direct courtyard access and a private entrance" closed escrow with a reported contract price of $990,000, eighteen (18) percent ($210,000) under its 2007 sale.
At the same time, the foreclosure sale of 3208 Pierce #407 has once again been postponed, it's now scheduled for the 25th of this month.
∙ Apples To Apples (And Foreclosure) At 3208 Pierce In The Marina [SocketSite]
∙ 3208 Pierce: Foreclosure Redux And Apples To Apples Reduction [SocketSite]
∙ 3208 Pierce: New Website And Photo Gallery [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
October 11, 2011
A Repainted 300 Beale Street #406 Returns
Featuring fixtures and finishes by Boffi, Miele, Porro and Agape and listed for $1,595,000 in late 2008, in 2009 the list price for 300 Beale #406 had dropped to $1,395,000 and then to $1,299,000 before being withdrawn from the market at the end of that year.
Today, the modern 1,700 square foot Embarcadero Lofts two-bedroom condo is back on the market newly repainted and asking $1,450,000. And as the bath looked in 2009:
∙ Listing: 300 Beale #406 (2/2) - $1,450,000 [300beale.com] [MLS]
∙ You’ve Seen Two, But You Haven’t Seen Them All: 300 Beale #406 [SocketSite]
∙ Three At Three Hundred Beale Priced At One Point Three (Nine Five) [SocketSite]
∙ Loft By Nature, Luxury By Design: Embarcadero Lofts (300 Beale) [SocketSite]
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Shining Light On The Shadows Of The Proposed Transit District Towers
The discussion around the proposed plans for a series of new towers rising up to 1,070 feet within the Transit Center District naturally turns to new shadows, the effects of which are extensively covered in the second appendix of the Transit Center District Plan and Transit Tower Environmental Impact Report.
For those who haven’t managed to make it all the way through the nearly thousand page report, we offer a few summary excerpts with respect to the proposed towers’ shadows:
Shadow effects of the draft Plan were analyzed by computer generation of shadows that would be cast by the proposed Transit Tower as well as shadows that would be cast by other buildings that could be built with implementation of the draft Plan….For potential future buildings other than the Transit Tower, shadows analyzed are based on massing models representative of potential future development in the Plan area.
[The shadows] from several potential future Plan area buildings at 500 feet in height or greater would reach a number of parks subject to Section 295 controls, including Union Square, Justin Herman Plaza, Portsmouth Square, St. Mary’s Square, Maritime Plaza, and Boeddeker Park.
With one exception, shadow from any given potential building would cover part of any affected Section 295 park for less than 45 minutes per day over a period of time ranging from 4 to 12 weeks (one to three months) per year; the exception would be that Union Square would be newly shaded by up to about one hour per day, over a period of six months, by a 600-foot tower addition to the southwest corner of the Palace Hotel on New Montgomery Street. Most new shadow on Section 295 parks would be in the early morning hours, except that Justin Herman Plaza would be newly shaded in the early afternoon in late fall and early winter.
Union Square, because it is in a retail and tourist hotel neighborhood, is generally not heavily used during the early morning hours (before 8:00 a.m.) when much of the new shadow from Plan area buildings would fall on the park. Between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., when shadow from the Palace Hotel tower would fall on Union Square, activity is increased, although there is substantially more pedestrian activity on the sidewalks surrounding Union Square at this time than in the park itself, as many people pass Union Square when walking to work and other destinations.
Portsmouth Square, at the eastern edge of Chinatown, a very dense residential neighborhood, is relatively heavily used even between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., when new shadow from Plan area buildings would fall on the park. Much of the activity in Portsmouth Square at this time of day consists of individuals, many elderly, exercising.
St. Mary’s Square, although near the southern edge of Chinatown, is not as heavily used as Portsmouth Square. However, it is used by people exercising in the early morning, when new shadow from Plan area buildings would fall on the park.
Justin Herman Plaza, which would be newly shaded in the early afternoon in late fall and early winter, is heavily used during the midday period by persons traveling to and from the Ferry Building, tourists, street vendors, and lunchtime office workers and strollers.
The non-Section 295 public open space that would be most greatly affected by Plan area development is Rincon Park along the Embarcadero. This open space would be newly shaded in the late afternoon throughout much of the year, except from mid-fall through mid-winter, by the Transit Tower, 181 Fremont, the 50 First Street project, and potential 700-foot buildings at the Golden Gate University site and at 350 Mission Street.
Click on either of the images to enlarge. Keep in mind it’s the orange bits ("Net New Shadow"), not simply the building outlines, that really matter. And beyond the effect on parks, plugged-in people might also note the unrestricted effects on other buildings.
∙ The Plan For San Francisco's Tallest Tower And Transit Center District [SocketSite]
∙ Hines And Pelli Clarke Pelli Bid The Most (And Get The Transbay Nod) [SocketSite]
∙ Transit Center District Plan and Transit Tower EIR Second Appendix [sfplanning.org]
∙ San Francisco Planning Code Section 295: Shadow Restrictions [amlegal.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
October 6, 2011
The Scam Free Resale Price For #4802 At One Rincon Hill
The resale of 425 1st Street #4802 has closed escrow with a reported contract price of $1,355,000 ($1,035 per square foot). The One Rincon Hill two-bedroom was purchased from the sales office for $1,401,500 ($1,071 per square) in August 2008.
The upgraded two-bedroom one floor below (425 1st Street #4702) re-sold for $1,350,000 this past March having been purchased from the sales office for $1,605,500 in August 2008 while the two-bedroom one floor above (425 1st Street #4902) re-sold for $1,370,000 last October having been purchased for $1,355,500 in August 2008 as well.
The re-seller of #4802 was also the re-seller of #4902 and had listed both units for $1,499,000 in 2010. And if you’re trying to figure out why some sites misreport a 50 percent off sale for both units in 2009, as a plugged-in reader notes, this would be the reason why: Santa Cruz lawyer...arrested in San Francisco luxury-condo scam.
∙ "The Last" Of The Last One Rincon Hill 02’s [SocketSite]
∙ The "America’s Cup Effect" In Action? [SocketSite]
∙ Santa Cruz lawyer...arrested in San Francisco luxury-condo scam [santacruzsentinel.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
October 5, 2011
The Plan For San Francisco's Tallest Tower And Transit Center District
At the center of the 145 acre Transit Center District, the proposed Transit Tower to be on Mission between First and Freemont will rise 920 feet to its roof and 1,070 feet including its sculptural element, becoming the City’s tallest structure (1,000 feet to the highest enclosed space) and yielding 1.3 million square feet of office and 16,500 square feet of retail.
Currently zoned for heights ranging from 30 to 550 feet, as plugged-in people know, in addition to the the Transit Tower the Transit Center District Plan would allow for an additional six buildings to rise over 550 feet and up to 850 feet on First bewteen Stevenson and Elm Alley.
∙ The Grand Plan For A San Francisco "Transit Center District" [SocketSite]
∙ Transit Center District Plan and Transit Tower [sfplanning.org]
∙ San Francisco’s Transit Center District Plan: EIR Notice Of Preparation [SocketSite]
∙ A Trio Of Renzo Piano SOM Towers At 50 First Street As Proposed [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
September 30, 2011
Renovation Of 680/690 Folsom Slated To Get Going This November
We first showcased the proposed redesign of 680/690 Folsom back in 2008. In 2010, an equity partner in the project deeded their interest in the building back to Wells Fargo but has since been replaced by Rockwood Capital. And now, TMG Partners is expected to start the $87 million renovation of 680/690 Folsom in two months.
The renovated building will yield 505,000 square feet of commercial space and a new public plaza on the corner of Folsom and Third streets, "where there eventually will be a new 15,000-square-foot retail or cultural building constructed" (see rendering above).
∙ Wet Weekend Special (And Scoop): The Designs For 680/690 Folsom [SocketSite]
∙ Additional Details To Go With The Glassy Design: 680/690 Folsom [SocketSite]
∙ The Latest Design For 680/690 Folsom: Back To The Bank [SocketSite]
∙ TMG ready to roll on $87M project [San Francisco Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
September 28, 2011
Before, After And "Appreciation" At (Or At Least For) The Heublein
Purchased for $1,330,000 in October 2007, the 1,866 square foot Heublein Building (601 4th Street) loft number 322 has since been extensively remodeled. The kitchen before:
The kitchen after complete with new vent:
The two-bedroom is now back on the market in 2011 and asking $1,450,000 ($777 per square foot). The sale will likely contribute to price "appreciation" when it comes to industry stats, but as plugged-in people know, it won’t be apples to apples.
And yes, do watch your step when navigating the new designer stairs (click to enlarge):
UPDATE: As a plugged-in reader alludes, the current owner of the loft appeared on "The Apprentice 2," at least for the first six episodes.
∙ Listing: 601 4th Street #322 (2/2) 1,866 sqft - $1,450,000 [MLS]
∙ The Heublein Building Lofts (601 4th Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
September 23, 2011
The Master’s Sweet Suite Within 1333 Jones #705
The master suite within #705 at the Comstock (1333 Jones) sports a big San Francisco view, a designer bath (or at least shower), and a rather master worthy closet.
Unfortunately the guest bath didn’t get the same designer makeover as the rest of the unit. But if you were our guest, we'd say help yourself to a few of the 300 bottles in the built-in cooler and spend your time soaking up...
...the views.
Purchased for $2,400,000 in September 2007, the Comstock two-bedroom is back on the market listed for $2,349,000 four years later. As plugged-in people know, the unit two floors below sold for $2,000,000 in 2010 but wasn’t nearly as well "designed."
∙ Listing: 1333 Jones #705 (2/2) - $2,349,000 [MLS]
∙ A Comstock (1333 Jones) View Comp Closes A Little Bit Down [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
September 16, 2011
ORH #1308 Going Once, Going Twice...Sold On The Courthouse Steps
As we first reported yesterday:
Purchased for $717,000 in February 2008 with a first mortgage for $417,000, a second for $264,150, and $35,850 (5 percent) down, this past April a Notice of Default (NOD) was filed on 425 1st Street #1308 with $14,809 past due.
Postponed last month, in an hour the 755 square foot One Rincon Hill one-bedroom is scheduled to hit the courthouse steps with a published opening bid of $437,793, call it $161,207 (27 percent) less than the current list price of $599,000 for 425 1st Street #808 which was purchased for $616,264 in February 2008 as well.
As a plugged-in tipster reports, an hour later 425 1st Street #1308 sold for $460,000 cash.
Once again, three months ago the Realtor owned 425 1st Street #1408 sold for $605,000 having been purchased for $655,319 in March 2008. Commentary on our original post.
∙ '08 Apples To Apples And On The Courthouse Steps At One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
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September 15, 2011
'08 Apples To Apples And On The Courthouse Steps At One Rincon Hill
Purchased for $717,000 in February 2008 with a first mortgage for $417,000, a second for $264,150, and $35,850 (5 percent) down, this past April a Notice of Default (NOD) was filed on 425 1st Street #1308 with $14,809 past due.
Postponed last month, in an hour the 755 square foot One Rincon Hill one-bedroom is scheduled to hit the courthouse steps with a published opening bid of $437,793, call it $161,207 (27 percent) less than the current list price of $599,000 for 425 1st Street #808 which was purchased for $616,264 in February 2008 as well.
Three months ago, the Realtor owned 425 1st Street #1408 resold for $605,000 having been purchased for $655,319 in March 2008. Having not been officially listed since October of last year, however, the most recent sale price for #1408 wasn't required to have been reported on the MLS and it wasn't.
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #808 (1/1) 755 sqft - $599,000 [MLS]
∙ Four More One Rincon Hill ‘04’s Headed For Foreclosure [SocketSite]
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September 13, 2011
A Seller’s Pricing (Versus The Market’s Comp) At 410 Jessie
The 2,018 square foot Hales Warehouse (410 Jessie Street) loft #602 has just returned to the market listed for $1,550,000. Purchased for $1,600,000 in July 2007, three months later the 2,018 square foot unit a floor below (410 Jessie #502) sold for $1,400,000.
As plugged-in readers know, 410 Jessie #502 recently resold for $1,300,000. And if a plugged-in tipster is correct, there’s roughly $1,450,000 owed on #602 which might help explain the seller’s pricing versus the market’s recent comp.
∙ Listing: 410 Jessie #602 (2/2) 2,018 sqft - $1,550,000 [MLS]
∙ From Warehouse To Gallery To Upscale Comp At 410 Jessie [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (31) | (email story)
September 12, 2011
The Shell Of The Northern Penthouse Atop 1170 Sacramento Sells
Speaking of big shells, the sale of the deconstructed northern penthouse atop 1170 Sacramento (#19C) which hit the market this past March with a "minimum bid" of $5,900,000 has closed escrow with a below minimum contract price of $5,750,000.
∙ Over $50 Million Invested And Now Asking $38.5M For 2845 Broadway [SocketSite]
∙ A Peek Inside The Deconstructed Penthouse Atop 1170 Sacramento [SocketSite]
∙ 1170 Sacramento #19C Hits The MLS As A Shell [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
September 8, 2011
Speaking Of Mega-Yachts And Ellison's America's Cup Thing...
Speaking of mega-yachts, from the Business Times with respect to Pier 38:
The Port of San Francisco is evicting a cluster of technology companies and a venture capital firm from Pier 38 after wrestling control of the property from a man the city contended leased space to subtenants without authorization.
Tenants, including popular WordPress blogging maker Automattic Inc., the Dogpatch Labs technology incubator run by Massachussetts-based Polaris Venture Partners, 99 Designs and others, have been given until Sept. 30 to vacate the premises, which are located just north of the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark and the Caltrain station.
The eviction notices delivered Tuesday afternoon follow the Port's recent victory in its lawsuit to regain control of the decaying Pier from Carl Ernst and his Pier 38 Maritime Recreation Center Inc., with whom the Port has sparred repeatedly over a more than 15 year period.
Ernst claims Port officials have purposely frustrated his attempts to develop Pier 38 because they want to steal his vision for developing the property into a home for mega-yachts.
Port spokeswoman Renée Dunn said this week's evictions were prompted by safety concerns regarding Pier 38 that were identified by the city Fire Marshal and outside experts.
From Automattic's CEO: "There might be perfectly good reasons why they’re doing this, but because they are not talking about it, there’s all kinds of conspiracy theories forming that they just want to give the pier to Larry Ellison for his America’s Cup thing."
∙ San Francisco Port evicts tech tenants from Pier 38 [Business Times]
∙ A Temporary Site That Could Become A Permanent Fixture [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco’s Last Minute Giveaways To Get The America’s Cup [SocketSite]
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September 1, 2011
Four More One Rincon Hill ‘04’s Headed For Foreclosure
Purchased in March 2008 for $566,500 with $509,537 in debt and just $56,963 down, four weeks ago a notice of default was filed on the $417,000 first mortgage behind the purchase of 425 1st Street #2004, a 605 square foot one-bedroom at One Rincon Hill.
Yesterday, in a Hail Mary move that shouldn’t catch any plugged-in readers by surprise, 425 1st Street #2004 hit the MLS listed as a short sale for "$399,000."
Keep in mind that 425 1st Street #1204 is also in pre-foreclosure having been purchased for $575,000 with $517,500 in debt while 425 1st Street #1104 (purchased for $567,244 with $509,950 in debt) and 425 1st Street #2104 (purchased for $587,000 with $557,650 in debt) are both scheduled to hit the courthouse steps this month.
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #2004 (1/1) 605 sqft – “$399,000” (short sale) [MLS]
∙ 2008 Versus 2011 At ORH With Some Courthouse Steps In Between [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
1285 Sutter Street Falling: From Imminent To Underway
Behind the Galaxy’s façade, the tower for which has been stripped of glass, the wrecking crew is in action and the long overdue demolition of 1285 Sutter Street is underway.
As we first reported last week:
Permits to demolish the long shuttered Galaxy Theater at 1285 Sutter Street and erect a 13-story building with 107 condominiums over 10,000 square feet of retail (Trader Joe’s lease for which expired) and basements for 127 parking spaces were approved last week.
As a plugged-in tipster reports, the site which was purchased by Portland, Oregon based developer Gerding Edlen for $9.25 million (versus an $18 million ask in 2008) has since been fenced off and demolition is imminent.
Once again, if all goes as scheduled, the new building should be construction complete and ready for occupancy and retailing in early 2013. We'll keep you plugged-in.
∙ 1285 Sutter Approved For Imminent Demolition And Reconstruction [SocketSite]
∙ 1285 Sutter: Fully Entitled, Retail Pre-Leased, And...On The Market [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
August 24, 2011
The Penthouse Atop 540 Delancey Completes Its Two Year Trip
As we wrote about the Cape Horn Lofts building at 540 Delancey last year:
It was sixteen condos before units #402 and #403 were combined to form a 2,900 square foot unit with over 1,000 square feet of outdoor space. In contract (and so noted) at the time we profiled #401, 540 Delancey #402/3 sold for $3,100,000 in October 2008.
As we added this past June:
Listed for $3,295,000 at the end of 2009, and then for $2,995,000 last June, the Cape Horn penthouse unit known as #402/403 is back on the market and asking $2,899,000.
And as a plugged-in tipster notes today, the sale of 540 Delancey #402/403 closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $3,000,000, an official $101,000 (3.5 percent) over asking but $100,000 (3.2 percent) below October 2008.
∙ 540 Delancey #402/403 Comes Back Around (At) The Cape Horn [SocketSite]
∙ Cape Horn Lofts (540 Delancey) In General, And #401 In Specific [SocketSite]
∙ Back Around The Cape (Horn Lofts Penthouse) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
Capital Preservation Versus Cash Flow At 310 Townsend
Last listed as a short sale for $410,000 following twelve price changes and relistings since March of last year, and having been purchased for $640,000 in 2007, 310 Townsend #309 is back in contract for the fifth time. The unit remains scheduled to hit the courthouse steps in two weeks with $516,043 owed on a first mortgage and $69,240 in other debt.
At the same time, 310 Townsend #408 has just hit the market listed as a short sale for $425,000 having been purchased for $665,000 in 2007 as well. From the listing: "Currently tenant occupied, the condo commands $3100 per month in rent, making it an excellent investment vehicle for cash flow." Of course, there's also capital preservation to consider.
∙ Listing: 310 Townsend #408 (1/1) 803 sqft - $425,000 (short sale) [MLS]
∙ Shorter Still For 310 Townsend From The Beginning To End Of 2010? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
August 23, 2011
3208 Pierce: Foreclosure Redux And Apples To Apples Reduction
While the courthouse sale of 3208 Pierce Street #407 has once again been postponed (now scheduled for September 23), today the list price for 3208 Pierce #102 was reduced to $995,000. The 1,277 square foot #102 had been listed at $1,085,000 for the past 39 days having been purchased for $1,200,000 in June 2007.
∙ Listing: 3208 Pierce #102 (2/2.5) 1,277 sqft - $995,000 [3208pierce102.com] [MLS]
∙ Apples To Apples (And Foreclosure) At 3208 Pierce In The Marina [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
August 22, 2011
Is It Time To Believe At The Brannan?
From the listing when 229 Brannan Street #9J sold for $1,230,000 in September 2006:
Wrapped in luxury, this 2bed, 2 bath unit is a sanctuary in the sky...This is San Francisco living at its finest!
As plugged-in people know, the 1,412 square foot unit at The Brannan was taken back by the bank a year ago with $1,113,492 owed.
This weekend the two-bedroom returned to the market listed for $919,000. In 2004 the "Unbelievable" unit (per its listing at the time) sold for $980,000. Believe it.
∙ Listing: 229 Brannan #9J (2/2) 1,412 sqft - $919,000 [MLS]
∙ Up (And Down) Atop The Brannan: 229 Brannan #17J [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
The Parc Esprit (AKA Esprit Park North) Back On The Market
As plugged-in people know, in early 2010 the the sixty-seven (67) units formerly being sold as Esprit Park North were renamed "The Parc Esprit” and repositioned as rentals. As we first reported at the time:
Rents for the remaining one-bedrooms range from $2,475 to $2,950 while the two-bedrooms range from $3,050 to $4,000. Esprit Park originally hit the market in 2007 with one-bedrooms in the South Court priced from the "Upper $600,000's" and two-bedrooms from the "Mid $900,000's" (from $549,000 seven months later).
Leases currently run eleven months (think Esprit Park CC&R’s) with expectations that the units will return to the for sale market in three to five years. And while the leases aren’t being written with an option to buy, leaseholders do get a first right of refusal.
As a plugged-in resident tipster wrote last week:
The Parc Esprit in Potrero Hill is putting 1/4 of the north court units [back] on the market. They are currently being offered to tenants at a 7.5% discount…The rest of the north court will transfer from rentals to condos sometime in the future (probably dependent on how sales go with the current units). 16 one bedroom places will be priced between $570,000 and $610,000 and the 4 [two bedroom] penthouses will be priced at $980,000.
On Friday, two units at 850 Minnesota were listed for sale, a 835 square foot one-bedroom for $590,000 and a 1,586 square foot two-bedroom penthouse for $979,000.
∙ The Parc Esprit (840 Minnesota): 30 Percent Sold Leased [SocketSite]
∙ Sales Office For Esprit Park (888 Minnesota) Opens Tomorrow (10/5) [SocketSite]
∙ Reader’s Reports: Homes On Esprit Park Now Starting From $549,000 [SocketSite]
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August 16, 2011
Beacon Foreclosure Count: (At Least) Twenty Condos In Distress
In addition to 250 King Street #430, another twelve (12) condos at the Beacon are in pre-foreclosure with another seven (7) units currently scheduled to be auctioned on the courthouse steps over the next month. As always, we’ll keep you plugged-in.
∙ Extensively Upgraded And Discounted 29 Percent [SocketSite]
∙ Unable To Fund Loan(s) At The Beacon? Hmm... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
No Shortage Of Short Sales At The Chateau
As the 785 Square foot number 409 at 2701 Van Ness hits the market listed as a short sale for "$525,000," the 768 square foot number 711 just went into escrow as a short sale having been purchased for $671,000 in 2006, listed for $599,000 this past February, and then reduced from $499,000 to $449,000 in July before securing a contract.
From the listing: "Huge closet off the living room large enough to be used as an office or to store all kinds of sports equipment and boxes." Or perhaps, even a baby.
∙ Listing: 2701 Van Ness Avenue (1/1) 768 sqft - $449,000 [MLS]
∙ A Two Year Show And Tell (And Short Sale) At The Marina Chateau [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
August 15, 2011
The Plans For The Old Firehouse At 1300 Third Street
Designed by Frederick Meyer and finished in 1928, Fire Station No. 30 is a two-story steel-frame and masonry building located at 1300 Third Street, between Mission Rock and China Basin Streets with "Madrone" quickly rising behind.
The subject building has a concrete foundation, brick masonry walls, cement plaster and case stone trim, and a multi-level flat and gable roof with clay tile. At the ground floor, the fenestration consists of large, rectangular, multi-light steel-sash windows, some of which feature elliptical fanlights. At the second floor, the fenestration consists largely of two-over-four or three-over-three, multi-lite, wood-sash windows.
Other notable features include the wood-panel bi-fold doors, two fire truck entrances and the apparatus room. On the south façade, the subject building has a one-story, non-historic aluminum-shed garage addition added in the 1990s.
As proposed, the non-historic addition will be demolished, the exterior will be rehabilitated, and the former fire station will become a community center and office.
The majority of the interior character-defining features would remain and be reinstalled in the subject building, except for the wainscot in the eating room and apparatus room and the columns, pilasters (also identified as piers), and rafters in the apparatus room, which would be removed and replaced. The ceiling in the apparatus room would be lowered to accommodate new mechanical and electrical equipment. The interior would be reconfigured to accommodate offices, new restrooms, an entry lobby, and a large community room.
And yes, "the building would undergo a seismic retrofit consisting of a new structural steel frame and shotcrete reinforcement of the exterior brick walls."
∙ Madrone: T-Minus Two Months To Official Grand Opening [SocketSite]
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A Two Year Show And Tell (And Short Sale) At The Marina Chateau
Purchased for $639,000 in early 2009 after which the kitchen was completely remodeled and an electrical subpanel moved, the 785 square foot number 409 in the Marina Chateau at 2701 Van Ness Avenue returned to the market in late 2010 asking $649,999.
Withdrawn from the market a month later having failed to find a buyer, the one-bedroom has now returned to the market listed for "$525,000" as a short sale but without any mention of being pre-approved at that price (and "no longer staged").
And no, that's not the official bedroom above.
∙ Listing: 2701 Van Ness Avenue #409 (1/1) 785 sqft – “$525,000” (short sale) [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
August 9, 2011
The Unreported Sale Price For The Penthouse Atop One South Park
From our report in May:
As we noted in 2007 a few months after the sales office at One South Park first started taking soft reservations, sales materials denoted eighteen of the thirty-five already "reserved" with one, Number 407, already "sold" and likely a developer's unit.
Today, the three-bedroom condo across two floors and with one big roof deck (with hot tub and soon to be grill) hit the market for the first time listed for $3,300,000.
While not listed, tax records peg the penthouse unit's interior space at 2,659 square feet.
In July the listing for One South Park #407 was officially withdrawn from the MLS without a reported sale. As a plugged-in tipster reports, however, the unit actually sold for an unreported $3,500,000 in a quiet and confidential sale to the anonymous "Deebek LLC."
∙ One South Park #407 Hits The Market For The First Time [SocketSite]
∙ One South Park: Reservations, Floor Plans And Even A Few Prices [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (32) | (email story)
August 8, 2011
Year-Over-Year On Second
As we wrote in March of 2010:
Purchased new for $665,000 in the year 2000, 246 2nd Street #806 is back on the market in 2010 asking $658,000. See silly rabbits (or perhaps "bears"), prices really haven’t fallen that much at all. And bank-owned sales are obviously irrelevant when it comes to comps.
The sale of 246 2nd Street #806 closed escrow in May 2010 with a reported contract price of $650,000 (2 percent below its year 2000 sale). And as a plugged-in reader notes, the 1,101 square foot condo is now back on the market and listed for $738,000 in 2011.
∙ Listing: 246 2nd Street #806 (2/2) 1,101 sqft - $738,000 [MLS]
∙ A Nine Year "Push" To Be For A Two-Bedroom At 246 2nd Street? [SocketSite]
∙ Another Non-Comp Comp Closes At 246 2nd Street (#1003) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
They’re Still Recording Hits Up On Nob Hill
As we first reported with respect to Gramercy Towers this past November:
We doubt it will sell at asking, but if it does it might as well be a plugged-in person who picks it up. Purchased for $698,000 in June 2007, taken back by the bank "mid-remodel" last month, and now listed for $389,900, 1177 California #512 is a 1,056 square foot Gramercy Towers one-bedroom atop Nob Hill.
Keep in mind the 411 square foot Gramercy Towers studio #203 is currently in contract as a "short sale" having most recently been listed for "$299,000" and purchased for $362,000 in January 2008.
As plugged-in people know, the sale of 1177 #512 California Closed escrow with a reported contract price of $408,000 in December, down 42 percent ($290,000) versus 2007.
And on Friday, the sale of 1177 California #203 closed escrow with a reported contract price $265,000, down 27 percent ($97,000) versus 2008.
UPDATE: As a plugged-in reader notes, there appears to be more distress on the way at 1177 California as at least six other units are currently scheduled to be sold on the courthouse steps and at least two others on their way.
∙ Sure, SoMa Condos Have Taken A Hit, But This Is Nob Hill [SocketSite]
∙ A Hit And Run Reduction On Nob Hill [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
August 4, 2011
Being The Heublein Building In General, And #323 In Specific
As we wrote about the Heublein Building in 2007:
In 1991, Holliday Development brought 88 live/work lofts in the converted Heublein Building (601 4th Street) to market. The conversion of the former wine distributorship marked San Francisco’s first commercial-turned-residential development (predating two other Holliday developments: ClockTower Lofts and 355 Bryant).
According to Holliday, "[d]espite the pending recession…we took reservations on all 88 units in one day." (At an average price of $285,000 per loft; and with an average size per loft of 1,360 square feet.) Ah, the good old days.
Purchased for $1,525,000 in May 2006, the 1,930 square foot top floor corner condo known as 601 4th Street #323 has returned to the market in 2011 listed for $1,499,000.
And with a "hidden media room" perfect for a screening of Being John Malkovich.
Now speaking of a pending recession...
∙ Listing: 601 4th Street #323 (2/2) 1,930 sqft - $1,499,000 [MLS]
∙ The Heublein Building Lofts (601 4th Street) [SocketSite]
∙ The ClockTower Lofts (461 2nd Street) [SocketSite]
∙ The Live/Work Lofts Of 355 Bryant [SocketSite]
∙ Make That 75 Percent [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
August 3, 2011
1945 Hyde: Planning's Decision Upheld As Appellant A No-Show
A plugged-in reader reports with respect to yesterday's appeal of the Planning Department’s decision that the proposed adaptive reuse of 1945 Hyde Street is exempt from formal environmental review.
The Board voted 11-0 that the determination of the Planning Dept. should be upheld. Even David Chiu in whose district the project is located was unsympathetic with the appellant who failed to appear.
Approved by the Planning Commission in June, it was the Russian Hill Community Association (RHCA) which had filed the appeal in an attempt to block the redevelopment, an appeal which would have added years and big bucks to the development if successful.
∙ Appealing The Impact Of The Approved Rebuilding Of 1945 Hyde [SocketSite]
∙ 1945 Hyde Street Revised, Rendered, And Ready To Be Approved [SocketSite]
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August 2, 2011
Millennium Tower: "Confidential Investment Opportunity" (And Sales)
A plugged-in tipster delivers the email from the Managing Director of Carlton Advisory Services, Inc. with respect to a "Confidential Investment Opportunity" in San Francisco:
Carlton has been retained on an exclusive basis by a European investor to sell a membership interest in a luxurious 60-story residential tower in San Francisco, CA. The development was delivered in 2009 and consists of 419 units. At 645 feet, the development is the fourth tallest building in San Francisco and the tallest residential building in the United States west of Chicago.
Through June 30, 2011, 188 units have already been sold. During 2011, sales have accelerated substantially. The developer has closed 40 units for the period from January 1, 2011 through June 30, 2011 and approximately 16 more units are under contract.
Said building would be Millennium Tower.
To be clear, the offering isn’t for any specific units but rather an interest in the development by way of a minority investor within the development group. And it’s entirely possible the offering is simply an attempt to value said interest.
∙ The Millennium: A Few Things You Might Know (And A Few You Don’t) [SocketSite]
∙ Millennium Tower (301 Mission) Update: 30% Closed Or In Contract (2009) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
August 1, 2011
A Bit Of Vertigo As An 845 Montgomery Penthouse Is Withdrawn
With a self-reported $900,000 worth of upgrades since being purchased for $2,633,000 in April 2008, the listing for 845 Montgomery PH#1 has been withdrawn from the MLS after another 117 days on the market without a reported sale, last asking $2,950,000.
On a positive note, plugged-in readers now know where to get a Vertigo triptych made.
∙ Comments: The 845 Montgomery Penthouse Pineapple Returns [SocketSite]
∙ A Penthouse Pineapple And Lower Floor Apple At Jackson Square [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 PM | Permalink | (email story)
July 29, 2011
$70M St. Regis Penthouse Goes Back To The Bank And Drops To $35M
Purchased for roughly $30,000,000 as a raw shell in 2005 by local real estate developer Victor MacFarlane, listed for $70,000,000 in 2008, and last asking $49,000,000 having finished an uberexpensive five year renovation, the 20,000 square foot penthouse atop San Francisco’s St. Regis at 188 Minna has been deeded back to Bank of America in lieu of foreclosure and is returning to the market priced at $35,000,000.
As a prescient plugged-in reader wrote in 2009: "I wonder if this place will win the prize for, "Most expensive foreclosure in the city." That would be a bingo!
Full Disclosure: The co-listing agent for the penthouse atop the San Francisco St. Regis advertises on SocketSite but provided no compensation for this post.
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Asking $70M: Is San Francisco All Growns Up? [SocketSite]
∙ First Peek Inside The Finished St. Regis Penthouse Atop 188 Minna [SocketSite]
∙ Going Up: St. Regis Penthouse Construction Nearly Complete [SocketSite]
∙ Inside The St. Regis Penthouse: The Rendering Scoop And Details [SocketSite]
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Now $21,000,000 Off (And No, That’s Not A Typo) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
July 26, 2011
Bonds, Tax-Exempt Bonds (To Fund Day's Purchase Of 601 Dolores)
On the agenda for today’s Board of Supervisors meeting, a resolution approving "the issuance and sale of tax-exempt bonds by the California Municipal Finance Authority in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $11,000,000 to finance various capital facilities owned or leased by Children's Day School."
In specific, to finance the purchase and renovation of 601 Dolores (a.k.a. the Castle on the Park), the purchase of which we first reported back in May.
∙ Castle On The Park (601 Dolores) In Contract For $6,600,000 [SocketSite]
∙ Sweet Jesus (So To Speak): 601 Dolores On The Market And Inside [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
July 22, 2011
Proposed City Center Target Design (And Full Meeting) Scoop
As we first reported earlier this week, this coming Thursday the Planning Commission will hear Target’s request to open a 106,000 t0 120,000 square foot store "offering clothing, personal accessories, household goods, including home furnishings, electronics and groceries" in the City Center development at the corner of Geary and Masonic.
Target’s stated design goals for the project (click either image to enlarge):
Activate the street edges to make the building pedestrian friendly and contribute to an active street life
1. Increase the amount of street-front display windows along Masonic Ave.
2. Maintain and add display cases along the Geary elevation to create activity, visual interest and pedestrian scale.
3. Refurbish the base building materials to provide a higher quality, durable pedestrian environment.
4. Rehabilitate grade level planters and plantings along Geary Blvd.
5. Explore building-mounted, pedestrian scale lighting.
Apply elements to the facades to moderate the building’s bulky scale and give it an updated appearance
1. Add blade sign elements appropriate to the Mid-Century Modern character of the building that introduce rhythm, color and movement to the facades along Geary Blvd.
2. Add screen elements to key facade areas that provide contemporary hints of warmth, color and texture to the building.
3. Repaint the building in a new color scheme that emphasizes 1.g texture and articulation over monotonous bulk.
Create a more sustainable building
1. Update and reuse the existing building, employing recycled materials whenever possible.
2. Enhance bicycle parking and storage.
Add landscaping to soften the environment
1. Vines at existing retaining walls.
2. Add drought-tolerant plants.
3. Replace landscape in existing planters
The Planning Department recommends the Commission approve the request.
∙ Target Prepares For Planning Vote On Geary Store Next Week [SocketSite]
∙ YIMBY's Set Their Sights On A Target At Geary And Masonic [SocketSite]
∙ One Word: Target. Okay, Five: Target At Geary And Masonic? [SocketSite]
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Apples To Apples (And Foreclosure) At 3208 Pierce In The Marina
As we first reported in January:
As plugged-in people might recall, while the Marina development at 3208 Pierce hit the market in 2007 with printed marketing materials touting "SOLD" for unit #407, the unit quietly hit the MLS listed for $1,279,000 once the rest of the building was in contract.
The two-bedroom condo ended up selling for $1,249,000 that October by way of a first mortgage for $999,200. A month later a second for $80,000 was added and a third for $124,000 the month after that. Call it a 96 percent Loan to Value ratio for the property within two months of purchase and at the end of 2007.
So why do we mention it now? Well, while the original notice of default was filed in November 2009, and the notice of trustee sale was finally filed a year later, the December 2010 auction being postponed due to the million dollar condo buyer's bankruptcy but the property is currently scheduled to hit the courthouse steps again in a week.
Postponed a few times since, 3208 Pierce Street #407 is once again scheduled to hit the courthouse steps this afternoon. At the same time, 3208 Pierce #102 has hit the market listed for $1,085,000 having been purchased for $1,200,000 in June of 2007.
∙ Listing: 3208 Pierce #102 (2/2.5) 1,277 sqft - $1,085,000 [3208pierce102.com] [MLS]
∙ From "Sold" To Actually Sold To Facing Foreclosure At 3208 Pierce [SocketSite]
∙ 3208 Pierce: New Website And Photo Gallery [SocketSite]
∙ Another Chance To Buy In The "Sold Out" 3208 Pierce [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
AAA Complex At Van Ness And Hayes About To Get A Jump Start
The National Electrical Benefit Fund which took title to the former AAA headquarters clustered around the intersection of Van Ness and Hayes in January 2010, having been deeded the 600,000 square foot complex in a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, has selected Emerald Fund to redevelop the property.
NREA and Emerald Fund will analyze both office and residential uses. Once a project is settled on, the two groups will form a joint venture, with Emerald Fund as the local developer and NREA as the equity partner. [Ryan Whitaker of National Real Estate Advisors] said he hoped to have at least a portion of the redevelopment under way within a year.
NREA had written the $91.7 million mortgage which the previous owner (Vornado Realty Trust) had employed to purchase the complex for $120 million.
∙ S.F.’s AAA site will rise again [San Francisco Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
July 18, 2011
SFMOMA Expansion Context And 935 Folsom Street Station Design
While you’ve likely seen the renderings, the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) expansion and relocation of San Francisco Fire Department Station No. 1 from 676 Howard to 935 Folsom provides some additional architectural context and interior plans for the proposed expansion.
And a couple of renderings for the proposed station fronting Folsom, behind which up to 13 residential units would be constructed on the portion of the site fronting Shipley.
A public hearing on the draft plan is currently scheduled for August 11, 2011. As always, we'll keep you posted and plugged-in.
∙ The First Sign Of Snøhetta’s Design For SFMOMA Expansion [SocketSite]
∙ SFMOMA Expansion / Fire Station Relocation and Housing Project [sfplanning.org]
∙ SFMOMA Expansion, Fire Station Relocation And…Housing Project [SocketSite]
∙ 935 Folsom: Warehouse Squat Sweatshop Condos Fire Station! [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
High-Speed High Jinks?
With the former chairman of the High Speed Rail Authority who has long opposed the proposed terminus setting the odds of high-speed rail ever reaching San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center at 50-50, the "will it just be a bus station" talk has resumed.
That being said, keep in mind the $400 million Transit Center train station box has already been funded and will likely still be used by Caltrain or Amtrak absent any high-speed rail service.
∙ More Evidence Of A High Speed Snub For The Transbay Transit Center [SocketSite]
∙ If high-speed rail never happens, Transbay center will be a bus stop [Examiner]
∙ Transbay Center Plans: Revised, Refined, And Unveiled Today [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center About To Has Broken Ground [SocketSite]
∙ A $400 Million High-Speed Stimulant for San Francisco’s Transbay [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (79) | (email story)
July 14, 2011
From Foreclosure To Foreclosures At 333 Grant Avenue
Designed by Coxhead and Coxhead and built in 1908, the former headquarters of the Home Telephone Company at 333 Grant Avenue was converted to condos in 2004 having been foreclosed upon in 2002.
One of 39 post-conversion condos and a Below Market Rate (BMR) unit as designated by the Mayor's Office of housing, 333 Grant Avenue #405 was purchased for $234,000 in November 2004 with $263,218 in loans to which a note for $25,000 was added in 2008.
In 2009, the 441 square foot studio was taken back by the bank. Unsuccessfully listed in 2009 and 2010, 333 Grant Avenue #405 has just returned to the market asking $140,000.
Another of the 39 units and not a BMR, 333 Grant Avenue #303 sold for $405,000 in 2004 and then for $550,000 in 2005, purchased by way of a $439,999 first mortgage to which a second for $166,380 was added in 2006.
Last month #303 was taken back by the bank with no bidders at $377,550 in cash on the courthouse steps.
∙ Listing: 333 Grant Avenue #405 (0/1) 441 sqft - $140,000 (BMR) [Redfin]
∙ A Bank-Owned BMR (No, Not BMW) In Pacific Heights [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (35) | (email story)
July 13, 2011
The Fifth Time (And Number Six) Is The Charm For 1089 Chestnut
As we reported this past March:
Over the past four years 1089 Chestnut has been listed for sale five times with prices ranging from $9,250,000 in 2007 to $7,980,000 last year. Today, the 5,740 square foot home returned to the MLS with a $6,000,000 price tag but without its "sensational modernistic Neo-Classical" tag and less a previously listed seventh bedroom.
Now, it’s simply a six-bedroom "spectacular…architectural masterpiece" on tour as new and with "one" day on the market in the eyes and reports of aggregate industry statistics.
Yesterday, the sale of 1089 Chestnut closed escrow with a reported contract price of $6,061,600, officially over asking with 116 days on the market and $1,056 per square.
And while we’re familiar with the numerology behind the lucky number eights, if there’s any significance to the sixes, somebody let us know.
∙ On Tour As New For The Fifth Time Since 2007 (And Three Million Less) [SocketSite]
∙ A Sensational Modernistic Neo-Classical Six Days On The Market [SocketSite]
∙ Sometimes It’s Simply The Description (1089 Chestnut) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
July 11, 2011
The 34th America's Cup Environmental Impact Report (And Issues)
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the 34th America’s Cup (AC34) and James R. Herman Cruise Terminal Project was just been published. The Report will be formally reviewed on August 11 with comments from the public accepted until August 25.
The San Francisco Planning Department published a Notice of Preparation on February 9, 2011 to notify the public of its intent to prepare an EIR on the AC34 and Cruise Terminal projects. During the public scoping process held in February and March 2011, the Planning Department received numerous comments from public agencies, organizations, and individuals regarding the scope and content of the EIR, including comments on environmental effects of the AC34 and Cruise Terminal projects as well as on the details of the projects themselves.
Comments received during the scoping process on the proposed projects and their potential environmental impacts are addressed in this EIR. This section lists the areas of controversy and major concerns raised during the scoping period as well as issues to be resolved. Issues to be resolved include those areas of concern that will be addressed either (1) during the permitting and approval processes for the projects subsequent to the completion of the CEQA process, (2) as part of the environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the applicable aspects of the project, (3) during design and implementation of the projects (assuming the projects are approved), or (4) as part of future proposals for long‐term development on Port properties as provided for under the Host Agreement and the associated environmental review process.
The areas of controversy and issues to be resolved include the following:
Details of the People Plan (including Transportation Management Plan), Waste Management Plan, Sustainability Plan, and other implementation plans as proposed.
Coordination of the AC34 project sponsors with federal, state, regional, and other local agencies for the planning and implementation of AC34 events.
Management and coordination of large private spectator yachts expected to view the AC34 events and impacts of increased boat traffic Long-term development rights of Port properties provided for under the Host Agreement following completion of the AC34 events, and environmental implications of such development.
Tenant relocation from Port properties that would be necessary for both the AC34 and Cruise Terminal projects.
Impacts of the AC34 events on views, traffic, services, utilities, recreational resources, and public access at proposed venue locations as well as at adjacent and nearby areas.
Potential conflicts of both projects with adopted plans applicable to the project sites, including effects on public access.
Effects of AC34 racing events on existing maritime and commercial uses of San Francisco Bay.
The first volume of the report is 746 pages while volume two is 698. So if you plan to comment or complain intelligently, you had better start reading now. Luckily volumes three and four are simply appendices.
∙ The Scope Of Development For San Francisco’s First America’s Cup [SocketSite]
∙ Pier 27 Terminal Rendered And Ready For Fiscal Feasibility Vote [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco’s Last Minute Giveaways To Get The America’s Cup [SocketSite]
∙ 34th America’s Cup Draft EIR: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
July 8, 2011
Park Terrace: From New Condo Smell To Litigation Discount For #301
Listed for $899,000 this past May having been purchased for $1,181,000 in August 2007, the sale of 325 Berry #301 has closed escrow with a reported contract price of $845,000 ($671 per square foot), 28 percent below its year 2007 price with a bit of new building litigation hanging over its head.
As we wrote in January 2008 when the sales office at Park Terrace launched a "step-up commission program" targeting buyers’ agents: "It’s no longer only the townhomes at Park Terrace which will garner brokers an increased sales commission...And it’s a good reminder to ask, is your agent working for you or selling for the developer?"
∙ Hopefully You Didn’t Step In It At Park Terrace (325 Berry) Before [SocketSite]
∙ Your Agent Might See Value, But Be Sure To Ask For Whom [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
July 6, 2011
Odeon Penthouse Avoids Foreclosure (But Not A Big Loss)
As we wrote in November 2009 with respect to the Odeon at 181 O’Farrell:
And then there’s the penthouse (#513) which was purchased for $2,000,000 in March 2007. An attempt to sell it off as a fractional over the past two years failed and it’s been the market as a whole for the past 172 days. Originally asking $2,349,000, it’s been three months at $2,099,000 with an owner that "says make an offer!!"
Relisted anew in February 2010 asking $1,899,000 and then this past September asking $1,725,000, the sale of the 2,516 square foot Odeon penthouse known as 181 O’Farrell Street #513 has closed escrow with a reported contract price of $1,450,000, 27.5 percent ($550,000) below its 2007 sale.
As a plugged-in reader had noted, a notice of default was filed on the property in November with $38,567 past due on a $1,400,000 first mortgage (there was a seond for $200,000 as well) and the property was scheduled to hit the courthouse steps this Friday.
And yes, while it’s "apples-to-apples" in terms of the property and its past two sales, as plugged-in people know, the streetscape in front of the building is being improved.
∙ Oh My (And Bank Owned) At The Odeon On O’Farrell [SocketSite]
∙ On Tour As New Déjà Vu: Odeon Penthouse (181 O’Farrell #513) [SocketSite]
∙ Top Floor Sir, Going Down (181 O’Farrell #513) [SocketSite]
∙ Powell Street Promenade Making Progress [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
July 1, 2011
Bloomin' Fireworks On Broderick
Patrick Blanc's living wall has yet to fully fill out.
And only the first of its many blooms have bloomed like little fireworks in the air.
But we’re going to go out on a limb, or perhaps a stem, and call the Drew School expansion one of the best new additions to San Francisco's architectural repertoire.
UPDATE: As the site looked before the addition:
∙ Drew School Living Wall Mapped And Planted By Patrick Blanc [SocketSite]
∙ Destruction Before Construction: Drew School Expansion [SocketSite]
∙ Drew School Expansion Plans Pass Their Appeals Test(s) [SocketSite]
∙ Drawings For A Proposed Drew School Expansion Along Broderick [SocketSite]
∙ The Drew School Addition Rendering Scoop: Its Living Wall And All [SocketSite]
∙ Patrick Blanc "Living Wall" Testimonial And Broderick Street Blueprint [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
June 29, 2011
Smitten For The Smitty (And Its Incredible Shrinking Square Feet)
Converted in the year 2000 by Bay Area architects Abrams & Milliken, the largest of three units within the former Smitty Knitting Factory building at 75 Lansing Street hit the market in 2006 listed with 4,000 square feet for $2,995,000 and sold for $2,800,000.
With Venetian plaster, windows galore, and 20 foot ceilings atop; mahogany bookshelves in the library; and a kitchen designed by Pacassa Studios, the unit returned to the market in 2008 listed with 3,298 square feet for $3,850,000 and sold for $3,500,000.
75 Lansing #3 is back on the market today listed for $3,250,000 without any square footage. The agent's notes for other agents does, however, note 3,100 square feet. And tax records suggest it's 3,132.
∙ Listing: 75 Lansing #3 (3/2.5) – $3,250,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
June 24, 2011
Back Around The Cape (Horn Lofts Penthouse)
As we wrote about the Cape Horn Lofts building at 540 Delancey last year:
It was sixteen condos before units #402 and #403 were combined to form a 2,900 square foot unit with over 1,000 square feet of outdoor space. In contract (and so noted) at the time we profiled #401, 540 Delancey #402/3 sold for $3,100,000 in October 2008.
Listed for $3,295,000 at the end of 2009, and then for $2,995,000 last June, the Cape Horn penthouse unit known as #402/403 is back on the market and asking $2,899,000.
∙ Listing: 540 Delancey #402/403 (2/4) - $2,899,000 [MLS] [540delanceypenthouse.com]
∙ 540 Delancey #402/403 Comes Back Around (At) The Cape Horn [SocketSite]
∙ Cape Horn Lofts (540 Delancey) In General, And #401 In Specific [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
June 17, 2011
Better With Age At 355 Bryant: Volpe's #101
355 Bryant remains one of our favorite loft conversion buildings in San Francisco. As we noted in 2006, "it’s not the right building for everyone, but if you like New York style lofts with open floor plans, it should definitely be on your radar."
Purchased by San Francisco designer Steven Volpe at the time of conversion in 1991 for $391,500, and then customized, 355 Bryant #101 features 18-foot ceiling with beautiful redwood support columns; a private courtyard off the living room behind a wall of glass; and a kitchen outfitted with Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Calacatta marble fixtures and finishes.
On the market and asking $1,550,000 for the 1,969 square foot loft with one car parking.
∙ Listing: 355 Bryant #101 (1/2) 1,969 sqft - $1,550,000 [nealwardproperties.com] [MLS]
∙ The Live/Work Lofts Of 355 Bryant [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
June 16, 2011
Speaking Of (Well) Below Market Rate Units...
Speaking of below market rate (BMR) units, applications to purchase a brand new two-bedroom condo at 3190 Scott (aka 2350 Lombard) for $277,650 are due by July 11.
The purchase price for the 1,057 square foot unit #303 on the border of Cow Hollow and the Marina includes a parking space. HOA dues are currently set at $428 per month. And to qualify, a two person household (the minimum for a two-bedroom unit) can currently be earning no more than $71,550 per year.
Market rate units in the building are currently priced from $799,000 with the most expensive two-bedroom having sold for $980,000 in December.
∙ MOH Listing: 3190 Scott Street #303 (2/2) - $277,650 (BMR) [sf-moh.org]
∙ 2350 Lombard Rising: Twelve New Townhouses Over Commercial [SocketSite]
∙ Below Market Rate For Above Market Down (And A Bit Of Irony) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (43) | (email story)
An '06 Stack Uptick At ORH As Early Adopters Remain Behind
Having been in default for well over a year, and with a forced sale that’s been pushed down the road for nearly as along, 425 1st Street #3306 is once again scheduled to hit the courthouse steps tomorrow afternoon.
The 1,238 square foot One Rincon Hill two-bedroom was purchased for $1,302,000 in May of 2008 with 20 percent down ($260,426) and a note for $1,041,574. The unit above (#3406) sold for $1,307,500 eight days later.
As plugged-in people know, the sale office sold 425 1st Street #3906 for $960,000 in early 2010 having had it listed for $1,295,000. Five months ago, the sales office sold #4306 for $985,000 having had it listed for $1,383,000 early last year. And this past April, the sales office moved #4906 for $1,125,000 having had it listed for $1,295,000.
∙ The Latest (By Two Weeks) One Rincon Hill "06" Comp [SocketSite]
∙ 2008 Versus 2011 At ORH With Some Courthouse Steps In Between [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
June 15, 2011
Defending The Design For 200 6th Street And Adieu To Defenestration
Located within the potential Sixth Street Lodginghouse District, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and Mercy Housing requested San Francisco’s Architectural Review Committee review and comment on their proposed project at 200 6th Street today.
The proposed work includes demolition of the existing four-story building and the new construction of a new nine-story residential building (dedicated to affordable housing) with ground floor retail and parking.
As designed by Kennerly Architecture & Planning, the new building will feature a total of fifty-six units composed of seventeen three-bedroom flats, twentytwo two-bedroom flats, and seventeen one-bedroom flats.
The new building will have two distinct masses: a larger nine-story mass at the corner of 6th and Howard Streets and a smaller eight-story mass along 6th Street. Overall, the design will be contemporary in style and will feature brick veneer cladding, dark patinated metal siding and exposed structural concrete on the exterior. In addition, the project will feature painted or dark anodized aluminum windows, steel and glass entry marquis, and concrete and translucent glass balcony rails.
The existing four-story building is better known and recognizable to most as the Hugo Hotel, canvas for Defenestration.
∙ South of Market Resource Survey Says…Five New Historic Districts [SocketSite]
∙ Review and Comment: 200-214 6th Street [sfplanning.org]
∙ Eminent Domain Suit Semi-Successfully Snatches Hugo Hotel [SocketSite]
∙ Hugo Hotel's Flying Furniture Update, No Word On The Graffiti [SocketSite]
∙ And Now Back To The Hugo Hotel (And Eminent Domain On Sixth) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
An Institution For Sure, But A Landmark As Well?
About to be considered by San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission, whether or not to initiate Landmark Designation proceedings for the Eagle Tavern at 398 12th Street.
And no, it’s not the owner of the property that's leading the charge.
∙ San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission Agenda: 6/15/11 [sf-planning.org]
∙ As Eagle-Eyed Readers Know (And Stanley Saitowitz Rendered) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
June 14, 2011
If You Have To Ask (Or If You Did): The Fairmont Edition
Following the failed bid to convert up to 286 of the hotel’s rooms to condominiums, the storied 591-room Fairmont San Francisco hotel is being put up for sale without an official asking price but we'd be willing to bet a bit of "guidance."
∙ Fairmont Hotel Redevelopment Plan Checks Out Early [SocketSite]
∙ Fairmont San Francisco Luxury Hotel to Be Put on the Market [Bloomberg]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
Below Market Rate For Above Market Down (And A Bit Of Irony)
The Mayor's Office of Housing Below Market Rate (BMR) homeownership program was established to offer "low to moderate income" households "the option of purchasing homes that are priced below the typical market rate price" but are restricted in terms of resale price and the qualified buyer pool.
One such unit is 888 7th Street #351, a 691 square foot one-bedroom which was purchased for $267,000 in May 2008 and is now listed on the MLS for $299,000 or $305,200 on the Mayor’s Office of Housing site. As noted, eligible single buyers for this unit can make no more than $69,600, a two person household no more than $79,500.
Also noted on the Mayor's site, "due to a pending lawsuit in the building…only all-cash buyers will be able to purchase the unit." That’s right, per the terms of the program, the low to moderate income buyers for this unit will need to have three-hundred thousand dollars of disposable cash on hand.
∙ BMR Resale: 888 7th St. #351 - $305,200 (cash) [sf-moh.org]
∙ Listing: 888 7th Street #351 (1/1) 691 sqft - $299,000 [MLS]
∙ Below Market Rate (BMR) Homeownership Programs [sf-moh.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (60) | (email story)
365 Fulton Exposed
Formerly known as Central Freeway Parcel G, to be known as the Dr. Raye Richardson Apartments, and having started site work early last year, the scaffolding around 365 Fulton is almost completely down from around the five story development at the corner of Gough.
As plugged-in people know, the development will yield 120 studios for extremely low income, formerly chronically homeless individuals; 2,680 square feet of ground floor retail; and 2,000 square feet of social service program space.
And the yellow was a post community input added touch to the David Baker design.
∙ 365 Fulton (AKA Parcel G) Design Evolved, Site Work Commences [SocketSite]
∙ In The Name Of Dr. Raye Richardson For 365 Folsom (AKA Parcel G) [SocketSite]
∙ RFPs For Housing Along Octavia Boulevard [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
June 13, 2011
While A Big One Sells, Another Is Scheduled For The Steps
As we wrote about 818 Steiner this past February:
Built for Louis Hartter, his wife Emily Geisel and their five children in 1899, the 5,693 finished square feet of 818 Steiner were completely refinished between 2004 when purchased for $1,620,000 and 2007 when sold for $3,400,000.
It's now four years later and the Martens & Coffey designed Alamo Square Victorian is back on the market and asking $3,200,000. The sale in 2007 was $550,000 under original ask.
On Friday, the sale of 818 Steiner closed escrow with a reported contract price of $3,050,000, five (5) percent under asking and ten (10) percent under its year 2007 price.
Down the street, 722 Steiner is no longer listed for sale despite its "Seller MUST sell, will consider all offers" listing at $2,950,000 last year. That being said, the Postcard Row developer's onetime home is current scheduled to hit the courthouse steps next month with over $100,000 past due on a $1,740,000 first (and a second for $290,000).
∙ Hartter’s Party Of Five Seven House Returns At 818 Steiner [SocketSite]
∙ "Seller MUST Sell" 722 Steiner [SocketSite]
∙ Postcard Row's Postman's Home Hits The Market (722 Steiner) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
June 7, 2011
Board Denies Appeal Of North Beach Branch Library Project Report
Having previously sided with the Land Use and Economic Development Committee with respect to voting against landmark status for the North Beach Branch Library late last year, today San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors sided with the Planning Commission and voted down an appeal of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan, clearing the way for the current library to be razed and a new North Beach library and playground to rise.
∙ North Beach Branch Library: No Landmark Status For You! [SocketSite]
∙ North Beach Public Library and Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan Appeal [sfbos.org]
∙ North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan Report [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
June 2, 2011
Comcast Ventures Lands At The Corner Of Kearny And Market
Comcast Ventures, a $750 million fund focusing on "early to late-stage businesses that represent the next generation of entertainment, communications and digital technology," has just inked a lease for 9,338 square feet on the tenth floor of One Kearny Street, relocating the division from Comcast’s headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
2008 Versus 2011 At ORH With Some Courthouse Steps In Between
As we first reported in January:
Closing escrow with a recorded contract price of $628,000 in February 2008, within two months 425 1st Street #1805 was listed for sale with an asking price of $719,000.
Following a series of price cuts, and at one point seeking a short sale for "$499,000," this past August the One Rincon Hill one-bedroom was purchased on the courthouse steps for $441,886 cash.
Back on the market at $599,000 this past October, in November the list price was reduced to $579,000 and yesterday it was reduced to $559,000.
While just updated on the MLS, the sale of 425 1st Street #1805 appears to have closed escrow on 3/15/11 with a reported contract price of $535,000, effectively splitting the difference between its 2008 closing price and 2010 all cash sale on the courthouse steps.
There are currently five other condos at One Rincon Hill scheduled to hit the courthouse steps within the next five weeks and at least two other units in default.
∙ From Failed To Foreclosure Flip (And Five Others) At One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
May 26, 2011
Three Floors Below For Two Million Less At 2288 Broadway
As far as we know 2288 Broadway #5 never found a buyer having been listed for $7,995,000 last year. A year later and three floors below, 2288 Broadway #2 is on the market and asking $5,995,000 for the floor.
While not noted in the listing for number two, the full floor number five had been listed at 4,000 square feet. And while the building isn’t likely to win any awards for curb appeal, the same wouldn’t ever be said about its views.
UPDATE: While the brochure for 2288 Broadway #2 features a slightly different floor plan, which we had originally posted, we believe the one above is now correct.
∙ Listing: 2288 Broadway #2 (3/3.5) - $5,995,000 [MLS]
∙ The View From 2288 Broadway #5 (Albeit Not Today) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
The First Sign Of Snøhetta’s Design For SFMOMA Expansion
Snøhetta's design for the $250 million expansion of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has been revealed. From the Business Times with respect to the designs for the 195-foot building on a site zoned for 320 feet of potential hight:
On its east side, the building will feature a sweeping façade and an entrance in an alleyway that is currently hidden from public view and largely unused. This will be achieved through the creation of a mid-block, open-air, 18-foot-wide pedestrian promenade running from Howard Street through to Natoma Street that will open a new route of public circulation through the neighborhood and bring Natoma Street, currently a dead end, to life.
The public promenade will feature a series of stairs and landings terracing up to an entry court that extends from the new east entrance, providing additional public spaces.
The building also introduces a façade on Howard Street that will feature a large, street-level gallery enclosed in glass on three sides, providing views of both the art in the galleries and the new public spaces. At this time, the museum is also exploring the creation of a number of outdoor terraces, including one on top of its current building.
On Howard Street, the glass-enclosed gallery and pedestrian promenade will be located on a site currently occupied by Fire House 1 and its neighbor at 670 Howard Street.
As the site currently appears from Howard Street:
And from above:
∙ Let It Snø! (Snøhetta Snags SFMOMA Expansion Project) [SocketSite]
∙ SFMOMA Expansion, Fire Station Relocation And…Housing Project [SocketSite]
∙ SFMOMA expansion design revealed [Business Times]
∙ SFMOMA Expansion: Four Firms (Including A Foster) In The Running [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (33) | (email story)
May 20, 2011
The Price Of Copper (Clad Condos) Since 2008
Two of the four copper clad three-bedroom condos atop 17th Street finished in 2008 were listed and sold that year: 4588 17th Street for $1,390,000 ($796 per square foot) that May and 4590 17th Street for $1,255,000 ($731 square) that December.
The copper has since started to patina and the exterior wood has recently been refinished.
And as a plugged-in reader notes, the last two recently returned to the market with 4598 17th Street currently in contract having been listed for $1,189,000 ($777 per square foot) and 4596 17th Street hitting the market this week listed for $1,169,000 ($695 per square).
Having tumbled at the end of 2008, the price of copper has since increased over 200 percent.
∙ Listing: 4596 17th Street (3/3.5) 1,682 sqft - $1,169,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 4598 17th Street (3/3) 1,530 sqft - $1,189,000 [MLS]
∙ Copper (And Wood) Clad And Coming Semi-Soon At 17th And Clayton [SocketSite]
∙ The Spot Price Of Copper Has Been Dropping Too (4590 17th Sells) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
May 16, 2011
1945 Hyde Street Revised, Rendered, And Ready To Be Approved
The hearing and debate over the proposed redevelopment of the two-story garage at 1945 Hyde Street continues on Thursday with the Planning Department recommending the Planning Commission reject the opposition and approve the project as proposed.
Specifically, the project includes the following alterations: Conversion of the ground floor front to commercial use; the second floor, and rear portion of the ground floor to residential condominiums; insertion of a pedestrian entrance to the residential spaces in the northern arch on Hyde Street; infill of the remaining arches with compatible glazing and a retail entrance; conversion of the blind arch in the first Russell Street bay to a window; conversion of one of the ground floor windows on Russell Street to a vehicular entrance; addition of a penthouse structure set back 12+ feet from the Hyde Street elevation and within the Russell Street parapet; replacement of non‐repairable windows with visually identical units.
As proposed the project will still yield 7 new housing units over ground floor commercial, but the number of proposed parking spaces has been upped from 14 to 17, all unbundled from the dwelling units and with one space proposed for car share.
As the garage currently appears:
And an interesting history of its parking space rents:
The current owner of 1945 Hyde Street purchased the property out of foreclosure in 2009.
∙ 1945 Hyde As Proposed And Opposed In Russian Hill [SocketSite]
∙ 1945 Hyde Street Planning Commission Review Memo [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
The "Best Priced Studio Condo In SOMA" Is Now A Comp
As we wrote in February with respect to three studios on the market at 195 7th Street:
It’s nothing fancy nor luxurious. And at 311 square feet, 195 7th Street #308 is anything but large. But it is a South of Market condo that’s just hit the market as a short-sale listed for $150,000. And it's not a BMR.
Purchased for $51,000 in 1995 it sold for $79,000 in 1998 (appreciation of 14 percent per year). And five years later it sold for $180,000 in 2003 (appreciation of 18 percent per year). Apparently "short-term" holds and frequently flipped properties do show price appreciation. Well, at least when the market is actually appreciating.
Three other studios listed for sale in the 34-unit building currently range in price from $189,500 for #208 (time to strike that "Best Priced Studio Condo in SOMA" tout) to $238,000 for #404 which is larger by twenty-one square feet.
The sale of 195 7th Street #208 closed escrow on Thursday with a reported contract price of $146,000, 23 percent below the price at which it was listed as the "Best Priced Studio Condo in SOMA." At the same time, the short sale of 195 7th Street #308 remains in contract while #404 remains active and available.
∙ "Best Priced Studio Condo In SoMa" Undercut From Above [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
May 10, 2011
Second Most Expensive Sale In San Francisco Four Seasons' History
The sale of 765 Market Street #27A closed escrow today with a reported contract price of $7,200,000 ($2,170 per square foot), the most expensive condo sale in San Francisco since the 4,806 Millennium Tower Penthouse #A was purchased by Tom Perkins for $9.35 million in September 2009.
As we wrote when 765 Market Street #27A first hit the market in January:
In 2007 the 3,318 square foot #27A at San Francisco’s Four Seasons (765 Market Street) was purchased for $5,000,000. Since then the three-bedroom condo has been redesigned (think moving a bath and the kitchen) and renovated with "signature details" by Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Design Associates (think not cheap).
And while you won’t currently find it on the public facing MLS, and it’s far from being an "apple," the property is back on the market and asking $7,600,000 which includes the custom designed furniture.
The sale of #27A also represents the second most expensive in the history of the San Francisco Four Seasons, second only to the 4,336 square foot Grand Penthouse #A which sold for $8,975,000 ($2,070 per square) in 2008.
Don't forget those invitations to the condowarming.
∙ San Francisco’s Four Seasons (765 Market) #27A: Winter 2011 [SocketSite]
∙ The Numbers Behind Perkins' Millennium Penthouse Purchase [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
May 6, 2011
One South Park #407 Hits The Market For The First Time
As we noted in 2007 a few months after the sales office at One South Park first started taking soft reservations, sales materials denoted eighteen of the thirty-five already "reserved" with one, Number 407, already "sold" and likely a developer's unit.
Today, the three-bedroom condo across two floors and with one big roof deck (with hot tub and soon to be grill) hit the market for the first time listed for $3,300,000.
While not listed, tax records peg the penthouse unit's interior space at 2,659 square feet.
∙ Listing: 1 South Park #407 (3/3.5) - $3,300,000 [MLS]
∙ One South Park: Reservations, Floor Plans And Even A Few Prices [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
May 5, 2011
Hopefully You Didn’t Step In It At Park Terrace (325 Berry) Before
As we wrote in January 2008 when the sales office at Park Terrace launched a "step-up commission program" targeting buyers’ agents:
It’s no longer only the townhomes at Park Terrace which will garner brokers an increased sales commission (which might speak to the strength of sales since our last update). And it’s a good reminder to ask, is your agent working for you or selling for the developer?
A few months before in August 2007, 325 Berry #301 sold for $1,181,000. The two-bedroom Park Terrace unit just returned to the market listed for $899,000, a sale at which would represent a 24 percent ($282,000) drop in value for the 1,259 square foot condo with "water views!" over the past three and one-half years.
Unfortunately we haven’t heard of any "step-down" loss or commission programs for those who are now trying to sell.
∙ Listing: 325 Berry #301 (2/2) 1,259 sqft - $899,000 [MLS]
∙ Your Agent Might See Value, But Be Sure To Ask For Whom [SocketSite]
∙ Arterra's New Buyer's Incentive And Park Terrace’s Broker's Bonus [SocketSite]
∙ Park Terrace (325 Berry) Sales Update: Now 70% Sold? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
May 3, 2011
Castle On The Park (601 Dolores) In Contract For $6,600,000
A plugged-in tipster delivers the news that 601 Dolores, a.k.a. the "Castle on the Park," is now in contract with an accepted offer of $6,600,000 for the 17,000 square foot property which was last officially listed for $7,490,000.
Born the Mission Park Congregational Church in 1909, 601 Dolores was purchased in 2007 and transformed into a single-family home. And as we first reported, the property returned to the market in 2008 listed for $9,950,000.
And no, it's not a high flying tech exec nor newly minted millionaire that's in contract to buy the Castle, but rather Children’s Day School which plans to use the space for classrooms, a large community gathering and performance space, and offices.
The big challenge now, an "upcoming heroic and unprecedented fundraising effort this spring to close the deal." We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.
∙ Sweet Jesus (So To Speak): 601 Dolores On The Market And Inside [SocketSite]
∙ Unofficial Inventory (And A Righteous Reduction) At 601 Dolores [SocketSite]
∙ One Hell Heck Of A Bedroom Overlooking Dolores Park... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
April 29, 2011
Yes, You May (A.K.A. The Kind Of Comments We Love To Read)
An excerpt from our comment of the week on the sale of 909 Tennessee:
Can I take a moment to tell the world again how much I love this building and have since the first time I laid eyes upon it 16 years, six months five days ago? That was the day I moved into a loft I rented from Sergio Nibbi at 900 Tennessee Street with a few dollars in my pocket and a determination to make it as an aspiring entrepreneur in SF, the city of my childhood.
It was love at first sight and still sinking in that I really have the thing after wanting and hoping for it all these years.
And once again, cheers.
∙ Wayne Prevails And Secures His Firehouse At 909 Tennessee [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:30 AM | Permalink | (email story)
April 28, 2011
Wayne Prevails And Secures His Firehouse At 909 Tennessee
As Wayne wrote in February about his $1,310,000 bid for 909 Tennessee which San Francisco's acting Director of Real Estate had represented as having fallen through:
There's so much I'd like to say about the deal but I'm going to leave it for the moment that we're still in escrow, we always have been, we have not withdrawn or failed to perform in any way, we intend to close and working with the City has been a learning experience.
We still love the fire station, I still intend to close the deal and buy it but everything has been at a standstill while we all (Wayneco and the City Real Estate Dept.) waited for the BoS to vote to approve resolution # 101479. Last Tuesday, Feb 15th, they did approve a highly edited & rewritten Feb 9th version, submitted by the acting City director of Real Estate.
Now we all wait for Ed Lee to sign the approved resolution into law.
Then and only then will we have an opportunity to complete this deal and close escrow.
I'll post more when I can, I'm a quite open person about all my dealings but while the deal remains unfinished, there's really only so much I can say except that we've been working with the City since we won the auction on 23rd November to get this done and it's just taking a long time to wind through the required legislative and bureaucratic process.
We’re now happy to report that Wayne successfully closed escrow on the firehouse Tuesday afternoon. And according to the Business Times, it’s with hopes of rezoning the property for mixed use "with a restaurant on the ground floor and two residential units above."
Cheers!
∙ 909 Tennessee: High Bid (By Far) Backs Out But Expectation Remains [SocketSite]
∙ $1,310,000 Is Bid For 909 Tennessee And The Board Says... [SocketSite]
∙ A One Time Fire Sale To Address An Ongoing Budgetary Problem [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
Si, 299 Santa Paula Avenue Has Sold
As we noted yesterday, the sale of 299 Santa Paula Avenue has closed escrow with a reported contract price of $4,400,000.
As plugged-in people might recall, the muy sweet 10,853 square foot St. Francis Wood villa had been listed for $5,900,000 in February 2009 and was briefly in contract soon thereafter at a rumored price of $5.4M followed by a few reductions and relistings.
∙ Mi Casa Es…Muy Sweet (And Large): 299 Santa Paula Avenue [SocketSite]
∙ Oh Santa, You Shouldn’t Have! (299 Santa Paula Avenue Cuts) [SocketSite]
∙ 299 Santa Paula Avenue: Still Muy Sweet But Now Under Cinco [SocketSite]
∙ Ay, Caramba As 299 Santa Paula Avenue Cuts Again [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
April 26, 2011
Royally Short On The 18th Floor At 1750 Taylor
Purchased for $2,550,000 in December 2007 and unsuccessfully listed for sale five times since with prices ranging from $2,700,000 to $1,900,000, the Royal Towers (1750 Taylor) #1803 is now back on themarketMLS and listed for $1,995,000 as a short sale.
The new listing at 22 percent below its 2007 price touts "Quintessential Russian Hill Co-Op." And yes, the listing now includes an obligatory reference to the America’s Cup.
The sale of 1750 Taylor #1803 has now closed escrow with a reported contract price of $1,775,000, down 30 percent ($775,000) from its sale price at the end of 2007.
∙ The Quintessence Of Russian Hill Living Or The Market As A Whole? [SocketSite]
∙ Royal Towers (1750 Taylor): Columns, Views, And Comps [SocketSite]
∙ Overused Listing Descriptor Of The New Year: "Stunning" [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
April 25, 2011
Up (And Down) Atop The Brannan Redux
Touting "best [South Beach] location and building," higher penthouse ceilings and two car parking, the sale of 229 Brannan #17J closed escrow on Friday with a reported contract price of $1,100,000, $779 per square for the 1,412 square foot Brannan two-bedroom.
As we noted this past October, tax records would suggest the sellers purchased the unit for around $950,000 in March 2002. In the same stack but seven floors below and without the higher ceilings or second parking spot, 229 Brannan #10J sold for $1,290,000 in 2006 and then again for $1,070,000 in June 2009 (a drop of 17% over those three years).
As we also noted, 229 Brannan #14J which had been purchased for $1,027,000 in August 2001 resold for $1,080,000 in August 2010. But again, that's with lower ceilings, one less parking space, and three floors below number seventeen.
∙ Up (And Down) Atop The Brannan: 229 Brannan #17J [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
April 21, 2011
One Rincon Hill Year-Over-Year (And Roughly 95 Percent Sold)
As a reader wrote this past November: "Anyone see that [425 1st Street] #4107 sold on April 30th of this year for $830,000 and now is listed again at $865,000?"
Said resale of One Rincon Hill #4107 closed escrow on 3/31/11 with a reported contract price of $798,000, down 3.6 percent year-over-year. At the same time, One Rincon Hill is self-reportedly down to "less than 25" new units to sell, or roughly 95 percent sold.
∙ One Rincon (Back) Up To 87 Percent Sold [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
April 20, 2011
Plans To Restore The Landmark Nightingale House At 201 Buchanan
As plugged-in people know, the Landmark Nightingale House at 201 Buchanan sold for $1,536,000 last year, down from $1,605,000 in 2007.
In front of San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission this afternoon, the six-figure plan to restore of the exterior of the Nightingale House. And while no changes to the use or configuration of the building are currently proposed, and the interior still has a long way to go, the restoration work would include:
∙ Replacement of the non-historic asphalt shingle roofing
∙ In-kind replacement of two chimneys and removal of a deteriorated one
∙ Repair and replacement of deteriorated window sashes with African mahogany sashes
∙ In-kind replacement of all redwood gutters and copper downspouts
∙ Selective repair and in-kind replacement of exterior millwork
∙ Off-site restoration of the period steel and iron fencing and reinstallation
∙ Recreation of missing balconies, matching the forms shown in historic photographs
∙ Recreation of the jib doors that opened from the parlors to the missing balconies
∙ Recreation of the missing gable tip finials and ridge crest
In summary, as proposed the project "would retain and repair or replace in-kind most historic elements of the façade, including the wood cladding, brick chimneys, wood gutters, soffits, moldings and ornaments, windows, and fencing" while "no distinctive materials, architectural elements, or spaces that characterize the property would be removed."
And yes, this is the place SFGate was advertising reporting as "fully restored."
∙ Inside The Nightingale’s Landmark Nest At 201 Buchanan [SocketSite]
∙ The Nightingale House (201 Buchanan) Looks For Another Landing [SocketSite]
∙ The Landmarked Nightingale House (201 Buchanan) Hits The Market [SocketSite]
∙ Historic Preservation Commission Agenda: 4/20/11 [sf-planning.org]
∙ Request to Restore 201 Buchanan Street [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
April 19, 2011
Minor’s "Abandoned" Mansion At 3800 Washington
While it’s looking a lot better today than it did in 1906, as a plugged-in reader notes and following an anonymous complaint a year ago, Halsey Minor’s Le Petit Trianon at 3800 Washington has been deemed "abandoned" by the city and an order of abatement has been issued for failing to comply with San Francisco’s Abandoned Building Ordinance.
As plugged-in people know, Minor paid $20,000,000 for the 17,895 square foot property in 2007 (a notice of default followed in 2009).
And yes, we should all be so lucky as to live near such "blight."
∙ Beauty Blight Is In The Eye Of The City (And Perhaps Your Neighbors) [SocketSite]
∙ Le Grand Notice De Default For Le Petit Trianon (3800 Washington) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (33) | (email story)
Argenta (1 Polk) Sold In Bulk To Behringer Harvard
As a plugged-in resident reports, the bulk sale of Argenta (1 Polk Street) which had been built as condominiums, was unsuccessfully marketed for sale in 2008, and turned rental in 2009, has closed escrow with Dallas based Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT acquiring the property from the bank.
The sale of the 179-unit building has been in the works since February 11 when Behringer Harvard first entered into an agreement to purchase the property for $94 million excluding closing costs.
Our tipster also notes: "I recently received an offer to renew my lease for another year."
UPDATE: As noted buy a plugged-in reader and since corrected, while Australian based Anka developed the property, Behringer Harvard purchased the property from "MacQuarie Argenta Inc.," a holding company for the construction lender who financed the project.
∙ Argenta (1 Polk): Ground Breaking [SocketSite]
∙ The Scoop: Argenta (1 Polk) On The Market As An Apartment Building [SocketSite]
∙ The Official Argenta (One Polk) Offering Image And Language [SocketSite]
∙ The Argenta (1 Polk) Scoop Redux: Riverstone Residential To Manage [SocketSite]
∙ The Rather Ironic "Argenta Silver Lining": Now Leasing At One Polk [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
April 18, 2011
Fairmont Hotel Redevelopment Plan Checks Out Early
Despite years of wrangling and design, it would appear as though the plan to redevelop San Francisco’s Fairmont hotel and convert up to 286 of the hotel's rooms to condominiums is DOA as the hotel workers' union has voted against backing the plan.
No word on which side consumed more Mai Tai's in the Tonga Room following the vote.
∙ New And Improved? The Latest Fairmont Hotel And Condo Rendering [SocketSite]
∙ Fairmont Hotel Plans Front And Center And Up For Approval Thursday [SocketSite]
∙ Fairmont Hotel Revitalization And Tower Rebuilding As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ Saving Tatanka The Tonga Room [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
April 15, 2011
Noe’s Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) Closes For Just Over 4
As we first reported last month:
We’re not in the habit of mentioning a sale until it has closed. And considering 3816 22nd Street has been in and out of contract before, we should probably wait.
Then again, it appears as though all contingencies have been waived this time around. And the sale of Firehouse 44, which was first listed for sale for $6,375,000 in May of 2008 and currently listed for $4,250,000, is sure to generate a bit of Noe Valley buzz.
Today, the sale of 3816 22nd Street closed escrow with a reported contract price of $4,050,000. We’re still waiting for the neighborhood scoop before we start dishing. Keep in mind the unrenovated Firehouse 44 was purchased for $2,100,000 in 2006 prior to its massive and rather expensive renovation.
∙ Tomorrow’s Noe Buzz Today: Firehouse 44 Back In Contract [SocketSite]
∙ Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) Catches On Contract [SocketSite]
∙ The Holy Hotness Of Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) Hits The Market [SocketSite]
∙ Holy Hotness, History, And Home: Engine Company No. 44 Returns [SocketSite]
∙ Transparency At Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
April 13, 2011
A Hit And Run Reduction On Nob Hill
While we caught yesterday’s price reduction for 1177 California #203 (now listed for $283,662 versus its purchase price for $362,000 in January 2008), we completely missed the sale of 1177 California #512 which closed escrow on 12/8/2010 with a reported contract price of $408,000.
And as a plugged-in reader notes, while the sale of the Soma Nob Hill one-bedroom condo was in fact 4.6 percent ($18,100) "over asking," at the same time it was 41 percent ($290,000) under its sale price of $698,000 in June 2007.
∙ Sure, SoMa Condos Have Taken A Hit, But This Is Nob Hill [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
April 6, 2011
1984 Great Highway: From Fire Chief's Cottage, To Church, To…
Built as a beach retreat in 1905 by a San Francisco Fire Chief who perished in the great quake of 1906, the "cottage" at 1984 Great Highway has served as a church for the better part of the past century .
Plans to raze the property and build bigger anew prompted the National Trust for Historic Preservation to list it as "threatened." Today, the listed property is back on the market and asking $1,575,000.
In one-time church related news, 601 Dolores has once again been withdrawn from the market without a sale.
∙ Listing: 1984 Great Highway (4,520 sqft) - $1,575,000 [MLS]
∙ Fire Chief's Cottage: 1984 Great Highway [outsidelands.org]
∙ One Hell Heck Of A Bedroom Overlooking Dolores Park... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (42) | (email story)
Avalon Towers By The Bay (388 Beale) No Longer Owned By Avalon
A plugged-in reader reports: "I live at Avalon Towers (388 Beale Street) and learned yesterday that they had been sold to UDR (or should I say swapped with other properties). Great news the place is in bad shape and been run down for months (Avalon seems to have checked out months ago)."
∙ AvalonBay Exchanges Properties With UDR in $263 Million Deal [businessweek.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
March 30, 2011
Closer To Home For 845 Montgomery #C
In 2009 a list price of $1,095,000 didn’t attract a buyer, nor did its reduced price of $995,000, and a year ago it was withdrawn from the MLS. Today, 845 Montgomery #C is back on the market and listed for $1,029,000, the two-bedroom Jackson Square condo was purchased for $1,000,000 ($958 per square foot) in 2008.
And while the listing photos might not be quite so polished this time around, at least those for the neighborhood establishments are actually in the 'hood versus a mile or so away.
No word on whether or not the "show to most select clients" line from the listing is code.
∙ Listing: 845 Montgomery Street #C (2/2) 1,044 sqft - $1,029,000 [MLS]
∙ See Inside But Not Around Jackson Square (845 Montgomery) #C [SocketSite]
∙ The Jackson Square Condominiums (847 Montgomery) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
March 29, 2011
Two Big Tests For San Francisco's New Board Of Supervisors
San Francisco’s new Board of Supervisors will hear and vote on the appeals against certifying the Environmental Impact Reports (EIR's) for two big developments in San Francisco this afternoon, first the proposed 350-foot tower at 350 Mission and then the proposed redevelopment of Parkmerced.
The EIR’s for both projects were passed by San Francisco’s Planning Commission prior to the election of the four newest members of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors.
∙ San Francisco Board of Supervisors Agenda: 3/29/11 [sfbos.org]
∙ 350 Feet At 350 Mission (And San Francisco’s Planning Commission) [SocketSite]
∙ Parkmerced's Proposed Urban Design, Open Space, And Sustainability [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
March 25, 2011
One Of Twelve (And Floor Plan Porn) In A Classic Chestnut Building
Built in 1927 at the corner of Larkin, 1090 Chestnut is a thirteen floor building with twelve full-floor units averaging four bedrooms and around 3,500 square feet a piece.
Now on the market mid-way up the building and with two-car parking and storage units included below, 1090 Chestnut #6 has officially hit the market listed for $5,950,000.
∙ Listing: 1090 Chestnut #6 (4/3.5) - $5,950,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
March 24, 2011
Tomorrow’s Noe Buzz Today: Firehouse 44 Back In Contract
We’re not in the habit of mentioning a sale until it has closed. And considering 3816 22nd Street has been in and out of contract before, we should probably wait.
Then again, it appears as though all contingencies have been waived this time around. And the sale of Firehouse 44, which was first listed for sale for $6,375,000 in May of 2008 and currently listed for $4,250,000, is sure to generate a bit of Noe Valley buzz.
Let’s hear what you’ve heard so far and we’ll see if we can’t fill in the blanks.
∙ Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) Catches On Contract [SocketSite]
∙ The Holy Hotness Of Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) Hits The Market [SocketSite]
∙ Holy Hotness, History, And Home: Engine Company No. 44 Returns [SocketSite]
∙ Transparency At Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
March 23, 2011
A Peek Inside The Deconstructed Penthouse Atop 1170 Sacramento
You’ve seen the floor plan and views. And now, plugged-in people are treated to a trio of peeks from inside the deconstructed penthouse atop 1170 Sacramento (#19C).
Have we mentioned the views?
∙ 1170 Sacramento #19C Hits The MLS As A Shell [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
March 22, 2011
Trust Issues (Formerly Known As "Trust Us, It's Different Here")
The rather ironic line from the listing for 690 Market Street #1505, a one-bedroom at San Francisco’s Ritz-Carlton Residences: "The world's most trusted luxury brand has brought a new measure of service to one of the world's most fascinating and engaging cities."
While we’ll naturally agree with the "one of the world's most fascinating and engaging cities" bit, how has this condo in the "world's most trusted luxury brand[ed]" building performed over the past four years in San Francisco?
Purchased for $1,193,000 in 2008 by way of a $894,440 loan (25 percent down), last year 690 Market #1505 was taken back by the bank with $937,377 owed.
Today, they’re asking $699,900 for the Ritz-Carlton condo, 41 percent ($493,100) less than its purchase price in 2008 and down from a list price of $729,900 last month.
∙ Listing: 690 Market #1505 (1/1.5) 952 sqft - $699,900 [MLS]
∙ A Concerning Comp (And Empty Shell) At The Ritz-Carlton Residences [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
March 21, 2011
25-35 Dolores Development Hits Precedence Setting Resistance
As plugged-in people know, the proposed and far from approved development of 25-35 Dolores would result in the demolition of the two 25-foot-tall "S&C Ford" commercial garages and the construction of a four-story, 40-foot-tall, residential building with 47 units and below-grade parking for 40 in their place.
As we first noted in July when the project's Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was released, while characterized as potentially cost prohibitive by the developer, an "Alternative B" design for the project would preserve the existing facades in the name of preservation but only yield 18 units and parking spaces versus the 47 and 40 as proposed.
Since the publication of the project's DEIR, San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission has come to the conclusion that 25 and 35 Dolores are eligible for both the National and California Registers of historic resources. And California’s State Historic Preservation Officer has weighed in as well:
My office is concerned that the City of San Francisco may be setting a disturbing precedent with the demolition of the resources at 25-35 Dolores Street. Within the DEIR the buildings were determined eligible for the California Register by the Planning Department’s preservation specialist while the Frederick Knapp Architects Report concluded that the two Buildings retained their integrity as historic resources.
The City of San Francisco has a legal obligation to comply with [California Environmental Quality Act's (CEQA's)] procedural and substantive mandates, and moreover, as a lead agency, "to identify the significant effects on the environment of a project, to identify alternatives to the project, and to indicate the manner in which those significant effects can be mitigated or avoided." The California Appellate courts have held that a demolition is an adverse impact that cannot be mitigated below a level of significance.
My office is concerned that the Planning Department’s use of the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) documentation as a mitigation measure sets a dangerous precedent and is a misuse of the HABS standards. As the DEIR states, HABS documentation "would reduce the Impact CP-1 [demolition], but not to a less-than-significant level." For the purposes of CEQA HABS documentation is clearly inadequate as mitigation for demolition of a historic resource.
Given the alternatives provided in the DEIR my office would prefer the adoption of Alternative B: Preservation Alternative, or another similar alternative. Although Alternative B, "could be financially prohibitive," this alternative would not demolish the resources and would also restore them in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. With CEQA’s stated purpose to, "Prevent significant, avoidable damage to the environment by requiring changes in projects through the use of alternative or mitigation measures when the governmental agency finds the changes to be feasible," we encourage the Planning Department to adopt Alternative B or a similar preservation alternative for the 25-35 Dolores Street project.
The Planning Commission hearing to review the 25-35 Dolores street Environmental Impact Report is currently scheduled for April 7, 2011.
And in terms of precedence, keep in mind that a number of other proposed projects in San Francisco, including those for the Fairmont Hotel and North Beach Library, have proposed the use of HABS as a mitigation measure for the demolition of historic resources as well.
∙ The Plans For 25-35 Dolores Street (S&C Ford Garage) As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ 25-35 Dolores Street DEIR Comments and Responses [sfplanning.org]
∙ Fairmont Hotel Plans Front And Center And Up For Approval Thursday [SocketSite]
∙ North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan Report [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (69) | (email story)
March 18, 2011
301 Howard And 195 Beale Have A Date With NYC's Courthouse Steps
With a courthouse auction for the membership interests in "W2007 HWD Realty" scheduled for next week in New York, it’s a sale that’s likely flying under the radar for most locals. But as a plugged-in tipster notes, the entity scheduled for auction is a holding company for the 23-story building at 301 Howard and the parcel at 195 Beale here in San Francisco.
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
March 11, 2011
1170 Sacramento #19C Hits The MLS As A Shell
Also known as "Nob Hill Penthouse Coming Soon" for quite some time, the northern penthouse atop 1170 Sacramento (#19C) has officially hit the market with a "minimum bid" of $5,900,000.
The half-floor condo has been completely gutted ("providing a blank canvas for the new owner's design team") and comes with two car parking and a deeded staff room with bath.
And yes, it's got views.
∙ Listing: 1170 Sacramento #19C - $5,900,000 [sfproperties.com] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
March 10, 2011
Westin San Francisco Headed For Auction? No.
While the Chronicle reports the Westin San Francisco hotel appears to be headed for auction but couldn't confirm, we can confirm the Westin's $22,000,000 in Senior Mezzanine Debt which had been making waves has been paid in full and no auction is forthcoming.
∙ Westin San Francisco hotel put up for auction [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
March 9, 2011
Can You Name That Issue In 17 (Interior) Photos Or Less?
Another of the 32 residential units atop the Montgomery Washington Tower, 611 Washington #2502 is on the market and asking $3,995,000 for the 2,624 two-bedroom "featured in Architectural Digest." Bonus points for naming the issue, or even just the year.
As plugged-in people might recall, the 2,624 square foot unit directly below (#2402) was withdrawn from the market this past August last asking $3,595,000 and having been listed for as much as $4,595,000 in 2008.
∙ Listing: 611 Washington #2502 (2/2.5) 2,624 sqft - $3,995,000 [MLS]
∙ One Of 33 32 Atop 611 Washington (Montgomery Washington Tower) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
The Very Short Sale Of 2225 23rd Street
On Friday we noted the "very short sale" listing for 2225 23rd Street #316 at $150,000 versus the $395,000 which was paid in 2005. On Monday a plugged-in reader wrote:
It should be illegal to post a "very short sale" of $150,000 on MLS. This pretty much kills sales in the complex and everyones' values who own there. That is not anywhere near the actual price as the buyer will have to pay a tax lien, back HOA dues unpaid and a significant assessment for the exterior upgrade/new window project. The "real" price is closer to $250,000+.
Shortly thereafter the short sale list price for 2225 23rd Street #316 was increased to $225,000 and "very" was removed from the listing. It's now listed for just 43 percent below its year 2005 sale.
UPDATE: It appears that the HOA is moving to foreclose on #316 with a claim for $19,848.
∙ From 100 Percent Financing To Two Short Sales And An Auction [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
March 8, 2011
1945 Hyde As Proposed And Opposed In Russian Hill
Built in 1920, the two-story and 19,739 square foot parking garage at the corner of Hyde and Russell contains 58 parking spaces. As proposed, the Russian Hill garage would be expanded by a floor and converted into a seven-unit residential project with fourteen parking spaces and a ground floor commercial space of approximately 860 square feet.
Specifically, the project includes the following alterations: Conversion of the ground floor front to commercial use; the second floor, and rear portion of the ground floor to residential condominiums; insertion of a pedestrian entrance to the residential spaces in the northern arch on Hyde St; infill of the remaining arches with compatible glazing and a retail entrance; conversion of the blind arch in the first Russell St bay to a window; conversion of one of the ground floor windows on Russell St to a vehicular entrance; addition of a penthouse structure set back 12+ feet from the Hyde St elevation and within the Russell St parapet; replacement of non-repairable windows with visually identical units.
Opposed by the Russian Hill Community Association and Russian Hill Neighbors claiming concerns over lost parking and "that the proposed fourth floor addition will make the building too massive, would cause a substantial adverse change to the historic nature of the building resource and would conflict with a proposed historic district on Russell Street," the Planning Department recommends the Planning Commission approve the project as proposed.
∙ 1945 Hyde Street Discretionary Review Analysis [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
March 7, 2011
Undercut By The Bank Sales Office At Symphony Towers
Originally priced at $465,000 by the Symphony Towers sales office, the sale of the corner penthouse studio on the ninth floor "with lots of light and partial City Hall views" known as 650 Turk Street #904 closed escrow last month with a reported contract price of $315,000.
At the same time, 650 Turk Street #406 which was purchased for $371,500 in February 2008, taken back by the bank last July with no bidders at $317,778 and then listed for $336,900 this past January has now been reduced to $315,900.
∙ Listing: 650 Turk #406 (0/1) - $315,900 [MLS]
∙ Symphony Towers Sales Office Gets Lapped At 650 Turk [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
25 McLea Court #A Returns Sprinkled Flooded With Style
Looking a lot less stylish when purchased for $1,100,000 in July 2005, the two-bedroom McLea Sprinkler Factory condo #A at 25 McLea Court is back on the market in 2011 for the same price but with eighteen foot custom bookshelves, a high definition AV system with an eleven foot retractable screen, and a skylight that’s retractable as well.
Stairs from the mezzanine lead up exclusive-use roof deck overlooking the city. And as the unit looked in 2005:
∙ Listing: 25 McLea Court #A (2/2) 2,100 sqft - $1,100,000 [25mclea.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
March 4, 2011
From 100 Percent Financing To Two Short Sales And An Auction
It’s not just a short sale but a "very short sale" for 2225 23rd Street #316 which has been listed at $150,000 versus the $395,000 which was paid in 2005, a purchase which was financed with a $316,000 first, a $41,000 second, and a $39,450 third. And yes, that totals $396,450 in financing to which a tax and HOA lien has been added since.
The unit below (2225 23rd Street #216) has been listed as a short sale for the past 344 days at $269,000 having been purchased for $395,000 eight months after the unit above. Any ideas what sale they might have used as a comp?
Oh, and 2225 23rd Street #116 is scheduled to hit the courthouse steps next week having been purchased for $395,000 with $355,500 in debt four months after the unit above sold. Any ideas what sale they might have used as a comp?
∙ Listing: 2225 23rd Street #216 (1/1) 602 sqft – "$269,000" (short sale) [MLS]
∙ Listing: 2225 23rd Street #316 (1/1) 602 sqft – "$150,000" (short sale) [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
March 3, 2011
The "America’s Cup Effect" In Action?
The re-sale of 425 1st Street #4702 closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price $1,350,000 ($1,031 per square foot) for the One Rincon Hill two-bedroom which was purchased from the sales office for $1,605,500 ($1,226 per square) in August 2008.
As we wrote when #4702 hit the market asking $1,107 per square foot in December:
At the beginning of September the sale of 425 1st Street #4602 closed escrow with a recorded contract price of $1,343,500 ($1,026 per square foot) while at the end of September 425 1st Street #4502 (which had last been listed at $1,450,000 as the sales office’s "LAST 02") sold for $1,297,000 ($991 per square foot).
And in October, the re-sale of 425 1st Street #4902 (which had also been listed as the "Last Brand New 02 Unit") closed escrow with a recorded contract price of $1,370,000 ($1,047 per square), for an average recent per square foot sale price of $1,021 for the three 02's in the high forties.
Of course it wasn’t until the last day of December that San Francisco secured the next America’s Cup (at which point “Front Row Seats to America's Cup!” was added to the listing). And while we’re filing this under apples-to-apples, it’s possible the unit ended up reselling with a few extras (“Seller will entertain selling home fully furnished”).
∙ "The Last" Of The Last One Rincon Hill 02’s [SocketSite]
∙ And The 2013 America’s Cup Will Be Held In…San Francisco! [SocketSite]
∙ The Scope Of Development For San Francisco’s First America’s Cup [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
March 2, 2011
Let The Courting Begin For Pier 70’s Historic Core
With six suitors lined up to bid on the core redevelopment of San Francisco’s Pier 70, the Port of San Francisco has just opened up the interest list for the rehabilitation of six historic buildings along 20th Street.
These six [buildings] form the portal to a 69-acre historic shipyard site where a recently completed Master Plan calls for 3 million square feet of new development, two new parks along the Bay, retained ship repair operations, and a new national historic district.
Five of six buildings were built during the earliest period of San Francisco’s shipbuilding era – from the late 1880s through the early 20th century. Two were office building supporting the shipyard, the rest are industrial structures.
They are extraordinary, one-of-a-kind structures calling for creative approaches to reuse. The [Request for Interest] is explicitly to locate a variety of novel, interesting, lively, public-oriented uses at the entrance to the historic street to link Pier 70 to the adjacent Dogpatch neighborhood near Potrero Hill.
The historic core includes the Bethlehem Steel Office Building (Building 101), the Union Iron Works Office Building (Building 104), the Union Iron Works Machine Shop (Building 113/114), the Union Iron Works Foundry & Warehouse (Building 115/116) and the Powerhouse (Building 102) which is not to be confused with the Power Exchange.
Letters of intent are due by June 1 after which the Port will invite detailed proposals.
∙ San Francisco's Pier 70 Redevelopment Attracts Six Suitors [SocketSite]
∙ Pier 70 Area - 20th Street Historic Buildings Request for Interest (RFI) [sfport.com]
∙ Now Calling All Developers For San Francisco’s Pier 70 [SocketSite]
∙ Pier 70 (Q)uestions, (A)nswers, And Interested (D)evelopers [SocketSite]
∙ Six big developers vie for San Francisco's Pier 70 [Business Times]
∙ Pier 70 Deadline Extended (Prior To Any Punking) [SocketSite]
∙ Did They Say November December? Make It January. [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
March 1, 2011
On The Market And The Steps At 50 Lansing
While listed as "in contract" as a short sale on the MLS, the 1,385 square foot two-bedroom known as 50 Lansing #802 is once again scheduled to hit the courthouse steps this afternoon with $963,138 owed on an original $880,000 first.
Acquired for $1,100,000 in December 2006, the purchase also employed a $220,000 second for yet another anomalous example of 100 percent financing in San Francisco.
At the same time, the 1,586 square foot two-bedroom at 50 Lansing known as #805 has been on the market for five days listed for $1,299,000.
∙ Listing: 50 Lansing #802 (2/2) 1,385 sqft – “$850,000” [MLS]
∙ Listing: 50 Lansing #805 (2/2.5) 1,586 sqft – $1,299,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (50) | (email story)
San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers Goes Condo (No, Not Really)
From a plugged-in tipster that forwards an email for a "well located" two-bedroom condo with "many windows" that "afford peaceful green outlooks to Golden Gate Park while bringing in perfect natural light" and features a rather familiar façade:
Always wanted a condo in that building! HOA dues seem low for several hundreds of acres of garden. Dues include doing the windows regularly? How do you handle weekend visitors?
And yes, that’s the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers pictured above and currently the first photo of the listing. The facade of 795 8th Avenue would be photo number fifteen.
∙ Listing: 795 8th Avenue #204 (2/1) - $585,000 [paragon-re.com] [MLS]
∙ San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers [conservatoryofflowers.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
February 28, 2011
While One Is Ready To Sell A Neighbor Seems A Little Less So
It’s a plugged-in tipster that notes a pair adjacent condos for sale at 3110 California. Purchased in November 2005 for $967,000, this past September 3110 California #2B returned to the market seeking $979,000.
Reduced and relisted a few times since, they’re now asking $849,900 (12 percent below 2005) for the Pacific Heights two-bedroom as the agent notes "seller ready to sell" and offers the "buyer’s agent" a $2,000 bonus for making the sale.
At the same time, 3110 California #2A which was purchased for $1,000,000 in September 2004 hit the market ten days ago listed for $1,200,000 (20 percent over 2004) and seemingly a little less ready to sell the three-bedroom.
∙ Listing: 3110 California #2A (3/2) 1,270 sqft - $1,200,000 [Redfin]
∙ Listing: 3110 California #2B (2/2) 1,059 sqft - $849,900 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
February 25, 2011
Saitwowitz’s Yerba Buena Lofts (855 Folsom) Showcase Unit Returns
One of twenty-one terrace units at the 200-unit Saitowitz designed Yerba Buena Lofts, one of fifteen with two full baths, 855 Folsom #539 was purchased new for $690,000 in 2002.
Customized with dual 18 foot motorized shades (including blackout), a Norbert Wangen designed Boffi K2 kitchen island (sans the mini-appliances), and sliding glass walls on either side of the lower bedroom, the 1,396 square foot unit with 500 square foot terrace is back on the market and listed for $995,000.
If you’re familiar with The Phaidon Atlas, this is the unit showcased for the development. And as a financial aside, word has it an adjacent unit was just leased for $4,200 a month.
Full Disclosure: The seller of 855 Folsom #539 advertises on SocketSite and provided a tour of the property and background information at our request, but no compensation, for this post.
∙ Listing: 855 Folsom #539 (2/2) 1,396 sqft - $995,000 [yerbabuenaloft.com] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
February 24, 2011
Esprit Park Two Years Later, Apples-To-Apples Style
Public records suggest the Esprit Park two-bedroom known as 875 Indiana #515 sold for $1,250,000 in November of 2008, the same year the San Francisco Business Times named Esprit Park its "New Community of the Year."
It’s now two years later and the top floor condo is back on the market and listed for $950,000 (24 percent under its New Community of the Year price). As we noted in 2008 with respect to a top floor sister unit which had been listed for $1,095,000 that November:
While asking at least $105,000 less than "similar units" in the development, after a month on the market the listing for that investor owned and "insatiable" two-bedroom at Esprit Park has been withdrawn. As always, another data point for plugged-in people.
∙ Listing: 875 Indiana #515 (2/2.5) - $950,000 [MLS]
∙ Not So Quick For That "Insatiable" Homes On Esprit Park Flip (#S514) [SocketSite]
∙ A Quick Friends And Family Esprit Park Flip? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (59) | (email story)
February 23, 2011
The Quintessence Of Russian Hill Living Or The Market As A Whole?
Purchased for $2,550,000 in December 2007 and unsuccessfully listed for sale five times since with prices ranging from $2,700,000 to $1,900,000, the Royal Towers (1750 Taylor) #1803 is now back on the market MLS and listed for $1,995,000 as a short sale.
The new listing at 22 percent below its 2007 price touts "Quintessential Russian Hill Co-Op." And yes, the listing now includes an obligatory reference to the America’s Cup.
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor #1803 (3/3) - $1,995,000 (short sale) [MLS]
∙ Royal Towers (1750 Taylor): Columns, Views, And Comps [SocketSite]
∙ Overused Listing Descriptor Of The New Year: "Stunning" [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
February 22, 2011
909 Tennessee: High Bid (By Far) Backs Out But Expectation Remains
The minimum bid amount of $340,000 for 909 Tennessee attracted nine bidders this past November with bids ranging from $377,000 to $1,310,000. As we noted a few weeks ago, however, the "winning" high bidder (Wayneco Heavy Industries) has backed out of the buy.
While the winning bid had been placed without contingencies or conditions of purchase, and a 10 percent deposit was placed into escrow by Wayneco in early January, "due to potential disclosure issues that Wayneco Heavy Industries has raised regarding the sale…the City Attorney’s Office and [Wayneco] are in discussions over how much, if any, of the $131,000 in escrow" will be returned.
In addition, it turns out the second-highest bid for the property came in at $906,000 (30.8 percent less than the "winning" bid) and San Francisco’s Real Estate Division has decided to re-bid the property with a minimum bid of $1,310,000 rather than offer it to the second-highest bidder citing "an improved real estate market in 2011."
Keep in mind that an appraisal for 909 Tennessee came in at $340,000 in June 2010 reflecting "significant repairs [required] for any type of use," such as a 2005 Department of Public Works estimate of $2,151,370 to return the building to active fire station use.
∙ Winning Bid For Firehouse At 909 Tennessee Goes Up In Flames [SocketSite]
∙ $1,310,000 Is Bid For 909 Tennessee And The Board Says... [SocketSite]
∙ A One Time Fire Sale To Address An Ongoing Budgetary Problem [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
February 15, 2011
Candlestick Point Woes Continue For More Than Cohen
While the Candlestick Point condo San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen lost to foreclosure remains listed for sale at $314,900 (having been purchased by Cohen for $518,178 in 2006), it’s a plugged-in tipster that calls our attention to two other Candlestick Point resales that are currently in contract.
Both short sales and listed for $199,000 and $199,999 respectively, 301 Crescent Way #3417 was purchased for $419,000 in 2007 while 401 Crescent Way #4103 was purchased for $400,000 that same year.
As we wrote about the Candle Stick Cove development in 2006:
Our first thought upon spying The Cove from 101: “Are they building a prison over there?” And after perusing their website (“Candlestick Point is one of the City’s hottest new neighborhoods,” and “fast becoming one the of the City’s most desirable addresses”), our second thought: “Uh....”
And as plugged-in people might recall, it was in 2008 we first noted a short-sale in the development and in 2009 that we first noted a two-bedroom market rate unit listed for $389,900, $10,000 less than a comparable "Below Market Rate" (BMR) unit, and selling for even less ($374,900).
∙ San Francisco Supervisor Cohen Walks Away From Underwater Condo [SocketSite]
∙ The Cove (Candlestick Point) [SocketSite]
∙ New Twist: The First Resale Short Sale At Candlestick Point - The Cove [SocketSite]
∙ Buy A BMR...For $10K More Than Bank-Owned At Candlestick Point [SocketSite]
∙ A Market Rate Resale Below Its BMR Compatriot At Candlestick Point [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
February 14, 2011
Transbay Transit Center Public Art Program Video Premier
Staring a host of plugged-in readers, the video highlighting the four large-scale pieces of art which will be woven through the architecture of San Francisco’s new Transbay Transit Center is now playing on the Transbay Joint Powers Authority's website.
In addition to pieces by Jenny Holzer and James Carpenter, the integrated art will include the terrazzo floor by Julie Chang pictured above and a 300 meter water fountain by Ned Kahn atop the center which will trace the movement of buses below.
∙ Transbay Transit Center Public Art Program [transbaycenter.org]
∙ Scoop: Transbay Interactive Map (And New Transit Center Website)
∙ So You Want To Be In Animated Renderings Redux [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
Drew School Living Wall Mapped And Planted By Patrick Blanc
The Drew School’s three-story Living Wall has been planted with over 4,150 individual plants and 100 native California species as mapped by Parisian botanist Patrick Blanc.
The 1,720 square foot wall is Blanc’s largest installation in the States. A 2,630 square foot green roof will be planted atop the building by Rana Creek, the firm behind the living roof atop the California Academy of Sciences.
∙ Destruction Before Construction: Drew School Expansion [SocketSite]
∙ Drew School Expansion Plans Pass Their Appeals Test(s) [SocketSite]
∙ Drawings For A Proposed Drew School Expansion Along Broderick [SocketSite]
∙ The Drew School Addition Rendering Scoop: Its Living Wall And All [SocketSite]
∙ Patrick Blanc "Living Wall" Testimonial And Broderick Street Blueprint [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
February 10, 2011
A Two Becomes A One With Room To Entertain At One Rincon Hill
Purchased as a One Rincon Hill two-bedroom for $1,250,000 ten months ago, 425 1st Street #4706 has returned to the market with one less bedroom but all 1,238 square feet and asking the same. In the words of the listing agent:
Similar two-bedroom units present a challenge for entertaining more than six people for cocktails, while this unit can comfortably host a dozen or more for drinks or eight for a formal dinner.
As the floor plan looked before the renovation when "Bedroom Two" was removed, the entrance to the adjoining bathroom was changed, and a bathtub looks to have been removed (and perhaps converted to a closet):
In related ''06 stack news, the resale of 425 1st Street #806 closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $835,000.
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street (1/1.5) 1,238 sqft - $1,250,000 [MLS]
∙ The Latest (By Two Weeks) One Rincon Hill "06" Comp [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
February 9, 2011
The "Situation" At One Rincon Hill
According to One Rincon Hill developer Mike Kriozere, the "negative economic cycle" has resulted in an unforeseen "misalignment" of the One Rincon Hill Phase II partners' long-term interests and as such Urban West Associates is "now negotiating with a new partner."
In terms of the scheduled distress sale of the majority interests in the One Rincon Hill Phase II Partnership we first reported yesterday and sparked the response from Kriozere, apparently it's simply a "commonly used tool to increase the urgency to resolve or otherwise reconcile these situations."
We’ll keep you plugged-in as the situation changes.
∙ Rincon developer seeks new partner [San Francisco Business Times]
∙ One Rincon Phase II: What’s Behind That Confidentiality Agreement? [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill Phase II Partnership Interests Headed For Foreclosure [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
February 8, 2011
One Rincon Phase II: What’s Behind That Confidentiality Agreement?
Not too surprisingly, the Beverly Hills firm handling what appears to be the distressed sale of the majority of interests in the One Rincon Hill Phase II Limited Partnership is being rather tight lipped about the sale we first reported this morning. The Limited Partnership is the fee owner of the One Rincon Hill Phase II property at 401 Harrison Street.
And while we’re still doing a bit of digging, if you happen to have the inside scoop and have yet to sign the confidentiality agreement that we couldn’t, we’d love to hear from you.
∙ One Rincon Hill Phase II Partnership Interests Headed For Foreclosure [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:45 PM | Permalink | (email story)
One Rincon Hill Phase II Partnership Interests Headed For Foreclosure
As a plugged-in tipster notes, the 64 percent partnership interest held by Urban West Rincon Developers II, LLC in the One Rincon Hill Phase II Limited Partnership and the entire general partner interest held by Rincon Developers Phase II, LLC have been scheduled for a foreclosure sale down in Los Angeles on March 10.
The One Rincon Hill Phase II, LLC recently requested a $24,069,433 reduction in assessed value on their parcel at 401 Harrison, from a current assessment of $39,069,433 to $15,000,000.
Stay tuned. As always, we'll keep you plugged-in.
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
February 7, 2011
A Month Later And A Bit More Red Down In Jackson Square
Purchased for $1,350,000 in February 2008, three days ago the sale of the "immaculate" two-bedroom, two-bath condo #508 at 733 Front Street closed escrow with a reported contract price of $975,000 ($668 per square foot).
Call it a 28 percent or $375,000 drop in value for the Jackson Square condo with parking, designer kitchen and nine foot ceilings over the past three years.
As plugged-in people might recall, last month the short-sale of 733 Front Street #407, a one-bedroom, closed escrow with a reported contract price of $450,000, 38 percent ($280,000) below its September 2007 purchase of $730,000.
∙ In The Red At 733 Front Street Down In Jackson Square [SocketSite]
∙ Jackson Square For 34 38 Percent Less In 2011 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
February 4, 2011
The Modern Era In San Francisco (In More Ways Than One)
Speaking of San Francisco’s modern era of development, the last we checked in on the Eichler Summit at 999 Green two two-bedrooms in the ’04 stack were on the market, neither of which moved. Prior to that we reported on a three-bedroom in the ’02 stack which sold for "over asking" but 32 percent under its sale price in October 2008.
New to the market today, 999 Green #1905 which last traded for $399,000 in 1994, now asking $1,095,000. And yes, we expect any new sale to show signs of average annual appreciation over the past seventeen years. If we were able to isolate the average annual change in value over the past seven years, or perhaps just one, however…
∙ Listing: 999 Green #1905 (1/1) - $1,095,000 [MLS]
∙ San Francisco’s Modern Era Of Design And Development [SocketSite]
∙ Two Renovated Corner Fours At (And Near) The Summit Of 999 Green [SocketSite]
∙ "Over Asking" (But 32 Percent Under 2008) For 999 Green #2802 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
Winning Bid For Firehouse At 909 Tennessee Goes Up In Flames
While the Board of Supervisors approved the sale for $1,310,000, it appears that the high bidder for the former firehouse at 909 Tennessee will not be following through on the purchase and the building will be put back out for bid.
∙ $1,310,000 Is Bid For 909 Tennessee And The Board Says... [SocketSite]
∙ For The Love Of Dogpatch And 909 Tennessee [SocketSite]
∙ A One Time Fire Sale To Address An Ongoing Budgetary Problem [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
February 3, 2011
"Best Priced Studio Condo In SoMa" Undercut From Above
It’s nothing fancy nor luxurious. And at 311 square feet, 195 7th Street #308 is anything but large. But it is a South of Market condo that’s just hit the market as a short-sale listed for $150,000. And it's not a BMR.
Purchased for $51,000 in 1995 it sold for $79,000 in 1998 (appreciation of 14 percent per year). And five years later it sold for $180,000 in 2003 (appreciation of 18 percent per year). Apparently "short-term" holds and frequently flipped properties do show price appreciation. Well, at least when the market is actually appreciating.
Three other studios listed for sale in the 34-unit building currently range in price from $189,500 for #208 (time to strike that "Best Priced Studio Condo in SOMA" tout) to $238,000 for #404 which is larger by twenty-one square feet.
∙ Listing: 195 7th Street #208 (0/1) 311 sqft – $189,500 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 195 7th Street #308 (0/1) 311 sqft - "$150,000" (short sale) [MLS]
∙ Listing: 195 7th Street #404 (0/1) 332 sqft - $238,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
50 Cent (On The Dollar) In Da Condo On Nob Hill
With $49,853 past due on a $1,950,000 mortgage taken out in November 2006, the two units on the 14th floor of Gramercy Towers which were combined to create a 2,300 square foot three-bedroom with "top of the world views" were taken back by the bank a year ago.
First relisted by the bank for $1,100,000 a hundred days ago, they’re down to $999,999.
∙ Listing: 1177 California #1423/1424 (2/2 + 1/1) - $999,999 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
February 1, 2011
San Francisco’s Modern Era Of Design And Development
San Francisco’s Planning Department has recently completed a comprehensive Historic Context Statement for Modern Architecture and Landscape Design in San Francisco between 1935 and 1970 in order to provide a "framework for consistent, informed evaluations of San Francisco’s Modern buildings and landscapes."
The Period of Significance 1935-1970 was chosen because it best represents the evolution and zenith of Modern design in San Francisco.
The mid-1930s witnessed a confluence of events significant to the development of Modern architecture in San Francisco. In January 1935, Architect & Engineer published a photo spread of the first Modern residential building constructed in San Francisco – the Cowell House designed by architects Morrow & Morrow in 1933. Pioneering International Style architect Richard Neutra designed the first of five buildings in San Francisco in 1935. The Golden Gate and Bay Bridges were nearing completion, opening up downtown San Francisco and solidifying its role as the region’s financial, corporate and industrial center. The Federal Housing Administration’s "Modernize Main Street" campaign was in full swing in San Francisco, spurring construction of Streamline Moderne commercial storefronts. By 1937, master builder Henry Doelger had introduced Streamline Moderne styles in his residential tract developments.
By the late 1960s, Modernism had largely peaked in San Francisco, although some sub-styles, such as the Third Bay Tradition, were just emerging. During the 1960s, Modern architects and landscape architects designed iconic skyscrapers, urban landscapes, and master-planned developments such as Diamond Heights. However, a growing backlash to the perceived sterility of Modern design and concerns about the energy inefficiencies of Downtown’s glass-clad buildings dampened public enthusiasm for Modern architecture.
The era’s final dramatic Modern design – the Transamerica Pyramid – marks the end of the exuberance and innovation that characterized San Francisco’s Modern Age.
With approximately 51,000 buildings constructed between 1935 and 1970, more than a third of San Francisco’s total building stock and 97 percent of which were residential, the report is well worth a read even if you’re not an architecture or design buff.
The Context Statement will be presented to San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission tomorrow with the Planning Department’s recommendation to adopt.
∙ Modern Design Historic Context Statement Report [sfplanning.org]
∙ San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission Agenda: 2/2/11 [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
Sneak Peek: 706 Mission Tower Design And Aronson Building Rehab
On Wednesday, San Francisco’s Architectural Review Committee will review and comment on the proposed rehabilitation and integration of the Aronson Building at 706 Mission into the 550-foot-tall tower slated to rise on the 25,000 square foot parcel next door.
As proposed, the 47-story tower being designed by Mexican architect Enrique Norten and Glenn Rescalvo of San Francisco’s Handel Architects will contain up to 215 condos over a three-floor Mexican Museum and ground floor retail/restaurant space.
While simply conceptual elevations at this point, we’re digging the direction the tower design is headed. And with respect to the proposed rehabilitation of the existing Aronson building, we're big fans of the proposed redesign for the building's north façade.
As said north (and east) façade of 706 Mission currently appears:
∙ 706 Mission Tower (And Mexican Museum) Back In Play [SocketSite]
∙ Muy Bien? Proposal To Restore And Develop Adjacent To 706 Mission [SocketSite]
∙ ARC Review and Comment: 706 Mission Street – The Aronson Building [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
January 31, 2011
An Uptick In Activity (Versus Values) At One Rincon Hill
While a couple weeks behind in updating their listings on the MLS, it would appear the sales office at One Rincon Hill has had a relatively busy January.
In terms of two-bedrooms, sales have included 425 1st Street #4306 for $985,000 ($796 per square), it had been listed for $1,383,000 nine months ago; 425 1st Street #5101 for $965,000 ($926 per square); and 425 1st Street #5104 for $948,000 ($752 per square).
In terms of three-bedrooms, an upgraded #5302 closed escrow six days ago with a reported contract price of $2,065,500 ($1,047 per square foot). As a potential point of reference, the sales office sold the three-bedroom #5204 for $2,916,000 ($1,498 per square) in August of 2008.
According to one source, the One Rincon Hill sales team has around 40 more units to sell.
∙ From Failed To Foreclosure Flip (And Five Others) At One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill '08's Appear To Have Slipped More (Not Less) In 2010 [SocketSite]
∙ "The Last" Of The Last One Rincon Hill 02’s [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
January 26, 2011
Puttin' On The Ritz-Carlton At Under Eight Seven Hundred A Square
As we wrote this past October:
Purchased for $1,481,000 in October 2007 ($1,239 per square) and then taken back by the bank this part March with $1,234,899 due, the two-bedroom Ritz-Carlton Residences (690 Market) #1502 returned to the market six months ago.
Asking $999,900 ($837 per square) over the past 37 days, as a plugged-in reader notes, the list price was reduced to $949,905 ($795 per square) today. A sale at asking would represent a 36 percent decline in value for the luxury unit over the past three years.
And while "still not cheap" at almost $800 per square, we’re guessing that’s of little solace to those who were sold on $1,200 or more.
And as a plugged-in reader noted late last night, the bank-owned "auction" resale of 690 Market #1502 closed escrow on Monday with a reported contract price of $805,000.
Call it $674 per square foot and a 46 percent ($676,000) drop in value for the 1,195 square foot Ritz-Carlton two-bedroom since October 2007.
And yes, the Sub-Zero was still in place (as were all the cabinets).
∙ Puttin' On The Ritz (And Pressure) At Under Eight Hundred A Square [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (88) | (email story)
January 21, 2011
Remodeled Art Deco In Character At 1083 Clay (#302)
We’ve long been a fan of the Donald MacDonald designed Art Deco building at 1083 clay. And while it’s not exactly our style, nor our color palette, we can appreciate a nicely remodeled unit that’s both modern and true to the style of the building.
∙ Listing: 1083 Clay Street #302 (1/1) 983 sqft - $789,000 [1083claystreet.com] [MLS]
∙ Speaking Of Stucco, Curved Bay Windows, And Fireplaces (1083 Clay) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
A Drop Atop The Hermitage (1020 Vallejo)
Listed for $3,725,000 last September but then withdrawn two months later, the Hermitage (1020 Vallejo) penthouse number six has returned to the market with a new brokerage and a new price, now asking $3,300,000 for the 1,773 square foot condo (per tax records).
Two bedrooms, two fireplaces, two car parking and three or four terraces with big views.
∙ Listing: 1020 Vallejo Street #6 (2/2.5) - $3,300,000 [MLS]
∙ The Hermitage (1020 Vallejo) [greatbuildings.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
Symphony Towers Sales Office Gets Lapped At 650 Turk
While the sales office at Symphony Towers is still trying to close out at least seven unsold units, the first foreclosed upon unit at 650 Turk Street has hit the resale market.
Purchased for $371,500 in February 2008, 650 Turk Street #406 was taken back by the bank last July with no bidders at $317,778. The 398 square foot unit is now listed at $336,900.
At the same time, a corner penthouse studio on the ninth floor "with lots of light and partial City Hall views" is finally in contract having last been listed at $329,000. It had originally been priced at $465,000.
∙ Listing: 650 Turk #406 (0/1) - $336,900 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 650 Turk #904 (0/1) - $329,000 [MLS]
∙ An Unheard Of Price At Symphony Towers We've Heard Before [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
January 19, 2011
Rent Belvedere’s "Organ House" For $12,450 (Or Buy For $19.995M)
Built in the 1890’s and supposedly remodeled by Willis Polk in 1906, the "Organ House" across the bay in Belvedere at 433 Golden Gate Avenue was so named as one wing of the nearly 8,000 square foot property is dominated by a concert room "built to accommodate one of the largest privately-owned organs in existence at the time."
Situated at the southern tip of the island, the property provides views from Oakland to the Golden Gate bridge. And as a plugged-in tipster notes, the "Jewel of Belvedere Island" has hit Craigslist asking asking $12,450 a month for a one year lease.
But if you’d rather buy, plugged-in people should also know the property is available for sale with an asking price of $19,995,000.
∙ $12450 / 4br - The Jewel of Belvedere Island [Craigslist]
∙ Listing: 433 Golden Gate Ave, Belvedere (4/3) 7,800 sqft - $19,995,000 [tiburonland]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
From "Sold" To Actually Sold To Facing Foreclosure At 3208 Pierce
As plugged-in people might recall, while the Marina development at 3208 Pierce hit the market in 2007 with printed marketing materials touting "SOLD" for unit #407, the unit quietly hit the MLS listed for $1,279,000 once the rest of the building was in contract.
The two-bedroom condo ended up selling for $1,249,000 that October by way of a first mortgage for $999,200. A month later a second for $80,000 was added and a third for $124,000 the month after that. Call it a 96 percent Loan to Value ratio for the property within two months of purchase and at the end of 2007.
So why do we mention it now? Well, while the original notice of default was filed in November 2009, and the notice of trustee sale was finally filed a year later, the December 2010 auction being postponed due to the million dollar condo buyer's bankruptcy but the property is currently scheduled to hit the courthouse steps again in a week.
∙ 3208 Pierce: New Website And Photo Gallery [SocketSite]
∙ Another Chance To Buy In The "Sold Out" 3208 Pierce [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
January 18, 2011
Zero At Infinity Versus The Five At One (Rincon Hill)
While we count at least five condos (including at least one two-bedroom) at One Rincon Hill currently scheduled to hit the courthouse steps within the next 30 days (versus simply being in default), we don’t count any at Infinity although we are tracking at least three that appear to be on their way (again, including at least one two-bedroom).
∙ From Failed To Foreclosure Flip (And Five Others) At One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
From Failed To Foreclosure Flip (And Five Others) At One Rincon Hill
Closing escrow with a recorded contract price of $628,000 in February 2008, within two months 425 1st Street #1805 was listed for sale with an asking price of $719,000.
Following a series of price cuts, and at one point seeking a short sale for "$499,000," this past August the One Rincon Hill one-bedroom was purchased on the courthouse steps for $441,886 cash.
Back on the market at $599,000 this past October, in November the list price was reduced to $579,000 and yesterday it was reduced to $559,000.
By our count, there are at least five other condos at One Rincon Hill currently scheduled to hit the courthouse steps (versus simply being in default) within the next 30 days.
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #1805 (1/1) 710 sqft - $559,000 [MLS]
∙ A One-Bedroom Resale Officially Joins The Twos At One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill '08's Appear To Have Slipped More (Not Less) In 2010 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
Historic Preservation This Week And An Unfortunate Acronym
San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission will hold its first meeting in 2011 on Wednesday.
Amongst the items on the Commission's agenda tomorrow: a review of the proposed Alexandria Theater redevelopment, a discussion regarding historic resources within the Market and Octavia Area Plan, and a request to add the of the Ernest Coxhead designed Julian Waybur House at 3232 Pacific to the National Register of Historic Places, the application for which we're a little surprised doesn’t mention that fire in 2008.
Also on the agenda, a status report on the proposed Article 10 landmarking of all of Golden Gate Park. And the unfortunate acronym? Period of Significance or "P.O.S."
∙ San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission Agenda: 1/19/11 [sf-planning.org]
∙ A Marque Makeover To Mitigate Alexandria Theater Adverse Effects [SocketSite]
∙ The Rather “Studly” Julian Waybur House (3232 Pacific) For Sale [SocketSite]
∙ National Register Nomination Report: 3232 Pacific Avenue [sfplanning.org]
∙ Golden Gate Park Article 10 Designation Update [sfplanning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
January 14, 2011
$7,800,000 Brings The Payne At 1409 Sutter
Designed by Curlett & Cuthbertson and built in 1881 for Theodore F. Payne, the Payne Mansion at 1409 Sutter survived the fire in 1906 and has since been registered as a historic place in San Francisco.
Serving in later years as a restaurant, an office building and even a YMCA…Recent renovations have been made—including marble flooring, lighting modifications and wall texturing to enhance the elegance of the building, while retaining the European stained glass windows and original wood work.
Currently an events space, it’s around 17,000 square feet over four floors with a ballroom, two conference rooms, a full catering kitchen, and two wet bars to boot.
And if you’d like to own it (you know, because renting is for suckers and who doesn't need a little extra entertaining space...), they’re asking $7,800,000.
∙ The Payne Mansion (1409 Sutter) [thepaynemansion.com]
∙ 1409 Sutter: National Register #80000847 [noehill.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
January 10, 2011
San Francisco’s Four Seasons (765 Market) #27A: Winter 2011
In 2007 the 3,318 square foot #27A at San Francisco’s Four Seasons (765 Market Street) was purchased for $5,000,000. Since then the three-bedroom condo has been redesigned (think moving a bath and the kitchen) and renovated with "signature details" by Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Design Associates (think not cheap).
And while you won’t currently find it on the public facing MLS, and it’s far from being an "apple," the property is back on the market and asking $7,600,000 which includes the custom designed furniture.
UPDATE (1/11): While not up by the time we first published (yes, we checked), a property specifc website for 765 Market Street #27A is now live with a "price upon request" (which plugged-in people already know) and many more photos.
∙ Listing: 765 Market Street #27A (3/4.5) 3,318 sqft - $7,600,000 [fourseasons27a.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
Would The Real View From 1160 Mission #501 Please Stand Up…
Asking $800,000 on Craigslist last February with a view photo from a unit 17 floors higher that faced a completely different direction, the sale of 1160 Mission #501 closed escrow this past Friday with a reported contact price of $699,000 ($582 per square foot).
The 1,184 square foot Soma Grand two-bedroom had been purchased for $738,000 in February 2008 ($623 per square). And yes, a view-blocking Trinity Place has popped up since but shouldn’t have come as any surprise.
∙ A Favorite Soma Grand (Not From The Fifth Floor) Penthouse View [SocketSite]
∙ Trinity Place Opens Up Under Cloudy Skies But Sunny Dispositions [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco's Newest Tower Crane (For Trinity Plaza) Is In The Air [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) | (email story)
Albion Castle (881 Innes) Cuts To 151 Thrones
While the $10,592 throne is still in place and the listing continues to advertise "seller financing available," the asking price for the Albion Castle (881 Innes Avenue) has been reduced another $200,000 to $1,599,000 (151 thrones).
Once again, the seller is a mortgage banker who purchased the property at auction for $2,090,000 in 2005, remodeled and renovated (enter said throne), and then returned the castle to the market in late 2009 asking $2,950,000.
∙ Listing: 881 Innes Avenue (4/2) - $1,599,000 [MLS]
∙ The Albion Castle’s $10,592 Throne [SocketSite]
∙ Care To Get Your Castle On? A Restored Albion Castle Returns [SocketSite]
∙ Albion Castle Cuts $550,000 (19%), Now About That Karma... [SocketSite]
∙ Calling All Kings...Albion Castle Cuts Another $500,000 (21 percent) [SocketSite]
∙ Another Cut For Albion Castle (881 Innes Avenue) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
Jackson Square For 34 38 Percent Less In 2011
Plugged-in people knew the short sale had been approved and the list price reduced to $480,000, a sale at which would have been a 34 percent drop in value for the Jackson Square condo at 733 Front Street over the past three years.
This past Friday the sale of 733 Front Street #407 closed escrow with a reported contract of $450,000, 38 percent below its September 2007 purchase price of $730,000.
Don’t forget those invitations to the house warming, paying attention to those "bitter" bears three years ago just saved you $280,000 and buys an awful lot of champagne.
∙ Not New But Now "Approved" And Shorter Still For 733 Front #407 [SocketSite]
∙ Now With Even More Red At 733 Front Street On Jackson Square [SocketSite]
∙ 733 Front Street: A SocketSite Forum Inquiry (And Answer) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
January 6, 2011
Shorter Still For 235 Berry Street #304 At $560 Per Square Foot
Asking $750,900 when the building was 89 percent sold in January 2007, 235 Berry #304 sold for a reported $751,000 that March ($702 per square foot).
Returned to the market (mis)priced at $849,000 this past May, perhaps based on market (mis)expectations, the asking price for the two-bedroom was reduced to $829,000 in June and then to $675,000 as a short sale in August.
In contract and then relisted twice since last September, on Tuesday the list price for the 1,070 square foot "spacious corner residence" was reduced to $599,000, 20 percent under its 2007 sale and $560 per square, a value which shouldn't catch any plugged-in buyers or sellers by surprise.
∙ Listing: 235 Berry #304 (2/2) 1,070 sqft – "$599,000" (short sale) [MLS]
∙ 235 Berry Street Update: At Most 89% Sold (And Moving On In) [SocketSite]
∙ An Under $600 Per Square Foot Two-Bedroom Comp At 235 Berry [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
One Rincon Hill '08's Appear To Have Slipped More (Not Less) In 2010
As we wrote this past June:
Hours after our noting the bank-owned listing for 425 1st Street #3908 at $695,000, the sales office at One Rincon Hill reduced the list price for 425 1st Street #4308 from $780,000 to $749,000 ($992 per square foot).
Today, the sale of 425 1st Street #4408 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $690,000 ($914 per square foot), the 755 square foot view one-bedroom had most recently been listed by the sales office for $785,000.
Considering the sale office sold #3908 for $855,000 in June 2008 ($1,132 per square), and taking into account a five floor higher premium, we’ll call it a 20-25 percent drop in value for #4408 over the past two years.
And the argument that $695,000 for #3908 is "cheap" simply because #4308 is listed for$780,000$749,000? Not so strong.
The sale of One Rincon Hill #4308 ended up selling this past July with a reported contract price of $687,000 ($909 per square) while the sale of #3908 ended up closing escrow this past September with a recorded contract price of $660,000 ($874 per square foot four floors below), a 23 percent drop in value from June 2008.
Seven days ago the sales office sold 425 1st Street #4608 for a reported contract price of $680,000 ($901 per square), 1 percent under the contract prices of #4308 and #4408 six and seven months ago respectively.
∙ Interesting Indeed As One Rincon Hill #4308 Falls Out Of Escrow [SocketSite]
∙ Additional '08 Stack (And Year) Perspective From One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
∙ The First Listed Foreclosure At 425 First (One Rincon Hill) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
January 5, 2011
Puttin’ The Ritz (690 Market #2003) Back To The Bank
With no bidders yesterday at $1,144,024 ($799 per square foot), 690 Market Street #2003 is now bank owned. Once again, the luxury two-bedroom Ritz-Carlton condo had originally been purchased for $1,890,000 ($1,320 per square) in September 2007.
∙ Ritz-Carlton (690 Market Street) At 39 Percent Off This Afternoon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | (email story)
San Francisco Realty TV: Fear The Beard Foreclosure
A plugged-in reader pegged it as the place San Francisco Giants Brian Wilson and Barry Zito once rented while we pegged it as the "Marina Mansion" seeking $13,500 a month in rent last year.
Listed for sale at $5,000,000 in 2008 and then $3,695,000 in 2010, 3157 Baker Street is now scheduled to hit the courthouse steps tomorrow afternoon with an opening bid of $2,571,939 for the 3,646 square foot five-bedroom Marina home. Don't forget those cashier's checks.
And no, we never should have doubted our readers who pegged 3159 Baker as San Francisco’s Top Chef home. But hey, the two Marina homes are adjacent and owned by the same persons. Well, at least for another day.
∙ A Hollywood Ending (And Not) For 3157 Baker Street [SocketSite]
∙ Would The Real Top Chef San Francisco House Please Stand Up? [SocketSite]
∙ Are There Any Plugged-In Top Chef Aficionados In The House? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (29) | (email story)
January 4, 2011
Ritz-Carlton (690 Market Street) At 39 Percent Off This Afternoon
Scheduled to hit the courthouse steps at two this afternoon, it’s a plugged-in tipster that notes the previously published opening bid of $1,407,739 has just been dropped to $1,144,024 for the two-bedroom Ritz-Carlton condo known as 690 Market #2003.
Purchased for $1,890,000 ($1,320 per square) in September 2007 with what would appear to have been a $1,322,978 loan and 30 percent ($567,022) down, the 1,431 square foot luxury unit was listed for $2.35M in 2008, reduced to $1.9M in 2009, and then reduced to $1.69M before being withdrawn.
We don't consider courthouse auction prices to be "apples-to-apples" on account of their all cash and no contingency nature, but as our reader notes, it will be a 39 percent haircut in value if it sells for its opening price of $799 per square.
That being said, 690 Market #1502 which was purchased for $1,481,000 in October 2007 ($1,239 per square) and then taken back by the bank is currently pending having last been listed for $949,905 ($795 per square), a sale at which would represent an apples-to-apples 36 percent decline in value for the luxury unit over the past three years.
And once again, while "still not cheap" at almost $800 per square, we’re guessing that’s of little solace to those who were sold on $1,200 $1,300 per square or more.
UPDATE: While still noted as pending on the MLS, a plugged-in reader reports that 690 Market #1502 actually "sold for $805K, plus the auction fees, in early December." Once again, the condo originally sold for $1,481,000 in October 2007.
UPDATE: With no bidders yesterday at $1,144,024 ($799 per square foot), 690 Market Street #2003 is now bank owned. Once again, the luxury two-bedroom Ritz-Carlton condo had originally been purchased for $1,890,000 ($1,320 per square) in September 2007.
∙ Puttin' On The Ritz (And Pressure) At Under Eight Hundred A Square [SocketSite]
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December 29, 2010
Target On Target For A 2012 Opening At The Metreon
"San Francisco's mayor says the last bureaucratic hurdles have been cleared for the construction of the city's first Target retail store....[as] final permits [have] been issued to begin building the downtown store [at the Metreon]."
∙ Target + Metreon = (Twenty-Two Foot) Bull's-Eye In 2012 [SocketSite]
∙ Path cleared for San Francisco's first Target [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 PM | Permalink | (email story)
Shorter Still For 310 Townsend From The Beginning To End Of 2010?
With a list price of $645,000 when the 45 condos at 310 Townsend first hit the market in early 2007, unit number 309 ended up selling for a recorded $640,000 that July (reported as $645,000 on the MLS).
Returned to the market this past March asking $465,000, the list price on the one bedroom was reduced to $425,000 in April and was pending two weeks later. Falling out of contract, the condo was relisted in June at $500,000.
Reduced to $475,000 in July, two weeks later 310 Townsend #309 was back in contract only to fall out once again. Relisted at $450,000 this past September, in November its list price was reduced to $435,000 and on Monday it was reduced to $399,000 (38 percent under 2007). And yes, it’s listed as a "short sale" but without mention of being "pre-approved" at this price.
Interestingly enough, the 803 square foot #308 at 310 Townsend which was purchased for $615,000 in 2007 resold for $494,000 a year ago (a drop of "only" 20 percent at the time) while 1,136 square foot #303 which was purchased for $850,000 in 2007 resold for $670,000 five months ago (a drop of 21 percent).
We’re still waiting for 310 Townsend #202 to report its "best price ever" sale.
∙ Listing: 310 Townsend #309 (1/1) 789 sqft - "$399,000" [MLS]
∙ 310 Townsend: Available And Selling [SocketSite]
∙ 310 Townsend #303 Is Booked [SocketSite]
∙ "Best Price Ever" At 310 Townsend (Assuming It’s Approved) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (58) | (email story)
December 27, 2010
Mary, Mary How Did Your Roof Atop One South Van Ness Grow?
Completed this past October, the new living roof atop One South Van Ness "percolates storm water, reduces peak runoff, reduces cooling loads and energy use within the building, provides a suitable habitat for butterflies & honey bees, and a...park-like view from neighboring buildings."
The living roof is 9,500 square foot and captures, stores, and delivers rainwater for irrigation via a 6,500 gallon tank and pump system; which will help reduce the use of potable water during the summer or dry months.
The plants on the living roof include a variety of California native and adopted plants including Buckwheat, Stonecrop, Tufted Hair Grass and San Bruno Mountain Manzanita.
In addition to the greenery and environmental benefits, the project team prioritized the reuse of roofing and insulation materials. River rock ballasts were reused around the edges of the living roof, provided by the Park and Recreation Department, and the pathways were made out of existing concrete roof pavers.
Cost of construction: $3 million over 10 months, compressed to under 3 minutes below:
∙ One South Van Ness Roof Replacement/Living Roof Project [sfdpw.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
December 24, 2010
Four More Years For The 49ers At Candlestick
As the San Francisco 49ers move forward with plans for a new stadium in Santa Clara, and their current lease at Candlestick is set to expire at the end of the 2013 season, the team has agreed to the terms of a new lease which "would keep the team in San Francisco until the end of 2015 unless the 49ers exercise an option to leave a year early."
∙ Santa Clara Scores A Potential Stadium/Team As Measure J Passes [SocketSite]
∙ Niners extend lease at Candlestick Park [Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
December 22, 2010
As Eagle-Eyed Readers Know (And Stanley Saitowitz Rendered)
As plugged-in and eagle-eyed people know, renderings for "1600 Harrison" have sat perched in the Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects portfolio for a couple of years, a site otherwise known as 398 12th Street. And yes, that’s the address of The Eagle.
And while The Eagle is rumored to have been on the market since the beginning of the year, as far as we know a buyer has yet to swoop in and no permits have been filed for development. So who has the inside scoop?
∙ From The Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects Portfolio: Pine Street [SocketSite]
∙ Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects: Portfolio [saitowitz.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
The Short Sellers Come Up Short As 2111 Franklin #4 Returns REO
Advertising "Beautiful Bones" (i.e., in rough shape), the 1,565 square foot number five at 2111 Franklin sold for $799,000 ($511 per square) this past February having been taken back by the bank in May 2009.
Four months later the fully renovated and 1,565 square foot number two at 2111 Franklin sold for $925,000 ($591 per square) having been purchased for $1,095,000 ($700 per square) two years before in June 2008.
And yesterday, the 1,565 square foot semi-renovated number four at 2111 Franklin returned to the market for the first time as a banked-owned property asking $725,000 ($463 per square).
Purchased for $1,075,000 in September 2005 ($687 per square), number four chased the market down for two years, having first been listed for $1,100,000 in August 2008, last asking $849,000 as a short sale before losing the property to the bank last month.
The Pacific Heights property had been purchased in 2005 by way of two mortgages, one for $800,000 and another for $167,500, and ten percent ($107,500) down. It had previously sold for $759,000 in 2002 with a bit of remodeling in between.
∙ Listing: 2111 Franklin #4 (2/2) 1,565 sqft - $725,000 [Redfin]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
December 14, 2010
Two Floors Below But Asking 16 Percent Less Year-Over-Year
Last December the two-bedroom condo known as 140 South Van Ness #919 sold for $595,000 according to public records ($610,000 according to the self-reported MLS), it had been purchased for $630,000 in March 2004.
Six months later 140 South Van Ness #719, the same floor plan but two floors below, was taken back by the bank having been purchased for $553,000 in November 2003. Perhaps taking a cue from "the market has risen since 2009" crowd, the condo was listed for $589,900.
Reduced four times and then delisted yesterday, the 1,075 square foot unit was relisted the same day at $499,900 but now with an official "one day" on the market according to MLS based stats, reports, and newsletters.
∙ Listing: 140 South Van Ness #719 (2/2) 1,075 sqft - $499,900 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
December 10, 2010
For The Love Of Dogpatch And 909 Tennessee
From a plugged-in reader with respect to the sale of 909 Tennessee:
I was the winner of the auction and no, there will be no demolishing the structure, I bought the building because I've loved it for nearly two decades and want to both preserve and extend it.
It's an amazing unique property in a neighborhood I've lived in (on that block and on that street) I'm already invested in and I love.
Cheers.
∙ Comments: $1,310,000 Is Bid For 909 Tennessee And The Board Says... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:45 PM | Permalink | (email story)
December 9, 2010
"The Last" Of The Last One Rincon Hill 02’s
Over the past few months the sale of a fair number of One Rincon Hill high forties "02’s" have closed escrow.
At the beginning of September the sale of 425 1st Street #4602 closed escrow with a recorded contract price of $1,343,500 ($1,026 per square foot) while at the end of September 425 1st Street #4502 (which had last been listed at $1,450,000 as the sales office’s "LAST 02") sold for $1,297,000 ($991 per square foot).
And in October, the re-sale of 425 1st Street #4902 (which had also been listed as the "Last Brand New 02 Unit") closed escrow with a recorded contract price of $1,370,000 ($1,047 per square), for an average recent per square foot sale price of $1,021 for the three 02's in the high forties.
At the same time, 425 1st Street #4802 has been on the market for a month asking $1,499,000 ($1,145 per square) while 425 1st Street #4702 hit the market yesterday asking $1,449,000 ($1,107 per square) having been purchased for $1,605,500 ($1,226 per square ) in August 2008.
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #4702 (2/2) 1,309 sqft - $1,449,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #4802 (2/2) 1,309 sqft - $1,499,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
December 8, 2010
An Alternative To Preserve The Past At 121 Golden Gate Avenue
As plugged-in people know, the St. Anthony Foundation and Mercy Housing propose to raze the existing 40-foot-tall, two-story building at 121 Golden Gate Avenue and build a 99-foot-high, ten-story building of approximately 109,375 gross square feet comprising a kitchen/dining hall, philanthropic/social services, and 90 affordable senior housing units.
What some might not know, the façade is considered "historic." And as such, the just released Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the project includes a "Partial Preservation Alternative" which would retain the street level façades on Golden Gate Avenue and Jones.
The portion of the proposed building that extends above the height of the existing historic roofline would be set back one structural bay, approximately 14 feet, from the Golden Gate Avenue and Jones Street property lines, in order to maintain a sense of the existing historic building’s height and massing. With the setbacks, this alternative would be approximately 85,687 square feet, or 22 percent smaller than the 109,375 square feet of the proposed project. This alternative would have 68 affordable housing units, 24 percent fewer than the proposed project’s 90 affordable units. Other aspects of the proposed project would be unchanged or similar (land uses, height).
All character-defining materials of the historic façades would be cleaned and repaired in conformance with the Secretary of the Interiors Standards. The existing storefront systems would be removed below the transom to accommodate the arcade proposed as part of the project. The bulkhead below the storefront would be removed only in those locations that require a path of travel to the street. Three to four storefront openings that have been infilled/modified would be reopened to match their historic configuration and provided with a new transom to match the original.
∙ Designs For Building Senior Housing At 121 Golden Gate Avenue [SocketSite]
∙ 121 Golden Gate Avenue Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) [sf-planning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
It’s Not Academic For The Academy of Art University At 2295 Taylor
In 1993, San Francisco’s Planning Commission granted the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) a Conditional Use Authorization to add a third story to the 20,675 square foot building at 2295 Taylor (aka 701 Chestnut) and convert the commercial building to educational use.
While SFAI started occupying the ground floor of 2295 Taylor subsequent to the Planning Commission’s Authorization, Permits were never submitted for either the addition or the conversion. As a result, the Conditional Use Authorization for the building expired. And in 2003, SFAI sold the building to the Academy of Art University (AAU).
Despite the expiration of the Conditional Use Authorization, and without the benefit of building permits, the AAU is currently utilizing the entire building for educational use including the conversion of the building’s second floor parking garage to classroom space (a major no-no seeing as how the Planning Code requires 16 off‐street parking spaces for the property as it’s being utilized).
Tomorrow, San Francisco’s Planning Commission revisits the project as the Academy of Art University petitions to modify what it believes to be a valid Conditional Use Authorization allowing it to continue its use. The Planning Department’s recommendation: Disapprove.
Also on the agenda for tomorrow’s Planning Commission meeting, a progress report on the Academy of Art University housing practices and enforcement program
∙ Request for Conditional Use Authorization: 2295 Taylor Street [sf-planning.org]
∙ Progress Report: AAU Housing Practices and Enforcement Program [sf-planning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
December 7, 2010
The Wrecking Ball Goes To Work On San Francisco's Transbay Terminal
With the eastern bus ramp and overpasses long gone and Phase 3 of the Tansbay Terminal demolition underway, the wrecking ball is going to work on the main terminal which should be completely demolished by February at which point the fourth and final demolition phase kicks off and the western bus ramps from Harrison to Howard will fall.
Over 6,500 tons of concrete from the demolition will be crushed and reused on site in the construction of San Francisco's new Transbay Transit Center. And smiles abound on those walking in the sunlight where an overpass once loomed.
∙ Transbay Terminal Rampectomies Underway Overhead [SocketSite]
∙ All Aboard As San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal Nears Its Close [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Transit Center: Transbay Terminal Demolition Information [transbaycenter.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
$1,310,000 Is Bid For 909 Tennessee And The Board Says...
As a plugged-in reader first reported the day the nine sealed bids for 909 Tennessee were opened and read aloud, the highest bid came in at $1,310,000 from a current property owner in Dogpatch.
Amongst the items in front of today’s San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting, a resolution approving the sale of the former firehouse.
∙ 909 Tennessee Scoop: Spruced Up And Soliciting "Fire Sale" Bids [SocketSite]
∙ A One Time Fire Sale To Address An Ongoing Budgetary Problem [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco Board of Supervisors Agenda: 12/7/10 [sfbos.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
December 6, 2010
The Post-Litigation Oriental Warehouse Listing Parade Continues On
As plugged-in people know, the litigation that has been hanging over the Oriental Warehouse (650 Delancey) has recently been settled paving the way for a plurality of new listings, the latest of which is number 111 listed for $1,095,000.
Purchased for $995,000 in June 2005, the sale won’t be apples-to-apples as the 1,554 square foot two-bedroom loft has since undergone a "stunning remodel" which included "only the very finest of finishes" in the kitchen (Wolf stove and Advantium oven) and baths (slate, Toto toilets, and "low voltage warm floors w/ their own thermostat[s]").
Said kitchen before:
∙ Listing: 650 Delancey Street #111 (2/2) 1,554 sqft - $1.095,000 [MLS]
∙ The Clouds Have Almost Cleared From Over The Oriental Warehouse [SocketSite]
∙ The Oriental Warehouse (650 Delancey) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
December 1, 2010
A Marque Makeover To Mitigate Alexandria Theater Adverse Effects
With the Planning Department having identified a number of character-defining features of the blighted Alexandria Theater, on Wednesday the sponsors of the theater’s proposed redevelopment will present their plans for avoiding, or mitigating, any significant adverse effects in terms of historical preservation to San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission.
Amongst the plans for the makeover: new paint, backlighting, light boxes, and neon.
∙ Alexandria Theater Plans A Few Weeks From First Public Screening [SocketSite]
∙ Now Showing At The Shuttered Alexandria Theater: Blight [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
November 29, 2010
Heads-Up Near The Hallidie Building (130 Sutter)
From a recent structural observation report for the Willis Polk designed Hallidie Building at 130 Sutter Street, San Francisco Landmark number 37 and one of the first examples of glass curtain-walled design:
The purpose of this inspection was to assess the general condition of ornamental metal and their anchorage to the building. We were limited to inspections of the first level of these metal pieces, which are located near the elevation of the second floor. We were assisted in this inspection with the use of a man lift.
Removal of a portion of the metal cladding allowed us to inspect the interior of the metal pieces and thereby we were able to observe the attachment of these pieces to the building structure. The pieces are attached to various steel brackets which are in turn attached to steel out riggers that are an extension of the steel framework of the building. We noted that the steel brackets were not painted with in the concealed space of the metal pieces but were painted where they are exposed to the exterior. We also noted that the roof enclosure over the metal pieces appears to have been leaking for a considerable amount of time.
Of considerable concern is the condition of the steel brackets observed. Pieces of the brackets have deteriorated to the point where they are no longer functional. The steel has completed delaminated and portions of the steel members have disintegrated. It is our opinion that it is just a matter of time before portions of the façade supported by these brackets will fall off of the building.
We strongly recommend that corrective action be taken immediately. Falling protection, some of which we noted has been installed, should be reviewed and complemented if found necessary. Removal of all badly deteriorated elements should begin as soon as possible.
On Wednesday an informational hearing regarding emergency work on the building will be heard by the Historic Preservation Commission as rehabilitation work on the landmark building requires a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Commission.
In the meantime, heads-up.
∙ JustQuotes: Looking At SF Through Blue/Green Colored Glass(es) [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco Landmark 37: Hallidie Building (130 Sutter) [noehill.com]
∙ Informational Presentation on Emergency Work at 130 Sutter Street [sf-planning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
November 22, 2010
Boom Dizzle’s Old Pad To Go Boom By Way Of Eminent Domain?
Assuming the Board of Supervisors pass a motion tomorrow, on December 7 the Board will hold a public hearing "to consider the acquisition of various real properties by eminent domain for the public purpose of construction the Transbay Transit Center Program."
As we reported by way of a plugged-in tipster back in 2007:
The Transbay Joint Powers Admin [TJPA] over that past few weeks has been sending out offer letters to purchase properties around the Transbay Terminal. The TJPA is moving forward with their acquisition plan for 20+ properties (maybe 33 if memory serves me correct) for their right of way needs. It's very hush hush as they do not want the "offers" to be made public - but "fair market" values are being tossed out there to the land owners. "Fair Market" - mind you the only people the land owners can sell to is the TJPA.
Negotiations will go on for the next few months, but if no final "fair" price is agreed to, then the TJPA will go the [Board of Supervisors] and play the eminent domain card.
Properties now under consideration to be domained: 60 Tehama, 564 Howard, 568 Howard, and the 10 units at 85 Natoma, the Jim Jennings designed Steel Arc building in which "Boom Dizzle" (a.k.a. Baron Davis) once resided.
∙ A TJPA Offer You Really Can’t Refuse [SocketSite]
∙ Boom Dizzle (AKA Baron Davis) Is In The His House (And SoMa) [SocketSite]
∙ Steel Arc Building: 85 Natoma [jimjenningsarchitecture.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
November 18, 2010
Target + Metreon = (Twenty-Two Foot) Bull's-Eye In 2012
Unanimously approved by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday, an 85,000 square foot Target could be open for business in the Metreon by mid-2012.
The project calls for the dramatic massive vertical glass fin Metreon sign at Fourth and Market to be replaced with a 22-foot diameter illuminated bull's-eye sign. At the Nov. 16 hearing, project manager Amy Neches said the red and white sign would be "artistic and textured."
"This is not your typical plastic Target you would see in the suburbs," she said.
The development is expected to generate $120,000 annually in payroll tax, $5.4 million in sales tax, and an additional $1 million at the city-owned 5th and Mission garage.
In addition to the Target, the Metreon will move and triple the size of its food court. Instead of a dark, 110-seat food court shoved into a ground floor corner, the new collection of eateries will feature 470 seats and overlook Yerba Buena Gardens.
Efforts to put a Target at Geary and Masonic continue on.
∙ Metreon Target wins approvals [San Francisco Business Times]
∙ One Word: Target. Okay, Four: Target At The Metreon? [SocketSite]
∙ YIMBY's Set Their Sights On A Target At Geary And Masonic [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (43) | (email story)
November 17, 2010
Sure, SoMa Condos Have Taken A Hit, But This Is Nob Hill
We doubt it will sell at asking, but if it does it might as well be a plugged-in person who picks it up. Purchased for $698,000 in June 2007, taken back by the bank "mid-remodel" last month, and now listed for $389,900, 1177 California #512 is a 1,056 square foot Gramercy Towers one-bedroom atop Nob Hill.
Keep in mind the 411 square foot Gramercy Towers studio #203 is currently in contract as a "short sale" having most recently been listed for "$299,000" and purchased for $362,000 in January 2008.
∙ Listing: 1177 California #512 (1/1) 1,056 sqft – $389,900 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1177 California #203 (0/1) 411 sqft – "$299,000" [MLS]
∙ The Gramercy Towers [gramercytowers.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (30) | (email story)
November 16, 2010
A Contract To Preserve 1818 California (Lilienthal-Orville Pratt House)
San Francisco Landmark #55, the Board of Supervisors will vote this afternoon on a Mills Act historical property contract for the Lilienthal-Orville Pratt House at 1818 California.
In exchange for agreeing to seismically reinforce the foundation of the two-story building at an estimated cost of $253,000, and to provide ongoing maintenance to preserve the building at an estimated cost of $22,667 annually (a cost that’s often overlooked in rent versus buy calculations), the contract will reduced 1818 California's annual property tax bill from $42,309 to $10,692, a savings of $31,617 per year.
Other items on the agenda for today’s Board meeting, Supervisor Mirkarimi’s resolution seeking an investigation into the going-ons at the Historic Sacred Heart Church and a few final zoning hurdles for the development of 222 Second Street for which an EIR has been approved and exceptions already granted.
∙ Historical Property Contract for 1818 California Street [sfbos.org]
∙ San Francisco’s Sacred Heart Church: A Modern Day Crusade [SocketSite]
∙ 222 Second Street Seeks Certification (And Exceptions) This Week [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
November 10, 2010
North Beach Branch Library: No Landmark Status For You!
Ignoring the recommendation of San Francisco's Historic Preservation Commission, and siding with the recommendation of its Land Use and Economic Development Committee, yesterday San Francisco’s full Board of Supervisors voted 10 to 1 against landmark status for the North Beach Branch Library helping clear the way for the North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan.
∙ With Whom Will San Francisco's Full Board Of Supervisors Side? [SocketSite]
∙ Split Decision For North Beach Branch Library Landmarking So Far [SocketSite]
∙ Preservation Commission Recommends New North Beach Landmark [SocketSite]
∙ North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan Report [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
November 9, 2010
The Sixth Time Still Wasn't The Charm For #1404 At The Ritz-Carlton
It was over two years ago 690 Market Street #1404 first hit the market as a resale, and a little over a year ago the list price on the 2,090 square foot Ritz-Carlton three-bedroom was reduced "Over $500K" to $2,590,000 having been purchased for $2,775,500.
Yesterday the sixth "new" listing for the Ritz-Carlton condo was withdrawn from the market after just "57" days on the market at $1,949,000 without a reported sale despite being "offered @ [approximately] 30% less than [the] Seller's 2007 purchase [price]" and well over a million dollars less than the seller’s (mis)expectations in 2008 and perhaps prior.
Will we see a number seven?
∙ Ritz-Carlton Sales Office Pulls An Infinity In An Attempt To Sell Out [SocketSite]
∙ Avram Goldman Speaks Then (2006) And Now (2009) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
November 8, 2010
With Whom Will San Francisco's Full Board Of Supervisors Side?
While San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission voted to recommend landmark status for the North Beach Branch Library, last week San Francisco’s Land Use and Economic Development Committee voted against recommending the designation.
Tomorrow, it’s up to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors to decide with whom they’ll side. And of course, what will or will not be built in the current library's place:
∙ Split Decision For North Beach Branch Library Landmarking So Far [SocketSite]
∙ Preservation Commission Recommends New North Beach Landmark [SocketSite]
∙ Library Landmarkings On The Land Use Agenda This Afternoon [SocketSite]
∙ Landmark Designation of 2000 Mason Street (North Beach Branch Library) [sfbos.org]
∙ North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan Report [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
San Francisco’s Sacred Heart Church: A Modern Day Crusade
Amongst other items in front of San Francisco’s Land Use and Economic Development Committee this afternoon, a resolution "urging the Department of Building Inspection to diligently monitor the status and the condition of the Historic Sacred Heart Church, documenting the understanding between the Megan Furth Academy and its neighbors, seeking re-installation of the exterior stained glass windows and requesting the City Attorney to open an investigation for the purpose of enforcing possible violation of the Building and Planning Codes."
The Sacred Heart Church was sold to Megan Furth Academy in 2005 with an understanding that "Megan Furth Academy would preserve, at a minimum, the exterior of the church thereby maintaining the character of the neighborhood." Since then, its two rose windows, organ and at least one marble altar have been removed and sold.
Sacred Heart’s three white Carrara marble altars were designed by Milan-born Attilio Moretti (1852-1915) and unveiled to the public in 1910 for the parish’s Silver Jubilee. The main altar is 25 feet long, 37 feet high and weights 95 tons. The altars were carved in Italy by Gighli and Vanelli and installed by John Catto’s monument company under Moretti’s supervision. The painting at the center of the main altar was done by an unknown German artist working for Munich-based Fritz, Mayer & Co., best known for its stained glass. The same company created the two rose windows in the transepts in 1909.
Later in the 1920’s, the well-known early 20th century muralist Achille G. Disi created Sacred Heart’s ceiling art. As a result of the 89 Loma Prieta quake, the murals on the ceiling have been covered by protective netting. Also affected by the quake, the 1933 Hook and Hastings organ has remained unused in the choir loft for fear the vibrations might damage the ceiling. In the early 1980s, Keven McGown dedicated nine months to restoring the organ as a gift to Sacred Heart before succumbing to AIDS.
The Church was inducted into the National Register of Historical Places on March 23, 2010 and is eligible for national landmark status.
∙ San Francisco Land Use and Economic Development Agenda: 11/8/10 [sfbos.org]
∙ Resolution to enforce Preservation and Restoration of Sacred Heart Church [sfbos.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
November 4, 2010
Lucky Number Slevin Seven: The Penthouse Atop 1001 California
The highest full-floor unit atop the William Randolph Hearst built Beaux Arts building at 1001 California is poised to publicly hit the market. Purchased for $2,972,500 in June 2006, new lighting, integrated A/V, and a new kitchen have all been added to the 2,731 square foot number seven since (i.e., the sale won't be perfectly "apples-to-apples").
Asking $3,500,000. A few more photos and listing details should hit the web soon.
As plugged-in people know, the 1,500 square foot one-bedroom number eight at 1001 California which is currently being overhauled closed escrow in August 2009 for $1,185,000 having been listed for $2,495,000 and purchased for $1,460,000 in June 2000, while the 3,640 square foot full-floor and fully renovated number three was withdrawn from the market without a sale in October 2009 last asking $6,300,000 (down from $7,500,000).
And as we first reported last year by way of a plugged-in reader: "Plans are afoot to convert the empty ground floor restaurant space, which has had multiple failed attempts, most recently Beaucoup in 2002, into two multi-level condos...by noted Pac Heights architect Butler-Armsden." Having stalled out for a few months, construction on the two units has recommenced.
UPDATE (11/5): Additional photos and details are now online and linked to below.
[Full Disclosure: The listing agent for 1001 California #7 advertises on SocketSite and provided images upon our request (but no compensation) for this post.]
∙ Listing: 1001 California #7 (2/2.5) 2,731 sqft - $3,500,000 [penthouseonnobhill] [MLS]
∙ One Expensive One-Bedroom In A Beaux Arts Building We Love [SocketSite]
∙ A Full 1001 California Floor Which Would Have Made Vincent Friia Flip [SocketSite]
∙ From Reduced To Closed In Fourteen Days For 1001 California #8 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
November 2, 2010
Split Decision For North Beach Branch Library Landmarking So Far
While San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission voted to recommend landmark status for the North Beach Branch Library, yesterday San Francisco’s Land Use and Economic Development Committee voted against the designation. It’s not now up to San Francisco’s full Board of Supervisors to decide.
∙ Preservation Commission Recommends New North Beach Landmark [SocketSite]
∙ Library Landmarkings On The Land Use Agenda This Afternoon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
"Seller MUST Sell" 722 Steiner
First listed for $3,999,999 in February, reduced a few times, and last asking $3,199,000 before being withdrawn from the MLS in September, 722 Steiner has been relisted asking $2,950,000. And the listing now notes: “Seller MUST sell, will consider all offers.”
Once again, Matthew Kavanaugh developed the 700 block of Steiner Street between 1892 and 1896, now known as San Francisco’s Postcard Row. Originally the developer's own home, 722 Steiner at Grove was slated for demolition in the 1970’s but survived and was restored.
∙ Listing: 722 Steiner (5/4.5) - $2,950,000 [722steiner.com] [MLS]
∙ Postcard Row's Postman's Home Hits The Market (722 Steiner) [SocketSite]
∙ 722 Steiner: Reduced Again (By Postage For 750,000 Postcards) [SocketSite]
∙ Somebody Get Gekko On The Phone... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
November 1, 2010
SFMOMA Expansion, Fire Station Relocation And…Housing Project
Additional details have started to emerge with respect to the proposed SFMOMA Expansion and Fire Station Relocation project which includes an "up-to-approximately" 235,000 square foot expansion of the existing museum, the building of a new fire station at 935 Folsom, and…a new four-story residential building of up to 13 units fronting Shipley Street.
The total square feet of new construction that could be built within the maximum zoning envelope [for the expansion] is approximately 340,000 square feet. However, SFMOMA proposes approximately 235,000 square feet of new construction, such that the project would occupy less than 70 percent of the potential building envelope [shown above - click image to enlarge]...it is assumed that the SFMOMA Expansion could occupy either the full height limit permitted at the site (320 feet) or the maximum bulk allowable...in order to accommodate the up-to-235,000-square-foot addition as proposed.
The Expansion would increase SFMOMA’s gallery space by up to 133,500 square feet (comprising 13,500 square feet of renovated space in the existing museum, 60,000 square feet of space in the SFMOMA addition, and 60,000 square feet of space in new development along Howard Street), including galleries to house the Fisher Collection, and would allow the museum to consolidate its back-of-house functions that are currently housed partly in the museum and partly at a nearby off-site location at 673 Mission Street.
Along with the expansion uses noted above, some areas of the existing SFMOMA building would likely be reprogrammed as follows:
• approximately 12,000 square feet of existing support space on the third and fourth floors would be converted to gallery space;
• approximately 30,000 square feet of existing basement support and staff garage space would be renovated to serve as storage;
• the existing education center adjacent to the second floor galleries may be re-located to the main level, off the atrium; and
• the café functions may be expanded from approximately 4,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet.
The remaining space within the existing building, including the retail area and galleries, would not be altered, although some of the public areas may be reprogrammed to other public uses, such as a full service restaurant of approximately 5,000 square feet. The 18-space staff parking area in the basement of 151 Third Street would be eliminated and be converted to art storage or other back-of-house functions.
The existing fire station at 676 Howard Street would be demolished to allow construction of the SFMOMA Expansion project. To allow the existing fire station to be demolished, a new fire station would be constructed at 935 Folsom Street to replace it. As the fire station would not require the entire 14,400-square-foot property, the lot at 935 Folsom Street would be subdivided into two parcels and would include two uses: the new fire station fronting Folsom Street and a multi-family residential building with up to 13 units fronting Shipley Street.
The replacement fire station would be built on the northerly 9,000 square foot parcel referred to as Lot A and the multi-family residential project would be built on Lot B, the 5,400 square foot southerly portion of the lot, with a portion of both Lots A and B also providing at-grade parking for firefighters (13 spaces for cars parked in tandem plus one space for disabled drivers; the personal vehicles of fire fighters would remain parked for each firefighter’s 24-hour shift). The eight spaces of surface parking on Lot B would be provided pursuant to a parking easement.
The new fire station would be two stories plus a mezzanine level. It would be an approximately 34-foot-tall structure with a gross area of between 13,000 and 15,000 square feet and a footprint of approximately 6,750 square feet. The fire station’s staffing level and equipment would not differ from the current condition at Fire Station No. 1. (The existing fire station is staffed by 13 firefighters and houses three vehicles.) The fire station would have three bay doors (as opposed to two bay doors at the existing fire station) fronting on Folsom Street and a surface area for firefighter parking located at the rear of the station. The staff parking area would be accessed from Falmouth Street. The new fire station would rest on a pile-supported foundation.
The residential building fronting Shipley Street would be a four-story, 45-foot-tall structure with a subterranean parking garage. The garage would comprise approximately 5,550 square feet and would be accessed from Falmouth Street. The above-grade structure would have a gross area of about 14,000 square feet, and would include up to 13 residential units. The residential units would consist of about two studios (approximately 450 square feet in size); five one-bedroom units (approximately 700 feet in size); and six two-bedroom units (approximately 1,000 square feet in size). Approximately 1,040 square feet of open space to serve the residential uses would be provided on the site. Excavation to a depth of 10 feet below grade would be required for construction of the building’s basement level garage (which would contain 10 vehicle spaces with a portion of the subterranean parking area being located beneath the 20-foot at grade parking easement provided for the fire fighters’ vehicles).
Construction of the new fire station is expected to begin in late 2011 to early 2012 and take a total of about 12 months to complete; demolition would take approximately 2 weeks followed by approximately 11½ months of construction. (If the residential building were constructed subsequent to the fire station it would take approximately 14 to 16 months to complete.)
Construction on the museum expansion project would likely start no earlier than 2013.
∙ Let It Snø! (Snøhetta Snags SFMOMA Expansion Project) [SocketSite]
∙ 935 Folsom: Warehouse Squat Sweatshop Condos Fire Station! [SocketSite]
∙ SFMOMA Expansion/Fire Station Relocation and Housing Project [sf-planning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
Library Landmarkings On The Land Use Agenda This Afternoon
With San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission having voted to recommend the landmarking of both the Marina Branch (1890 Chestnut) and North Beach Branch (2000 Mason Street) libraries, it’s on San Francisco’s Land Use and Economic Development Committee agenda for this afternoon.
Proponents and opponents of the North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan take note.
∙ Landmark Designation of 1890 Chestnut Street (Marina Branch Library) [sfbos.org]
∙ Landmark Designation of 2000 Mason Street (North Beach Branch Library) [sfbos.org]
∙ An Only In North Beach NIMBY Preservationist Argument: Shelves [SocketSite]
∙ Preservation Commission Recommends New North Beach Landmark [SocketSite]
∙ North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan Report [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
October 29, 2010
Another San Francisco Landmark Facing Foreclosure
In what would appear to be a spat over the terms of a loan extension, the Royal Bank of Scotland is moving forward with foreclosure proceedings on the retail portion of the landmark and recently renovated Ghirardelli Square.
As we first reported two weeks ago, the landmark Cannery At Del Monte Square down the street was recently taken back by the bank following a "calculated default" earlier this year.
∙ Ghirardelli retail nears foreclosure [Business Times]
∙ Ghirardelli Square & Fairmont Heritage Place: Overview And Sales [SocketSite]
∙ SF's Landmark Cannery At Del Monte Square Taken Back By The Bank [SocketSite]
∙ A "Calculated" Default For The Cannery At Del Monte Square [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
October 28, 2010
The Clouds Have Almost Cleared From Over The Oriental Warehouse
While a bit of litigation ("your basic ‘construction defects’ issues such as water intrusion") has been hanging over the units at The Oriental Warehouse (650 Delancey), a plugged-in tipster reports that while not officially finalized, "all parties have agreed to the terms [of a settlement] and the developers’ insurance company has 45 days to pay the funds."
The settlement might help explain the three new listings over the past month ranging from $999,000 for #408 which now sports Viking and Miele appliances, Paperstone counters and custom cabinetry in the kitchen (and new fixtures and Italian tile in the baths), to $1,150,000 for #215 which touts a gas range.
And then there’s 650 Delancey #213 with that beautiful staircase that’s now asking $1,198,000 (once asking $1,498,000 and having been on and off the MLS for two years).
∙ The Oriental Warehouse (650 Delancey) [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 650 Delancey #408 (2/2) 1,456 sqft - $999,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 650 Delancey #215 (2/2) 1,577 sqft - $1,150,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 650 Delancey #213 (2/2) 1,400 sqft - $1,198,000 [MLS]
∙ A SocketSite Smackdown: Gas Versus Electric In The Kitchen [SocketSite]
∙ (Not So) Simply For Our Love Of A Beautiful Staircase [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
October 25, 2010
The Plans To Preserve (And Expand Upon) David Ireland’s 500 Capp
Artist David Ireland passed away in May 2009 a year after selling the 1886 Victorian he had lived in since 1975 and transformed into a work of art residence.
Purchased for $892,058 by Carlie Wilmans, granddaughter of arts benefactor Phyllis Wattis and director of the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, in a bid to preserve Ireland’s legacy, the proposal to rehabilitate and preserve 500 Capp Street will be heard this week.
The project will rehabilitate and restore the existing single-family residence, former home of conceptual artist David Ireland, for use as an artist-in-residence program and archive/study center (Community Facility), operated by the 500 Capp Street Foundation.
A free-standing, four-story residential (caretaker’s) unit with one off-street parking space will be constructed at the rear of the parcel. The Zoning Administrator will hear related rear yard, open space, and parking setback on street frontages variance requests for the proposed new building at the rear of the parcel.
The proposed project would result in two residential units (of approximately 2,440 square feet (sf) and 1,150 sf), one off-street parking space, and an approximately 1,320 sf archive/study center (Community Facility) in basement of existing building.
The 500 Capp Foundation proposes to establish an artist-in-residence program with one to two artists occupying and being inspired by the existing house on a short-term residency. Exhibition of artworks related to the artist-in-residence program may occur on a limited basis. The David Ireland archive/study center in basement of existing building will be open by appointment only.
Jensen Architects is leading the architectural charge. And while the project requires a conditional use authorization from the Planning Commission to move forward, the Planning Department recommends the project’s approval (as do we).
Access to 500 Capp Street would be by way of open houses ("space in the house is limited and due to the delicate nature of the house and its’ contents, the open houses would be limited to a set number of people, not to exceed 20 per hour") and private tours.
∙ David Ireland's 500 Capp Street: Inside And Soon To Be On The Market [SocketSite]
∙ 500 Capp Street Proposal And Designs [sf-planning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
October 22, 2010
First Foreclosure (Of A Favorite Floor Plan) At Soma Grand
Featuring one of our favorite one-bedroom floor plans in the building, the 764 square foot Soma Grand #1802 was purchased for $649,000 on January 2008. Three months later #1902 sold for $795,000 and two months after that (June 2008) #1602 sold for $765,000.
Three months ago 1160 Mission #1802 was taken back by the bank. And yesterday the one-bedroom condo with all stainless steel appliances intact was listed for $540,000.
∙ Listing: 1160 Mission #1802 (1/1) 764 sqft - $540,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
October 21, 2010
Buyer Misses "A Great Opportunity" Last Year And Saves 30 Percent
As we wrote in March of 2009:
Originally listed as a Watermark resale for $1,585,000 [in July 2008], from a listing later [that year]: “Views Galore 501 Beale #14D Offered at $1,499,000 Extraordinary price reduction!”
From a listing after that: “Buyers and Agents, now is the time to take advantage of this price!” Asking $1,399,000 at the time.
From the listing [in March 2009]: “Great Opportunity!! Take advantage of HUGE PRICE REDUCTIONs and 1 yr. HOA concession. Motivated sellers!!” Now asking $1,365,000.
And from public records: purchased for $1,303,500 in September of 2006 (not including any incentives). Cognitive listing dissonance (TM) is the first thing that comes to mind.
Last week the short sale of 501 Beale #14D closed escrow with a reported contract price of $932,150. That's 28.5 percent or $371,350 under its purchase price in 2006 (and 33 percent under the "Great Opportunity!!" asking price in 2009).
∙ Cognitive Listing Dissonance At The Watermark (501 Beale #14D) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
October 20, 2010
Up (And Down) Atop The Brannan: 229 Brannan #17J
Purchased in March 2002 and sporting a current tax assessed value of $1,095,252 (which would suggest an original purchase price around $950,000), the Brannan penthouse unit known as 229 Brannan #17J returned to the market on Monday asking $1,195,000.
While a sale at asking would represent total appreciation of around 26% over the past nine years (or average annual appreciation of 2.7%), more accurately it was up even more and then came down.
Keep in mind that 229 Brannan #12J five floors below sold for $1,280,000 in 2007 while 229 Brannan #10J sold for $1,070,000 in June 2009 having been purchased for $1,290,000 in 2006 (a drop of 17% over those three years).
And two months ago 229 Brannan #9J which was purchased for $1,230,000 in 2006 was taken back by the bank with $1,113,492 owed while 229 Brannan #14J (purchased for $1,027,000 in August 2001) resold for $1,080,000, just $10,000 more than the 2009 sale four floors below.
UPDATE: The "J" stack floor plan for the purposes of the discussion or debate:
∙ Listing: 229 Brannan #17J (2/2) 1,412 sqft - $1,195,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
October 19, 2010
Embarcadero Exploratorium Ceremonially Breaks Ground Today
While construction has already started, the Emabarcadero Exploratorium ceremonially breaks ground at 10 am today.
In three years, the first stage, on Pier 15, will provide vastly expanded space for the museum's exhibits, classrooms and teacher-training facilities, which have outgrown their current site at the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina.
Plans for expansion on Pier 17 will follow.
Large public promenades with dramatic views of the bay and the city's skyline will replace the aprons of the dilapidated piers and add a unique marine environment to the museum for observing, experimenting and contemplating life forms in the bay waters.
When the museum opens on Pier 15 in 2013, oceanographic research vessels will be able to dock there. Researchers aboard the ships will be able to relay science data freshly acquired from the open sea to the Exploratorium's staff on shore for translation to visitors and to share with museums around the world.
∙ The Embarcadero Exploratorium's Most Excellent Draft EIR Update [SocketSite]
∙ Exploratorium in S.F. beginning work on new home [SFGate]
∙ Piers On Which People Can Play (Albeit More With Their Minds) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
October 18, 2010
New And Improved? The Latest Fairmont Hotel And Condo Rendering
A plugged-in tipster delivers the revised design for the proposed Fairmont Tower and Mid-Rise above. As was originally proposed prior to the public's and Planning’s feedback below.
And once again, as currently exists:
All comments on our earlier piece (such as "what the...").
∙ Fairmont Hotel Plans Front And Center And Up For Approval Thursday [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:40 PM | Permalink | (email story)
Fairmont Hotel Plans Front And Center And Up For Approval Thursday
The proposed plan for the "Fairmont Hotel Revitalization" and Residential Tower Project is up for approvals this Thursday in a special joint session between the Planning and Historic Preservation Commissions scheduled to start no earlier than 1:30 pm at City Hall.
The Planning Department recommends the Commission certify the project’s Environmental Impact Report, approve the conversion and consolidation of up to 286 hotel rooms to condominium use, and approve the demolition of the existing 5-story podium (which houses the Tonga Room) and 23-story tower which would be replaced with a new podium, 5-story mid-rise, and 26-story tower (below which 350 vehicles would park).
The Planning Department also recommends the Historic Preservation Commission approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the proposed exterior rehabilitation of the Fairmont’s California Street and east elevations along with the work necessary to demolish and rebuild said podium and tower.
UPDATE: A plugged-in tipster delivers the revised design (now above) based on the public's and Planning’s feedback. The design as originally proposed below:
∙ Fairmont Hotel Revitalization And Tower Rebuilding As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ Saving Tatanka The Tonga Room [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
October 14, 2010
SF's Landmark Cannery At Del Monte Square Taken Back By The Bank
While positioned as a calculated move to strategically default and force a restructing of Vornado Realty Trust’s debt on San Francisco's landmark Cannery at Del Monte Square, it’s a plugged-in tipster that notes the property is scheduled to hit the courthouse steps this afternoon with an opening bid of $13,800,000.
Vornado purchased the property at 2801 Leavenworth for $33.5 million in 2007.
UPDATE: As a plugged-in reader reports: "Went back to the lender for $13,800,000."
∙ A "Calculated" Default For The Cannery At Del Monte Square [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
Puttin' On The Ritz (And Pressure) At Under Eight Hundred A Square
Purchased for $1,481,000 in October 2007 ($1,239 per square) and then taken back by the bank this part March with $1,234,899 due, the two-bedroom Ritz-Carlton Residences (690 Market) #1502 returned to the market six months ago.
Asking $999,900 ($837 per square) over the past 37 days, as a plugged-in reader notes, the list price was reduced to $949,905 ($795 per square) today. A sale at asking would represent a 36 percent decline in value for the luxury unit over the past three years.
And while "still not cheap" at almost $800 per square, we’re guessing that’s of little solace to those who were sold on $1,200 or more.
∙ Listing: 690 Market #1502 (2/2.5) 1,195 sqft - $949,905 [MLS]
∙ Ritz-Carlton Sales Office Pulls An Infinity In An Attempt To Sell Out [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
October 13, 2010
Rincon Center Towers (88 Howard) Falls To Foreclosure
According to a plugged-in reader Rincon Center Residential Towers was foreclosed upon yesterday with no bidders at the opening bid of $72,150,000 but "a LOOOOOT of suits [showing] up to watch it go down."
Once again, the 320-unit building at 88 Howard was purchased for $143 million in 2007 by way of a $110 million note and with an additional $10 million invested since.
And as another plugged-in reader reported last month: "The ‘lender’ is a real estate investor who bought the loan at a discount...with the full intention of foreclosing and acquiring Rincon Center at whatever price they paid for the loan." Done.
∙ Rincon Center Towers: Disputed Default Now Foreclosure In Process [SocketSite]
∙ Rincon Center Towers $110M (And Possibly In Default) Debt For Sale [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
October 12, 2010
Not New But Now "Approved" And Shorter Still For 733 Front #407
As a plugged-in reader noted, on Friday the list price for the short sale of 733 Front Street #407 was reduced to $480,000 and "Approved Short Sale!!!" was added to the listing.
Once again, the one-bedroom was purchased for $730,000 in September 2007, listed for $760,000 this past January, reduced to $730,000 in February, reduced to $629,000 in April, and listed as a short sale at $549,000 and $499,000 over the past five months.
A sale at the newly reduced list price would represent a 34 percent drop in value for the Jackson Square condo at 733 Front Street over the past three years.
∙ Listing: 733 Front Street #407 (1/1) – "$480,000" (Short Sale) [MLS]
∙ Now With Even More Red At 733 Front Street On Jackson Square [SocketSite]
∙ 733 Front Street: A SocketSite Forum Inquiry (And Answer) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
San Francisco Civic Center And PUC Building Suitors Selected
The California Department of General Services has selected a partnership between Hines and Antarctica Capital Real Estate to purchase and leaseback eleven (11) state owned properties for $2.33 billion including the San Francisco Civic Center and Public Utilities Commission Building at 505 Van Ness Avenue.
The state will receive 20-year market rate leases on the portfolio of buildings.
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
October 8, 2010
Selling Short Seven Years Later In South Beach: 301 Bryant #22D
It’s another one across town as 301 Bryant #22D has just been listed as a short sale for "$389,000" having been purchased for $455,000 in January 2004.
From the listing in 2004:
The perfect pad in South Beach's award-winning condo building. A dramatic long span concrete wall is the focal point of this stylish, sexy condo featuring Bamboo floors, global-low-voltage halogen track lighting, designer draperies and a custom double closet. Open single-story floorplan with large bedroom alcove, 14'ceilings and extra attic storage. Well appointed large kitchen with breakfast bar. Parking, Bay Bridge views and...Location, Location, Location!
Once again, no mention of any pre-approval for the short sale seven years later but...location, location, location!
∙ Listing: 301 Bryant #22D (1/1) 774 sqft – “$389,000” [MLS]
∙ Any Shorter And They’d Be Back To 2001 At 1951 O’Farrell [SocketSite]
∙ Three In 301 Bryant [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
October 5, 2010
It's The Joseph And Joe Show At San Francisco’s HPC This Week
In front of San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) tomorrow afternoon, an application to rehabilitate the Joseph D. Grant Building at 1095 Market Street along with a plan to convert the eight-story steel frame building designed by Newton Tharp and clad in pressed brick and brownstone terra cotta from office use to a hotel/hostel with up to 94 rooms and a restaurant, bar, and nightclub.
Also in front of the HPC this week, requests to add 150 Otis and 116 New Montgomery to the National Register of Historic Places and a public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan.
∙ 1095 Market Street: Permit to Alter Case Report [sf-planning.org]
∙ San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission Calendar: 10/6/10 [sf-planning.org]
∙ 150 Otis: Details For Redevelopment Into "Veterans Commons" [SocketSite]
∙ North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan Report [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
October 1, 2010
Seeking Bids Brought To You By The Letters H And J
In addition to the City’s sale of 909 Tennessee (the next tour of which will be October 12 at 2 pm), two of the City's Octavia Boulevard parcels are on the block and seeking bids.
The minimum bid for the 11,275 square foot Parcel H on the southwest corner of Gough and Grove is $2,950,000 while the minimum bid for the 17,398 square foot Parcel J on the north side of Hayes between Gough and Octavia is $4,450,000.
Sealed bids on the two parcels are due by October 26. Both parcels are zoned for mixed use housing under the Market Octavia Plan.
∙ 909 Tennessee Scoop: Spruced Up And Soliciting "Fire Sale" Bids [SocketSite]
∙ RFPs For Housing Along Octavia Boulevard [SocketSite]
∙ Invitation to Bid: Parcel H (Block 0793/103) [sfgsa.org]
∙ Invitation to Bid: Parcel J (Block 808/039) [sfgsa.org]
∙ Market-Octavia Plan And Requisite Rezoning Approved By The Board [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
A Penthouse Pineapple And Lower Floor Apple At Jackson Square
While 845 Montgomery #C failed to find a buyer at its 2008 purchase price ($1,000,000), and a redecorated ("Venetian plaster, silver leaf recessed ceilings, (faux) ostrich wall treatments") penthouse atop the Jackson Square Condominiums has been on the market for two weeks at $3,150,000 (18% over its April 2008 undecorated price of $2,633,000), 845 Montgomery #G just hit the market asking $1,050,000 (12% under its 2008 price of $1,200,000 for the 1,026 square foot two-bedroom).
∙ Listing: 845 Montgomery #G (2/2) 1,023 sqft - $1,050,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 845 Montgomery #PH1 (2/2.5) 2,018 sqft - $3,150,000 [MLS]
∙ See Inside But Not Around Jackson Square (845 Montgomery) #C [SocketSite]
∙ The Jackson Square Condominiums (847 Montgomery) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
September 27, 2010
A One Rincon Hill Resale Right Where We Called It: Down 22.8%
On Friday the resale of One Rincon Hill (425 1st Street) #3908 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $660,000 ($874 per square foot). Purchased from the sales office for $855,000 in June 2008 ($1,132 per square), call it a 22.8% drop in value for the big view one-bedroom over the past two years.
As we wrote in July, "we’ll call it a 20-25 percent drop in value for One Rincon Hill #4308 and its comps over the past two years."
∙ Still Not "Cheap" But Now Five Percent Even Cheaper [SocketSite]
∙ The First Listed Foreclosure At 425 First (One Rincon Hill) [SocketSite]
∙ Additional One Rincon Hill '08 Stack (And Year) Perspective Redux [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
September 24, 2010
Rincon Center Towers: Disputed Default Now Foreclosure In Process
The disputed default on Rincon Center Towers' $110M of debt we first reported last November is now a foreclosure in process. From the San Francisco Business Times:
Residents received a letter [Wednesday] from Default Resolution Network -- a division of Fidelity National Title Co. -- telling them that the property was default and that they were “in the process of foreclosing on behalf of the lender.”
The letter goes onto say that the “if the lender takes title to the property at the foreclosure sale, the lender intends to honor your lease so long as you comply with the terms of your lease.”
Once again, the 320-unit Rincon Center Residential Towers at 88 Howard was purchased for $143 million in 2007 with an additional $10 million invested since.
∙ Rincon Center Towers $110M (And Possibly In Default) Debt For Sale [SocketSite]
∙ Rincon Center faces foreclosure [San Francisco Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
September 23, 2010
A Pacific Heights Crown Jewel Unit Sells For Pre-2000 Pricing
Once asking as much as $15,000,000 but last listed for $8,500,000, the sale of 2006 Washington Street #4 closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $7,000,000 for the full-floor five-bedroom unit.
Yes, eight million (53 percent) under original asking in the Conrad Alfred Meussdorffer designed "crown jewel" of Pacific Heights (and in which #2 appears to have sold for $7,900,000 in 1999 while #10 would appear to have sold for $14,000,000 in 2000).
∙ 2006 Washington Number 4 Returns Asking 32 (Plus) Percent Less [SocketSite]
∙ A Peek Inside A Recently Staged 2006 Washington Number Four [SocketSite]
∙ The Full Floor Plan Monty For 2006 Washington Number Four [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (37) | (email story)
September 22, 2010
Two Bedrooms, Baths, Parking, And Years Later For Heublien #223
Listed for $1,350,000 in January 2008, with the help of their agent the buyers of 601 4th Street #223 were able to purchase the two-bedroom Heublien Building loft for $1,320,000 that March. It’s now two and one-half years later and the 1,930 square foot condo is back on the market and listed for $1,250,000.
UPDATE: As a plugged-in reader notes, originally listed for $1,580,000 and also currently available for rent asking $6,800 per month.
∙ Listing: 601 4th Street #223 (2/2) 1,930 sqft - $1,250,000 [MLS]
∙ The Heublien Building Lofts (601 4th Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
More “Over Asking” Action On Mint Plaza
It’s more "over asking" action as the sale of 410 Jessie #302 closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $440,000.
Keep in mind that while last listed anew for $399,000 (for an official 10% over asking), the Mint Plaza condo had previously been listed for $499,000 (for an unofficial 12% under asking). And more importantly, the property had previously sold for $580,000 in September 2007, an apples-to-apples drop in value of 24%.
But hey, over asking and in only 55 days if you ignore the 100 days on the market prior to its relisting (which MLS based reports will do).
∙ Hales Warehouse (410 Jessie) Gallery Of Listing(s) Along Mint Plaza [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (33) | (email story)
September 21, 2010
909 Tennessee Scoop: Spruced Up And Soliciting "Fire Sale" Bids
Plugged-in people have known since February that the former firehouse at 909 Tennessee was to be sold. And while the asking price was expected to be around $735,000 at the time, the minimum bid has been set at $340,000.
"Written tenders to purchase the real property [are due] by no later than 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 23, 2010" at which point all tenders will be opened and read aloud.
According to another tipster, last week city workers started cleaning out the 6,113 square foot building in which the fire department keeps a few antique trucks ("they're still there for now") and prepping it for sale.
And once again the question is raised, does it make sense to address an ongoing budgetary problem with a one-time sale of an asset in a down market?
∙ A One Time Fire Sale To Address An Ongoing Budgetary Problem [SocketSite]
∙ Invitation To Bid: 909 Tennessee [sfgsa.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) | (email story)
Twenty-Two Percent Under 2004 For 2040 Franklin #1008
With a list price that was reduced to $494,900 in June, the sale of 2040 Franklin #1008 closed escrow last Wednesday with a reported contract price of $476,000, 22 percent less than its October 2004 purchase price of $610,000.
From the listing for the one-bedroom Pacific Heights condo in 2004: "Granite counters...top of the line appliances, remodeled baths, excellent outlooks, & peeks at the Bay."
∙ Three Floors Higher And A Hundred Grand Less In Pacific Heights [SocketSite]
∙ 2004 To 2010 (And Bank-Owned) For 2040 Franklin #1008 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
"Over Asking" But Eighteen Percent Under 2007 At 520 Chestnut
Purchased for $904,000 or $5,000 under asking in 2007, the bank-owned re-sale of 520 Chestnut Street #404 closed escrow on Friday with a reported contract price of $736,000.
Call it 2 percent "over asking" but 18.6 percent under its 2007 value for the two-bedroom North Beach condo.
∙ Latest Bank-Owned Listings: Pacific Heights, North Beach, And Lake [SocketSite]
∙ 520 Chestnut: “Grand Opening” (And Lower Prices) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
September 20, 2010
There Will Be No Ninth For 188 South Park #7
Borrowing from a reader, we’re not the judge we simply read the verdict. First listed for $1,995,000 in 2006 but last listed for $1,549,500 with a well articulated argument for the price, the sale of 188 South Park #7 closed escrow last Wednesday with a reported contract price of $1,400,000 (and just "47 days" on the market according to those industry stats).
∙ One Day On The Market (For The Eighth Time) At 188 South Park [SocketSite]
∙ Oh So Sexy Showers [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
September 14, 2010
Two Years And 25% Later, The Next To Last Infinity Penthouse Sells
Last listed for $5,800,000, the sale of the 3,329 square foot 338 Spear #42B closed escrow on Friday with a reported contract price of $5,200,000 ($1,562 per square).
And while not apples to apples, as J.K. Dineen notes, the sale of the Infinity Tower Two penthouse represents a discount of roughly 25 percent from what “G” paid for his similarly situated and sized tower one penthouse in 2008 ($6,900,000 or $2,056 per square).
The sale price discount shouldn’t catch any plugged-in readers by surprise, however, for as we noted in May, the list price for 338 Spear Street #41B was reduced $1,900,000 (26%) to $5,450,000 ($1,637 per square). It remains listed at that price.
∙ Infinity Sales Update And A Few Additional Details For Tower Two [SocketSite]
∙ Infinity penthouse sells for $5.2M [Business Times]
∙ Infinity Penthouse Unit 37B: Before And After (And The Budget) [SocketSite]
∙ Happenings High Atop The Infinity’s Tower Two [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (60) | (email story)
September 13, 2010
Same Setting Different Stories At 10 Miller Place
As we wrote two months ago about the Nob Hill condo with the view above:
Listed for $899,000 two years ago, 10 Miller Place #901 closed escrow two weeks later with a reported contract price of $975,000. Today, the two-bedroom condo with big cityscape views is back on the market and asking $899,000 once again.
The re-sale of 10 Miller Place #901 closed escrow today with a reported contract price of $850,000. That’s 5 percent under asking but 13 percent under its 2008 price.
Meanwhile, 10 Miller Place #902 which was a one-bedroom but has "been reconfigured into an open floorplan," remains on the market after 200 days asking $595,000.
∙ Listing: 10 Miller Place #902 (0/1) - $595,000 [MLS]
∙ We've Seen This Movie Before, But Will It Have A Different Ending? [SocketSite]
∙ Forget One Night Of Fireworks, We Like Twinkling Lights Year Round [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
The Proposed Façade For The Landmark Metro Theater At 2055 Union
In front of San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission's Architectural Review Committee this Wednesday, the application to convert the landmark Metro Theater at 2055 Union "to a health/fitness center and to alter the front façade, including replacement of the storefronts and the installation of new window openings."
At the exterior, the work includes altering the front façade by replacing the storefronts and creating new window openings. At the interior, the work includes reconfiguring and dividing the existing spaces to create three full floor levels and one partial floor level. The proposal would preserve the murals within the auditorium intact by pulling the new floors away from the side walls. It would also uncover and preserve the Ionic columns, grilles, and urns located inside the auditorium. The work would eliminate the sloped auditorium floor and the remaining finishes of the interior.
As the theater looks today:
∙ San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission Agenda: 9/15/10 [sf-planning.org]
∙ 2055 Union Street/Metro Theater conversion application [sf-planning.org]
∙ Union Street’s Metro Theater: Saving Its Skin In Order To Un-Shutter [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
September 10, 2010
One South Park Starts Sprouting Apples (1 South Park #402)
Listed for $1,495,000 in 2007, the 1,348 square foot two-bedroom #402 at One (1) South Park closed escrow that October at asking. "Never occupied as a primary residence," the top floor condo is now back on the market and asking $1,199,000, a sale at which would represent a 19.8% apples-to-apples drop in value for the unit over the past three years.
∙ Listing: 1 South Park #402 (2/2.5) - $1,199,000 [MLS]
∙ One South Park: Reservations, Floor Plans And Even A Few Prices [SocketSite]
∙ One South Park: An Overview And Car Stacker Question [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
September 9, 2010
Fox Plaza Facelift In Progress
A plugged-in reader notes the face lift of Fox Plaza in progress. We note how much we appreciate your tips (especially when accompanied by a photo).
∙ A Step Forward For The Plans To Expand Fox Plaza (1390 Market) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
September 8, 2010
The Penthouse Atop 1800 Gough Returns Renovated And Refined
Asking $5,850,000 in 2006, the penthouse atop 1800 Gough Street sold for $4,000,000 in June of 2007. Since renovated, refinished and refined, the 5,208 square foot co-op has returned to the market asking $5,250,000.
As the upper level entertainment room (which opens to a private terrace) looked before:
And as it looks now:
∙ Listing: 1800 Gough #PH (4/4.5) - $5,250,000 [1800goughpenthouse.com] [MLS]
∙ Speaking Of Relisting (And Reductions) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (45) | (email story)
September 7, 2010
Through A 50th Floor Window Of The 60-Story Building
To answer a reader’s question from a comment we’ve moved to below, San Francisco’s Millennium Tower is in fact 60 stories with 58 floors of residences. And yes, yesterday Dan Goodwin ascended the building in a publicity stunt (for his book, not the building).
That’s Dan at the 50th floor above.
∙ The Millennium: A Few Things You Might Know (And A Few You Don’t) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
September 3, 2010
History Lesson(s) And A Listing For 31 Alta Street
Excerpts from the website for 31 Alta which has just hit the market asking $3,800,000:
In 1852 Captain Andrews built his home on the Eastern slope of Telegraph Hill, on this perch for a direct view of ships sailing into the shipyards below. The home remains virtually unchanged as later photographs show, neighboring homes disappearing, steep streets being graded over the hills, Coit Tower rising, and a forest of skyscrapers growing in the distance.
31 Alta survived the 1906 earthquake and fire under wine-soaked burlap sacks and traded hands several times prior to the 1920’s, when it was purchased by Charles F. Sawvelle and his wife Myrtokleia, or “Myrtle.” Myrtle brought notoriety and excitement to Alta Street by converting the bottom of the home into a speakeasy. Raided by the authorities in February of 1927, Myrtle was arrested for her activities and reported to have said, “No one was disturbing anybody. We are going to start all over again with a tea room and this time there will be no nights in jail.” Her timing couldn’t have been worse for “tea” as the Prohibition landed her in jail again, 90 days later.
The meticulously re-pointed, first floor, brick walls are all on display with an updated wainscot to conceal the new electrical systems. It’s believed they were originally designed by brick masons-who may have been gold miners and the walls were built with raised brick lip at the entire perimeter of the first floor wall, creating a pocket sill plate as an early seismic solution that has stood the test of time.
A 2005 restoration restored a breathtaking original staircase from the first level to the main living level. The custom railing and replacement of balusters was done by a retired Haas woodworker who commented “this is the San Francisco baluster” so called because Haas Woodworking in the East Bay specialized in hand turning that style and providing them to builders in San Francisco in the 1850s.
The exterior redwood siding is original to the home. During the restoration when the siding was recently repainted the only thing that had deteriorated were the hand-cut iron nails. The siding was re-attached with new stainless steel nails, stripped of paint, primed and repainted.
Sold for $960,000 in 2002 (prior to said renovation). Additional details and images online.
UPDATE: Speaking of the house's (permit) history and that renovation...
∙ Listing: 31 Alta Street (3/2) -$3,800,000 [31alta.com] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
So You Want To Be In Animated Renderings Redux
Two years ago Steelblue invited plugged-in SocketSite readers the opportunity to be immortalized in live action animations for San Francisco’s new Transbay Transit Center.
And now they’re doing it again, shooting green screen scenes ("sitting in a park, observing art, shopping, playing with their kids, reading on a bench”) from a studio in Potrero Hill.
If you’re around tomorrow (September 4, 2010) and would like your shot at the big green screen, email steelblue (steelblue@steelbluellc.com) to schedule a slot between 10 and 4.
Next time, in 3-D…
∙ So You Want To Be In Renderings… [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Transit Center Video: The Director’s Cut With Smooth Tunes [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | (email story)
On Tour As New Déjà Vu: Odeon Penthouse (181 O’Farrell #513)
As we wrote last November with respect to Odeon (181 O’Farrell):
And then there’s the penthouse (#513) which was purchased for $2,000,000 in March 2007. An attempt to sell it off as a fractional over the past two years failed and it’s been the market as a whole for the past 172 days. Originally asking $2,349,000, it’s been three months at $2,099,000 with an owner that "says make an offer!!"
As we wrote this past February:
The Odeon penthouse is now back on the MLS with an "original" list price of $1,899,000 and an official 3 days on the market. You’ve got to love (or at least understand) those industry stats and Realtor reports.
And as we add today, 181 O’Farrell #513 is back on the market and asking $1,725,000. And yes, it’s an official one (1) day on the market which ought to help those averages.
∙ Listing: 181 O’Farrell #513 (3/2) 2,516 sqft - $1,899,000 [MLS]
∙ Oh My (And Bank Owned) At The Odeon On O’Farrell [SocketSite]
∙ Top Floor Sir, Going Down (181 O’Farrell #513) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
August 31, 2010
North Beach Branch Library Landmark Resolution Poised For Adoption
Having already voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors designate the North Beach Branch Library as a City Landmark in June, tomorrow San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is scheduled to review the resolution it’s poised to adopt and pass along to the Board.
Landmarking of the Library would have a significant impact on the master plan for the North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground project which is scheduled to be reviewed by San Francisco’s Planning Commission and public on October 7.
∙ Preservation Commission Recommends New North Beach Landmark [SocketSite]
∙ Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Agenda: September 1, 2010 [sf-planning.org]
∙ North Beach Branch Library Draft Resolution [sf-planning.org]
∙ North Beach Library And Playground Plans Like You Read About [SocketSite]
∙ North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan Report [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
August 25, 2010
Mission Bay South Beach Borders Closing Its Doors October 16
An anchor tenant at the base of The Beacon, the "Mission Bay Borders" at 200 King Street will be closing its doors on October 16. And no, it’s not so a "South Beach" Borders can open on the 17th.
No word on what role the Beacon’s Residential versus Commercial Association spat might have played. And in terms of what’s in the works to fill the space, rumors of a bowling alley and laundromat have been heard but we can’t confirm.
Might a plugged-in resident reader or tipster care to report?
∙ Mission Bay Borders [borders.com]
∙ The Incredible Shrinking Mission Bay (And Expanding South Beach) [SocketSite]
∙ Association Battle Over Unpaid Bills Brewing At The Beacon? [SocketSite]
∙ Borders Books is Closing… What Next? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
North Beach Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan Report
San Francisco’s Planning Department has just published the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed North Beach Library and Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan which will be heard by San Francisco’s Planning Commission and public on October 7.
The Master Plan (“proposed project”) would be implemented in two phases. As part of Phase 1, the right-of-way of Mason Street between Lombard Street and Greenwich Street would be vacated to allow the park to expand and to accommodate the floor plan of the proposed library.
The new North Beach Branch Public Library would be constructed on 701 Lombard Street and would extend 19.5 feet into the former Mason Street right-of-way, in an area comprising the existing 16-foot western sidewalk and 3.5 feet of roadway width. The proposed library building would be triangular and approximately 8,500 square feet, on two levels, and would be 3,170 square feet larger than the existing library. Upon completion of the new branch library, the existing library would be demolished, and the site would be graded for potential future development as open space within Joe DiMaggio Playground.
As part of Phase 1, an interim scheme would be developed to address improvements on the vacated portion of Mason Street. Mason Street would be landscaped to create car-free plaza space, which would be open to public passage 24 hours per day. A range of options to provide additional green space are being considered, including the addition of seating and passive recreational features. Under any scheme that ultimately is implemented, the vacated portion of Mason Street is intended to accommodate pedestrians traveling through the interior of the site (between the proposed library and other uses on the Joe DiMaggio Playground); to provide outdoor space for library staff for occasional activities; and to provide passive recreation space.
Phase 1 is estimated to begin in 2011 and would be completed by approximately 2013.
Phase 2 of the proposed project would include reorganization and improvements to the Joe DiMaggio Playground. Depending on project funding, Phase 2 is anticipated to begin in 2013 and be completed in 2014.
During this phase, the existing children’s play area in the southwestern portion of the block would be removed, and the area would be excavated to equalize the grade with the hardscape area and existing tennis courts to the east and north. The existing tennis courts would then be relocated to the area along Greenwich Street in the southwest area of the park, and a new children’s play area would be constructed in the center of the block in the location of the former tennis courts and closer to the restrooms, clubhouse and staff supervision for younger users. The multi-purpose hardscape area in the eastern half of the block would be improved with new paving and striped to accommodate additional recreation fields and court boundaries, including soccer field and softball diamond markings, additional basketball courts, seating, and new plantings. The vacated area of Mason Street would be further improved and landscaped to create a seating and plaza space.
A Mason Street Narrowing Variant to the proposed project would include all elements of the proposed project; however, the portion of Mason Street not occupied by the proposed library’s footprint would remain open to vehicular traffic. On this block, Mason Street would consist of one travel lane in each direction, one parking lane northbound, and sidewalks on each side of the street. Construction of the new library, demolition of the existing library, and renovation and reorganization of the features within the Joe DiMaggio Playground would be the same as with the proposed project.
In addition to the Mason Street Narrowing Variant, a number of Preservation alternatives would build around the existing North Beach Branch library, "a historic architectural resource that may be landmarked."
Should the existing library be razed, however, drawings, photographs, and a written history of the building along with an "a permanent interpretative display at or near the site of the former North Beach Branch Library to discuss the history and significance of this branch" are proposed to help mitigate its loss.
In addition to the Planning and Historic Preservation commissions, the Library, Recreation and Park, and Arts commissions will need to weigh in with approvals along with our Board of Supervisors. Expect a few others to weigh in as well.
∙ North Beach Public Library/Joe DiMaggio Playground Master Plan EIR [sf-planning.org]
∙ North Beach Library And Playground Plans Like You Read About [SocketSite]
∙ An Only In North Beach NIMBY Preservationist Argument: Shelves [SocketSite]
∙ Preservation Commission Recommends New North Beach Landmark [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
August 24, 2010
Well, It Is Now In South Beach After All…
Circa September 2006 in what was then Mission Bay, Glassworks hit the market with 207 King #411 priced at $1,595,000. In January 2007 the 1,461 square foot two-bedroom condo hit the MLS listed for $1,395,000 (and offering three years of pre-paid HOA dues).
207 King Street #411 ended up selling for $1,050,000 that May, and today it's back on the market and asking $1,359,000. Well, it is now in South Beach after all…
∙ Listing: 207 King Street #411 (2/2) 1,461 sqft - $1,359,000 [MLS]
∙ The Glassworks (207 King Street) [SocketSite]
∙ Glassworks (207 King): 3 Years Paid HOA And Further Reductions [SocketSite]
∙ The Incredible Shrinking Mission Bay (And Expanding South Beach) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (41) | (email story)
August 23, 2010
Transbay Terminal Rampectomies Underway Overhead
With the removal of the ramp over Howard Street a week ago and the ramp over Beale Street this past weekend, Phase 1 of the Transbay Terminal demolition is well underway.
The four phase plan for the demolition of the old terminal and its ramps calls for all demolition to be completed by the end of April, 2011.
∙ Transbay Terminal Demolition Plan [transbaycenter.org]
∙ All Aboard As San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal Nears Its Close [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
A Lovingly Decorated Green Apple Is Picked At Arterra (300 Berry)
Purchased for $565,500 in August 2008, the 664 square foot Arterra one-bedroom known as 300 Berry #514 returned to the market "lovingly decorated...with artwork, wall coverings, custom paint colors and fine appointments" asking $499,000 in April and closed escrow with a reported contract price of $475,000 ($715 per square foot) this past Friday for a 16% drop in value over the past two years.
∙ Green Apples-To-Apples To Be At Arterra: 300 Berry #514 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
August 19, 2010
Two Renovated Corner Fours At (And Near) The Summit Of 999 Green
Purchased for $2,325,000 in June of 2006 but touting a two year remodel by James Marzo Design, the 1,686 square foot #2604 at 999 Green just returned to the market asking $3,450,000 "completely furnished along with some rare art and Art Deco Furniture."
Two floors above, the 1,791 square foot #2804 was purchased in 2007 for what we're assuming was $2,270,000 and then "renovated & redesigned from [floor] to ceiling w/ contemporary, custom finishes." It returned to the market in June asking $2,575,000.
Last month its list price was reduced to $2,325,000.
∙ Listing: 999 Green #2604 (2/2) 1,686 sqft - $3,450,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 999 Green #2804 (2/2.5) 1,791 sqft - $2,325,000 [999green2804.com] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (33) | (email story)
August 18, 2010
The Appellants And Text Behind The Appeal Of CityPlace's Approval
As we reported earlier this week, the Planning Commission’s vote to certify the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and allow the development of 935-965 Market Street to move forward and become "CityPlace" was appealed and is currently scheduled to be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors on September 7.
The named appellants are Liveable City, Walk San Francisco, and Arthur D. Levy.
The nineteen (19) stated points of appeal include: impacts on traffic, bicycle/pedestrian safety, and transit circulation; off-street parking and loading exceptions; a lack of context within "the historic and visual character of the block in which the project is located, including…the Market Street Theater and Loft District and the Uptown Tenderloin National Register Historic District;" and an emphasis on the St. Francis Theater (which has been shuttered since May 2001) as an endangered historical resource, it would be razed to make way for CityPlace to rise.
And the full text of the appeal:
As always, we'll keep you posted and plugged-in.
∙ CityPlace Approval Appealed, Supervisors To Review September 7 [SocketSite]
∙ CityPlace (935-965 Market) APPROVED By The Planning Commission [SocketSite]
∙ Details To Augment Designs For "CityPlace" (935-965 Market Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (113) | (email story)
August 12, 2010
Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) Catches On Contract
With an official 209 days on the market and an "original list price" of $4,800,000 (despite first being listed for $6,375,000 in May of 2008), Firehouse 44 (a.k.a. 3816 22nd Street) is, in fact, now in contract although with contingencies still in place.
As we wrote this past December: "Today, the listing for 3816 22nd Street was withdrawn from the MLS after 558 days on the market. Will Firehouse 44 return in 2010 refreshed and as inventory anew?" It returned to the market two months later.
UPDATE (8/16): To quote Emily Litella...never mind. According to the MLS, 3816 22nd Street has just fallen out of contract.
∙ Holy Hotness, History, And Home: Engine Company No. 44 Returns [SocketSite]
∙ The Holy Hotness Of Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) Hits The Market [SocketSite]
∙ A "Fresh" Look At Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) After 515 Days [SocketSite]
∙ Firehouse 44: Listed In 2008, Withdrawn In 2009, Returning In 2010? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
August 11, 2010
San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center About To Has Broken Ground
Nine shovels are in place, and with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Barbara Boxer, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mayor Gavin Newsom soon to be speaking (amongst others), the Transbay Joint Powers Authority is about to ceremonially break ground on San Francisco’s New Transbay Transit Center.
UPDATE: While Governor Schwarzenegger had to send a representative (something about being busy dealing with some necessary budget reforms), the others have spoken and ground has officially been broken on San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center (referenced throughout the ceremony as the "Grand Central Station of the West").
∙ Transbay Center Plans: Revised, Refined, And Unveiled Today [SocketSite]
∙ All Aboard As San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal Nears Its Close [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Terminal Walking...Into The Sunset Tonight [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
August 6, 2010
Transbay Terminal Walking...Into The Sunset Tonight
At midnight tonight San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Terminal permanently closes its doors to the public and becomes an official hardhat zone in order to be razed and make way for the rise of San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center.
While most eyes are on the terminal, however, we turn our attention to the big patch of green rendered above where the building that once housed Varnish, the lofts in which Boom Dizzle (AKA Baron Davis) once lived, and Zebulon all currently stand.
∙ All Aboard As San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal Nears Its Close [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Center Plans: Revised, Refined, And Unveiled Today [SocketSite]
∙ As The Sun Sets Over San Francisco's Transbay Terminal... [SocketSite]
∙ Boom Dizzle (AKA Baron Davis) Is In The His House (And SoMa) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
Now With Even More Red At 733 Front Street On Jackson Square
The list price for the short sale of 733 Front Street #407 has been reduced to $499,000.
Once again, the one-bedroom was purchased for $730,000 in September 2007, listed for $760,000 this past January, reduced to $730,000 in February, reduced to $629,000 in April, and for the past three months it had been listed as a short sale at $549,000.
The listing still lacks any mention of bank pre-approval, however, but a sale at the new list price would represent a 32 percent drop in value for the Jackson Square condo over the past three years.
∙ Listing: 733 Front Street #407 (1/1) – “$499,000” (Short Sale) [MLS]
∙ In The Red At 733 Front Street Down In Jackson Square [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
August 4, 2010
Another Watermark Penthouse Returns To The Market Bank-Owned
Yet another Watermark penthouse has been wholly taken back by the bank and returned to the market. Purchased for $1,180,000 in November 2006 ($1,046 per square foot), 501 Beale #PH1D has been listed for $1,065,000 ($944 per square). 501 Beale #PH2D a floor above was purchased for $1,350,000 in October 2006 ($1,197 per square).
Keep in mind that 501 Beale #PH1B which had been purchased for $1,300,000 in October 2006 ($1,275 per square foot) sold this past February for $893,000 ($876 per square foot) while 501 Beale #PH2B which had been purchased for $1,375,000 in December 2006 ($1,349 per square foot) sold last October for $950,000 ($932 per square).
The 31 percent declines in value from to 2006 to 2009/10 for #PH1B and #PH2B might suggest a bit of optimism on the part of the sellers of #PH1D today (currently listed at a 10 percent discount below 2006). At the same time, the 13 percent discount in purchase price for #PH1D versus #PH2D (versus the 5 percent discount between #PH1B and #PH2B) might suggest a relatively good basis to begin with for #PH1D in 2006.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #PH1D (2/2) - $1,050,000 [MLS]
∙ Still Not Cheap, But 31 Percent Cheaper: Watermark Penthouse #1B [SocketSite]
∙ A Pair Trio Of Bank-Owned Penthouses Atop The Watermark [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
July 30, 2010
All Aboard As San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal Nears Its Close
It’s now T-Minus one week until the closing of San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal. If you missed today’s tours, or have never been inside, a reader walks you through.
∙ Transbay Temporary Terminal To Open (Existing To Close) August 7 [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Terminal Historians (And Futurists) Take Note [SocketSite]
∙ SF Transbay Terminal [flickr.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
Hales Warehouse (410 Jessie) Gallery Of Listing(s) Along Mint Plaza
Tax records show 2,018 square feet and suggest a sale at $1,400,000 in October 2007, back on the market today and asking $1,350,000 for 410 Jessie (Hales Warehouse) #502.
Other Hales Warehouse condos on the market along Mint Plaza, the 769 square foot 410 Jessie #302 which was previously asking $499,000 and touting "Great Deal!" has just been relisted at $399,000 (purchased for $580,000 in September 2007), and the 1,229 square foot 410 Jessie #201 asking $979,000 (purchased for $920,000 in September 2007).
∙ Listing: 410 Jesse Street #201 (2/2) 1,229 sqft - $979,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 410 Jesse Street #302 (1/1) 769 sqft - $399,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 410 Jesse Street #502 (2/2) 2,018 sqft - $1,350,000 [MLS]
∙ The Mint Lofts: The SocketSite Scoop, Update And (Some) Pricing [SocketSite]
∙ JustQuotes: Care To Quote The Odds On The Success Of Mint Plaza? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (32) | (email story)
July 29, 2010
Bank-Owned Competition (And Litigation) In Action At The Beacon
The sale of 250 King Street #636 closed escrow on Monday with a reported contract price of $315,000 ($441 per square foot) for the vacant one-bedroom condo at the Beacon .
Purchased for $575,000 in March 2006 ($800 per square foot), the 715 square foot unit was taken back by the bank in August 2009 with $498,055 owed. The sale this week represents a 45 percent drop in value for the unit since 2006.
At the same time the 587 square foot junior one-bedroom at the Beacon known as 250 King #904 remains active and available as a short sale seeking at $329,000. It was purchased for $525,000 in September 2005.
And yes, as plugged-in people have known for quite some time, litigation is in play.
∙ Bank-Owned Competition In Action At The Beacon (250 King) [SocketSite]
∙ Unable To Fund Loan(s) At The Beacon? Hmm... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
July 27, 2010
Temporary Transbay Terminal "Sneak Peek" Next Week
While the Temporary Transbay Terminal officially opens (and the existing Terminal closes) on August 7, your first chance to explore the new Terminal and familiarize yourself with its operations is next Tuesday.
A special open house featuring "tours, refreshments, giveaways and more" will be held at the new terminal on August 3 from 4 to 7 PM. No word on the "more." And not to be confused with the historical tours of the existing terminal this Friday.
∙ Transbay Temporary Terminal To Open (Existing To Close) August 7 [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Terminal Historians (And Futurists) Take Note [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
BOS Today: Redevelopment, Rezoning, Replacement And Reclamation
With an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that’s been affirmed, the Candlestick/Hunters Point Grand Plan is back in front of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors this afternoon to negotiate and finalize the details of development in an effort to secure final approval.
Other items in front of the Board this afternoon include the rezoning of One Capitol Avenue, the swap of Fire Station No. 1 for 935 Folsom to make way for SFMOMA's expansion, and a slew of eminent domain hearings related to the construction of San Francisco’s Central Subway.
∙ Board Of Supervisors Affirms Both Hunters Point And 900 Folsom EIRs [SocketSite]
∙ The Grand Plan And Aesthetics For Candlestick/Hunters Point [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco Board of Supervisors Agenda: July 27, 2010 [sfbos.org]
∙ One Capitol Avenue Address, Twenty Eight Dwellings As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ 935 Folsom: Warehouse Squat Sweatshop Condos Fire Station! [SocketSite]
∙ Let It Snø! (Snøhetta Snags SFMOMA Expansion Project) [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco's Central Subway: Make That 2018 And An Extra $278M [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
July 26, 2010
Still Not "Cheap" But Now Five Percent Even Cheaper
The list price for the first listed foreclosure at One Rincon Hill has just been reduced by $33,000 to $662,000 ($877 per square foot). Once again, 425 1st Street #3908 had been purchased from the sales office for $855,000 in June 2008 ($1,132 per square).
As plugged-in people know, the sales office sale of 425 1st Street #4408 closed escrow last month with a reported contract price of $690,000 ($914 per square) while the sale of 425 1st Street #4308 closed escrow last week with a reported contract price of $687,000 ($910 per square).
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #3908 (1/1) 755 sqft - $662,000 [MLS]
∙ The First Listed Foreclosure At 425 First (One Rincon Hill) [SocketSite]
∙ Additional '08 Stack (And Year) Perspective From One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
∙ Additional One Rincon Hill '08 Stack (And Year) Perspective Redux [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
Transbay Terminal Historians (And Futurists) Take Note
It’s T-Minus two weeks until the closing of San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal, and this Friday (7/30) you're invited to "take a step back to celebrate the Transbay Terminal and its place in our City’s history" with guided tours of the Terminal including previously closed off areas such as "Cuddles Bar, the shoe shine shop and the Terminal jail."
Tours will run every hour on the hour from noon to 4 pm.
∙ Transbay Temporary Terminal To Open (Existing To Close) August 7 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
Rent Versus Buy (Or Sell) A Landmark Mansion
Listed for $7,900,000 last September, the asking price for the fully restored Landmark Burr Mansion at 1772 Vallejo was reduced to $6,995,000 last October and then withdrawn from the MLS (but not the market) this past May.
As a plugged-in tipster notes, 1772 Vallejo is now being advertised as a rental and asking $26,950 a month (hey, between five roommates that’s only $5,390 apiece).
And while $26,950 a month might seem like an eye-popping number, keep in mind that on a purchase price of $6,995,000, and assuming absolutely no vacancy nor maintenance or upkeep, it would translate to a CAP rate of under 4 percent.
∙ Listings: 1772 Vallejo (5/4.5) - $6,995,000 | $26,950/month
∙ Another Ex-Mayor’s Landmark Mansion Coming Soon (1772 Vallejo) [SocketSite]
∙ Party Of Five Eight Move To San Francisco’s Billionaires Row [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
July 21, 2010
Let It Snø! (Snøhetta Snags SFMOMA Expansion Project)
"Snøhetta, the architecture firm designing the museum at the World Trade Center site [and behind the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet building above], is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's choice to design its new wing - a $250 million expansion likely to be the city's largest private project between now and the scheduled opening of 2016."
∙ Snøhetta to design SFMOMA's vast new wing [SFGate]
∙ SFMOMA Expansion: Four Firms (Including A Foster) In The Running [SocketSite]
∙ SFMOMA Snags The Fisher Contemporary Art Collection [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
Additional One Rincon Hill '08 Stack (And Year) Perspective Redux
As we wrote a month ago:
Hours after our noting the bank-owned listing for 425 1st Street #3908 at $695,000, the sales office at One Rincon Hill reduced the list price for 425 1st Street #4308 from $780,000 to $749,000 ($992 per square foot).
Today, the sale of 425 1st Street #4408 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $690,000 ($914 per square foot), the 755 square foot view one-bedroom had most recently been listed by the sales office for $785,000.
Considering the sale office sold #3908 for $855,000 in June 2008 ($1,132 per square), and taking into account a five floor higher premium, we’ll call it a 20-25 percent drop in value for #4408 over the past two years.
And the argument that $695,000 for #3908 is "cheap" simply because #4308 is listed for$780,000$749,000? Not so strong.
And as we noted a few hours later:
UPDATE: 425 1st Street #4308 is now listed as in escrow and with contingencies waived. This ought to be interesting. Hopefully the buyers had the inside scoop with respect to the contract price for #4408.
Nine days later the listing for 425 1st Street #4308 was changed from "In Escrow – Firm" to "Available." And yesterday the sale of 425 1st Street #4308 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $687,000 ($910 per square foot).
Once again, we’ll call it a 20-25 percent drop in value for One Rincon Hill #4308 and its comps over the past two years.
∙ Additional '08 Stack (And Year) Perspective From One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
∙ The First Listed Foreclosure At 425 First (One Rincon Hill) [SocketSite]
∙ Interesting Indeed As One Rincon Hill #4308 Falls Out Of Escrow [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
July 16, 2010
A Grand Over Asking (But 36 Percent Under 2007) At 1310 Fillmore
As we wrote this past February:
Asking "in the $900’s" for the five three-bedrooms at Heritage on Fillmore (1310 Fillmore) in December 2006, number 802 sold in November 2007 and sports a tax assessed value of $993,953 (which would suggest a sale price "in the $950’s").
First listed as a proposed short sale at $765,000 seven days ago, 1310 Fillmore #802's proposed short sale price was reduced to $665,000 three days later. No mention, however, of the sale price being pre-approved.
In March the list price was reduced to $599,000. And two days ago the sale of 1310 Fillmore #802 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $600,000 ($426 per square).
Industry stats and newsletters will report another "over asking sale!" Plugged-in people should know that it closed around 36 percent under its 2007 price, and that the 54 square foot smaller 1310 Fillmore #801 which was also listed as a short sale at $599,000 was withdrawn from the MLS after a week on the market without a sale.
∙ Going Short Heritage On Fillmore (1310 Fillmore) Having Bought Long [SocketSite]
∙ Heritage On Fillmore: The VIP Scoop [SocketSite]
∙ Unfortunately It's A Zero-Sum Game [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
July 14, 2010
Oh My...But Not Bank-Owned At Odeon (181 O’Farrell #514)
It’s not bank-owned and its address is "undisclosed," but we’ll tell you it’s 181 O’farrell #514 which public records would suggest was purchased for $775,000 in April 2007.
Listed for $925,000 in May of 2009, its asking price was reduced to $750,000 last November, and to $670,000 this past April. In May its list price was increased to $675,000.
Yesterday it was reduced to $595,000.
∙ Listing: 181 O’Farrell #514 (1/1.5) 1,080 sqft - $595,000 [Redfin]
∙ Oh My…Another Bank Owned One-Bedroom At Odeon [SocketSite]
∙ Oh My (And Bank Owned) At The Odeon On O’Farrell [SocketSite]
∙ Not Another Anomaly [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
July 12, 2010
In The Red At 733 Front Street Down In Jackson Square
Purchased for $1,350,000 in February of 2008, the two-bedroom Jackson Square condo known as 733 Front Street #508 returned to the market the past March asking $1,375,000. Reduced a few times and touting “Bring Offer!” at $1,249,000 five days ago, the Jackson Square condo was relisted anew this past Friday at $1,237,500.
Industry stats now reflect an official three days on the market for the 1,459 square foot number 508 and a sale at $1,237,501 would be reported at “over asking” (perhaps even with an exclamation point). A sale at $1,237,501 would also reflect an 8 percent decline in value for the Jackson Square condo over the past two years.
Also on the market at 733 Front Street, number 407. Purchased for $730,000 in September of 2007, the one bedroom was listed for $760,000 this past January. Reduced to $730,000 in February and then to $629,000 in April, for the past two months it has been listed on the MLS as a short sale at "$549,000" but without any mention of bank pre-approval at that price.
In May the two bedroom and two and one-half bath 733 Front #506 sold for $1,550,000, it has been purchased in June of 2008 for $1,700,000, 4 percent under its asking of $1,780,000 in 2007 and a 9 percent drop in value over the past two years.
∙ Listing: 733 Front Street #407 (1/1) – “$549,000” (Short Sale) [MLS]
∙ Listing: 733 Front Street #508 (2/2) 1,459 sqft - $1,237,500 [MLS]
∙ 733 Front: A Few Condo Floor Plans (And Some More Pricing) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (50) | (email story)
July 8, 2010
Presidio Landmark Opening Its Doors Next Week
As a plugged-in tipster notes, the Presidio Landmark will hold its first open house next week for Presidio employees, expect an announcement targeting the general public soon.
∙ Presidio Landmark Priced And On Track For An Opening In July [SocketSite]
∙ Presidio Landmark Building 1801 Recovering Nicely From Wingectomy [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
July 6, 2010
Transbay Temporary Terminal To Open (Existing To Close) August 7
According to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, the official opening date of the Transbay Temporary Terminal will be August 7, 2010, on which date the existing Transbay Terminal will close. ETA for the for the new Transbay Transit Center at First and Mission: 2017.
∙ Temporary Transbay Terminal Watch (And Pool?) [SocketSite]
∙ Scoop: Transbay Interactive Map (And New Transit Center Website) [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Temporary Terminal [temporaryterminal.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
July 2, 2010
Not That Nightingale, But Speaking Of Battles Involving The English...
The sale of 201 Buchanan (a.k.a. The Nightingale House) closed escrow today with an MLS reported contract price of $1,575,000 (asking).
Purchased for $1,605,000 in October 2007 but marked "confidential," MLS based reports and stats would have considered its sale price to have been at list ($1,749,000).
∙ The Nightingale House (201 Buchanan) Looks For Another Landing [SocketSite]
∙ Inside The Nightingale’s Landmark Nest At 201 Buchanan [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
June 24, 2010
Another Cut For Albion Castle (881 Innes Avenue)
Once again, as we wrote last September when listed for $2,950,000:
A few months after Laughing Squid launched their blog from Albion Castle in early 2005 the Hunter’s Point property at 881 Innes Avenue was auctioned off at the Palace Hotel in front of a thousand spectators and sold for $2,090,000 (purchased for $400,000 in 1999).
The mortgage banker buyer had planned to resurrect the Albion Porter & Ale Brewery for which the castle was originally constructed and open a restaurant on-site as well. And while the restaurant and re-brewery plans never materialized, the interior of the San Francisco Historic Landmark was renovated and restored.
Reduced to $2,400,000 in March and then to $1,900,000 in April, yesterday the asking price for Albion Castle was reduced to $1,799,000. "Seller financing" still available.
∙ Listing: 881 Innes Avenue (4/2) - $1,799,000 [MLS] [Map]
∙ Care To Get Your Castle On? A Restored Albion Castle Returns [SocketSite]
∙ Albion Castle Cuts $550,000 (19%), Now About That Karma... [SocketSite]
∙ Calling All Kings...Albion Castle Cuts Another $500,000 (21 percent) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
June 21, 2010
Acting Up And Lashing Out At The Infinity
On the heels of Gurbaksh Chahal’s dustup with building neighbors and The Infinity Owners Association, another Infinity resident has acted up and now isn’t feeling the love.
Verbatim via sfinfinityracialvictims.com which was registered this past Saturday, please make it to at least the seventh paragraph before forming (or expressing) an opinion:
Two residents, including me, have suffered ethnic and racial prejudices at the hands of The Infinity Owners Association's Board of Directors, which is comprised predominately of Caucasian owners, and the Property Management Team, headed by a Caucasian person.
The Board seems to be sue-happy and hell-bent on punishing those who do not reflect their ethnic and racial backgrounds.
The Board's passion to sue its own members is propably (sic) fueld (sic) partly by the Association's legal counsel. The Board, likely urged by the General Property Manager, sued one of the residential owners, allegedly for excessive noise. Instead of suing the people who failed to build a sound-proof high-rise home, the Board sued the homeowner, who bought his multi-million dollar home after making money the old fashion way -- he earned it!
Clearly, the Developer could have reasonably foreseen that someone who paid several million dollars to buy a large home would naturally entertain his friends and business associates regularly. It's clearly foreseeable that a monk would not buy that home and live there simply to engage in continuous silent prayers every day.
The only rational explanation for targeting this homeowner is that he is of a different ethnic, racial and religious origin than those who instigated the lawsuit against him -- they seem to harbor ethnic and racial animus towards him. Are (sic) their conduct tantamount to a hate crime against this homeowner? Racial prejudice is unlawful and jealousy is a sin.
Recently I happened to be in the crosshair of the same people who sued the self-made amazing entrepreneur, whom even Ms. Oprah Winfrey admires.
Admittedly, I made a huge mistake by making inappropriate remarks to a couple of female employees who assist the General Property Manager. I was wrong to have made those unfortunate comments. I was utterly stupid to have behaved like a juvenile. While my conduct was inexcusable, I was not myself because I was still trying to recover from a near fatal car accident. I accepted full responsibity (sic) for my offensive conduct and apologized to the employees and their boss. Certainly, I will NEVER conduct myself like an idiot and offensively again.
Even though this was my first infraction, albeit a serious one, I was branded a criminal and barred from entering the managment (sic) office, even for official business. The only explanation for this draconian and disproportionate punishment the Board and Property Management Executives imposed upon me is that they (and the HOA counsel) were motivated by ethnic and racial animus towards me, a person of South East Asian heritage. (I do not believe in "playing" the race card nor have I ever done so because I've always earned my dues through hardwork (sic) and overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds.)
Perhaps, on a mundane level, the disproportionately harsh actions of the Board and Management constitute concerted efforts to mask dereliction of duties by certain directors and significant mismanagement.
Sadly, racism is still alive, kicking and thriving on the Infinity Board of Directors, dominated by Caucasian members, and the Property Management Team, also dominated by Caucasians. What happened to a color-blind society, especially in San Francisco. What happened to human dignity. Have Americans become as genocidal as the Sunnis and Shites (sic) in Iraq. God, I hope not.
I pray to God that we have not lost our humanity and that God will foregive (sic) us for our sins and guide us to be better people.
We have a feeling it’s not only God’s forgiveness that’s soon to be sought as well.
∙ Infinity Owners Association To "G": Give Us An "F"-ing Break [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (91) | (email story)
June 18, 2010
7 Percent Under Asking But 24 Percent Under Its Closest 2008 Comp
In August 2008 the sales office at One Rincon Hill closed escrow on the sale of 425 1st Street #4705 for $796,000 ($1,121 per square) and 425 1st Street #5005 for $817,500 ($1,151 per square), contracts which were likely written in 2006.
In October '09 the sales office sold 425 1st Street #4805 for $620,000 ($873 per square).
And yesterday, the sale of 425 1st Street #4905 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $625,000 ($880 per square), an official 7 percent under “list” according to MLS statistics but 24 percent under its closest 2008 comp (#5005).
All the above tower one one-bedrooms are 710 square feet.
∙ One Rincon Hill Update: Closings, Construction, Inventory And Tower 2 [SocketSite]
∙ First Impressions: ∙ One Rincon Hill Sales Center [SocketSite]
∙ Interesting Indeed As One Rincon Hill #4308 Falls Out Of Escrow [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
June 17, 2010
Interesting Indeed As One Rincon Hill #4308 Falls Out Of Escrow
As we wrote ten days ago:
Hours after our noting the bank-owned listing for 425 1st Street #3908 at $695,000, the sales office at One Rincon Hill reduced the list price for 425 1st Street #4308 from $780,000 to $749,000 ($992 per square foot).
Today, the sale of 425 1st Street #4408 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $690,000 ($914 per square foot), the 755 square foot view one-bedroom had most recently been listed by the sales office for $785,000.
Considering the sale office sold #3908 for $855,000 in June 2008 ($1,132 per square), and taking into account a five floor higher premium, we’ll call it a 20-25 percent drop in value for #4408 over the past two years.
And the argument that $695,000 for #3908 is "cheap" simply because #4308 is listed for$780,000$749,000? Not so strong.
As we noted a few hours later:
UPDATE: 425 1st Street #4308 is now listed as in escrow and with contingencies waived. This ought to be interesting. Hopefully the buyers had the inside scoop with respect to the contract price for #4408.
Yesterday the listing for 425 1st Street #4308 was changed from "In Escrow – Firm" to "Available." Interesting indeed.
∙ Additional '08 Stack (And Year) Perspective From One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
∙ The First Listed Foreclosure At 425 First (One Rincon Hill) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
TAKE 2 For FORM 14 (480 14th Street)
Fifteen months ago the 12 condos of FORM 14 (480 14th Street) hit the market. A month later the units were pulled from the MLS and the building went the rental route.
As a plugged-in reader notes today, two of the twelve have been listed as new once again.
∙ Listing: 480 14th Street #8 (2/2.5) 1,170 sqft - $799,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 480 14th Street #9 (1/1.5) 1,007 sqft - $739,000 [MLS]
∙ Two Of Twelve Condos At 480 14th Street ("FORM 14") Hit The MLS [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
June 14, 2010
Apples To (Improved) Apples At 88 King
Purchased for $1,900,000 in December 2000, the 1,369 square foot 88 King Street #1222 resold for $1,450,000 this past April. Not readily evident in what would appear to be a 24 percent decline in value, an investment of roughly $500,000 into the condo over the past ten years according to a plugged-in tipster.
88 King Street #1220 also sold this past April for $1,150,000 or 13 percent under its year 2005 sale for $1,320,000 (not including any upgrades). Correctly noted by our tipster, the buyer of both #1222 and #1220 is one and the same with an eye on combing the two.
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
June 11, 2010
351 California Sells At Auction For $35 Million To Stalking Horse Bid
In 2009 Luke Brugnara’s Brugnara Properties lost 351 California to foreclosure. As plugged-in people know, at the time the building had been encumbered with a first mortgage of roughly $33 million and a second of roughly $11 million.
Yesterday 351 California sold in a court ordered auction for its stalking horse bid of $35 million ($250 per square foot for the 83 percent occupied building) as no other bids materialized. It only takes one.
∙ Brugnara Properties Headquarters Headed For Foreclosure? [SocketSite]
∙ Turkish buyer nabs 351 Cal for $35M [Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
June 9, 2010
540 Delancey #402/403 Comes Back Around (At) The Cape Horn
As we wrote when #401 hit the market in September 2008 asking $1,150,000: constructed as the Cape Horn Warehouse in 1892, and converted into the Cape Horn Lofts by Thompson Brooks and Pfau Architecture in 1997, 540 Delancey is now home to fifteen upscale "loft type" condominiums.
It was sixteen condos before units #402 and #403 were combined to form a 2,900 square foot unit with over 1,000 square feet of outdoor space. In contract (and so noted) at the time we profiled #401, 540 Delancey #402 sold for $3,100,000 in October 2008.
If you're still kicking yourself for missing out on #402 in 2008, you can now stop. It’s back on the market today and asking $2,995,000. And as plugged-in people know, 540 Delancey #401 ended up selling for $925,000 in December 2009.
UPDATE: We should also note that 540 Delancey #402 had been on the market at the end of 2009 asking $3,295,000.
∙ Listing: 540 Delancey #402 (2/4) 2,900 sqft - $2,995,000 [MLS]
∙ Cape Horn Lofts (540 Delancey) In General, And #401 In Specific [SocketSite]
∙ New Year, Listing, And Price (Same Sweet Loft): 540 Delancey #401 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
June 7, 2010
Additional '08 Stack (And Year) Perspective From One Rincon Hill
Hours after our noting the bank-owned listing for 425 1st Street #3908 at $695,000, the sales office at One Rincon Hill reduced the list price for 425 1st Street #4308 from $780,000 to $749,000 ($992 per square foot).
Today, the sale of 425 1st Street #4408 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $690,000 ($914 per square foot), the 755 square foot view one-bedroom had most recently been listed by the sales office for $785,000.
Considering the sale office sold #3908 for $855,000 in June 2008 ($1,132 per square), and taking into account a five floor higher premium, we’ll call it a 20-25 percent drop in value for #4408 over the past two years.
And the argument that $695,000 for #3908 is "cheap" simply because #4308 is listed for $780,000 $749,000? Not so strong.
UPDATE: 425 1st Street #4308 is now listed as in escrow and with contingencies waived. This ought to be interesting. Hopefully the buyers had the inside scoop with respect to the contract price for #4408.
∙ The First Listed Foreclosure At 425 First (One Rincon Hill) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
June 3, 2010
Over Asking (But Still 24 to 33 Percent Under Purchase) At The Palms
The sale of 555 4th Street #309 closed escrow on 6/1 with a reported contract price of $640,000. The sale will be reported as an official "8% over" its last list price ($595,000) according to industry stats although it was listed for $670,000 last June.
And while over asking at $575 per square for the 1,113 square foot Palms two-bedroom, it’s also 24% under its purchase price of $842,500 ($757 per square) in September 2006.
The sale of 555 4th Street #930 also closed escrow on 6/1 with a reported contract price of $425,000 ($644 per square). That’s "10% over asking" for the top floor one-bedroom with city views, but 33% under its tax assessed value of $630,000 (purchased June 2007).
∙ Are The "Exceptions" (And Big Losses) Becoming A Palms Rule? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
The First Listed Foreclosure At 425 First (One Rincon Hill)
While we’ve seen short sales and resales at a loss, as far as we know (or at least can recall), 425 First Street #3908 is the first listed resale of a foreclosure at One Rincon Hill.
Purchased for $855,000 in June 2008, listed for $775,000 this past March, and then taken back by the bank this past April, the 755 square foot view one-bedroom is back on the market and asking $695,000 today ($921 per square).
Four floors above the sales office has the 755 square foot #4308 listed for $780,000 ($1,033 per square foot), while twenty-five floors below #1408 has been back on the market for a month asking $665,000 (its third listing since February 2009).
And while the list price of $921 per square foot for 425 1st #3908 isn't exactly "cheap," it is 19 percent cheaper than the $1,132 per square foot the condo sold for two years ago.
UPDATE (6/4): The list price for 425 1st Street #4308 was reduced to $749,000 by the sales office last night.
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #1408 (1/1) 755 sqft - $665,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #3908 (1/1) 755 sqft - $695,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #4308 (1/1) 755 sqft - $780,000 $749,000 [MLS]
∙ Three On The Thirtieth At One (Rincon) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
May 27, 2010
One Hell Heck Of A Bedroom Overlooking Dolores Park...
It’s not only a new listing on the MLS (and now official inventory) but a new website and photos featuring one heck (for some reason "hell" doesn't seem appropriate) of a bedroom for 601 Dolores. No new surprises, however, on the price ($7,490,000).
Yes, we know that's actually the living room. And there are parts of this property we love.
∙ Listing: 601 Dolores (3/2) 17,000 sqft - $7,490,000 [601dolores.com] [MLS]
∙ Unofficial Inventory (And A Righteous Reduction) At 601 Dolores [SocketSite]
∙ Sweet Jesus (So To Speak): 601 Dolores On The Market And Inside [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (39) | (email story)
May 26, 2010
Parkmerced: Planning On The Future But Presently In Default
While the proposed plan to redevelop Parkmerced moves forward through San Francisco’s Planning Department, it appears as though the past (or rather present) has caught up with the owners of the complex who shall soon announce that their (not so) current loan on the property is in default.
Expect the announcement to allude to "strategery."
∙ Planning For 5,700 New Homes In San Francisco’s Parkmerced [SocketSite]
∙ One Meeting; Two Presentations; 16,200 New Homes As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ Parkmerced in default [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
May 25, 2010
A Twist And A Turn For The Warfield Theater Building (988 Market)
A plugged-in reader reports with respect to the Warfield Theater Building at 988 Market:
It looks like there may be some "potential" issues with the interpretation of the "accessory use housing" for this "commercially zoned" space. The City wants the seller to take this case to the "board of appeals" to get special permission (and clarify) to have "accessory use housing" (referring to the example of the penthouse unit). So unless you are planning to use this for strictly commercial reasons, anything else without a final stamp of approval for "accessory use housing" is a risk you need to be aware of.
Oh...and parking is of concern as the rear parking lot (separate owner with month to month leasing avail) currently does "not" have an ingress/egress point to rear of the (Warfield Theater) commercial space. One must walk down Taylor (sketchy especially at night) to Market and turn left onto Market and enter via the Market St entrance.
Make that a twist and a turn. We'll keep you posted and plugged in.
∙ Warfield Theater Building (988 Market): Condos With A Twist [SocketSite]
∙ 988 Market Website [warfieldcondos.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
May 20, 2010
Unfortunately It's A Zero-Sum Game
Purchased for $858,000 in July 2007, 1310 Fillmore #403 returned to the market this past March listed as a short sale for "$675,000." Three weeks later its list price was reduced to "$599,000." The Heritage Fillmore two-bedroom has been in contract for a month.
Yesterday 1310 Fillmore #801 hit the MLS with a listed short sale "price" of $599,000 (but no mention of any pre-approval). Purchased for $859,705 in October 2007, the current listing notes: "Heritage Fillmore winner!" Unfortunately it's a zero-sum game.
And as best we can tell, the proposed short sale of 1310 Fillmore #802 at $599,000 never materialized.
∙ Listing: 1310 Fillmore #403 (2/2) 1,407 sqft – "$599,000" [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1310 Fillmore #801 (3/2) 1,353 sqft – "$599,000" [MLS]
∙ Going Short Heritage On Fillmore (1310 Fillmore) Having Bought Long [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (59) | (email story)
No Commission Consensus On Tonga Room (But Concerns To Come)
You’ve still got a couple of weeks to perfect that Tongan war cry and dig out your favorite Polynesian shirt prior to the public hearing on the proposed revitalization of the Fairmont Hotel and fate of the Tonga Room scheduled for June 10.
In the meantime, San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission has taken up the debate but so far hasn't come to any consensus (but has identified some concerns).
∙ Fairmont Hotel Revitalization And Tower Rebuilding As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ Saving Tatanka The Tonga Room [SocketSite]
∙ Is Tonga Room tiki bar in S.F. worth saving? [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
May 19, 2010
First Peek Inside The Finished St. Regis Penthouse Atop 188 Minna
As a plugged-in tipster reported in September:
The St. Regis service elevators have been working overtime for weeks shuttling men and material up to the top. I would expect this to return very soon...and very finished. Now let's see what Victor (MacFarlane) does with the price.
As a plugged-in tipster reports today:
No more renderings…it looks like the project is complete.
And as far as we know, no new adjustments have been made to the $49,000,000 ask (which at one time was the asking price unfinished).
UPDATE: From the listing agent:
Five years of design and build at the penthouse completed nearly five months ago. It's now a world-class entertaining home rivaled only in size or luxury by a few penthouses in NYC, London, HK & Shanghai. Our marketing efforts have been focusing on prospective purchasers -- a number of them local -- who toured or inquired while it was under construction. We're pleased with the response so far -- several buyers have returned multiple times with advisors, architects, designers, etc.
Cheers. And do not forget those invitations to the housewarming...
Full Disclosure: The co-listing agent for the penthouse atop the San Francisco St. Regis advertises on SocketSite but had no prior knowledge of this post.
∙ Listing: St. Regis (188 Minna) Penthouse - $49,000,000 [Sotheby’s]
∙ Going Up: St. Regis Penthouse Construction Nearly Complete [SocketSite]
∙ Inside The St. Regis Penthouse: The Rendering Scoop And Details [SocketSite]
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Now $21,000,000 Off (And No, That’s Not A Typo) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
May 17, 2010
A Newly Renovated 355 Bryant #308 Returns
Asking $1,100,000 in September 2000, a month later it closed escrow for $1,400,000. Back on the market in July 2005 asking $1,195,000, it sold for $1,200,000.
Now newly renovated with a budget of almost a half-million dollars (think Boffi cabinets and a new loft level), 355 Bryant #308 is on the market in 2010 and asking $1,400,000 for the 1,981 square foot loft in one of San Francisco’s original conversion buildings.
∙ Listing: 355 Bryant #308 (2/2) 1,981 sqft - $1,400,000 [355bryant308.com]
∙ The Live/Work Lofts Of 355 Bryant [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
May 14, 2010
Three On The Thirtieth At One (Rincon)
It’s a One Rincon address with two days on the market and three bedrooms (and baths). Purchased for $2,019,000 ($1,037 per square foot) in September 2008, 425 1st Street #3004 is back on the market and asking $1,998,000 ($1,026 per square) today.
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #3004 (3/3) 1,947 sqft - $1,998,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
May 13, 2010
Temporary Transbay Terminal Watch (And Pool?)
San Francisco’s Temporary Transbay Terminal has five weeks to open before its "Opening Spring 2010" signs (which replaced its "Opening Fall 2009" signs) will need to be changed to "Opening Summer 2010."
The timeline for the opening of the Transit Center is later than earlier projections. This is not a result of delays in the construction of the Temporary Terminal, but is driven by the pursuit of federal stimulus funding for the underground train box for the Transbay Transit Center.
Because the inclusion of the train box will affect the first elements of construction and it is not necessary to activate the Temporary Terminal until we are ready to begin construction of the Transit Center, the schedule for opening the Temporary Terminal has been extended pending the FRA's stimulus funding decision. Once the decisions are made and Transit Center construction plans can be firmed up, TJPA will be able to set a move-in date for the Temporary Terminal.
While the train box question has since been answered, and the Transit Center start has been slated for August or September, we’re still waiting for that move-in date with respect to the Temporary Terminal. Perhaps we’ll start a pool.
∙ And San Francisco's Transbay Joint Powers Authority Rolls…A Seven! [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Terminal Plans: Revised, Refined, And Unveiled Today [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
A Bad Beacon Comp At $454 Per Square (But A Good Financial Flip)
Two weeks ago the sale of 250 King Street #802 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $670,000 ($454 per square foot and $1,000 "over asking").
As plugged-in people know, it had originally sold for $906,666 ($614 per square foot) in April 2006 with two loans totaling $949,900 (105% LTV).
As plugged-in people also know, between those two transactions the two-bedroom Beacon condo was bought off the courthouse steps for $527,077 in cash this past November. Well done Courthouse Steps Ii LLC (not so much JPMorgan Chase).
∙ A Beacon Of Distress (250 King #802) [SocketSite]
∙ Bank-Owned Competition In Action At The Beacon (250 King) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
May 12, 2010
A "Calculated" Default For The Cannery At Del Monte Square
Playing the strategic default card, in March Vornado Realty Trust stopped making payments on the $18 million mortgage which helped finance its purchase of San Francisco's landmark Cannery at Del Monte Square for $33.5 million in 2007.
"Vornado wants to keep the property, [a person familiar with the matter] said. But, like many owners of distressed property, the company has defaulted as a strategy to restructure the debt...“It was a calculated move,” the person said."
∙ Cannery Loan Is in Default [WSJ]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (29) | (email story)
Not Another Anomaly
With 14 percent of all property listings in San Francisco either already bank-owned or seeking a short sale it’s surprising how often we continue to hear of distressed sales dismissed as anomalies or irrelevant to the "real" market in San Francisco.
Purchased for $775,000 in April 2007, number 514 at the Odeon returned to the market this past October seeking $975,000. In November the list price was reduced to $750,000. And yesterday it was reduced to $670,000.
But no, 181 O’Farrell #514 is not bank owned (unlike the most recent sale in the building or another that’s currently competing for a buyer’s hard earned bucks).
∙ Listing: 181 O’Farrell #514 (1/1.5) 1,080 sqft - $670,000 [Redfin]
∙ SocketSite's San Francisco Listed Housing Inventory: 5/10/10 [SocketSite]
∙ Oh My At 34 Percent Under A 2006 Value At Odeon: 181 O’Farrell #508 [SocketSite]
∙ Oh My…Another Bank Owned One-Bedroom At Odeon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
May 11, 2010
2% Over Asking (But 10% Under 2008) For 310 Townsend #305
Asking $1,025,000 for 310 Townsend #305 in 2007, the 1,238 square foot two-bedroom ended up selling for $850,000 in 2008. Three days ago it closed escrow for a reported $765,000, down 10 percent from February 2008 but 2 percent "over asking."
∙ 310 Townsend: Available And Selling [SocketSite 5/07]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
SFMOMA Expansion: Four Firms (Including A Foster) In The Running
From John King with respect to the proposed 150,000 square foot addition to SFMOMA:
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has narrowed the list of architects for its $250 million expansion to four firms that vary wildly in size and style - but which almost certainly guarantee the new wing will be a distinct contrast with the institution's iconic home.
The finalists include one of the world's best-known firms, Foster + Partners, which has two buildings at Stanford University and is finishing an extension to Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and cult favorite David Adjaye Associates, whose only completed building in the United States is a small museum in Denver.
The other finalists are Snøhetta, a Norwegian firm that designed the National Sept. 11 Memorial now being built in Lower Manhattan, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which was part of the design team behind the transformation of an old elevated train route into New York's wildly popular High Line park.
The proposed expansion will "stretch south to Howard Street, spanning a portion of a public alley and two midblock sites now occupied by a city fire station and a commercial building owned by the museum." Said alley and buildings (across the alley) above.
∙ 4 finalists bring contrasts to SFMOMA expansion [SFGate]
∙ SFMOMA Snags The Fisher Contemporary Art Collection [SocketSite]
∙ Foster + Partners Dropped From Transbay Terminal Design Comp [SocketSite]
∙ It’s Not San Francisco (But It Is A Diller Scofidio + Renfro Design) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
The Latest Old Watermark Comp: 5% Under Asking (33% Under 2006)
As we wrote this past December:
While the bank owned 501 Beale #1D remains active and available, the bank owned #6C just hit the market. A South Beach comp at $806,000 in June 2006, the Watermark one bedroom was taken back by the bank this past November with $776,341 owed.
Asking $569,900 today, a sale at which would represent a 29 percent drop in value below its 2006 price. The bank owned 501 Beale #12G ended up selling for $750,000 in October, $1,000 "over asking" but 23 percent below its May 2006 purchase price of $975,000.
And while the MLS was finally updated yesterday to reflect a sale and new comp, 501 Beale #6C actually closed escrow on March 7, 2010 with a recorded contract price of $541,400. That’s $675 per square foot for the Watermark one-bedroom, 33 percent under its comp setting sale for $1,006 per square foot in 2006.
∙ Another Bank Owned Watermark Comp To Be: 501 Beale #6C [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
May 10, 2010
Still Not Cheap (But Cheaper) At The Brannan: 219 Brannan #10D
As we wrote in February:
Purchased new for $1,007,000 in November 2000, the two-bedroom Brannan condo #10D at 219 Brannan appears to have been flipped four months later for $1,300,000.
Last March the unit was listed for $1,495,000 and sold with what appears to have been a "confidential" sale price in April 2009. In terms of MLS based statistics, reports, and even comparative market analyses a "sale price" of $1,495,000 would have been employed.
The actual recorded sale price we now know, however, was $1,300,000. And it’s now ten months later and the 1,347 square foot condo is back on the market at $1,295,000.
The sale of 219 Brannan #10D closed escrow on 5/6/10 with a reported contract price of $1,265,000. At $939 per square foot that’s still not "cheap," but it is 2.7% cheaper than in 2009 (or 2001). Unit #9D traded for $1,475,000 ($1,095 per square foot) in 2005.
∙ A Lack Of Appreciation (And MLS Data) For 219 Brannan #10D [SocketSite]
∙ An End To Confidential MLS Sales* (*Unless You're Willing To Pay) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
722 Steiner: Reduced Again (By Postage For 750,000 Postcards)
On Friday, five days after a fifty-one thousand dollar reduction, the list price for 722 Steiner was reduced another $210,000. Now asking $3,589,000 for the Shannon-Kavanaugh House (10 percent under its original list price of $3,999,999).
∙ Listing: 722 Steiner (5/4.5) - $3,589,000 [722steiner.com] [MLS]
∙ Postcard Row's Postman's Home Hits The Market (722 Steiner) [SocketSite]
∙ The Shannon-Kavanaugh House (722 Steiner) [shannon-kavanaugh.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
May 7, 2010
The Nightingale House (201 Buchanan) Looks For Another Landing
As we wrote about the Nightingale House in October 2007 when listed for $1,895,000 (a month after being purchased for $1,605,000):
It is thought that the Nightingale House at 201 Buchanan (corner of Waller) was built for a former president of the California Pioneers (John Nightingale) in 1882. It is known that it is now San Francisco Landmark Number 47; that it is protected by a preservation easement; and that it was recently home to San Francisco Arts Commissioner and local artist Jo Hanson.
“Hanson came to prominence early in the 1970's, soon after she moved into a deteriorated but stately Victorian on Buchanan Street. Once she had resuscitated the house into a landmark, she tackled its windy litter-strewn sidewalk. Her personal act of sweeping one sidewalk grew into a celebrated public art practice and citywide anti-litter campaign. Her compiled volumes of urban detritus are recognized as an artistic political tour de force that raised community awareness as it chronicled rapidly changing demographics.”
And while we haven’t been inside [Editor’s Note: we have since] - and the “fixer” designation and lack of interior pictures leads us to believe that it might be in need of some good old fashioned TLC [Editor’s Note: It does] - we’re sure a reader or two has (and might be willing to wax poetic on its potential).
As a reader added in February 2008 after the listing was withdrawn from the market:
For a short time, about two month ago, this house was on the market for rent ($5000). I did call to find out more, but was told that the current owner seemed to have changed his/her mind.
Back on the market in 2010 and asking $1,575,000. As an aside, the sale in September 2007 was marked as "confidential" on the MLS and as such its asking price of $1,749,000 was used for all reporting purposes.
∙ Listing: 201 Buchanan (4/3) - $1,575,000 [MLS]
∙ The Landmarked Nightingale House (201 Buchanan) Hits The Market [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco Landmark 47: Nightingale House [noehill.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
An Under $600 Per Square Foot One-Bedroom Comp At 255 Berry
Referenced by a reader on our post about an under $600 per square foot comp at 235 Berry (dismissed by many as a glitch...), the short sale of 255 Berry #504 closed escrow three days ago with a reported contract price of $514,000.
At 873 square feet, that’s $589 per square foot for the one-bedroom condo that had been purchased for $610,000 in October 2004.
All granite and stainless steel appliances had been left intact.
∙ An Under $600 Per Square Foot Two-Bedroom Comp At 235 Berry [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (35) | (email story)
May 5, 2010
Oh My…Another Bank Owned One-Bedroom At Odeon
In February the bank owned Odeon (181 O’Farrell) #508 sold for $530,000, only "2 percent under asking" but 34 percent below its purchase price of $800,000 in 2006.
Yesterday the bank owned Odeon #510 (a.k.a. 150 Powell #510) was listed for $546,900, a sale at which would represent a 32 percent drop in value below its purchase price of $808,500 in May 2007. It’s a good thing bank-owned sales don't mean anything.
∙ Listing: 150 Powell (1/1) 1,071 sqft - $546,900 [MLS]
∙ Oh My At 34 Percent Under A 2006 Value At Odeon: 181 O’Farrell #508 [SocketSite]
∙ Oh My (And Bank Owned) At The Odeon On O’Farrell [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
Saving Tatanka The Tonga Room
While it’s true that the proposed Fairmont Hotel Revitalization And Tower Rebuilding Project would in fact result in the demolition of the Tonga Room, and the Planning Department’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) identifies the Tonga Room as a historic resource to be addressed, there are alternatives.
Alternative B: "All character-defining features of the Tonga Room would be dismantled, relocated, and reinstalled within the new podium structure below the new Grand Ballroom, or along Powell Street on Levels B4 and B5."
Alternative C: "Under Alternative C, some of the character-defining features of the Tonga Room, which has been identified as an historic resource under CEQA, would be dismantled, relocated, and reinstalled to an approximately 1,200 to 1,400 square-foot space adjacent to the California and Powell Streets entrance on Level B3 of the new podium structure."
And if neither of those alternatives are embraced, there are ways to mitigate the impact.
If the affected historic resource (Tonga Room) can neither be preserved at its current site, nor moved to an alternate site and it is to be demolished, a conservation team that meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards shall document, stabilize, and salvage the character-defining features, associated with the affected historic resource, for their storage in a secure climate-controlled location and in a manner to be protected from accelerated deterioration, theft, vandalism, damage, rodents and pests, or adverse environmental conditions.
Character-defining features noted as ephemeral finishes, such as wallpaper and the significant features of the lagoon, which are found in large quantities, do not need to be salvaged in their entirety. They shall be salvaged in quantities suitable for educational purposes and/or replication in an alternate location. The documentation, stabilization, and salvage program shall removal and retention all of the Tonga Room’s character-defining features for public information and education, and/or reuse in an alternate off-site location.
Of course there's also Alternative A: No Project. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
∙ Fairmont Hotel Revitalization And Tower Rebuilding As Proposed [SocketSite]
∙ The Tonga Room [tongaroom.com]
∙ Fairmont Hotel Revitalization Draft EIR Summary [sf-planning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
April 29, 2010
Fairmont Hotel Revitalization And Tower Rebuilding As Proposed
As is proposed for the “Fairmont Hotel Revitalization” and Residential Tower Project:
The proposed project includes two main components: (1) renovation of portions of the historic 1906 Fairmont Hotel, a Landmark structure (City Landmark Number 185), which is also listed on the California and National Registers of Historic Places; and (2) the construction of a new residential tower, a new mid-rise residential component and a replacement podium structure on the site of the existing 317-foot-tall, 23-story non-historic hotel tower above a five-story podium with parking and hotel support uses, that was built in 1961.
The project includes the demolition of the existing hotel tower and podium and additional excavation for and expansion of below-grade parking uses. While interior changes to portions of the historic 1906 Fairmont Hotel are proposed, the exterior facades would remain largely unchanged.
The proposed five-story podium would be 50 feet tall and the proposed five-story mid-rise residential portion (above the five-story podium) would be 55 feet tall. The mid-rise residential component including the podium would be a total of 10 stories and 105 feet in height.
The proposed tower with its flag pole would be 373 feet in height, approximately four feet shorter than the existing hotel tower with its roof ornament (377 feet).
The proposed residential tower, mid-rise residential component and podium would together contain up to 160 residential units (occupying a total of 325,086 gsf); 3,776 gsf of retail space; and an 80,500-gsf net new addition to the existing 165-space, 65,000-gsf subsurface parking garage, resulting in an approximately 145,500-gsf, 350-space parking garage consisting of 302 self-park and 48 tandem spaces.
The project sponsor anticipates that the proposed residential units would consist of a combination of two- bedroom, three-bedroom, and four-bedroom units. Affordable units are not proposed on site as part of the project; the project sponsor anticipates electing to pay an inlieu fee in compliance with Section 315 of the Planning Code.
The project would likely reduced the number of hotel rooms at the Fairmont to between 305 and 365 (a reduction of 226 to 286).
Required approvals include: Conditional Use authorization for modifications to hotel use in the Nob Hill Special Use District; Planned Unit Development authorization; a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission; and Planning Commission approval under the "Large Tourist Hotel Conversion Ordinance."
And assuming all is approved, construction could begin as early as 2012 and be completed by the end of 2014.
UPDATE: The façade of the historic portion of the Fairmont Hotel with the 1961 tower peeking up behind (which would be demolished and rebuilt as is proposed):
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (33) | (email story)
April 23, 2010
Calling All Kings...Albion Castle Cuts Another $500,000 (21 percent)
The asking price for Albion Castle has just been reduced another half-million dollars (now $1,050,000 and 36% under original asking). As we wrote last September:
A few months after Laughing Squid launched their blog from Albion Castle in early 2005 the Hunter’s Point property at 881 Innes Avenue was auctioned off at the Palace Hotel in front of a thousand spectators and sold for $2,090,000 (purchased for $400,000 in 1999).
The mortgage banker buyer had planned to resurrect the Albion Porter & Ale Brewery for which the castle was originally constructed and open a restaurant on-site as well. And while the restaurant and re-brewery plans never materialized, the interior of the San Francisco Historic Landmark was renovated and restored.
Now asking $1,900,000 for 881 Innes.
∙ Listing: 881 Innes Avenue (4/2) - $1,900,000 [MLS]
∙ Care To Get Your Castle On? A Restored Albion Castle Returns [SocketSite]
∙ Albion Castle Cuts $550,000 (19%), Now About That Karma... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (34) | (email story)
The Toy Factory Produces An Apple (1 Rausch #H)
The sale of 1 Rausch #H closed escrow on Tuesday with a reported contract price of $1,400,000 ($576 per square). Purchased for $1,380,000 in August 2005, we featured it last April when asking $1,695,000 (but not this past January when it returned to the market asking $1,545,000 or was subsequently reduced to $1,445,000).
∙ The Toy Factory Lofts (1 Rausch) In General, Loft H In Specific [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
April 22, 2010
As The Sun Sets Over San Francisco's Transbay Terminal...
As the sun figureatively sets over San Francisco's old Transbay Terminal, and we look to the future, steelblue treats the plugged-in to a literal sun set over the terminal of today.
∙ Transbay Terminal Plans: Revised, Refined, And Unveiled Today [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
Bank-Owned Competition In Action At The Beacon (250 King)
On the market for 152 days and now vacant, the list price for the bank-owned 250 King Street #636 has just been reduced to $319,770 ($447 per square foot). The 715 square foot one-bedroom at The Beacon is now asking $9,230 less than a 587 square foot studio three floors higher (250 King #904) which isn’t bank owned but is seeking a short sale.
The one-bedroom had been purchased for $575,000 ($800 per square foot) in March 2006 before being taken back by the bank in August 2009 with $498,055 owed. A sale at asking would represent a 44 percent drop in value since 2006.
∙ Listing: 250 King Street #636 (1/1) 715 sqft - $319,770 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 250 King Street #904 (0/1) 587 sqft - $329,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
Warfield Theater Building (988 Market): Condos With A Twist
Don’t panic, The Warfield itself isn’t going condo (or away). But seven of the eight adjacent floors of the Gustav Albert Lansburgh designed Warfield Theater Building (988 Market) are about to return to the market as commercial condos with a twist.
Zoned C3G with an allowance for Accessory Use Housing, up to a quarter of each floor of the building could be converted to full-time residential use. And while floors 2-5 which share a wall with The Warfield auditorium (i.e., they’re likely to remain 100 percent commercial), the top three floors will be marketed with the residential component in mind.
In fact, the roughly 5,000 square foot penthouse floor has already been built-out as such, with a quarter of the floor turned into a one-bedroom, one-bath with a loft-like living area and wall of windows. The other three-quarters of the penthouse floor has been remodeled for commercial use (albeit with a wet bar and full bath). The penthouse also boasts a private 5,000 square foot roof deck.
And speaking of that penthouse floor, we've been told that at one time it housed the offices of Al Capone. No word on whether or not Geraldo already knows.
∙ Coming Soon (and not yet live): Warfield Condos [warfieldcondos.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
Transbay Center Plans: Revised, Refined, And Unveiled Today
The revised and refined plans and designs for San Francisco's new Transbay Transit Center will officially be unveiled today. From John King at the Chronicle:
It's a mark of today's slow economy that the elaborate project remains on the budget set in 2007, when the Transbay authority held a competition to select a design team for the new terminal and a developer for the adjacent parcel at First and Mission streets, a site seen as the future home of San Francisco's tallest building.
Not only that, the $1.189 billion budget now includes the rooftop park, which in 2007 was to be financed separately.
The final park design by PWP Landscape Architecture isn't as elaborate as the original rooftop concept: The waterway along one edge is gone, as is a thin southern extension that would have covered the ramp that will be used by buses to and from the Bay Bridge.
But the park space remains expansive, 1,400 feet long and 170 feet wide. A grassy bowl at one end could seat 1,000 people. The design also includes a picnic meadow, a children's park and a small cafe.
Demolition of the existing terminal is now slated for August or September with an opening of the new terminal by 2017.
The proposed Transbay Tower is the tallest building fully rendered above (and on the left).
∙ Plan for new Transbay Terminal in, under budget [SFGate]
∙ Scoop: Transbay Interactive Map (And New Transit Center Website) [SocketSite]
∙ Hines And Pelli Clarke Pelli Bid The Most (And Get The Transbay Nod) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (52) | (email story)
April 21, 2010
Another Bank-Owned Watermark Apple Falls Into Our Cart
As we wrote this past November:
Of 83 new listings in San Francisco over the past week, 30 (36%) are either bank owned (16) or seeking a short sale (14). One such listing is for Watermark (501 Beale) #1D.
Purchased for $725,000 in January 2007 but then bought back by the bank this past August, the 831 square foot one-bedroom with parking was listed for $495,000 yesterday.
And according to public records, 501 Beale #1D was refinanced in July of 2007 with a variable rate loan for $780,000. Is it yet another "anomalous" data point to be?
Today the sale of the now vacant 501 Beale #1D closed escrow with a reported contract price of $402,000 (45 percent under its 2007 comp setting price).
Now back to the relative scarcity – but increasing number – of newly bank owned properties in San Francisco proper and whether or not they’ll have any impact on the market as a whole, a market in which prices tend to be set at the margin(s).
∙ One Of Thirty Underwater Properties New To The Market This Week [SocketSite]
∙ A Pair Of Bank-Owned Penthouses Atop The Watermark (501 Beale) [SocketSite]
∙ A Higher Watermark Than Some Expected…Only 23% Under '06 Price [SocketSite]
∙ Actual San Francisco Foreclosures Up 10.9% QOQ (Up 91.1% YOY) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
Infinity Tower Two Apples-To-Apples (And Comps Above And Below)
Purchased for $522,000 this past September, 338 Spear Street #10C has returned to the market asking $599,000 for the Infinity Tower Two one-bedroom seven months later.
In terms of comps (versus the apple to be), 338 Spear Street #9C sold for $510,000 in October 2009 while 338 Spear Street #11C sold for $565,000 the month after. 338 Spear Street #12C sold for $535,000 this past August.
Of course those 2009 sales were all so last year (and The Infinity is now nearly sold out).
∙ Listing: 338 Spear Street #10C (1/1) - $599,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (83) | (email story)
April 19, 2010
Alexandria Theater Plans A Few Weeks From First Public Screening
Recently designated a "vacant building," and already looking a little less blighty, the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and detailed plans for the development of the long shuttered Alexandria Theater are expected to be released within the next few weeks.
No word on whether or not the outcry from local residents that "forced the warring factions" (owners versus City Planning) to speed up the development process will now turn to outcry from others over what’s planned (and slow it back down).
And of course, if you happen to already have any bootleg copies of the renderings, please feel free to send them our way (tips@socketsite.com).
UPDATE: As a number of readers and tipsters alike have since noted, The Richmond District Blog scored a preview (one frame from which is now above).
∙ Now Showing At The Shuttered Alexandria Theater: Blight [SocketSite]
∙ Richmond theater cleans up act [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ First look at the Alexandria Theater project plans [richmondsfblog.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
April 16, 2010
Over Asking But Down At/From The Top Of The (Water)mark
The bank-owned sale of Watermark (501 Beale) penthouse #1E closed escrow on 4/13 with a reported contract price of $1,230,000 (an official $6,000 "over asking").
Once again, the corner penthouse condo was purchased for $1,523,000 in January 2007 before being taken back by the bank with $1,349,628 owed in September 2009.
And we'll call it an apples-to-apples sale at 19 percent under its year 2007 price.
∙ Moving On Up Down For A Bank Owned Penthouse In The Sky [SocketSite]
∙ A Pair Of Bank-Owned Penthouses Atop The Watermark (501 Beale) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
April 15, 2010
Designs For Building Senior Housing At 121 Golden Gate Avenue
The proposed project [at 121 Golden Gate Avenue] would consist of the demolition of an existing 40‐foot‐high building and the construction of a new 99‐foot‐high, ten‐story building with one basement level, containing a total of approximately 109,375 gross square feet (gsf) comprising a kitchen/dining hall, philanthropic/social services, and 90 affordable senior housing units. No off‐street parking would be provided with the project.
The existing two‐story, approximately 42,468‐gsf building on the site was constructed in 1912, and contains a dining hall/kitchen, philanthropic/social services space, and accessory office space.
The project would require Conditional Use authorization for construction of a building exceeding a height of 40 feet, for the elimination of off‐street parking, for setback requirements, for rear yard requirements, and for establishment of a social service or philanthropic facility above the ground floor. The project would also require a variance for loading and approval of a subdivision into two air rights parcels.
The St. Anthony Foundation and Mercy Housing are the project sponsors, the architect is Hardison Komatsu Ivelich & Tucker, and the estimated cost of construction $39,000,000.
Project construction is expected to occur over a period of approximately 20 months, with demolition, foundation reconstruction, and site grading occurring over a period of three months. Construction is anticipated to begin during the fall of 2010.
And as the reality and renderings show, "The proposed project would retain or replace the single street tree along the Jones Street frontage of the site, as well as add up to nine street trees to the front of the property."
Yes please (and not just with respect to the trees).
∙ 121 Golden Gate Avenue Notice Of Environmental Impact Report (EIR) [sf-planning.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (45) | (email story)
Soma Grand Sales Banner Is [Coming] Down As One Unit Remains
The tips started rolling in last week as Soma Grand residents received word that the sales banners on the side of the building were coming down ("you will now be able to enjoy your views!") and the last of the elevators was un-permanently-padded.
And as of yesterday, only one new unit remained available and the list price for 1160 Mission #1508 was reduced by another $40,000. Now asking $899,000 but noting "BRING OFFER" for the 1,201 square foot two-bedroom former model unit with city views.
Keep in mind Unit #1708 sold for $900,000 this past November while #1208 sold for $840,000 in December (both 1,201 square feet as well).
And cheers to all involved. It’s hard to believe it's been three years.
∙ Listing: 1160 Mission #1508 (2/2) 1,201 sqft - $899,000 [MLS]
∙ The Soma Grand: The SocketSite Straight Scoop [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (53) | (email story)
April 14, 2010
Apples-To-Apples The Sale Of 188 King Street #309 Strikes Out
Speaking of new developments at the mouth of Mission Creek and around AT&T Park, as we wrote in November:
Purchased for $780,000 in August 2006, the "almost new" 188 King Street #309 returned to the market this past May asking $850,000. Reduced to $750,000 in June and then $629,000 in September, yesterday the asking price was reduced to $599,000.
A sale at $599,000 would represent a 23% drop in value for this South Beach condo over the past three years.
Two days ago the sale of 188 King Street #309 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $575,000 (26% under its purchase price in 2006).
∙ Mission Creek Then And Now (And Remembrances Of RVs Past) [SocketSite]
∙ The Scoop On 188 King Street: Now Selling Leasing [SocketSite]
∙ Apples To Apples For 188 King: 2006 To 2009 (Versus 2006 To 2008) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (42) | (email story)
April 12, 2010
Not Louvered But Not Unloved: 1234 Howard #2C Returns
Not louvered as it’s on the back side of the Stanley Saitowitz designed (and lived-in) building, 1234 Howard #2C is back on the market and asking $639,000 (purchased for $587,000 in December 2007).
∙ Listing: 1234 Howard #2C (1/1) 886 sqft - $639,000 [MLS]
∙ Those Amazing Automated Aluminum Louvers On 1234 Howard [SocketSite]
∙ 1234 Howard: The Budget To Build (Around $200 A Square Foot) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
Infinity Owners Association To "G": Give Us An "F"-ing Break
It’s not our usual fare, but considering the Defendant’s public persona (not to mention cover stories and sundry press releases concerning his Infinity penthouse pad), we’re running the story.
Citing "excessive late-night and early-morning noise…including loud music vibrating the ceiling and the sound of loud footsteps and high heel shoes," complaints "regarding cigar debris being thrown and dropped from the Defendant’s balcony," and a verbal assault on the building’s lobby ambassador, the Infinity Owners Association is now suing Gurbaksh Chahal (a.k.a. "G"), owner of Infinity Tower I Penthouse #37B.
Apparently a disciplinary hearing this past December which resulted in a fine and three month suspension from using the building’s fitness center didn’t do the trick ("Defendant has continued to use the facility").
The full legal filing by way of a plugged-in tipster:
∙ Infinity Penthouse Unit 37B: Before And After (And The Budget) [SocketSite]
∙ Infinity Owners Association Versus Gurbaksh Chahal ("G") [scribd.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (103) | (email story)
April 9, 2010
A Battle Of Two San Francisco Brick, Timber And Steel Lofts
In this corner, 540 Delancey #204 weighing in at 1,250 square feet with one bedroom and one bath, a rather high-end modern kitchen, and new walls with reveals. Asking $835,000.
In our other corner, 355 Bryant #309 weighing in at 1,551 square feet with one bedroom and one and one-half baths, and a less modern kitchen but some nice ceiling heights. Asking $879,000 (purchased for $926,500 in February 2007).
Let’s get ready to rumble!
∙ Listing: 540 Delancey #204 (1/1) 1,250 sqft - $835,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 355 Bryant #309 (1/1.5) 1,551 sqft - $879,000 [MLS]
∙ Cape Horn Lofts (540 Delancey) In General, And #401 In Specific [SocketSite]
∙ The Live/Work Lofts Of 355 Bryant [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
A Market Rate Resale Below Its BMR Compatriot At Candlestick Point
Purchased for $550,000 in November 2006, the market rate resale of the 1,063 square foot two-bedroom #2305 at Candlestick Point (101 Crescent Way) closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $374,900 ($353 per square foot).
Last asking $399,945, the listing for the 1,063 square foot two-bedroom "Below Market Rate" (BMR) unit #2213 at Candlestick Point was withdrawn from the market in March.
This should help elucidate why the market rate component at Hunters View ("expected to be priced around $425 per square foot") has been delayed, and of course why the purchasing rules for some new BMR units in San Francisco are being relaxed.
∙ Buy A BMR For $10K $25K More Than Bank-Owned At Candlestick Point [SocketSite]
∙ Hunters View Groundbreaking Buildingbreaking Ceremony Today [SocketSite]
∙ Relaxing BMR Rules At Mission Walk To Compete With Bank-Owned [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
April 8, 2010
HSR: Beale Street Alternative Rejected, Transbay Recomended
Breath a little easier Watermark and Baycrest owners, and Transbay proponents cheer, as a plugged-in tipster notes the California High Speed Rail Authority has rejected the Beale Street Alternative (Option d) and recomended a Transbay terminus (with service at 4th and King) for high speed rail into San Francisco.
From the California High Speed Rail Authority's preliminary Alternatives Analysis Report:
Only Option [a], in which HST and Caltrain service is offered at the Transbay and 4th & King locations, has been identified to be carried forward into further engineering and environmental analysis.
Option [b], with which all HST service goes to the Transbay Transit Center and there is no HST service at the 4th & King station, is not practicable and does not meet project purpose and need and objectives due to insufficient capacity.
Option [c], which assumes that all HST service terminates at the 4th & King station, does not satisfy Proposition 1A as HST service would not reach the Transbay terminal as a San Francisco terminus.
Option [d] with which HST service would go to a Beale Street station at Transbay Terminal and also to a 4th & King station is not practicable because of difficulties constructing the tunnel along The Embarcadero and under the Bay Bridge and because it would have extensive impacts to properties and displacements.
As the sole dissented, chairman Kopp was left unsatisfied.
∙ High Speed Rail Scoop: Build On Beale, Demolish The Watermark [SocketSite]
∙ While San Francisco Might Get High-Speed Rail, Will The Transbay? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (48) | (email story)
April 5, 2010
Transparency (On Multiple Levels) At The Theater Lofts (560 Haight)
Touting "Transparent Mezzanines to inspire thinking and Tranquility" (and a transparent staircase that’s sure to draw a few code related comments), this unidentified Theater Lofts condo at 560 Haight has just been listed as a short sale at $499,000 ($470 per square).
Also noted, "Must Sell this week!" You might want to wear pants (or at least nice underwear) if you plan on taking a tour.
∙ Listing: 560 Haight (2/2) 1,062 sqft - $499,000 [Redfin]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (37) | (email story)
April 2, 2010
Palms To Palms For 555 4th Street #103
Asking $399,000 in the second release at The Palms (555 4th Street) in 2006, the 475 square foot studio #103 sold for $403,000. Taken back by the bank in December 2009 and then listed for $275,000, yesterday it closed escrow with a reported contract price of $269,900 (33 percent under its 2006 price).
∙ The Palms: Phase II Release [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
April 1, 2010
An ’06 Stack (Not Year) Sale And History At The Hamilton
While nothing fancy but perfectly livable and in good condition with all appliances in place, the sale 631 O’Farrell #906 closed escrow this past Friday with a reported contract price of $235,000 for the 520 square foot Hamilton studio.
In terms of past ’06 stack Hamilton sales and comps, an un-renovated #706 sold for $330,000 in October 2005, #1006 sold for $308,000 in July 2005, and 631 O’Farrell #1106 sold for $204,000 in September 2000.
∙ High Atop The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell): Penthouse Listing And History [SocketSite]
∙ Life At The Hamilton (631 O'Farrell): A Plugged-In Reader's Report [SocketSite]
∙ Pay For 520, But Live Like 800 (With Bonus Points For “Trendyloin”) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
March 31, 2010
150 Otis: Details For Redevelopment Into "Veterans Commons"
Additional details on the proposed Swords to Plowshares and Chinatown Community Development Center’s conversion of 150 Otis Street from a temporary homeless shelter and City storage into "permanent affordable rental housing for chronically homeless veterans over the age of 55" with in-house supportive services ("Veterans Commons"):
Constructed in 1916 as the Juvenile Court and Detention Home, [150 Otis] has been designated as San Francisco Landmark No. 248. The west side (rear) of [the lot] contains an auditorium, underground garage, and plaza associated with 170 Otis Street – the San Francisco Human Services Agency (HSA) building west of the project site.
The lower three levels of 150 Otis Street are currently used as a seasonal homeless shelter during winter months, serving approximately 60 people between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM. The shelter employs two daytime employees with additional staff at night when the shelter is open. The upper six levels of the building are currently used for City storage.
The proposed project involves interior and exterior renovations to the existing building to create 75 units of affordable permanent housing for homeless veterans and one manager’s unit (49,314 sf), and support service offices and community space (7,283 sf). The area of the building would increase by 4,621 sf; the building height would remain the same.
All non-original windows would be replaced, and the front entryway would be reconfigured for ADAaccessible entry. In addition, an exterior fire escape and windows at the rear of the building would be removed and replaced with an elevator shaft/lobby/trash room measuring 17’ by 25’ by 110’. A raised deck and new entrances would be added at the rear of the building. The project also includes seismic and building system upgrades; interior alterations for the building’s new use; repair of the roof; and repair/cleaning of the building exterior.
Required approvals or amendments: zoning (to allow for the development of housing consistent with Residential, Transit‐Oriented (RTO) and sundry exceptions); height (to accommodate the new elevator shaft); lot line (an adjustment for the removal the auditorium and underground garage encroachment); and a Certificate of Appropriateness for alteration of a City Landmark.
∙ 150 Otis Street: Preliminary Negative Declaration [sf-planning.org]
∙ 150 Otis: From Temporary To Permanent Shelter As Proposed [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (29) | (email story)
March 29, 2010
Debating The Details Of The Presidio's Preservation
"This is a far cry from the struggle that ended eight months ago, when the Fisher family abandoned its proposal to erect a contemporary art museum near the spot where a Spanish expedition established an outpost in 1776. Instead of headline-grabbing battles over a major facility, bureaucrats and watchdogs now are chewing on details as small as whether a 50-square-foot shed should be razed."
∙ 2 Presidio barracks fuel preservation debate [SFGate]
∙ The Fishers Break CAMP With Respect To The Presidio's Main Post [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
March 26, 2010
Royal Towers (1750 Taylor): Columns, Views, And Comps
Okay, so columns aren’t really our thing (sorry Mike, marble or not). But we do like big views. And there aren't many buildings in San Francisco from which a second floor unit provides a panoramic like this.
Configured as a one-bedroom (and without one parking space), the 2,849 square foot Royal Towers (1750 Taylor) #205 is on the market and asking $4,500,000. An un-renovated (and column-less) Royal Towers three-bedroom (with two parking spaces) on the 18th floor has been on the market for two months asking $2,049,888.
From the listing for 1750 Taylor #1803: "Last comp at $2,175,000 16 stories down." That completely renovated "comp" shouldn’t come as any surprise to the truly plugged-in and brings us back to the second floor.
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor #205 (1/1.5) - $4,500,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor #1803 (3/3) - $2,049,888 [MLS]
∙ Royally Unexpected Architecture, Design & Views: 1750 Taylor #203 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
March 25, 2010
A Plugged-In Resident Tipster Reports On Artani's Round Two
A plugged-in tipster reports with respect to Artani's (818 Van Ness) round two of sales:
They are setting up a sales office on the ground floor in the permanently vacant (so far) retail space. I am still a tenant here and will not be exercising my first right of refusal as I believe the price and HOA fees are just too high.
They plan on selling floors 2-6 first. The cheapest units are at the front of the building on the 2nd floor (no side windows as it shares a wall with the sushi joint. Floors 7-8 are done to a higher spec. Seems a majority of the building is empty now. Most tenants moved in about a year ago and their leases ended. There has been a revolving door of moving trucks here in the last 3 months.
Also, they have a bunch of maintenance folks fixing up the units for sale after a tenant vacates. They will all be in near perfect condition. I've had a walk through some of the staged units and they look great.
Other plugged-in perspectives and comments on our original Artani round two report.
∙ Artani (818 Van Ness) Inventory Starts To Return As Expected [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | (email story)
601 4th Street #3P Quietly Sells Without A Tweet (As Far As We Know)
The sale of Evan Williams’ old Heublien Building Penthouse loft (601 4th Street #3P) closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $1,250,000 ($697 per square).
Purchased for $1,500,000 in October 2006 and then remodeled, some might recall Mr. Williams' "It’s a steal!" tweet when the loft was first listed for $1,498,000 ($835 per square). We aren’t aware of any real estate related follow-up tweets.
As we wrote when the adjacent penthouse (#2P) sold for $663 per square foot in February, "perhaps not a great comp for…penthouse number three directly next door." The asking price for number three was reduced to $780 per square foot a week later.
∙ The Heublien Building Lofts (601 4th Street) [SocketSite]
∙ Hitting For The Heublien Building Penthouse Cycle (#PH3) [SocketSite]
∙ Year 2000-esque Penthouse Comp Atop The Heublien Building [SocketSite]
∙ Another Chance To Buy "Steal" It For Even Less... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
March 24, 2010
Artani (818 Van Ness) Inventory Starts To Return As Expected
As plugged-in people first knew to expect, unsold units at the Artani (818 Van Ness) have started rolling back on to the MLS as listed inventory.
One-bedrooms with parking are now listed from $489,000 (down 18% "from $599,000" in 2008), one-bedrooms with two baths from $549,000 (down 21% "from $699,000" in 2008) and two-bedrooms from $699,000 (down 12% "from $799,000" in 2008).
No word on exactly how many of the 54-unit building's rental residents exercised their first right of refusal to purchase, but we would be interested if you know (tips@socketsite.com).
UPDATE (3/25): A plugged-in resident tipster reports:
They are setting up a sales office on the ground floor in the permanently vacant (so far) retail space. I am still a tenant here and will not be exercising my first right of refusal as I believe the price and HOA fees are just too high.
They plan on selling floors 2-6 first. The cheapest units are at the front of the building on the 2nd floor (no side windows as it shares a wall with the sushi joint. Floors 7-8 are done to a higher spec. Seems a majority of the building is empty now. Most tenants moved in about a year ago and their leases ended. There has been a revolving door of moving trucks here in the last 3 months.
Also, they have a bunch of maintenance folks fixing up the units for sale after a tenant vacates. They will all be in near perfect condition. I've had a walk through some of the staged units and they look great.
∙ Artani (818 Van Ness) Scoop Redux: Unsuspending Sales [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 818 Van Ness #208 (1/2) 795 sqft - $549,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 818 Van Ness #305 (1/1) 645 sqft - $489,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 818 Van Ness #307 (2/2) 990 sqft - $699,000 [MLS]
∙ The Artani (818 Van Ness) Opens And A Plugged-In Reader Reports [SocketSite 9/08]
∙ A Plugged-In (Artani) Resident Tipster Reports On Round Two [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (33) | (email story)
March 22, 2010
A Little Bit Lower Now At The Heights For 1940 Broadway #7
The list price for 1940 Broadway #7 has just been reduced $275,000 (5%), now asking $5,225,000 for the full floor at The Heights (purchased for $5,245,000 in February 2007).
∙ Listing: 1940 Broadway #7 (4/3.5) - $5,500,000 [Joel Goodrich] [MLS]
∙ A Handful At The Heights (1940 Broadway) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
High Atop The Hamilton’s Two Bedroom Stack (631 O’Farrell #2001)
It’s actually a floor below the penthouse, but as plugged-in people know, two-bedrooms at The Hamilton are rather rare and as such 631 O’Farrell #2001 managed to catch our attention, especially seeing as how it is the highest of the lot.
∙ Listing: 631 O’Farrell #2001 (2/2) - $849,000 [MLS]
∙ High Atop The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell): Penthouse Listing And History [SocketSite]
∙ Life At The Hamilton (631 O'Farrell): A Plugged-In Reader's Report [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
March 19, 2010
Millennium Tower Trivia (And One Bedroom Resale)
From the resale listing for 301 Mission #25B: "The 25th floor is one of the most desirable in the building, providing extraordinarily high ceilings found on only one other floor." Can you name that one other Millennium Tower floor?
∙ Listing: 301 Mission #25B (1/1) - $749,000 [MLS]
∙ Millennium Tower (301 Mission) Update: 30% Closed Or In Contract [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (37) | (email story)
A Comstock (1333 Jones) View Comp Closes A Little Bit Down
As we wrote this past November:
A tax assessed value of $2,393,000 would suggest a sale price not too far from the $2,350,000 asking price for 1333 Jones Street #505 when last on the market. Back on the market today, the two-bedroom and two-bath Comstock Co-op is asking $2,395,000.
The sale of 1333 Jones Street #505 closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $2,000,000.
∙ A Trio Of Comstock 05’s From Which To Choose, Are Any "Just Right?" [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
March 18, 2010
Collateral Damage: 52 Rausch Goes Back To The Bank
A plugged-in tipster reports:
Yesterday, 52 Rausch Street was taken back by Redwood Mortgage, which held a $850,000 2nd. It has a senior loan for $2,550,000 to First National Bank of Northern California (South SF). This property also was cross-collateral for the $23 million construction loan for Cubix (apparent 3rd position here).
Along with the conversion of 60 Rausch and 73 Sumner, the eight-unit 52 Rausch was built by George Hauser as part of the The Mullen Buildings development of 2002.
∙ The Mullen Buildings: 52/60 Rausch & 73 Sumner [SocketSite]
∙ SocketSite’s Straight Scoop On The Collapse Of Cubix (766 Harrison) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
Relaxing BMR Rules At Mission Walk To Compete With Bank-Owned
Plugged-in people should have seen this coming (others simply scoffed at our noting reductions on BMR re-sales and comparisons of bank-owned and BMR price points).
From the Examiner today:
Purchasing rules that govern scores of San Francisco Redevelopment Agency condos are being relaxed to help sell the units in a battered real estate market.
“We’ve never had this much inventory on the market,” Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Fred Blackwell said.
Agency commissioners this week raised the income cap for buyers to qualify for some of the units at Mission Walk — a 131-unit, two-building project completed on Mission Bay’s Berry Street in July — from those earning 100 percent of The City’s median income to those earning 120 percent.
“The price points, when you look at foreclosures and look at our units, are pretty much the same,” he said. “What people are doing, it seems, is choosing to go with the foreclosures because the foreclosures don’t have the same kind of income restrictions or equity restrictions.”
Income restrictions have already been relaxed for the Bay Oaks development at 4800 Third Street and are expected to be relaxed for the 125-unit project at 5600 Third Street.
The Redevelopment Agency might also begin offering down-payment assistance for buyers in either of the two Third Street developments.
∙ Reductions Reach Below Market Rate Units On Ora Way (And Others) [SocketSite]
∙ Buy A BMR For $10K $25K More Than Bank-Owned At Candlestick Point [SocketSite]
∙ Changing rules to spur homebuying [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ Mission Walk (330/335 Berry) Phase 2 Inventory/Application Scoop [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (39) | (email story)
March 16, 2010
Hotel Utah Hits On The Market, Saloon To Stay (We Hope)
While it’s not listed on the MLS, a plugged-in tipster notes San Francisco’s iconic Hotel Utah (500 4th Street) is on the market and asking $2,350,000 for its 28 "Tourist Rooms" and Hotel Utah Saloon.
When the Hotel Utah opened its doors in 1908, San Francisco and the Barbary Coast were going strong. Although, the city boasted a number of luxury hotels, this Hotel was something else entirely: this was where the people went. This iconic bar was standing before, during, and after Prohibition. The Deininger family originally opened the saloon, and commissioned furniture makers in Belgium to design and create its ornate bar-back. They also served the city’s best beer, Fredericksburg, brought to The Utah by horse and carriage and lowered into the cellar in wooden kegs.
Gamblers, thieves, ladies up to no good, politicians, hustlers, friends of opium, goldseekers, godseekers, charlatans, police, fancy miscreants — they all visited The Utah. And that was when South of Market was just a lonely section of the San Francisco waterfront. After the Bay Bridge was finished in 1936, SOMA came into its own. The saloon was home to longshoremen, merchants, metalsmiths, furniture makers, and people from the neighborhood, traffic flowing back and forth between San Francisco and the East Bay.
Ah, the good old days of fancy miscreants and ladies up to no good.
According to its offering memorandum, the building currently should generate $186,757 in annual operating income with nine of its rooms rented on a month to month basis and the Saloon - which we assume will stay - paying $6,225 per month.
This deal actually is in the MLS
UPDATE (3/17): Our apologies, while the Hotel Utah property is in fact listed in the MLS (and apparently has been for the past 79 days), it appears as though the check-box to allow the listing to be found and viewed on the MLS's public facing site has not been checked.
Regardless, and perhaps more importantly, "the Hotel Utah Saloon has 5 years remaining on their current lease + two (5 year) options available."
∙ Offering Memorandum: 500 4th Street (Hotel Utah) - $2,350,000 [arausa.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
"Over Asking" (But 32 Percent Under 2008) For 999 Green #2802
With a last list price of $1,695,000 the sale of 999 Green Street #2802 for $1,700,000 four days ago will be reported as "over asking" in industry reports and league tables versus 19 percent under its original list price of $2,099,000 this past October.
And of course as plugged-in people should know, the "over asking" sale represents a 32 percent drop in value for this Eichler Summit unit versus its "off the market" purchase for $2,500,000 in October 2008.
∙ Still Sliding Down The Slope From The Eichler Summit (999 Green) [SocketSite]
∙ The (Eichler) Summit Of 999 Green Street #2802 [SocketSite]
∙ A Slippery Slope On The Eichler Summit: Number 2802 Reduced [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
Now Showing At The Shuttered Alexandria Theater: Blight
In 2008 Alexandria Enterprises LLC filed a building permit to preserve the envelope of the long-shuttered Alexandria Theater at 5400 Geary and raise a four story building atop the theater’s parking lot off 18th Avenue.
As proposed the theater would maintain one screen with the remainder of the space being transformed into an 8,000 square foot restaurant while the new construction would result in 39 (according to the permit) to 46 (according to the Examiner) residential units atop 6,550 square feet of retail and 136 underground parking spaces.
Blame the economy, the developers, or planning, the lack of development over the past six years has resulted in the theater becoming "a haven for homeless."
The storied movie theater sits idle with a crumbling façade, a boarded-up box office and a once-vibrant entrance riddled with flies and the stench of urine. The building has become an ideal canvas for graffiti, and cardboard strewn at its front doors acts as a bed for transients.
And while the city’s new blight ordinance forces owners of vacant or abandoned buildings to maintain their properties, the Richmond YMCA’s lease of 13 theater parking spaces and use of the theater’s marquee appears to be to blame for the Department of Building Inspection overlooking the theater’s current state of disrepair.
UPDATE: The DBI has now deemed the Alexandria to be a "vacant building" which must be registered and maintained or face fines in accordance with the city's blight ordinance.
∙ Shuttered Alexandria Theater evades upkeep [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ Beauty Blight Is In The Eye Of The City (And Perhaps Your Neighbors) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
March 11, 2010
One Of 33 32 Atop 611 Washington (Montgomery Washington Tower)
One San Francisco’s original luxury high-rise buildings, only 33 residential units were built atop 611 Washington (perhaps the pool on the 21st floor now makes more sense). As units 2101 and 2102 were merged into one, however, there are now only 32.
The 2,624 square foot #2402 is one of those thirty-two. Once listed for $4,595,000 (it’s been on and off the MLS four times since 2008), 611 Washington #2402 was being shopped off the MLS at $3,995,000 last month, and has just been re-listed at $3,595,000.
And yes, industry reports will reflect "one day" on the market.
∙ Listing: 611 Washington #2402 (2/2.5) 2,624 sqft - $3,595,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
San Francisco’s Four Seasons No Longer Facing Foreclosure
While Millennium Partners’ strategic default on its $90 million Four Seasons San Francisco mortgage might not have yielded the intended results with respect to getting its debt holders to renegotiate, it did yield a new equity partner.
Millennium and private equity group Westbrook Partners have paid down the mortgage on the Four Seasons San Francisco from $90 million to $55 million. Under the agreement Westbrook becomes two-thirds owner of the hotel while Millennium holds on to a one-third ownership interest in and continues to asset manage the hotel.
And as such, San Francisco’s Four Seasons is no longer facing foreclosure.
∙ If You Owe The Bank $100 $90 Million... [SocketSite]
∙ S.F.'s Four Seasons averts foreclosure [San Francisco Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
March 10, 2010
Interview With The Vampire Inspiration Hits The Market
"I see…" said the vampire thoughtfully, and slowly he walked across the room towards the window. For a long time he stood there against the dim light from Divisadero Street and the passing beams of traffic. The boy could see the furnishings of the room more clearly now, the round oak table, the chairs. A wash basin hung on one wall with a mirror. He set his brief case on the table and waited.
And so starts Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice.
503 Divisadero was the inspiration for Louis’ haunt on Divisadero, and the Victorian has just hit the market asking $1,395,000. The Interview connection isn’t mentioned in the listing, perhaps not even known. And the building appears to have most recently been home to Fog Horn Realty and a mortgage broker or two.
We’re biting our tongues (not necks) on any tongue in cheek parallels.
∙ Listing: 503 Divisadero (4/2) - $1,395,000 [MLS] [Map]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
A Nine Year "Push" To Be For A Two-Bedroom At 246 2nd Street?
Purchased new for $665,000 in the year 2000, 246 2nd Street #806 is back on the market in 2010 asking $658,000. See silly rabbits (or perhaps "bears"), prices really haven’t fallen that much at all. And bank-owned sales are obviously irrelevant when it comes to comps.
∙ Listing: 246 2nd Street #806 (2/2) 1,101 sqft - $658,000 [MLS]
∙ Another Non-Comp Comp Closes At 246 2nd Street (#1003) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (37) | (email story)
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center Facing Foreclosure
"Eight years after opening with great fanfare, San Francisco's city-subsidized, $12.3 million Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center is on the verge of foreclosure - and is asking the cash-strapped city for a $1 million line of credit to help bail it out."
∙ LGBT Center looks to San Francsico for bailout [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
March 9, 2010
A Beacon Of Distress (250 King #802)
A Beacon (250 King Street) and neighborhood comp at $906,666 ($614 per square foot) in April 2006, the 1,476 square foot two-bedroom on the eighth floor of 250 King Street (#802) was bought off the courthouse steps for $527,077 this past November.
And while we don’t consider courthouse step sales to be apples to apples (all cash changes the equation), we will consider its resale to be so (assuming the banks are lending again).
On the market and asking $669,000 ($453 per square), 26 percent under its 2006 price.
UPDATE: A plugged-in reader adds:
This is a symbolic foreclosure as the (former) owner of Unit 802 was the lead plaintiff on the lawsuit against Catellus Development. I guess he decided to throw in the towel. Then again, I can't blame him IF Property Shark is right; they claim a $799,900 variable first and $150,000 second (JPM was the loser on that one). Yes that's a 105% LTV...
Emphasis added.
∙ Listing: 250 King Street #802 (2/2) 1,476 sqft - $669,000 [MLS]
∙ Unable To Fund Loan(s) At The Beacon? Hmm... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
(Not So) Simply For Our Love Of A Beautiful Staircase
No real story, it’s simply for our love of 650 Delancey #213’s staircase.
Okay, and so it's also the fifth time since September 2008 the Oriental Warehouse loft has been listed (asking $1,498,000 at one point but now with an official "one day on the market" and "original list price" of $1,298,000 according to those industry stats).
Oh, and then there's that bit about a flood.
∙ Listing: 650 Delancey #213 (2/2) 1,400 sqft - $1,298,000 [MLS]
∙ The Oriental Warehouse (650 Delancey) [SocketSite]
∙ The Wonderful World Of Warehouse Twos (650 Delancey #112) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (31) | (email story)
March 8, 2010
Presidio Landmark Building 1801 Recovering Nicely From Wingectomy
The non-historic wings have been removed and Forest City’s redevelopment of Building 1801 (soon to be known as "Presidio Landmark," previously known as the rather less inviting and marketable Public Health Service Hospital) into 154 studio, one, and two-bedroom apartments continues to make great strides.
Where possible, the historic wood windows and brick and stone facades [have been] refurbished...A three-story addition is being added added at the rear of the building...[and] Seven small townhomes are being added totaling about 16,000 square feet.
A smattering of floor plans for the marble, granite and stainless steel adorned units are online but rates have yet to be set. First occupancy is slated for this summer.
∙ From Graffiti Canvas To Apartment Campus: PHSH Breaking Ground [SocketSite]
∙ The Public Health Service Hospital Through A Reader's Eyes And Lens [SocketSite]
∙ Public Health Service Hospital Project [presidio.gov]
∙ Presidio Landmark [thepresidiolandmark.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
March 4, 2010
Albion Castle Cuts $550,000 (19%), Now About That Karma...
The history. The reduction $550,000. The new ask: $2,400,000. The karma comment.
∙ Listing: 881 Innes Avenue (4/2) - $2,400,000 [MLS] [Map]
∙ Care To Get Your Castle On? A Restored Albion Castle Returns [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
Moving On Up Down For A Bank Owned Penthouse In The Sky
On the heels of the Watermark Penthouse #1B’s apples to apples 31 percent decline in value (below its 2006 sale), Watermark Penthouse #1E has returned to the market.
As we wrote this past October:
A plugged-in reader reports: "For those of you in the market for a penthouse, Unit #PH1E at the Watermark (501 Beale) was taken back by the lender for $1,349,628 on Sept. 15. Talk about bad timing, the former owner bought for $1.523 million in January 2007. This three bedroom 1,362 sq.ft. foreclosure was brought to you courtesy of WaMu."
Call it a quick flip gone bad as the condo had returned to the market a month after closing asking $1,800,000. Last listed for $1,595,000 before being taken back by the bank.
Now asking $1,224,000 ($899 per square), 19.6 percent below its January 2007 value.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #PH1E (3/2) 1,362 sqft - $1,224,000 [MLS]
∙ Still Not Cheap, But 31 Percent Cheaper: Watermark Penthouse #1B [SocketSite]
∙ A Pair Of Bank-Owned Penthouses Atop The Watermark (501 Beale) [SocketSite]
∙ From Flippy To Floppy For Watermark (501 Beale) Penthouse #2B [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
March 2, 2010
Still Not Cheap, But 31 Percent Cheaper: Watermark Penthouse #1B
Its sale for $1,300,000 ($1,275 per square foot) in October 2006 was likely a supporting comp for other Watermark (501 Beale) penthouse units, neighboring buildings, and so on and so forth. Taken back by the bank last October, 501 Beale #PH1B returned to the market asking $940,500.
And while the sale was just reported on the MLS, it closed escrow on 2/12/10 with a reported contract price of $893,000 ($876 per square foot), a drop of 31 percent over the past three years. Don’t forget to adjust that chain of comps accordingly.
∙ From Flippy To Floppy For Watermark (501 Beale) Penthouse #2B [SocketSite]
∙ A Pair Trio Of Bank-Owned Penthouses Atop The Watermark [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (64) | (email story)
February 26, 2010
A One Time Fire Sale To Address An Ongoing Budgetary Problem
From Guardians of The City with respect to old Engine Company No. 16 at 909 Tennessee:
City Architect John Reid Jr. designed this two-story brick structure to replace the original 1887 home of 16 Engine that was a block away at 1009 Tennessee Street. A two-story brick firehouse with a cornice brightened with small colored tiles, terra cotta keystones accent the arched dormitory windows and plaques above the doors.
Off of Third Street, near the Pier 70 complex, in what is called the "Dogpatch" section of the Potrero District, Engine Company 16 was considered a waterfront company. From the 1880's through World War II the Potrero Point Pier 70 area was a very active shipbuilding and steel manufacturing district. It became the largest civilian shipyard on the west coast.
This firehouse is located on a bigger plot of land owned the City. To the rear of the firehouse on the corner of 3rd and 19th Streets are the former Potrero Police Station and the neighbor Public Health Emergency room.
Engine Company No.16 was disbanded on July 1, 1970, due to ordered City budget cuts to the Fire Department. From 1970 to 1976 the firehouse was used by Toy Program. From 1976 to 1992 the house was used as a Museum annex apparatus workshop and collection storage area. Since 1992 the firehouse is being used by the Department for storage.
According to a plugged-in tipster the San Francisco Fire Department will be selling 909 Tennessee in order to help balance its budget.
And our tipster’s (paraphrased) question: Does it make sense to address an ongoing budgetary problem with a one time sale of an asset in a down market?
UPDATE: The asking price is expected to be around $735,000.
∙ Engine Company No. 16 (909 Tennessee Street) [guardiansofthecity.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (63) | (email story)
Flipping A Few Lembi Properties Through Foreclosure
A plugged-in tipster reports:
Coastal Capital of Sausalito, which bought a portfolio of loans secured by Lembi properties, foreclosed on the properties [yesterday]. Coastal reportedly paid $24.1 million (64% of face value) for the package of loans originated by Tamalpais Bank, and today's sales at the steps totaled $29,049,100. Pretty nice annualized return! It should be noted that a Coastal affiliate did some of the buying.
Among the foreclosed upon properties sold: 1235 Bay, 2285 Bay, 1125 Broadway, 479 Buena Vista East, 6242 Geary, 315 Hyde, 1651 Larkin, 725 O'farrel, 1701 Turk, and 2350 Van Ness.
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
February 22, 2010
935 Folsom: Warehouse Squat Sweatshop Condos Fire Station!
From the Mayor’s Office by way of a plugged-in tipster (and SFAppeal):
Mayor Gavin Newsom announced today that the City has reached a proposed agreement with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) for the exchange of the City’s existing fire station on Howard Street in return for a newly constructed, replacement fire station on Folsom Street. The agreement allows for SFMOMA to proceed with a $480 million campaign and expansion on Howard Street, while providing the City with a modern replacement for its outdated fire station.
The agreement translates to a gift from museum leadership to the City of over $10 million. Under the terms of the agreement, SFMOMA will acquire the land for the new fire station and will design, fund and construct a new state-of-the-art station to the Fire Department’s specifications. The City will deed to the SFMOMA the existing Fire Station No. 1 and a portion of Hunt Alley directly behind the station.
The new fire station will be located at 935 Folsom Street, between 5th and 6th Streets and is expected to cost over $14 million to develop.
Construction of the new station is expected to begin in 2011 assuming San Francisco's Fire Commission and Board of Supervisors approve. We will now hold a moment of silence for the previously proposed 935 Folsom Street project.
As we wrote about the site a little under two years ago:
In the news "five years ago when the U.S. Department of Justice raided the property as part of a multi-agency investigation into illegal sweatshop operations," 935 Folsom served as "a squat for about 30 punk rock anarchists" in the early 1980’s. Ah, the good old days.
Once again...ah, the good old days (of unbridled condo development and easy sales).
∙ Mayor Newsom Announces Agreement with SFMOMA for Fire Station [sfmayor.org]
∙ Deconstructionist Or Cubist? MOMA To Design, Build A Fire Station [SFAppeal]
∙ From CAMP SF To CAMFS? (Contemporary Art Museum Fire Station) [SocketSite]
∙ SFMOMA Snags The Fisher Contemporary Art Collection [SocketSite]
∙ From Warehouse, To Squat, To Sweatshop, To Condos: 935 Folsom [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
1168 Folsom: Another Hauser Project Falls To Foreclosure
A plugged-in tipster reports with respect to The Folsom Lantern Building:
Another George Hauser project taken back by lenders [as 1168 Folsom was foreclosed upon]. Redwood Mortgage, which held a 3.5 million 2nd took back the property last Weds 2/17/2010. There is a senior loan for 6.5 million.
As usual, plugged-in people saw it coming. And we wouldn't be surprised to see the 20-unit building back on the market sometime soon.
∙ 1168 Folsom Street, San Francisco [hauserarchitects.com] [Map]
∙ 30 Dore Goes The Rental For Sale Route And Offers A Bonus Bedroom? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
February 19, 2010
Selling At A Loss In An Attempt To Make A Profit (Elsewhere)
Purchased for $245 million in 2005, the 730,000-square-foot south financial district twin-tower building at 303 Second Street is returning to the market with expectations of a $220 million sale price for the 90 percent leased building.
The key quote from TMG Partners CEO Michael Covarrubias:
“It’s a matter of what their basis is and what their alternative capital opportunities are,” said Covarrubias. “These buildings (like 303 Second St.) are not going to appreciate rapidly and there may be an opportunity to redeploy it and buy other distressed assets.”
Think that thinking might be playing a role in the recent return of previously unsold new construction condo units as well? More on this next week.
∙ S.F. building owners sell the best, keep the rest [Business Times]
∙ 303 Second Street [303second.com]
∙ Artani (818 Van Ness) Scoop Redux: Unsuspending Sales [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
February 17, 2010
Apples To Apples Tower One "E" Plan(s) At The Infinity (301 Main)
Purchased for $1,100,000 in September 2008, the tower one (301 Main) "E" plan two-bedroom on the 27th floor of The Infinity (the view from which is above) is back on the market and asking $1,169,000.
The tower one "E" plan on the 16th floor is also back on the market and seeking $999,000, unfortunately we don’t (yet) have its original sale price (purchased March 2009).
∙ Listing: 301 Main #27E (2/2) 1,180 sqft - $1,169,000 [Redfin]
∙ Listing: 301 Main #16E (2/2) 1,180 sqft - $999,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (100) | (email story)
February 16, 2010
Oh My At 34 Percent Under A 2006 Value At Odeon: 181 O’Farrell #508
As we wrote last November:
Purchased for $800,000 in December 2006, Odeon (181 O’Farrell) #508 was taken back by the bank. It’s been listed at $601,400, a sale at which would represent a 25 percent drop in value over the past three years.
While the list price was reduced to $542,700 in December, the sale of 181 O’Farrell #508 closed escrow on 2/12/10 with a reported contract price of $530,000, a 34 percent drop in value over the past three years (but "only 2 percent under asking").
∙ Oh My (And Bank Owned) At The Odeon On O’Farrell [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
February 12, 2010
Would The Real Top Chef San Francisco House Please Stand Up?
The listing for 3157 Baker Street boasts: "Former residence to celebrity chef, CEOs, professional athletes..." Asking $5,000,000 in 2008, down to $3,695,000 in 2010.
And we’re sorry to report, our Top Chef Aficionados might have been off by a house last year.
∙ Listing: 3157 Baker (5/3.75) - $3,695,000 [MLS]
∙ Are There Any Plugged-In Top Chef Aficionados In The House? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
February 9, 2010
Still Sliding Down The Slope From The Eichler Summit (999 Green)
As we wrote last month with respect to #2802 at the Eichler Summit:
After three months on the market the MLS listing for 999 Green #2802 was withdrawn from the MLS without a sale (last asking $1,950,000). As of yesterday, however, the listing is active again but with a price that has been reduced to $1,795,000. Once again, purchased "off the market" for $2,500,000 in October of 2008.
As we noted in November: "Yes, the kitchen and baths could use some updating, but it's a classic building with big views and a price 22 percent less than in 2008." Now 28 percent.
Make that 32 percent as the list price for 999 Green Street #2802 has just been reduced another $100,000 to $1,695,000.
At the same time, the listing for 999 Green Street #1201 is once again active at $1,279,000 and still notes, "property was appraised for 1,575,000 in May [2009] by Bob Singer at TRAC, thats 286,000 below the [appraisal]!!!" It's been on the market for 154 days. And yes, it's now $296,000 "below the appraisal" (and has been for three months).
∙ Listing: 999 Green Street #2802 (3/2) - $1,695,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 999 Green Street #1201 (2/2) - $1,279,000 [MLS]
∙ A Slippery Slope On The Eichler Summit: Number 2802 Reduced [SocketSite]
∙ The (Eichler) Summit Of 999 Green Street #2802 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
Chicken John’s New Mural (And Message): "Fail To Win"
Chez Poulet (3359 Cesar Chavez) is sporting a new mural by Mongoloid. Gone is "Chicken John Rinaldi for Mayor Supervisor Dog Catcher," in its place is "Fail to Win!" The listing for Chicken John’s Chez Poulet was withdrawn from the MLS last month. And without a sale it would appear.
∙ Playing Chicken With A Five Year Arm (It’s Not Just About Rates) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
Another Chance To Buy "Steal" It For Even Less...
As we wrote last week with respect to the sale of 601 4th Street Penthouse #2 at $663 per square foot: "…perhaps not a great comp for the "It’s a steal!" penthouse number three directly next door (last asking $835 per square)."
Lo and behold, yesterday the list price for 601 4th Street Penthouse #3 was reduced $100,000 (7%) to $1,398,000, now asking $780 per square foot. Purchased for $1,500,000 in October 2006 ($837 per square) but then remodeled a bit we do believe.
∙ Listing: 601 4th Street #3P (2/2) - $1,398,000 [MLS]
∙ The Heublien Building Lofts (601 4th Street) [SocketSite]
∙ Year 2000-esque Penthouse Comp Atop The Heublien Building [SocketSite]
∙ Hitting For The Heublien Building Penthouse Cycle (#PH3) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
February 8, 2010
Going Short Heritage On Fillmore (1310 Fillmore) Having Bought Long
Asking "in the $900’s" for the five three-bedrooms at Heritage on Fillmore (1310 Fillmore) in December 2006, number 802 sold in November 2007 and sports a tax assessed value of $993,953 (which would suggest a sale price "in the $950’s").
First listed as a proposed short sale at $765,000 seven days ago, 1310 Fillmore #802's proposed short sale price was reduced to $665,000 three days later. No mention, however, of the sale price being pre-approved.
At the same time, the two-bedroom Heritage on Fillmore number 803 is now a proposed short sale "waiting for lender’s approval." Purchased for $810,000 in June 2007, first listed as a resale in September 2008, and now seeking a short sale at $649,000.
∙ Listing: 1310 Fillmore #802 (3/2) 1,407 sqft – "$665,000" [Redfin]
∙ Listing: 1310 Fillmore #803 (2/2) 1,115 sqft – "$649,000" [MLS]
∙ Heritage On Fillmore: The VIP Scoop [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (45) | (email story)
February 5, 2010
A Favorite Soma Grand (Not From The Fifth Floor) Penthouse View
While the Craigslist post identifies this Soma Grand (1160 Mission) unit as #501, as a plugged-in reader notes, we’re pretty sure the penthouse level isn’t on the fifth floor. And the pictured "top floor" unit number actually starts with a 22.
If you like cityscapes and San Francisco's Federal Building (which we do), however, the pictured unit is situated atop one of our favorite stacks in the building. But as far as we know it's not currently for sale.
And don’t forget, only the top two floors at Soma Grand offer air conditioning (and gas).
UPDATE (2/6): The Craislist post for 1160 Mission St #501 has been updated to reflect the interior and views of #501 (versus that pictured above). The reference to it being a "top floor" unit has also been removed.
∙ $800000 / 2br - OPEN SUN 2/7/10...SOMA Grand: 1160 Mission St #501 [Craigslist]
∙ Soma Grand (1160 Mission) Resale Comp And Stack Reduction [SocketSite]
∙ Soma Grand (1160 Mission): Status And Sales Update [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
Book Concern Building (83 McAllister) Comes Back To Market As Well
Speaking of new developments now returning to the market, eight of the sixty units at the previously sold out Book Concern Building (83 McAllister) were just listed at prices ranging from $299,000 for the 261 square foot number 412 (asking $273,000 in December 2006) to $519,000 for the 678 square foot number 508.
∙ Listing: 83 McAllister #412 (0/1) - $299,000 [Redfin]
∙ Listing: 83 McAllister #508 (1/1) - $519,000 [Redfin]
∙ Symphony Towers Moves To Sell Twenty-Six Leased Leftover Units [SocketSite]
∙ Book Concern Building (83 McAllister) [SocketSite]
∙ Book Concern Building (83 McAllister): Update And Pricing [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
Could Julius’ Castle Become Your Own? (302 Greenwich For Sale)
Long seeking a new tenant since shutting down two years ago under allegations of landlord fraud, misrepresentation, and lease issues, a plugged-in tipster notes that 302 Greenwich (a.k.a. Julius’ Castle) is now on the market asking $4,950,000. From the listing:
Elegantly situated atop Telegraph Hill, the restaurant has long been a destination to visitors & locals alike drawn to the warm environment & magnificent bay views….Possible residential application.
Other than over the past two years of course. We’ll let you work out the price (or probability) for that possibility for San Francisco landmark number 121 on Telegraph Hill.
∙ Listing: 302 Greenwich (a.k.a. Julius' Castle) - $4,950,000 [Zephyr] [Map]
∙ A Happy Ending for San Francisco's Castle? [Preservation]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
Symphony Towers Moves To Sell Twenty-Six Leased Leftover Units
While we broke the news last week with respect to Artani (818 Van Ness) unsuspending their sales efforts, apparently Symphony Towers is doing the same for 26 (out of 130) units they ended up leasing out over a year ago.
∙ Artani (818 Van Ness) Scoop Redux: Unsuspending Sales [SocketSite]
∙ Developers give condos second shot [Business Times]
∙ Symphony Towers Transitions To Their Second Movement (Rentals) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
February 3, 2010
Year 2000-esque Penthouse Comp Atop The Heublien Building
Originally asking $1,099,000 in October 2008, the sale of 601 4th Street Penthouse #2 closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $785,000 ($663 per square foot).
As the penthouse had been relisted in November 2009 for $815,000, however, MLS based reports will consider it three months on the market and an official 4 percent under asking.
Purchased in September 2000 for $815,000 (and we believe renovated at least a little bit in between). And perhaps not a great comp for the "It’s a steal!" penthouse number three directly next door (last asking $835 per square).
∙ Penthouse Number Two Of Three Atop Six Zero One Fourth [SocketSite]
∙ Hitting For The Heublien Building Penthouse Cycle (#PH3) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
February 1, 2010
Postcard Row's Postman's Home Hits The Market (722 Steiner)
Matthew Kavanaugh developed the 700 block of Steiner Street between 1892 and 1896, now known as San Francisco’s Postcard Row. Originally the developer's own home, 722 Steiner at Grove was slated for demolition in the 1970’s but survived and was restored.
And while it’s not yet officially listed on the public facing MLS nor is the property’s marketing site yet live, 722 Steiner (aka or rather dba "The Shannon-Kavanaugh House") is now on the market and asking "just under $4 million."
The home features working gaslights, exquisite architectural details and several original stained-glass windows. The kitchen includes upscale Dacor and Bosch appliances. The house earns its keep through movies, TV shows, advertising, tours, guest accommodations and by hosting unique private parties, catered events, weddings, receptions and other special events.
Expect an open house this weekend followed by an invitation-only "champagne soiree" next week. Oh, and ignore any reports or releases that tie this home (or block) to the "Full House" home facade. As plugged-in people know, that was actually 1709 Broderick.
UPDATE: While still not live on the San Francisco Association of Realtor's public facing MLS, 722 Steiner has been listed at $3,999,999 with 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, and 42 photos.
UPDATE: The 722steiner.com site is now live.
∙ Listing: 722 Steiner (5/4.5) - $3,999,999 [722steiner.com] [Redfin]
∙ The Shannon-Kavanaugh House (722 Steiner) [shannon-kavanaugh.com]
∙ "Party Of Five" House (2311 Broadway) Coming Soon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
January 29, 2010
Artani (818 Van Ness) Scoop Redux: Unsuspending Sales
It was a little over a year ago we broke the news about Artani (818 Van Ness) suspending sales and going the rental route. Today, we break the news that they’re about to dust off the sales center and suspend their rental program.
Current residents of the building (the 54 units of which are nearly all rented) will be given the first right of refusal to purchase their units at a discount to 2010 "market rates." Unclaimed units will be made available to the public in April.
And while we (nor they) have exact pricing, according to a plugged-in source the 2010 market rate is expected be set at a discount of around 20-25 percent from 2008 prices.
∙ The SocketSite Scoop And Rumor Confirmed: Artani Suspending Sales [SocketSite]
∙ The Artani (818 Van Ness) Opens And A Plugged-In Reader Reports [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (56) | (email story)
A $400 Million High-Speed Stimulant for San Francisco’s Transbay
As noted yesterday, California’s high-speed rail program has been stimulated to the tune of $2.25 billion, or $2.344 billion if you include funding for the Las Vegas long-term vision.
But more importantly (at least for the home team crowd), according to the San Francisco Examiner $400 million of that $2.25 billion has been earmarked "for construction of an underground train station at the Transbay Transit Center."
With the funds, the first phase of San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center (retail, bus, and park) is currently scheduled to open in late 2015 with the underground train station component (Caltrain and high-speed rail) following in 2016.
Phase I of the California High-Speed rail plan "calls for a 520-mile system connecting Anaheim and Los Angeles through the Central Valley to San Francisco by 2020."
Now about that Beale Street station alternative tomfoolery…
∙ And San Francisco's Transbay Joint Powers Authority Rolls…A Seven! [SocketSite]
∙ High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program: California [whitehouse.gov]
∙ Transbay Terminal: Banking On Stimulus Funds And Opening In 2015 [SocketSite]
∙ Scoop: Transbay Interactive Map (And New Transit Center Website) [SocketSite]
∙ High Speed Rail Scoop: Build On Beale, Demolish The Watermark [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (34) | (email story)
January 28, 2010
The Bank-Owned "Anomalies" Keep Building At The Brannan
Listed as 219 Brannan #212 on the MLS, we’d be willing to bet it’s actually 219 Brannan #1C that’s now bank owned at the Brannan and back on the market asking $594,900.
Public records would suggest the one-bedroom condo was purchased in 2003. And a tax assessed value of $533,268 would suggest some premature equity withdrawal might have been involved. The property has been listed and relisted at least six times since 2006.
∙ Listing: 219 Brannan "212" (1/1.5) 875 sqft – $594,900 [MLS]
∙ Bank Owned Hits The Brannan (239 Brannan #11E) [SocketSite]
∙ Another Bank-Owned Anomaly At The Brannan (229 Brannan #3H) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
January 27, 2010
And San Francisco's Transbay Joint Powers Authority Rolls…A Seven!
Last year San Francisco's Transbay Joint Powers Authority rolled the dice by modifying construction plans for San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center.
The modified plan to pre-build the train station component of the center will save an estimated $100 million in construction costs but banks on $400 million in federal stimulus funds, without which the move will likely end up burning $15 million worth of engineering and design and delay the project by at least four months.
Tomorrow morning President Obama will formally announce $8 billion in stimulus funds to 13 U.S. rail corridors ($50 billion was requested). But according to a White House pre-release, California's high-speed train project is getting $2.25 billion of that eight.
Exactly how that $2.25 billion will be divvied up between California's four corridors still needs to be determined. Will San Francisco’s $15 million bet payoff or crap out?
Stay tuned (and plugged-in).
UPDATE: And it's lucky number seven (or rather four hundred) for the TJPA and San Francisco:
Department spokeswoman Maureen Knightly said the $2.25 billion includes a reservation of $400 million for construction of an underground train station at the Transbay Transit Center.
Cheers!
∙ Transbay Terminal: Banking On Stimulus Funds And Opening In 2015 [SocketSite]
∙ Obama to Give 13 Areas $8 Billion for High-Speed Rail [Bloomberg]]
∙ Scoop: Transbay Interactive Map (And New Transit Center Website) [SocketSite]
∙ High-speed train project gets $2.25 billion from Obama [mercurynews.com]
∙ $400M to go toward Transbay Transit Center train station [San Francisco Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
Apples To Apples (And Agent To Bank-Owned) For 200 Brannan #504
Purchased for $925,000 with 10 percent down in April 2005, the agent-owned 200 Brannan #504 returned to the market asking $1,150,000 in July 2006.
The top floor 200 Brannan one-bedroom with 1,123 square feet failed to find a buyer, however, and in December 2009 it became bank-owned with what appears to have been no bidders at $780,000.
It’s back on the market and listed for $649,900, 30 percent under its 2005 purchase price.
∙ Listing: 200 Brannan #504 (1/1.5) 1,123 sqft - $649,900 [MLS]
∙ 200 Brannan Owners Association [200brannan.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (51) | (email story)
January 26, 2010
A $171 Million Federal Boost For San Francisco's New Transbay Center
"Federal authorities approved a $171 million loan for a new transit center in San Francisco....The U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday its loan for construction of the Transbay Transit Center will pay for ramps to the Bay Bridge, a bus storage facility and the design of an underground transit facility."
∙ S.F.’s Transbay center gets $171M loan [San Francisco Business Times]
∙ Scoop: Transbay Interactive Map (And New Transit Center Website) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
January 22, 2010
A One At Six Thirty One O’Farrell Listed For (Just) Under Three
One-bedrooms are a relatively scarce commodity in The Hamilton, a building that’s known for its studios (in a good way). And while said studios recently started trading at under $300,000 once again, 631 O’Farrell #708 (a one-bedroom) was just listed at $299,000.
No interior photos for the 945 square foot number 708, and the listing mentions some needed TLC, but it doesn’t appear to be tenant occupied or bank owned.
∙ Listing: 631 O‘Farrell #708 (1/1) 945 sqft - $299,000 [MLS]
∙ Life At The Hamilton (631 O'Farrell): A Plugged-In Reader's Report [SocketSite]
∙ Pay For 520, But Live Like 800 (With Bonus Points For “Trendyloin”) [SocketSite]
∙ From One Of Six To One Of Eight At The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
January 21, 2010
Another Berry Street Two Closes Around Six
Referenced by a reader on our post about a $594 per square foot short sale comp at 235 Berry, the sale of 255 Berry Street #506 closed escrow six weeks later for $603 per square ($780,000). Purchased in early 2007 for $895,000 ($692 per square), call it a 2007 to 2009 drop of 13 percent for this Berry Street two-bedroom of 1,293 square feet.
∙ An Under $600 Per Square Foot Two-Bedroom Comp At 235 Berry [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (35) | (email story)
January 20, 2010
Trinity Place Opens Up Under Cloudy Skies But Sunny Dispositions
Under cloudy skies, but with sunny dispositions, current residents of Trinity Plaza have started to make their move across the way to Trinity Place (1188 Mission). As we wrote eight months ago about Phase I of the 1,900 unit Trinity Place development:
If all goes as planned, the 440-unit building will open in two phases with residents of the lower twelve floors occupying their new apartments by the middle of January 2010 and residents of the top twelve floors by the end of March.
There's been good buzz about the design and finishes of the units to be (not to mention the marble and granite lobby). And in case you're wondering, residents of record as of early January at the current 360-unit Trinity Plaza will get first choice of units and maintain their current rents (and rent control).
In addition to rent-controlled tenants making the move, around 70 market-rate units will be available for rent with corner one-bedrooms ready for immediate occupancy starting at $1,773 per month and upper floor studios following in February or March.
Phase II of the development was originally slated to be 545 units and 21,000 square feet of retail along Market Street, but instead the next phase of development will be 440 units at 1190 Mission, directly west of 1188.
Given the tenuous economy and uncertain housing market, Sangiacomo said it makes more sense to construct a more modest building first. In addition to more units, the Market Street portion of the project requires a massive excavation for a 1,450-car parking garage. In contrast, the Mission Street buildings do not have any underground parking.
Kudos to Sangiacomo and his team.
∙ It Goes No Higher: 1188 Mission (AKA Trinity Place Phase I) Tops Off [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco's Newest Tower Crane (For Trinity Plaza) Is In The Air [SocketSite]
∙ Trinity Plaza: Just One Signature (And Around Three Years) To Go [SocketSite]
∙ Moving day for Trinity Plaza [San Francisco Business Times]
∙ $1773 / 1br - BRAND NEW BUILDING/ CONVENIENT LOCATION [Craigslist]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (34) | (email story)
A Handful At The Heights (1940 Broadway)
Having been purchased for a reported $4,911,000 in March 2008, as best we can tell the quick re-sale of 1940 Broadway #6 never closed when asking $5,191,000 later that year.
The floor above (1940 Broadway #7) had been on the MLS for almost four months in 2009 at $5,500,000 before being withdrawn two weeks ago. It’s now back on the MLS without a change in price but a change in DOM (now "six").
And the floor above that (1940 Broadway #8) is back on the market as well and asking $3,995,000. It's not nearly as remodeled as the others but sports a sweet original stove.
Asking $3,495,000 for #7 last September and with 364 days on the market at the time.
∙ The Height(s) Of Foreshadowing: 1940 Broadway #6 Returns [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 1940 Broadway #7 (4/3.5) - $5,500,000 [Joel Goodrich] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1940 Broadway #8 (3/4.5) - $3,995,000 [1940broadway8.com] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
January 15, 2010
As One Ecker Turns (Over): Lender Forecloses As Nobody Bids
As we broke the news with respect to One Ecker last May: "The development is in receivership (and all deposits have been returned)."
As a plugged-in reader reports today: "Construction lender foreclosed on the project [an hour ago]. Beneficiary (represented by an attorney from LA) bid $14,000,000. No takers."
∙ As One Ecker Turns: (Our Fourth Update): Selling In Receivership [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
Bank Owned Mullen Building Loft (With Nod To Being John Malkovich)
The current configuration of this Mullen Building condo yields a few vertically challenged rooms and a loft that conjures Being John Malkovich.
If the listed square footage (2,590) for 60 Rausch #201 doesn’t include the loft and you can garner permission to reconfigure, however, at $320 per square foot ($829,000) and with two car parking it could become a rather interesting space.
∙ Listing: 60 Rausch #201 (2/1.5) - $829,000 [60rausch201.com] [MLS]
∙ The Mullen Buildings: 52/60 Rausch & 73 Sumner [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
A Slippery Slope On The Eichler Summit: Number 2802 Reduced
After three months on the market the MLS listing for 999 Green #2802 was withdrawn from the MLS without a sale (last asking $1,950,000). As of yesterday, however, the listing is active again but with a price that has been reduced to $1,795,000. Once again, purchased "off the market" for $2,500,000 in October of 2008.
As we noted in November: "Yes, the kitchen and baths could use some updating, but it's a classic building with big views and a price 22 percent less than in 2008." Now 28 percent.
. Listing: 999 Green Street #2802 (3/2) - $1,795,000 [MLS]
. The (Eichler) Summit Of 999 Green Street #2802 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
January 13, 2010
A Landmark Bourn Mansion Moving Day (And End Of An Era)
A plugged-in tipster reports from in front of the Bourn Mansion (2550 Webster):
The end of an era? The start of a new chapter? Either way, 2 moving trucks and a few movers seem to be taking out the old. Looking forward to the new!
Both. And so are we. Now which tipster is going to be the first to leak liberate the plans?
∙ Bourn To Run Party: A San Francisco Mansion Of Ex-Glory And Dreams [SocketSite]
∙ The Bourn Foreclosure (2550 Webster) [SocketSite]
∙ The Trap Door, Secret Passageways, And Dungeon Of 2550 Webster [SocketSite]
∙ The "Plugged-In(side) Scoop" And Candid Peek Inside: 2550 Webster [SocketSite]
∙ The Bourn Foreclosure Bankruptcy And Bidding Scoop [SocketSite]
∙ Landmark Bourn Mansion (2550 Webster) Bankruptcy Sale Approved [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
January 11, 2010
Scoop: Transbay Interactive Map (And New Transit Center Website)
While it hasn’t yet been officially announced, plugged-in people know a new Transbay Transit Center website is now online. And while the intro animation should look (and sound) familiar, a new interactive map (a.k.a. "walk around the project") is filled with graphics and drill-down animations for the Transit Center and its surrounding 40-acres.
Transit Center and City Park? Check. Temporary Transbay Terminal and future Transbay Park? Check. How Folsom Street looks today...
...and a peek at what Folsom Street is envisioned to become with widened sidewalks, street level retail, and trees, glorious trees? Check.
And so much more.
∙ Transbay Transit Center: Interactive Map [transbaycenter.org] [Videos]
∙ Transbay Transit Center Video: The Director’s Cut With Smooth Tunes [SocketSite]
∙ Hines And Pelli Clarke Pelli Bid The Most (And Get The Transbay Nod) [SocketSite]
∙ Temporary Transbay Terminal Cam And Construction Update [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Park Potential: Post-Temporary Transbay Terminal (Et Al.) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
January 8, 2010
Another Bank-Owned Anomaly At The Brannan (229 Brannan #3H)
Lest you mistakenly dismissed our bank owned at the Brannan post last month as an anomaly, enter 229 Brannan #3H. As an aside, it appears the pre-bank owner of #3H also lost 1522 Lake Street to the bank (but left the Brannan appliances intact).
∙ Listing: 229 Brannan #3H (1/1.5) - $669,000 [MLS]
∙ Latest San Francisco Listing Euphemism: "Unfinished" Versus Stripped [SocketSite]
∙ Bank Owned Hits The Brannan (239 Brannan #11E) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
December 30, 2009
Playing Chicken With A Five Year Arm (It’s Not Just About Rates)
While Chicken John Rinaldi’s Chez Poulet has been on the market for two months at $899,000, on Monday Laughing Squid added a bit of color with a quote from John himself:
I’m caught in the mortgage crisis by association. I took a 5 year arm mortgage with a balloon payment thinking I could re-finance. There are no loans today for Showman with non-conforming warehouses. So it goes on the block. Hell, I’ll even finance it…
And as a plugged-in tipster added last week:
Although it's his home, he's made it into a funky hangout space for the local arts community... it will be sad to see it fall into the hands of more sensible property owners, but such is the way of the world.
Or perhaps not. A follow up from from Chicken John yesterday:
I talked to a loan guy today that may be able to do something. I only owe like $220,000. It's not *that* much. It's all phony money to me. I've got like $60 in my pocket. It's comedy, really...
∙ Listing: 3359 Cesar Chavez (1/1) 2,800 sqft - $899,000 [MLS]
∙ Chicken John Is Selling His Legendary San Francisco Warehouse [Laughing Squid]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (34) | (email story)
December 29, 2009
"Best Price Ever" At 310 Townsend (Assuming It’s Approved)
Listed for $799,000 plus $25,000 for parking in February 2007, 310 Townsend #202 sold for $824,000 in March of that year. And now the 945 square foot one-bedroom is back on the MLS as a short sale with a list price of "$450,000" (a drop of 45 percent).
While the listing touts "best price ever," however, it is missing "bank approved price."
∙ Listing: 310 Townsend #202 (1/1) 945 sqft - $450,000 [MLS]
∙ 310 Townsend: Available And Selling
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (34) | (email story)
December 28, 2009
A Pair Trio Of Bank-Owned Penthouses Atop The Watermark
As we wrote in April:
Two months after its initial sale for $1,250,000 in October of 2006 Watermark (501 Beale) Penthouse #2B was flipped for $1,375,000. (Ah, the good old days.) It's now a little over two years later and the top floor condo is back on the market and asking $1,094,500.
The listing notes both short sale and bank owned (we believe it’s the former) and the condo failed to sell earlier this year when seeking $1,195,000. Keep in mind that the identical "penthouse" unit a floor below (#PH1B) sold for $1,300,000 in October of 2006 and was likely a supporting comp for the flip of #PH2B. And so on. And so forth.
501 Beale #PH2B ended up selling for $950,000 this past October. That same month 501 Beale #PH1B was returned to the bank, it's now back on the market and asking $940,500.
Plugged-in people should have seen it coming (and been prepared). Those too busy whining about our "unfair apples" probably would have missed it (or perhaps were simply trying to sell you something else).
We also expect the bank-owned Watermark Penthouse #1E to return to the market soon, while bank-owned units #1D and #6C remain active and available as well.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #PH1B (2/2) - $940,500 [Redfin]
∙ From Flippy To Floppy For Watermark (501 Beale) Penthouse #2B [SocketSite]
∙ A Pair Of Bank-Owned Penthouses Atop The Watermark (501 Beale) [SocketSite]
∙ Another Bank Owned Watermark Comp To Be: 501 Beale #6C [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
December 22, 2009
Landmark Bourn Mansion (2550 Webster) Bankruptcy Sale Approved
As we reported with respect to the landmark Bourn Mansion (2550 Webster) via a plugged-in tipster a week ago:
...[they] had to find a trustee for Chapter 11 so all previous bids were thrown out. Now the trustee has ratified an offer and an overbid schedule has been made, so now the overbid and sale approval will take place on December 22. Overbidders must have offers in by no later than December 17, 2009 at 4:00 pm and the first minimum overbid has to be $2,550,000 (the list price is $2,900,000).
As a plugged-in source reports today:
The sale of the house was approved this morning. The motion to dismiss was denied.
UPDATE: The approved sale price: $2,790,000.
∙ The Bourn Foreclosure Bankruptcy And Bidding Scoop [SocketSite]
∙ The "Plugged-In(side) Scoop" And Candid Peek Inside: 2550 Webster [SocketSite]
∙ Landmark Bourn Mansion (2550 Webster) Listed And Your Peek Inside [SocketSite]
∙ Bourn To Run Party: A San Francisco Mansion Of Ex-Glory And Dreams [SocketSite]
∙ The Bourn Foreclosure (2550 Webster) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
December 21, 2009
The "Confidential" Infinity Short Sale Scoop: 301 Main #9E
Asking just under $900,000 when the Infinity sales office first opened, tax records suggest 301 Main Street #9E was purchased for $867,000 in March 2008. The upgraded Tower One condo returned to the market at the end of 2008 listed for $885,000.
The resale asking price was subsequently reduced to $799,000 this past January, and then to $749,000 as a short sale in June. The short sale closed escrow December 10.
And while the sale price in the MLS was reported as "confidential," and as such will reflect the asking price of $749,000 ($635 per square foot) when queried by those who rely on it for market stats and averages, the recorded deed reports a transfer tax of $4,127.60 which equates to an actual sale price of $607,000 or $514 per square foot for the 1,180 square foot two-bedroom condo with parking, 30 percent under its price in 2008.
Keep in mind that the 1,180 square foot 301 Main Street #10E was purchased for $845,000 in July 2008. And tax records suggest the 1,180 square foot 301 Main Street #11E sold for just over $900,000 this past february while the 1,303 square foot 301 Main Street #8E sold for $1,038,000 in February 2008.
Full Disclosure: We advised the plugged-in buyers in their search for a San Francisco property. And as always, we’re looking forward to the housewarming.
∙ Another Infinity Resale (#9E) Within Those "Restricted" Two Years [SocketSite]
∙ Just Under $900,000 Originally, Asking Just Under $800,000 Today [SocketSite]
∙ An End To Confidential MLS Sales* (*Unless You're Willing To Pay) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
December 17, 2009
Glen Park Market Place Still Defying Gravity Latest Comp Closes Down
As we wrote in October:
A few months after the 15-unit Glen Park Market Place premiered, 53 Wilder Street #406 closed escrow for $855,000 (September 2006). It’s two bedrooms, two baths and 1,249 square feet. And it’s back on the market and asking $839,000 (2% under its 2006 price).
Interestingly enough, a two bedroom, two bath and 1,279 square foot unit next-door (53 Wilder Street #405) sold for $871,000 this past April. It had been purchased for $810,000 in November 2006.
Yesterday the sale of 53 Wilder Street #406 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $819,220. That's 4.2% under its 2006 value and versus the 7.5% gain since 2006 that 53 Wilder #405 realized just eight months ago.
∙ Still Defying Gravity At Glen Park Market Place? [SocketSite]
∙ Glen Park Market Place: Range Of Prices And BMR Deadline [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
December 14, 2009
The Bourn Foreclosure Bankruptcy And Bidding Scoop
A plugged-in tipster provides the inside scoop with respect to the pending bankruptcy sale of the landmark Bourn Mansion (2550 Webster):
...[they] had to find a trustee for Chapter 11 so all previous bids were thrown out. Now the trustee has ratified an offer and an overbid schedule has been made, so now the overbid and sale approval will take place on December 22. Overbidders must have offers in by no later than December 17, 2009 at 4:00 pm and the first minimum overbid has to be $2,550,000 (the list price is $2,900,000).
So you've got a few days.
And once again, our candid peek inside for those who haven't had a chance to tour.
∙ The "Plugged-In(side) Scoop" And Candid Peek Inside: 2550 Webster [SocketSite]
∙ Landmark Bourn Mansion (2550 Webster) Listed And Your Peek Inside [SocketSite]
∙ Bourn To Run Party: A San Francisco Mansion Of Ex-Glory And Dreams [SocketSite]
∙ The Bourn Foreclosure (2550 Webster) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
December 11, 2009
Better Late Than Never For A "New" Palms Short Sale Comp
Three months after having closed escrow for a recorded $400,000 ($508 per square foot), the MLS listing for 555 4th Street #605 was just updated to reflect the sale. Purchased for $620,500 in November 2006, the one-bedroom at The Palms returned to the market this past April asking $585,000. Last asking $479,000 as an approved short sale in July.
Posted by socketadmin at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
Another Bank Owned Watermark Comp To Be: 501 Beale #6C
While the bank owned 501 Beale #1D remains active and available, the bank owned #6C just hit the market. A South Beach comp at $806,000 in June 2006, the Watermark one bedroom was taken back by the bank this past November with $776,341 owed.
Asking $569,900 today, a sale at which would represent a 29 percent drop in value below its 2006 price. The bank owned 501 Beale #12G ended up selling for $750,000 in October, $1,000 "over asking" but 23 percent below its May 2006 purchase price of $975,000.
UPDATE: Acknowledging a circular reference, we’ll note a Watermark one-bedroom currently asking $3,100 a month to rent.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #6C (1/1) 801 sqft - $569,900 [MLS]
∙ One Of Thirty Underwater Properties New To The Market This Week [SocketSite]
∙ 501 Beale #12G: No Short Sale For You! (Foreclosure Instead) [SocketSite]
∙ Rent Versus Buy Default [SocketSite]
∙ 1br - Waterfront Condo steps from the Financial District [Craigslist]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
December 9, 2009
Take Two (And Big Cuts) For Thirty-Four At 188 King
If you've been plugged-in since 2006 should know the full saga of 188 King. Now three years later, the rented units (34 of 44) "are being converted back to condominiums in a phased manner" according to The Polaris Group.
Speaking of which, orignially priced at $2,150,000 in May 2006, 188 King Street #604 is back on the market and asking $1,350,000 in December 2009, a cut of 37 percent.
∙ Listing: 188 King #604 (2/2.5) - $1,350,000 [MLS]
∙ The Scoop On 188 King Street: Now Selling Leasing [SocketSite]
∙ 188 King Street: The Rents [SocketSite]
∙ 188 King: Phase I Pricing [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
December 8, 2009
Royally Unexpected Architecture, Design & Views: 1750 Taylor #203
Unfortunately it’s currently in contract, but as a plugged-in tipster writes about Royal Towers (1750 Taylor) unit #203:
…I have never seen a unit in this building remodeled this way. The exposed concrete is an interesting and cool touch. Not to mention the finishes look extremely custom and expensive.
Not for everyone, but the views sure are. Hard to believe it is only on the second floor.
With that we’ll agree (all in a good way). And while it is in contract, it is contingent. We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.
UPDATE: Ask, and ye shall receive. A plugged-in tipster forwards the following:
The unit was done by Louise Mann with a lot of input from the owner who has her design license. Louise usually works with her husband, Ron Mann, but this specific job was more Louise’s. Regardless of the exact auteurship, if you go to their web site you’ll see that the apartment at 1750 Taylor is pretty representative of their general style.
Also noted, the sale is expected to close escrow this week.
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor #203 (2/2) - $2,195,000 [Virtual Tour] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
December 4, 2009
Speaking Kindly Of The Hamilton...A Studio Asking $199,000
Speaking of The Hamilton, 631 O’Farrell #416 was just listed as a probate sale asking $199,000. It’s 480 square feet. And as plugged-in people know, the 16’s in general offer "SE corner downtown view + sun rise," although perhaps limited from the fourth floor.
∙ Listing: 631 O'Farrell (0/1) 480 sqft - $199,000 [Redfin]
∙ High Atop The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell): Penthouse Listing And History [SocketSite]
∙ Life At The Hamilton (631 O'Farrell): A Plugged-In Reader's Report [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
Bank Owned Hits The Brannan (239 Brannan #11E)
Purchased for $937,500 in May 2002, the two-bedroom 239 Brannan #11E at The Brannan was taken back by the bank in October.
Just listed for $899,9000 but "missing refrigerator, dishwasher, disposer, range, fan, microwave and vanity in hall bath." Let us know when if you see them on Craigslist.
∙ Listing: 239 Brannan #11E (2/2) 1,137 sqft - $899,900 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) | (email story)
December 1, 2009
The Montgomery Moves To "Sealed Bids" To Sell Last Three
The latest from The Montgomery (74 New Montgomery) sales office by way of a tipster:
The Montgomery is pleased to announce a special Minimum Sealed Bid Program for all remaining homes. If you are thinking of buying a new home and looking for incredible value, then don't miss this unique opportunity to own a new home at The Montgomery as these homes are fully upgraded with hardwood flooring and stainless steel appliances.
The Montgomery will begin accepting sealed bids on Saturday, December 12th at 12:00pm with the bid process ending on Sunday, December 13th at 5:00pm. Homes in this final release include a studio with minimum bid pricing at $340,000 and [two] two-bedroom homes with minimum bid pricing at $680,000.
In February studios were starting from $383,000 and two bedrooms from $882,000. While in August the last nine units were in contract, we're assuming these three fell out.
∙ 74 New Montgomery: Soon To Be Sold Out Assuming Contracts Close [SocketSite]
∙ A Plugged-In Reader’s Perspective On The Montgomery And Its Cuts [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
Life At The Hamilton (631 O'Farrell): A Plugged-In Reader's Report
Add another item to the list of things we like about the Hamilton: its community (and a plugged-in reader’s inside report).
I live in this building and can help to answer some of the questions. Overall it is a great building with some fantastic social people living here. Our community is a cross section of SF: young, old, straight, gay, couples, singles...
We have great (sometimes - whole floor) parties! (We also offer the lobby, back patio and ballroom as an event rental space to anyone inside or outside the bldg.)
The neighborhood can grate on your nerves but is changing. As a community we regularily have discussions about our surroundings with the police and supervisors. Most of us are tring to improve our area - we are not the type to sit around and whine.
The building contains 186 units which are mostly studios. There are two 1-bedrooms per floor and one two bedroom. The corner studios have some of the best views in the city!
The [penthouse] does include leased parking in the basement - the current penthouse owner paid a significant amount of money to jump the line. That being said the parking list is turning over very fast right now - maybe a year to get to the top. This change could be attributed to the economy. But I do know of some residents who have gave up their cars to walk / use the car shares instead.
The building does have somewhat high dues. Not sure what the dues on the penthouse include but my dues include utilities (water, steam heat, electricity), full time manager, full time maintenance/cleaning staff, 24hr security/doorman, package hold service + reserve fund contribution. We have never had an assessment.
Over the last 10 years, the owners have spent a lot of money to restore the lobby, back patio, ballroom and 16th roof deck along with the regular maintenance for a 80 yr old bldg. Next month we are adding a gym to the building.
I believe the [penthouse] sold for $2.5 mil around 2000.
Cheers and comments on the original thread. Now about those invitations to your next whole floor party...
∙ Pay For 520, But Live Like 800 (With Bonus Points For "Trendyloin") [SocketSite]
∙ High Atop The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell): Penthouse Listing And History [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 PM | Permalink | (email story)
November 30, 2009
High Atop The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell): Penthouse Listing And History
Built as a hotel in 1929, converted to condominiums in 1962, and better known for its studios and one-bedrooms, the 3,879 square foot penthouse (#2101) atop The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell) has hit the market asking $4,500,000.
A bit of Hamilton history with respect to how the penthouse came to be:
A wealthy heiress by the name of Marcia McDonald created her fantasy apartment and spared no expense creating this lavish penthouse. As an early buyer, she combined four proposed units on the top floor into one large full-floor unit with its own private elevator access.
She also expanded the unit outward onto the east and west terraces with a number of non-Art Deco appendages, the grandest being a full-length glass barrel-vaulted solarium held up by imported Greek-style columns. This amazing room when illuminated becomes a beacon in this part of the city. She also added hundreds of thousands of dollars in elaborate finishes.
She was not able to finish the unit in her lifetime and never lived there. When her contractor told her she would have to spend another $500,000, she shut the doors and never returned, instead she spent her time in two apartments on the 15th floor...The spectacular unit was finished after her death [four years later] largely according to her original vision and it includes a 360 degree vista of San Francisco and all of it's major landmarks.
At the other end of the building's spectrum, the 520 square foot 631 O'Farrell #906 has been asking $275,000 since October 23, down from $299,000 in August.
∙ Listing: 631 O’Farrell #2101 (3/3.5) 3,879 sqft - $4,500,000 [Sotheby’s] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 631 O’Farrell #906 (0/1) 520 sqft - $275,000 [MLS]
∙ The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell) History [The Hamilton]
∙ Pay For 520, But Live Like 800 (With Bonus Points For “Trendyloin”) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (40) | (email story)
Hugo Hotel's Flying Furniture Update, No Word On The Graffiti
"As a courtesy to the Artist...[Redevelopment] Agency staff is recommending entering into a Permit to Enter with the Artist [Brian Googin] to keep Defenestration in place until the Agency is ready to demolish the existing building and replace it with affordable housing."
∙ Hugo Hotel display likely to get reprieve [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ The Hugo Hotel Has A Date With A Different Kind Of Bench [SocketSite]
∙ JustQuotes: Eminent Domain For Affordable Housing On Sixth Street? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
November 25, 2009
A Bit Of "02" Irony (And 80 Percent Sold) At One Rincon Hill
On the heels of yesterday’s height of the fire sale flames post with respect to The Infinity, we turn our attention to One Rincon Hill. So far the lowest priced two-bedroom sale we have identified on a price per square foot basis seems to be 425 1st Street #1102.
The 1,309 square foot two-bedroom sold for a reported $695,000 ($531 per square) in May. We’d be remiss not to note the "02" stack irony.
Of the 396 units of One Rincon Hill, we believe they remain at just under 80 percent sold.
UPDATE: We've pulled our reference to #4902, it's reported sales history is just a bit too odd. With respect to #1102, however, a plugged-in reader adds:
1102 was sold on opening night to an "insider". Contract price was $925,000 and he was all excited because it was such a "steal". (I was at the party.) By closing time he had moved out of town and so he bailed on the contract. I believe he lost his deposit.
If accurate, call it a discount of 24.8 percent to move it in May.
∙ Recounting The Height Of The Infinity "Fire Sale" Flames [SocketSite]
∙ A Return To Reality For A One Rincon Hill "02" Stack Resale (#2202) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
November 24, 2009
Recounting The Height Of The Infinity "Fire Sale" Flames
A plugged-in reader reports:
Lowest price sold 2/2 at Tower II is $535,000 for 1,187 sf. Mid 2009. All 1/1 are now gone and it is unlikely to find any 2/2 left at under 700k - at least not from the developer - in Tower II. Lowest 1/1 sold, I believe was below 400,000.
Assume that's without parking (or not). Don't necessarily assume it's the same sub $600,000 sale we plugged you into back in June.
UPDATE: Make that $510,000 for a two-bedroom (338 Spear #6J) and $350,000 for the lowest know one-bedroom (338 Spear #9G). And on a dollar per square foot basis, the lowest we know about for a two-bedroom was $466 per square foot for the 1,147 square foot 338 Spear Street #4E (closed in July 2009).
Do we hear under $535,000 or $466 per square for a two?
∙ Infinity Tower I Sold Out, Tower II At 70 Percent, 85 Percent Overall [SocketSite]
∙ Confidentially Speaking About The Infinity [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
November 23, 2009
The Credits Roll On The 2009 Sale Of Marquee Lofts #708 (And #605)
Marquee Lofts (151 Alice B. Toklas Place) #708 first changed hands on 9/30/04 for $607,500; sold on 10/05/06 for $865,000 (having been upgraded); and was bought back by Merrill Lynch Mortgage Lending for $708,933 on 1/9/08 (having been downgraded).
Sold kitchen-less as a foreclosure sale for $580,000 in June of 2008, a fully remodeled (new kitchen, bathroom, lighting and other improvements) returned to the market this past July asking $739,000 and was later reduced to $699,000. The re-sale of the 1,229 square foot loft closed escrow on 11/10/09 with a reported contract price of $682,850 ($556 per square foot).
We would be surprised if the recent remodeling budget ran under $50,000. We wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up over $75,000. And hopefully nobody took spencer up on his "I bet $1,000,000,000,000 that this closes under $700K" wager in July.
As a related building aside, the foreclosure sale of Marquee Lofts #605 closed escrow on 10/15 with a recorded contract price of $579,000. The 1,204 square foot unit had been purchased in August 2005 for $755,000 (August 2003 for $515,000). No word on any improvements (or kitchen hijackings) in-between.
∙ Change Of Heart, Cash Crunch, Or A Condo Sitter Gone Crazy? [SocketSite]
∙ From Foreshadowing To Foreclosure For A Marquee Loft Off Van Ness [SocketSite]
∙ A Remodeled Marquee Lofts #708 Returns…With A Kitchen! [SocketSite]
∙ Have We Seen This Marquee Lofts (#708) Movie Before? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
November 20, 2009
The Grand Plan For A San Francisco "Transit Center District"
The Planning Department's draft Transit Center District Plan for the rectangle bounded by Market, Steuart, Folsom, and mid-block between 3rd and New Montgomery is now online.
The plan's five Core Goals:
1. Build on the General Plan’s Urban Design Element and Downtown Plan, establishing controls, guidelines, and standards to advance existing policies of livability, as well as those that protect the unique qualities of place.
2. Capitalize on major transit investment with appropriate land use in the downtown core, with an eye toward long-term growth considerations.
3. Create a framework for a network of public streets and open spaces that support the transit system, and provides a wide variety of public amenities and a world-class pedestrian experience.
4. Generate financial support for the Transbay Transit Center project, district infrastructure, and other public improvements.
5. Ensure that the Transit Center District is an example of comprehensive environmental sustainability in all regards.
In addition to establishing a 1,000 foot height for the proposed Transbay Tower, the plan raises the height limit for six other sites to exceed the current 550-foot ceiling.
And in addition to neighborhood open spaces either existing or already in the works, the Plan proposes a new half acre public plaza on the corner of Second and Howard/Natoma.
The plaza would serve as a gateway to the Transit Center and City Park as envisoned in the watercolor above. Total budget for the plan as proposed (excluding development costs for the new Transbay Terminal/Transit Center): $567,250,000.
∙ Draft Transit Center District Plan [SFGov]
∙ Transbay Transit Center: Community Insight (And Involvement) [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Terminal Zoning Presentation And "Urban Form Simulations" [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (121) | (email story)
November 19, 2009
New Year (And Perhaps Market) Motivations Atop Nob Hill
From the property flyer now making its way around the brokerages for 1170 Sacramento Street #2B by way of a plugged-in tipster: "TENANTS HAVE MOVED---NOW PAINTED AND STAGED! MOTIVATED SELLER! WANTS TO CLOSE BY DEC. 31!"
On the market for the past month asking $1,595,000 (purchased for $1,450,000 in May 2005), will it take more "motivation" than furnishings and paint to grant this holiday wish?
Other 1,961 square foot "B" stack units in the building currently on the MLS: 1170 Sacramento #12B asking $1,950,000 (reduced from $2,200,000); and 1170 Sacramento #14B asking $2,150,000 and which comes with a separate one-bedroom unit that "can be sold to another owner in bldg" (reduced from $2,380,000).
∙ Listing: 1170 Sacramento #2B (2/2.5) - $1,595,000 [1170-sacramento-2b.com] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1170 Sacramento #12B (2/2.5) - $1,950,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1170 Sacramento #14B (3/3.5) - $2,150,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
A Resale One Joins The Two At Seventy-Four New Montgomery
While the two-bedroom 74 New Montgomery #502 remains available at $945,000 (24% under its un-upgraded purchase price in 2008), a tipster notes a one-bedroom resale (74 New Montgomery #305) has also hit the market asking $485,000 (12% under its purchase price in January 2008).
We’ll assume the shades are drawn to simply show off the upgrade, or for the purposes of photography, not to hide the views.
∙ Listing: 74 New Montgomery #305 (1/1) - $485,000 [MLS]
∙ Overlooking Architecture (And Upgrades) At The Montgomery (#502) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
November 18, 2009
Putting On The Ritz At 44% Under Original List (And $813 Per Square)
Asking $3,747,500 ($1,453/sqft) when it first hit the market two years ago, a plugged-in tipster notes that the three-bedroom and 2,580 square foot Ritz-Carlton Residences #1102 closed escrow on 11/3 with a reported contract price of $2,100,000 ($814/sqft).
It was three months ago we caught the sales office discounting list prices by up to 33 percent, but call it a closing at 44 percent under original asking for 690 Market #1102.
∙ Four More Listings! (And At Least One Reduction At The Ritz) [SocketSite]
∙ Ritz-Carlton Sales Office Pulls An Infinity In An Attempt To Sell Out [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
November 17, 2009
Rincon Center Towers $110M (And Possibly In Default) Debt For Sale
Two years ago the 320-unit Rincon Center Residential Towers (88 Howard) was sold to New York based Capital Properties for $143 million. The purchase was partially financed with a two-year $110,000,000 note, the terms of which included a possible one-year extension.
The loan matured 6/12/09. The Lender notified the Borrower that it did not satisfy the terms and conditions required for the 12 month extension, and as such the Loan is in default. The Borrower disputes the Lender's claim, believes that it qualifies for the Loan extension and has continued to pay monthly debt service payments (last payment date 11/12/09).
The Borrower has invested over $10,000,000 in the Property since its acquisition in 2007, completing the renovation of 85 of the 244 market rate units, including tasteful upgrades to the flooring, kitchen appliances, countertops, cabinetry, lighting, bathrooms, and fixtures.
And as a plugged-in tipster notes, the lender is now trying to sell the note on the twin 25-story and condo mapped (but currently rental) property via Eastdil Secured.
∙ Rincon Towers: From Apartments, To Condos, To Apartments [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
November 16, 2009
Belli’s Barbary Coast (And At One Time) Belle Of A Building
As Melvin Belli’s one time Gold Coast home still seeks a buyer, over the past month the infamous and Landmark Belli Building at 722-728 Montgomery has been doing the same.
The flamboyant and influential Belli was a pivotal figure in today's litigious society as an innovator in the area of personal injury law. He took on big corporations and controversial clients. Belli's clients included Errol Flynn, Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, Lana Turner, Mae West, Muhammad Ali, and Jack Ruby.
The Gold Rush era building at 722 Montgomery Street is a historical landmark and the offices where the renowned attorney held court. Eventually reduced to a ramshackle, the offices were once a monument to Belli's $60 million success. Belli died in 1996 at the age of 88, just a few months after filing for bankruptcy.
Particularly galling to San Franciscans is the fact that Mrs. Belli, who announced the ground breaking for a Belli museum on the site in 1997, sat on the San Francisco Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board while she allowed the Belli building fall into ruin.
An ongoing rebuild of the Belli building is still under wraps, and if finished as planned would yield 11,615 square feet of commercial space, 12,098 square feet of residential space (configured as 12 condos), and a 4,639 square foot basement.
Asking $10,500,000 in its current condition, the Loopnet listing created on October first notes, "This property will not last, Family has asked for it to be sold in as is condition within the next 30 days." Okay, so maybe 60. And under ten.
UPDATE (11/17): A plugged-in reader adds:
Perhaps the motivation for this statement [("Family has asked for it to be sold in as is condition within the next 30 days")] was the [Notice of Default] filed on September 24. Ms. Belli recently (end of August) sold off two units at 481 Clementina. Evidently, she did not raise enough capital to prevent the mechanics lien on November 4 for the Montgomery property. And, of course, the requisite lawsuit by the builders.
That would do it. And buyers, pay attention to those encumbrances.
∙ 24 Karat Gold Coast (2950 Broadway) Brochure, Plans, And History [SocketSite]
∙ Landmark 9: The Belli Building (722 Montgomery) [noehill.com]
∙ Farewell Favorites: Belli, Belli & Belli [mistersf.com]
∙ Listing: 722-728 Montgomery Street - $10,500,000 [loopnet.com]
∙ B.A.R. BUILDERS VS. NANCY HO BELLI [sftc.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
Down On Nob Hill At Gramercy Towers (1177 California)
Billed as having the "Most desired junior 1 bedroom floorplan in building," Gramercy Towers (1177 California) #1022 is on the market and asking $499,000. It was purchased for $462,000 three years ago. And all things considered, that wouldn’t be bad appreciation.
Two weeks ago, however, the sale of the Gramercy Towers #1402 (yes, the "Most sought after Junior 1 bedroom floor plan with views of the Golden Gate Bridge" but without a balcony we believe) closed escrow with a reported contract price of $407,000. The 511 square foot unit was also remodeled and had been asking $429,000.
∙ Listing: 1177 California #1022 ("1"/1) 511 sqft - $499,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (34) | (email story)
Oh My (And Bank Owned) At The Odeon On O’Farrell
Purchased for $800,000 in December 2006, Odeon (181 O’Farrell) #508 was taken back by the bank. It’s been listed at $601,400, a sale at which would represent a 25 percent drop in value over the past three years.
Also on the market in the Odeon, #307 which was purchased for $780,000 in March 2007, has been on the market for the past 185 days, and hasn’t moved at $699,000 (a 10 percent drop). And #505 which was purchased for $894,500 in February 2007, has been on the market for the past 56 days, and hasn’t moved at $760,000 (a 15 percent drop).
And then there’s the penthouse (#513) which was purchased for $2,000,000 in March 2007. An attempt to sell it off as a fractional over the past two years failed and it’s been the market as a whole for the past 172 days. Originally asking $2,349,000, it’s been three months at $2,099,000 with an owner that "says make an offer!!"
∙ Listing: 181 O’Farrell #307 (1/1.5) - $699,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 181 O’Farrell #508 (1/1.5) 1,047 sqft - $601,400 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 181 O’Farrell #505 (1/1.5) 1,334 sqft - $760,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 181 O’Farrell #513 (3/2) 2,516 sqft - $2,099,000 [MLS]
∙ New Developments: Odeon (181 O’Farrell) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (49) | (email story)
November 12, 2009
Apples To Apples For 188 King: 2006 To 2009 (Versus 2006 To 2008)
Purchased for $780,000 in August 2006, the "almost new" 188 King Street #309 returned to the market this past May asking $850,000. Reduced to $750,000 in June and then $629,000 in September, yesterday the asking price was reduced to $599,000.
A sale at $599,000 would represent a 23% drop in value for this South Beach condo over the past three years. But as we wrote in April of 2008:
As you might recall, it was eighteen months [now three years] ago that we calculated that only seven of the 44 condos that compose 188 King Street had been sold on the open market despite "multiple releases" and five additional units being advertised as "sold" for marketing purposes (but retained by the developers).
And keep in mind that unsold units ended up becoming rentals (which could affect financing), and a week after the sale of #305 closed escrow [for $925,000 in May of 2006] the developer cut prices by up to $100,000 (which still didn't manage to move the sales needle at the time).
The resale of 188 King Street #305 ended up closing escrow in June of 2008 for $795,000. No word on whether or not that 14% drop in value from 2006 was "the bottom" at the time.
UPDATE: After 184 days on the MLS listed as a one-bathroom, it's an hour before a plugged-in reader notices there’s two different bathrooms featured in the listing photos for #309. And PropertyShark confirms, it’s actually a two bathroom condo (as was #305).
∙ Listing: 188 King Street #309 (1/"1") - $599,000 [MLS]
∙ 188 King Street #305 Returns To The Market (And Is Quickly Reduced) [SocketSite]
∙ 188 King Street: Sales Update [SocketSite]
∙ 188 King Street: The Rents [SocketSite]
∙ The Scoop On 188 King Street: Now Selling Leasing [SocketSite]
∙ Price Reductions At 188 King [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
November 6, 2009
The Captain’s House Goes For To A Cruise?
It appears an apology is in order. Last month a plugged-in reader reported that 300 Sea Cliff had sold for $16,363,569 on 9/10/2009 to which we replied:
Sorry, but we don’t think that was a sale but rather a Recorder’s Office annual adjustment of 2% on the previous tax assessed value of $16,089,041.
We were wrong. The 9/10/09 sale of 300 Sea Cliff Avenue was recorded on 9/15/09 with a sale price of $18,000,000. As an even more plugged-in reader notes, the sale price included "commissions, transfer tax and some deferred maintenance credits."
And perhaps this other reader is pulling our leg, but if not the buyer was...Tom Cruise (we haven't been able to confirm).
Purchased by the seller who never lived in the property for $13,100,000 in March 2000, a remodeled 300 Sea Cliff returned to the market asking $23,500,000 in 2003. Unable to attract a buyer, the house underwent a major $8,000,000 renovation and raised its asking price to $25,900,000. The list price was subsequently reduced to $22,000,000. And then it sold. Again, for $18,000,000 and perhaps the Captain’s House went for to a Cruise.
UPDATE: Another reader quickly notes the mailing address for the purchasing LLC ("Tawaraya") is that of "a high-end accounting firm in Walnut Creek" which happens to advise Larry Ellison (amongst others). And The Real Estalker adds, "Tawaraya is a super posh and searingly expensive, 300-year old ryokan–which is essentially a Japanese bed and breakfast sort of place–located in Kyoto" which is rather Ellison-esque.
∙ Is The Captain’s House (300 Sea Cliff) Preparing For Another Voyage? [SocketSite]
∙ Checking In On 300 Sea Cliff Ave [SocketSite]
∙ The $8,000,000 Man Renovation [SocketSite]
∙ 300 Sea Cliff: $3,900,000 Reduction (After An $8,000,000 Renovation) [SocketSite]
∙ Another Chance At (For?) The Captain's House (300 Sea Cliff Ave) [SocketSite]
∙ Rumor Has It, But... [Real Estalker]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
Behind The Door Of 25 Hotaling (And The Street)
Down the alley from Villa Taverna and above Aventine, what was once a "bathhouse, saloon, warehouse and denim overall factory" is now the nine condos of 25 Hotaling Place.
Originally called Jones alley, the small street that runs between Jackson and Washington Streets started life as an alley servicing the warehouses of old San Francisco’s bourgeoning waterfront. In the early 20th century it was given its present name—Hotaling Place— commemorating one of the Gold Rush-era’s most successful entrepreneurs.
Anson Parsons Hotaling arrived in San Francisco in the mid-1850s and founded A.P. Hotaling & Company, a distributor for Cutter’s Bourbon Whisky. During the 1906 Earthquake and ensuing fire, sheer luck and a change in wind spared Hotaling’s warehouse. This led to one local commentator to pen the following lines that are now etched in the city’s folklore: "If, as they say, God spanked the town for being over frisky, Why did he burn the churches down and save Hotaling’s Whiskey?"
A plugged-in tipster reports on the development:
They finally put up a decent website for [25 Hotaling] which has been selling quietly for a couple of months. They claim they've already sold one of the nine units.
Photos look interesting, but there's a suspicious lack of square footage info and on the floorplans [see links below] the units look small.
In addition to nice details, every unit has one or more shortcomings; it's a great neighborhood, though.
Pricing and monthly HOA dues for the Hotaling nine:
∙ 25 Hotaling #A (1/1) - $629,000 ($399/mo HOA)
∙ 25 Hotaling #B (1/2) - $649,000 ($424/mo HOA)
∙ 25 Hotaling #C (1+/2) - $859,000 ($469/mo HOA)
∙ 25 Hotaling #D (1/1) - $589,000 ($383/mo HOA)
∙ 25 Hotaling #E (2/1.5) - $889,000 ($469/mo HOA) [MLS]
∙ 25 Hotaling #F (1+/1) - $639,000 ($399/mo HOA)
∙ 25 Hotaling #G (1/1) - $669,000 ($396/mo HOA) [MLS]
∙ 25 Hotaling #H (1/1) – "SOLD" ($384/mo HOA)
∙ 25 Hotaling #I (1+/1) - $689,000 ($399/mo HOA)
And yes, all listed parking is leased.
∙ 25 Hotaling [25hotaling.com] [Floor Plans: A/D/F/G/I | B/C/E]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
November 5, 2009
The (Eichler) Summit Of 999 Green Street #2802
According to a plugged-in tipster, the three-bedroom Eichler Summit #2802 was purchased "off the market" (unlisted on the MLS) for $2,500,000 in October of 2008. And the sale price might have been partially based on the "comp" sale of #2804 for $2,720,000 in December of 2007 (which "was in worse condition" than #2802).
Back on the market four weeks ago asking $2,099,000, the price for 999 Green Street #2802 has been reduced to $1,950,000. Yes, the kitchen and baths could use some updating, but it's a classic building with big views and a price 22 percent less than in 2008.
. Listing: 999 Green Street #2802 (3/2) - $1,950,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
An Under $600 Per Square Foot Two-Bedroom Comp At 235 Berry
Purchased for $950,000 in June of 2007 ($18,900 under asking at the time), 235 Berry #413 returned to the market this past April asking $789,000.
Yesterday, the sale of the 1,235 square foot condo closed escrow with a reported contract price of $734,000 ($594 per square). Call it a 23% drop in value over the past three years for the two-bedroom condo with a deck (and some windows) overlooking Mission Bay.
UPDATE: Some additional color (and opinion) from the short seller's agent:
Truth is we went through four buyers and our first offer was for $789,000 but no one wanted to hang out and wait while the bank takes 6 months to decide. Had the lender been able to respond before 4 months passed, the sales price would have been much closer to the original list.
Bottom line it was the best deal the bank would get even though as an REO it could have sold for more - it still would have cost them another 3-5% to foreclose and process it. The price was reflected in the fact the buyer was taking a gamble with their time and emotions as to whether it would ever close, and it was a nailbiter.
Cheers.
∙ I’ll See Your $800 Per Square Foot And Raise Lower You $200 At 235 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (55) | (email story)
November 4, 2009
Temporary Transbay Terminal Cam And Construction Update
From the first building in June, to the first palm in August, construction on the Temporary Transbay Terminal keeps chugging along (although a bit behind schedule).
Greyhound could be on the scene by the end of this year with other operators making the move in the first quarter of 2010. And once again, that overpass is slated to be all the way down around April.
∙ Temporary Transbay Bus Terminal: First Prefab Buildings Placed [SocketSite]
∙ Washingtonia Robusta Now Arriving At Howard And Main [SocketSite]
∙ As Seen On The Temporary Transbay Terminal Construction Cam [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) | (email story)
November 3, 2009
A Trio Of Comstock 05’s From Which To Choose, Are Any "Just Right?"
A tax assessed value of $2,393,000 would suggest a sale price not too far from the $2,350,000 asking price for 1333 Jones Street #505 when last on the market. Back on the market today, the two-bedroom and two-bath Comstock Co-op is asking $2,395,000.
Big views (which look even bigger through a telephoto lens), a "stunning" remodel (prior to the last sale), and a front door we kind of adore (although perhaps not on this unit).
Also on the market, the not so recently remodeled unit a floor above (#605) asking $2,399,000, and the not quite so view-tastic unit a floor below (#405) asking $1,645,000.
∙ Listing: 1333 Jones #405 (2/2) - $1,645,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1333 Jones #505 (2/2) - $2,395,000 [MLS] [Previous Listing]
∙ Listing: 1333 Jones #605 (2/2) - $2,399,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
A Lower High Watermark For 501 Beale Penthouses (#PH2B Closes)
The sale of Watermark (501 Beale) penthouse #2B closed escrow on 10/19/09 with a reported contract price of $950,000. While still "not cheap" at $932 per square foot, it is 31 percent cheaper than its "buy, sell, repeat, retire" resale price of $1,375,000 in December of 2006, 24 percent cheaper than its purchase price of $1,250,000 in October of 2006.
It's also 27 percent cheaper than the identical "penthouse" unit a floor below (#PH1B) that sold for $1,300,000 in October of 2006 and was likley a supporting comp for the flip of #PH2B. And so on. And so forth.
No word on whether or not it was our plugged-in reader who had offered $950,000 in cash to the bank for #PH2B prior to its last list price reduction (at which time they wouldn’t "even take a look at it") who ended up with the condo. If so, one word: housewarming.
∙ A Pair Of Bank-Owned Penthouses Atop The Watermark (501 Beale) [SocketSite]
∙ From Flippy To Floppy For Watermark (501 Beale) Penthouse #2B [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
November 2, 2009
The Liening Towers Of Infinity (300 Spear Street)
At least $725,000 worth of mechanics’ liens were recently filed for work on Tishman Speyer’s 300 Spear Street (a.k.a., The Infinity). Not a particularly large amount relative to the size of the project (well over $300 million), and possibly just disputes over contracts or performance, but we will note at least three different claimants.
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
October 29, 2009
Three Years Later And A Thirteen Percent Drop At 1635 California
Unable to sell out in 2006, a number of 1635 California’s 36 condos quietly headed to the rental market. As we wrote that February:
1635 California opened its doors over three months ago and at least 7 of the units are still on the market (with more yet to be “released”). And although we were not able to secure a full pricing sheet (the agents staffing the open house seemed downright defensive when asked), nor any property statements (none were made available), we’ve still got some numbers for our readers…
One of those numbers was for 1635 California #63, listed for $835,000 at the time. It's back on the market with Vanguard again but now asking $729,000 (a drop of 13%).
As some might recall, we featured the apples to apples sale of 1635 California #33 last year, purchased for ~$780,000 in 2006 and re-sold for $740,000 in 2008 (a drop of 5%).
∙ Listing: 1635 California Street #63 (2/2) - $729,000 [MLS]
∙ 1635 California Street [SocketSite]
∙ Another Apple Speaks On The Edge Of Nob Hill (1635 California #33) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
October 26, 2009
Bank Owned Price Discovery For A Beacon Two-Bedroom
As a plugged-in reader noted in July, 250 King Street #530 was taken back by the bank in June. And the bank owned resale of the 1,338 square foot Beacon condo closed escrow on 10/22 with a reported contract price of $600,000.
Yes, that’s 3% "over asking!" Then again, it’s also 31% below its purchase price in 2005 ($870,000) and $448 per square foot for the two-bedroom, two-bath condo with parking and "panoramic views of the City from the floor to ceilings windows."
No word on whether or not the buyer at the $270,000 savings today had been "priced out forever" in 2005.
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
October 23, 2009
Mayor Newsom Double Dips For SF General Hospital Addition
Mayor Newsom double dipped on the ground breaking circuit this week, first for the SFPUC building on Wednesday, and yesterday for the 448,000 square foot San Francisco General Hospital addition which is scheduled to open in 2015.
∙ 525 Golden Gate Avenue "Officially" Breaks Ground [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco General Hospital: Latest Renderings And Overview [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
October 20, 2009
1390 Mission Gets Its Red, Green, And Yellow On
While a couple of months behind schedule, the 12-story Mercy Housing project at 1390 Mission (northeast corner at 10th) is now sporting its full array of colors.
Once again, 136 units of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom affordable rental housing on the way. And not too Inaccurate rendering (although the more open entrance would have been nice).
∙ A 10th And Mission Triptych In Reverse For Mercy Housing Rising [SocketSite]
∙ Affordable Family Housing Rising (And Rendered) At 10th And Mission [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
October 19, 2009
A Higher Watermark Than Some Expected…Only 23% Under '06 Price
The bank-owned sale of the two bedroom Watermark (501 Beale) #12G closed escrow on 10/13/09 with a reported contract price of $750,000 ($727 per square foot), that’s $10,000 less than what was owned on the first mortgage at the time the bank foreclosed in August. And that’s 23% less than what the previous owner had paid in May of 2006 ($975,000).
A proposed short sale of the property this past June never materialized.
∙ 501 Beale #12G: No Short Sale For You! (Foreclosure Instead) [SocketSite]
∙ Oh Geez, Watermark (501 Beale) Number 12G Returns As A Short Sale [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
October 16, 2009
Still Defying Gravity At Glen Park Market Place?
A few months after the 15-unit Glen Park Market Place premiered, 53 Wilder Street #406 closed escrow for $855,000 (September 2006). It’s two bedrooms, two baths and 1,249 square feet. And it’s back on the market and asking $839,000 (2% under its 2006 price).
Interestingly enough, a two bedroom, two bath and 1,279 square foot unit next-door (53 Wilder Street #405) sold for $871,000 this past April. It had been purchased for $810,000 in November 2006. As a plugged-in tipster noted about the sale at the time:
The only explanation I can come up with for the gravity-defying price is that Glen Park village has improved significantly in the meantime. The new Canyon Market on the ground floor seems to be successful and some nice new restaurants (Le P'tit Laurent, Sangha) have opened within 60 seconds walk.
Neighborhood, building or property changes can definitely muddle an "apples to apples" comparison when trying to divine how "the market" is moving. That being said, back to 53 Wilder #406 (or #203 which has been on the market for 70 days at $749,000, purchased for $729,000 in September of 2006).
Will changes in the village continue to help Glen Park Market Place defy beyond #405?
UPDATE: From the aforementioned tipster: "I should point out that one of the restaurants I cited (Sangha) has since closed." Perhaps that's what's changed for #406...
∙ Listing: 53 Wilder #203 (2/2) 1,212 sqft - $749,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 53 Wilder #406 (2/2) 1,249 sqft - $839,000 [MLS]
∙ Glen Park Market Place: Range Of Prices And BMR Deadline [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (77) | (email story)
October 15, 2009
It's Fall At The Four Seasons (765 Market Street) For #27B
With no reported or recorded purchase price we could find, the tax assessed value of $1,204,542 for The Four Seasons (765 Market) #27B would suggest a lowest possible original purchase price of just over a million dollars assuming a purchase from the developer in 2001 and maximum yearly reassessments.
Listed for sale at $1,695,000 this past March, the price was reduced to $1,595,000 in April, to $1,395,000 in June, to $1,325,000 in July, to $1,250,000 in September, and to $999,000 the day before yesterday.
That being said, we can’t call it year 2001 pricing for this Four Seasons condo, for as a plugged-in tipster notes, "Apartment is being sold furnished with classically designed furniture and lighting. Eclectic art collection included."
And as at least one voice is sure to shout out, it's still $995 per square foot! But that would be eight years without any effective appreciation. And a rather significant fall from peak.
∙ Listing: 765 Market #27B (1/1.5) - $999,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
October 14, 2009
A 21% "Gap" In Values From 2005 To 2009 For 550 Terry Francois
By way of a plugged-in tipster and the Wall Street Journal, Tishman Speyer is contract to sell 550 Terry Francois Blvd. (a.k.a. Gap’s outpost in Mission Bay) for $136.5 million.
Tishman paid $173.1 million for the 282,773 square foot, fully leased (through 2017), and "state-of-the-art" building in 2005. Call it a 21% drop below 2005 values (versus peak).
∙ Australian Investors Feel U.S.-Office Pinch [Wall Street Journal]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
October 13, 2009
Some Plugged-In Perspective On Mortgage Fraud Back In 2008
Speaking of mortgage fraud soon be a felony offense, back when we were tracking craigslist rental listings for freshly closed condos at One Rincon Hill a plugged-in tipster first provided the following tip in March of 2008:
Public Records info is interesting. What it shows me is that several new owners at One Rincon either have or are about to commit occupancy fraud. This is often overlooked and dismissed by those involved including mortgage agents, however, it is a serious issue. Owners sign occupancy affidavits at the close of escrow, and unless their deed of trust includes an "assignment of rents" rider, the property is owner occupied. My public records search shows 68 units have closed. I'm sure more have that don't show up yet and I'm also convinced that my list of properties for rent is smaller than actually what is or has already been rented.
According to our tipster’s analysis at the time at least ten and as many as sixteen of those 68 units (i.e., between 15 and 24 percent) closed as "owner occupied" purchases but were immediately advertised on Craigslist for rent. And at least three (3) of those "fraudulent" purchases were made by licensed real estate agents.
Perhaps those ten to sixteen were the only bad seeds out of all the buyers at One Rincon and other new developments about town (rather than ~20% of purchases if one were to extrapolate from the numbers above).
Then again in the words of our tipster: "How many units have already been rented that haven't been advertised or [escaped my analysis] above?"
∙ Same Same But Different: 425 1st Street #2103 For Sale (Or Rent) [SocketSite]
∙ The Seven Samurai Deadly Sins New Mortgage Laws [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (89) | (email story)
October 9, 2009
Three To Five For The Transbay If The Feds Delay Until March
"An unexpected delay in funding for the new Transbay Terminal could set construction plans back [three to five] months and cost the project another $100 million."
∙ Transbay funds delay may have $100M price tag [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ Transbay Terminal: Banking On Stimulus Funds And Opening In 2015 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
October 8, 2009
Short And Shorter At The Beacon (250 King)
From the listing for The Beacon (250 King) #860:
Approved Short Sale 9/30/09 AT $470K!!! Should close VERY quickly at this point.
Originally listed for $488,888 at which point it didn't close very quickly (it’s been on the market for three months) and purchased in February of 2007 for $672,000. Call it an already approved reduction of 30%.
And while we doubt this one has been approved (i.e., good luck), another one-bedroom short sale at the Beacon was just listed for "$300,000." Purchased for $599,000 in September of 2006.
∙ Listing: 250 King Street #00045 (1/1) 800 sqft– “$300,000” [MLS]
∙ Listing: 250 King Street #860 (1/1) 909 sqft – $470,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (43) | (email story)
Seven Percent Of The St. Regis For Sale, Plus Two Facing Foreclosure
While seven of the St. Regis (188 Minna) condos are currently listed for sale (not including the Penthouse), a plugged-in reader notes two others (#27A and #29B) are scheduled to hit the court house steps on October 14.
As another plugged-in reader noted last month, the owner of the two units facing foreclosure "put the family savings of some $5 million into developing commercial real estate buildings" a few years back and built quite a debt-laden real estate empire.
∙ Going Up: St. Regis Penthouse Construction Nearly Complete [SocketSite]
∙ Local success story takes a detour into Chapter 11 [sacbee.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
Historic Preservation Commission Votes To Save The Shelves
"The [San Francisco historic preservation commission] voted 5-2 to start the process of preserving five of the seven libraries under discussion, including the North Beach branch.
The commission’s decision prevents the North Beach library project from getting construction permits from the Planning Commission for the next 180 days or until another decision is made."
∙ North Beach library could be preserved [Examiner]
∙ An Only In North Beach NIMBY Preservationist Argument: Shelves [SocketSite]
∙ North Beach Library And Playground Plans Like You Read About [SocketSite]
∙ Landmarks Preservation: Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
October 6, 2009
Live Like A Spreckels, London, Nash Or Glover: 737 Buena Vista West
Designed by Edward Vogel and built for one of the Spreckels, the five-bedroom 737 Buena Vista West was subsequently home to Jack London, Ambrose Bierce and Graham Nash.
The last we heard it was Danny Glover’s house and it’s been available for rent since January, (asking $14,000 per month). And yes, that gorgeous gate is right next door.
Photo above by "sigsegv" (but edited slightly by us).
∙ $14000 / 5br - Furnished Buena Vista Grand Residence [amsires.com] [Craigslist]
∙ No Real Story, It Simply Seemed Ever So San Francisco [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
A Pair Of Bank-Owned Penthouses Atop The Watermark (501 Beale)
A plugged-in reader reports:
For those of you in the market for a penthouse, Unit #PH1E at the Watermark (501 Beale) was taken back by the lender for $1,349,628 on Sept. 15. Talk about bad timing, the former owner bought for $1.523 million in January 2007. This three bedroom 1,362 sq.ft. foreclosure was brought to you courtesy of WaMu.
Call it a quick flip gone bad as the condo had returned to the market a month after closing asking $1,800,000. Last listed for $1,595,000 before being taken back by the bank.
At the same time, 501 Beale penthouse #2B is now asking $1,019,900. Purchased for $1,375,000 in December 2006, it failed to sell when listed for $1,099,900 in August of 2009 and was taken back by the bank as well. As we wrote in April:
Two months after its initial sale for $1,250,000 in October of 2006 Watermark (501 Beale) Penthouse #2B was flipped for $1,375,000. (Ah, the good old days.)
Keep in mind that the identical "penthouse" unit a floor below (#PH1B) sold for $1,300,000 in October of 2006 and was likley a supporting comp for the flip of #PH2B. And so on. And so forth.
No word on any assessor’s adjustment for #PH1B or anything everything below.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #PH2B (2/2) 1,019 sqft - $1,019,900 [MLS]
∙ From Flippy To Floppy For Watermark (501 Beale) Penthouse #2B [SocketSite]
∙ Six Relatively Quick Flips At The Sold Out Watermark (501 Beale) [SocketSite]
∙ A 25.7% Drop In Assessed Value For A Plugged-In Reader In 2009/10 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (33) | (email story)
See Inside But Not Around Jackson Square (845 Montgomery) #C
It looks to be one of the first attempted resales at Jackson Square (845 Montgomery).
And while we can’t confirm the original purchase price, according to a tipster the current asking price for the two-bedroom 845 Montgomery #C ($1,095,000) is roughly ten percent higher than its April 2008 purchase.
That being said, keep in mind that two bedroom homes were listed "from $1,200,000" when the development first opened in 2007. No report of any difficulties keeping the side of that master tub clean.
UPDATE: As a couple of plugged-in readers quickly figured out, fourteen listing photos of parks, places and restaurants, the closest one of which is about a mile away despite a plethora of better restaurants within blocks of 845 Montgomery's doors.
UPDATE: Assuming realtor.com is correct, purchased for $1,000,000 on 4/15/2008.
∙ Listing: 845 Montgomery Street #C (2/2) - $1,095,000 [MLS]
∙ The Jackson Square Condominiums (847 Montgomery) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (40) | (email story)
October 2, 2009
We Have A 310 Townsend (#303) In Progress
Originally asking $957,000 through the sales office in 2007, 310 Townsend #303 ended up selling for $850,000 in November of that year (a discount of 11.2%). Back on the market today after a two year hold and asking $785,000 (7.6% below it purchase price, 18% under the developer’s original list).
Let’s call it an effective rent of around $4,000 per month for the one-bedroom plus den condo over the past two years not accounting for transaction costs or any capital loss (assuming a sale at asking). Call it closer to $9,200 per month if you do.
∙ Listing: 310 Townsend #303 (1/1) 1,136 sqft - $785,000 [MLS]
∙ 310 Townsend: Available And Selling [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
October 1, 2009
The Presidio House The Mouse Built: Disney Family Museum Opens
While CAMP never came to be, the Walt Disney Family Museum opened its doors today in a couple of renovated Presidio buildings. And for some coming from the south, it was a little harder to reach. On purpose.
∙ The Fishers Break CAMP With Respect To The Presidio's Main Post [SocketSite]
∙ The Walt Disney Family Museum [disney.com]
∙ Disney fans flock as Presidio museum opens [SFGate]
∙ Presidio Traffic Calming Study [presidio.gov]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
Hitting For The Heublien Building Penthouse Cycle (#PH3)
We’ve featured the Heublien Building penthouse lofts number one and two in the past, so we might as well hit for the cycle with number three (601 4th Street #PH3).
Purchased for $1,500,000 in October 2006 (and then possibly remodeled), on the market and asking $1,498,000. And yes, it’s Evan Williams' old pad.
∙ Listing: 601 4th Street #3P (2/2) - $1,498,000 [MLS]
∙ The Heublien Building Lofts (601 4th Street) [SocketSite]
∙ A Truly Unique San Francisco Space And Penthouse: 601 4th St PH1 [SocketSite]
∙ Penthouse Number Two Of Three Atop Six Zero One Fourth [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
September 30, 2009
A Fronds To Fronds Sale For The Palms (555 4th Street) #602
Purchased for $589,000 in September 2006 but then bought back by the bank in June 2009, the banked-owned re-sale of The Palms (555 4th Street) #602 closed escrow on 9/28/09 with a reported contract price of $400,000. Call it a 32% drop in value for the 670 square foot one-bedroom end-unit with deck (but leased parking) since 2006.
∙ Fronds To Fronds For A Few One-Bedrooms At The Palms (555 4th) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
September 28, 2009
A Fifty Percent Off Sale For The Bank Owned 767 Bryant #204
Purchased for $944,500 in March 2007, the 1,607 square foot two-bedroom loft #204 at 767 Bryant was "bought" back by the bank for $745,784 in December 2008 adding to a growing inventory of bank owned units in the building.
On September 17, 2009 the resale of 767 Bryant #204 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $475,000, $295 per square foot and 49.7% under its value in 2007.
UPDATE: A quick reminder that in August the 2,041 square foot 767 Bryant #210 closed escrow with a recorded sale price of $665,000 ($326 per square foot and 44.6% under its 2006 asking).
∙ Thirty Percent Of 767 Bryant Returns As REO (But Not Speedwagon) [SocketSite]
∙ 767 Bryant #210 Comes In For A 767 Comp Crash Landing [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
Pelosi And Schwarzenegger Type For A Transbay HSR Terminus
A plugged-in tipster reports with respect to High Speed Rail and the Transbay Terminal:
Thought you should know that both Nancy Pelosi and [Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger] both sent strongly worded emails to the Secretary of Transportation this week endorsing the Transbay Terminal as the San Francisco terminus for High Speed Rail.
Pelosi's letter was pretty detailed technically on how the trainbox would look (to combat the misconception that has been floating around that the terminal cannot accommodate all the HSR traffic; which is massively over-optimistic, but that is another argument all together) and why the 'Beale street option' is not realistic at all in terms of cost and the fact it would undermine all the work Caltrans has just done on the Bay Bridge approach.
∙ More Evidence Of A High Speed Snub For The Transbay Transit Center [SocketSite]
∙ While San Francisco Might Get High-Speed Rail, Will The Transbay? [SocketSite]
∙ Unplanned Obsolescence For Transbay High-Speed Station Design? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (33) | (email story)
September 25, 2009
SFMOMA Snags The Fisher Contemporary Art Collection
After abandoning plans to build CAMP (Contemporary Art Museum Presidio) in July, the Fisher’s engaged in "hush, hush" talks with SFMOMA to expand their South of Market space (taking over San Francisco's Fire Station No. 1 on Howard) and join collections.
And while not yet in writing, it appears as though those talks were successful assuming $60 million can be raised for the 100,000 square foot expansion.
[A]dding the Fisher collection to SFMOMA would require expanding the museum, which involves city permits, an environmental review and design plans, and the removal of a century-old building and a fire station. The process could draw neighborhood and political opposition and most likely would take at least two years.
Newsom said he and others are working to fast-track the permitting process.
Despite the Mayor's words today ("To lose this would have been devastating") it's a mayoral effort that wasn’t quite as emphatic when plans called for building near District 7.
UPDATE (9/28): As a reader noted yesterday, Don Fisher passed away at his home in Pacific Heights. Our condolences to his family.
∙ The Fishers Break CAMP With Respect To The Presidio's Main Post [SocketSite]
∙ From CAMP SF To CAMFS? (Contemporary Art Museum Fire Station) [SocketSite]
∙ SFMOMA gets Fisher art collection [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
September 24, 2009
Forward Progress For San Francisco Piers 15, 17, And 70
The Port Commission has approved a 66-year lease of Piers 15 and 17 for the Exploratorium (targeting a 2012 opening):
The deal, approved unanimously by the Port Commission this month, calls for the Exploratorium to shore up and then build its museum on Pier 15, which is in danger of being totally unusable unless it gets $29 million in substructure repairs.
In exchange for rehabbing waterfront property, the museum would get a 50-year rent credit at Pier 15…Project construction costs are estimated at $175 million.
The museum would pay annual rent of $783,000 on Pier 17, which would be upgraded and house the Exploratorium's office operations, port officials said. The museum also would have the option of expanding the Exploratorium to Pier 17.
At the same time, a legislative bill that would "allow the Port to create an infrastructure financing district that could help raise funds [for the redevelopment of Pier 70] by selling bonds to pay for environmental remediation, shoreline restoration, removal of bay fill and other tasks" has passed both houses and is but a governor’s signature away from reality.
∙ The Embarcadero Exploratorium's Most Excellent Draft EIR Update [SocketSite]
∙ Exploratorium a step closer to waterfront site [SFGate]
∙ Pier 70 bill waiting for governor’s signature [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ JustQuotes: Bad Market, Then Back To Big Projects Like Pier 70 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
September 16, 2009
150 Otis: From Temporary To Permanent Shelter As Proposed
"[Swords to Plowshares and the Chinatown Community Development Center] want to develop 150 Otis St., a surplus city-owned building, into permanent affordable rental housing for chronically homeless senior citizen vets. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2012."
∙ Surplus building to be affordable housing for homeless vets [Examiner]
∙ 150 Otis Street: San Francisco Homeless Resource [sfhomeless.wikia.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
Care To Get Your Castle On? A Restored Albion Castle Returns
A few months after Laughing Squid launched their blog from Albion Castle in early 2005 the Hunter’s Point property at 881 Innes Avenue was auctioned off at the Palace Hotel in front of a thousand spectators and sold for $2,090,000 (purchased for $400,000 in 1999).
The mortgage banker buyer had planned to resurrect the Albion Porter & Ale Brewery for which the castle was originally constructed and open a restaurant on-site as well. And while the restaurant and re-brewery plans never materialized, the interior of the San Francisco Historic Landmark was renovated and restored.
Back on the market and asking $2,950,000 which includes water rights to a 10,000 gallon per day underground spring (think late night "pool" parties back in the day).
∙ Listing: 881 Innes Avenue (4/2) - $2,950,000 [MLS] [Map]
∙ The Albion Castle [Albioncastle.Us]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
September 15, 2009
Eminent Domain Suit Semi-Successfully Snatches Hugo Hotel
As a plugged-in reader noted a few days ago, The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency seems to have prevailed in their eminent domain action for the long-vacant Hugo Hotel on 6th Street although at price of $4,600,000 versus the $3,700,000 they had hoped to pay.
∙ The Hugo Hotel Has A Date With A Different Kind Of Bench [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
501 Beale #12G: No Short Sale For You! (Foreclosure Instead)
Purchased for $975,000 in May of 2006, Watermark (501 Beale) #12G returned to the market this past June as a short sale with a “$500,000” list price. Taken back by the bank in August with a loan balance of $760,000, it’s back on the market and asking $749,000.
A sale at asking would represent a 23% drop in value for the 1,032 square foot luxury two-bedroom condo over the past three years.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #12G (2/2) 1,032 sqft - $749,000 [MLS]
∙ What’s Up With The Watermark "G"s? [SocketSite]
∙ Oh Geez, Watermark (501 Beale) Number 12G Returns As A Short Sale [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
September 14, 2009
More Evidence Of A High Speed Snub For The Transbay Transit Center
Last November Judge Quentin Kopp, chairman of the High Speed Rail Authority, spoke out against extending California’s proposed high speed rail line beyond the current Caltrain station at Fourth and King. And according to the Examiner, the California High Speed Rail Authority appears to be following their chairman's lead:
California High Speed Rail Authority staff directed their environmental consultants to investigate two potential sites for a train station in San Francisco, neither of which is the planned Transbay Transit Center location, according to Andrew Schwartz, outside counsel for the Transbay Joint Powers Authority.
The sites being investigated include the existing Caltrain stop at Fourth and King and a city block bounded by Beale, Main, Mission and Harrison streets, according to Schwartz.
“We’re going to be providing information to the attorney general to show that the Beale Street and Fourth and King alternative locations are not physically, technically or financially feasible alternatives to the Transbay Transit Center location,” Schwartz said during a directors’ meeting Thursday.
∙ High Speed Rail Authority ignoring the Transbay Terminal in planning [Examiner]
∙ While San Francisco Might Get High-Speed Rail, Will The Transbay? [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Terminal Moves Forward, But Payments And Terms Change [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
September 10, 2009
Will Tavern On The Green’s Bankruptcy Kill An SF Outpost?
Citing "extreme financial distress brought on by the current financial crisis and the City of New York’s decision not to renew [their] lease," New York’s Tavern on the Green has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. No word on how the reorganization will affect plans to open a 43,000 square foot Tavern on the Green atop San Francisco’s Metreon. Tipsters?
∙ New York’s Tavern on the Green Files for Bankruptcy [Bloomberg]
∙ Metreon Makeover Approved, Entrance Rendered And Ready In 2010 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (29) | (email story)
September 8, 2009
555 Mission: Sequoia’s Penthouse Sublease At 40 Percent Off
Last year Sequoia Capital secured the 14,718 square foot penthouse atop 555 Mission for seven years at a rate of $84 per square foot. According to the San Francisco Business Times, the law firm of Novak Druce Quigg has now subleased the entire space for the remainder of the lease at a 40 percent discount ($50 per square foot) without escalation.
And Included for free, "all of the super high-end and virtually unused furniture."
∙ A Jonathan Borofsky Rises At 555 Mission (And 535 Is On Its Way) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
A Two-Bedroom Palms Short Sale Closes At 33% Under 2006 Price
Purchased for $925,000 in August 2006, asking $895,000 seven months ago and then eventually reduced to a "bank approved price" of $619,000, the sale of The Palms (555 4th Street) #731 closed escrow on 9/1/09 with a reported contract price of $620,000.
∙ Are The "Exceptions" (And Big Losses) Becoming A Palms Rule? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (67) | (email story)
September 2, 2009
A Major League Closing: 2100 Pacific #9
While it’s not 2006 Washington, 2100 Pacific does play in the same league. And the sale of the 5,190 square foot full-floor 2100 Pacific #9 closed escrow today with a reported contract price of $7,250,000 (27% under its original asking).
∙ Live As Big As A Lurie (2100 Pacific Avenue #9 On The Market) [SocketSite]
∙ 2006 Washington Number 4 Returns Asking 32 (Plus) Percent Less [SocketSite]
∙ The Full Floor Plan Monty For 2006 Washington Number Four [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
Going Up: St. Regis Penthouse Construction Nearly Complete
As we wrote about the St. Regis penthouse in July:
According to a plugged-in source…construction should be finished in a couple of months and the renderings will give way to reality.
As a plugged-in tipster adds today:
The St. Regis service elevators have been working overtime for weeks shuttling men and material up to the top. I would expect this to return very soon...and very finished. Now let's see what Victor (MacFarlane) does with the price.
Once again, purchased as a shell for roughly $30,000,000 in 2005 with a small army of craftsmen working on its roughly 20,000 square feet ever since (more or less).
Full Disclosure: The co-listing agent for the penthouse atop the San Francisco St. Regis advertises on SocketSite but had no prior knowledge of this post.
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Animation, Reality A Couple Months Out [SocketSite]
∙ Inside The St. Regis Penthouse: The Rendering Scoop And Details [SocketSite]
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Now $21,000,000 Off (And No, That’s Not A Typo) [SocketSite]
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Asking $70M: Is San Francisco All Growns Up? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
The Upside To Only One Tower Where There Should Be Two: Parking
From the recently expired (without a sale) listing for One Rincon Hill (425 1st Street) #1408: "Have a 2nd car? Extra parking is available!”
∙ It's "Official," One Rincon Hill's Tower Two Is Indefinitely On Hold [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
August 31, 2009
The Trap Door, Secret Passageways, And Dungeon Of 2550 Webster
The lines that couldn't help but catch our attention from the sworn affidavit of Samuel Howard Sloan with respect to the Bourn Mansion at 2550 Webster:
I am well aware of everything in the house, including the trap door, the secret passageways, the dumb waiter, the elevator, the crawl space and the dungeon, all of which pose significant dangers to anybody who enters. There are significant dangers of serious injury or even death to anybody who enters this building.
The disclosures ought to be interesting. All comments on our earlier peek inside post.
∙ Landmark Bourn Mansion (2550 Webster) Listed And Your Peek Inside [SocketSite]
∙ Affidavit of Samuel Howard Sloan [groups.google.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:45 PM | Permalink | (email story)
The Hugo Hotel Has A Date With A Different Kind Of Bench
The San Francisco Superior Court is scheduled to start hearing the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency’s eminent domain suit over the Hugo Hotel on Sixth Street today.
The Agency had offered $3,250,000 for the building two years ago but the Oregon-based owners were holding out for $7,000,000. The burned-out building has a current tax assessed value of $474,894 and a yearly tax contribution of $7,269.58 to the city.
From a plugged-in reader with respect to the building last year:
The reason this eyesore remains is that [the owner] is impossible to deal with. The last time I tried, he said he wanted $50,000 up front to talk.
Plans for the long vacant and art covered ex-hotel should the Redevelopment Agency prevail: razed to the ground and below market rate housing erected.
UPDATE (9/2): From a plugged-in reader:
To correct a factual error...The owners are local, not Oregon-based. They live in Hillsborough on the Peninsula, despite what the mailing address for tax records may say.
∙ Art-draped hotel focus of suit [Examiner]
∙ JustQuotes: Eminent Domain For Affordable Housing On Sixth Street? [SocketSite]
∙ And Now Back To The Hugo Hotel (And Eminent Domain On Sixth) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (42) | (email story)
August 27, 2009
The Full Floor Plan Monty For 2006 Washington Number Four
As a plugged-in reader notes, the floor plan for the full floor 2006 Washington #4 are now up on Malin’s site along with a couple of view and exterior photos as well.
As other’s have suggested, however, it’s not a good sign with respect to whether or not interior shots will show up anytime soon (if ever at this price point in this building).
∙ Listing: 2006 Washington #4 (5/5.5) - $8,500,000 [sfproperties.com]
∙ 2006 Washington Number 4 Returns Asking 32 (Plus) Percent Less [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (49) | (email story)
767 Bryant #210 Comes In For A 767 Comp Crash Landing
As we wrote in May:
In August of 2006 twenty apartments at 767 Bryant hit the market as condos. At the time list prices ranged from $676,920 to $1,850,000 including 767 Bryant #409 at $676,920 and 767 Bryant #210 at $1,200,000.
Despite a subsequent remodeling, reductions and incentives (including a free Prius or Mini Cooper), at least six of the units failed to sell and were lost to foreclosure.
On Friday 767 Bryant #409 returned to the market as a bank owned property (REO) asking $525,000 (23% less than in 2006) and 767 Bryant #210 returned to the market as an REO property asking $799,000 (33% less than in 2006).
Yesterday the sale of the 2,041 square foot 767 Bryant #210 closed escrow with a recorded sale price of $665,000 ($326 per square foot and 44.6% under its 2006 asking).
∙ Thirty Percent Of 767 Bryant Returns As REO (But Not Speedwagon) [SocketSite]
∙ 767 Bryant: The Apartments Condominiums [SocketSite]
∙ Buy A Condo Get A Car At 767 Bryant [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
August 26, 2009
2006 Washington Number 4 Returns Asking 32 (Plus) Percent Less
While still noting "coming soon" on Malin’s San Francisco Properties site, 2006 Washington #4 has hit the MLS asking $8,500,000. As a plugged-in tipster adds, asking $12,500,000 with McGuire in March (and apparently $15,000,000 prior to that).
It’s a full floor in the classic, and überexclusive, Conrad Alfred Meussdorffer designed Pacific Heights cooperative building.
[2006 Washington] was designed to take advantage of 100 feet of open space to the west by facing towards the Golden Gate and so looks down on the George Applegarth-designed Spreckels Mansion.
Each of the main floors is about 5500 square feet…Originally ten apartments, the 2200 square foot penthouse has been separated from the tenth floor to create an eleventh apartment.
Number four includes four bedrooms (plus one for the maid), five full bathrooms (plus two half’s), and two terraces/parking spaces. We’ll let you know when/if interior photos arrive.
UPDATE (8/27): Still no interior shots, but we now have the full floor plan.
∙ Listing: 2006 Washington #4 (5/5.5) - $8,500,000 [sfproperties.com]
∙ Conrad Alfred Meussdorffer [sfhistoryencyclopedia.com]
∙ The Full Floor Plan Monty For 2006 Washington Number Four [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
Fronds To Fronds For A Few One-Bedrooms At The Palms (555 4th)
Purchased for $562,000 ($853 per square foot) in January 2007, the Palms (555 4th Street) #540 is now bank owned and back on the market asking $376,646 ($570 per square foot).
At the same time, the non-bank owned 454 square foot one bedroom #447 which was purchased in August 2006 for $395,000 ($870 per square foot) remains on the market after 132 days, currently asking $375,000 ($825 per square foot).
Six other one-bedrooms in the Palms are currently listed for sale with asking prices ranging from $430,000 for the 691 square foot #733 which is currently in contract as a short sale (purchased for $645,000 in August 2006, listed for $589,000 in February 2009) to $579,000 for the 682 square foot #714 (which has been listed for 74 days).
UPDATE: Although all the details were correct, we originally misidentified unit #447 as #337 (since corrected). That being said, according to a plugged-in reader the unit is actually a studio despite its 132 day old MLS listing as a one bedroom.
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #447 (1/1) 454 sqft - $375,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #540 (1/1) 660 sqft - $376,646 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #714 (1/1) 682 sqft - $579,000 [MLS]
∙ Pushing Forward With Price Discovery At The Palms (555 4th Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (41) | (email story)
August 24, 2009
From Three To One And Six-ish To Five-ish (So Far): 75 Folsom #1204
Originally three individual units, the National Landmark Hills Plaza (75 Folsom) #1204 is now one 3,300+ square foot condo with three parking spaces, and three terraces. That's 1.5 parking spaces (and terraces) per bedroom with HOA dues of $3,376 per month.
Purchased for $4,125,000 in September 2000, #1204 returned to the market this past February asking $6,200,000, but since reduced to $4,900,000. It’s also now available for rent fully furnished asking $12,000-$15,000 per month depending upon term.
∙ Listing: 75 Folsom Street #1204 (2/4) 3,384 sqft - $4,900,000 [ubayp.com]
∙ Hills Plaza #1204 - Furnished 2 Bedroom Condo for Rent [ubayp.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
August 20, 2009
Another Ex-Mayor’s Landmark Mansion Coming Soon (1772 Vallejo)
As a plugged-in tipster points out, the Landmark Burr Mansion (1772 Vallejo) is coming soon. A bit of history on the house and Burr:
The Italianate mansion on Vallejo Street, with slanted bays and a Mansard roof, was designed by Edmund M. Wharff and built in 1875 as [Captain Ephraim Burr’s] wedding gift to his son, Edmund. During the 1906 earthquake, the house slipped off its foundations and ninety-three jacks were required to lift it back. As one of the best preserved residences of the period, it is a fine example of the transition of style in the later 1870's
In 1856, Captain Burr won the San Francisco mayoral election; legend has it that it took a thousand armed men and a police wagon at each polling station to purify the election. Burr had a reputation for honesty--indeed, for penny-pinching--that appealed to voters. He established the San Francisco Accumulating Fund, commonly known as the Clay Street Bank, California's first savings and loan company. As mayor, Burr was foresighted enough to back Andrew Hallidie's invention of the cable car with $30,000 in 1873.
Last sold for in 1995 for $1,300,000 with an interior, but non-structural, demolition permit approved soon thereafter. No word on where it will be priced or what has been done inside.
∙ San Francisco Landmark #31: Burr Mansion (1772 Vallejo) [noehill.com]
∙ Burr House History (1772 Vallejo) [verlang.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
As Seen On The Temporary Transbay Terminal Construction Cam
While a couple of plugged-in readers provided us with Temporary Transbay Terminal close-ups of its palms arriving and being planted, another points to the construction cam.
And with respect to the recurring question of when that overpass will be demolished, if we’re interpreting the timeline correctly the east loop should be down by April 2010.
∙ Washingtonia Robusta Now Arriving At Howard And Main [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Temporary Terminal: Construction Cam [temporaryterminal.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
August 19, 2009
Washingtonia Robusta Now Arriving At Howard And Main
A plugged-in and camera phone toting (hint, hint) tipster reports:
Given your previous coverage both of the topic of palm trees in SF and the construction of the temporary Transbay bus terminal at Howard and Main, I thought you'd appreciate the attached photo…yep, the palm trees have arrived and are going in!
UPDATE: Another plugged-in tipster heeds the hints and ads an aerial perspective:
And remember, those camera's can capture more than just palms.
∙ Temporary Transbay Bus Terminal: First Prefab Buildings Placed [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
August 14, 2009
It’s Time To Get Our Sea Cliff Trivia (And Comments) Straight
The confusion isn’t too difficult to understand. But while the Sea Cliff home going on its thirteenth listing is 830 El Camino del Mar, it’s 890 El Camino Del Mar (above and below) which was once home to Paul Kanter and Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane (and the Marshall Wais kidnapping) fame.
∙ Behind The Great Wrought Iron Wooden Gate At 830 El Camino Del Mar [SocketSite]
∙ Unlucky Lucky Number Thirteen For 830 El Camino Del Mar? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
August 12, 2009
50 UN Plaza: The British Aren’t Coming! The British Aren’t Coming!
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has backpedaled on their original decision to award a $121 million stimulus-funded contract to renovate San Francisco’s 50 United Nations Plaza to British firm Foster + Partners.
Instead, the San Francisco office of HKS Architects will be overseeing the project and doling out the dollars.
Photovoltaic panels, an ultra-efficient mechanical system, energy efficiency initiatives and environmentally friendly materials are planned to be installed in an effort to achieve LEED Gold certification for the finished building from the U.S. Green Building Council.
As we originally wrote, hell hath no fury as architects scorned.
∙ 50 UN Plaza Update: Hell Hath No Fury As Architects Scorned [SocketSite]
∙ UN Plaza Building design work to begin [Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
August 11, 2009
From Reduced To Closed In Fourteen Days For 1001 California #8
Eighteen days ago we wrote, "non-sardonically, we wouldn't be shocked to see multiple offers at this point" with regard to the newly reduced asking price of $1,195,000 for 1001 California Street #8. Fourteen days later it closed escrow.
Unfortunately the actual sales price appears to be "confidential" on the MLS, but the speed at which it closed would at the very least suggest an all cash, if not over asking, closing for the one-bedroom condo atop that lovely Beaux Arts building.
Once again, purchased for $1,460,000 in June 2000. Now about that third floor...
∙ Obviously Only Because It's On The Wrong Side Of Those Tracks [SocketSite]
∙ One Expensive One-Bedroom In A Beaux Arts Building We Love [SocketSite]
∙ A Full 1001 California Floor Which Would Have Made Vincent Friia Flip [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
August 7, 2009
The Eccentric Arden Van Upp Might Be Feeling A Bit Antsy These Days
With an unpaid loan balance of $1.23M, the landmark Bourn Mansion at 2550 Webster Street was initially set to hit the courthouse steps on July 13. Pushed back a couple of times so far, August 10 is the latest date. As a plugged-in reader reports:
[Wednesday] night around 10:00 PM there were no fewer than 6 Police Officers outside of the home shining lights into 2550 with some apparent disturbance.
Me thinks that Ms. Arden is not going to go quietly.
∙ Landmark 38: Bourn Mansion [noehill.com]
∙ Bourn To Run Party: A San Francisco Mansion Of Ex-Glory And Dreams [SocketSite]
∙ The Bourn Foreclosure (2550 Webster) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (32) | (email story)
From Historic To History For The Old Ortega Branch Library Building
"The old Ortega Branch Library in the Sunset district is coming down, after an appeal to save the building failed." (That's the new design above and below.)
∙ Library appeal falls short [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ Ortega Branch Construction [sfpl.org]
∙ Ortega Branch Library Design (pdf) [sfpl.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
July 27, 2009
From CAMP SF To CAMFS? (Contemporary Art Museum Fire Station)
"Very hush-hush talks going on for the Museum of Modern Art to expand into San Francisco's Fire Station No. 1 on Howard Street - with speculation that SFMOMA would use the space to house the art collection that Gap founder Donald Fisher wants to show off."
∙ Firehouse flip could create home for Fisher art [SFGate]
∙ The Fishers Break CAMP With Respect To The Presidio's Main Post [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (51) | (email story)
July 24, 2009
333 Bush: Bought For $281M In 2007 But Now Going Back To The Bank
"Hines and Sterling American Property will give 333 Bush St. back to lenders Brookfield Real Estate Finance and Munich Hypo Bank, according to a statement from Hines executives." (Hines, Sterling to surrender S.F. building)
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
July 21, 2009
The Market Takes A Bite Out Of The Lighthouse Lofts Signature Apple
It remains one of our favorite loft spaces in San Francisco. And after four months on the market it remains active and available, but the asking price for 1097 Howard #308 has been reduced by 13% to $1,995,000.
A sale at asking would represent an 18.6% drop in value since its sale in 2007.
∙ Listing: 1097 Howard #308 (3/2.5) 4,207 sqft - $1,995,000 [MLS]
∙ The Lighthouse Lofts Apple Of Our Eye Returns (1097 Howard #308) [SocketSite]
∙ The Lighthouse Lofts In General (1097 Howard), And #308 In Specific [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
July 16, 2009
50 UN Plaza Update: Hell Hath No Fury As Architects Scorned
"The decision to select a British firm [Foster + Partners] to renovate 50 United Nations Plaza has provoked controversy as the project was made possible by the $130 billion federal stimulus fund for building renovation and construction."
∙ American fury as Foster grabs $120m San Francisco job [architectsjournal]
∙ We Still Believe It Would Have Made A Most Excellent Museum [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
July 14, 2009
St. Regis Penthouse Animation, Reality A Couple Months Out
A plugged-in tipster notes a newly public animation for the St. Regis Penthouse. According to a plugged-in source, however, the animation will soon be obsolete as construction should be finished in a couple of months and the renderings will give way to reality.
Still asking $49,000,000.
UPDATE (7/15): Well, what was briefly public is now once again private. Hopefully those who were interested caught a peek. And if you didn’t, let's just call it a reminder to plug in early and often.
Full Disclosure: The co-listing agent for the penthouse atop the San Francisco St. Regis advertises on SocketSite but had no prior knowledge of this post.
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Asking $70M: Is San Francisco All Growns Up? [SocketSite]
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Now $21,000,000 Off (And No, That’s Not A Typo) [SocketSite]
∙ Inside The St. Regis Penthouse: The Rendering Scoop And Details [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
July 6, 2009
The Bourn Foreclosure (2550 Webster)
Two months ago we profiled the Bourn Mansion at 2550 Webster, an unofficial San Francisco landmark with a rich history and a rather eccentric owner. And as a plugged-in reader reports today, "our fabled friend is on the foreclosure block. Set for public sale on 7/13 at 2:00 PM. Unpaid loan balance of $1.23m."
∙ Bourn To Run Party: A San Francisco Mansion Of Ex-Glory And Dreams [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (50) | (email story)
July 1, 2009
Park Terrace Developer (Opus West) To File For Bankruptcy
Opus East and West (which developed Park Terrace at 325 Berry in Mission Bay) will file for federal bankruptcy protection, with Opus East expected to go the chapter 7 route while Opus West is expected to reorganize under chapter 11.
Opus West has been active in the Bay Area, developing 75 acres of the 120-acre Sierra Point office campus in Brisbane in the late 1990s. In 2007, Opus West announced plans to build more office space in Brisbane — a 448,000-square-foot, $225 million office complex at 3000 Marina Blvd. — but the economy soured and the developer never went forward with the project.
Opus North and Northeast are expected to continue as-is. No word on how the Opus West filing will impact (if at all) any future Park Terrace claims.
∙ Opus East, West to file for bankruptcy [Business Times]
∙ Opus Center Sierra Point (Brisbane) [opuscentersierrapoint.com]
∙ New Developments: Park Terrace (325 Berry) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (46) | (email story)
Behind The Old Carriage House Entrance Of The Mark Hopkins Mansion
Speaking of captain’s homes, if you’ve ever wandered around the area of what was once the Mark Hopkins Mansion, now home to the Mark Hopkins Hotel, and wondered what was behind a former carriage house entrance at 1030 Leavenworth, here’s your chance to see.
Built in 1907 by Captain H. Mottet after the subsequent three-day fire rather than the 1906 earthquake itself destroyed the mansion. It's been in the same family for over 30 years.
∙ Listing: 1030 Leavenworth (4/3.5) - $2,395,000 [MLS]
∙ Is The Captain’s House (300 Sea Cliff) Preparing For Another Voyage? [SocketSite]
∙ Mark Hopkins Hotel [wikipedia.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
June 29, 2009
Union Street’s Metro Theater: Saving Its Skin In Order To Un-Shutter
In a deal with preservationists, the re-developer of the Metro Theater on Union Street is expected to to restore the theater’s exterior "to reflect its "vintage heyday"" and sign "a letter of intent…to preserve interior features like the elaborate murals and columns" while transforming the long shuttered theater into a mix of retail and an Equinox gym.
∙ Theater will keep ‘vintage’ facade under deal [Examiner]
∙ Union Street's Metro Theater (2055 Union) [cinematreasures.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
June 25, 2009
A Case Of Sales Office "Sales" Shenanigans That Didn’t Pay Off
It was a plugged-in reader that caught The Hayes increasing the list price on 55 Page #222 from $699,000 to $850,000 (21.5%) right before their 72-hour sale kicked off. When it didn’t move during those 72 hours, it was once again listed on the MLS for $699,000.
Yesterday 55 Page #222 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $570,000. That’s either eighteen (18) percent under its post-sale list price, or thirty-three (33) percent under its "pre."
And at 1,124 square feet it’s $507 per square foot for this two-bedroom (well below the $640 average for these other four).
∙ The Hayes 72-Hour Sale (And Up To 20% Off According To A Tipster) [SocketSite]
∙ Contract Prices Behind Six Recently Closed Condos At The Hayes [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
June 23, 2009
Eastern Neighborhoods Plan In Action (As Proposed): 750 2nd Street
As the one-story-with-mezzanine, 25-foot high former warehouse at 750 2nd Street looks today above. As is proposed to replace the existing warehouse with an eight-story plus mezzanine, 95-foot mixed-use building under the new Eastern Neighborhoods Plan below.
The proposed building would include up to 17 residential units (28,950 gsf), above a ground‐floor commercial space, and a ground‐floor garage with approximately 16 off-street parking spaces with stackers (4,487 gsf) for residents. Additionally, the project would provide approximately 2,891 gsf of private open space in the form of decks or balconies attached to 13 of the residential units.
The project site is within the East SoMa Plan Area and under the recently adopted Eastern Neighborhood (EN) controls, project approval would proceed under Section 329, Large Project Authorization in Eastern Neighborhoods Mixed-Used Districts. The proposed project would require exceptions to certain requirements in the Mixed Use-Office (MUO) district, and to certain pre-existing zoning controls [formerly zoned M-2].
Design by Gould Evans Baum Thornley Architects. And targeting, at a minimum, LEED Silver certification.
∙ Eastern Neighborhoods/Candlestick Plans Yea! (Mirant Retrofit Nea!) [SocketSite]
∙ 750 2nd Street: Environmental Impact Report (EIR) [SFGov]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
735 Geary: 21 TIC's On The Border Of The Tenderloin And Downtown
735 Geary consists of twenty-one (21) units that have been renovated and turned Tenancy in Common (TIC). They’re offering 10-yr fixed fractional financing at 5.87% with 10% down. And while currently in the Tenderloin according to the MLS, according to a listing this block will soon be Downtown ("MLS will rezone this neighborhood to 8A downtown").
And yes, parking is leased ($250 per month) and a block away (855 Geary).
∙ 735 Geary [735geary.com]
∙ Listing: 735 Geary #102 (1/1) 676 sqft - $315,000 (TIC) [MLS]
∙ Listing: 735 Geary #503 (1/1) 817 sqft - $475,000 (TIC) [MLS]
∙ San Francisco Real Estate Districts: Maps And Neighborhoods [SocketSite]
∙ A Rose By Any Other Name (But Not Necessarily A Neighborhood) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (40) | (email story)
June 22, 2009
Temporary Transbay Bus Terminal: First Prefab Buildings Placed
The site was cleared in January and now the first of the prefab buildings that will compose the Temporary Transbay Terminal at 200 Folsom have been placed on site. A reminder of how it should look by the end of the year once others and awnings are in place:
And as is envisoned at some point after that:
∙ Temporary Transbay Bus Terminal Update: 200 Folsom Cleared [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Transit Center Groundbreaking, Fat Mike & Infinity All In One [SocketSite]
∙ T-Minus Two Weeks Until Transbay Temporary Bus Terminal Start [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Park Potential: Post-Temporary Transbay Terminal (Et Al.) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
Perspective(s) On How Infinity Floor Plans Currently Stack Up
A plugged-in Mark Choey tackles the query of what’s made the Infinity realatively "hot" recently ("it has been confirmed that it is currently the fastest selling project in the West actually if not the country right now") and offers some perspective on the various stacks.
It's not the floor plan[s] per se that makes the building so "hot,” it is the price relative to what you are getting. If you are just looking at floor plans, [the "2B" floor plan] is not as attractive as other 2BR floor plans in the tower especially the "signature" curved floor plan (called the "2A" floor plan), and I agree the living/dining area is smaller than most would like, however most of the smaller 2BR floor plans stack face the water to the south or the city to the north if you get high enough to clear the mid-rise buildings of course (around the 12th floor and above).
And combining the view with the lower prices for the smaller 2BR relative to the signature curve plan (approx 12-15% smaller in fact and therefore cheaper), you have high demand for the "E" and the "A's."
Actually, this smaller 2BR floor plan is currently the most popular one in Tower 2! All of the other "stacks" have much more availability for various reasons. Other popular stacks and floors are the low floor "B" stack, the low "D" stack (below 10) and then the very high "B" stack from 27-30th floors. Anything under 1.0M sold very well and still is.
And of course, they're dealing. Cheers.
∙ Confidentially Speaking About The Infinity [SocketSite]
∙ Infinity Floor Plans: The 2A | The 2B [the-infinity.com]
∙ Infinity Sales Update: New Contracts Up But Driven By Discounts [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (83) | (email story)
June 16, 2009
Laying The Foundation For An "Ultra-Green" 525 Golden Gate Avenue
Placed "on hold" a year ago due to rising costs and "lower than expected efficiencies," but now angling for some stimulus funds too, it’s a plugged-in tipster that catches the crews at work on 525 Golden Gate Avenue:
Crews from [Malcolm] Drilling are hard at work on the site. I asked one of them whether their being there meant the new building was proceeding and the answer was, "Yes, we are shoring for the foundation because the foundation for the new building is deeper than the old one." I could see what appeared to be a dewatering tank of the sort used to keep deep foundation excavations dry.
The earthquake-damaged and twenty-years vacant building that once stood on the site was recently razed (much to the chagrin of Trader Vic's next door), and as permitted a 12-story "ultra-green" San Francisco Public Utilities building is proposed to rise.
∙ When Being Green Costs Too Much: 525 Golden Gate Avenue On Hold [SocketSite]
∙ PUC site a 'poster child for stimulus package' [SFGate]
∙ Tiki lounge owners try to halt nearby demolition [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
21 Buena Vista Avenue ("The Witches Hat") Returns…As A Rental
We first introduced you to 21 Buena Vista Avenue (a.k.a. The Witches Hat) in July of 2006, asking $4,950,000 at the time (down from $5,475,000 in May). And we last featured it in September of 2007 having been reduced to $3,900,000 (but failing to sell).
As a plugged-in SocketSite reader now reports, the Witches Hat has returned. As a rental:
We seriously considered buying this place, but we thought the neighborhood was a little too "edgy" for the price tag. Our Agent told us that the sellers at the time were willing to take $3.2MM (we were holding-out for $2.8MM, and given the recent market direction we would pay less now). The current owner...paid $3.875MM.
The current asking rent of $17,500 is roughly equal to the current level of interest payments on this place if he put 20% down and did a traditional 30y fixed.
Cheers. And as always, thank you for plugging in.
∙ 21 Buena Vista Avenue By The Numbers [SocketSite]
∙ 21 Buena Vista Returns With A Fifth (And Final?) Reduction [SocketSite]
∙ $17500 / 6br - Buena Vista, Lux Vict 6bd, 6bth, cmpl rmdld hs, 2car, amz vw [Craigslist]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
June 15, 2009
Are The "Exceptions" (And Big Losses) Becoming A Palms Rule?
What some are wont to characterize as San Francisco "exceptions" are quickly becoming the rule for two-bedroom condo re-sales at The Palms (555 4th Street).
While #401 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $599,900 in January (purchased for $779,000 in October 2006), and #313 is still seeking a short sale at $599,900 (purchased for $800,000 in January 2007), the list price for #731 has been reduced to a "bank approved price" of $619,000 (purchased for $925,000 in August 2006).
555 4th Street #823 is currently in contract having been listed at $605,000 (purchased for $815,000 in January 2007). And the only other two-bedroom currently listed at The Palms is #309, purchased for $842,500 in September 2006 and currently seeking $670,000.
Once again, all two-bedroom condos with declines in value ranging from 23% to 33% since late 2006/early 2007. Of course that's assuming sales at list.
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #309 (2/2) 1,113 sqft - $670,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #313 (2/2) 1,111 sqft - $599,900 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #731 (2/2) 1,052 sqft - $619,000 [MLS]
∙ Pushing Forward With Price Discovery At The Palms (555 4th Street) [SocketSite]
∙ A SoMa/Palms Wake Up Call (And Apple): 555 4th Street #401 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (66) | (email story)
Transbay Terminal: Banking On Stimulus Funds And Opening In 2015
Banking on $400 million in federal stimulus funds to be announced by the Federal Railroad Administration in October, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority has modified construction plans for San Francisco's Transbay Transit Terminal.
With a first phase originally scheduled to open in 2014 (retail, bus, and park) and construction of its underground train station component (Caltrain and high-speed rail) to follow, the new plan calls for the pre-construction of an unfinished train station and a late 2015 opening for the above ground portions of the terminal.
If the stimulus funds are not made available, and no other funding can be identified, then up to $15 million worth of engineering and design efforts planned to take place between now and October will be wasted, and the project will open four months behind the original schedule without a train station, staff and consultants told directors.
"I’m a gambling man and I’m willing to roll the dice," Supervisor Chris Daly, a Transbay Joint Powers Authority director, said during the hearing. "High-speed rail is happening in California. It’s coming to downtown San Francisco. Everyone’s excited, but if [initial construction of the train station] doesn’t happen, we’re in the hole $15 million."
Pre-building the train station would save an estimated $100 million in construction costs. But no word on whether or not they're still proposing to pre-build said station the wrong (or right) way.
∙ Transbay Terminal Moves Forward, But Payments And Terms Change [SocketSite]
∙ Project tweak delays SoMa train station [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ Unplanned Obsolescence For Transbay High-Speed Station Design? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) | (email story)
June 11, 2009
An Eco-Friendly "Baker Acres" Prepares Its Return (2201 Baker)
Built as a single-family home in 1904, converted to a boarding house known as "Baker Acres" in the 1940’s, and then Ellis Acted in 2002, an almost fully gutted and foreclosed upon 2201 Baker Street went on the market in November of 2007 asking $2,490,000.
Purchased for $2,538,000 and completely rebuilt as a single-family home by RBR Development (think Regina Callan), 2201 Baker Street is about to return to the market as the first "eco-friendly" Metropolitan Home Modern by Design Showhome.
This 7,700 square foot home, is outfitted with the latest green technologies [Regrid solar photovoltaic panels], building materials [high efficiency insulation, low u-value glazing, low VOC paints, recycled brick], mechanical systems [two high efficiency furnaces with air purification system]...and spectacular cutting-edge modern design on 4-levels of impressive living space and outdoor spaces including a large walk-out garden and roof garden to accommodate the lifestyle of a modern San Francisco family.
As a plugged-in eddy correctly surmised (and stole a bit of our thunder), Barbabra and Robert Callan have the listing with a whisper price of $7.1 million. The first VIP tours are scheduled to start in a week with a month of public tours starting on June 20th ($25 tickets benefit the San Francisco Ballet).
And as it looked before:
∙ Coming Soon: 2201 Baker Street (7/9) [streetsofsanfrancisco.com]
∙ Prime Pacific Heights Single Family For Under Five Hundred A Square! [SocketSite]
∙ Modern by Design Showhouse 2009 [Metropolitan Home]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (30) | (email story)
June 5, 2009
Fox Plaza Expansion (1390 Market): Unanimously Approved As Well
In addition to 1960-1998 Market, the San Francisco Planning Commission has unanimously approved the proposed 250-unit condo addition to Fox Plaza at 1390 Market. That being said, "developer Mark Conroe of Presidio Development Partners says it’s unlikely to be built until the economy turns around."
∙ The 1960-1998 Market Street Scoop: Unanimously Approved Design [SocketSite]
∙ S.F. gives OK to 250-unit condo project at Fox Plaza [Business Times]
∙ A Step Forward For The Plans To Expand Fox Plaza (1390 Market) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
June 4, 2009
The Port's Plan For Pier 27: We Don't Need No Stinking Rate Of Return!
From the Examiner with respect to the Port's plan for a new San Francisco cruise terminal:
[The Port of San Francisco] now plans to take advantage of an upcoming bond sale to help fund the $40 million-plus conversion of Pier 27 from a cavernous limousine storage lot into a modern cruise terminal.
Under the latest plans, the portion of the building facing the street would be toppled to make way for a public plaza, and several surrounding buildings would be demolished or relocated. The interior of the warehouse building would be refurbished and improved with an elevated mezzanine level to allow cruise passengers to step from their ship directly into the terminal.
The most recent terminal plan calls for the Port to pay for needed infrastructure improvements without relying on the assistance of the private sector, according to Finance Director Tina Olsen.
“We’re thinking, ‘Why don’t we act like a developer?’ We’ll do the investment, we’ll bring in the tenants and do the build-outs,” she said. “We don’t need a rate of return, so perhaps we can do a development that’s more palatable.”
Just how hard could real estate development be these days?
∙ Port of S.F. looks to new projects to net revenue [San Francisco Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
June 3, 2009
Oh Geez, Watermark (501 Beale) Number 12G Returns As A Short Sale
The unit number isn’t identified on the MLS, but it’s 501 Beale #12G. Purchased for $975,000 in May of 2006, the two bedroom and two bath Watermark condo was listed as a short sale for "$500,000" yesterday.
Expect a couple of competing offers, an "over asking" sale (assuming the bank even agrees), and perhaps a grumpy neighbor or two above and below.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #12G (2/2) 1,032 sqft - $500,000 [MLS]
∙ What’s Up With The Watermark "G"s? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
June 1, 2009
Presidio Main Post Plan Public Comment Period Closes Today
"Today marks the end of the public comment period on land use changes proposed for the Main Post of San Francisco's Presidio - a deadline that may sound bureaucratic but in fact signals the next round in an acrimonious battle unlikely to end anytime soon."
∙ Deadline is today for comments on Presidio plan [SFGate]
∙ A Toned Down CAMP And Revised Main Post Plan For The Presidio [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
May 22, 2009
City Loses Landmark Appeal, Church Of The Pagoda Theater Anyone?
A bid by the city of San Francisco to designate the United Methodist Church at Larkin and Clay a landmark despite the Methodist Church’s desire to raze the building to make way for twenty-seven new condominiums has failed in the state Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeal, in a ruling issued in San Francisco Wednesday, said state law specifically exempts nonprofit religious groups from landmark proceedings concerning their property.
Church of The North Beach Pagoda Theater anyone?
∙ Court rejects City efforts to designate church as landmark [Examiner]
∙ North Beach Pagoda Theater Plans Approved By Planning, But... [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (32) | (email story)
May 21, 2009
Two New (But Actually Old) Chelsea Park (3620 19th Street) Comps
According to a plugged-in tipster these two Chelsea Park (3620 19th Street) condos appear to have sold in January but their listings were just recently updated in the MLS:
3620 19th Street #27 closed with a contract price of $565,000 (one-bedroom last listed at $619,000) while #30 closed with a contract price of $600,000 (two-bedroom last listed at $734,000).
Once again, one-bedrooms at Chelsea Park were originally offered from $679,000.
∙ The Newest Chelsea Park Comp: 3620 19th Street #28 Closes Escrow [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco’s Chelsea Park Condominiums Coming Soon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
May 20, 2009
Calling 911 For Number 911 At 199 New Montgomery
No photos and few details, but we couldn’t help but notice the (short sale) listing for a ninth floor studio at 199 New Montgomery seeking $225,000.
In addition to said studio there are currently ten other listings at 199 New Montgomery. And as plugged-in people know, that's only about half the effective inventory.
∙ Listing: 199 New Montgomery #911 (0/1) - $225,000 [MLS]
∙ Selling The Rest Of Their Sold Out Inventory At 199 New Montgomery [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
May 19, 2009
JustQuotes: Five Years From A 49ers Free San Francisco?
"Santa Clara officials are expected to finalize a proposal with the San Francisco 49ers as early as today to build a 68,500-seat stadium in the South Bay city, in part with millions of dollars in public redevelopment money.
The deal lays out a funding plan to move the five-time Super Bowl champions into a new game-day home 37 miles from San Francisco in time for the 2014 NFL season, those involved in the negotiations said."
∙ Santa Clara-49ers stadium deal could come today [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
May 18, 2009
A Deluxe Apartment Condo In The Sky Closes Escrow At One Rincon
While the re-resale of One Rincon Hill (425 1st Street) #2202 closed escrow two months ago with a re-reported contract price of $1,150,000, the resale of 425 1st Street #3102 ("Seller says Sell!") closed escrow on 5/8/09 with a reported contract price of $1,166,000.
Keep in mind that "02" two-bedroom units on the 28th, 31st, 51st and 54th floors are considered "deluxe" and offer an additional 149 square feet of space over the other non-penthouse 02’s albeit mostly in the form of "closets." That being said, while #2202 resold for $879 per square foot in March, #3102 resold for $805 per square foot in May.
UPDATE: According to tax records 425 1st Street #3102 was originally purchased from the sales office for $1,260,000 (7.5% above its resale).
∙ A Return To Reality For A One Rincon Hill "02" Stack Resale (#2202) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (31) | (email story)
While Others Sit The Mayor’s Mini-Manse In The Sky Moves
While the Bay Area high-end market is struggling, at least one high-end and rather high-profile sale is not: the Mayor’s $2,995,000 one-bedroom Bellaire Tower penthouse is now "firmly" in escrow (as in any contingencies have been removed).
∙ Fit For A King San Francisco Mayor (Or Getty): 1101 Green #2001 [SocketSite]
∙ More high-end properties sitting on the market [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
May 14, 2009
It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again For The Cow Palace
A year ago state Senator Leland Yee threw in the towel on his proposal to sell the state-owned Cow Palace for development and instead settled for "a compromise plan" to sell an adjoining overflow parking lot.
Last October Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill that would have enabled said compromise plan. But in light of Califonia's growing fiscal crisis, The Governor has now adopted the Senator's original proposal (to sell the Cow Palace) as his own.
∙ Much Ado Over Nothing (Except An Overflow Cow Palace Parking Lot) [SocketSite]
∙ How’s This For Compromise: No (Cow Palace Bill Vetoed) [SocketSite]
∙ Cow Palace could be on the state chopping block [Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
May 11, 2009
Not A Typical NIMBY Fight To Preserve The Bluepeter In Mission Bay
Currently slated to be razed, the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association hopes to save the Bluepeter Building at 555 Illinois street in Mission Bay.
This two-story wooden building with a vaulted roof was built in 1940 for the CF Hendry company, a ship chandlery business. When built, it had direct access to the bay; access was later lost in one of the last bay filling operations. Around 1955 the rear of the building was notched out to preserve the building when the street now known as Terry Francoise Blvd. was constructed. The Bluepeter Company, by which name the building is now known, was an exhibit design company.
The move to preserve the building that's been vacant for a decade isn’t an attempt to block infill or new condos, however, as the land on which the Bluepeter Building sits is actually slated to become "open space."
Instead, the neighbors want the building to be used as an enclosed structure for recreation and community use, neither of which exist in the current plans. Okay, and to preserve a bit of neighborhood history and "soul."
∙ Bluepeter Building: 555 Illinois Street | Inside | On The Map [pier70sf.org]
∙ Dogpatch residents join forces to save notable building [Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) | (email story)
May 7, 2009
The Price To Buy At 333 Bush (A.K.A. It’s Time To Tell On #3801)
Listed in January with a "priced to sell" list price of $1,150,000, we told you we’d tell you when 333 Bush #3801 sold. And it has. But apparently the "price to buy" was $930,000. No word on #3701 which was last listed at $1,500,000 but in a much improved state.
∙ A Floor Higher And $350,000 Less At 333 Bush, Damn Those Neighbors [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (41) | (email story)
Another Non-Comp Comp Closes At 246 2nd Street (#1003)
To recap:
In October of 2005 246 2nd Street #1003 sold for a reported $950,000. In April of 2008 the unit was bought back by the bank for $835,783. And [on December 18, 2008] it hit the market asking $689,900.
Previously purchased and owned by the same party that had owned and lost #502. And as plugged-in people know, but industry stats wouldn’t reflect, both condos were purchased with a significant amount of cash back at closing. Let’s hope nobody relied on that sale back in 2005 as a “comp.”
First purchased for $734,500 in the year 2000 when the building was built.
Last month the sale of 246 2nd Street #1003 closed escrow with a reported (and recorded) contract price of $670,500. That's 29% under its "comp" price in 2005 and 9% under its original price in the year 2000.
And yes, the kitchen was intact.
UPDATE: A plugged-in reader adds:
My wife and I are the buyers. We purchased the unit as our primary (and only) residence, not as investors. We knew some of the history of the unit when we made our offer. For all you curious Socketeers the seller (Bank) also paid $10,000 in our closing cost, so actual sale value $660,500. Wish us luck!
Congratulations, well played and thank you for plugging in. Now about that housewarming...
∙ Another Non-Comp Comp On The Market At 246 2nd Street (#1003) [SocketSite]
∙ Can Bank Owned Comps Kill (Values)? 246 2nd Street #502 Returns [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (33) | (email story)
Pushing Forward With Price Discovery At The Palms (555 4th Street)
Four months ago 555 4th Street #401 broke through the $600,000 mark on the downside for two-bedroom condos at The Palms and closed escrow with a reported contract price of $599,900 (purchased for $779,000 in October 2006). It was, however, a bank owned sale and lacking its kitchen appliances.
And while 555 4th Street #313 isn’t yet bank owned and its owner hasn’t yet "freaked out" (as far as we know), it did hit the market yesterday seeking a short sale at $599,900 ($540 per square foot). The two bedroom condo (with appliances intact) was purchased for $800,000 in January 2007.
With respect to one-bedrooms (six of which are currently listed), 555 4th Street #733 hit the market in February seeking $589,000. Currently listed at $469,000 ($679 per square foot) having been reduced four times since, the listing notes "VACANT" and "possible short-sale." The seller paid $645,000 in August 2006.
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #313 (2/2) 1,111 sqft - $599,900 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #733 (1/1) 691 sqft - $469,000 [MLS]
∙ A SoMa/Palms Wake Up Call (And Apple): 555 4th Street #401 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
May 5, 2009
The "Confidential" Resale Price For One Rincon Hill #2307
A recap for the resale of One Rincon Hill (425 1st Street) #2307:
Originally seeking $849,000 as a resale, the listing for One Rincon Hill #2307 was reduced down to $749,998 and then withdrawn from the MLS after 200+ days.
Returning to the MLS [73] days ago asking $699,000, the list price for the northeast corner and 819 square foot 425 1st Street #2307 was [then] reduced to $649,000.
The resale of 425 1st Street #2307 closed escrow on 4/17/09 with what appears to be a "confidential" sale price according to the MLS.
As a plugged-in reader comments, however, public records via the Chronicle report a sale price of $560,000 ($684 per square foot). And if tax records and the Chronicle are correct, that’s roughly 22% under what the seller had paid to the sales office ($873 per square).
∙ Trying To Catch The Market Over At One Rincon Hill (425 1st #2307) [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill (425 First Street): Secondary Market Stumbles [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (75) | (email story)
May 4, 2009
Thirty Percent Of 767 Bryant Returns As REO (But Not Speedwagon)
In August of 2006 twenty apartments at 767 Bryant hit the market as condos. At the time list prices ranged from $676,920 to $1,850,000 including 767 Bryant #409 at $676,920 and 767 Bryant #210 at $1,200,000.
Despite a subsequent remodeling, reductions and incentives (including a free Prius or Mini Cooper), at least six of the units failed to sell and were lost to foreclosure.
On Friday 767 Bryant #409 returned to the market as a bank owned property (REO) asking $525,000 (23% less than in 2006) and 767 Bryant #210 returned to the market as an REO property asking $799,000 (33% less than in 2006).
∙ Listing: 767 Bryant #409 (1/2) 908 sqft - $525,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 767 Bryant #210 (2/3) 2,041 sqft - $799,000 [MLS]
∙ 767 Bryant: The Apartments Condominiums [SocketSite]
∙ Buy A Condo Get A Car At 767 Bryant [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
April 30, 2009
The Bourn Boardinghouse (A Lesser Known Sequel)
As if the Bourn Mansion wasn’t intriguing enough, a plugged-in reader reports:
I met some guy in the park several weeks ago who just seemed bored and desperate for conversation. He told me he was renting a room from an eccentric older woman who lived in a gigantic house on Pacific Av. He told me he was not allowed to be in the home during the daytime and he was not allowed to hang in the immediate area of the home (hence, he was walking in Lafayette Park instead of Alta Plaza Park). And, yes, he said that there were quite a few boarders at the home. He was wondering why the woman was renting rooms in such a large Pacific Heights home.
And yes, it's safe to assume he wasn't referring to 2830.
∙ Bourn To Run Party: A San Francisco Mansion Of Ex-Glory And Dreams [SocketSite]
∙ 2830 Pacific: 2009 Decorator Showcase Opens Its Doors (And Kimono) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | (email story)
I’ll See Your $800 Per Square Foot And Raise Lower You $200 At 235
Purchased for $1,052,500 in February 2007, 235 Berry #416 returned to the market 34 days ago and is asking $1,295,000 ($804/sqft). Purchased for $757,000 in February 2007, 235 Berry #317 returned to the market 14 days ago and is asking $838,000 ($783/sqft).
And as a plugged-in tipster notes, yesterday 235 Berry #413 aggressively joined the two three five resale fray. Purchased for $950,000 in June of 2007 (which at $18,900 under what the developer was asking might have seemed like a good negotiation at the time), the two-bedroom condo has returned to the market asking $789,000 ($639/sqft).
∙ Listing: 235 Berry #416 (2/2.5) 1,610 sqft - $1,295,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 235 Berry #317 (2/2) 1,070 sqft - $838,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 235 Berry #413 (2/2) 1,235 sqft - $789,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
April 29, 2009
Bourn To Run Party: A San Francisco Mansion Of Ex-Glory And Dreams
The listing of 2525 Webster sparked a discussion about 2550 Webster (a.k.a. The Bourn Mansion). And while we could have sworn we had previously profiled the San Francisco landmark clinker brick property, alas we had not.
Designed by Willis Polk (think the landmark Hallidie Building, 2820 Pacific, and Filoli down south) and built for William Bourn (think gold mines, PG&E, and the aforementioned Filoli as well) in 1896, the 27-room Pacific Heights mansion has since fallen into disrepair.
It is, however, currently home to the eccentric Arden Van Upp and her cats.
With its enormous second-floor ballroom, and two-story stained-glass windows, the Bourn Mansion was an ideal place for throwing wild parties in the '70s. Great meals, fine wines, good drugs, the promise of sex in the air. Celebrities showed up: the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, the Pointer Sisters. Porn films were shot there.
But that's all over now. The four-story Bourn Mansion stands in extreme disrepair. An estimated $2 million of work is needed to meet earthquake safety codes, more than the building is worth. The roof leaks and the wallpaper peels. Recent visitors say everything stinks of cat urine. The back yard is knee-deep in weeds, and garbage is heaped in a compost pile. Raccoons poke around in the filth. The party's over.
Above estimates in 1998 dollars. And purchased for a reported $185,000 in 1973.
UPDATE: A plugged-in reader's firsthand account:
I actually interviewed for a roommate position there in about 1979. Even then it it seemed a little toooo weird, and that is really saying something.
The women who I assume was Arden (based on the old SF Weekly article) told me at the time she paid $250,000 or so for it. Now that was a fabulous sum in 1979. I ended up looking at this because she was showing a one bedroom rental on upper Ashbury and I commented on the nice old wide plank floors; and she said that I seemed to know architecture and I might be interested in being her roommate....
I remember a huge full building width living room with a cheap little ghetto blaster stereo sitting on "one" of the walk-in size fireplace hearths. On the same floor was a conservatory room straight out of the Elizabeth Taylor "suddenly Last Summer".
∙ A Completely Renovated And Then Remodeled 2525 Webster Returns [SocketSite]
∙ I Can See For Miles And Miles And Miles And Miles (2820 Pacific) [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco Landmark 37: Hallidie Building [noehill.com]
∙ The Fortress on the Hill [SF Weekly]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (76) | (email story)
April 27, 2009
A Relative Value Of Two High-Rise Rentals Around $12,000 Redux
In December we featured a mid-floor three bedroom, three bath at the St. Regis with a view of One Rincon asking $11,950 a month and a high-floor two bedroom, two bath at One Rincon with a view of the Bay Bridge for fifty bucks more ($12,000 a month).
Today it's another three-bedroom at the St. Regis seeking $12,000 a month, and as a tipster notes, that same high-floor two-bedroom at One Rincon Hill now asking $7,350.
∙ The Relative Value Of Two High-Rise Rentals Around $12,000 A Month [SocketSite]
∙ $12000 / 3br - Luxury 3 bed 3 bath - St. Regis Residences [Craigslist]
∙ $7350 / 2br - LUXURY PENTHOUSE SUITE [Craigslist]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (62) | (email story)
April 24, 2009
Tehama Lofts #304 Takes You Higher (Boom-Shaka-Laka-Laka)
We’re digging the high windows, high-end finishes (including the "sly" fireplace surround), and staircase within the true conversion Tehama Lofts #304 (245 5th Street). Now if only there were a few more windows on that main living level, then boom-shaka-laka-laka...
∙ Listing: 245 5th Street #304 (2/1) - $1,095,000 [Paragon] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
April 22, 2009
We Still Believe It Would Have Made A Most Excellent Museum
"San Francisco’s landmark 50 United Nations Plaza will receive [a] $121 million upgrade under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an infusion of cash that will allow the mothballed federal office building to be brought back to life, according to the Government (sic) Services Administration."
"Once the renovation is complete, the building will house the GSA, the agency in charge of federal government buildings. The San Francisco office of the GSA covers all of California, as well as Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii. The GSA office is now at 450 Golden Gate Ave. About 600 GSA employees work in the San Francisco office, with another 600 in the field.
The decision to rehab the building and use it for federal office space came last year after the federal government decided to scrap plans to find a private developer to take over the property. Forest City had been looking at converting the office building into apartments."
∙ S.F.’s vacant federal building gets $121M from stimulus for upgrade [Business Times]
∙ JustQuotes: A Federal Falling Out For The Mid-Market Movement [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
April 20, 2009
Michael Kriozere (ORH) Responds: We're Planning To Pay, Damn It!
From Michael Kriozere in response to the Chronicle's "he ain't planning to pay" piece:
While it is unfortunate that my discussion with the San Francisco Chronicle was taken out of context and thus reflected inaccuracies, it does provide me with an opportunity to share what has been and continues to be our commitment to both the project and the City. As such, I share the following.
Not only is One Rincon Hill more than 70% sold*, but sales once again are brisk; in fact, sales traffic has been above the pre-crash level (60-100 tours) every week in 2009. We are pleased to report that we have almost fully paid our construction lender and contractors, have no liens against the building and appreciate the unwavering support of our partners. We have not received any funds from the City in any aspect of the development of this project.
We have every intention to complete Tower II, but, as I said publicly months ago, we are waiting for the economy, and the residential real estate market in particular, to turn on the upswing. There is no rush to proceed at this time.
In specific response to the reporting in the San Francisco Chronicle that “he does not plan to pay the $5 million in fees that were central to obtaining city approval to build the high-rise,” this is not my plan. In fact, to date we have paid more than $16.6 million in fees:
Affordable housing in lieu fee (offsite) $11,026,146 (Dec. 2005)
S.F. public school fee $858,448 (Feb. 2006)
Rincon Hill Community Improvement fee $3,162,889 (Sept. 2006)
SOMA Stabilization Fund fee $1,268,306 (Dec. 2005 and Sept. 2006)
Total: $16,615,789
The sole remaining fee to be paid is the balance of the SOMA Stabilization Fee of $13.75 x 393,884 square feet or $5,415,905. This payment is not yet due. The payment becomes due when we obtain a final Certificate of Occupancy (which has not yet occurred); or, alternatively, we can post a letter of credit at that time to delay the payment by 6 months. In other words, we are not in default nor do we intend to be. Furthermore, the developer will not receive any distributions from the project before the SOMA Stabilization Fund fee is paid.
In my typical candor, I shared with the Chronicle the realities of today’s economy on our project – no different from what most every project is the country is experiencing. As we are in the most egregiously difficult financial environment of our times, I am realistically concerned with the burden of this fee. This was the intent of my discussion with the Chronicle, and I am disappointed it was not more clear. That said, we plan to pay the fees when due and proceed onto Tower II of this project which will provide a very singular living experience in a world class city.
Thank you for this opportunity to update our project and our vision.
Michael Kriozere
*Officially 72% of the 376 tower one condos are now either closed or in contract, but just under 70% if you include the 14 townhomes. And while this really doesn't change our accounting with respect to net-new contracts since October, we will publish a more complete sales breakdown tomorrow.
∙ One Rincon Hill Still 70% Sold (And Reneging On Development Fees?) [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill’s Townhome Collection “Officially” Released [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (109) | (email story)
Apples To Apples And A Fall From For Sierra Heights: 55 Sierra #C101
Purchased for $769,000 in February of 2007, 55 Sierra #C101 was bought back by the bank with a loan balance of $665,076 in February of 2009. A week later the Sierra Heights condo returned to the market asking $719,900.
After two weeks on the market the list price was reduced to $699,000; two weeks later to $669,900; two weeks later to $619,900; and two weeks after that (and five days ago) to $589,900. A sale at asking would represent a 23.3% drop in value since early 2007.
And while it’s not "prime" Potrero Hill, nor one of the nicer Sierra Heights units we’ve seen, it is apples to apples and a three-bedroom condo under $600,000/$415 per square foot.
∙ Listing: 55 Sierra #C101 (3/2) 1,424 sqft - $589,900 [MLS]
∙ New Developments: Sierra Heights [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
Stimulating San Francisco To "Partner" On The Second Tower At ORH?
With respect to the Chronicle's report that Mike Kriozer isn't planning on paying at least five million dollars of fees to San Francisco related to the development of One Rincon Hill, a plugged-in reader reports:
[This] might be a leverage move by Kriozere in order to push the City to become a partial investor in the second tower [of One Rincon Hill] through the use of Federal stimulus money. He announced last month at an HOA meeting that his company was in talks with the City about this possibility and this could be his way a creating a quid pro quo (i.e., if you loan in with Fed money, I'll pay the development fees). Otherwise, I agree that it makes no sense because he's alienating the City and still needs to sell the second tower to try and squeeze out a profit.
Comments on the original thread.
∙ One Rincon Hill Still 70% Sold (And Reneging On Development Fees?) [SocketSite]
∙ It's "Official," One Rincon Hill's Tower Two Is Indefinitely On Hold [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | (email story)
April 9, 2009
A Return To Reality For A One Rincon Hill "02" Stack Resale (#2202)
Priced by the One Rincon Hill sales office at $1,020,000 (not including any upgrades) on the first day of pre-sales in 2006, an upgraded 425 1st #2202 created quite a stir when it was resold two years later with a reported (and recorded) contract price of $1,300,000.
A few months later the two-bedroom view condo returned to the market asking $1,359,000. And a few weeks ago the second resale of 425 1st Street #2202 quietly closed escrow with a reported contract price of $1,150,000 (intitially reported as $1,038,000).
At 1,309 square feet, that’s $879 per square foot for one of the most coveted two-bedroom stacks at One Rincon Hill. And it's $48,000 less than #1902 ("over $60K in upgrades") is currently asking as well.
UPDATE: After our post yesterday the reported contract price for 425 1st #2202 was changed from $1,038,000 to $1,150,000 in the MLS and now matches its recorded sales price. Our post has been updated accordingly. In addition, the listing for 425 1st #1902 has since been withdrawn.
∙ First Impressions: One Rincon Hill Sales Center [SocketSite]
∙ The First "Official" Resale At One Rincon Hill Closes Escrow: #2202 [SocketSite]
∙ Four Floors Lower, But Asking One Hundred And Fifty Thousand Less [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill (425 First Street): Secondary Market Stumbles [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (63) | (email story)
April 8, 2009
A Step Forward For The Plans To Expand Fox Plaza (1390 Market)
A Preliminary Mitigated Negative Declaration has been issued by San Francisco’s Planning department for Archstone-Smith’s proposed expansion of Fox Plaza (1390 Market Street).
The proposed project would entail demolition of an existing two-story retail and office building adjacent to the existing Fox Plaza office/residential tower and construction of a new 120-foot-tall, ll-story building containing up to 250 residential units above approximately 19,880 gross square feet of retail use on the ground floor. There would be no change to the existing Fox Plaza mixed-use tower, and no new parking would be provided (18 existing spaces would be removed): parking for the new residential units would be within the existing two-level basement garage at Fox Plaza.
The proposed new 120-foot-tall, ll-story building would be generally triangular in shape, with the point at the corner of Hayes and Market Streets. The new building would be connected to the existing 29-story tower by an existing approximately 50-foot-wide atrium and retail space on the ground floor. Current plans call for the building to be clad in a combination of glass and stone with pre-cast elements, with punched square windows making up most of the Market Street and Hayes Street facades, while the Hayes-Market corner would be clad in a curving glass curtain wall that would extend up to an oval-shaped form on the roof that would enclose mechanical equipment, elevator rooms, and-at the corner-the upper level of the 11th-floor residential unit.
Design by Heller Manus Architects.
And while we don't have an official update on the appetite or intentions of Archstone-Smith to move forward, we do have the following comment from a plugged-in reader:
I've heard it's a done deal on Archstone's end, but they are having some issues moving people out who are in current retail leases. From what I hear Starbucks doesen't want to move to the tower where Archstone has set aside a space for them, unless A/S pays to move the Starbucks, and a couple other little snafus like that...
UPDATE: And another perspective:
This is not going through. This ridiculous proposal has been in planning for quite some time with Presidio Development. Unfortunately, no development wants to by the annex of Fox Plaza and seeing how recent condo projects have flopped (especially right next store @ the Argenta) it would make no sense for them to build 250 more condos just to have them converted into rentals.
∙ Fox Plaza (1390 Market): 250 New Condos In The Works [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (37) | (email story)
April 7, 2009
It’s Three Weeks Later And They’re Still Asking Three Point Two
As a tipster notes, Matier & Ross have caught up to the Newsom news that a plugged-in reader reported last month, namely that the Mayor’s Bellaire Tower penthouse condo is on the market and asking $3,200,000. Purchased from Peter Getty for $2,350,000 in 2006.
One discrepancy from our report when the Mayor closed in 2006, it might just be a large one-bedroom rather than a two.
UPDATE: According to the PropertyShark report via a plugged-in reader: Peter Getty paid $900,000 for the pad in 1990; it's 1,693 square feet; and it has (or at least had) two bedrooms as we reported back in 2006.
∙ Will Garamendi run for Tauscher's seat? [SFGate]
∙ San Francisco Recorded Sales Activity In February: Down 36.9% YOY [SocketSite]
∙ The Mayor Is Moving On Up! [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
April 6, 2009
From Flippy To Floppy For Watermark (501 Beale) Penthouse #2B
Two months after its initial sale for $1,250,000 in October of 2006 Watermark (501 Beale) Penthouse #2B was flipped for $1,375,000. (Ah, the good old days.) It's now a little over two years later and the top floor condo is back on the market and asking $1,094,500.
The listing notes both short sale and bank owned (we believe it’s the former) and the condo failed to sell earlier this year when seeking $1,195,000. Keep in mind that the identical "penthouse" unit a floor below (#PH1B) sold for $1,300,000 in October of 2006 and was likley a supporting comp for the flip of #PH2B. And so on. And so forth.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale Street #PH2B (2/2) - $1,094,500 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (81) | (email story)
April 3, 2009
Whiter Than The Colgate Mansion (But Not As "Improved"): 940 Grove
While the down to the studs renovation of 924 Grove (a.k.a. the Colgate Mansion) is complete, with 940 Grove it's all about the bones and enviable 125 foot by 137.5 foot lot.
Currently home to Burt Children’s Center, the 10 bedroom and 5 bath single-family home will be delivered vacant. And hey, if you think you're into "commercial grade kitchens"...
Original design by Albert Pissis, the founding father of San Francisco's Beaux-Arts style and architect behind the Hibernia Bank.
∙ Listing: 940 Grove (10/5) - $2,750,000 [MLS]
∙ 924 Grove: New And "Improved" For A Whiter Smile And Space [SocketSite]
∙ Albert Pissis [wikipedia]
∙ Hibernia Bank Buyer Unmasked (The Dolmen Property Group) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
Out Of The Shadow And Into The Spotlight: 555 Washington Designs
The developers behind a proposed 38-story and 248-unit condo tower in the shadow of the Transamerica Pyramid are pushing forward. From the Draft Environmental Impact Report:
The proposed new 336,585 gross square-foot 38-story, 390-foot-high project building plus 35-foot mechanical penthouse would contain about 248 residential units (133 one-bedroom units and 115 two-bedroom units) and amenities in about 331,640 square feet; 6,780 square feet of retail space; over 7,000 square feet of common and private open space plus additional open areas/public park space on Mark Twain Alley and Redwood Park in excess of 26,000; and 230 parking spaces in four subsurface levels.
A squatter office variant exists as well.
From J.K. Dineen with respect to the "preferred" residential design:
In the revised design by San Francisco-based HellerManus, 555 Washington St. would start with a rectangular base and twist a quarter-turn as it rises, morphing into a circle at the top. The design, with a footprint that is 30 percent less that the zoning allows, enables the developer to expand Redwood Park, the half-acre cluster of soaring redwoods at the northern edge of the financial district.
Under the proposed project, which requires a variance for height, the redwood grove would be expanded and ownership of the park would be transferred to the city. In addition, Mark Twain Alley, a dead-end that cuts from Sansome Street into the park, would be converted into a pedestrian piazza, with ground floor restaurants spilling out from the new condo tower and other buildings along the alley.
In the pipeline for 2012 assuming the stars align. And the completely uninspired 23-story code-compliant design we might get if they don't:
∙ Developers press plan for tower by pyramid [Business Times]
∙ 248 Condos (and 38 Stories) In The Shadow Of The Pyramid [SocketSite]
∙ 555 Washington: Draft Environmental Impact Report (pdf) [SFGov]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (43) | (email story)
April 1, 2009
The Toy Factory Lofts (1 Rausch) In General, Loft H In Specific
Constructed in 1909 and converted to residences in 1997, 1 Rausch (a.k.a. Toy Factory Lofts) is home to eight (8) loft condominiums with underground parking off of Howard.
At over 2,400 square feet and designed by James Magni, Loft H is the largest of the eight and features 25 foot ceilings with exposed wood rafters which quickly caught our eye.
Not yet listed, but as a tipster notes it should be coming soon and asking $1,695,000. Beware the website background beats.
∙ Listing: 1 Rausch (2/2) 2,400+ sqft - $1,695,000 [toyfactoryloftsf.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
March 26, 2009
Selling The Rest Of Their Sold Out Inventory At 199 New Montgomery
In 2005 a bidding war left 199 New Montgomery "sold out." Today a plugged-in tipster reports that Pacific Union is helping the developer move "more than 12 units" in the building, only a few of which are currently listed as inventory.
∙ Reduced! At 199 New Montgomery [SocketSite]
∙ SocketSite's San Francisco Listed Housing Update: 3/16/09 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
Name Dropping Hollywood Style: Marquee Lofts #702
In terms of overall design and space we remain partial to Lighthouse Lofts #308, but in terms of a Hollywood-esque story we present the Marquee #702.
Another multi-unit combo (#701 and #702), the interior of the 2,300 square foot loft was designed by Stanley Saitowitz; it features a "custom designed steel audio cabinet" by sculptor Kyle Reicher (and wenge wood bookshelf by Robert Croutier); and it was Keanu Reeves' character’s apartment in the 2001 movie "Sweet November."
We’re digging the steel pocket doors, big windows, and easy access to the theaters below. And in keeping with the Hollywood theme, there’s a "sneak preview" tonight (3/26).
∙ Listing: 151 Alice B. Toklas Place #702 (2/2) - $1,800,000 [Alain Pinel] [MLS]
∙ The Lighthouse Lofts Apple Of Our Eye Returns (1097 Howard #308) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
March 25, 2009
The Lighthouse Lofts Apple Of Our Eye Returns (1097 Howard #308)
As we wrote about Lighthouse Lofts (1097 Howard) #308 when it was listed for $2,400,000 and sold for $2,450,000 in 2007:
Featuring 18-foot ceilings up high, and hickory and pecan hardwood floors down low; a glass enclosed shower and tub with views (in more ways than one)...
[At] 4,200 square feet of living space, unit #308 is actually a merger of three lofts into one. And yes, a merger of three monthly HOA payments [($1,199)] and two parking spaces to match.
As we added after the fact in 2007:
While the Brazilian owner…admittedly suffered through the first winter, the addition of two gas fireplaces has apparently made all the difference in the world (PG&E bills maxed out at around $200/month...and typically run under $100).
Also, it’s definitely loft living but the pictures don’t do it justice (especially the master bath and kitchen), the little touches are great (washer/dryer in the walk-in master closet; electric shades; sliding panels and storage), and the urban views (from the Federal Building to One Rincon) are to be appreciated.
And as we write today: the Lighthouse Lofts apple of our eye is back on the market and asking $2,300,000.
∙ Listing: 1097 Howard #308 (3/2.5) 4,207 sqft - $2,300,000 [MLS]
∙ The Lighthouse Lofts In General (1097 Howard), And #308 In Specific [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
March 24, 2009
Unable To Fund Loan(s) At The Beacon? Hmm...
From a tipster trying to close on a condo at The Beacon:
[L]ast week we were trying to move on a unit at The Beacon and found out some pretty bad news: Chase, BofA, and Wells won't fund loans on units at The Beacon due to some lawsuit related notes on the title reports.
I'm not sure if this applies only to some units or to all (since the lawsuits involve the HOA which presumably would mean all units), but we talked directly to someone at Chase and they said they last tried to run a loan on 3/19/09 and weren't able to do it.
Our first thought: Association Battle Over Unpaid Bills Brewing At The Beacon? Can a plugged-in person with access to said notes possibly shed some light?
∙ Association Battle Over Unpaid Bills Brewing At The Beacon? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (42) | (email story)
March 23, 2009
From One Of Six To One Of Eight At The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell)
Listed for $379,000 last July then reduced to $369,000 and threatening "last chance before being withdrawn," 631 O’Farrell #504 was in fact withdrawn from the MLS.
Now back on the market in March asking $349,000. There were six studio condos in the Hamilton listed from $369,000 to $399,000 late last year, there are eight condos in the building priced from $289,900 to $399,000 listed today.
Purchased for $285,000 in January of 2005 (no word on improvements since). And the most recent sale in the building appears to be #1410: purchased for $360,000 in October of 2005, closed escrow on March 3, 2009 for a reported $270,000.
UPDATE: A sad bit of color on the recent sale of #1410:
#1410 was destroyed by someone who had a drug problem. The person owned the property, it was taken back by the bank, and then the person ended up squatting there. The person sold some of the items in the unit to pay for drugs. So, the unit was trashed, and it should not be used as a comparison for other units.
∙ Listing: 631 O’Farrell #504 (0/1) - $349,000 [MLS]
∙ Pay For 520, But Live Like 800 (With Bonus Points For “Trendyloin”) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
Three At Three Hundred Beale Priced At One Point Three (Nine Five)
Asking $1,595,000 early last October, Embarcadero Lofts #406 was re-listed in February asking the same, reduced by $100,000 two weeks later, and then by another $100,000 two weeks after that. Now asking $1,395,000 as are 300 Beale #609 (listed in February as well) and 300 Beale #611 (listed in March).
∙ Listing: 300 Beale #406 (2/2) 1,686 sqft - $1,395,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 300 Beale #609 (2/2.5) 1,899 sqft - $1,395,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 300 Beale #611 (2/2.5) 1,820 sqft - $1,395,000 [MLS]
∙ You’ve Seen Two, But You Haven’t Seen Them All: 300 Beale #406 [SocketSite]
∙ Loft By Nature, Luxury By Design: Embarcadero Lofts (300 Beale) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
March 20, 2009
A Plugged-In Reader's 12 Notes On The "PC" Approved 333 Harrison
A plugged-in reader's (slightly edited) 12 notes on Emerald Fund's proposal to develop 333 Harrison Street which has been approved by San Francisco’s Planning Commission:
1. The new building will be sandwiched between Bridgeview and One Rincon.
2. Some Bridgeview owners will be adversely affected. The lower level units will lose their views as the new building will be 40 feet away.
3. The building will house rental units.
4. Rents will be expensive: from $ 3,000 to $ 3,500 per month.
5. Approximately [7-stories] high.
6. The units are small, mostly one bedroom units averaging 500 square ft.
7. They will have a great public park, looks like a courtyard.
8. It will take approximately 2 years to complete.
9. One Rincon Hill is not at all affected.
10. The Metropolitan will not be affected.
11. Another nice perk: they will have a dog run (Park South below).
12. They have plans to convert them into condos within 15-20 years (that is what they told us). But, it is most likely much sooner than that time frame.
Design (and all images) by David Baker + Partners Architects.
UPDATE: A bit of clarification on those parks from another reader:
Emerald Fund is not building either park, especially not the dog run at Bryant/Beale. Caltrans is building that one on their own land. Caltrans would only agree to do that if they could sell their Fremont/Harrison parcel for a decent amount of dough, and they will use some of that money for Bryant/Beale.
Cheers.
∙ 685 Units Looking Beyond The Current San Francisco Downturn [SocketSite]
∙ 333 Harrison Street Design: Slide Show [dbarchitect.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (29) | (email story)
March 18, 2009
A Contextual Massing For Transbay Block 8 And Its Environs
You knew it was in the pipeline and you’ve seen the RFP (to which three responded and will compete), now we treat the plugged-in people to an exclusive massing for Transbay Block 8 (in red) and its environs as proposed.
Bragging rights for naming the pipeline buildings, bonus points for probabilities and time.
∙ In The Pipeline For First And Folsom: 550-feet And 600 Units [SocketSite]
∙ Three teams line up to take on Transbay project [San Francisco Business Times]
∙ Transbay Block 8: The Request For Proposals And Basic Design(s) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
March 16, 2009
Live As Big As A Lurie (2100 Pacific Avenue #9 On The Market)
It’s a big (5,190 square feet) full-floor unit affording big San Francisco views (bridge to bridge and beyond) and a "big" San Francisco address (2100 Pacific).
And while there is some debate as to whether or not the Luries ever resided at 2601 Lyon, there's no debate with respect to 2100 Pacific #9 (they did).
∙ Listing: 2100 Pacific Ave #9 (5/5.5) - $9,950,000 [MLS]
∙ Dear Diary, San Francisco Sure Has Changed For Royal Real Estate… [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
March 12, 2009
The Latest Exhibit (And Apple) At Museum Parc: 300 3rd Street #504
A Museum Parc and neighborhood sales comp back in December of 2005 at $660,000 ($740 per square foot), 300 3rd Street #504 was bought back by the bank for $608,811 in December of 2008. And the one-bedroom was just listed for $517,800 ($580 per square).
As an aside, keep in mind that peek-a-boo view of 680 Folsom should be getting better, not worse, over time.
∙ Listing: 300 3rd Street #504 (1/1) - $517,800 [MLS]
∙ Wet Weekend Special (And Scoop): The Designs For 680/690 Folsom [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
March 6, 2009
The Wonderful World Of Warehouse Twos (650 Delancey #112)
The oversized arched window caught our attention while the modern kitchen (with two Sub-Zeros) kept us looking.
The four headed and two-toned (not to mention two-person) shower got a nod.
And one other Oriental Warehouse two we couldn't help note: parking spaces.
UPDATE: A plugged-in comment we couldn't help but highlight:
This unit is the largest unit in the building at approx 1800 sq feet. There's not much of a view out the huge carriage window (unless you like the Brannan gym -- which can be fun), but still a striking space. The mezzanine is large and runs the full length of the unit with a walk-in closet, laundry room/study, and bedroom. I used to own this unit and it is really great to see what the subsequent owners did with it. Great job!
Cheers. And as always, thank you for plugging in.
∙ Listing: 650 Delancey #112 (2/2) - $1,695,000 [MLS]
∙ The Oriental Warehouse (650 Delancey) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (73) | (email story)
March 5, 2009
Cognitive Listing Dissonance At The Watermark (501 Beale #14D)
Originally listed as a Watermark resale for $1,585,000 last July, from a listing later last year: “Views Galore 501 Beale #14D Offered at $1,499,000 Extraordinary price reduction!”
From a listing after that: “Buyers and Agents, now is the time to take advantage of this price!” Asking $1,399,000 at the time.
From the listing today: “Great Opportunity!! Take advantage of HUGE PRICE REDUCTIONs and 1 yr. HOA concession. Motivated sellers!!” Now asking $1,365,000.
And from public records: purchased for $1,303,500 in September of 2006 (not including any incentives). Cognitive listing dissonance (TM) is the first thing that comes to mind.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #14D (2/2) - $1,365,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (42) | (email story)
March 4, 2009
Metreon Makeover Approved, Entrance Rendered And Ready In 2010
From the San Francisco Examiner with respect to the Metreon's makeover:
San Francisco Redevelopment Agency commissioners on Tuesday evening unanimously approved plans by new owners Westfield Group and Forest City Enterprises to rearrange the [Metreon] to better integrate it with the booming museum district neighborhood in SoMa.
Under the approved plans, shops and restaurants will line the outer perimeter of the ground floor; popular New York restaurant Tavern on the Green will occupy the top floor; a food terrace will face Yerba Buena Gardens; and lights will colorfully illuminate the Fourth Street facade.
The successful cinema complex will remain on the third floor.
The Metreon's main entrance (rendered above) will be moved to the middle of Fourth Street, and the made over storefronts "are expected to open in time for the 2010 end-of-year shopping season."
∙ Revamped Metreon slated to be restaurant-centric [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ Another Metreon Makeover: Opening Up And Out To Bring People In [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
March 2, 2009
Unplanned Obsolescence For Transbay High-Speed Station Design?
"San Francisco's planned high-speed rail station in the new Transbay Terminal would be obsolete within two decades, state transportation officials warn, forcing them to rethink the design."
UPDATE: The part of the story that didn't get picked up by the Chronicle according to a plugged-in reader:
The consultants hired from SNCF said two years ago that the box needed eight HSR tracks and at least six (preferably eight) tracks for Caltrain, in order to have smooth operations and minimal potential delays. The CAHSRA purposely ignored them until now because bringing up a design flaw like that would have threatened winning the votes and getting funding in place. All politics, and not necessarily anything wrong with it unless they don't fix the design now.
Perhaps our headline should have read "planned"…
∙ Unbuilt Transbay station could soon be obsolete [SFGate]
∙ While San Francisco Might Get High-Speed Rail, Will The Transbay? [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Terminal Moves Forward, But Payments And Terms Change [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (35) | (email story)
February 24, 2009
Hearst Close To Calling It Quits With The San Francisco Chronicle?
From the San Francisco Chronicle itself:
The Hearst Corp. today announced an effort to reverse the deepening operating losses of its San Francisco Chronicle by seeking near-term cost savings that would include "significant" cuts to both union and non-union staff.
In a posted statement, Hearst said if the savings cannot be accomplished "quickly" the company will seek a buyer, and if none comes forward, it will close the Chronicle. The Chronicle lost more than $50 million in 2008 and is on a pace to lose more than that this year, Hearst said.
And yes, we almost quoted Bloomberg instead. Now about those 3.9 acres of Mid-Market/SoMa land (not to mention readers' designs)...
∙ Hearst seeks changes at Chronicle [SFGate]
∙ A Huge (Potential) Development For The Mid-Market/SoMa 'Hood [SocketSite]
∙ We’re Only Surprised Nobody Has Gone With The Gherkin [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (68) | (email story)
February 23, 2009
Checking In On Two Pacific Heights Apples: 2155 Buchanan Update
Apples-to-apples sales tell us the most about how the market is moving, but non-sales can provide some hints as well.
And while 2155 Buchanan Street #9 is in contract up in Pacific Heights (purchased for $1,000,000 in June 2006, listed for $950,000 in November 2008, last asking $885,000), the listing for the "reduced to sell!" and vacant 2155 Buchanan Street #7 has expired without a sale (purchased for $899,000 in July 2005, listed for $960,000 in August 2008, asking $850,000 at expiration).
Perhaps we’ll soon see a sign in the window for number seven and another unit of rental inventory to be absorbed. We’ll keep you posted on the contract price for number nine.
UPDATE: After 24 hours off the MLS as "expired," the listing for 2155 Buchanan #7 has been turned back on. No adjustment to the price (still asking $850,000) and now an official 186 days on the market (but we'll call it 185).
∙ A Pacific Heights Apple Up In The Tree: 2155 Buchanan #9 [SocketSite]
∙ Another Shot At A Ripening Pacific Heights Apple: 2155 Buchanan #9 [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco Rental Market Weakness: SocketSite Readers Report [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
February 10, 2009
30 Dore Goes The Rental For Sale Route And Offers A Bonus Bedroom?
Going the rental route in 2007, a handful of the 42 units at 30 Dore have been listed for sale by the developer over the past few days.
The floor plan and description for 30 Dore #211 on the developer’s website suggest it's a three-bedroom (with two full baths) for $609,000, while the MLS listing quotes only two (and two). Bonus points to the reader who can reconcile the two.
UPDATE: A plugged-in reader adds, previously asking $3,150 to rent #211 (but no word on what was actually obtained).
UPDATE: And from yet another: "Unit 505 was on the market in mid-2007 for $479,000." That was prior to going the rental route and asking $2,100. Once again offered for sale, only now asking for $439,000.
∙ Listing: 30 Dore #211 (2/2) - $609,000 [MLS] [tbcproperties.com]
∙ Listing: 30 Dore #505 (1/1) - $439,000 [tbcproperties.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
St. Regis Penthouse Now $21,000,000 Off (And No, That’s Not A Typo)
It’s a plugged-in reader that catches a slight change to the asking price for the Penthouse atop San Francisco’s St. Regis (188 Minna). Asking $70,000,000 in August of 2008, now listed on the Sotheby’s website for $49,000,000.
Once again, 20,000+ square feet (including 2,900 of terraces); six bedrooms (including a 2,500 square foot master suite) and seven full baths (four half); a thirteen-seat home cinema designed by Keith Yates; 22 foot floor-to-ceiling glass walls; and six car parking.
Purchased for roughly $30,000,000 as a raw shell in 2005, it’s been three years in the making, and as far as we know there’s still 15% to go (i.e., it’s 85% complete).
Full Disclosure: The co-listing agent for the penthouse atop the San Francisco St. Regis advertises on SocketSite but had no knowledge of this post.
∙ Listing: St. Regis (188 Minna) Penthouse - $49,000,000 [Sotheby’s]
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Asking $70M: Is San Francisco All Growns Up? [SocketSite]
∙ Inside The St. Regis Penthouse: The Rendering Scoop And Details [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (45) | (email story)
February 9, 2009
Association Battle Over Unpaid Bills Brewing At The Beacon?
It’s a pluged-in tipster that directs us to the notices hung in the windows of The Beacon Commercial Association at 266 King (the former Beacon sales office). From the notice:
Please note that the Beacon Residential Association (ROA) is required to pay its share of the project’s Shared Expenses to the Beacon Commercial Association (COA), which manages the common areas of the project. However, with the exception of an insurance payment, the ROA has made no payments to the COA since October 1, 2008. It is currently more than $600,000 behind on its required monthly contributions, and as of February 1, this amount will be nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.
Apparently some “non-essential” building services such as landscaping and janitorial have been terminated, the security vendor has sent a notice to terminate their services, and shutoff notices from PG&E and the San Francisco Water Department have been building up.
The COA believes that a utility shutoff could have dire consequences for the project, including the possibility that large areas of the project might be uninhabitable.
Uninhabitable? Can any plugged-in residents shed some light and assuage some fears?
UPDATE: A plugged-in reader sheds some light on the spat:
The Beacon Commercial Association is purposely spreading disinformation to get leverage in an ongoing spat against the Homeowner's Association regarding the proper allocation of association fees.
Basically, the two sides disagree on how much the HOA is supposed to contribute to the shared budget. My (imperfect) understanding is that the HOA has been overpaying for years because of sloppy accounting by the previous property management company who was used by both the COA and HOA, but favored the COA over the HOA.
When the new property management company discovered the error and tried to balance things out, the COA (but not the HOA) basically fired them and hired their own separate property management company. So now we have two property management companies for the same building. Genius.
Anyway, so the two sides are in mediation or arbitration to figure out who owes what. In the meantime, the HOA has repeatedly offered to pay its share of the budget for stuff like PG&E and the water bill. The COA, however, has refused to accept any payment from the HOA unless the HOA pays the entire monthly association fee that the COA unilateraly contends is owed.
And then the COA turns around and says that the HOA is not picking up the slack on the bills, when in reality, the COA is not letting the HOA pay them in the first place. I believe I heard the HOA has tried to pay PG&E directly, but PG&E didn't want that arrangement for some reason.
This is actually the second time the COA has done this disinformation campaign. The first was over the Christmas holidays, when it posted notices around the Beacon that our gas and water might be turned off at any time due to this "non-payment" issue.
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (48) | (email story)
February 5, 2009
Infinity Sales Update And A Few Additional Details For Tower Two
According to the developer of The Infinity, 295 of the 365 units (80%) in phase one (tower one and the treetops) have closed escrow, up from roughly 255 (70%) in October of 2008. Twenty (20) new contracts have been written in the past 30 days (39 in Q4 of 2008).
More detail on the official starting prices for the 285 condos in tower two (vs. tower one):
One-bedrooms "from the mid $500,000s" (700 to 1,020 square feet)
Two-bedrooms "from the high $700,000s" (1,160 to 1,600 square feet)
Three-bedrooms "from the high $900,000s" (1,630 to 1,740 square feet)
Penthouses T.B.D.
Design changes between the two towers include four penthouse units in tower two (that's a view from the crown jewel #42B below) versus only two in tower one.
Upgraded appliances in the top twelve floors of tower two and cabinetry in the top six.
And one-bedroom corner homes in tower two.
∙ Infinity Tower Two Inventory To Start Selling In January (2009) [SocketSite]
∙ Infinity Sales Update: New Contracts Up But Driven By Discounts [SocketSite]
∙ The Infinity Sales Center: SocketSite’s Inside Scoop [SocketSite]
∙ Infinity Tower Two: "Starting From The Mid $500,000s" This Weekend [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (65) | (email story)
A Million Dollar (Plus) Remodel Of A Multi-Million Dollar Floor Plan
It’s a coveted three-bedroom St. Regis “E” plan (the Gores have one a little higher) that’s been completely remodeled and reconfigured (at a budget of over $1,500,000) to live as a two-bedroom with a rather spectacular master suite (and perhaps the nicest St. Regis master bath we’ve seen).
Modern Art Deco vibe and details throughout inspired by the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph building in view across the way; impressive woodwork (Mozambique veneers, Wenge cabinetry, and unstained walnut floors) and finishes (custom nickel-plated pulls and silver leaf); and if nothing else, some top-notch property porn to peruse.
Tax records indicate an original 2,522 square feet and it’s expected to move from pocket listing to the MLS this weekend with a list price of $5,800,000.
Full Disclosure: The listing agent for 188 Minna #31E advertises on SocketSite but provided no compensation for this post. He did, however, provide a tour and additional information upon our request.
∙ Listing: 188 Minna #31E (3/2.5) - $5,800,000 [StRegisModerne.com]
∙ Conversion Of 140 New Montgomery Moves To Environmental Review [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (39) | (email story)
February 4, 2009
Exposed Brick, Trusses, And Sales Price: 400 Spear Street #205
Asking just over $600 a square foot when we featured it in December ($875,000), Harbor Lofts (400 Spear) #205 closed escrow for a reported $588 a square foot ($845,000) two days ago (leased parking and all).
∙ Exposed Brick And Trusses (And Big Window To Expose Yourself) [SocketSite]
∙ Harbor Lofts (400 Spear): San Francisco Warehouse Conversion [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
February 3, 2009
Infinity Tower Two: "Starting From The Mid $500,000s" This Weekend
A whole host of plugged-in tipsters note that Infinity’s second tower officially opens to the public this weekend. 42 stories, 285 new condominiums, and as every tipster so far has pointed out: "starting from the mid $500,000s." Additional details soon.
∙ Infinity Tower Two Sales Announcement (And A Buyer’s Translation) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (47) | (email story)
The Scoop: Archstone-Smith Negotiating To Acquire Argenta (1 Polk)
The SocketSite scoop three months ago: the 179-unit Argenta (1 Polk) was on the market as an apartment building (constructed as condos). The scoop today: according to a plugged-in tipster, Archstone-Smith is in negotiations to acquire the building and begin renting it out.
From our tipster:
Archstone originally turned down [an] offer to buy The Argenta. The sellers of the property have gone back to Archstone-Smith now, with a lower offer…They are working on hammering out a deal.
Once Archstone closes on the building a leasing office will go in, and rentals will start "immediately" according to my source...
Hard numbers and confirmation when the sale closes (assuming it does).
∙ The Scoop: Argenta (1 Polk) On The Market As An Apartment Building [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
The Unfinished Façade Of 77 Van Ness (And Its 56 Residential Units)
While the façade isn’t quite finished the scaffolding is down from around 77 Van Ness. Once again, it’s 56 potential condos and 21,000 square feet of commercial/retail for lease, but considering the fate of Argenta and Artani perhaps 56 new rental units instead.
∙ 77 Van Ness Rising (And Our Request For A Rendering) [SocketSite]
∙ Argenta's Confirmed And Artani's Rumored, Will 77 Van Ness Be Next? [SocketSite]
∙ The Scoop: Argenta (1 Polk) On The Market As An Apartment Building [SocketSite]
∙ The SocketSite Scoop And Rumor Confirmed: Artani Suspending Sales [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
January 30, 2009
Game, Set, Match To The San Francisco Tennis Club (645 5th)
"Lena Grotz, a club member who has been active with Save Our San Francisco Tennis Club, said the Western Athletic Club is taking over the facility at 645 5th St. and would not only preserve the tennis club, but also expand it. Four of the outdoor, rooftop courts will be covered, and new workout facilities will be built."
∙ Western Athletic rescues the S.F. Tennis Club [San Francisco Business Times]
∙ First Game Pulte (But Many Sets To Go) [SocketSite]
∙ Seven Hundred Fewer Condos In The San Francisco Pipeline [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
January 26, 2009
The Answer: To Comp (555 4th Street #521 Closes Escrow)
The sale of unit #521 at the Palms (555 4th Street) has closed escrow with a reported contract price of $690,000 (with all appliances intact). As we wrote in December:
In August the sale of unit #421 at The Palms (555 4th Street) closed escrow with a reported contract price or $700,000, purchased for $789,000 in 2006. The sale was "subject to lender’s approval," however, so perhaps not a "real" comp.
Then again, as a plugged-in tipster notes 555 4th Street #521 has been on the market for seven months and the price reduced five times. Now asking $699,000 after a month at $749,000, and once again, purchased for $789,000 in 2006.
We’re going with "to comp."
∙ To Comp Or Not To Comp, Perhaps We Have An Answer [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
The Royal Towers Developer’s Unit Returns (1750 Taylor #1701)
As we wrote in our September 2007 scoop:
Originally the developer’s unit, #1701 in The Royal Towers (1750 Taylor) boasts panoramic bridge to bridge (and everything in between) views, as well as the only gas range in the building (yes, it’s good to be the developer). And the 3,300 square foot three bedroom, four and one-half bath coop is now on the market for $7,000,000 (and $3,354 a month).
In contract a month later and closed for what tax records would suggest was around $6.8M (assessed value of $6,854,000 in 2008), the rather incredible (and almost incomparable) 1750 Taylor #1701 is back on the market today and asking $6,500,000. And interstingly enough, it appears the gas range is no longer (but there's now a built-in BBQ). Sweet.
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor #1701 (3/4.5) 3,300 sqft - $6,500,000 [MLS]
∙ The SocketSite Scoop On Two In The Royal Towers (1750 Taylor) [SocketSite]
∙ From Rumor To Reality: The Royal Towers #1201 Gets Listed [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
January 22, 2009
New Year, Listing, And Price (Same Sweet Loft): 540 Delancey #401
If you liked it at $1,150,000 in September, you’ll like it even more today. Now asking $1,098,000 for Cape Horn Lofts (540 Delancey) #401.
∙ Listing: 540 Delancey #401 (1/2) - $1,098,000 [MLS] [openhomesphotography.com]
∙ Cape Horn Lofts (540 Delancey) In General, And #401 In Specific [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (31) | (email story)
A SoMa/Palms Wake Up Call (And Apple): 555 4th Street #401
From a reader’s comment on our topic of the Palms (555 4th Street) in July:
So now there are a fair number of 2/2's in Soma for the 600's. Wake me up when we hit the 500's.
Last week 555 4th Street #401 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $599,900 (that's "high $500’s" in sales speak). A 938 square foot two-bedroom/bath condo with parking at the Palms, unit #401 was purchased in October of 2006 for $779,000, returned to the market a year later seeking $850,000, and was asking $674,900 when it closed [see UPDATE below].
That's an apples to apples drop in value of 23% over the past two and one-quarter years, or average annual depreciation of 11%. Are we awake?
UPDATE: Additional color from a plugged-in reader:
FYI, this unit was indeed an REO. Did anyone see it? I did. The guy that was foreclosed on freaked out, ripped out all the kitchen appliances and sold them on craigslist. Nice Bosch appliances, pick 'em up cheap! At $599,900 the unit was actually a pretty good deal, however if the buyer had waited it out a bit I'm sure it would have come down some more. The price had actually been reduced to $599,900, so it sold at asking.
The line from the listing: "Need minor cosmetic works." (Misplaced "s" theirs not ours.)
∙ The Palms (555 4th St.): Secondary Market Slowdown And Short Sale [SocketSite]
∙ The Palms Finds More Inventory And A Resale Hits The Market [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (55) | (email story)
January 8, 2009
A Floor Higher And $350,000 Less At 333 Bush, Damn Those Neighbors
Of course it’s entirely possible the listing for 333 Bush Street #3701 was intended as a red herring when priced at $1,600,000, then again that was four months ago and the asking price has subsequently been reduced to $1,500,000. Or perhaps 333 Bush Street #3801 really is “priced to sell” at $1,150,000. Only time (and SocketSite) will tell.
In either case, same agent, different expectations (or at least approach), and damn those price setting neighbors. Oh, and 333 Bush Street #4004 which is slightly larger (1,382 square feet versus 1,320) closed escrow on December 1 with a reported contract price of $1,150,000. Just another data point.
∙ Listing: 333 Bush #3701 (2/2) - $1,500,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 333 Bush #3801 (2/2) - $1,150,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (69) | (email story)
January 5, 2009
Another One Rincon Hill ’02 (But More Importantly A Pool)
With a reported contract price of $1,423,500 in August 2008, One Rincon Hill (425 1st Street) #5002 is back on the market and asking $1,595,000. Yes, it’s another infamous "02." And yes, we have the pool.
∙ Listing: 425 1st Street #5002 (2/2) - $1,595,000 [MLS]
∙ One Rincon Hill (425 First Street): Secondary Market Stumbles [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (107) | (email story)
December 29, 2008
Flash Back Forward To Beacon Two-Bedrooms Asking Under $600,000
A tax assed value of just over $750,000; a recorded sale back to the bank three weeks ago for $629,142; and a two-bedroom/bath condo at the beacon that’s now asking $599,900 (and touting “Offers anytime!”). Yes, it's 250 King Street #266 and almost the end of 2008.
∙ Listing: 250 King #266 (2/2) - $599,900 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (39) | (email story)
December 23, 2008
The Relative Value Of Two High-Rise Rentals Around $12,000 A Month
A mid-floor three bedroom, three bath at the St. Regis with a view of One Rincon asking $11,950 a month. Or a high-floor two bedroom, two bath at One Rincon with a view of the Bay Bridge for fifty bucks more ($12,000 a month).
Similar rents but very different values. You make the call.
∙ $11950 / 3br - Rare Corner 3Bed/3Bath at St. Regis! [Craigslist]
∙ $12000 / 2br - Luxury Penthouse Suite @ One Rincon Hill: 2BR 2BA [Craigslist]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
December 19, 2008
Another Non-Comp Comp On The Market At 246 2nd Street (#1003)
In October of 2005 246 2nd Street #1003 sold for a reported $950,000. In April of 2008 the unit was bought back by the bank for $835,783. And yesterday it hit the market asking $689,900.
Previously purchased and owned by the same party that had owned and lost #502. And as plugged-in people know, but industry stats wouldn’t reflect, both condos were purchased with a significant amount of cash back at closing. Let’s hope nobody relied on that sale back in 2005 as a “comp.”
First purchased for $734,500 in the year 2000 when the building was built.
∙ Listing: 246 2nd Street #1003 (2/2) - $689,900 [MLS]
∙ Can Bank Owned Comps Kill (Values)? 246 2nd Street #502 Returns [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (95) | (email story)
December 18, 2008
Sweet Jesus (So To Speak): 601 Dolores On The Market And Inside
A plugged-in reader answers our prayers by directing us to the website for the unlisted but on the market 601 Dolores. Born the Mission Park Congregational Church in 1909 and more recently called the Golden Gate Lutheran Church, 601 Dolores was purchased in 2007 and transformed into a single-family home.
Think complete seismic retrofit; restoration of wood-paneling, original doors, hardware and historic stained-glass; add new mechanical, electrical and four wood burning fireplaces.
"Modern" kitchen, marble baths and a new tower interior with arched mahogany windows and roof-top deck overlooking Dolores Park. Oh, and parking for five. Sweet Jesus indeed.
The price? We're afraid to ask. Let us know if you do.
UPDATE: And you did. Asking $9,950,000.
∙ Unlisted Listing: 601 Dolores - $9,950,000 [castleonthepark.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (83) | (email story)
December 12, 2008
Transbay Transit Center: Groundbreaking Video SocketSite "Premier"
Don’t sweat it if you weren’t invited to the Transbay Transit Center Groundbreaking, we’ve got the next best thing: the groundbreaking video SocketSite "premier."
You know, that video produced by Steel Blue and Neorama that plugged-in people actually had the chance to be immortalized in. Feel free to point yourself out if you are.
∙ So You Want To Be In Renderings… [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Transit Center Groundbreaking, Fat Mike & Infinity All In One [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (35) | (email story)
Exposed Brick And Trusses (And Big Window To Expose Yourself)
One of the larger Harbor Lofts units at 1,438 square feet, 400 Spear #205 sports exposed brick (on three sides), exposed redwood trusses (supporting a 16 foot ceiling), and an oversized picture window (should you care to expose yourself).
Leased parking and asking just over $600 per square.
∙ Listing: 400 Spear #205 (2/1) - $875,000 [MLS]
∙ Harbor Lofts (400 Spear): San Francisco Warehouse Conversion [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
Charlie Sava Pool Status And Design: Eight Lanes Opening In A Week
A plugged-in tipster reports:
The SAVA POOL on 19th avenue [and Wawona] is opening its doors next Saturday - Dec 20th after being in construction for 16 months. Archit Exposed concrete, Ceramic tile and Curtain wall make up the exterior.
Eight lanes by 25 yards with design by Mark Cavagnero Associates & Paulett Taggart Architects to maximize use of natural lighting and ventilation while minimizing impact on the site.
∙ Carl Larsen Park: Charlie Sava Pool Design [SFGov]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
855 Folsom Apple On The Tree: Will It Be Déjà Vu All Over Again?
Purchased for $649,000 on 12/30/2005, 855 Folsom #102 is back on the market three years later and asking $649,000. Will it be déjà vu all over again?
∙ Listing: 855 Folsom #102 (1/1.5) - $649,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (31) | (email story)
December 11, 2008
Transbay Park Potential: Post-Temporary Transbay Terminal (Et Al.)
You know how the site looks now. And you know how it will look for the next six years or so as home to the temporary Transbay Terminal. But do you know how the area might one day look once the Transbay Park and other proposed development takes place?
Plugged-in people can now answer yes (and click the image above to enlarge).
∙ Transbay Transit Center Groundbreaking, Fat Mike & Infinity All In One [SocketSite]
∙ T-Minus Two Weeks Until Transbay Temporary Bus Terminal Start [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Park Plan (pdf) [SFGov]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (29) | (email story)
December 10, 2008
Transbay Transit Center Groundbreaking, Fat Mike & Infinity All In One
A plugged-in reader ties it all together:
Today the City is holding a ground breaking at the site of the future temporary Transbay terminal. The coincidence is that Fat Mike's record label (FatWreckChords) was located in the larger of the 2 buildings that will be demolished in the coming days (200 Folsom).
Also noted (although in a few more words), cater-corner from Infinity.
∙ T-Minus Two Weeks Until Transbay Temporary Bus Terminal Start [SocketSite]
∙ Fat Mike's Phat House Sold (And Once Again, With All Due Respect) [SocketSite]
∙ Infinity Sales Update: New Contracts Up But Driven By Discounts [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
December 9, 2008
One Rincon Hill As A Market Weather Beacon
From a plugged-in reader last month with respect to One Rincon Hill:
The whole thing is illuminated a bright, bright green color all along the water tank. Think the Chrystler building in NY. Looks like a fourth of July lights show. Anyone know what's up?
From the Chronicle today: "Starting at dusk tonight, a band of lights around the top of the One Rincon Tower in San Francisco will turn the building into a weather beacon, glowing amber, blue, red or green to forecast the weather, a bit like a 64-story mood ring."
UPDATE: A decoder card and mnemonic from the good folks at One Rincon Hill:
And with respect to the lights: "Twenty-five, highly-efficient 'colorwash' by Tivoli color-changing LED floodlights were used -- the energy equivalent of lighting your living room. At 25 watts per fixture, they are very low-maintenance and will last for 40,000 hours, which at eight hours per night is about 13.5 years."
∙ Lights atop One Rincon Hill signal S.F. weather [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (44) | (email story)
December 5, 2008
To Comp Or Not To Comp, Perhaps We Have An Answer
In August the sale of unit #421 at The Palms (555 4th Street) closed escrow with a reported contract price or $700,000, purchased for $789,000 in 2006. The sale was “subject to lender’s approval,” however, so perhaps not a “real” comp.
Then again, as a plugged-in tipster notes 555 4th Street #521 has been on the market for seven months and the price reduced five times. Now asking $699,000 after a month at $749,000, and once again, purchased for $789,000 in 2006.
Perhaps the real(ity) is so.
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #521 (2/2) - $699,000 [MLS]
∙ The Palms (555 4th St.): Secondary Market Slowdown And Short Sale [SocketSite]
∙ To Comp Or Not To Comp, The Question Of More Than The Day [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (53) | (email story)
1450 Franklin: The Proposal And "Historic" Preservationist Challenge
Designed by Frederick Meyer and currently home to Cars Dawydiak, 1450 Franklin is proposed to become a 13-story mixed-use building with 69 condominiums (10 studios, 21 one-bedrooms, and 38 two-bedrooms) over two floor of parking and ground floor commercial (with another level of parking underneath for a total of 70 spaces).
And as J.K. Dineen reports, the proposal recently survived a "historic" challenge:
San Francisco Heritage Executive Director Jack Gold said he argued at the [San Francisco Redevelopment Agency Commission] hearing that the single-story building deserves preservation because it is part of the “auto row historic district,” a cluster of early automobile businesses on and near Van Ness Avenue.
“It’s one of a type of auto-related buildings in that neighborhood that represent the flowering of the auto industry in San Francisco,” said Gold.
Score one for the developers as the agency voted unanimously to approve the $30 million project. Budget at least two years to get it built (assuming final approvals and financing).
∙ Developer wins battle vs. preservationists [San Francisco Business Times]
∙ 1450 Franklin: Draft Environmental Impact Report (pdf) [ci.sf.ca.us]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
December 3, 2008
From Graffiti Canvas To Apartment Campus: PHSH Breaking Ground
In 2004 Forest City Development was awarded the Presidio’s Public Health Service Hospital project to redevelop the long abandoned and graffiti filled building into apartments.
The non-historic wings of Building 1801 will be removed together with other non-historic buildings and additions. Up to 133,000 sf will be demolished and new construction consisting of up 35,000 sf at the rear of Building 1801 and a 16,000 square-foot building on Belles Street on the “central green” west of the Wyman Avenue residences may occur. Up to 186 dwelling units will be provided in combination with approximately 76,000 sf of other uses, including offices and cultural/education. More than half of the proposed dwelling units will be studio and 1-bedroom units, which are in highest demand for Presidio-based employees.
And on Friday, Forest City officially breaks ground on 154 units.
∙ Public Health Service Hospital Project [presidio.gov]
∙ SF abandoned Hospital PHSH.org [loupiote.com]
∙ Presidio hospital to be transformed into apartments [Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
December 1, 2008
Harding Theater (616 Divisadero): Developer Throwing In The Towel?
Last week a plugged-in tipster noted for sale signs had been hung, and this weekend 616 Divisadero (a.k.a. the Harding Theater) hit the MLS. In the words of another tipster, “After years of paying debt service and battling with the planning board, the developers of the Harding Theater on [Divisadero] have thrown in the towel….”
It appears that the decaying theater façade will be preserved for the foreseeable future and the auditorium, lobby and storefront spaces will remain unusable. Oh, and the adjoining underdeveloped lot around the corned on Hayes should be safe from becoming eight homes for neighborhood residents, business patrons and taxpayers anytime soon.
∙ Listing: 616 Divisadero - $4,000,000 [MLS]
∙ Harding Theater Development Positive Review Panned On Appeal [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (41) | (email story)
November 26, 2008
The SocketSite Penthouse Plan Challenge: From At To Over The Top
As if the floor plan and 3D rendering submitted by the Lifebox, Steel Blue and NEORAMA team to our unofficial One Rincon Hill penthouse challenge weren’t enough, they’ve taken it upon themselves to render the penthouse design as a slice of the building. And with that we've officially moved from at to over the top.
∙ SocketSite’s Unofficial Penthouse Plan Challenge: Life(box) At The Top [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | (email story)
November 24, 2008
Must Have Limited Income (But Be Able To Afford $710/mo In HOAs)
It’s a Mayor’s Office of Housing two-bedroom unit in the Watermark (which explains the appliances). And while the income restricted price is well below market rate ($287,375), keep in mind the monthly HOA dues are not ($710).
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #5F (2/1) - $287,375 (BMR) [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (29) | (email story)
November 21, 2008
SocketSite’s Unofficial Penthouse Plan Challenge: Life(box) At The Top
A team of plugged-in professionals have responded to our unofficial One Rincon Hill Penthouse Floor Plan Challenge with an official ORH “OMG!” entry. And this time, it’s not only the floor plan above (click to enlarge), but design notes and 3D rendering that follow.
In the words of our plugged-in architect, Thomas Pippin of Lifebox Studios:
I approached the 5,900 S.F. penthouse by identifying the ideal buyer: "The Executive", and then conceptualizing the layout to accommodate his/her particular needs. The office & teleconferencing suite essentially becomes the center-piece. The suite enables the executive to seamlessly conduct business internationally from his/her home, and also embraces the work demands of a part-time assistant managing the executive's philanthropic-based activities.
At first glace, the initial location of living spaces made sense. Due to the eastern skewed perimeter, the largest social gathering potential is in the northwest corner, and is designated as the Living Room. The southeast corner with views to the bay and minimal telescopic invasion lends best use as the Master Bedroom, and also the adjacent two additional bedrooms with similar views and privacy. The remaining spaces fall into place by functional arrangement...
Composing uninterrupted visual pathways between opposite sides of the building sustains a sense of place and orientation for the occupant. A gallery provides ambient views that lead to a prominent master bedroom entry while generating a north/south visual path on the east side. The north/south visual path on the west side is established through a pair of glass doors to the intimate Lounge and could be an optional 3rd bedroom with a private balcony.
The media room and two bedrooms can be closed off from the rest of the house via a large sliding partition for black-tie events allowing the private spaces to remain functional while entertaining. The media room posed problematic western exposures, but after investigating several options, I found other solutions resulted in a hotbed of winding hallways. So I addressed the issue with motorized black-out shades and a heavy drape.
Special consideration has been given to the plumbing locations and incorporated based on the four individual penthouse plans. The master bath and shower take advantage of the bay views. It appears a drain exists at the interior shaded column. I believe the shower could be raised one step to accommodate a post-p-trap tub drain slope and connection.
Since the main entry is located on the North side, the corridor connecting the master bedroom could be privatized but accessible and rated for egress as required. Laundry and pantry room have been located near the service entry for convenient delivery of goods and housekeeping services.
Thank you SocketSite, I've enjoyed the creative exercise and look forward to reading the comments that will follow.
No, thank you. And as if that wasn’t enough, the floor plan as rendered by Kim Chalmers of Steelblue LLC in collaboration with Neorama (once again, click to enlarge):
And no, this isn’t the first time this team has collaborated. Thomas was intimately involved in the design of the Penthouse atop the St. Regis while at Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Design Associates. And it was through that project that our players first met.
Even if you’re not in the market for an eight-figure penthouse, some great ideas to file away. And once again, cheers to all who participated (including Ryan and flaneur), we have rather high expectations of our readers and yet again you didn't disappoint.
∙ The One Rincon Hill Design(s) For The 60th Floor Of Tower One [SocketSite]
∙ Lifebox Studios [lifeboxstudios.com]
∙ Steel Blue LLC [steelbluellc.com]
∙ NEORAMA [neorama.com]
∙ Inside The St. Regis Penthouse: The Rendering Scoop And Details [SocketSite]
∙ The Unofficial One Rincon Hill Floor Plan Challenge: Ryan Responds [SocketSite
∙ The Unofficial One Rincon Hill Floor Plan Challenge: It’s Flaneur Time [SocketSite]]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (48) | (email story)
November 19, 2008
But Keep In Mind, It’s Not Just About The View(s)
As the sun sets (okay, set) over San Francisco we turn to a plugged-in reader’s view from her two-bedroom, two-bath apartment. In the words of our reader:
I felt compelled to send you the picture of my view and tell you how much I pay for it when I saw the [price] the owners of 1200 California #25a are asking for their [one-bedroom] (albeit 30% larger than my place).
I think it would be interesting to compare…the view from $3200/mo rental vs. $2.895M.
Keep in mind that our reader signed the lease on her 965 square foot apartment four and one-half years ago and a comparable unit in the building is asking $4,095 without parking which is valued at $289/mo (and included in our reader’s rent).
And in related 1200 California news, #12D appears to be in contract. Asking $2,295,000.
[Editor's Note: While the sun was setting as we wrote and published, it is indeed rising above. Damn you're tough. And we'd expect nothing less. Cheers.]
∙ Is That A Listing With Big Views (And Price) In Your Pocket Or… [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 1200 California #12D (2/2) 1,850 sqft - $2,295,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
November 17, 2008
Japantown: The Question, The Answer And Your Chance To Embellish
The question: what’s the deal with the development of Japantown?
The answer: while the the Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan continues to move forward, and J-POP is rising, 3D Investments' redevelopment of the Japan Center Mall and Peace Plaza has been pushed back a couple of years. Yes, the economy.
You embellish (if you can).
∙ Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan [SFGov]
∙ The J-POP Center [jpopcenter.com]
∙ The 4 Design Concepts For The Future Of San Francisco’s Japantown [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
November 14, 2008
Harding Theater Development Positive Review Panned On Appeal
From the San Francisco Examiner:
A plan that would have largely gutted the historic Harding Theater and replaced it with retail stores and condos faces a setback after officials sided with dozens of people who asked for a more extensive review process.
The 75-year-old theater has been vacant for about five years....Owners of the building, near Divisadero and Hayes streets, are seeking approval of a plan that would leave the façade and elements of the interior intact, but replace much of the theater with retail, along with an eight-unit condo complex.
Friends of 1800, a neighborhood preservation group, appealed the Planning Department’s [Mitigated Negative Declaration] and asked the Planning Commission for a full review. At Thursday’s hearing, most speakers supported the appeal and all seven commissioners agreed, deciding a full environmental review of the project is due before any further decisions are made.
And from a plugged-in reader:
I live around the corner...and I want the damn thing gone. There are enough struggling small independent theaters around here that adding one more to the pile isn't going to help.
What divis needs is some new business growth, especially in the hayes to fulton section.
The problem is that those of us who would prefer to see it go aren't saying anything to anyone.
∙ Harding Theater plan put on hold [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ Plan For Old Theater: City, supervisor back developer's idea... [SFGate]
∙ Friends of 1800 [friendsof1800.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
November 12, 2008
Inside The St. Regis Penthouse: The Rendering Scoop And Details
It’s a plugged-in tipster that catches a couple of the elusive and exclusive renderings and additional details for the two-story penthouse atop the San Francisco St. Regis.
The numbers: 20,000+ square feet (including 2,900 of terraces); six bedrooms, seven full baths, four powder rooms; 2,500 square foot master suite (including the closet of dreams below); thirteen-seat home cinema designed by Keith Yates; 22 foot floor-to-ceiling glass walls in the living; and four terraces, four fireplaces and six car parking.
Penthouse (and Sex in The This City) worthy design by Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Design Associates. And yes, asking $70,000,000 fully finished. Calling Mister (or Miss) Big.
And forget the housewarming, just get us in for a tour.
UPDATE: Another rendering of the 22-foot ceiling and windows:
And that 2,500 square foot master suite's 525 gallon infinity tub:
And we take it back, let’s not forget those invitations to the housewarming. We’ll be bringing (a lot of) bubble bath. And fins.
[Full Disclosure: The listing agent for the penthouse atop the San Francisco St. Regis advertises on SocketSite but played no part in this post. And yes, we would have featured it regardless.]
∙ Museum Tower Penthouse atop the St. Regis Hotel [gregglynn.com]
∙ St. Regis Penthouse Asking $70M: Is San Francisco All Growns Up? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (67) | (email story)
While San Francisco Might Get High-Speed Rail, Will The Transbay?
While Proposition 1A passed last week giving San Francisco hope of realizing a high-speed rail line, the hope that rail lines will be extended the 1.4 miles from the current Caltrain station at Fourth and King to the new Transbay Transit Center to rise at First and Mission might have taken a hit.
“We do not need First and Mission. I am satisfied with Fourth and Townsend,” said Judge Quentin Kopp, chairman of the High Speed Rail Authority. “We are not going to pay an extra billion-plus dollars to take the high-speed rail an extra 1.4 miles.”
The extension will have to be resolved — and funded — by The City and Caltrain, he said.
In related news, the realization of high-speed rail could help speed the electrification of Caltrain which would greatly benefit the residents of Mission Bay (think diesel noise and pollution).
∙ Transbay Transit Center going off track [San Francisco Examiner]
∙ Transbay Terminal Moves Forward, But Payments And Terms Change [SocketSite]
∙ Caltrain banking on high-speed rail [San Francisco Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (37) | (email story)
November 7, 2008
From A Comment A Year Ago To The Market Today: 3299 Gough
It’s been a while since we’ve talked about 1307 Bay Street. From a plugged-in reader with respect to the building a year ago:
Which unit is the penthouse? I think I know the guy that bought that last, a developer, and gutted it to make it his own private pimp pad.
And from the MLS today:
Full floor Penthouse on the top of a 4 unit building…new doors and windows trimmed in African and Honduran mahogany wood...new Linn high fidelity, integrated sound system in every room and the terrace which provides TV/Video from any of 7 sources (radio, satellite radio, I-Tunes, Satellite TV, CD, DVD), and Cat 5 wiring.
Oh, and a “temperature controlled 'Wine Wall' holding 580 bottles displaying the wine labels to create a unique dining ambiance.” So yes, we're guessing that's the one.
And it is all pretty pimpy. In a damn good way.
∙ Listing: 3299 Gough (3/2.5) - $2,595,000 [MLS]
∙ Damn Those Direct Comps In The Marina (1307 Bay Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
Brugnara Properties Headquarters Headed For Foreclosure?
From a plugged-in tipster today:
351 California is one of the Dollar buildings (forgot which one), later the Pacific Bank Building, and currently the HQ [of] Brugnara Properties. Luke Brugnara is one of the most storied characters in the commercial real estate scene. The building is scheduled for the courthouse steps 14 November with an outstanding loan balance of $33,377,682 per PropertyShark.
From Brugnara seven months ago: "I own 351 California and am not in default."
∙ S.F. real estate player Brugnara indicted [San Francisco Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (34) | (email story)
October 27, 2008
355 1st Street #S2003 Closes Escrow And The Bragging Rights Go To…
We hereby award “Satchel” the official bragging rights for backing into the previous purchase price for 355 1st Street #S2003 at The Metropolitan (around $825,000). While we’ll let “phatty” and “Recent ORH buyer” split the prize for being closest to its most recent: $600,000 (closed escrow on 10/24/08).
And once again it begs the question: if the sale of this unit was a comp (or perhaps a comp for a comp) in years past, should it be now? Keep in mind there were multiple bids. And this wasn’t an auction (where terms can constrain the pool of buyers).
∙ Bank Owned (With Big Views For Now) At The Metropolitan (355 1st) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
October 23, 2008
The Official Argenta (One Polk) Offering Image And Language
The official Argenta (One Polk) offering language and image from a plugged-in tipster:
Cushman & Wakefield of California, Inc. has been exclusively retained to offer qualified investors the opportunity to purchase a 100% fee simple interest in the Argenta, a just completed 179 unit residential tower located at One Polk Street in San Francisco, California. The Argenta offers investors the rare opportunity to enter one of the world's best residential markets. With current market vacancy less than 4%, extremely high barriers to entry, limited new construction and high cost of home ownership, the San Francisco rental market is poised for continued rent growth. As all units are vacant, the new owner has the opportunity to immediately lease the property at current market rents.
Constructed in 2008, the 20 story Argenta includes 18 stories of residential units, three retail units and three levels of parking. The Property was developed with high quality finishes throughout and outstanding tenant amenities including a 1,800 square foot workout facility, video security and electronic key entry, direct parking access and a 600 square foot lounge accessing a large plaza deck.
The Property is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Civic Center district with convenient access to all major transportation modes including BART, San Francisco’s Muni, and the Bay Area bus network systems. BART and Muni are only two blocks from the property (with the CBD being only two stations away) and drivers can easily access onramps to each of the major arterial freeways (Interstate 80/Bay Bridge, Interstate 280 and U.S. Highway 101). In addition, it is a short walk from many neighborhood amenities within Hayes Valley and cultural amenities such as Union Square, The Westfield Center, City Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, Bill Graham Auditorium, the Opera House, the San Francisco Library, and the Asian Art Museum.
The official price to come (we hope).
∙ Comments: Argenta (1 Polk) On The Market As An Apartment Building [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | (email story)
October 22, 2008
The Scoop: Argenta (1 Polk) On The Market As An Apartment Building
A plugged-in reader pings us with a question and then offers an answer before we even have a chance to respond: Argenta (One Polk) has been listed with Cushman & Wakefield to be sold as an apartment building.
And while we don’t yet have the number, according to another source the list price will be a challenge to pencil out considering the potential rents for the location. Keep in mind that the listing doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of moving forward with the sale of individual units. And as always, details when we (or you) have them.
∙ Argenta (1 Polk) Update: Now Coming First Quarter 2009 [SocketSite]
∙ Argenta (1 Polk) Update: The Scaffolding Starts To Get Stripped [SocketSite]
∙ Argenta (1 Polk): Ground Breaking [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
October 17, 2008
Penthouse Number Two Of Three Atop Six Zero One Fourth
We’re not digging it quite as much as number one, but number two is one of only three penthouses built atop the Heublein Building (601 4th Street), so a mention it gets.
And if you buy it, forget the housewarming. Invite us over for a twilight soak.
∙ Listing: 601 4th Street #PH2 (1/1) - $1,099,000 [brendondesimone.com] [MLS]
∙ The Heublein Building Lofts (601 4th Street) [SocketSite]
∙ A Truly Unique San Francisco Space And Penthouse: 601 4th St PH1 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
October 3, 2008
You’ve Seen Two, But You Haven’t Seen Them All: 300 Beale #406
Boffi, Miele, Porro and Agape (the tub above) inside. And yes, Embarcadero Lofts (this time #406). As we said, you’ve seen one (or two), but you haven’t seen them all…
∙ Listing: 300 Beale #406 (2/2) - $1,595,000 [MLS]
∙ Loft By Nature, Luxury By Design: Embarcadero Lofts (300 Beale) [SocketSite]
∙ You’ve Seen One, But You Haven’t Seen Them All: 300 Beale #613 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (34) | (email story)
October 1, 2008
You’ve Seen One, But You Haven’t Seen Them All: 300 Beale #613
A bit more industrial (some might even say loft like) than Embarcadero Lofts #319, 300 Beale #613 should hit the MLS soon.
Penthouse, private corner patio, wood-burning fireplace, two beds, two baths, a decidedly modern kitchen with pear wood cabinetry, and all around 1,800 square feet.
∙ Listing: 300 Beale #613 - $1,649,500 [meredithmartin.com]
∙ Loft By Nature, Luxury By Design: Embarcadero Lofts (300 Beale) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
September 29, 2008
A Quick Cut (And Case Of Cash Back?) For 310 Townsend #308
Priced by the developer at $611,000 when the building first opened in February of 2007, 310 Townsend #308 closed escrow in June of 2007 with a reported contract price of $617,500 (no word on whether we're talking upgrades or another case of “cash back”).
Back on the market two weeks ago with an asking price of $629,000 (a sale at which would have represented average annual appreciation of roughly 1.4% over the past sixteen months), the list price has since been cut to $599,000.
∙ Listing: 310 Townsend #308 (1/1) - $599,000 [MLS]
∙ 310 Townsend: Available And Selling [SocketSite]
∙ Can Bank Owned Comps Kill (Values)? 246 2nd Street #502 Returns [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
September 25, 2008
Transbay Terminal Moves Forward, But Payments And Terms Change
The winning $350 million bid by the Hines/Pelli Clarke Pelli team to develop San Francisco's new Transbay terminal and tower has been cut to $235 million "but would require the real estate developers to pay the money sooner and assume greater risk and carrying costs." From J.K. Dineen at the San Francisco Business Times:
Under the new exclusive negotiations agreement, hammered out between the [Transbay Joint Powers Authority] and developer Hines and equity partner MetLife over the past year, Hines would pay $160 million within 90 days of the project’s entitlement. Hines would then pay $15 million in five $3 million installments, as well as $50 million for the construction for the rooftop park. In addition, the developers would pay the TJPA half a percent of net operating income over 66 years, estimated to be about $10 million.
The reduced purchase price is being driven by timing the TJPA needs to meet certain deadlines. During talks for the exclusive negotiating agreement, Hines indicated that it could not obtain financing for the $350 million until it was able to prelease at least 50 percent of the 1.6 million square feet of office space in the tower, which the developer said would take five years after it received entitlements, which is unlikely to happen before 2010. But under the TJPA’s mandate, the 2015 payoff date would be a problem because the TJPA’s mandate requires it to start construction of the transit center by 2010, and revenue generated from the land sale will partially pay for the transit center.
Paul Paradis, Hines senior vice president, said the revised scenario was not affected by the current credit crisis or Wall Street turmoil. He said the term sheet the TJPA gave developers during the competition always required that the developer and the Transit Authority would need to negotiate an amount of pre-leasing. (Hines beat out Forest City and the Rockefeller Group during the competition, in part by offering a much higher purchase price than the other developers for the land. Forest City had offered $145 million and Rockefeller $129 million.)
Demolition of the current terminal is currently scheduled for 2009 with constuction on the Transit Center (and possibly tower) to begin in 2010, and the first phase to be completed in 2014.
∙ Deal cuts price developer will pay for Transbay land by $115 million [Business Times]
∙ Hines And Pelli Clarke Pelli Bid The Most (And Get The Transbay Nod) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
September 19, 2008
The Height(s) Of Foreshadowing: 1940 Broadway #6 Returns
We’d love to call it foreshadowing (and that we knew), but alas it’s simply a cosmic coincidence (and we didn’t). And while seven months ago we featured the floor plan, and two days ago we made reference, yesterday 1940 Broadway #6 returned to the MLS.
As a plugged-in tipster notes, “After selling a few months back, back on the market for 800k more at 5.19 million (and with a LOT more pictures, drooool...).”
And speaking of foreshadowing, keep in mind that high-end coops aren’t typically fond of flippers or fickle buyers. Might something else be afoot?
∙ Listing: 1940 Broadway #6 (3/4) - $5,191,000 [MLS] [1940broadway.com]
∙ A Few Of Our Favorite Things: Big Windows, Views, And A Floor Plan [SocketSite]
∙ A Lower Floor (Plan) At The Heights: 1940 Broadway #1W [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
Cape Horn Lofts (540 Delancey) In General, And #401 In Specific
Constructed as the Cape Horn Warehouse in 1892, and converted into the Cape Horn Lofts by Thompson Brooks and Pfau Architecture in 1997, 540 Delancey is now home to fifteen upscale “loft type” condominiums.
Purchased for $825,000 in June of 2004 and then remodeled in 2005 (sorry, no apple here), 540 Delancey #401 is back on the market for $1,150,000.
In terms of Cape Horn (and District 9) apples, however, 540 Delancey #203 did close escrow three months ago with a reported contract price of $900,000, purchased in February of 2006 for the same.
∙ Listing: 540 Delancey #401 (1/2) - $1,150,000 [openhomesphotography.com] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (41) | (email story)
August 12, 2008
Exploring The Cost Of Renovating San Francisco's Decrepit Piers
"In 2006, the port and the Exploratorium executed a three-year exclusive negotiating agreement in which the museum would spend nearly $100 million to repair and retrofit the decrepit piers 15-17 and build a new museum. In return, the museum would obtain a 66-year lease that would enable it to move from the Palace of Fine Arts, its home since 1969.
As part of that deal, the museum stood to receive roughly $18.5 million in free rent from the port over about a 30-year period. But construction costs have escalated to $175 million, mainly due to increased pier repair costs, port project manager Jennifer Sobol said.
As part of the new agreement, the museum would get about $30 million in rent credit over a 50-year period, she said."
∙ Exploratorium wants 50 years free rent from port officials [SFGate]
∙ Exploratorium: Embarcadero [exploratorium.edu]
∙ Piers On Which People Can Play (Albeit More With Their Minds) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
August 11, 2008
Putting A Price On Tenant Buyouts (And On The Market): 1890 Clay
The 74 unit Clay Park Tower at 1890 Clay has been on the market for around a month (asking $39,950,000). And it’s a plugged-in tipster that provides some insight into what the Lembi brothers had been offering tenants in their building to move out:
[CitiApartments bought the building two to three years ago] and did extensive renovations to the exterior and vacant units, which hadn’t been touched since the building was built in 1963. There was also tons of deferred maintenance – roof, plumbing, you name it. (The previous owners just used it like a cash cow until it was dry.) Citi then offered “incentives” to buyers to move out, which ranged from $7K-$75K+. They offered us [around $50K] late last year but we stupidly didn’t take it (mostly due to the taxes, because it would be taxed like income). Admittedly, I was holding out for [around $100K] because we have a large floor plan and I thought we could get more.
If people took the buyouts, Citi then would gut the unit, and rent it furnished as short term housing. Looks pretty from far away (hardwood, granite, stainless steel), but as to be expected the workmanship is really shoddy. I don’t really living in the building now because I feel like I’m in a hotel – new people coming and going all the time. Maybe after summer is over it will slow down.
The comment about workmanship is obviously opinion, the figures on buyouts are fact.
∙ Listing: Clay Park Towers (1890 Clay Street) - $39,950,000 [LoopNet]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (117) | (email story)
July 25, 2008
1331-1333 Green In Black And White (In Honor Of Imogen)
Added on to the front of the lot where Imogen Cunningham once had her home and studio (1331 Green). Designed by Paulette Taggart. And now on the market as a TIC.
Interior photos? Coming soon (we hope).
∙ Listing: 1333 Green Street (1/1) - $979,000 (TIC) [MLS]
∙ The Imogen Cunningham Trust [imogencunningham.com]
∙ Paulette Taggart Architects [ptarc.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
July 18, 2008
An “Industrial Chic” Bath In The Mullen Buildings (60 Rausch #204)
We’ve always like the Mullen Buildings. And the “industrial chic” master bath of 60 Rausch #204 is one of the more unique (and industrial) that we’ve seen (in the building).
Tandem two car parking (so you'll have a place to store that SUV). Unfortunately the patio isn't private (especially considering the windows). And while this condo has been on the market for almost two months, the last time we checked there weren’t any photos (obviously that’s changed).
∙ Listing: 60 Rausch #204 (2/2.5) - $989,000 [MLS]
∙ The Mullen Buildings: 52/60 Rausch & 73 Sumner [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
Muy Bien? Proposal To Restore And Develop Adjacent To 706 Mission
Millennium Partners and JMA Ventures have reached an exclusive negotiating agreement with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency to develop the empty 9,000 square foot lot adjacent to 706 Mission Street (the gold Mercantile Building).
The proposed use: a 220-unit condominium tower over the Mexican Museum. From J.K. Dineen:
“Under the proposed scheme, the development team -- a joint venture between Millennium Partners and JMA Ventures -- would build the core and shell of a 35,000- to 40,000-square-foot Mexican Museum at no cost to the museum. The museum would be housed on the lower floors of the condo tower, which will be built on a 25,000-square-foot site on the north side of Mission Street between Third and Fourth streets. The site includes a 9,000-square-foot site the Redevelopment Agency owns and a 16,000-square-foot parcel Millennium and JMA bought in 2006.
The museum and condo tower would be connected to the historic Mercantile Building at 706 Mission St., the 1903 structure with baroque ornamental details that JMA and Millennium Partners own. The height of the residential tower, which is being designed by Mexican architect Enrique Norton and Glenn Rescalvo of Handel Architects, has not been determined; however, a portion of the residential tower will be built over the existing Mercantile Building, according to Amy Neches, project director for the Redevelopment Agency.”
“In addition to building the Mexican Museum, the developers have agreed to establish a $5 million endowment to help the cultural institution establish itself. Also, Millennium and JMA have agreed to pay $22 million into an affordable housing fund in lieu of meeting the city's affordable housing requirements. The payment would be equivalent to making 28 percent of the units below market rate.
While the use of the Mercantile building is still being decided, the ground floor will continue to be retail and will be the entrance to the residential tower. The agency and the developer are also talking to the International Museum of Women about moving that organization to the lower floors of 706 Mission. The upper portion of the 100,000-square-foot building could remain office or become housing. Tenants in the building include Yelp, which recently expanded into 32,000 square feet.
Neches said the non-historic gold brick exterior on 706 Mission would be removed to restore the original exterior.”
And as Neches notes, the negotiating agreement is simply the start of “a long public process of traffic studies, shadow studies and public debate” for the site. Yes, we're talking years.
∙ Millennium Partners, JMA Ventures tapped for tower [Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
July 15, 2008
RandomRumors: Bono Buys Big Atop One Rincon Hill?
Every so often we receive a rumor/tip that leaves us a little stunned. And while most are busted behind the scenes and never make it onto the site, this one we couldn’t resist:
Did Bono buy a penthouse in One Rincon Hill? Can someone verify this? Just really curious/excited as I live there as well…
Well, according to our sources the answer is no. And if that were simply the "on the record" answer we'd usually get a little wink (which we didn't). Now to the real question, who got the rumor going?
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
July 11, 2008
Loft By Nature, Luxury By Design: Embarcadero Lofts (300 Beale)
Designed by Frederick Meyer, founder of the California College of Arts and Crafts and known for his "innovative use of large glass areas," 300 Beale was built for the Coffin-Redington Drug Company in 1937. Sixty years later, Embarcadero Lofts was born with MBH Architects leading the building's conversion into 53 residential lofts.
In 2001 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places (for architecture and engineering). And this weekend, one of those 53 units (300 Beale #319) should hit the market.
The “down to the studs concrete” renovation of this 954 square foot one-bedroom features three hand made 500 pound steel and glass panels by South Park Fabricators (think Sand Studios), and plates of glass which can be individually replaced (not that we would, but think opaque for more privacy).
The luxury kitchen and bath truly are (think Italian marble, Waterworks tiles, and custom cabinets throughout); and the laundry “room” adjacent to kitchen (with Miele washer and dryer) is a nice touch.
No Sunday open houses (nor even Tuesday broker tours), so you’ll have to make do with the photos or make an appointment if you're interested (please don’t shoot the messenger). Be sure to note the Cadillac cloth drapes (yes, as in the car) if you do (make an appointment that is).
[Full Disclosure: The listing agent for 300 Beale #319 advertises on SocketSite. And yes, we would have featured it regardless.]
∙ National Register #01000028: Coffin-Redington Building [noehill.com]
∙ Listing: 300 Beale #319 (1/1) - $845,000 [embarcaderoloft.com]
∙ Sand Studios/South Park Fabricators [southparkfab.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
July 3, 2008
A Beacon One-Bedroom Sells For Over Asking! (And Only 25% Less)
The sale of 260 King Street #957 closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $645,000 ($584 per square foot).
Official industry statistics will report yet another over asking sale (by $100), while we’re left to report a new Beacon “comp” at roughly 25% less than what was previously paid (tax records suggest a price of around $860,000 or $782 per square foot). Do keep in mind, however, that this bank owned sale (note 1) didn’t include any appliances or even many of the fixtures (note 2).
And as always, let's not forget those invitations to the housewarming, we'd love to see what you did with those shades.
∙ Bank Owned (With Big Windows) At The Beacon: 260 King #957 [SocketSite]
∙ Window Coverings: Can You Beat The Heat And Help A Reader Out? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
June 30, 2008
Mini Meltdown At The Metropolitan? (333 1st Street #N1906)
According to the listing, 333 1st Street #N1906 is now a bank owned studio at the Metropolitan with an asking price of $399,000.
And while according to Redfin the 506 square foot #N1906 sold for $885,000 on May 30, 2008 (which doesn’t quite pass our smell test even assuming out-and-out mortgage fraud), according to the Chronicle it changed hands in April of 2005 for $525,000.
And if Cyberhomes is correct, Metropolitan units #N1203, #S1508, and #N1006 are either in foreclosure or headed that way as well.
∙ Listing: 333 1st Street #N1906 (0/1) - $399,000 [MLS] [Redfin]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (90) | (email story)
June 23, 2008
A Concerning Comp (And Empty Shell) At The Ritz-Carlton Residences
Last week #1805 at San Francisco’s Ritz-Carlton Residences (690 Market) closed escrow with a reported contract price of $1,300,000. Not too shabby considering it’s a one-bedroom. But perhaps a bit concerning considering the sales office was asking $1,505,000.
It’s definitely something to consider if you’re interested in #1905 one floor above (still listed by the sales office for $1,525,000), or #1705 one floor below (which “motivated sellers” are now offering for $1,450,000, down from $1,499,000 five months prior).
Also back on the market, the 3,595 square foot penthouse shell known as #2401. Current asking price: $6,500,000 (offered by the sales office for $5,420,000 in 2006).
UPDATE: From a trusted plugged-in tipster: "I've heard that one-third of the Ritz units fell out of escrow. I gather some buyers were upset that the retail space, which was supposed to be a restaurant, will instead be spun off as a commercial condo and sold to a bank. Also, gym has been delayed by quite a bit."
∙ Listing: 690 Market #1705 (1/1.5) - $1,450,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 690 Market #1905 (1/1.5) - $1,525,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 690 Market #2401 (3,595 square feet) - $6,500,000 [MLS]
∙ Reductions And Returns At The Ritz-Carlton Residences (690 Market) [SocketSite]
∙ Ritz-Carlton Residences (690 Market): Listed [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (65) | (email story)
June 20, 2008
One Expensive One-Bedroom In A Beaux Arts Building We Love
We’ve always loved the William Randolph Hearst built Beaux Arts building at 1001 California Street, both in terms of location and style. And as far as we know, the 3,500 square foot #9 was the last unit to change hands eighteen six months ago (12/12/07) with a reported contract price of $2,888,000.
And while unit #8 is only a one-bedroom, it is rather large (1500 square feet) and offers multiple terraces and “views for miles.” Asking $2,495,000 which doesn’t include a parking space or the $2,237 monthly dues. Once again, if you have to ask...
∙ Listing: 1001 California Street #8 (1/1.5) - $2,495,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
June 2, 2008
Transbay Terminal Zoning Presentation And “Urban Form Simulations”
If you missed the road show, the San Francisco Planning Department’s presentation for proposed zoning around the Transbay terminal is now online.
Included in the presentation are “Urban Form Simulations,” a series of Downtown views from 17 different vantage points throughout San Francisco (including Alamo Square, Union Square, Dolores Park, Twin Peaks, and the Golden Gate Bridge) which are rendered with Transit Tower massings under five different zoning scenarios: existing, 850’ max, 1000’ max, and 1200’ max (without and with neighboring proposals).
∙ Transit Center District Plan Simulations [SFGov]
∙ Transit Center District Plan Workshop: Initial Ideas Tonight (4/30/08) [SocketSite]
∙ Proposed Piano Parcels (Including 50 First Street) On The Market [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
May 23, 2008
The Holy Hotness Of Firehouse 44 (3816 22nd Street) Hits The Market
Of course plugged-in people already know its history, knew it was coming, and had an idea of what to expect. And now it’s here. The most striking element of the renovated Firehouse 44: a "4-story glass and reclaimed lumber staircase atrium."
And if 3816 22nd Street (a.k.a. Engine Company No. 44) sells for within $1,000,000 of what they’re asking ($6,375,000), it could set a new price record for single-family homes in Noe Valley (although not in terms of price per square foot).
∙ Listing: 3816 22nd Street (4/4.5) - $6,375,000 [MLS] [Property Website]
∙ Holy Hotness, History, And Home: Engine Company No. 44 Returns [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (48) | (email story)
May 19, 2008
Infinity Penthouse Unit 37B: Before And After (And The Budget)
According to Damion Mathews of SFLuxe, Gurbaksh Chahal ("G") spent $6,900,000 to purchase Infinity penthouse unit 37B and another $1,000,000 upgrading the 3,355 square foot condo (a quarter of which was budgeted for the flooring alone).
Interior design by Vaso Peritos with before and after photos for the project available online but no specific accounting (financial or otherwise) for the many monograms throughout.
∙ Inside G’s Infinity Penthouse [SFLuxe]
∙ Infinity High Rise Penthouse 37th Floor: Before and After [Vaso Peritos]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (118) | (email story)
May 5, 2008
JustQuotes: Record Sale Price For Edgewater Apartments On Berry
"Colorado-based apartment real estate investment trust paid $115 million for a recently completed Mission Bay apartment complex, a deal that shattered price-per-unit records for a major multi-family property in San Francisco.
UDR, formerly known as United Dominion Realty Trust, shelled out $595,855 per apartment, or $730 a square foot, for the recently completed 193-unit Edgewater Luxury Apartments at 355 Berry St., north of the channel in Mission Bay.
The seller was the apartment developer Urban Housing Group, which spent five years entitling and constructing the property before opening it in August 2007. Urban Housing fully leased the building in four months, beating projections by five months."
∙ Edgewater's $115M price shatters records [Business Times]
∙ Edgewater Apartments (355 Berry): An Overview And Pricing [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
May 2, 2008
The Power (Or Perhaps To The Power) Of Three: 2000 Washington #A
Three bedrooms, three (and one-half) baths, three parking spaces, and three cheers.
One full floor, one of only seven cooperative units in the Conrad Muessdorffer designed building, and one “if you have to ask” price ($6,250,000) with dues to match ($2,285/mo).
∙ Listing: 2000 Washington Street #A (3/3.5) - $6,250,000 [MLS]
∙ Architect: Conrad Alfred Meussdorffer [sfhistoryencyclopedia.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
Bank Owned (With Big Windows) At The Beacon: 260 King #957
You’ll have to budget for a few kitchen appliances, and don’t forget about that southern sun (or rather its heat), but if you have your heart set on living at The Beacon you might want to take a look at 260 King #957. Corner unit, big windows, over 1,100 square feet, and now bank owned and listed at $584 per square foot ($644,900).
Tax records would suggest a previous sale of this very unit (and previous building comp) at around $782 a square foot ($860,000). And four other one-bedrooms at 260 King are currently on the market from $690 to $857 (a square).
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #957 (1/1.5) - $644,900 [MLS]
∙ Quite Literally At The Beacon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (37) | (email story)
April 11, 2008
Holy Hotness, History, And Home: Engine Company No. 44 Returns
Built by the McSheehy Brothers in 1909, 3816 22nd Street served as home to San Francisco’s Engine Company No. 44 (and their horses) for fifty years.
In 1959 the firehouse was sold to Mark and Beth Adams who maintained the firehouse in relatively original condition but employed the space as a private residence and artists’ studio for the next forty.
Purchased in February of 2006 for $2,100,000 (while listed for $2,695,000), the firehouse will soon return to the market after a multi-year renovation and expansion (think new second floor) of what was roughly 3,700 square feet of living space (original floor plans).
We have yet to see the new interior, but it promises to be a “clever mix of modern and original details" including a glass and reclaimed lumber staircase; original spiral staircase, copper and zinc doors; gourmet “loft” kitchen; and observatory tower with 360 degree views. Pricing? It's currently “upon request," but according to a plugged-in tipster:
I spoke to the developer…probably 10 months ago and he said it could possibly set a record price for a SFH in Noe Valley (who knows what has transpired [since] then, but for what it's worth).
And yes, we're fired up (ba-dump-bump) with fingers crossed to see what they've done with the space.
∙ Engine House 44 [New Website] [Last Listing] [Original Detail] [Original Floor Plan]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
Additional Details To Go With The Glassy Design: 680/690 Folsom
Additional details on the redevelopment and redesign of 680/690 Folsom we showcased in February:
Two floors are being added to the 12-story structure and the floorplates will be expanded as well, pushing the edge of the building toward Folsom Street. The glass, steel and granite lobby will have 30-foot ceilings with floor-to-ceiling glass and a floating staircase.
All told, the rehab will increase the building from 400,000 square feet to 505,000 square feet, with 440,000 square feet of office and 10,000 square feet of retail at 680 Folsom St. (formerly called 666 Folsom) and 55,000 square feet of offices at the abutting 50 Hawthorne St.
The ground floor will have a restaurant and TMG is in early talks with the Museum of Performance & Design -- formerly the San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum -- which is interested in moving from the Veterans Building in the Civic Center.
∙ Reinvention under way at Third and Folsom [Business Times]
∙ Wet Weekend Special (And Scoop): The Designs For 680/690 Folsom [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
April 2, 2008
Master Bed, Half-Bath And Beyond Bracing (650 2nd Street #601)
From a tire warehouse (Goodrich) in 1923, to a booze warehouse/office (Seagrams), to a printing plant and corporate headquarters (George Lithograph Company), to twenty-four (24) live/work lofts in 1996, 650 2nd Street is a true conversion building.
Which should help explain the half-bath in the master suite of #601 (with the two full baths a floor below). And the not so subtle seismic bracing in the living room as well.
∙ Listing: 650 2nd Street #601 (2/2.5) - $1,695,000 [650secondstreet.com] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (49) | (email story)
188 King Street #305 Returns To The Market (And Is Quickly Reduced)
Originally offered by the developer in May of 2006 for $925,000 (and purchased for said amount according to tax records), 188 King #305 returned to the market a month ago with a list price of $869,000. And two weeks later, that list price was reduced down to $849,000.
As you might recall, it was eighteen months ago that we calculated that only seven of the 44 condos that compose 188 King Street had been sold on the open market despite “multiple releases” and five additional units being advertised as “sold” for marketing purposes (but retained by the developers).
And keep in mind that unsold units ended up becoming rentals (which could affect financing), and a week after the sale of #305 closed escrow the developer cut prices by up to $100,000 (which still didn't manage to move the sales needle at the time).
∙ Listing: 188 King Street (1/2) 1,123 sqft - $849,000 [MLS]
∙ 188 King: Phase I Pricing [SocketSite]
∙ 188 King Street: The Rents [SocketSite]
∙ The Scoop On 188 King Street: Now Selling Leasing [SocketSite]
∙ Price Reductions At 188 King [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
March 24, 2008
Going Once, Going Twice (For Real?*) At Shore|Line: 41 Federal #42
From a list price of $939,000 to $869,000 to $850,000 to $830,000 to $813,400 to $797,150 to an auction this Wednesday (3/26/08) at 4:15 PM.
As you might recall, 41 Federal #42 had been offered by the developer for $850,000 sixteen (16) months ago before being purchased and then lost to the bank. The opening bid this week will be $100,000*. Care to forecast the final price?
And in case you didn't catch it, our 41 Federal headline almost three months ago: “Going Once, Going Twice…Going Five Times At Shore|Line: 41 Federal.” Boo.
*UPDATE (Redux): While we originally noted the lack of a “reserve” price and intimated that “it will sell,” it appears as though ex SF-er correctly parsed the auction's "subject to approval" language, and tipster demonstrates how being the highest bidder isn't always high enough.
∙ Real Estate Auction: 41 Federal #42 [williamsauction.com]
∙ Seller Motivated Drastic Price Reduction Penthouse Unit [SocketSite]
∙ And Now We’re Back Below Where We Started [SocketSite]
∙ Savings At Shoreline (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
∙ Going Once, Going Twice…Going Five Times At Shore|Line: 41 Federal [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (40) | (email story)
March 13, 2008
Another Apple Speaks On The Edge Of Nob Hill (1635 California #33)
Four months ago we pointed it out as “another apples to apples comp in the making." And while 1635 California is on a busy street, and we’ll be the first to admit that the layouts aren’t exactly spectacular (which we actually noted two years ago), nothing about the location nor the building has recently changed.
That being said, the 36 condos at 1635 California Street first hit the market two years ago and based on tax records it appears as though unit #33 sold for right around $780,000. Twenty months later 1635 California #33 hit the resale market for $795,000 (a sale at which would have represented 1% annual market appreciation) but was subsequently reduced to $749,000. And just last week, the sale of condo #33 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $740,000.
A sale at $740,000 represents annual market depreciation of right around 3% over the past two years which might surprise some. But it's probably not going to surprise a plugged-in “PotreroResident” who four months ago commented, “Based on my analysis of this building, this unit is most likely worth about $740-750k, at best.” On the record and on the money (at least for today).
∙ Another Apples To Apples Comp In The Making (1635 California #33) [SocketSite]
∙ 1635 California Street [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
March 12, 2008
The Newest Comp For A Two-Bedroom Condo At 246 2nd Street
Last week the sale of the bank owned 246 2nd Street #1302 closed escrow with a reported contract price of $775,000. That's roughly $125K below what #902 sold for late last year; roughly “$150K Below Last Sales Comp in Building!”; and exactly $220K below what the seller of #502 is currently asking.
Granted, #502 also offers a 600 square foot deck, but with roughly 50 fewer square feet of indoor space as compared to the other two. And all three appear to share the same quality of finishes.
Damn those unemotional sellers to hell. And once again, “that’s not likely to be a neighbor(hood) pleaser.”
UPDATE: As a plugged-in reader notes, with a notice of default in hand, #502 appears to be on its way to being bank owned as well.
∙ One Part Bank And One Part New Building, But Any Parts New Market? [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 246 2nd Street #502 (2/2) - $995,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (41) | (email story)
March 11, 2008
Some Relative Perspective On The Position Of The Transbay Project
Neither Millennium (M) nor 555 Mission might appear in most (any?) of the initial design renderings for the proposed Transbay Terminal and Tower by Pelli Clarke Pelli, but at least we can offer some perspective on where the buildings (will) lie.
And if you currently park in either of the surface lots between Natoma and Minna and didn't know that they were going away, please don't shoot the messenger.
∙ Millennium Tower San Francisco (301 Mission): Sales Update/Facts [SocketSite]
∙ A Virtual Tour Of 555 Mission Street (And Downtown San Francisco) [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal: Website And Community Meeting [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
March 10, 2008
San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal: Website And Community Meeting
The Pelli Clarke Pelli website dedicated to their proposed Transbay Terminal, Tower and City Park has added a number renderings, charts, and animation since the last time we looked.
And according to a plugged-in reader (and NBC11), a community meeting and update on the terminal by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) is scheduled for 6PM tonight (3/10/08) at the Calvary Presbyterian Church (2515 Fillmore Street).
∙ Transbay Transit Center And Tower: Pelli Clarke Pelli [pcparch.com]
∙ SF To Hold Meeting On Tallest Skyscraper On West Coast [NBC11]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
March 1, 2008
An Outstanding View (And Story Of Spite): Atop 947 Green Street
We’re not going to make a habit of publishing on the weekends, but we do prefer to kick them off with an outstanding view and perhaps a little history (if not levity).
[947 Green Street] is known as the "spite building." (Not to be confused with the 30-foot "spite fence" that Charles Crocker built around the property of Nicolas Yung in the Nob Hill block that currently houses Grace Cathedral. Yung was the only holdout in Crocker's mansion block and refused to sell his small property to Crocker.)
The owner of 1000 Vallejo Street built this building to protest the loss of northern and northwestern views from 1000 Vallejo Street by the building at 945 Green Street. The building is L-shaped and higher than 945 Green. It blocks the eastern and southeastern views of 945 Green. The best perspective to understand this is to view the back of 947 Green from the balustrade at 1020 Vallejo Street.
This is a beautiful building with many full-floor condominiums. Elevators open into elegant foyers. The ceilings are high, rooms are large, underlying details are exceptional, and the views are outstanding.
And hey, if you're going to live in the "spite building," you might as well live at the top.
∙ Listing: 947 Green Street #10 (2/2) - $5,000,000 [San Francisco Properties]
∙ Russian Hill Green Street/Macondray Lane Walk [Russian Hill Neighbors]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
February 23, 2008
Wet Weekend Special (And Scoop): The Designs For 680/690 Folsom
A plugged-in tipster brightens our weekend (and hopefully yours) with a current shot of 680/690 Folsom (above) and the scoop on what’s to come via a redesign (below).
As out tipster notes, “this is the two-story old Pac Bell service garage on the 3rd & Folsom corner and the office building next to that,” and it's the “greener view in the works for some at BLU” (and Museum Parc) that we pointed out last year.
Credit goes to TMG partners for the (re)development vision, and SOM for the (re)design.
∙ A Greener View In The Works For Some At BLŪ (And Others) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
February 22, 2008
Conversion Of 140 New Montgomery Moves To Environmental Review
It was nine months ago that the news broke about Meany Sullivan’s purchase of the 26-story Pacific Telephone Building at 140 New Montgomery with plans of converting it from an office building to “a five-star hotel and condominium tower, with a spa, restaurant and bar.” And according to a plugged-in tipster that lives nearby (and in the picture), the project's environmental review notice is making its rounds.
The proposed project is a seismic retrofit and a conversion of the approximately 377,000-square-foot, historic Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. Building from office to residential use. The proposed project would contain approximately 135 residential units on the 2nd floor to the 26th floor of the building for a total of about 368,000 square feet of residential space, and an approximately 8,500 square foot restaurant on the ground floor. The height of the building would remain unchanged. An existing below-grade parking garage, accessible from Natoma Street, would be used to accommodate up to 70 valet-parked cars. The proposed project would also include construction of a single-storey horizontal addition to the building on an existing parking lot on the south side of the building to support the residential use.
Also noted by our tipster: "There's no mention...if this is a watered down version of the 5-star-luxury hotel residence that was mentioned last year, but it's good to hear that the building will hopefully eventually move away from being derelict!"
Now about that "You didn't hear it from me...The Waldorf-Astoria, San Francisco" comment a reader left last May...
∙ Another Office To Hotel/Condo Conversion: 140 New Montgomery [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
February 8, 2008
A Little Bit Of SOHO Down In SOMA Take Two (357 Tehama #2)
If you liked the vibe of the building (and can get past the fear of vibrations), another full-floor loft at 357 Tehama is now on the market.
And while number three was more our style (and has since sold), number two is listed for $500,000 less (but only $125,000 under number three's eventual sale price).
∙ Listing: 357 Tehama #2 (3/2.5) - $1,995,000 [MLS]
∙ A Little Bit Of SOHO Down In SOMA (357 Tehama And #3) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
A Few Of Our Favorite Things: Big Windows, Views, And A Floor Plan
It’s a full floor co-op on the sixth floor of The Heights (1940 Broadway)…
…with classic big windows (and views)…
..and a nice big floor plan to peruse.
∙ Listing: 1940 Broadway #6 (3/4) - $4,350,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (43) | (email story)
January 29, 2008
A Remodeled Hit In The 1980's Era 101 Lombard Street Development
The individual condos can be hit or miss, but we do find the 1980’s development (101 Lombard) to be underrated in terms of location, views, and setting (not to mention that it’s currently undergoing some major capital improvements).
And while we haven’t seen its views, and perhaps it’s simply all the wood and styling of the living room, we’re leaning towards “hit” for #405W.
UPDATE (4/2): 101 Lombard #405W closed escrow on 4/1/08 with a reported contract price of $1,190,000 (3.2% under asking).
∙ Listing: 101 Lombard #405W (2/2) - $1,229,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
January 25, 2008
One Rincon Hill: A Remembrance Of Its Clock Tower Past
We’re not fans of One Rincon Hill’s white stripes (although we rather like the band). And we do believe that more could have been done with the design (assuming the city would have acquiesced). But at the same time, we also believe that critiquing the design prior to the completion of both towers constitutes an unfair rush to judgment. And that it's worth remembering the architecture (and use of land) that graced this site not too long ago.
∙ One Rincon Hill: Another Fontana Or Transamerica In The Making? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (37) | (email story)
January 18, 2008
The New Designs For The Old Levis Strauss Factory At 250 Valencia
No, it’s not in the process of being turned into condos (not that we’d necessarily object), but rather it’s soon to be the new campus of the San Francisco Friends School.
Purchased by the Friends School in 2005, the former Levi Strauss factory at 250 Valencia was opened in 1906 (to replace factories lost in the quake), “averted layoffs and kept employees working to install a new wooden floor” during The Depression, and finally closed its Levis Strauss related doors in 2002.
And as Curbed correctly notes, it’s Pfau Architecture that has been leading the "sustainable" re-design of the 84,000 square foot building and 10,000 square foot open space out front.
∙ San Francisco Friends School [sffriendsschool.org]
∙ New Friends on Valencia Street [SFCurbed]
∙ Pfau Architecture [pfauarchitecture.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
January 16, 2008
And Now Back To The Hugo Hotel (And Eminent Domain On Sixth)
With an assessed tax value of $474,894 (despite an estimated value of at least $3,250,000), and a yearly tax contribution of only $7,269.58, yesterday’s post concerning the Hugo Hotel quickly turned into a debate over propostion 13 (which we’ll let rage on).
But for those who might be more interested in a discussion about the actual building, we'll offer up a select few comments to get things started:
“Patel cites the building's 50-foot height restriction as a way for the city to keep her property's value low. "It is unfair that I don't have the same development opportunities as everyone else," she says by way of explanation for the property's dilapidated state.”
“They've always marketed the building touting it's high zoning height limit which is just absurd. It's barely feasible to develop in a sketchy location like that and it gets less feasible the taller the building as your development costs go way up when you switch from wood frame to concrete and steel construction at over 4 stories.”
“The reason this eyesore remains is that David Patel is impossible to deal with. The last time I tried, he said he wanted $50,000 up front to talk.”
“Practically the entire south of market has a 50' height limit, and it has for decades. Drop all your conspiratorial theories. In fact, the Planning Dept has proposed raising the height limit in that vicinity to 85'.”
And now back to the building in specific (or at least eminent domain in general).
∙ JustQuotes: Eminent Domain For Affordable Housing On Sixth Street? [SocketSite]
∙ Artwork for sale, and so is building [SFGate 9/06]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
January 15, 2008
JustQuotes: Eminent Domain For Affordable Housing On Sixth Street?
"A push to replace a vacant building with furniture famously bolted to its walls on Sixth and Howard streets with housing and stores will be discussed today by The City’s redevelopment agency, which is considering legal efforts to forcibly purchase the property.
The 144-room, 99-year-old Hugo Hotel has been empty since it was gutted 20 years ago by fire, according to a city staff report for today’s meeting. In April, the redevelopment agency offered to buy the property for $3.25 million, but it was turned down by the Oregon-based owners, who sought $7 million, according to the report.
Redevelopment agency Executive Director Fred Blackwell said the hotel blights a key corner of the Sixth Street corridor and should be turned into affordablehousing units with stores at street level." (City may use eminent domain to claim historic hotel)
Posted by socketadmin at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (78) | (email story)
January 11, 2008
Bank Owned At The Beacon: 260 King #613 (And Another On Its Way)
260 King Street #613, a one-bedroom at The Beacon, is now “bank owned." It's currently on the market for $552,900 or $680 per square foot. And although tax records show an assessed value of $567,018, it would appear that the bank “bought it back” for $609,117 this past November.
At the same time, there are another four one-bedrooms at 260 King Street which are currently listed on the MLS with prices ranging from $726 to $931 a square foot. And of the two one-bedrooms listed at 250 King (which is also a Beacon address), one (250 King #410) is "subject to short sale approval" with a "motivated" seller.
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #613 (1/1) - $552,900 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 250 King Street #410 (1/1) - $625,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
January 8, 2008
Walkthroughs At Infinity: A Chance To Share Your Impressions
From a plugged-in reader and contract holder at Infinity:
I'm an infinity buyer and recently received a call from the sales office to come in for my walkthrough...It would be great [to allow readers] to post their experiences with their particular walkthroughs: impressions, problems, surprises, etc. With a good number of responses, it could serve as a nice tool for those of us who have not yet done our walkthrough.
Great idea and consider this the community’s opportunity. An extra special thanks to any plugged-in readers who choose to forward a photo or video to share (tips@socketsite.com). And yes, off topic comments will be summarily censored deleted without apology (and we’ll provide a similar opportunity for buyers at One Rincon Hill tomorrow today).
Oh, and not to spoil the surprise for the buyer(s) of #28A, but that’s the actual view from your unit above (and let's not forget those invitations to the housewarming(s)).
∙ The Infinity: The “Official” Dates And Update (8/24/07) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
January 7, 2008
If You’re Going To Live At The Summit, You Might As Well Live Large
What once was a two-bedroom is now a one-bedroom at The Summit (999 Green #1204).
And while the listing (which was recently reduced by $55,000) includes two proposed floor plan alterations for reclaiming the second bedroom (although at least one appears to omit a requisite closet), we’ll also note that #1205 is on the market as well.
Forget trying to reclaim that second bedroom, if you’re going to live large at The Summit, why not buy both condos and figure out a way to make them one? And at the very least, might we suggest investigating alternate fire rated glass solutions for the dining room?
It’s a crime to taint that view. (Or should we say it feels almost criminal...)
∙ Listing: 999 Green #1204 (1/2) - $2,195,000 [999Green1204.com] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 999 Green #1205 (1/1) - $1,275,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
January 4, 2008
Going Once, Going Twice…Going Five Times At Shore|Line: 41 Federal
We didn’t bother to mention it when the list price on "penthouse" unit #42 at Shore|Line (41 Federal) was dropped from $830,000 to $813,400 this past November. But along with its fifth price reduction yesterday (from $813,400 to $797,150), comes another mention today.
To recap, over the course of the past ten months the list price for this modern condo “in the heart of South Beach” has dropped from $939,000 to $869,000 to $850,000 to $830,000 to $813,400 to $797,150. And apparently it ended up being owned by the bank (REO) along the way.
And once again, while asking 15.1% less than ten months ago might simply speak to a change in expectations, it’s the fact that it’s now listed at $52,850 (6.2%) under what was last being asked by the developer fourteen (14) months ago that just might speak to a change in the market.
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #42 (1/1.5) - $797,150 [MLS]
∙ And Now We’re Back Below Where We Started [SocketSite]
∙ And Now We’re Back Where We Started At (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
∙ Seller Motivated Drastic Price Reduction Penthouse Unit [SocketSite]
∙ Savings At Shoreline (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (81) | (email story)
January 3, 2008
The (Re)Development And Design Of 1198 Fillmore And 1345 Turk
While the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency is seeking RFP’s from developers interested in restoring and repurposing the long vacant two-story brick Muni Substation at the southeast corner of Turk and Fillmore (1198 Fillmore to be exact and the big pink rectangle above), it’s actually the new David Baker + Partners designed development that's in the works next door (1345 Turk Street) that we’ve been keeping our eyes on.
The project consists of 32 affordable condominium units (1, 2, and 3 br). Buildings will be two-to-three levels of wood frame, Type V construction over a concrete Type I podium. An at-grade parking podium includes 62 spaces to accommodate residential and commercial needs. A double height lobby with a stair and elevator will serve as the main entrance to the project. Site work includes a landscaped courtyard on the podium, sidewalk planting and improvements, and landscaping along the Turk Street frontage. The project will be constructed in a single phase. Site area is approximately 0.61 acre and includes a loading area easement for the MUNI Substation Site. The Substation Site itself is not part of this project.
And for those neighboring residents who might be concerned about the preferred reuse of the Muni Substation as a music venue, don’t fret: “Because townhomes will be constructed on the east side immediately adjacent to the Muni Substation, special measures will need to be taken to provide for sound insulation that provides an aesthetic complement to the interior design scheme.”
∙ 1345 Turk Street: Conceptual Renderings [SFGov]
∙ RFP: Adaptive Restoration and Reuse of the Muni Substation Building [SFGov]
∙ City looks to jazz up historic building site [Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
December 27, 2007
JustQuotes: Putting On The Ritz-Carlton Residences On The Spot
"As long as you don't look up, the restoration of San Francisco's de Young Building is the architectural feel-good story of the year.
Eleven stories of ruddy sandstone and brick command the corner of Kearny and Market streets every bit as robustly as they did in 1890, when the building that then housed The Chronicle opened as the tallest tower on the West Coast. You'd never guess that for 40 years the walls were hidden behind drab metal panels with a pseudo-modern look.
Unfortunately, the story doesn't end with a dowager's face-lift. To finance the rebirth, city officials let the developer put a tower in back. And that addition is so uninspired it almost undoes the good work below." (S.F.'s restored de Young building stunning at street level)
Posted by socketadmin at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
Largest, Highest, And Least Expensive (Studio) At Baycrest Towers
We don't have any insight into the relative merits of these three. But we will note that 201 Harrison #924 hit the market last week at $375,000 which makes it the least expensive ($375,000 versus $384,900 and $435,000), largest (432 versus 410 and 347 square feet), and highest floor (ninth versus third and first) studio condo currently on the market within Baycrest Towers. Or in agent speak, "Priced to sell. Motivated seller."
∙ Listing: 201 Harrison #122 (0/1) 347 sqft - $384,900 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 201 Harrison #324 (0/1) 410 sqft - $435,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 201 Harrison #924 (0/1) 432 sqft - $375,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
December 26, 2007
JustQuotes: We The People Do Want Our Federal Building Views
"Even though [San Francisco's new Federal Building] at Seventh and Mission streets was designed to allow Jane and Joe Citizen to explore the lobby and an open-air "sky garden" that starts on the 11th floor, some agencies inside want to keep us out.
Yes, there's a guard at the entrance. Individual agency offices can't be entered without keys or automated codes. But at least one department isn't satisfied with the security, so it wants more.
Officials promise that We the People will have access. "One of the goals of the building is that people should be able to flow in and enjoy the public spaces," says Gene Gibson, the Pacific region spokeswoman for the General Services Administration. "We want this to happen as soon as we can."" (How's it going? Updates on Bay Area's big building projects)
∙ Morphosis: United States Federal Building [arcspace]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
December 17, 2007
And Yes, A Few Kinky Condos Could Hypothetically Be Coming Soon
While Kink’s window restoration project for the San Francisco Armory has been replacing boarded-up and broken windows for the first time in 30 years, and the building might actually be feeling a bit festive (rather than altogether abandoned), it’s the hypothetical "Kink condos" that seem to be getting all the attention.
“Porn producer Peter Acworth, who bought the 93-year-old Mission Armory and turned it into a porn video studio, has approached the city Planning Department with the idea of converting some of the building into kinky condos - complete with Webcams for all the world to see.”
"My discussions with the Planning Department have been extremely hypothetical to say the least," Acworth said via e-mail. "There is no firm plan for using the Armory for anything but a conventional film studio for now."
We could be wrong, but it sounds more like an inquiry into establishing live-in film studios rather than condo development per se. And while we could be wrong again, it seems as thought the corner of Mission and 14th has been getting better (rather than worse) since Kink acquired the ailing armory.
∙ Porn prince wants to build kinky condos in Armory [SFGate]
∙ From (Proposed) Condos To Kink [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
December 5, 2007
The Penthouse Of Penthouses Hits The Market At The Four Seasons
It’s not on the first floor of the San Francisco Four Seasons’ penthouses (the 38th floor equivalent). Or the second (the 39th floor equivalent), or even the third (the 40th floor equivalent). No, this is Grand Penthouse A (#GPHA) which is on the equivalent of the 41st floor and above all the others (at least in terms of height) at 765 Market Street.
It's also 4,336 square feet (including two master suites and maid’s quarters) and they’re asking $8,975,000. And yes, that’s just over $2,000 a square foot ($2,069.88 to be exact) and a pretty decent jump from the tax assessed value of $5,406,000.
∙ Listing: 765 Market Street #GPHA (4/5.5) - $8,975,000 [Janet Krahling] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
November 28, 2007
Something Tells Us That “By Far” Wasn’t By Accident
Earlier this month the list price on 246 2nd Street #1306 was reduced by $20,000 and the following line was added to the property description: “Now Best Deal in SOMA: GO!” And while it doesn’t appear that anybody has “gone,” we will note that another unit on the same floor has come (on the market that is).
And while we can’t compare the views, light, finishes or layout (i.e., we haven’t been inside and there aren’t yet any pictures), we will note that 246 2nd Street #1302 is 52 square feet smaller, but is also listed for $74,100 less. And from the description: “By far, the best value in soma!” Damn neighbors bank (see UPDATE below).
UPDATE: Leave it to Dude (no, not The Dude) to note that #1302 is bank owned and “Priced $80K Below Last Sales Comp in Building!” Damn bank (and ex-neighbors) indeed.
∙ Listing: 246 2nd Street #1306 (2/2) 1,101 sqft - $919,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 246 2nd Street #1302 (2/2) 1,049 sqft - $844,900 [246-2nd.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
November 26, 2007
JustQuotes: Looking At SF Through Blue/Green Colored Glass(es)
"To be sure, glass-clad buildings are nothing new in San Francisco. The Hallidie Building, built at 130 Sutter St. in 1917, wears one of the world's first glass "curtain walls," in which pre-assembled panels are hung into place on a building's structural form.
But as glass-and-steel high-rises recast the skyline after World War II, overtly modern buildings sparked a backlash. The shift culminated in 1985's Downtown Plan, which decreed that new buildings should "contribute to the visual unity of the city." Another rule: "Highly reflective materials, particularly mirrored or highly reflective glass, should not be used."
The planning director at the time: Dean Macris. The planning director today: Macris, who returned to the post in 2004.
While Macris now champions contemporary design, he and Nikitas say the 1985 edict against glossy glass still applies. But the sheer number of sheer towers is causing alarm, as is the fact that the first batch hasn't lived up to planner expectations: "I can't say we've said, 'Aha, there's the perfect solution,' " Macris acknowledged."
∙ Newest towers will give S.F. skyline a touch of glass [SFGate]
∙ Testing tries to ensure that glass structures don't court disaster [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
November 20, 2007
Speaking Of Stucco, Curved Bay Windows, And Fireplaces (1083 Clay)
As it was constructed in 1984 we can't be certain that the claim still holds true, but…
This five-story, eleven unit residential condominium [development at 1083 Clay Street] is the highest wood frame building in San Francisco- standing at 62 feet high. The exterior finish of the building is stucco, painted in shades of gray and off-white. Despite the high density of the neighborhood, this Nob Hill location allows the two top floors of this condominium building panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay.
The design features curved bay windows to retain the fluidity of the street facade for which San Francisco is noted. Vertically, the bay windows alternate with clerestories creating a visual scale consistent with the surrounding older buildings, while allowing an expanded floor to floor deck dimension which is stepped back to layer the facade. The bedrooms are placed toward the back of the building. On the first floor, this relationship is changed, so that the living room can focus on a small formal garden on the outside of the site. Each unit has a fireplace.
And yes, one of the eleven condos (#201) in the Donald MacDonald designed building is now on the market. And no, it’s not on one of those top two floors. But as noted, it does have a fireplace (and parking).
∙ Listing: 1083 Clay St #201 (1/1) - $589,000 [MLS]
∙ Donald MacDonald Building Projects: 1083 Clay Street [donaldmacdonaldarchitects.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
November 15, 2007
But Did He Have Special Assessment Insurance? (1101 Green Street)
Don't get us wrong, we're still fans of San Francisco's Bellaire Tower (1101 Green Street). But what happens when residents rally together for years to resist any major increases in monthly HOA dues (and investment in the building)? It's called deferred maintenance.
And now all of those residents (and any new ones) are getting hit with a significant special assessment (and according to a plugged-in tipster, a multi-year resurfacing and window replacement project) to right the wrongs. It's a good thing the Mayor still has his day job.
∙ The Mayor Is Moving On Up! [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
Another Apples To Apples Comp In The Making (1635 California #33)
Two years ago 36 new condos at 1635 California Street hit the market. And based on tax records, it appears as though unit #33 first sold for right around $780,000.
Two weeks ago 1635 California #33 hit the resale market for $795,000. And a sale at asking would represent annual market appreciation of right around one (1) percent.
∙ 1635 California Street [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 1635 California Street #33 (2/2) - $795,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
November 13, 2007
A Heller Manus Renovation Of 1 Ecker Place
A tipster suggests that Heller Manus might be working on a complete renovation of 1 Ecker Place in downtown San Francisco. And according to Heller Manus, it appears to be a mixed use renovation (51 units with 51,619 square feet of residential and 3,176 square feet of retail) of the four story brick building.
And other than that, we're at the mercy of the readers for the inside scoop.
∙ Heller Manus Architects Portfolio: 1 Ecker Place [hellermanus.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
November 12, 2007
You Might Not Have To Sell, But What Happens If Your Neighbor Does?
Having last changed hands on 7/28/2006 for $700,000, 950 Harrison Street #202 was listed last week for $599,000 and is advertising “Great SHORT SALE opportunity.”
At the same time, 950 Harrison Street #210 (which is smaller by 104 square feet and last changed hands on 11/22/2006 for $679,000) and 950 Harrison street #123 (which is smaller by 276 square feet and a half-bath and last changed hands on 8/28/2006 for $605,000) have both been on the market for two months (and are currently asking $705,000 and $625,000 respectively).
∙ Listing: 950 Harrison Street #202 (1/1.5) 1,120 sqft - $599,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 950 Harrison Street #210 (1/1.5) 1,016 sqft - $705,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 950 Harrison Street #123 (1/1) 844 sqft - $625,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
October 30, 2007
That’s Not Looking Like The Vegas Pool Scene We Know (And Love)
The Comment: “the beacon pool scene on the weekend is supposedly right out of vegas. if you are a single guy, you should seriously consider living there.”
The Picture (above): The pool scene at the Beacon on a sunny (albeit mildly windy) Sunday afternoon.
The Question: Any actual Beacon pool goers care to set the record straight? We’ll thank you in advance for the plethora of plugged-in single guys (and gals) that have suddenly showed an interest in any one of the 24 active listings in the building.
∙ The Palms Finds More Inventory And A Resale Hits The Market [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (47) | (email story)
October 25, 2007
The Landmarked Nightingale House (201 Buchanan) Hits The Market
It is thought that the Nightingale House at 201 Buchanan (corner of Waller) was built for a former president of the California Pioneers (John Nightingale) in 1882. It is known that it is now San Francisco Landmark Number 47; that it is protected by a preservation easement; and that it was recently home to San Francisco Arts Commissioner and local artist Jo Hanson.
Hanson came to prominence early in the 1970's, soon after she moved into a deteriorated but stately Victorian on Buchanan Street. Once she had resuscitated the house into a landmark, she tackled its windy litter-strewn sidewalk. Her personal act of sweeping one sidewalk grew into a celebrated public art practice and citywide anti-litter campaign. Her compiled volumes of urban detritus are recognized as an artistic political tour de force that raised community awareness as it chronicled rapidly changing demographics.
And while we haven’t been inside - and the “fixer” designation and lack of interior pictures leads us to believe that it might be in need of some good old fashioned TLC - we’re sure a reader or two has (and might be willing to wax poetic on its potential).
∙ Listing: 201 Buchanan (4/3) - $1,895,000 [MLS]
∙ San Francisco Landmark 47: Nightingale House [noehill.com]
∙ San Francisco Architectural Heritage: Preserved [sfheritage.org]
∙ Women Environmental Artists Directory: Jo Hanson in memoriam [weadartists.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
October 9, 2007
Those Damn Neighbors: The Bridgeview (And Bank Owned) Edition
400 Beale #1501 has been on the market for a little over a month. Advertising the largest 2 bedroom, 2 bath floor plan at the Bridgeview and a “huge final price reduction” of $24,000 (2.4%), it’s currently listed at $975,000.
Enter 400 Beale #1201. It’s the same largest floor plan as #1501 (albeit three floors below). It’s another bank owned (REO) condo in the Bridgeview (no, not Bayview). And it’s now on the market for $825,000.
And while it appears that #1201 might be tenant occupied (which could affect the price), and those three floors do make a difference on the Bay (but not necessarily bridge) views, we're still calling it a concerning comp (but not quite a troubling trend).
∙ Listing: 400 Beale #1201 (2/2) - $825,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 400 Beale #1501 (2/2) - $975,000 [MLS]
∙ The SocketSite Scoop On That Short Sale In Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (43) | (email story)
October 4, 2007
New Condos Behind A Historic Mural (And An Evolving Neighborhood)
A plugged-in tipster drops us a note:
I thought you may be interested in this very unique development near us in the Inner Mission. It's an old mural covered church on 24th Street between Florida and Alabama [2917 24th Street] that has housed various commercial enterprises over the years, most recently Mixed Use (now on telegraph hill). This block has been getting nicer and nicer recently (thank God).
Anyway, they've gutted it and are putting in five 3-bedroom condos and a commercial ground floor space. Each unit is different, and they've kept the original mural covered church façade. It seems pretty cool, and is a refreshing change from the usual bland hideous neighborhood unfriendly loft projects.
Interested (we were) and a refreshing change (it is) indeed.
The mural is a 1978 project of Precita Eyes. And in terms of the condos, at this point little more than floor plans are available on line.
Rest assured, however, that we’ll keep you posted and plugged-in. Or in this case, perhaps vice versa (if we're lucky).
∙ 2917 24th Street Floor Plans (and listing to be) [2917mural.com]
∙ Precita Eyes Mural Arts [precitaeyes.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
October 2, 2007
And Now We’re Back Below Where We Started
The floor plan above might look familiar as "penthouse" unit #42 at Shore|Line (41 Federal) has returned to the market. And yes, the asking price has now dropped from $939,000 to $869,000 to $850,000 to $830,000 over the course of the past seven months.
And while asking 11.6% less than seven months ago might speak to a change in expectations, it’s the fact that it’s now listed at $20,000 (2.4%) under what was last being asked by the developer eleven (11) months ago that might speak to a change in the market.
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #42 (1/1.5) - $830,000 [MLS]
∙ Seller Motivated Drastic Price Reduction Penthouse Unit [SocketSite]
∙ And Now We’re Back Where We Started At (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
∙ Savings At Shoreline (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
October 1, 2007
A Book Concern Building (83 McAllister) Benchmark To Be
A studio with loft (#211) has hit the market in the condo converted Book Concern Building (83 McAllister). Originally priced by the developer at $335,000 (in 2006), it’s currently listed at $334,900.
And while it’s awfully difficult to tell by the listing photos, the studio looks to be in mostly original condition. And as an aside, we’d love to see one that has been redesigned if any budding young (or old) designers would care to share (email tips@socketsite.com).
∙ Listing: 83 McAllister #211 (0/1) - $334,900 [MLS]
∙ Book Concern Building (83 McAllister) [SocketSite]
∙ Book Concern Building (83 McAllister): Update And Pricing [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
September 20, 2007
It’s Official: Pelli Clarke Pelli/Hines Win The Transbay Competition
It’s Official, the Pelli Clarke Pelli/Hines team have won the Transbay Terminal and Tower design competition.
But even as they selected the Hines-Pelli team over two rivals, leaders of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority stressed that the proposal now on the table is a starting point, not a fait accompli.Although the authority board was unanimous today in their decision to select the Hines-Pelli team, several members said they expected the tower to eventually include both residential and commercial space. The original tower proposal included only commercial space.
And while nobody should be too surprised, some are sure to de disapointed.
∙ Skyscraper team chosen for giant Transbay Terminal project [SFGate]
∙ Transbay Terminal (And Tower) Design Competition: The Teams [SocketSite 1/07]
∙ Hines And Pelli Clarke Pelli Bid The Most (And Get The Transbay Nod) [SocketSite 9/07]
∙ The SocketSite Scoop: San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal Designs [SocketSite 8/07]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
September 17, 2007
JustQuotes: True Or Not, At Least It Sounds Good
"What it will mean for San Francisco to have its tallest building be the Transbay Terminal tower is a statement that our highest value is ecology," said Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, a local public policy think tank. "It will be this exclamation mark saying the most important location in our city is the transit center."
∙ Six years post-9/11, super skyscrapers rise from U.S. cities [SFGate]
∙ Hines And Pelli Clarke Pelli Bid The Most (And Get The Transbay Nod) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
September 11, 2007
The SocketSite Scoop On Two In The Royal Towers (1750 Taylor)
Originally the developer’s unit, #1701 in The Royal Towers (1750 Taylor) boasts panoramic bridge to bridge (and everything in between) views, as well as the only gas range in the building (yes, it’s good to be the developer). And the 3,300 square foot three bedroom, four and one-half bath coop is now on the market for $7,000,000 (and $3,354 a month).
At the same time, and according to a seriously plugged-in tipster, another amazing unit in The Royal Towers is quietly being shopped around as well. As we wrote a little over a year ago:
Today, #1301 might have sold [listed at $6,000,000], but #1201 is still available and its price has been reduced three times for a total savings of $1,600,000 (“Great price!! Motivated seller” and now listed at $3,950,000). The way we figure it, you can buy #1201, spend a million dollars on a stunning remodel, fill the three parking spaces with a brand-new Bentley, Aston Martin, and Range Rover, and still come out ahead…
And while we might have lowballed the hypothetical remodeling budget, it looks like we weren’t the only ones with the vision.
Finally purchased for below the reduced asking price, and having undergone an expensive (think $250,000 for the lighting, sound and window shades alone) and complete (walk-in wine cellar anyone?) overhaul, rumor has it that 1750 Taylor #1201 is unofficially back on the market for...$7,000,000. And from what we hear, it is in fact stunning.
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor #1701 (3/4.5) 3,300 sqft - $7,000,000 [MLS]
∙ Save $1,600,000 At 1750 Taylor [SocketSite]
∙ Truth In Advertising: 1750 Taylor (Royal Towers) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
September 10, 2007
Hines And Pelli Clarke Pelli Bid The Most (And Get The Transbay Nod)
It's true, the Hines/Pelli Clarke Pelli proposal for "City Park" has won (save an uprising by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority Board, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, or the Planning Commission) the design competition for San Francisco's new Transbay Terminal and Tower.
The winning Transbay terminal proposal by developer Hines and architect Pelli Clarke Pelli offered $350 million for the tower property, more than twice what the other two teams were willing to pay, according to the nine-person jury appointed by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority.
The astounding offer blew away the team ranked second in the competition, Richard Rogers Partnership and Forest City Enterprises, which offered $145 million for the tower land. The third-place team, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Rockefeller Group Development Corp., made a purchase price offer of $118 million.
As previously noted, the proposed “City Park” combines a 'complex' 5.4 acre park elevated above the transit center with a 'simple and calm' 1,200-foot glass wrapped tower housing 1.6 million square feet of commercial office space (and no residential).
∙ Jury picks Hines for Transbay tower [Business Times]
∙ Jury names favorite for Transbay terminal, tower [SFGate]
∙ Transbay Terminal (And Tower) Design Competition: The Teams [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center + Tower: More Proposal Porn [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal Design Proposals: Highlights [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (49) | (email story)
The Lighthouse Lofts In General (1097 Howard), And #308 In Specific
The Lighthouse Building (1097 Howard) was built in 1924 for the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind Association and provided for both industrial and administrative needs.
Attempts to renovate the structure in 1982 and 1989 were abandoned and the organization merged with the Rose Resnick Foundation and relocated. The building was vacant from 1982 to 1996 when rehabilitation began for it’s present use as 22 live/work loft condominiums.
And now, one of the the most spectacular units in the building (if not neighborhood) has hit the market. Featuring 18-foot ceilings up high, and hickory and pecan hardwood floors down low; a glass enclosed shower and tub with views (in more ways than one); and 4,200 square feet of living space, unit #308 is actually a merger of three lofts into one. And yes, a merger of three monthly HOA payments ($1,137) and two parking spaces to match.
∙ Listing: 1097 Howard #308 (3/2.5) 4,207 sqft - $2,400,000 [MLS]
∙ Lighthouse Lofts (1097 Howard) [lighthouselofts.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
September 5, 2007
San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center + Tower: More Proposal Porn
Forest City has launched a new website with a bit more video, renderings and background information on the Richard Rogers design proposal for San Francisco’s new Transbay Transit Center and Tower.
And as a plugged-in tipster notes, the complete Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) presentation along with additional animations and renderings are now available online as well. And yes, we're still looking for a similar site for the Pelli Clark Pelli proposal. Readers?
UPDATE: A nine-member panel (the “D/D Competition Jury”) is currently evaluating all three proposals and accepting public comment (as one reader notes and subtly lobbies...) through September 17th. On September 20th, a “Jury recommendation will be brought before the TJPA Board…at San Francisco City Hall at which time the Board will vote on the final proposal.” And then the fun (and lobbying) really begins.
∙ Forest City (Richard Rogers) Transbay Transit Center + Tower [Forest City]
∙ SOM: Moving San Francisco into the Future [SOM]
∙ San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal Design Proposals: Highlights [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (31) | (email story)
August 15, 2007
Another Two-Year Comp In The Making (525 Gough #203)
Listed at $899,000 three weeks ago, 525 Gough #203 first sold in June of 2005 for $849,000. A sale at the current asking would represent an average annual appreciation of 2.7% over the past two years for this contemporary condo in the Hayes Valley (with Citizen Cake across the street and Blue Bottle just down the block). Yes, it’s just one more apple. And yes, we promise to keep you posted (and plugged in).
∙ Listing: 525 Gough #203 (3/2) - $899,000 [MLS]
∙ More Apples In Hayes Valley (525 Gough) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
August 13, 2007
The First Flip (Or Rather Resale) At 520 Chestnut? (#103)
It was ten months ago (October 2006) that a select few of the 20 condos at 520 Chestnut first hit the (pre-construction) market. It was three months (and a few reductions) later that 520 Chestnut officially held its Grand Opening. And now five months after that, at least one of the units (#103) is back on the market (and might just represent the first resale in the building).
Listed at $879,000 in March, 520 Chestnut #103 is currently asking $988,000. Do keep in mind, however, that a plasma television, stainless grill, pot rack, and stackable washer/dryer are now being included as well. And yes, as always we’ll keep you posted (and plugged-in).
∙ Listing: 520 Chestnut #103 (2/2) - $988,000 [MLS]
∙ New In North Beach: 520 Chestnut [SocketSite]
∙ 520 Chestnut: “Grand Opening” (And Lower Prices) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
August 9, 2007
There’s Gold Up In Them There Hills! (Eureka Gardens Edition)
It was five months ago that a reader wondered about all the construction up at Eureka Gardens (4150 17th Street). And it was moments later that a few other plugged-in readers provided the scoop and noted the potential (hopefully you were plugged-in at the time).
And as a tipster now notes, 4150 17th Street #19 was recently listed at $1,800,000. Perhaps all those fixes are starting to pay off. Then again, number nineteen is “being sold furnished, including all art, furnishing, accessories, chandelier, window coverings, as well as a 1994 S320 Black/Tan Mercedes with 60,000 miles.”
As always, don’t forget those invitations to the housewarming (or in this case, perhaps the closing dinner). And feel free to send the car.
∙ Listings: 4150 17th Street #19 (3/2.5) - $1,800,000 [Joel Goodrich] [MLS]
∙ Reader’s Questions: That Eureka Moment [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
August 8, 2007
A Big Bold (Attempted) Flip At Odeon? (150 Powell Street #310)
Ten months ago Odeon (150 Powell Street) hit the market with one-bedrooms on the third floor and facing Powell Street priced at $780,000. Four months ago the sales team was advertising “Make us an offer we can't refuse!” on its last remaining unit: #310 (a one-bedroom on the third floor facing Powell Street). And apparently the "offer they couldn't refuse" was $750,000 (which closed escrow on 5/22/07).
Three days ago 150 Powell Street #310 reappeared on the MLS with a big bold price tag of $1,049,000. We’ll keep you posted (and of course, plugged-in).
UPDATE: While the original listing for 150 Powell Street #310 was "Active Contingent" on the MLS as of this morning (as originally published), it has since been changed to reflect a sale on 5/22/07 with a contract price of $750,000 (3.8% under list).
∙ The Odeon (181 O’Farrell): First Impressions And Pricing [SocketSite]
∙ One Condo Left At Odeon (And An Update On Arterra’s Incentives) [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 150 Powell Street #310 (1/1.5) - $1,049,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
August 3, 2007
2500 Steiner: A Rare Glimpse (Albeit Limited) At A Listing (#11)
Sweeping San Francisco views. An iconic (and power packed) San Francisco Building:
Of all the opening lines in apartment elevators, one of the best had to have been delivered by Markos Kounalakis upon moving into 2500 Steiner St. in Pacific Heights. A neighbor stepped in and introduced herself as Sally Hambrecht, to which Kounalakis graciously replied, "We've met. We met at the White House at a State Dinner.
And a price tag ($6,750,000) and "if you have to ask" monthly HOA fee ($3,212) to match. Now if only there were more shots of that interior. Then again, this one is all about the building. And the people. And the views...
∙ Listing: 2500 Steiner #11 (3/3) - $6,750,000 [MLS]
∙ Susie's Building [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (51) | (email story)
And Now We’re Back Where We Started At Shore|Line (41 Federal)
A little over two months ago we noted that 41 Federal #42 (at Shore|Line) was advertising “Seller Motivated Drastic Price Reduction.” And that the list price had been reduced from $939,000 to $869,000 (7.5%).
And while the listing is no longer marketing “Seller Motivated,” yesterday the price was reduced another $19,000 (2.2%). And yes, the developer was advertising $850,000 eight months ago.
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #42 (1/1.5) - $850,000 [MLS]
∙ Seller Motivated Drastic Price Reduction Penthouse Unit [SocketSite]
∙ Savings At Shoreline (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
July 31, 2007
2412 Harrison: A Chance To Try Before You Buy?
Perhaps it’s simply coincidence, but a plugged-in tipster forwards a craigslist ad for a short-term rental (“2 months ONLY starting August 1st”) at 2412 Harrison in a unit that just so happens to be up for sale (“must cooperate with RE agent”). Asking rent: $2,500/month.
∙ $2500 / 2br - 2 + office, 3 bath, 2 car parking, tri-level loft, unfurnished [craigslist]
∙ We Know You Can, But Will They? (Actually Accept It That Is) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
July 30, 2007
A High End Comp In The Making (The Four Seasons Residences #29F)
We missed it when the price was reduced from $4,990,000 to $4,695,000 (6%). And now, 765 Market #29F (at The Four Seasons) is in contract (although not quite "sold").
A few details for the sake of future comparisons (“comps”): 2,576 square feet; re-designed by Fisher Weisman; two parking spaces; and monthly HOAs of $1,981.
And yes, if it sells for (the most recent) asking, that’s $1,823 per square foot. Then again, “[a]udio electronics, 2 flat screen tvs, safe and automated window blinds" were included…
UPDATE (9/7): Closed escrow on 8/20/07 for an undisclosed amount.
∙ Listing: 765 Market Street #29F (2/2.5) - $4,695,000 (in Escrow) [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
July 24, 2007
Transbay Design Competition: The Revised Schedule And Unveiling
Frederick has heard rumblings of a 1,500 foot tower (despite the current height limits of 550 feet), and as Jamie notes, you can watch the unveiling on SFGTV (channel 26) if you can’t make it in person (on August 6th).
The public is invited to a Special TJPA Board Meeting on Monday, August 6th, 2007 from 6 pm to 9 pm in San Francisco City Hall Board Chamber Room where we will be unveiling the proposed design concepts for the new landmark Transbay Transit Center and Tower in downtown San Francisco.
Presentations will be given at the August 6th, Special TJPA Board Meeting, at City Hall, 6:00 to 9:00 PM, (in order) by the following teams:
* Richard Rogers Partnership/Forest City Enterprises/MacFarlane Partners
* Skidmore Owings and Merrill/Rockefeller Group Development Corporation
* Pelli Clark Pelli Architects/Hines
The design models will also be on display for the public Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 from 8 am to 6 pm in the North Light Court at San Francisco City Hall.
And while we have no interest in stealing the city’s thunder (and are probably aiming even higher than the tower), we are calling on all plugged-in tipsters that might have access to initial sketches, ideas or design concepts that were never submitted. Heck, we’ll even settle for homemade renderings (Godzilla anyone?) or additional rumors.
∙ Transbay Terminal Design Update: And Then There Were Three [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Terminal (And Tower) Design Competition: The Teams [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
July 20, 2007
One Of The Infamous Watermark Eight (And A Number Eight As Well)
To be honest, we don’t know what happened to the other six seven “relatively quick flips at the sold out Watermark” that we highlighted this past February. We did, however, notice that Watermark (501 Beale) #7B was relisted yesterday at $999,000 (as opposed to $1,049,000 five months ago). Any tipsters have the scoop on the other seven?
And while it wasn’t one of the infamous eight, the asking price on 501 Beale #8C was reduced $15,000 (1.7%) the day before yesterday (and after being listed for $880,000 in June). And yes, it still offers the same spectacular bridge views (above) that we highlighted last September (at which point it was listed at $912,000).
∙ Listing: 501 Beale Street #7B (2/2) - $999,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 501 Beale Street #8C (1/1) - $865,000 [MLS]
∙ Six Relatively Quick Flips At The Sold Out Watermark (501 Beale) [SocketSite]
∙ Watermark Update: 85% Sold [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
July 19, 2007
Why Not Include The Living Room And Just Call It An Even Three?
While an MLS search for two-bedroom condominiums in (real estate) district six will return 350 Broderick #209, keep in mind that the second "bedroom" doesn’t appear to have a door. Or a closet. Or even a window. (In other words, it’s not exactly sounding like a legal bedroom).
As far as we can tell, this unit will represent the very first resale at Broderick Place. And while it apparently “Appraised at $717,000," it's listed at $689,000. Sounds a bit like “instant equity” to us.
∙ Listing: 350 Broderick #209 (“2”/1) - $689,000 [MLS]
∙ Broderick Place: 83% Sold [SocketSite]
∙ An Inman Instant Equity Reality Check [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
July 10, 2007
Argenta Rises While Buildings For Crescent Heights Are Razed
The soon to be 17-story Argenta is rising to the west of Fox Plaza with little fanfare (and nary a mention of sales), while across the street to the south (at the southwest corner of 10th and Market) all of the buildings have been razed in order to make way for the 9, 18, 19 and 35-story Crescent Heights development.
∙ Argenta (1 Polk): Ground Breaking [SocketSite]
∙ Fox Plaza (1390 Market): 250 New Condos In The Works [SocketSite]
∙ Crescent Heights: 10th And Market Recap, Rendering, And Details [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (32) | (email story)
Rumor Busters: Fillmore Center Apartments Going Condo?
A longtime resident of the Fillmore Center writes: “I heard from a realtor that [the Fillmore Center apartments] are going Condo. He didn't give a time frame, but I've lived here for 13 years and no one ever told me a thing about it.” We haven’t heard anything either (and would actually be surprised if it happened). Any plugged-in readers have the inside scoop or a definitive answer?
∙ The Fillmore Center Apartments [1475 Fillmore Street]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
One Rincon Hill: Another Fontana Or Transamerica In The Making?
As far as we’re concerned, it’s simply too soon to judge. And of course, it’s too soon to know. But a reader puts it quite well, “Is One Rincon the Fontana Building, or the Transamerica Pyramid, of the first decade of the 21st Century?”
The Fontana Building has been derided ever since it was built, and time has not healed those wounds. It changed what people thought of new development, particularly in existing neighborhoods.
The Transamerica Pyramid on the other hand, was equally derided for aesthetics, and was part of the dreaded "manhattanization" of SF that led to an annual cap on development imposed in the 80's. Yet, over time, the Pyramid became an icon of SF, and is extremely popular today.
Frankly, I'm not sure which one Rincon is. I loathe its design, and to me it is way too bulky to be the "slender tower" that the Rincon Hill plan promised. It learned so few lessons from Vancouver that it makes a mockery of the ideas that are supposedly behind the Rincon Hill plan. It is so tall, so big, so omnipresent, and so damn close to the bridge that it cannot be avoided in the viewscape. But, I have to admit, part of me thrills when I round a corner somewhere in the city, and suddenly there it is.
Our reader also ads, “…of course I don't have an answer, but SocketSite readers are sure to have an opinion.” And at the very least, on that we can likely all agree.
Posted by socketadmin at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (118) | (email story)
July 6, 2007
Fox Plaza (1390 Market): 250 New Condos In The Works
According to J.K. Dineen, “Archstone-Smith is pushing forward with plans to raze the corner retail element [of Fox Plaza] and replace it with a 250-unit flatiron-style condo building.”
The planned wedge-shaped terra-cotta and glass 120-foot structure, with retail, would replace the low-slung building that houses Starbucks and a stationery shop, according to Presidio Development Partners President Mark Conroe, who was retained by Archstone-Smith to obtain city approvals for the residential development and sell off the office part. The new building would cost about $150 million based on current construction costs.
HellerManus has been tapped for the design (which will "speak to the energy level of the Civic Center area”) and the current 446 renal apartments (and 550-car garage) will remain in place.
∙ Fox Plaza to replace retail with condos [Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
June 14, 2007
Rincon Towers: From Apartments, To Condos, To Apartments
A year ago, the Rincon Towers apartment building at 88 Howard was sold to a developer intent on converting the building into condos.
Three months ago (and over on the SocketSite Forums) a plugged-in reader wondered about the lack of activity at the building (either in terms of new rentals or condo sales), and another reader answered: "...Beacon [Capital] backed out of doing a condo conversion and put the building back on the market. They are now marketing it to potential buyers not as a condominium building, but as an apartment building."
And yesterday, it’s reported that the Towers have indeed been sold (to Capital Properties) with plans to turn the building into "luxury apartments and high-end corporate furnished housing." Don't say you didn't see it coming (at least if you're plugging-in).
∙ Rincon Towers Going Condo [SocketSite]
∙ SocketSite Forums: Rincon Center [forums.socketsite.com]
∙ Rincon Center apartments sold to N.Y. firm [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
June 8, 2007
A True Loft Conversion In The Mill Building (720 York #226)
By now you should know we’ve got a soft spot for true loft conversions (especially when they’re priced under $600 per square foot). In this case it's one of the 45 lofts in the Mill Building (720 York), a 1998 loft conversion by Pfau Architecture of an 1879 woolen mill in the Mission (originally designed by William Curlett).
Unfortunately we’ve had to admire this conversion from afar (or at least the street), any plugged-in readers care to share their experiences either living or spending time inside 720 York?
UPDATE (8/6): 720 York #226 was recorded as closing escrow on 7/13/07 with a contract price of $751,000.
∙ Listing: 720 York #226 (1/2) - $729,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
June 4, 2007
Transbay Terminal Design Update: And Then There Were Three
The Foster + Partners team was dropped and the Calatrava team dropped out (last month), and so the design competition for San Francisco’s new Transbay Terminal and Tower is down to three.
At the same time John King reports that a number of Planning Department missteps could possibly impact the upzoning of the First and Mission location (which is currently limited to 550 feet), and at the very least will add some complexity to the submission and evaluation of proposals.
And according to one seriously “plugged-in” tipster who has been privy to a number of preliminary sketches from the Richard Rogers team, we are not going to be disappointed.
∙ Foster + Partners Dropped From Transbay Terminal Design Comp [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Terminal (And Tower) Design Competition: The Teams [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay tower's final height limit still up in the air [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
May 29, 2007
Not Exactly A Flood (But Perhaps A Trickle) At The St. Regis
After two months on the market, 188 Minna #25F (in the St. Regis) is still available and priced at $1,562 per square foot. And over the past two weeks three more listings have joined its ranks on the MLS, including a similar floor plan five floors above (priced at $1,830 per square foot) and a three bedroom/three and one half bath with views of One Rincon Hill (priced at $1,747 per square foot). HOAs ranging from $2,135 to $2,599 a month (plus $225 for parking).
∙ Another Shot At The St. Regis (188 Minna) [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 188 Minna #23E (3/3.5) - $4,495,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 188 Minna #30F (2/2.5) - $2,795,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 188 Minna #38B (2/2.5) - $2,795,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
May 25, 2007
Another Office To Hotel/Condo Conversion: 140 New Montgomery
A “plugged-in” tipster notes the news that Wilson Meany Sullivan is in contract to purchase the 26-story Pacific Telephone Building at 140 New Montgomery for $345 a square foot with plans to spend an additional $500 a square foot converting it from an office building to “a five-star hotel and condominium tower, with a spa, restaurant and bar.”
Architecture firm Hornberger + Worstell has been hired as project architect, along with historic preservation specialists Page & Turnbull. Plant Construction Co. will be the contractor on the project. Mark Hornberger, a principal with Hornberger + Worstell, said the light gray terra cotta tapered skyscraper is a "wonderful historic landmark property and we want to be very careful about the work we do." He said the building could support about 100 residences and 70 to 80 hotel rooms and would be "more intimate than the St. Regis with an even higher level of service." The deal includes a 441-space, eight-level parking garage on Natoma Street behind the Pacific Telephone Building.
The Jazz Age building was designed by Timothy Pflueger -- who also designed 450 Sutter St., the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange and the I. Magnin building -- and was considered radically contemporary when constructed. The building, with 13-foot terra-cotta eagles perched on its four corners, retains many of its original detailing, including the black marble lobby and bronze elevator doors, wood-paneled board rooms with working fireplaces.
And on a side note, our tipster is led to wonder: “What happened to the word deluxe? Is 'luxe' a level higher, has deluxe become dated - reserved for 'mid-century' descriptions? Did marketers feel a need to invent another word - like world-class (which thru overuse now has no impact?)” [Cue the Jeffersons theme song.]
∙ S.F. tower to become luxe hotel [San Francisco Business Times]
∙ Pacific Telephone Building gets heavy interest from developers [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
May 23, 2007
Honey, Where Did We Put Those Extra Square Feet?
While the class action lawsuit at The Beacon was dropped three months ago, Damion Matthews notes that abc’s recent 7 On Your Side consumer alert (“the square footage potential buyers are given can sometimes be wrong”) might just suggest that the square footage lawsuit at The Metropolitan ("BEN BEDI VS. FOLSOM/FIRST, LLC") continues on.
Any “plugged-in” reader’s care to provide an update or the inside scoop? And yes, we’re still looking for an update on the similar lawsuit over at Watermark (“CATALINA GARCIA VS. SAN FRANCISCO CRUISE TERMINALS LLC, A LIMITED et al”) as well.
UPDATE: And in under an hour, a "plugged-in" reader provides an update on both.
∙ Beacon Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed Without Prejudice [SocketSite]
∙ Some Area Homes Have Wrong Measurements [abc7news]
∙ A Class Action Suit At The Metropolitan? [SocketSite]
∙ Now Serving: The Watermark [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
May 22, 2007
Harbor Lofts Living For Less (If You Can Find It)
Perhaps the photos don’t do it justice (it’s looking a bit cave like), and it is a relatively small one-bedroom (and a loft "one bedroom" to boot), but it’s also Harbor Lofts living for $334,383 (and that includes parking).
∙ Listing: 400 Spear St #114 (1/1) 480 sqft - $334,383
The only problem…we can’t find a public link to it on the MLS (or any other website that doesn’t require registration). An opportunity lost? And if so, for who?
UPDATE: As a couple of "plugged-in" reader's quickly noted, there are actually a few more "problems" with this listing: 1. it's a "100% of Area Median Income" BMR (income limit of $63,850 for one person); 2. neither ZipRealty nor CleanOffer have it designated as such (although both offer pictures); and 3. while the odd price did raise a red flag, the $700/sqft had us convinced otherwise (and now simply leaves us scratching our heads).
UPDATE (5/24): As of this afternoon the listing notes, “BMR Loft 1/1 great! max income 1person $63K 2person $72K” and “Leased PKG.” Funny how that happens. And yes, we're still left scratching our heads.
∙ Harbor Lofts (400 Spear): San Francisco Warehouse Conversion [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
May 17, 2007
Another Shot At Midtown (1452 Bush) Number Nine
A year ago we reported on three of twenty-two condos that were on the market at Midtown (1452 Bush). At the time, unit #9 was listed for $899,990. If you missed it, don’t fret, it’s back on the market (and this time it’s listed for $824,000).
∙ Listing: 1452 Bush #9 (2/2.5) - $824,000 [MLS]
∙ Locking In Gains At The Midtown? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (44) | (email story)
May 15, 2007
Seller Motivated Drastic Price Reduction Penthouse Unit
Over the past three months the list price on the resale of Shoreline condo #42 (41 Federal) has been reduced from $939,000 to $869,000 (7.5%) and the listing is now advertising: “Seller Motivated Drastic Price Reduction Penthouse unit.” The unit was last listed six months ago at $850,000 (by the developer).
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #42 (1/1.5) - $869,000 [MLS]
∙ Shore|Line: Unit #42 Floor Plan and Overview [shorelinesouthbeach.com]
∙ Savings At Shoreline (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
May 8, 2007
The SocketSite Scoop On That Short Sale In Rincon Hill
Okay, so here’s the “plugged-in” scoop on that “short sale of a Rincon Hill condo” that was mentioned in the Chronicle this past weekend: It’s a two bedroom condo in the Bridgeview (#1212); it was originally listed for $849,000 and then reduced (twice) to $799,000; and as the listing notes, “Price reduced! Seller motivated. All reasonable offers considered.”
And while the article reports that this property was eventually auctioned off, it’s currently listed as pending on the MLS (which leads us to believe it never actually hit the auction block). That being said, Damion Matthews' insight is important, “the increase in short sales has led to a problem. Many lenders are so busy that they don't respond to short-sale offers.”
∙ Listing: 400 Beale #1212 (2/2) - $799,000 (In Escrow) [Pacific Union]
∙ Real estate short sales: "win-win" or reward for failure to live within one's... [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (51) | (email story)
May 7, 2007
The Royal San Francisco Reductions
Last October we first reported struggling sales at The Royal in San Francisco. Today, we report what appear to be a number of significant price reductions. For example, while two story townhouses were originally “priced from $1,575,000,” townhouse #804 was just listed at $1,400,000 (a reduction of at least $175,000 or 11.1%). And while two-bedrooms were originally “priced from $940,000,” two-bedroom #602 was just listed at $915,000 (a reduction of at least $25,000 or 2.7%).
And then there’s a one-bedroom (#503). It was just listed at $650,000 or $870 per square foot. As you might recall, a flipper appeared to be having difficulty selling another one bedroom (#604) late last year. And while it was slightly larger (771 versus 747 square feet), a floor higher, and an end unit (although it has one less window than #604), it had also been reduced to $1,023 per square foot after failing to sell at $1,049 per square foot. It was originally priced by the developer at $940 per square foot ($725,000).
∙ 201 Sansome #503 (1/1) - $650,000
∙ 201 Sansome #602 (2/2) - $915,000
∙ 201 Sansome #804 (2/3) - $1,400,000
∙ The Royal San Francisco: An Update (And A Flip) [SocketSite]
∙ The Royal San Francisco [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
April 27, 2007
Modern High-Rise Living In Older Pacific Heights
A “plugged-in” tipster directs us to a listing in 2200 Sacramento and declares, “Prettiest condo for under $1000/psf I've seen in Pac Heights….” And while it might not have the views or amenities offered by some of the newer developments, it can definitely compete on location and interior (marble counters, limestone floors, custom cabinets, etc.).
UPDATE (6/6): Sold on 5/31/07 for $975,000 (5% over asking).
∙ Listing: 2200 Sacramento #108 (2/2) - $929,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (40) | (email story)
April 18, 2007
Inside The LEED Certified Folsom Dore Apartments
The Folsom Dore Apartments houses a mix of low-income and formerly homeless residents in 98 well designed, and LEED certified, units. And if you’ve ever wanted to get a closer look at this innovative green building, tomorrow’s your chance.
WHAT:Citizens Housing Corporation invites you to join them as they install the LEED Silver plaque at Folsom/Dore Apartments. WHEN: Thursday, April 19th, 2007, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. WHERE: Folsom Street + Dore Alley (between 9th & 10th streets). WHY: LEED certification is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings. And site tours will be available.
∙ Citizens Housing Corporation – Folsom / Dore Apartments [citizenshousing.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
April 9, 2007
JustQuotes: The Future’s So Bright (Federal Building Edition)
“The funny thing is it's terribly dark in the [new Federal Building’s] Annex, but there's a terrible glare problem in the Tower. The mesh only screens a small percentage of the glare. They're having to install some kind of reflective screen on the windows. Employees in the Tower are wearing sunglasses. Employees in the Annex will be bringing floodlights from home. Being a Federal employee is an adventure in craziness, but this building really takes the cake.” (SocketSite Reader's Insight)
∙ Just Quotes: Let's Hear It For (Or Against) The Feds [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
April 2, 2007
It’s Official: Welcome To SocketSite’s Real Estate Forums
Looking for a rough idea of what it might cost for a down to the studs remodel in San Francisco? Or perhaps you’ve been wondering what’s happening with the condo conversion of Rincon Towers? Well, you're not alone. And thanks to the SocketSite community (and Real Estate Forums), we’re starting to accumulate answers to, and insights into, these topics and more.
The Forums are an opportunity for "plugged in" people across the Bay Area to ask and answer real estate related questions, to share or debate ideas or insights, or to simply start a discussion that's top of mind (without being "off topic" on SocketSite).
We’ll highlight a few of the Forums features and functionality early next week (such as the ability for registered readers to directly exchange private messages). In the meantime, please consider taking a moment to poke around, register a profile, and join in the discussion. Speaking of which, can anbody answer a reader’s question concerning The Infinity’s total construction budget and profit margin?
Welcome to SocketSite's Real Estate Forums. And as always, thank you for "plugging in."
∙ General cost to remodel in San Francisco? [forums.socketsite.com]
∙ Rincon Center [forums.socketsite.com]
∙ SocketSite’s Real Estate Forums [forums.socketsite.com]
∙ Questions about the Infinity's total budget [forums.socketsite.com]
∙ Another Way To “Plug In” (And Never Be Off Topic Again) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 AM | Permalink | (email story)
March 28, 2007
More Apples In Hayes Valley (525 Gough)
In July 2005, 525 Gough #105 sold for $881,000. Early last month, the Hayes Valley condo was listed for $929,000. And yesterday, it was reduced to $899,000. In related activity, 525 Gough #405 appears to have fallen out of contract and is now back on the market.
Is it something about the "05" units? The building? The block? The neighborhood?
∙ Listing: 525 Gough Street #105 (2/3) - $899,000 [Pacific Union]
∙ Apples To Apples In Hayes Valley (525 Gough #405) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
March 21, 2007
Another Shot At The St. Regis (188 Minna)
Last week we pointed out a listing for a $1,646 per square foot condo in the St. Regis. Today, it’s in contract. But if you missed it, don’t fret, another unit (#23F) hit the market yesterday and it's listed at $2,385,000. For those who were wondering, or happen to be interested, that’s $1,562 per square foot; $2,134 per month in HOAs; and $225 per month for parking.
∙ Listing: 188 Minna Street #23F (2/2.5) - $2,385,000 [MLS]
∙ An Incomplete Data Point At The St. Regis (188 Minna) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
Truth In Advertising: Price Substantially Reduced!
Prices on four of the five newly converted condos at Glassworks (207 King) have been reduced (again), and this time “substantially” (as in up to another $200,000). Total reductions now range from 10% ($100,000) to 26% ($395,000), and the price per square foot has dropped from as high as $1,104 to as low as $764.
∙ Listing: 207 King Street #411 (1/2) 1,461 sqft - $1,195,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 207 King Street #412 (1/2) 987 sqft - $895,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 207 King Street #414 (1/2) 1,172 sqft - $1,050,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 207 King Street #415 (1/2) 1,440 sqft - $1,100,000 [MLS]
∙ The Glassworks (207 King Street) [SocketSite]
∙ Glassworks (207 King): 3 Years Paid HOA And Further Reductions [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
The Last Developer Unit(s) At The Beacon (250/260 King)
It’s been a long time coming, and not without a few bumps and bruises along the way, but the Mark Company is now touting “Last [developer's] Unit at the Beacon!” (250 King Street #714). Then again, they're touting the same thing for 250 King Street #814, but why split hairs.
[Editor’s Note: Both units are now in contract. Congratulations to everyone at The Beacon.]
∙ Listing: 250 King St #714 (1/1) - $675,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 250 King St #814 (1/1) - $685,000 [MLS]
∙ The Beacon: 90% Sold [SocketSite]
∙ Beacon Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed Without Prejudice [SocketSite]
∙ A Sales Office Shakeup At The Beacon? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
March 19, 2007
One Rincon Hill Tower One: Floor Facts
For future (and perhaps current) reference, let’s get the facts straight with regard to the first tower of One Rincon Hill. The tower will rise fifty-five (55) stories above grade (not including the rooftop stabilizing water tank) with five (5) levels of parking below.
Floors are numbered one (1) through sixty (60) with the first level of underground parking being floor number one. The ground level lobby is located on floor number six (6), floor number seven (7) houses building amenities, and residences are located on floors eight (8) through sixty (60).
The bad news: If you’re looking to live ten stories above the top of the hill, you’ll actually want to find a condo on floor fifteen (15). The good news: If you should somehow crash through a window on the “sixth floor,” you won’t have far to fall.
UPDATE (3/22): While we focus on the facts, a “plugged in” reader focuses on an explanation. “I spoke with One Rincon today and they explained their reasoning behind the flooring scheme. One person's [comment] was correct. [Actually, two.] The floors in tower one and tower two match up with each other. Since the lot is on a hill, tower two's first floor lines up with the street at Harrison and Fremont."
∙ A Reader Asks: What Happened To The Crane At One Rincon Hill? [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill: Hovering Around 90% Sold [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (124) | (email story)
March 12, 2007
The Modern Makeover And Façade Of 185 Post
And yet another “plugged in” tipster captures 185 Post’s glass wrapped makeover by Brand + Allen Architects taking shape. It's a modern aesthetic without the edginess of the controversial Koolhass design that was once destined for the location.
∙ Ghostly restoration of 1908 building would be the newest thing in town [SFGate]
∙ John King Does Rem Koolhaas [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
March 7, 2007
Planning Department Special Meeting: Mission Armory Edition
A “plugged in” tipster notes that the San Francisco Planning Department has called a Special Meeting for Thursday. And as best we can tell, it's an “Informational hearing on the occupancy of the Mission Armory by a film production studio (d.b.a. kink.com).”
As our tipster notes, perhaps the meeting has something to do with all the press. Or perhaps the neighborhood activists are suddenly pro-development. In either case, you can watch the fun unfold online (both the meeting and the kink).
∙ SF Planning Department Special Meeting: March 8, 2007 [SFGov]
∙ From (Proposed) Condos To Kink [SocketSite]
∙ SFGTV [SFGov]
∙ QuickLinks: Our Enlightened City Hits The Journal* [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
February 28, 2007
Six Relatively Quick Flips At The Sold Out Watermark (501 Beale)
Six condos in the now sold out Watermark are currently on the market. At least two - #6B and #8H (above) - appear to be passing along the remainder of their original buyer incentives (two years of paid HOA dues).
And based on a number of reader comments, we can likely expect to see a few more units hit the market in the not too distant future.
UPDATE (3/1): As a reader notes, make that eight relatively quick flips as Watermark condos #4B and #17E have joined the resale fray.
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #4B (1/1) - $919,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #6B (2/2) - $975,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #7B (2/2) - $1,049,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #8H (2/2) - $1,187,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #16D (2/2) - $1,649,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #17E (1/1) - $759,900 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #19G (3/2) - $1,728,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 501 Beale #PH1E (3/2) - $1,800,000 [MLS]
∙ What’s Up With The Watermark "G"s? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) | (email story)
February 26, 2007
Just Quotes: Let's Hear It For (Or Against) The Feds
“If they'd had a choice, city planners wouldn't have allowed either the slab or the imposing design, because the complex sits across Seventh Street from the U.S. Court of Appeals building, a Beaux-Arts landmark from 1905. But city zoning doesn't apply to federal projects.” (TOWERING EXPECTATIONS)
∙ TOWERING EXPECTATIONS: S.F.'s new federal building [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (41) | (email story)
February 23, 2007
Beacon Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed Without Prejudice
Thanks to a “plugged in” tipster (and homeowner at the Beacon), we have the scoop on some big Beacon news: the class action lawsuit against The Beacon has been dismissed by Catalano without prejudice. (No word on the status of similar suits filed against The Metropolitan or Watermark.) Also from our tipster:
One other good piece of news that we homeowners received was that the ground lease was terminated 3 years early and in January everyone received a deeded interest in their unit (rather than the leasehold interest that we were sold). In my book, that makes my unit more valuable than when I bought it!
Overall, I'm really happy with my unit. Its a great location and a great place to live. I'm sure I'd get flamed for saying that by the "condoistas" on your site, but the truth is I'm happy and I didn't pay $1,000+ psf so I never expected it to be the St Regis.
This should brighten the weekend for the sales office (20 units left the last time we checked) and any owners who are currently trying to sell (~15 resales currently listed) as it removes the stigma of pending litigation and increases the pool of potential lenders.
Celebratory party in the clubhouse/pool? You know where to send our invitation.
∙ A Big Bad Lawsuit At The Beacon [SocketSite]
∙ A Class Action Suit At The Metropolitan? [SocketSite]
∙ Now Serving: The Watermark [SocketSite]
∙ A Sales Office Shakeup At The Beacon? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
February 18, 2007
The SocketSite Scoop On Two Very Big (Unconfirmed) Rumors
Okay, so for a while we’ve been hearing rumblings from brokers to builders that the developers of The Infinity have been discussing going rental rather than sales with their second tower (at least initially). That being said, we haven’t been able to confirm it as fact (and perhaps it's simply contingency planning gone awry).
And now according to a "plugged in" reader, it’s rumored that One Rincon Hill’s second tower has been put on hold "held back." Once again, we haven’t been able to confirm (and we’re not sure if the rumor simply refers to sales, construction, or both).
If either of these rumblings are true, it’s not particularly positive commentary on the near-term strength of the market (or new development absorption). On the flipside, either action would increase the near-term scarcity of ownership opportunities in these developments (and help throttle back San Francisco's condominium pipeline).
And as far as our inventory index (Cii) is concerned, we're still assuming both towers will hit the pre-construction market in 2007.
UPDATE (2/20): Just to be clear, we haven’t heard even the faintest whisper about “cancelling” either of these towers. At this point it’s simply a question of timing with one and initial use with the other.
UPDATE (2/22): We’re now guessing our “plugged in” reader was absolutely correct about a big project that's being "held back" on Rincon Hill, but that it’s The Californian on Rincon Hill and not One Rincon Hill that has changed its sales/construction dates. (And that’s news, not rumor.)
∙ The Infinity Continues To Grow Up [SocketSite]
∙ JustQuotes: Nope, Not Included In Our "Near-Term Likely" Cii Pipeline [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill: Hovering Around 90% Sold [SocketSite]
∙ SocketSite’s Complete Inventory Index (CII): Q1 2007 [SocketSite]
∙ The Californian On Rincon Hill Construction/Sales Pushed Back [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (109) | (email story)
February 16, 2007
Foster + Partners Dropped From Transbay Terminal Design Comp
The Transbay Joint Powers Authority Board announced that the Foster + Partners / Heller-Manus Architects team has been dropped from the Transbay Terminal design competition. The four design/development teams left standing:
1. Richard Rogers Partnership with Forest City Enterprises and MacFarlane Partners
2. Santiago Calatrava with Boston Properties
3. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects with Hines
4. Skidmore Owings & Merrill with Rockefeller Group Development Corp.
Drawings and proposals are due in July (remember, it’s tips@socketsite.com), and the winning team will be named on August 23.
∙ Transbay Terminal (And Tower) Design Competition: The Teams [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco Transbay Terminal: Design Competition Update [SocketSite]
∙ We're Thinking Gehry (No, Not Geary) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
February 12, 2007
SocketSite’s Complete Inventory Index (CII): Q1 2007
If you’re truly “plugged in,” you should already be familiar with SocketSite’s Complete Inventory Index (Cii) for San Francisco. As we wrote last September:
The goal of the Cii (pronounced “see”; we’re hoping Nintendo views it as flattery) is to paint a complete picture of housing inventory and new development in San Francisco; listed, unlisted, pipeline, and potential. In fact, we believe it represents a fundamental shift from the abstract to the tangible with regard to what’s in the works throughout San Francisco.
Over the past quarter, we have doubled the size of our new development database and SocketSite now tracks the size, status, probability, pricing, sales, and available inventory for nearly 125 new developments in San Francisco (15,000+ condominiums in total). We also track 10,000 “net new housing units” (including rental units) that are either proposed or on the drawing boards. And all told, we are actively keeping tabs on a potential inventory of 25,000+ housing units (i.e., San Francisco’s overall housing pipeline).
As it stands, in addition to the roughly 325 San Francisco condominiums that are listed and available for sale on the San Francisco MLS, we estimate that there are approximately 350 new condominiums that are not listed, but are currently available for purchase and immediate occupancy. These condos include unlisted inventory in buildings ranging in size from The Glassworks to The Beacon.
We also estimate that there are currently an additional 1,050 available condominiums that are actively competing for the attention of buyers and accepting non-refundable deposits in sales offices throughout San Francisco (examples include The Infinity, Heritage on Fillmore, and Arterra). And within the next six months, we expect to see an additional 2,450 condominiums begin marketing, accepting deposits, and competing for sales as well (think The Potrero, Symphony Towers, and The Bay).
Looking forward to the second half of 2007, we see an additional 1,575 new condominiums that are likely to start marketing/selling before the end of the year (or relatively soon thereafter). And for 2008/2009, we see 4,000+ units that have a shot of making it to market (and 2,000+ that will likely fall by the wayside).
Beyond that, well…you’ll just have to keep “plugging in.”
∙ SocketSite’s Complete Inventory Index (Cii) [SocketSite]
∙ Glassworks (207 King): 3 Years Paid HOA And Further Reductions [SocketSite]
∙ The Beacon: Sales Office Incentives [SocketSite]
∙ The Infinity: Online Floor Plans And Condo Specifications [SocketSite]
∙ Heritage On Fillmore: The VIP Scoop [SocketSite]
∙ Evidence Of A Price Reduction At Arterra? [SocketSite]
∙ The Potrero (451 Kansas): Sales Center Opening In February [SocketSite]
∙ Symphony Towers: From The $300,000s [SocketSite]
∙ The Bay (329 Bay Street): Complete Pricing [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) | (email story)
February 9, 2007
QuickLinks: Our Enlightened City Hits The Journal*
∙ No Condos, Please: Old Armory Finds New Life in Porn [WSJ]
∙ 50 protest porn business inside old Mission Street armory [SFGate]
∙ From (Proposed) Condos To Kink [SocketSite]
*Note: Full credit to a tipster for the headline.
Posted by socketadmin at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
February 2, 2007
A Quick Resale At 188 King
Five months ago, and according to 188 King’s marketing team, unit #207 “Sold” for $1,650,000. Yesterday it hit the market as a resale. List price: $1,595,000.
∙ Listing: 188 King #207 (2/3) - $1,595,000 [Virtual Tour] [MLS]
∙ 188 King Street: Sales Update [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
January 30, 2007
The Jackson Square Condominiums (847 Montgomery)
Originally constructed as a hotel and lodging house in 1912, the Jackson Square building at 847 Montgomery has served as home to numerous establishments including a 54 year run as “Ernie’s” restaurant (at which Alfred Hitchcock filmed Vertigo). And now, it’s in the process of being transformed into 13 upscale condominiums.
The Jackson Square current pricing starts at $950,000 for One Bedroom Homes, Two Bedroom Homes from $1,200,000 and spectacular Penthouses from $2,250,000. Construction completion and delivery is slated for May of 2007.
If the finished product is anywhere near as interesting as the renderings (above), forget the housewarming. Instead, invite us over for a soak, shower, and drink on the balcony.
UPDATE (1/31): Frederick has the scoop on parking - 10 spaces for the 13 condos.
∙ Jackson Square (847 Montgomery) [thejacksonsquare.com] [Floor Plans]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
January 23, 2007
One Rincon Hill: Hovering Around 90% Sold
As goes The Infinity, so goes One Rincon Hill (at least in terms of vertical growth). In terms of sales, however, a tipster notes that One Rincon seem to have been hovering around 90% “sold” for the past few months. (With roughly a year of construction remaining, we’re guessing they’re not overly concerned.) A few of the available condos:
∙ 425 First #3002 (3/3) 1971 sqft - $2,165,000
∙ 425 First #3003 (3/3) 1928 sqft - $2,200,000
∙ 425 First #4207 (1/1) 819 sqft - $970,000
∙ 425 First #5503 (3/2) 1677 sqft - $2,325,000
∙ 425 First #5902 (2+/2) 1526 sqft - $2,175,000
And don’t forget, floor plans available online.
∙ The Infinity Continues To Grow Up [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill: Rain, Rain Go Away [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill’s Fall Newsletter And Update [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill: Floor Plans, Features And Amenities [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (147) | (email story)
January 22, 2007
235 Berry Street Update: At Most 89% Sold (And Moving On In)
Buyers have started closing escrow and moving in to their condominiums at 235 Berry Street (we’d love to hear from some of the early settlers). And as best we can tell, at least 11 of the 99 units remain available for sale:
∙ 235 Berry #102 (2/2.5) 1,255 sqft - $847,900
∙ 235 Berry #108 (3/3) 1,338 sqft - $1,250,900
∙ 235 Berry #110 (3/3) 1,500 sqft - $1,315,900
∙ 235 Berry #114 (2/2.5) 1,255 sqft - $926,900
∙ 235 Berry #304 (2/2) 1,070 sqft - $750,900
∙ 235 Berry #308 (2/2) 1,420 sqft - $937,900
∙ 235 Berry #315 (2/2) 1,235 sqft - $889,900
∙ 235 Berry #405 (2/2) 1,235 sqft - $909,900
∙ 235 Berry #411 (2/2) 1,063 sqft - $957,900
∙ 235 Berry #414 (2/2) 1,420 sqft - $991,900
∙ 235 Berry #510 (2/2) 1,315 sqft - $1,216,900
Of the eleven units, only two (#110 and #411) appear to be holdovers from our September update. And the “mini-lottery” and demanding terms are definitely relics of the past.
∙ 235 Berry Street Update: Under 50% Sold? [SocketSite]
∙ 235 Berry Street Sales Release (6/11/06) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
January 19, 2007
The Infinity Continues To Grow Up
A tipster forwards a recent picture of The Infinity and notes that up to 800 Google employees will soon be wandering the streets nearby (they’re subleasing three floors at Hills Plaza). Well, at least for the next three years.
[UPDATE (1/23): For those of you who have been following the thread of comments regarding a discrepancy between the Infinity sales office and website in terms of unit square footage, a "plugged in" reader notes: “Apparently the [Infinity] website designer made some mistakes and placed the wrong SqFt on the wrong units…The PDF file is the correct version per the Sales Office. They will try to correct the website asap. Terrible mistake on their part, but NO they are NOT taking away square footage.”]
∙ The Infinity: Online Floor Plans And Condo Specifications [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (71) | (email story)
January 17, 2007
368 Elm Street Condos: Complete Pricing (And An Update)
Thanks to a “plugged in” tipster, we (and you) now have complete pricing and a sales update for the 28 condominiums that comprise 368 Elm Street. According to our tipster, nine of the condos are currently “Pending,” but three of those units are unallocated BMR units (#106, #205, and #303). No word on how many, if any, of the other six Pending units are inside sales or developer units.
Current pricing and availability for all 28 condos:
∙ 368 Elm Street #101 (2/2) 1,249 sqft & 2 car parking – $769,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #102 (1/1) 679 sqft & 1 car parking – $549,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #103 (2/2) 1,183 sqft & 2 car parking – $769,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #104 (0/1) 699 sqft & 1 car parking – Pending
∙ 368 Elm Street #105 (2/2) 1,153 sqft & 2 car parking – $749,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #106 (1/1) 649 sqft & 1 car parking – Pending (BMR)
∙ 368 Elm Street #107 (2/2) 1,219 sqft & 2 car parking – $749,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #201 (2/2) 1,249 sqft & 2 car parking – $769,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #202 (1/1) 679 sqft & 1 car parking – $565,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #203 (2/2) 1,183 sqft & 1 car parking – $769,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #204 (0/1) 699 sqft & 1 car parking – $489,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #205 (2/2) 1,183 sqft & 2 car parking – Pending (BMR)
∙ 368 Elm Street #206 (1/1) 679 sqft & 1 car parking – $549,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #207 (2/2) 1,249 sqft & 2 car parking – $749,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #301 (2/2) 1,249 sqft & 2 car parking – Pending
∙ 368 Elm Street #302 (1/1) 679 sqft & 1 car parking – Pending
∙ 368 Elm Street #303 (2/2) 1,183 sqft & 2 car parking – Pending (BMR)
∙ 368 Elm Street #304 (0/1) 699 sqft & 1 car parking – $499,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #305 (2/1) 1,183 sqft & 1 car parking – Pending
∙ 368 Elm Street #306 (1/1) 679 sqft & 1 car parking – $565,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #307 (2/2) 1,249 sqft & 2 car parking – $775,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #401 (2/2) 1,219 sqft & 2 car parking – Pending
∙ 368 Elm Street #402 (1/1) 649 sqft & 1 car parking – Pending
∙ 368 Elm Street #403 (2/2) 1,153 sqft & 2 car parking – $839,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #404 (0/1) 699 sqft & 1 car parking - $519,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #405 (2/2) 1,183 sqft & 2 car parking - $819,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #406 (1/1) 679 sqft & 1 car parking - $589,000
∙ 368 Elm Street #407 (2/2) 1,249 sqft & 2 car parking - $819,000
Proposed monthly HOA dues range from $319 to $392.
∙ 368 Elm Street Condos: A Sales Update [SocketSite]
∙ 368 Elm Street Condos: First Release Pricing And Scoop [SocketSite]
∙ 188 King Street: An Update [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
3208 Pierce: New Website And Photo Gallery
A tipster notes a “flashy” new website (and photos) for 3208 Pierce ("The Marina's Newest Address"). No word on how many of those initial reservations actually turned into contracts, or how many of the 14 units remain available. (Tipsters?)
UPDATE (1/18): Thanks to a tipster we now have complete pricing (and HOA fees range from $579 to $675 per month):
∙ 3208 Pierce #101 (2/2.5) 1,476 sqft - $1,299,000
∙ 3208 Pierce #102 (2/2.5) 1,277 sqft - $1,199,000
∙ 3208 Pierce #201 (1/1) 719 sqft – “SOLD” (BMR)
∙ 3208 Pierce #202 (1/1) 985 sqft - $925,000
∙ 3208 Pierce #203 (1/1) 738 sqft - $749,000
∙ 3208 Pierce #204 (2/2) 1,102 sqft - $999,000
∙ 3208 Pierce #401 (2/2.5) 1,261 sqft - $1,099,000 ("SOLD")
∙ 3208 Pierce #402 (2/2.5) 1,253 sqft - $1,169,000
∙ 3208 Pierce #403 (2/2.5) 1,243 sqft - $1,119,000
∙ 3208 Pierce #404 (1+/1.5) 1,100 sqft - $1,049,000
∙ 3208 Pierce #405 (2/2.5) 1,236 sqft - $1,149,000 ("SOLD")
∙ 3208 Pierce #406 (2/2.5) 1,393 sqft - $1,299,000 ("SOLD")
∙ 3208 Pierce #407 (2/2.5) 1,168 sqft – “SOLD”
∙ 3208 Pierce #408 (2/2.5) 1,602 sqft – “SOLD”
UPDATE (1/25): According to a tipster, units #401, #405, and #406 have joined the ranks of “SOLD.” And as of today, eight of the fourteen condos remain available.
∙ 3208 Pierce Street: Now Accepting Reservations [SocketSite]
∙ 3208 Pierce: A Few Details [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) | (email story)
January 12, 2007
The Heublein Building Lofts (601 4th Street)
In 1991, Holliday Development brought 88 live/work lofts in the converted Heublein Building (601 4th Street) to market. The conversion of the former wine distributorship marked San Francisco’s first commercial-turned-residential development (predating two other Holliday developments - The ClockTower Lofts and 355 Bryant).
According to Holliday, “[d]espite the pending recession…we took reservations on all 88 units in one day.” (At an average price of $285,000 per loft; and with an average size per loft of 1,360 square feet.) Ah, the good old days.
The success of 601 4th Street led to a dramatic transformation of the surrounding neighborhood from dingy industrial area to vibrant entrepreneurial district synonymous with the high-tech boom. Residents and businesses poured into the area; hip restaurants, clubs, and hotels cropped up next to traditional industrial businesses such as printing presses, furniture warehouses, and fabric wholesalers.
If you're interested, two loft condominiums in the Heublein Building have just hit the market (and we expect to see at least one more unit return relatively soon). Unit #207 ($639,000 / 1,057 sqft) boasts many “new” features (but no pictures), pergo floors, electric baseboard heat, and one parking space; while unit #121 ($1,295,000 / 1,497 sqft), which failed to sell last year, offers a stunning solid high-end renovation ("Gourmet kitchen w/Bulthaup cabinetry, SubZero, Miele dishwasher/oven, Gaggenau cooktop…Master Bath w/Waterworks limestone, Ann Sacks stones..."), 3-zone radiant heat, and two-car parking.
∙ 601 4th Street Background [hollidaydevelopment.com]
∙ The ClockTower Lofts (461 2nd Street) [SocketSite]
∙ The Live/Work Lofts Of 355 Bryant [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 601 4th Street #207 (1/1) 1,057 sqft - $639,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 601 4th Street #121 (2/2) 1,497 sqft - $1,295,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
Transbay Terminal (And Tower) Design Competition: The Teams
Five teams of designers and developers have officially “shown their interest” in tackling the design and construction of San Francisco’s new Transbay Terminal and tower. Confirming what we first reported back in November, Rogers, Foster, and Calatrava have all entered the contest (although Gehry has not). The five teams of designers and developers:
1. Richard Rogers Partnership with Forest City Enterprises and MacFarlane Partners
2. Norman Foster + Partners with Related Cos. and TMG Partners
3. Santiago Calatrava with Boston Properties
4. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects with Hines
5. Skidmore Owings & Merrill with Rockefeller Group Development Corp.
At the end of January, a seven-member jury will interview the five teams and then recommend a list of finalists to the Transbay board on February 15. The finalists will present drawings (remember, it’s tips@socketsite.com) and proposals in July; the winning team will be named on August 23.
UPDATE: Images are design renderings for Santiago Calatrava’s PATH Transportation Hub and Terminal that's being constructed in New York City.
∙ San Francisco Transbay Terminal: Design Competition Update [SocketSite]
∙ We're Thinking Gehry (No, Not Geary) [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay terminal race is on [SFGate]
∙ Five teams bid to design and build S.F. transit complex [SF Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
January 10, 2007
Evidence Of A Price Reduction At Arterra?
On the heels of advertised incentives, five listings for condos at Arterra have been added to the MLS (#303, #411, #446, #521 and #1113). And we can’t help but notice that while unit #303 was originally listed for $539,000 in December, it was relisted yesterday for $509,000 (an apparent drop of 5.6%).
∙ Listing: 300 Berry #303 (1/1) - $509,000
∙ Listing: 300 Berry #411 (2/1) - $713,000
∙ Listing: 300 Berry #446 (2/2) - $825,000
∙ Listing: 300 Berry #521 (1/1) - $599,000
∙ Listing: 300 Berry #1113 (2/1) - $799,000
∙ Incentives (And Insight?) At Arterra (300 Berry) [SocketSite]
∙ Arterra (300 Berry) Hits The MLS [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (39) | (email story)
From (Proposed) Condos To Kink
Kink.com (a local internet fetish company) has purchased the San Francisco Armory (1800 Mission) for $14.5 million and “intends to use the building for [their] core business of producing adult movies for internet distribution.” So much for those proposed condos.
∙ San Francisco Armory Pictures and Floor Plans [SFArmory.com]
∙ The New Pornographers [7x7 San Francisco]
∙ Mission Armory Redux? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (33) | (email story)
January 8, 2007
The Infinity: Online Floor Plans And Condo Specifications
A few readers tipped us off to the fact that The Infinity has updated their website to include all 42 floor plans and condo specs. We're quite enamored with the master suite (and dressing room) in residence 37B; and we can definitely appreciate one "plugged in" reader’s choice in floor plans. (Don't forget our invitation to the housewarming.)
∙ The Infinity: A Study In Contrast [SocketSite]
∙ The Clock Is Ticking For A Reader [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (34) | (email story)
January 4, 2007
368 Elm Street Condos: A Sales Update
A tipster notes that after a little more than a month on the market 368 Elm Street is advertising 8 of 28 condos sold (30%). No word on whether these eight sales include any BMR units or inside transactions.
∙ 368 Elm Street Condos: First Release Pricing And Scoop [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
January 3, 2007
Worth The Wait: 900 Minnesota (An Update)
An update on the redevelopment of 900 Minnesota (the former Esprit campus) from an insider: “[T]he project is now expected to deliver finished homes this fall (2007) in the adapted/ renovated brick buildings. The second phase will follow over the subsequent 10 months. Recycling pre-existing materials has taken longer than expected, but worth it.”
∙ 900 Minnesota: Now And Then [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
December 19, 2006
What’s Up With The Watermark "G"s?
A reader wonders, “What's the scoop on [Watermark] unit 15g? Tax records show that it was sold by Watermark for $830,000. It's a 1295 sq ft corner unit. 12g sold for $975,000; 17g sold for $1,650,000; 20g sold for $1,400,000. Now 15g just entered into contract for $969,000 as a resale. Why was there a fire sale at Watermark when this unit [first] entered into contract at around the same time as the other "g" units?”
Something definitely seems screwy, but unfortunately we don't have the inside scoop (this time). Readers? And while you’re at it, perhaps someone can answer our follow-up question: how’d the buyer of 17g wind up paying $250,000 more than the buyer of 20g? (And yes, the floor plans for all four of the units look identical.)
UPDATE: Okay, we should have caught this earlier, but the letters (A-U) used to designate floor plan types are not directly correlated with the actual unit addresses on each floor. In other words, while unit 15G is actually a “D” type floor plan, it looks like units 17G and 20G are actually “N” type floor plans. And to answer our own question, only two units in the entire building offer wraparound patios, and the “N” plan on the 17th floor is one of them. It’s turning out to be one of those mornings days…
∙ Watermark Update: 85% Sold [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (77) | (email story)
December 18, 2006
Millennium Tower San Francisco (301 Mission): Interest List
A tipster forwards an updated rendering from the placeholder website (interest list) for the 60-story Millennium Tower San Francisco that’s currently under construction at 301 Mission.
“In addition to the 60-story tower, there is a shorter, 125 foot (38 m) 11-story tower on the north end of the complex with more condos and residential amenities. In between the two towers, there will be a two-story glass atrium at about 43 ft. (13 m) tall. In total, the project will have437[419] units, some of which (~120) will be extended-stay hotel units and the others residential units.” (wikipedia)
Expect the condo/rental mix to change depending upon market conditions at the time of completion (2008/2009). And yes, this is the residential building that will rise four feet higher than One Rincon Hill.
∙ Millennium Tower San Francisco [Official website]
∙ Five Years Late (And One “N” Short) [SocketSite]
∙ Millennium Tower (301 Mission Street) [wikipedia]
∙ One Rincon Hill: Rain, Rain Go Away [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (43) | (email story)
December 14, 2006
Radiance At Mission Bay: Sales Center And Website Coming Soon
A tipster notes that BOSA Development is converting Catellus' Mission Bay offices in the Glassworks building (across from AT&T Park) into a sales office for their Mission Bay developments. First up, Radiance at Mission Bay a 417 unit development in Mission Bay between Terry Francois and Third Street (near the new GAP building).
Radiance at Mission Bay will consist of two 16-story towers, two 9-story midrise buildings, and townhomes with condominiums ranging in size from 850 to 2,175 square feet. The current website is simply a placeholder, the sales office should open early next year, and while ground has been broken, we don’t expect to see delivery of the condominiums until mid-2008.
We’d love to share some pictures, but according to our tipster, “no one has seen any renderings yet; they've been held close to the chest. So the office will probably have some images, and maybe even models, that will be the first look at the initial BOSA project.” Well, either that or another tipster will send us (and you) some holiday cheer. (email tips@socketsite.com)
∙ An Overview Of Mission Bay [SocketSite]
∙ Radiance at Mission Bay [Official Website]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
December 11, 2006
Book Concern Building (83 McAllister): Update And Pricing
The final fifteen condominiums at Book Concern Building have been released and mostly studios remain. Official footprints are undeniably small (ranging from 256 to 500 square feet), but many of the units offer an additional 100+ square feet of loft storage space (i.e., unofficial sleeping space). And for the most part, the condos are well designed (although we’d upgrade a number of the finishes). Overall, we're fans.
Prices for the remaining units range from $258,000 to $451,000 (HOA dues from $275-$360/mo) and the building has received its temporary certificate of occupancy (i.e. you can close escrow and move in). Gym, laundry, and “multi-purpose room” in the basement; deck on the roof; and a neighborhood that’s in transition. A rundown of the remaining units:
∙ 83 Mcallister #409 (0/1) - $258,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #312 (0/1) - $260,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #412 (0/1) - $273,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #402 (0/1) - $273,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #202 (0/1) - $330,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #211 (0/1) - $335,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #210 (0/1) - $335,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #212 (0/1) - $345,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #301 (1/1) - $364,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #206 (2/1) - $397,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #512 (0/1) - $402,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #504 (0/1) - $407,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #505 (0/1) - $417,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #201 (1/1) - $441,000
∙ 83 Mcallister #208 (1/1) - $451,000
∙ Book Concern Building (83 McAllister) [SocketSite]
∙ More Mid-Market Development And Definition [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
Arterra (300 Berry) Hits The MLS
Five of the 269 condominiums that comprise Arterra have been added to the MLS providing additional insight into pricing (and perhaps sales activity). HOA dues on these five condos range from $407-$537/mo.
∙ 300 Berry #303 (1/1) 735 sqft - $539,000
∙ 300 Berry #923 (2/2) 967 sqft - $840,000
∙ 300 Berry #1510 (2/1) 964 sqft - $899,000
∙ 300 Berry #557 (2/2) 1,237 sqft - $935,000
∙ 300 Berry #551 (3/2) 1,478 sqft - $1,054,000
∙ The Arterra: “Clean Design, Pure Living” At 300 Berry Street [SocketSite]
∙ Arterra and The Hayes: Sales Centers [SocketSite]
∙ Arterra Update: 19% Pre-Sold? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
December 9, 2006
Shoreline (41 Federal): Images And An Update
The good news: thanks to a tipster, we now have actual interior pictures (not renderings) from Shoreline. The potentially bad news: after the price reductions, there are only two units left.
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #32 (1/1.5) - $835,000
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #33 (2/2) - $1,325,000
∙ The Scoop On The Shoreline (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
∙ Savings At Shoreline (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
December 8, 2006
The Palms: Financing Incentives And Inventory Update
The Palms is currently advertising “4.625% Financing” (down from 5.25%?) for a “Limited time only!” (Keep in mind it’s an interest only 3/1 ARM for up to 80% of the purchase price of the condo, and with a minimum 10% down.)
And based on our calculations, they have enough unsold inventory for 100+ buyers to take them up on the incentive.
Posted by socketadmin at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
December 6, 2006
Heritage On Fillmore: The VIP Scoop
We made it over to Heritage on Fillmore last night for their VIP Grand Opening. And while we were digging the jazz, the people, and the vibe of the building, we have to admit that we were a bit under whelmed by the actual event. (Perhaps we’ve been spoiled by the openings and showrooms of One Rincon, The Infinity, and Arterra/Hayes.) Regardless, we got the scoop.
The sales center (1294 Fillmore, across the street from the Heritage) opens its doors to the public tomorrow, but they’re not going to start accepting deposits until mid-January (at which point a model unit on the 3rd floor should be open for hard hat tours). No word on whether they’ll start accepting “reservations” sooner.
Six floor plans will be offered, and pricing is expected to range from the low $500’s to high $600’s for one-bedrooms (37 including BMR), from the mid $700’s to a little over a million for two-bedrooms (38 including BMR), and in the $900’s for the five three-bedrooms. Stainless steel Kenmore ranges, microwaves, and dishwashers are included; but refrigerators, washers and dryers are not.
Marketing folks at the event were suggesting occupancy in mid-March, but a press release noted, “move-in date for the condos at The Heritage on Fillmore is anticipated for April 2007 and the grand opening of Yoshi’s San Francisco and other components of the Fillmore Heritage Center will occur mid-summer 2007.”
And of course the SocketSite super scoop, rumor has it that ten (10) units are being reserved for the developer. Or in marketing speak, “10 units already sold!”
∙ The Heritage On Fillmore (1300 Fillmore) [SocketSite]
∙ Heritage On Fillmore: VIP Grand Opening (12/5/06) [SocketSite]
∙ Heritage On Fillmore And 170 Off Third: BMR Updates [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
One Rincon Hill: Floor Plans, Features And Amenities
As a tipster notes, “One Rincon put up a new website tonight. It now shows the floor plans, features and amenities.” Just like those touchscreens (but without availability or views).
∙ One Rincon Hill’s Fall Newsletter And Update [SocketSite]
∙ First Impressions: One Rincon Hill Sales Center [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
December 4, 2006
3208 Pierce Street: Now Accepting Reservations
A tipster forwards an update regarding 3208 Pierce Street. According to Vanguard, “[o]nly six units are still available for reservation at the Marina’s newest luxury condominium development…at the corner of Pierce and Lombard.” Key word: “reservation.”
Vanguard also notes that “[c]onstruction is nearly complete,” the “Grand Opening is scheduled for later in December,” and registrants on the interest list can “select [a] unit prior to the public release.”
Oh, and it’s looking like our previous tipster was spot-on with regard to general prices and square footage.
∙ 3208 Pierce: 14 New Units [SocketSite]
∙ 3208 Pierce: A Few Details [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
December 1, 2006
1810 Polk Street: Reduction And Release
We’re still looking for a reader to send us the inside scoop on 1810 Polk Street. (Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?) We can, however, report that the price on condo #306 was just reduced $84,000 (7.1%), and that #308 has been added to the MLS at $1,125,000 (advertising “Newest and Final Release!”).
∙ 1810 Polk Street: New Condominiums [Socketsite]
∙ Listing: 1810 Polk Street #306 (3/3) - $1,095,000 [Vanguard]
∙ Listing: 1810 Polk Street #308 (3/3) - $1,125,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
November 30, 2006
Lundberg, ClockTower, And Cocktails…Oh My!
We’re huge fans of Architect Olle Lundberg’s design aesthetic (and happen to covet the Norwegian car ferry he inhabits near China Beach). And seeing as how we're not expecting an invitation to tour the inside of Ellison’s San Francisco pad (a Lundberg designed home), we’re jumping on the opportunity to explore a ClockTower loft that Lundberg designed along with interior decorator Linda Lee.
461 2nd Street #557 took four years to complete and features "2 tons of River Rock, $400,000 worth of fabricated glass and steel, and reclaimed Navy Turret ship mirrors on opposing sides of the windows to capture the partial water views."
You had us at the Hobart (refrigerator).
UPDATE (12/1): Okay, we’ve been and we’re fans (the storage space, built-ins, and level of detail/finish are fantastic). And yes, that sofa has got to go...
∙ Lundberg Design [2620 Third Street]
∙ New York Times Slideshow: Debris Decor [NYT]
∙ Friday Fun: Name This House [SocketSite]
∙ The ClockTower Lofts (461 2nd Street) [SocketSite]
∙ Listings: 461 2nd Street #557 (1,815 sq.ft.) - $1,195,000 [Meredith Martin]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
November 29, 2006
The Royal San Francisco: Under 20% Sold?
A peek into the windows of The Royal from a vantage point in the City Club seems to support speculation of fewer than ten closed condominium sales in the 46 unit Royal. And it's possible that those sales figures include five Below Market Rate (BMR) units.
And for those of you who have been following along at home, the owner of unit #604 remains "highly motivated," is offering to “pay 1 year hoa, parking, & gym membership,” and has reduced his/her asking price for a second time (now $769,000).
∙ The Royal San Francisco [SocketSite]
∙ The Royal San Francisco: An Update (And A Flip) [SocketSite]
∙ The City Club of San Francisco [cityclubsf.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
November 28, 2006
Heritage On Fillmore: VIP Grand Opening (12/5/06)
It's about two quarters later than expected, but Heritage on Fillmore is opening its sales office doors next Tuesday (12/5/06) with a VIP Grand Opening featuring cocktails, sushi by Yoshi’s, and of course, live jazz.
If you're seriously interested in the development, we suggest you weasel your way onto the VIP list. And if you’re already on the list and plan on attending, we suggest you remember to report back. You know we'd do the same for you.
∙ The Heritage On Fillmore (1300 Fillmore) [SocketSite]
∙ Heritage On Fillmore And 170 Off Third: BMR Updates [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
Argenta (1 Polk): Ground Breaking
As far as we know they're still not building any more land. But they are continuing to build thousands of new condos where none stood before.
Speaking of which, it looks like the Anka Group has broken ground on the 17 story Argenta at 1 Polk (corner of Fell/Market). Once a parking lot, the new development should add 180+ condominiums to the mid-market neighborhood (and is located two blocks from Hayes Valley).
And then there's the Union 76 gas station at the corner of Buchanan and Market. According to J.K. Dineen, Arquitectonica has been hired to transform that lot into an eight-story, 115-unit unit condominium building.
∙ Mid-Market Development “Breaking” News [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
November 27, 2006
Another Contender For Tallest Residential Building In San Francisco
Last week, J.K. Dineen broke the news of a proposed 60-story condominium tower to be built atop the southwest corner of San Francisco’s landmark Sheraton Palace Hotel.
The proposed 269-unit skyscraper would emerge out of the back left corner of the Palace's 92,000-square-foot lot, at Jessie and Annie alleys, replacing a 1989 addition to the hotel that would be demolished.
The addition would soar 669 feet. One Rincon Hill, now under construction, will be 641 feet, and the Millennium tower at First and Mission streets, is slated to rise 645 feet. [The proposed City House in LA still weighs in at 751 feet.]
The plan is for 41 one-bedroom units, 63 two-bedroom units, 111 two-bedroom "plus" units, and 51 three bedroom units. There would be three 8,000-square-foot penthouses on floors 58, 59, and 60. The eighth floor roof of the current Palace would be redesigned with a pool, spa and yoga space.
Skidmore Owens Merrill (SOM) is the “design architect on the project, with preservation architects Page & Turnbull handling the historic aspects.” (Under the current proposal, the hotel’s garden court and 518 rooms would remain untouched.)
Renderings of the proposed tower do exist, but so far we’ve had no luck tracking them down. Anybody? [email tips@socketsite.com] Anonymity (or credit should you so desire) guaranteed.
∙ Palace uprising: 60-story condo tower [bizjournal]
∙ The Tallest Residential Tower West Of The Mississippi Los Angeles! [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
368 Elm Street Condos: First Release Pricing And Scoop
Eight months ago we plugged our readers in to the “inside scoop” on 368 Elm Street in Hayes Valley (“28 units in total with 2 bedroom units averaging ~1200 sq.ft. and offering 2 car parking”). This weekend, the sales office opened its doors, and lo and behold, 28 condominiums with two-bedrooms averaging 1,201 square feet and offering two car parking.
Features include: bamboo flooring and gas fireplaces in all living/dining rooms; Jenn-Air appliances and marble counters in the kitchen; and marble flooring, glass sinks, and walk-in multi-head showers in the master bathrooms.
As far as pricing and availability, Vanguard appears to be testing the waters with a first release of the six first floor units priced from $515,000 (studio) to $769,000 (1,249 sq.ft. two-bedroom).
∙ 368 Elm #101 (2/2) - $769,000
∙ 368 Elm #102 (1/1) - $549,000
∙ 368 Elm #103 (2/2) - $769,000
∙ 368 Elm #104 (0/1) - $515,000
∙ 368 Elm #105 (2/2) - $749,000
∙ 368 Elm #106 (2/2) - $749,000
∙ New Developments: 368 Elm Street [SocketSite]
∙ SocketSite Inside Scoop: Vanguard Turk Street Development [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
November 22, 2006
Mint Lofts: 410 + 418 Jessie Street, San Francisco
Mint Lofts is comprised of two adjacent buildings which border the proposed Mint Plaza.
Constructed in 1926, and originally designed by architects James and Merritt Reid (think Fairmont Hotel and the Spreckels Temple of Music), 410 Jessie Street once served as offices and warehouses for the Hale Brother's Department Stores. The top six floors (5-10) of 410 Jessie were previously converted into leased live/work spaces but are currently undergoing a complete remodel before hitting the market. And floors 2-4 are in the process of being converted into more traditional condominium floor plans. When complete, the 52 condominiums will range in size from 460 to 2,390 square feet and will feature 11’ ceilings and “[i]ndustrial sized, double hung operable windows” (and yes, forced air heating/cooling).
The second Mint Loft building, 418 Jessie Street originally housed one of the Hale Brother's stores, and more recently served as a San Francisco firehouse. The nine floors of 418 Jessie are in the process of being converted into "25 luxury residences available for lease and sale" and will range in size from 600 to 3,500 square feet (and feature 10’ 6” ceilings). Both buildings will share a rooftop garden, grill, and fitness center; and include the increasingly obligatory "on-site concierge" (and perhaps less common "24-hour courtesy patrol").
Additional details on pricing, availability, and occupancy as soon as we have them (or sooner should a "plugged in" reader share the inside scoop).
UPDATE: A model unit in 410 Jessie is expected to be open by mid-December with closings and occupancy in both buildings targeted (i.e., best case scenario) for as early as February 2007. We should have rough pricing sometime next week.
∙ Mint Lofts [410 + 418 Jessie]
∙ Mint Plaza (And Livable City) [SocketSite]
∙ Bay Area Architects: The Reid Brothers [Page and Turnbull]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
November 20, 2006
1810 Polk Street: New Condominiums
1810 Polk Street (in San Francisco between Jackson and Washington) is a collection of 12 "newly constructed luxury residences” ranging in size from 1-bedroom/1-bath to 3-bedroom/3-bath. And after a couple of months on the market, only one condo (#306) is currently listed as Active and available.
We're still looking for hard numbers on actual sales (a number of units are currently in contract), and we haven't had a chance to tour any of the units (although the Viking appliances, wide plank Brazilian walnut floors, and one car deeded parking did catch our eye). Any readers care to fill in the blanks or share a first impression?
Oh, and in case you haven't been there in a while, we hate to break it to you, but New Wing Lee (and their "excellent fried prawns and pork fried rice") is no longer. Don’t blame us, we’re just the messengers.
∙ 1810 Polk Street [Official Site]
∙ Listing: 1810 Polk Street #306 (3/3) - $1,179,000 [Vanguard] [MLS]
∙ New Wing Lee Review [Yelp]
∙ Farewell Favorites: Wing Lee [mistersf.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
Heritage On Fillmore And 170 Off Third: BMR Updates
As far as we know, neither the Heritage on Fillmore or 170 Off Third have officially announced when they'll throw open the doors of their sales offices, but Below Market Rate (BMR) application deadlines, lottery dates, and workshops have been set.
For the Heritage on Fillmore, the BMR application deadline for the twelve BMR units (five 1-bedrooms, six 2-bedrooms, and one 3-bedroom) is February 3rd, 2007 with the golden tickets being drawn on February 16th. Buyer workshops are scheduled for December 7th and December 9th at the African American Art and Culture Complex (762 Fulton Street).
For 170 Off Third, the BMR application deadline for their 24 affordable homes is January 5th, 2007 with the lottery (“to be monitored by the Mayor's Office of Housing and a third-party auditing firm”) being held on January 9th. “The 170 Off Third Sales team and the Mayor’s Office of Housing are holding a public informational session Tuesday, December 5th, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (701 Mission Street, San Francisco).”
∙ The Heritage On Fillmore (1300 Fillmore) [SocketSite]
∙ Heritage on Fillmore BMR application and eligibility requirements [sfurbanchc.org]
∙ 170 Off Third BMR overview and application [170offthird.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
November 17, 2006
Harbor Lofts (400 Spear): San Francisco Warehouse Conversion
The 46 live/work loft condominiums that comprise Harbor Lofts (400 Spear) in San Francisco were the result of a rehabilitation and conversion of the Hathaway Warehouse (a national historic landmark) in 1996-1997.
One of the oldest extant warehouses in the city, the ground story of this splendid brick structure has its origins in the third quarter of the 19th Century, possibly as early as 1856. Additions to the Harrison Street facade were completed in 1875 and the upper sections of the building were completed by about 1900. The two-story brick building, now painted a cream color, is distinguished by projecting brick hood moldings on the ground floor along Spear Street. Brick pilasters with corbelled capitals divide the facade into a series of paired window bays.
MBH Architects led the design of the conversion, and the 46 condominium lofts range in size from 650 to 1,700 square feet. Interiors feature exposed brick and timber accents and all units offer direct access to a two-story central courtyard.
As far as we know, unit #118 is currently the only available unit on the market (although it’s not listed) and boasts a “showcase remodel that delivers wall finishes of stippled concrete and Venetian plaster…open, rustic shelving in the kitchen and rough-hewn sliding wooden doors at both of the bathrooms…[p]olished concrete floors…[and] a roomy tiled shower with a built-in bench, and a vessel sink perched atop a wooden vanity.”
Any current (or past) residents care to shed some additional light on living in the building and the neighborhood?
∙ MBH Architects: Harbor Lofts [mbharch.com]
∙ Listing: 400 Spear Street #118 (1/1.5) – $775,000 [863katy.com]
∙ Area Plan: Rincon Hill: Site 5 – Hathaway Warehouse [SFGov]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
November 15, 2006
900 Minnesota: Now And Then
The former Esprit de Corp. headquarters in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood (900 Minnesota) is being “deconstructed” and its lumber recycled (a practice that’s both “environmentally sound as well as lucrative”).
In its place, Build Inc. is developing 142 new condominiums, “a commercial component, a café, 168 inside parking spaces and significant open space." Prices on the individual condos (one and two bedrooms) have not been set, but back in February they were expected to range from $600,000 to $1,000,000.
And according to a tipster over at Potrero Hill, San Francisco, the condos are “scheduled for delivery [sales] around Spring of 2007 (about 3 months behind right now),” the development is “spread over several buildings (both new and renovated ones),” and units will range from ~800 to 1,700+ square feet.
∙ SAN FRANCISCO: OLD TIMBERS GET NEW LIFE [SFGate]
∙ McGuire gets nod to market Esprit condos [bizjournals]
∙ 900 Minnesota Update [PotreroHillSF]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
The Great One Rincon Hill/Infinity Smackdown
The schism between ardent buyers/fans of One Rincon Hill and The Infinity has led to a number of informative discussions about deeded versus assigned parking, ventless dryers, and the overall development of Rincon Hill. At the same time, the “my building is better (bigger?) than your building” comments are derailing discussions and, as Mike notes, they're "getting tedious."
As such, and in a similar vein to our “One Free Pass” post, please consider this as an opportunity for both camps to single-mindedly debate the relative merits of both developments. Infinity fans, feel free to thumb your nose at One Rincon’s traffic woes and assigned parking. One Rincon fans, break out your best “the market has spoken” sales figures and common area taunts.
And while we’re not about to stop publishing pieces about either of these developments, we are going to rein in the off-topic (or disruptive) comments and threads. So get it out of your systems now. And as always, thanks for "plugging in."
∙ One Rincon Hill: Rain, Rain Go Away [SocketSite]
∙ V Is For Valet (And Ventless) [SocketSite]
∙ The (Traffic) Plan For Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
∙ One Free Pass [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (112) | (email story)
November 14, 2006
San Francisco Transbay Terminal: Design Competition Update
Okay, so we’ve heard rumblings that both Norman Foster and Richard Rogers are, in fact, working on proposals for San Francisco’s new Transbay terminal. (A bit of trivia: Foster, Rodgers, and their two wives once worked together as "Team 4.")
And while neither architect was involved in the design of Berlin’s new Central Station (above), a reader forwards a link to "Europe's largest and newest train station" and a thought, “[i]f we stop treating San Francisco as Colonial Williamsburg, perhaps we too can think like a grown-up city."
UPDATE (12/18): We've now heard Santiago Calatrava as well.
∙ Norman Foster [Great Buildings Online]
∙ Richard Rogers [Great Buildings Online]
∙ We're Thinking Gehry (No, Not Geary) [SocketSite]
∙ Berlin Central Station [ArchitectureWeek]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
One Rincon Hill: Rain, Rain Go Away
(An actual view from the 15th floor of an ’02 stack condominium at One Rincon Hill.)
According to the Chronicle, they’re now cranking out a new floor every three days over at One Rincon Hill (22 have already been poured). Also noted, even high humidity days (much less rain) can delay construction. As such, we have to imagine that yesterday wasn’t one of their most productive days. (For those outside of San Francisco, it rained. A lot.)
And as always, an obligatory mention that One Rincon Hill will be the “tallest residential building west of the Mississippi.” At least until the proposed City House gets built in Los Angeles (110 feet taller). Or until someone notices that reader Steve measures One Rincon Hill at 641 feet, and the Millennium Tower at 645…
UPDATE: A reader references the New York Times article about condos and parking, and we offer two quotes from said article as food for thought: 1. "...housing is expensive and parking is cheap…We’ve got it the wrong way around.”, and 2. “In San Francisco, more downtown housing has been approved over the last few years than in the last 20 years combined.”
∙ ONE RINCON: Building a High-Rise [SFGate]
∙ First Impressions: One Rincon Hill Sales Center [SocketSite]
∙ The Tallest Residential Tower West Of The Mississippi Los Angeles! [SocketSite]
∙ One Rincon Hill Views [skyboxrealty.com]
∙ No Parking: Condos Leave Out Cars [NYT]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (55) | (email story)
November 13, 2006
Glassworks (207 King): Listings And Reductions
Of the five recently converted condos in the Glassworks building (207 King), two have been added to the MLS at reduced prices (from $16,000 to $55,000 off). And while it might not be too much of a reduction in terms of percentage (1.6% to 3.3%), it's definitely another data point (and perhaps a signal that there’s room for negotiation on all five).
∙ The Glassworks (207 King Street) [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 207 King Street #414 (1/2) - $979,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 207 King Street #413 (2/2) - $1,595,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
Ritz-Carlton Residences (690 Market): Listed
At least six listings for the new San Francisco Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences (690 Market) have been added to the MLS. Occupancy is currently slated for November 2007 with 1/12th deeded fractional interests starting at $210,000. And if you're not in the mood to share, perhaps we might be able to interest you in the $5,420,000 penthouse that's being offered as “shell space enabling the buyer to fully customize the interior” (which we love).
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
November 8, 2006
It’s All About Service And Style At The Soma Grand (1160 Mission)
Soma Grand represents San Francisco based Joie de Vivre’s entrée into the world of condominium developments. Designed by Architecture International, Soma Grand will consist of 246 “lifestyle condos” above four floors of parking and offer residents a full compliment of Joie de Vivre style luxury hotel services.
As Damion Matthews reports, “construction is moving along at a nice pace”:
The exterior and windows are going up. I wouldn’t be surprised if the 22-story building meets the scheduled completion date of November 2007. Not as high-profile as the Rincon Hill buildings, this well thought-out project should be the hot new thing on the 2007 condo market (I believe it’s the largest new development to be ready for completion in 2007, as well.)
Services at the Soma Grand will include a full-time concierge team, housekeeping services (“executed by hotel-trained room attendants”), on-site yoga classes, and around the clock “complimentary Peet's coffee and tea” in the lobby (hey, it’s the little things).
A couple of design features that caught our attention include a “Spa Room and Meditation Garden,” “South Beach-style cabanas, lush landscaping and water features,” and “BBQs and a community fire pit.” And did we mention that it will be a City Car Share location?
The sales office is slated to open “Early 2007” and the condominiums will range in size from Junior one bedrooms to three-bedroom two-bath units. No official word on pricing, but we’ll keep you posted.
∙ Soma Grand [1160 Mission]
∙ Life is grand at 8th and mission [SFCondo]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (55) | (email story)
November 7, 2006
The Tallest Residential Tower West Of The Mississippi Los Angeles!
A tipster forwards a piece from the Los Angeles Business Journal:
The Titan Organization Inc. has taken another step towards building its pair of $500 million luxury apartment towers in downtown Los Angeles’ South Park district.
The company, formerly known as Rodmark Inc., has closed escrow on a 58,000-square-foot property at the southeast corner of Grand Avenue and Olympic Boulevard where the Olympic and City House will be built. The towers will be tallest residential buildings on the West Coast when completed.
We only mention it because...well you have probably already figured it out. At 60-stories, the taller of the two proposed L.A. towers will rise five stories higher than One Rincon Hill’s fifty-five.
Perhaps it's simply a difference in how they're counting stories (some special developers math?), or perhaps we can still win out on some technicality (highest occupied floor? total elevation? anybody?), but if not, the days of One Rincon Hill (and San Francisco) boasting the “tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi” might already be numbered.
∙ Olympic and City House Design [robertsonpartners.net]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (42) | (email story)
November 6, 2006
Savings At Shoreline (41 Federal)
No need to wait until Christmas “Shoreline Watcher,” prices on the five listed Shoreline condominiums were reduced between $25,000 and $55,000 (3-5%) last Friday. (Would that make it coal in the stockings of the other four?)
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #31 (1/1.5) 1,060sqft - $895,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #32 (1/1.5) 921 sqft - $825,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #33 (2/2) 1,423 sqft - $1,325,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #41 (1/1.5) 956 sqft - $895,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #42 (1/1.5) 921 sqft - $850,000 [MLS]
∙ A Shoreline (41 Federal) Update: Comments [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
October 31, 2006
We're Thinking Gehry (No, Not Geary)
As if right on cue, the day after we publish an overview of the Transbay Redevelopment, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority ratifies an international design competition for the Transbay Terminal and an adjacent skyscraper.
Not just any skyscraper, but a “1,000-foot high-rise that would include a hotel, as well as residential and commercial units” and stand 150 feet taller than the Transamerica Pyramid (currently the tallest building in San Francisco). We're thinking bold. We're thinking iconic. We're thinking Gehry.
∙ The Transbay Redevelopment [SocketSite]
∙ Worldwide design hunt is on [Examiner]
∙ Wikipedia: Frank Gehry [wikipedia.org]
∙ Gehry/Ratner Renderings! [Curbed]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
October 30, 2006
New Developments: The Montgomery (74 New Montgomery)
Work continues on the conversion of 74 New Montgomery (a “historic high-rise office building” built in 1914 and listed on San Francisco’s historical register) into 107 condominium residences ("The Montgomery"). The development is being led by New Urban Properties with architectural design by Huntsman Architectural Group. Sales and occupancy are expected to commence in early 2007.
And while we haven't heard anything with regard to pricing, our one point of reference is a reported $80M budget for the conversion (i.e., they're not going to be cheap).
∙ The Montgomery [74 New Montgomery]
∙ Huntsman Architectural Group: 74 New Montgomery [huntsmanag.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
October 24, 2006
631 Folsom: 120 Condos In 2008
Construction is underway on 631 Folsom, a 21-story, 120-unit residential tower with a story of retail at its base. Malcolm Properties is leading the development of the Handel Architects design.
The design for 631 Folsom Street incorporates goals established in the Rincon Place, the Transbay Plan, and the General Plan for downtown San Francisco by creating a high-density project that preserves sunlight and air, provides open space, and enhances the development of the area.
The massing is tall and slender to maintain view corridors, provide sunlight and air at street level, and give units natural light. The light-colored pre-cast concrete, the bluish glass, and metal curtain wall give the facades an expression of lightness and transparency.
The tower is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2008 and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the dual sliding glass corner doors made it into the final design. Any readers have any additional information or insight to share?
UPDATE (10/30/06): Alas, according to a reader the dual sliding glass doors were cut from the final design. And yes, we're disappointed.
∙ Handel Architects [handelarchitects.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
October 23, 2006
The Odeon (181 O’Farrell): First Impressions And Pricing
Odeon, a collection of 29 two-story loft style homes opened their doors to the general public this weekend. We took a tour and were relatively impressed by the finish of the kitchens and living/dining areas, the closet/storage space, and the character of the building and windows/light. At the same time, we were a bit underwhelmed by the bathrooms (the “tile tub surrounds” seemed out of place) and the “deeded” outdoor space (and potential fishbowl feel) of the third floor courtyard units. (A couple of other notes: bamboo floors on the main level are standard, dryers are vented, and no A/C.)
In general, one bedrooms facing Powell are priced from $780,000 (third floor) to $790,000 (fifth floor), while the larger one bedrooms facing the courtyard (~1,500 sqft) are priced from $879,000 to $905,000 (third and fifth floors). There are also two one bedrooms which face O’Farrell for which we do not have pricing, and rumor has it the three bedroom “penthouse” was priced around $2,000,000 (but has been reserved).
There is no parking in the building (two years of pre-paid leased parking in the garage at Ellis and O’Farrell is included in the sale), it’s another case of B.Y.O.R. (bring your own refrigerator), and HOAs are expected to run around $600 a month.
As far as sales activity, we’ve been told that fifth floor penthouse, the corner unit on the third floor, and the courtyard showroom unit on the third floor have all been reserved. (We haven’t confirmed any other sales.) Closings and occupancy and are expected to commence within the next four weeks, and there are no restrictions with regard to resales or rentals.
∙ New Developments: Odeon (181 O’Farrell) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
October 20, 2006
188 King Street: The Rents
Based on a number of craigslist ads (and another email from our tipster), it appears that rents in 188 King street are running from $2,795 (1br) to $9,500 (2br penthouse). Not a bad way to try out the building, and the neighborhood, if you're considering a purchase (especially if you can pre-negotiate an option to buy).
According to our tipster, “The units on the second floor in the back, with the separate bedroom type area and the huge patio are going for $3200 per month and are leasing quickly” while “The units in the back of the building above the second are [priced] at $2795,” and “They claim to have leased the third floor and now are working on the fourth as they work their way up the building.” In addition, the front penthouses are going for $5,000 while the larger 3,000 sqft penthouses in the back are going for $9,500.
An important consideration if you’re interested in buying one of the units in the front-half of the building: quite a few lenders will refuse to finance a condo in a building that is less than 60% owner-occupied. It's something to consider in terms of resale as well.
∙ The Scoop On 188 King Street: Now Selling Leasing [SocketSite]
∙ $2795 / 1br - New construction! [craigslist]
∙ $3200 / 1br - Brand new luxury loft w/ LARGE deck! [craigslist]
∙ $5000 / 2br - Fantastic penthouse w 16ft ceilings [craigslist]
∙ $9500 / 2br - 3,000 SQUARE FOOT PENTHOUSE!! [craigslist]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
October 19, 2006
The Scoop On 188 King Street: Now Selling Leasing
The links are ours; the words are from a “plugged in” tipster:
First, you are right on, they have sold 12 units with the last two sales coming in the last few weeks. What is not public knowledge, however, is that five of those sales are units that have been, as your site pointed out earlier, retained for investment purposes but marked as sold for marketing purposes.
So they have sold seven units in six months, and that was before all the news of the market going south and before 200 units come on-line at 170 off Third. Their new strategy is to aggressively lease up the back of the building. They are going floor by floor, starting at the bottom. They are also trying to lease the penthouses.
If you’ve been “plugging in,” this new development shouldn’t catch you by surprise. If not, however, perhaps this will serve as a wake-up call (on a number of different levels).
∙ 188 King Street Update: 27% Sold? [SocketSite]
∙ 188 King Street: An Update [SocketSite]
∙ QuickLinks: New Condos On The Market (Or In The Works) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
A Shoreline (41 Federal) Update
It has been two months since we last checked in on the Shoreline development, and unfortunately, we really don’t have anything new to report (other than more detailed pricing). In other words, there has been no movement on those last five units (out of nine).
∙ 41 Federal #31 (1/1.5) 1,060sqft - $950,000
∙ 41 Federal #32 (1/1.5) 921 sqft - $850,000
∙ 41 Federal #33 (2/2) 1,423 sqft - $1,350,000
∙ 41 Federal #41 (1/1.5) 956 sqft - $950,000
∙ 41 Federal #42 (1/1.5) 921 sqft - $875,000
∙ The Scoop On The Shoreline (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
October 18, 2006
The Royal San Francisco: An Update (And A Flip)
The word on the street is that The Royal San Francisco is struggling to close on their “pre-sales.” At the same time, unit #604 (which looks to be a flip) has just been reduced (“for quick sale [with a] highly motivated seller”) from $809,000 to $789,000. According to the Royal’s website, #604 was originally offered by the developer for $725,000.
∙ The Royal San Francisco [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 201 Sansome Street #604 (1/1) - $789,000 [Prudential via Pacific Union]
∙ The Royal: Pricing [theroyalsf.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
One Rincon Hill Tips And Tidbits (10/18/06)
1. From a local broker: “…out of the 13 units that I have represented buyers for at One Rincon Hill 12 are in contract with one that hasn't signed yet (will probably fall apart.) Typically I expect about 30% of the reservations to withdraw before signing or during the contingency period of the contract for new construction.”
2. From a three year old San Francisco Business Times article concerning the demolition of the Bank of America clock tower in order to make way for One Rincon Hill: The developer "hopes to assuage any outcry at the demolition of the landmark by constructing a "Big Ben-type of clock ... reminiscent of the clock tower," at the top of the 35-story tower.” [There must not have been much outcry (or future residents are in for one heck of a “Big” surprise). Anyone up for a little photochopping fun?]
∙ Clock tower's hour of doom [bizjournals]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
October 13, 2006
Avalon At Mission Bay II And Creativity Explored
We were lucky enough to attend a reception hosted by AvalonBay last night to celebrate the opening of the Avalon at Mission Bay II (301 King Street) and honor Creativity Explored, a visual art center where adults with developmental disabilities create, exhibit and sell art.
AvalonBay purchased nearly 100 paintings by over 20 different Creativity Explored artists to decorate the lobby and common areas of the Avalon at Mission Bay II. And while covering apartment building openings isn’t our usual bailiwick, we loved the story. And we loved the art.
∙ Avalon At Mission Bay II [301 King Street]
∙ Creativity Explored [3245 16th Street]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
October 11, 2006
The ClockTower Lofts (461 2nd Street)
A recent debate about the impact of Bay Bridge traffic and noise on a number of Rincon Hill developments leads to a logical end beginning: soliciting input from those who have lived in a similarly situated development over the course of the past 14 years.
Developed by Rick Holliday, and designed by architect David Baker, the ClockTower at 461 Second Street is a true loft development of 127 live/work units (converted from warehouse space in 1992).
The ClockTower - actually three interconnected buildings - once housed the venerable Schmidt Lithograph Company, whose designers and printers produced classic California fruit-crate labels. The original three-story brick and timber plant that Max Schmidt built was expanded over the years to include a six-story concrete building and finally, to signal the company's success, the 170-foot-high steel-frame clock tower. Now Holliday has converted these three distinct structures - 230,000 square feet in all - into 127 open floor-plan spaces, offering tenants live/work units with views of the freeway and the Bay.The three building spaces were ingeniously divided to create 44 distinct floor plans; each design was repeated as few times as possible. Baker likens this group of buildings to an old city "quarter" - an arrondissement - with its spatial variations. "Modern cities are too rational," he says, adding that "it's nice to lose your way once in a while." So, not coincidentally, there is a labyrinth of passageways connecting the different spaces. Newcomers have to use a map to get around.
And right below the tower clock, an exclusive Bavarian-style beer hall (once reserved for the Schmidts and their friends), which had fallen into shameful disrepair, was rebuilt as a million-dollar penthouse, its panoramic views oddly enhanced by the stream of cars on the freeway below.
Would any past, current, or prospective inhabitants of the ClockTower care to shed some light on the development in general, and the impact of the Bay Bridge in specific? (And if you know someone who might be able to provide some insight, but isn’t currently “plugged in” (it happens), perhaps you’ll be kind enough to forward this along.)
We’re going to spend the rest of the afternoon daydreaming about our own little Bavarian-style beer hall penthouse in the sky...
∙ clocktower lofts [david baker + partners architects]
∙ Clock Tower Lofts [Holliday Development]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
October 10, 2006
188 King Street Update: 27% Sold?
Is it really possible that there have been only three sales in 188 King Street since our sales update in August? If so, we estimate that 32 of the 44 condos remain available. Two first-hand accounts from SocketSite tipsters (tips@socketsite.com):
“Right before leaving for vacation at the end of August, we stopped by 188 King again because we really do like a particular unit there. It was the weekend after their price drops (the unit we like was lowered from $925k to $825k). We got a hard sell...from the agent who warned us that the unit would definitely be sold by the time we returned in two weeks from our trip as the price reductions were generating lots of renewed interest. Well, here we are, well into October and if the MLS is correct, it looks like there's been little to no movement of those units, including the one we like."
“Based on your last update we took another look at 188 King last week. Couldn’t help but notice that half of the ten available units in ‘Phase II’ were leftover from Phase I.”
It's true, there are currently 9 Active listed condos in “Phase II,” five of which (201, 203, 306, 404, and 503) were available in “Phase I.” We can’t help but wonder, is the stumbling block product, price, or positioning?
∙ 188 King Street: Sales Update [SocketSite]
∙ Price Reductions At 188 King [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
Arterra Update: 19% Pre-Sold?
According to a tipster, around 50 of 269 condos have been pre-sold at Arterra over the past ten days. No breakdown on what percentage of the 50 were pre-pre-sold to friends and family (or inside sales), or what percentage have been reserved versus receiving non-refundable deposits.
Occupancy is slated for “early 2008” and we’re still looking for more detailed information on pricing. And based on the recent great valet debate, we thought you’d like to know that it’s deeded, not assigned, parking in the building.
∙ Arterra and The Hayes: Sales Centers [SocketSite]
∙ Arterra First Release: September 30 [SocketSite]
∙ The Arterra: “Clean Design, Pure Living” At 300 Berry Street [SocketSite]
∙ V Is For Valet (And Ventless) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
The Beacon: Sales Office Incentives
There are currently 26 Active listed resale condos in The Beacon. In addition, there are around 25 unlisted units being marketed directly through the sales office. One tipster’s insight:
I was checking out the Beacon today (Sunday) and the new sales manager…was telling me that the [developer] wants to get the remaining 35ish units sold this year [and]…it looks like they'll throw in upgrades (hardwoods, stainless, etc.) or pre-pay some HOA, or actually do a price reduction, or any combination of those, up to maybe 5% of the current list price. They're looking for "reasonable" offers - but feel like they "don't need to give away the store because there's still plenty of market out there." They sold 6 in the last couple weeks this way. He also said that buyers aren't at all wary of the lawsuit.
In total, close to 9% of the condos at The Beacon are on the market and competing for your attention.
∙ Actually, They Were The Second [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
September 27, 2006
Actually, They Were The Second
A week ago, and based on a tip (thank you!), we alerted you to a “Sales Office Shakeup” and soon to be 3% broker commissions over at the Beacon. Guess you could say it’s been confirmed (thanks to another tipster yesterday). And if you’ve been “plugged in” to SocketSite, you were actually the first to know…
∙ A Sales Office Shakeup At The Beacon? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
September 26, 2006
235 Berry Street Update: Under 50% Sold?
Back in February, it was reported that 60 interested parties participated in a “mini-lottery” for the right to purchase the first release of 20 units at 235 Berry Street. A couple of months later, a second release of around 18 units was reported to have sold out as well. And then in June, six units were released under relatively demanding terms (“arrive promptly at 10:00 am . . . with a copy of your pre-qualification letter and evidence of source of funds for the balance of your purchase”).
It’s now three months later and we can’t help but notice that at least four of the six units released in June are still available (#104, #105, #110, #112). We're guessing that scheduled releases have since fallen by the wayside, and we've been told that they’re shooting for closings and occupancy by the end of the year. Pricing on 14 of the remaining condos:
∙ 235 Berry #104 (2/2.5) 1,255 sqft - $1,027,900
∙ 235 Berry #105 (2/2.5) 1,255 sqft - $1,024,900
∙ 235 Berry #112 (2/2.5) 1,255 sqft - $1,021,900
∙ 235 Berry #110 (3/3) 1,500 sqft - $1,315,900
∙ 235 Berry #501 (2/2) 1,070 sqft - $807,900
∙ 235 Berry #503 (2/2) 1,070 sqft - $809,900
∙ 235 Berry #505 (2/2) 1,235 sqft - $935,900
∙ 235 Berry #413 (2/2) 1,235 sqft - $939,900
∙ 235 Berry #515 (2/2) 1,235 sqft - $945,900
∙ 235 Berry #507 (2/2) 1,235 sqft - $955,900
∙ 235 Berry #513 (2/2) 1,235 sqft - $955,900
∙ 235 Berry #411 (2/2) 1,063 sqft - $957,900
∙ 235 Berry #407 (2/2) 1,235 sqft - $958,900
∙ 235 Berry #508 (2/2) 1.370 sqft - $995,900
We also can’t help but notice that the four units that failed to sell in June are now listed at prices that are, on an average, 2.5% higher than in June. (Perhaps we’re reading into it, but so much for the seller paying for the buyer’s broker commission incentives.)
∙ 235 Berry Street Sales Release (6/11/06) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
September 22, 2006
Broderick Place: 83% Sold
From what we’ve been told, 3% deposits have been received on about 58 of the 70 condos that make up Broderick Place. And while it looks like they are now targeting Jan/Feb for initial closings and occupancy, rumor has it that the retail component (which includes a Peets, Faletti Fine Foods, and Da’ Lessio Delicatessen) could open as early as next month. Available inventory:
∙ Broderick Place #307 (1/1) 671 sqft - $510,900
∙ Broderick Place #400 (1/1) 671 sqft - $510,900
∙ Broderick Place #206 (2/2) 949 sqft - $680,800
∙ Broderick Place #303 (2/2) 970 sqft - $689,900
∙ Broderick Place #313 (2/2) 1,063 sqft - $696,999
∙ Broderick Place #403 (2/2) 970 sqft - $695,900
∙ Broderick Place #406 (2/2) 944 sqft - $695,900
∙ Broderick Place #311 (2/2) 975 sqft - $696,900
∙ Broderick Place #305 (2/2) 1,056 sqft - $697,900
∙ Broderick Place #315 (2/2) 970 sqft - $697,900
∙ Broderick Place #308 (2/2) 976 sqft - $698,900
∙ Broderick Place #320 (2/3) 1,424 sqft - $808,900
Keep in mind that parking is not included in the price of the condos (but is available for $35,000), and “all homes must be owner occupied.”
∙ New Developments: Broderick Place [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
September 21, 2006
Now Serving: The Watermark
What do the The Beacon, the Metropolitan, and now the Watermark all have in common? That’s right, pending litigation courtesy of Patrick Catalano. According to a tipster:
A lawsuit was filed against the Watermark on September 14th (case CGC-06-456175). The allegation? You guessed it! Square Footage! Does anyone think [Catalano] is the patron Saint of Condo Measurement…
San Francisco Superior Court case number CGC-06-456175 is identified as “CATALINA GARCIA VS. SAN FRANCISCO CRUISE TERMINALS LLC, A LIMITED et al” with the cause of action "CONTRACT/WARRANTY.” (Anybody care to share the filing/complaint?)
And while it might not be a class action suit (yet?), and it’s probably just a coincidence, we can’t help but notice it was filed the day after the Proposed SF Cruise Ship Terminal Sunk. Unfortunately, we’ve just filed this one under “trends.”
∙ A Big Bad Lawsuit At The Beacon [SocketSite]
∙ A Class Action Suit At The Metropolitan? [SocketSite]
∙ Watermark Update: 85% Sold [SocketSite]
∙ Proposed SF Cruise Ship Terminal Sunk [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (44) | (email story)
September 19, 2006
A Sales Office Shakeup At The Beacon?
According to a tipster, the sales office at the Beacon is about “to announce 3% broker commissions and…are really negotiating on deals.” And while the Mark Company will still be in charge of selling, they “cleaned house with the staff and are bringing in…new people.” We’re still trying to verify the inventory of developer units (and the tip), but keep in mind that there are currently 23 Active listings in the Beacon (five of which are with the Mark Company).
And while at least five of the resale listings have already been reduced (some more than once), between deals being cut in the sales office on new units, the pending class action suit, and the market in general, it’s probably not too much of a stretch to expect additional reductions in the not too distant future.
UPDATE (9/20): Well, it’s still a shake up, but it’s possible that it might have been the former staff that initiated the act. As one reader notes, “Can anyone blame the salespeople for wanting out? They are compensated on a commission basis and are sitting on the last and least desirable of the inventory and it isn't moving (obviously compounded by the well publicized lawsuit).”
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #751 (2/2) - $815,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
September 18, 2006
A Spinning Sign Of The Times (And The Lansing)
From a tipster (email: tips@socketsite.com):
I may be a bit naive, because I don't hang out much around South Beach/Rincon Hill/Mission Bay.....but I was driving down that way today and saw something I haven't seen in SF before. There was a guy out on the corner of Folsom and 1st (I think) waving one of those "now selling" signs for the Lansing. You know the type...plugged into a walkman, and waving the sign to the music... I have seen this phenomenon visiting San Diego and LA...but somehow I though that we were above it in this "sophisticated" city.
We couldn’t help but dispatch a crack photojournalist to immortalize the scene. In related news, we’ve been told that there are 14 two-bedroom condos still available in The Lansing (82 units and 83% sold), that their rate buy-down program is still being offered, and that the developer is “motivated.” A couple of current list prices to get you started:
∙ 50 Lansing #105 (2/2) - $850,000
∙ 50 Lansing #305 (2/2) - $699,000
∙ 50 Lansing #503 (2/2) - $760,000
∙ 50 Lansing #504 (2/2) - $750,000
∙ 50 Lansing #608 (2/2) - $795,000
∙ 50 Lansing #609 (2/2) - $795,000
∙ 50 Lansing #706 (2/2) - $795,000
∙ 50 Lansing #801 (2/2) - $1,210,000
And it's strange, but we can’t help but notice that #503 was listed for $725,000 just last month. (And once again, that #303 closed for $755,000 while #403 closed for $725,000.)
UPDATE (9/23): We've added pricing for units #608, #706, and #801.
∙ The Lansing (50 Lansing): Reductions And Recent Sales [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
September 15, 2006
The Palms (555 4th Street) Update: 65% Sold
With closings and occupancy starting last month, and after about eight months of selling, we estimate there are still 100+ condominiums available for purchase in The Palms (about 65% sold).
Keep in mind that there are only 6 units in The Palms currently listed on the MLS, and thus the “official” inventory figures for San Francisco (and months of supply) are understated by at least 100 units based on this one development alone (more on this Monday).
∙ The Palms: Phase II Release [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #106 (3/3) - $1,295,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #531 (2/2) - $865,800 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #715 (1/1) - $629,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #719 (1/1) - $608,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #822 (2/2) - $845,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th Street #839 (2/2) - $1,250,000 [MLS]
∙ Inventory Update: Four Days Later [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) | (email story)
Arterra First Release: September 30
The first release of Arterra condos is officially slated for September 30. As is de riguer (at least for the time being), pre-qualification with the development’s “preferred lender” (Wells Fargo) is a prerequisite to being placed on the “VIP list” and invited to peruse the inventory and make a deposit.
And while we haven’t received any additional information with regard to pricing, or insight into which condos in which buildings (Sky, City, and Park) are being released, we’ll do our best to keep all you lovers of “clean design” and “pure living” plugged in as details emerge (i.e., someone tips us off).
∙ The Arterra: “Clean Design, Pure Living” At 300 Berry Street [SocketSite]
∙ Arterra and The Hayes: Sales Centers [SocketSite]
∙ Arterra: Less Sex, More Green [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
September 14, 2006
The Brannan: Four Months Later
In May we explored “The State Of The Brannan.” At the time there were 12 Active listings in the three upscale modern buildings that make up The Brannan (219-239 Brannan). And as we noted, “from what we’re told it’s taking 60% longer to sell a unit in The Brannan this year versus last year (70 days on the market versus 42), but we believe that this reflects an overall slowing of the market rather than any particular weakness in The Brannan.”
Today, 18 of the 336 units in The Brannan are Active listings (plus 3 in contract). And of those 18 units, at least five (28%) have been reduced from between $20,000 (2.7%) and $128,000 (9.9%), while one is offering “2 Years of HOA Dues PAID by Seller or Interest Rate Buy Down Option!" And once again, we believe that this reflects an overall slowing of the market rather than any particular weakness in The Brannan.
Somewhat ironically, the least expensive unit currently available in The Brannan is 219 Brannan #9B ($689,000), which has not been reduced, and is presented with some of the best photography of all 18.
∙ The State Of The Brannan [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 219 Brannan #1G (1/1.5) - $729,000 [Coldwell Banker]
∙ Listing: 219 Brannan #8K (2/2) - $1,449,000 [Coldwell Banker]
∙ Listing: 219 BRANNAN #9B (1/1) - $689,000 [Pacific Union]
∙ Listing: 219 Brannan #12A (1/1) - $850,000 [Coldwell Banker]
∙ Listing: 239 Brannan #5C (2/2) - $1,149,000 [Coldwell Banker]
∙ Listing: 239 Brannan #8C (2/2) - $1,160,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
The Heritage On Fillmore (1300 Fillmore)
Integrated into the Fillmore Heritage Center, the Heritage on Fillmore (1300 Fillmore) will consist of 80 condominiums (including 12 BMR units) ranging from one to three bedrooms. At the base of the development you’ll find Yoshi’s San Francisco, the Blue Mirror restaurant & Lounge, and the Jazz Heritage Center.
The project's financial success hinges on the sale of 68 market-rate condos that have been priced from $500,000 to $890,000. The project's artistic success relies on patrons flocking from all over the Bay Area to see international acts at Yoshi's.
Pre-sales were originally expected to begin in the second quarter of 2006 with occupancy in Spring 2007, but as far as we know the sales office has yet to open its doors.
∙ Fillmore Heritage Center: Heritage on Fillmore [1300 Fillmore]
∙ San Francisco Land deal: Fillmore Heritage Center [bizjournals]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
September 13, 2006
Watermark Update: 85% Sold
Once again, these are not “official” numbers, but as best we can tell another twelve units in the Watermark have sold (leaving around 18 units available or 85% sold). In addition, two new resales have hit the market: 501 Beale #8C ($912,000) and #16B ($1,150,000).
Unit #8C offers the same spectacular views of the Bay Bridge (and potential cruise ship terminal see UPDATE below) as unit #6C (which was briefly on the market for $899,000), but with the added benefit of being high enough to preserve the views once a seven story (height restricted) building is built next door.
UPDATE: The force must have been strong last night. As a reader notes, the “potential cruise ship terminal” has been “scrapped due to skyrocketing costs associated with retrofitting its rotting piers.”
UPDATE (redux) (again): According to J.K. Dineen at the San Francisco Business Times (and the Port report), it's probably closer to 80% sold with 80 units sold, 29 under contract, and 27 still for sale. And while we definitely waffled, right or wrong, we’re now reverting back to our originally reported 18 available (and 85% sold). It’s quite possible that the nine unit difference between our numbers is in part due to the accounting for the 16 BMR units in the building, a time lag between reports, or quite simply the sales office getting the best of us…
∙ Watermark Update: 78% Sold (And Discounting) [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 501 Beale Street #8C (1/1) - $912,000 [Legal One Realty Via Pacific Union]
∙ Listing: 501 Beale Street #16B (2/2) - $1,150,000 [Urban Bay]
∙ Soaring costs sink cruise ship terminal plan [Examiner]
∙ Watermark Signs Of Weakness? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
September 12, 2006
255 Berry: Seven Percent Active
We couldn’t help but notice that 255 Berry #513 is now in contract, and that #317 has been reduced another $24,000 (a total reduction of $100,000). In addition, four new units (#116, #401, #414, and #610) have been added to the MLS since our last update (7% of the building is now “Active”).
∙ More “Pseudo-Omniscient Pretense” (And 255 Berry) [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 255 Berry Street #317 (2/2.5) - $1,225,000 [McGuire]
∙ Listing: 255 Berry Street #116 (3/3) - $1,299,000 [McGuire]
∙ Listing: 255 Berry Street #401 (2/2) - $1,029,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 255 Berry Street #414 (2/2) - $949,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 255 Berry Street #610 (3/2.5) - $1,950,000 [Pacific Union]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
September 11, 2006
The Park Terrace (325 Berry): Now Selling
The Park Terrace released its first batch of units this weekend. Word on the street is that deposits were made on between 5 and 10 of the 110 units, and that pricing is starting at $625,000 for one bedrooms, and $895,000 for two bedrooms. And according to the Sales Center (205 Berry), the building should be ready for occupancy in May 2007.
∙ New Developments: Park Terrace (325 Berry) [SocketSite]
∙ The Park Terrace [325 Berry]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | (email story)
September 6, 2006
310 Townsend, One South Park, And A Tipster
310 Townsend, a former commercial building, is being converted into “45 one and two bedroom residences.” While One South Park, at one time a tobacco warehouse, is being transformed into a collection of 35 residences with “retail and/or a restaurant on the ground floor.” A tipster provides a great overview of both conversions:
310 Townsend (fka Santa Fe Place), while not a spectacular location directly facing CalTrain station, is nonetheless quite nice. There was some indication that it was fully reserved but actually there are units still available. Like [One South Park], it's a slightly different concept from many of the other projects: condos, not lofts, in a renovated building. Finishes are highish-end: Studio Becker, Kohler, gas ranges, etc. Pricing is around $750/sf.
[One South Park] looks very promising. A very nice location on 2nd street, touching SouthPark on one corner. Like 310 Townsend, they will be condo's, not lofts, but with many of the original building's attributes (concrete walls, arced windows, etc.). Highish-end finishes (Studio Becker, Grohe, gas ranges). The penthouses will be extraordinary: 2 level townhouses with great views and great decks. 4 3BRs will dot the corners. General pricing around $900/sf (penthouses more).
Both developments by Santa Fe Partners (the group behind the five new units in the Glassworks).
∙ 310 Townsend [Santa Fe Partners]
∙ One South Park [Santa Fe Partners]
∙ The Glassworks (207 King Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
September 5, 2006
The Glassworks (207 King Street)
The Glassworks in Mission Bay (207 King) is as a mixed use development that included 34 residences when completed in 2003. Designed by Brand + Allen Architects, the units feature a wall of glass (along with central air conditioning) and overlook Pac Bell SBC AT&T Park.
In addition to the original 34 residences, Santa Fe Partners recently converted an additional floor in the building (previously commercial) into a collection of five “upscale city homes” (four one bedrooms and one two bedroom). From a reader:
If you go to www.santafepartners.com, you will find some information about the units but if you fill out the form to have them contact you, you never hear back at all, either by phone or e-mail. I personally like the floor plans that I see on their website, but am surprised that there is never any follow up from Santa Fe Partners.
We’re surprised too. Does anyone have the inside scoop?
UPDATE (9/20): We have initial pricing:
∙ Glassworks #411 (1/2) 1461 sqft - $1,595,000
∙ Glassworks #412 (1/2) 987 sqft - $995,000
∙ Glassworks #413 (2/2) 1628 sqft - $1,650,000
∙ Glassworks #414 (1/2) 1172 sqft - $1,295,000
∙ Glassworks #415 (1/2) 1440 sqft - $1,495,000
∙ The Glassworks [Santa Fe Partners]
∙ Brand + Allen Architects: Portfolio
Posted by socketadmin at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
Win A Buck (Keep Thirty-five Cents)
We still haven’t seen a copy of the fee agreements in either the Beacon or Metropolitan class action suits (anyone?), but the word on the street is that the attorney’s 50% contingency fee doesn’t include “costs” (which could add up to another 15% of the “gross recovery”). If accurate, this would mean that the Plaintiffs could end up “recovering” just 35% of any award.
∙ A Big Bad Lawsuit At The Beacon [SocketSite]
∙ A Class Action Suit At The Metropolitan? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
August 31, 2006
Quite Literally At The Beacon
Oh, the irony. From the remarks field in the majority of The Mark Company listings for new units in The Beacon: “Come see SF's Hottest new building.” (For those who don't know, The Mark Company is the exclusive sales and marketing company for The Beacon, and some of the units in the building are suffering from serious problems of overheating.)
∙ The Mark Company: The Beacon [themarkcompany.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
August 29, 2006
Francisco Palms: Website Live
The website for the Francisco Palms is live and stocked with photos, floor plans, and a downloadable flyer (pdf). The first open house for four of the seventeen TIC units in the Marina has been confirmed for 9/10/06. And it now looks like pricing will start at $900,000 (versus the previously reported $950,000).
Once again, individual financing is available through the Bank of Marin and there were no evictions in the building. Questions on the development can be directed to: lipton@maveninvestments.com.
Update: Looks like it's worth repeating what we wrote in our original post about the Francisco Palms, "We had a chance to take a sneak peek a couple weeks back and were relatively impressed by the quality and thoroughness of the renovation. (Our major quibble was the decision to configure a few of the three bedroom units with only one bathroom.) The big question, however, is how the market will respond to million dollar TICs that are priced in-line with condos, but will never have the opportunity to convert (residential buildings over six units aren't eligible). And while it’s true that the individual financing will mitigate at least one of the major drawbacks associated with TICs (i.e., shared risk of loan default or delinquency), it doesn’t adequately address another: liquidity (more on this later)."
∙ Francisco Palms [1229-1261 Francisco]
∙ The Francisco Palms (1229 Francisco) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
The Brighter Side Of The Beacon
While the legal filing and plaintiffs tell one side of the Beacon’s story, a reader tells another (and reinforces an earlier anonymous comment):
I know that The Beacon had a couple of problems, but most had been fixed (the roof was repaired months ago and has been fine). The ownership held a meeting with the homeowners last week and vowed to fix any other problems and *apologized* (when did an owner ever do that) for the third party who did the warranty work. They also extended the warranty for *every* homeowner (even if their warranty had already expired) as a show of good faith.
Earlier this year, the owners of The Beacon (not the developer, that was Catellus who sold the building) committed over $400,000 to redo the courtyard from the old Catellus design. Right before work was supposed to get started, they got sued. Last week they said that they would continue with the project despite the lawsuit because they didn't want to penalize the majority of residents for the action of a few.
I hope they don't think that these few people speak for the majority of residents because they are a pretty good group of people who a very fair and reasonable. Not every building's perfect, but at least The Beacon has a group that is committed to fix things without lawyers or years of court dates.
And while this obviously doesn’t address some of the larger design issues (e.g., ventilation and overheating), it does paint a much different picture of the building’s management and state of (dis)repair.
∙ The Beacon Twenty-Two (And Their Dirty Laundry) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
More “Pseudo-Omniscient Pretense” (And 255 Berry)
We can’t help but notice that since our last update on 255 Berry (which caused a commenter to accuse us of “pseudo-omniscient pretence” and “dramatiz[ing] a most benign situation”), the following has transpired:
∙ Unit #307 was withdrawn
∙ Unit #309 was reduced $50,000 (now listed at $1,100,000)
∙ Unit #317 was withdrawn but has been relisted at $1,249,000 (reduction of $76,000)
∙ Unit #321 was reduced $14,500 to $875,000 and sold for $865,000
∙ Unit #408 was listed for $749,000
∙ Unit #513 was withdrawn but has been relisted at $739,000 (total reduction of $110,000)
At its new price, unit #317 (which is very much "waterfront" and advertising “$120k [in] upgrades”) is now listed at $787/sq.ft. Waterfront unit #113 sold for $837/sq.ft. three months ago. Damn it, there we go again...
∙ A Troublesome Trend? [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 255 Berry #309 (2/2) - $1,100,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 255 Berry #317 (2/2.5) - $1,249,000 [McGuire]
∙ Listing: 255 Berry #408 (1/1) - $749,000 [Coldwell Banker]
∙ Listing: 255 Berry #513 (2/2) - $739,000 [Pacific Union]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
August 28, 2006
A Class Action Suit At The Metropolitan?
According to a tipster, the lawyer who filed the class action suit on behalf of homeowners at the Beacon has also filed a similar class action suit on behalf of homeowners at the Metropolitan (333-355 First). From the tipster, “I heard he pitched Metropolitan homeowners at 6:00 and one of the owners drove him over to the Beacon at 8:00 to meet with their homeowners, then hit both buildings with lawsuits on Friday.”
Can anyone confirm this tip or provide us with a copy of the filing? Keep in mind that if the filing can be confirmed, the homeowners in the Metropolitan will face the same challenges as the homeowners in the Beacon with regard to refinancing or reselling their condominiums.
In related news, the word on the street is that the fee agreement in the Beacon class action suit calls for the attorney to keep somewhere between 40 and 50 percent of any “gross recovery” (but that he will lower his fees to 33% if at least half of the homeowners join as plaintiffs).
UPDATE: It's official, Superior Court Case Number CGC-06-455064 ("BEN BEDI VS. FOLSOM/FIRST, LLC") was filed on August 11, 2006. (Download filing (pdf) at Box.net) Kudos to our "plugged in" readers, commenters, and tipsters.
∙ The Beacon Twenty-Two (And Their Dirty Laundry) [SocketSite]
∙ A Big Bad Lawsuit At The Beacon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (48) | (email story)
Inside 767 Bryant
We had a chance to walk through a couple of the condos in 767 Bryant this weekend. And while we found the sales team to be quite friendly, the soundproofing from street noise to be surprisingly good, and a number of the units to be quite spacious (and bright), we’re struggling to rationalize the “value” of these condos.
Irrespective of the location, the quality of the finishes in the units we toured are not competitive with other million dollar (plus) condos on the market. The bathrooms are a far cry from “luxury,” the kitchens didn't strike us as being particularly “chic,” and in the tri-level units, the scale of the lower levels seemed off.
For the most part these units are large and functional. But at these price points, we’re wondering if buyers won’t demand more.
∙ 767 Bryant: The Apartments Condominiums [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
August 25, 2006
767 Bryant: The Apartments Condominiums
767 Bryant is a 20 unit building on Bryant near 6th which was apparently converted from apartment use to condominiums. The first “phase” of eight units hit the market this week with units ranging in size from about 900 to 3,500 sq.ft., and prices ranging from $676,920 to $1,850,000. The full “Phase I” rundown:
∙ 767 Bryant #409 (1/2) - $676,920
∙ 767 Bryant #410 (1/2) - $856,000
∙ 767 Bryant #207 (2/3) - $933,000
∙ 767 Bryant #202 (2/3) - $1,092,000
∙ 767 Bryant #403 (1/2) - $1,100,000
∙ 767 Bryant #210 (2/3) - $1,200,000
∙ 767 Bryant #201 (2/3) - $1,013,500
∙ 767 Bryant #203 (2/3) - $1,850,000
The Grand Opening celebration for 767 Bryant was originally advertised for August 11 & 12 (we have no idea if it ever happened), but up until yesterday, the 767 Bryant website was advertising a “Grand Opening” event for this evening (the link has since been removed).
According to Damion, tonight’s event is still a go. And we’ll reserve judgment on the building until we’ve had a chance to do a walk-through.
∙ 767 Bryant [767bryant.com]
∙ 767 Bryant [SFCONDO]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
August 24, 2006
Price Reductions At 188 King
If you’ve been “plugged in” to SocketSite over the past couple of months this shouldn’t come as any big surprise (if not, well...): As of today, 188 King Street has officially dropped the prices on at least four units by $100,000 (or up to 12%) and removed a number of their listings from the MLS (only seven of what we estimate to be 30+ available units are currently listed). The recent reductions include:
∙ 188 King Street #201: Reduced from $825,000 to $725,000 (12.1%)
∙ 188 King Street #203: Reduced from $925,000 to $895,000 (3.2%)
∙ 188 King Street #301: Reduced from $825,000 to $725,000 (12.1%)
∙ 188 King Street #306: Reduced from $895,000 to $795,000 (11.2%)
∙ 188 King Street #404: Reduced from $925,000 to $825,000 (10.8%)
We're guessing this isn't exactly what they (or the buyers in "Phase I") had in mind for "Phase II" pricing.
UPDATE (8/25): Units #208 ($850,000) and #504 ($950,000) were just listed on the MLS. Deductive reasoning would suggest that the original target price for #504 was at least $1,025,000 (the original list price for #506).
∙ 188 King Street: Sales Update [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (29) | (email story)
Cashing Out At 200 Townsend?
Five units in 200 Townsend hit the market on Tuesday (two of which are already pending). All the same broker, all the same agent, all the same pictures, and most making reference to their “first time on the market!” Perhaps the developer (or an investor) has decided it’s not such a bad time to take some money off the table? Regardless, a fair number of choices if you’ve had your heart set on living in the 51 unit building.
∙ Listing: 200 Townsend #1 (1/2) - $679,000 [Pacific Union]
∙ Listing: 200 Townsend #6 (1/2) - $825,000 [Pacific Union]
∙ Listing: 200 Townsend #10 (1/2) - $759,000 [Pacific Union]
∙ Listing: 200 Townsend #13 (1/2) - $635,000 [Pacific Union]
∙ Listing: 200 Townsend #17 (2/3) - $899,000 [Pacific Union]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
August 23, 2006
Square Feet Subterfuge
Okay, so we’ve had a chance to review (i.e., read) the legal filing related to the Beacon class action suit, and here’s our take on the whole “misrepresentation of unit size” issue: it’s subterfuge.
Or more accurately, it’s simply an attempt to claim “fraudulent inducement” in order to void the provisions in the plaintiffs’ purchase contracts which require arbitration (rather than lawsuits) and waives their rights to a jury trial (which the current filing demands).
Keep in mind that we’re not attorneys, we haven’t consulted any attorneys, and we’re simply speculating. That being said, perhaps there’s a properly trained legal professional who cares to comment? (Just go easy on us…)
∙ The Beacon Twenty-Two (And Their Dirty Laundry) [SocketSite]
∙ A Big Bad Lawsuit At The Beacon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
August 22, 2006
The Beacon Twenty-Two (And Their Dirty Laundry)
We haven’t had a chance to review the full legal complaint for the class action suit concerning the Beacon (pdf available over at SFCondo), but here’s what we know:
1. Depending upon your perspective, there are either twenty-two heroes/heroines or goats (i.e., the plaintiffs)
2. According to Damion, many of the homeowners “were out of the loop on the whole thing,” and others “who were feeling litigious last week are starting to have second thoughts....”
3. And while we know that litigation hinders resales (and refinancing), we have a funny feeling that the now public record of defects, complaints, and accusations might be just as damaging (at least in the short-term).
UPDATE: Did anyone attend the special homeowners meeting last night (8/22)? Care to comment?
∙ What’s Happening At The Beacon? [SFCondo.org]
∙ A Big Bad Lawsuit At The Beacon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
August 21, 2006
A Big Bad Lawsuit At The Beacon
Despite all the footnotes, disclaimers, and “approximates,” perhaps it was just a matter of time (from the Chronicle):
The builders, owners, operators and homeowners association of a luxury condominium complex across from AT&T Park have been sued for allegedly misrepresenting the size of the units in two buildings and for not repairing a series of defects.The class-action lawsuit was filed Friday against virtually everyone associated with the Beacon, a 595-unit complex on 250 and 260 King St., in San Francisco's Mission Bay.
The suit, on behalf of the 450 residents, claims the square footage of many units does not match what was advertised to buyers. Representatives of the complex denied the allegation, saying all square footages were clearly listed as approximations.
Keep in mind that most banks don't like lending money for properties that are in litigation, so this will likely exacerbate the problems of anyone trying to sell (or buy) a unit in the Beacon (and negatively impact prices). Let's just hope we shouldn't be filing this under "trends."
Update: We’d really like to hear from more of the current owners/residents of the Beacon, so if you know of any, please consider forwarding this along.
∙ Luxury condo complex spawns lawsuit [SFGate]
∙ Below Developer Pricing At The Beacon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
August 18, 2006
The Scoop On The Shoreline (41 Federal)
A tipster toured the Shoreline last weekend and is kind enough to share his notes:
Apparently 5 of the 9 units are sold, leaving a 2-bedroom ($1.3m) and 3 1-bedrooms ($850K-$970K). Scheduled completion is late September.Many of the design decisions were very refreshing given all the large, cookie-cutter projects. Each floor is 5 feet shorter on both sides allowing for nice deck space. Finishes are high end. Master bathrooms are over-sized with tubs and showers (no granite or marble!) (identical to 5 units at Glassworks). Parking is at 200 Brannan for around $100/month. The location is actually quite nice. It's in the vicinity of some great properties (Oriental, 301 Bryant, 355 Bryant, 200 Brannan, 1 Federal, Cape Horn). The Bay Bridge noise is not too bad outside and silent inside. And even though it's only three stories, it's on a small hill so the top 2 floors get some bay views.
The Shoreline was developed by McArdle Interests and ACHILL design + development, and as our tipster also notes, it’s sporting a “flashy” new website which includes more photos, floor plans, and an overview. And while we’re big fans of the development, that initial site navigation (and noise) just about drove us insane…
∙ The "Shore|Line" (41 Federal) [SocketSite]
∙ McArdle Interests [mcardleinterests.com]
∙ ACHILL design + development [achilldevelopment.com]
∙ Shore | Line [Official Site]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
August 17, 2006
Still No Pictures Of Gore
Two weeks ago another condo in the St. Regis hit the market. And while 188 Minna Street #23F was originally priced $155,000 above #24F (which we featured four months ago), yesterday the price was reduced $100,000. Perhaps they need to add a picture of that Lamborghini. (And no, the Mangusta doesn’t count.)
∙ Listing: 188 Minna St #23F (2/2.5) - $2,250,000 [Coldwell Banker]
∙ What, No Pictures Of Gore? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
August 16, 2006
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
Let’s see, a “favored nabe yet to come” (re: the Rincon Hill area), “big bucks” (re: prices), and a “moat of congestion” (re: traffic). It sounds like John King has been “plugging in” to a few of the comments on SocketSite.
And while we’re surprised that he finds it “odd” that people living in a thriving city by a beautiful bay might invest heavily to live in an “fast-paced urban district focused on the bay,” we’re even more surprised that a member of the marketing firm for One Rincon Hill would dare mutter “it’s like living in Southern California"...
∙ Property that's so hyped, you'd think they were selling Shangri-La [SFGate]
∙ Comments: The Infinity: A Study In Contrast [SocketSite]
∙ Comments: The Infinity Starts Selling [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
August 15, 2006
The Live/Work Lofts Of 355 Bryant
We really weren’t kidding about our love for 355 Bryant. It’s one of the true loft conversion buildings in San Francisco, and for the most part, it’s beautifully done. Granted, it’s not the right building for everyone, but if you like New York style lofts with open floor plans, it should definitely be on your radar.
Located in the maritime district south of San Francisco’s Market Street, this 1910 building, designed by noted architect George Applegarth, served as a distribution warehouse and later as a publisher’s printing shop. In accordance with the city’s 1988 live/work ordinance that recognizes the area’s blend of industrial, commercial, and residential elements, the 88,000-sq. ft. brick building was transformed into 44 live/work lofts.
Holliday Development championed the conversion in 1992, and David Baker + Partners lead the design.
The interior’s original wood and brick was stripped and sandblasted to reveal the beauty of the original brick walls and heavy timber construction. Patterned concrete floors and angled stucco walls in muted ochre and green tones form a backdrop to the original wood and brick. The seismic reinforcing system’s steel I-beams were left exposed and become a design element. A central court, cut through the four floors in the back of building, provides interior units with serene semipublic space. Courtyard units are bathed in natural light from aluminum/tempered-glass greenhouse windows.
And while all units in this building aren’t created equal, we do believe they all have potential. If you have enough cash, you might be able to buy one of the more stunning renovations. If not, you’ll just have to do it yourself.
∙ Holliday Development: 355 Bryant [hollidaydevelopment.com]
∙ 355 bryant live+work lofts [david baker + partners]
∙ The Art Of The Listing [SocketSite]
∙ Gallery: 355 Bryant #102 [loft102sf.com]
∙ This Weekend Only: 355 Bryant #202 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
August 14, 2006
The Francisco Palms (1229 Francisco)
Say goodbye to the Galileo Court apartment complex at 1229 Francisco. And say hello to the Francisco Palms, a down to the studs renovation, and an ambitious seventeen unit TIC development by Maven Investments. That’s right, our own little “Melrose Place” down in the Marina, complete with four palm trees and a fountain (but no swimming pool).
According to the developer, the first four units (2 two bedrooms and 2 three bedrooms) will hit the market after Labor Day (9/10/06) and are currently slated to be priced from $950,000 to $1,050,000 (~$750/sqft). The Bank of Marin will be offering individual financing (6.95% fixed for 5 years, interest only with a ten year term, and 1 point up front) for up to 75% of the purchase price, and the developer will be offering to carry a second mortgage (8% fixed with a five year term) for another 5% (i.e., 20% down payments).
We had a chance to take a sneak peek a couple weeks back and were relatively impressed by the quality and thoroughness of the renovation. (Our major quibble was the decision to configure a few of the three bedroom units with only one bathroom.) The big question, however, is how the market will respond to million dollar TICs that are priced in-line with condos, but will never have the opportunity to convert (residential buildings over six units aren't eligible).
And while it’s true that the individual financing will mitigate at least one of the major drawbacks associated with TICs (i.e., shared risk of loan default or delinquency), it doesn’t adequately address another: liquidity (more on this later). That being said, one could make the argument that the demand for these units will be a fantastic indicator of how the market is truly valuing the traditional benefits of home ownership (versus a speculative investment in real estate) in San Francisco these days. We’ll keep you posted.
∙ Maven Investments [maveninvestments.com]
∙ The Francisco Palms (coming Soon) [1229 Francisco]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
The Infinity Hits The MLS
The eagle-eyed Damion Matthews notes that one of the mid-rise units in The Infinity has been added to the MLS (318 Spear Street #A 4A). The 760 sq.ft. one bedroom, one bath unit is listed at $750,000. Also noted, while the sales office might be lagging (only relatively, not absolutely), at least the construction crew at The Infinity seems to be leaving their competition over at One Rincon Hill in the dust.
UPDATE: We just noticed a tower unit in The Infinity (301 Main Street #6G) has been added to the MLS. The 1,316 sq.ft. two bedroom, two bath unit is listed for $1,220,000.
∙ Pretty Green Glass [SFcondo.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
August 11, 2006
Below Developer Pricing At The Beacon
There are currently 25 Active listings for condos in The Beacon (250/260 King Street). A few that caught our attention (and seem to be telling a story):
1. 250 King Street #1018 has been on the market for almost five months, has been reduced in price by $215,000 (18.7%), and is advertising “Below developer pricing!!!”
2. 260 King Street #1409 and #1509 are both advertising “Free parking & hoa dues for 2 years!!” (Both have also been reduced: #1409 by $90,000 or 10.3%, and #1509 by $80,000 or 9.2%.)
3. 260 King Street #369 is still available but it’s no longer advertising “Final Price Reduction!” or “Need to Sell Soon!”; and after four months on the market and three price reductions, 260 King Street #555 (“Won’t last long”) has traded in its old MLS number for a shinny new one (without any of that pesky baggage) and lowered its price...$500 (0.08%).
And let’s not forget, the sales office at The Beacon is still working to close out their inventory at “developers” pricing.
∙ Listing: 250 King Street #1018 (2/2) - $935,000 [Coldwell Banker] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #1409 (1/1) - $779,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #1509 (1/1) - $789,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #369 (1/1) - $499,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #555 (1/1) - $608,500 [MLS]
∙ Bonuses At The Beacon [SocketSite]
∙ New Sales Force At The Beacon: Your Neighbors [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
August 9, 2006
The Mullen Buildings: 52/60 Rausch & 73 Sumner
The Mullen Buildings Development consists of three buildings: 60 Rausch and 73 Sumner (both built in the 1920’s and converted to lofts in 2002), and 52 Rausch (new construction). We have architect George Hauser to thank for the conversion and design (and we do).
The Mullen Buildings were originally constructed in the 1920's during a South of Market industrial building boom. The complex housed the Mullen Company, which designed and constructed architectural millwork for banks and other businesses. Progenitors for the modernist industrial esthetic, the Mullen Buildings have now been artfully converted into high-quality lofts.
Of the 37 units in 60 Rausch, three are currently Active on the MLS (#208, #209, #312); of the 16 units in 73 Sumner, one is currently Active (#401); and as far as we know, none of the 8 units in 52 Rausch are currently on the market.
∙ 52 Rausch Street: Mullen Building Lofts [Baumeister Collective]
∙ 60 Rausch Street: Mullen Buildings Live-Work Lofts [Baumeister Collective]
∙ 73 Sumner Street: Mullen Buildings Live-Work Lofts [Baumeister Collective]
∙ Listing: 60 Rausch Street #208 (2/1.5) - $799,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 60 Rausch Street #209 (2/1.5) - $799,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 60 Rausch Street #312 (2/2) - $749,000 [863 Katy]
∙ Listing: 73 Sumner Street #401 (3/2.5) - $935,000 [Urban Bay]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
August 8, 2006
A Hidden Opportunity, Another Data Point, Or Both?
Last November, 88 King Street #116 (a two-level, 1,500+ sqft condo at The Towers) hit the market for $1,110,000. At the time, it probably seemed like a relatively reasonable list price. Heck, according to public records 88 King Street #117 (a two-level, 1,500+ sqft condo at The Towers) sold for $1,066,000 the month prior (10/21/05). And yet nine months and five price reductions later, #116 is still on the market and is now listed for $927,000 (a reduction of $183,000 or 16.5% from the original listing price).
We know, we know, it’s hardly a fair comparison between these two units. Then again, #117 is back on the market (shown above). And today they’re asking $949,000.
∙ Listing: 88 King Street #116 (2/3) - $927,000 [McGuire] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 88 King Street #117 (3/3) - $949,000 [Pacific Union]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | (email story)
August 7, 2006
The Lansing (50 Lansing): Reductions And Recent Sales
We’re still looking for the inside scoop on the number of units that have actually sold at The Lansing (email tips@socketsite.com). We did, however, notice that there are at least six units currently listed by the developer. And while only two of the units (#302 and #305) show a history of being reduced (by $41,000 (5.5%) and $62,300 (8.1%) respectively), we’re confident they’re not alone. Either that, or for once it’s actually cheaper to live on the higher floors of a building (#305 was originally listed at $745,000 while #405 was just listed at $725,000).
We also couldn’t help but note that unit #303 closed for $755,000, while the unit above (#403) closed for $720,000, and the unit above that (#503) is currently listed for $725,000. And while #202 closed for $735,000, the unit above (#302) is currently listed for $699,000. Once again, we’re willing to bet that this is not exactly a reassuring trend for many recent buyers (in fact, some might say it’s actually troublesome).
∙ Even More Value At The Lansing! [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
August 4, 2006
188 King Street: Sales Update
Trying to make sense of what’s been happening over at 188 King is challenging at best.
Three months ago, 188 King priced the first of what was to be three releases of condos. This initial release consisted of 16 units, three of which (#206, #404, #505) were already marked pending, and two of which (#603, #604) we believe were penthouse units. Of these 16 units, we believe as many as 11 are currently available (including #404 which was originally pending), and we suspect that the two penthouse units were removed from the release.
In other words, it’s possible that there has only been one sale (#305) of these initial 16 units over the past three months. (The two wildcards are #404 and #503 which are both marked as “Sold” on the 188 King pricing sheet, but are both listed as Active on the MLS.)
At the same time, and as best we can tell, six more units have been “released” at various times over the past three months:
∙ 188 King #207 (1799 sq. ft.) - $1,650,000 (“Sold”)
∙ 188 King #307 (1123 sq. ft.) - $925,000 (“Sold”)
∙ 188 King #405 (1123 sq. ft.) - $995,000
∙ 188 King #502 (1900 sq. ft.) - $1,800,000
∙ 188 King #507 (1123 sq. ft.) - $1,075,000 (“Sold”)
∙ 188 King #508 (1070 sq. ft.) - $1,025,000 (“Sold”)
Of these six units, four are pending, and two (#405, #502) are still available. Assuming no other pre-sales, that would leave 24 units left to be released. And if we’re even close to being correct, there are at least 35 units (or 80%) that remain available for sale.
∙ 188 King Street: An Update [SocketSite]
∙ 188 King: Phase I Pricing [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | (email story)
Arterra and The Hayes: Sales Centers
We have to admit, our tour of the joint Arterra and The Hayes sales center left us feeling a bit under-whelmed (but then again we’ve probably been spoiled by the showrooms at One Rincon Hill and The Infinity). No full-scale condos here, but plenty of drawings and representative kitchens/bathrooms a la The Palms sales center (which, by the way, we hear has been quiet).
We couldn't help but notice that The Hayes will only offer electric ranges, while Aterra will be gas (once again, we're definitely Arterra people). And despite the two Sub-Zero refrigerators that are so prominently on display, both buildings are slated to be BYOR (bring your own refrigerator).
Neither building has started taking reservations/deposits, and both are anticipating a first release of units in September. Like the Infinity, however, interested parties are being placed on a “priority list” based upon receipt of a prequalification letter (so get on it if you're interested).
General Pricing for Arterra:
- One-bedrooms (594 - 863 sqft) from the $520,000’s
- Two-bedrooms (922 - 1,160 sqft) from the $780,000’s
- One-bedroom Townhomes (841 – 1,006 sqft) from the $610,000’s
- Two-bedroom Townhomes (1,162 – 1,237 sqft) from the $850,000’s
General pricing for The Hayes:
- Studios (407 - 870 sqft) from the $430,000’s
- One-bedrooms (657 - 1,090 sqft) from the $580,000’s
- Two-bedrooms (987 - 1,495 sqft) from the $830,000’s
The Hayes will consist of 111 condos and is expected to be available for occupancy (i.e., close escrow) late 2007. Arterra will consist of 269 condos and is expected to be available for occupancy early 2008.
∙ The Arterra: “Clean Design, Pure Living” At 300 Berry Street [SocketSite]
∙ The Hayes: 55 Page Street [SocketSite]
∙ First Impressions: One Rincon Hill Sales Center [SocketSite]
∙ The Infinity Sales Center: SocketSite’s Inside Scoop [SocketSite]
∙ We’re Definitely Arterra People [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
August 1, 2006
Sierra Heights (25-75 Sierra Street) Update
Word on the street is that Sierra Heights (25-75 Sierra Street) should start closing escrow on condos this week with a temporary certificate of occupancy in hand. Assuming all units with depositis close, the development will be about 80% sold (we’ve heard 14 out of 67 condos remain available).
On a related note, unit #104 recently returned to the market. And while we desperately want to say something nice, about the best we can muster this morning is: $290/sqft.
∙ New Developments: Sierra Heights [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 25 Sierra Street #104 (3/3) - $999,000 [Zephyr] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
July 31, 2006
Save $1,600,000 At 1750 Taylor
Four months ago we highlighted 1750 Taylor #1301, a stunning six million dollar condo that left us salivating (and no, we still haven’t had a chance to wake up in that bed). At the time, the unit directly below (#1201) was being offered for half a million less, but really wasn’t remodeled to our tastes (marble floors just aren’t our thing).
Today, #1301 might have sold, but #1201 is still available and its price has been reduced three times for a total savings of $1,600,000 (“Great price!! Motivated seller” and now listed at $3,950,000). The way we figure it, you can buy #1201, spend a million dollars on a stunning remodel, fill the three parking spaces with a brand-new Bentley, Aston Martin, and Range Rover, and still come out ahead…
∙ Truth In Advertising: 1750 Taylor (Royal Towers) [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor #1201 (3/3.5) - $3,950,000 [Coldwell Banker] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
Subterfuge at 301 Bryant?
Four days ago the original listing for 301 Bryant #101 (and its history of price reductions) was withdrawn from the MLS and replaced with a new listing at an even lower price (reduced another $39,000 and now “priced to sell!!”). Not to be outdone, #704 (which has been reduced four times) followed suit and was re-listed yesterday under a reduction free MLS number.
A friendly reminder that if either of these condos sell for even a dollar over their current listing prices they’ll be recorded as “Sold for Over Asking!” and not “Sold for 10% under (original) Asking!”
∙ Three In 301 Bryant [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 301 Bryant Street #101 (2/2) - $959,000 [Pacific Union]
∙ Listing: 301 Bryant Street #704 (2/2) - $925,000 [Coldwell Banker]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
July 28, 2006
Watermark Update: 78% Sold (And Discounting)
Okay, while these aren’t official sales office sanctioned statistics, they’re also not just some wild ass guesses. (We like to think of it as deductive reasoning.) That being said, here’s our take on the current state of affairs at the Watermark:
Prices and Discounting: At the low end, $695K will now get you a 15th floor one bedroom “F” floor plan, while three months ago it would only buy a 4th floor unit. At the high end, both three bedroom “K” floor plan penthouses remain priced at $3.2M and $3.3M. In the middle it’s a bit more convoluted.
It appears that two bedroom units on the lower floors have been reduced by up to $140K (11.5%). For example, the only remaining “A” floor plan unit on the 4th floor is now advertised at $1.06M (was $1.2M) and the 4th floor “G” floor plan unit is now $1.04M (was $1.15M). Not as much discounting (or inventory) on the higher floors. That being said, $1.7M will now get you a three bedroom “M” floor plan on the 19th floor, while in April they were asking $1.73M for units on the 17th floor.
Inventory and Sales: We estimate that roughly 30 of the 136 condos are still available (78% sold). That would suggest an average of about six sales a month over the past three months.
No word on whatever happened to unit #6C (which is no longer active in the MLS), and as far as we know, no new resales have hit the market.
∙ Watermark [501 Beale]
∙ Handy Hint Of The Day: Wash The Windows [SocketSite]
∙ Watermark Signs Of Weakness? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
Handy Hint Of The Day: Wash The Windows
SocketSite’s handy hint of the day: if you’re showcasing your home, condo, or building to potential buyers, agents or brokers, go ahead and invest the extra cash to wash the windows. It’ll make a huge difference. Especially if it’s $3.3M penthouse sporting floor-to-ceiling windows with gorgeous Bay/city views, and your audience is the movers and shakers in the real estate industry (and SocketSite).
∙ Watermark floor plan: Unit “K” (3/2.5) - $3.2M/$3.3M [sfwatermark.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
July 27, 2006
That’s Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle To You
Don’t get us wrong, we love this plaque (and the building). As to the plaque’s validity, however, Mister SF isn’t buying it:
A plaque on this 1881 house at 2151 Sacramento Street boasts that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once occupied the Lafayette Heights residence. Actually, Conan Doyle only visited for a few hours when this was the home of an associate, Dr. Abrams. Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, visited San Francisco once in his lifetime, in late May and early June of 1923. The author and his wife stayed at the Clift Hotel during Conan Doyle's second and final lecture tour in the U.S. . . . One wonders what influence, if any, the exaggerated Sacramento Street plaque, which was placed by an owner of the house in the 1970s, has on the property's value.
Sherlock would be proud. We’re not so sure about the owners (or the listing agent).
∙ Literary San Francisco: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [MisterSF]
∙ Listing: 2151 Sacramento #2 (1/1) - $645,000 [Zephyr] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
July 24, 2006
A Quick Flip At One Rincon Hill?
As a reader points out, we now have evidence of the first attempted flip of a One Rincon Hill condo:
I have a 1 bedroom 1 bath unit above the 40th floor, with a balcony, aproximately [sic] 750sqft(not including balcony) reserved in the highly sought after 08 stack(which is the a corner facing Downtown and the Waterfront). My reserve price is $870k, but 1)developer has raised them $60k 2)you probably could not even get this stack because they are all reserved 3)if you go through sales office, you must owner occupy for at least 1yr, but this one is grandfathered because reserved early.I am asking $920k, or best offer for my unit. We would sign purchase agreement together and close escrow, from which I'd quit claim off title.
Loophole? Anomaly? Trend? This is going to get interesting. And we can hear the lawyers scrambling from here...
UPDATE: The craigslist post has been updated [thanks John]. Don't worry, the unit in the 08 stack is still available, but apparently 04 and 05 stack units have been added to the flippers inventory as well.
∙ Comments: The Infinity: A Study In Contrast [SocketSite]
∙ $920000 - 1BR w/Water Views and Balcony at One Rincon Hill [craigslist]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (20) | (email story)
July 20, 2006
The Infinity: A Study In Contrast
Our previous post on The Infinity has generated some great comments from both prospective and actual buyers of The Infinity and One Rincon Hill. The early sentiment: The Infinity has a better location, One Rincon offers a better value (i.e., price), and navigating rush hour traffic will probably suck for both. A couple of other interesting snippets:
“They didn't even have the terms of the contract yet. Even the sales agent mentioned that people were surprised at how high the prices were [at The Infinity]. We passed, but they've called us back about 6 times already telling us to come in.”“I don't know why (marketing?), but the Infinity doesn't attract crowds like the Rincon. I've been there on Sats and Sundays and there's never more than a few customers there at a time. It's quiet and relaxing and the salespeople there are very friendly and knowledgeable.”
“…there is a one-year holding period where the buyer is not permitted to sell the unit at The Infinity.”
And it’s true, they still haven’t figured out what refrigerators will come standard (which seems a bit bizarre), and it’s possible that wall to wall carpeting will be standard on the lower floors (but upgradeable to hardwood). But as far as the initial release being nearly sold out, we seriously doubt it (still looking for hard numbers) guess it all depends upon how you define "release" (see update below). And the potential for 50% discounts? Don’t hold your breath. (Free upgrades or other incentives on the other hand…)
Let’s keep the comments going on the other post with regard to sales center experiences, building feedback, and opinions, and see if we can’t focus in on the hard numbers (inventory, prices, sales, etc.) here. We have been told that The Infinity sales center is generating between 200 and 300 registered visitors a week, but they are being incredibly tightlipped about everything else (unlike One Rincon).
UPDATE: Word on the street is 115 reservations to date, or roughly 1/3 "sold." (Thanks for the tip!) And while it's hard not to get jaded by the blowout over at One Rincon, 1/3 in one week is still a strong start. But don't forget, these are $5,000 refundable "reservations" with the 3-5% deposits being made upon completion of a purchase agreement (which we confimed won't be available until August). [Thanks to asuen435 for clarifying!]
∙ The Infinity Starts Selling [SocketSite]
∙ The Infinity Sales Center: SocketSite’s Inside Scoop [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (26) | (email story)
July 18, 2006
The Infinity Starts Selling
If you’re interested in The Infinity, let’s hope that you heeded our advice and submitted your pre-qualification letter weeks ago, because they've started taking deposits. According to a tipster that has already reserved a unit, “They are selling very quickly.” Unfortunately we don’t know if that’s just the sales center talking, or if it’s a cold hard fact. So who’s got the numbers? Additional anecdotal evidence or sales center experiences?
∙ The Infinity Sales Center: SocketSite’s Inside Scoop [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (50) | (email story)
The Hayes "Special" Open House (And Signature Cocktail)
It looks like The Mark Company might have concluded that the “signature cocktails” played a significant role in driving the condo buying frenzy at One Rincon Hill. This Saturday (7/22) The Hayes will be hosting a “Special Open House” complete with - you guessed it - signature cocktails!
And perhaps we’re reading into this a bit too much, but we can’t help but notice that our invitation reads “Sip a complimentary signature cocktail….” If that’s the case, perhaps the crowd (or building) won't appear to be quite so attractive this time around.
Bonus points to the person(s) who can correctly guess the name and recipe for The Hayes signature cocktail prior to Saturday (feel free to email or simply comment).
∙ The “Signature Cocktail” Of One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
∙ Rumor Confirmed: Mob Scene At One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
∙ Quote Of The Day: One Rincon Hill Style [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
July 14, 2006
Competition, Rates, And Plugging In
J.K. Dineen hits the front page of the San Francisco Business Times with a great piece titled, “Competition runs high: Luxury condos vie for buyers on Rincon Hill.” And while the piece focuses on the Metropolitan, it might just be a bellwether for other developments around town. A couple of choice quotes…
First, with regard to increasing competition and rising rates:
Alan Mark, President of The Mark Co., which is marketing more than half of the city’s new condo developments, said some owners are rushing to sell because they are worried about 4,000 to 5,000 new units coming online over the next three years. In addition, many have adjustable five-year interest-only loans, and with interest rates on the rise, they are in a position where they are forced to sell because they will not be able to pay the higher mortgage.“They want to sell at the top of the market,” Mark said.
And then there’s that little issue of blocked views:
McGuire’s [Malcom] Kaufman said it has been surprising that so many Metropolitan owners seemed unaware of all the Rincon Hill development that has been in the pipeline for more than four years.“You better know what is going on around you before you plunk down three-quarters-of-a-million dollars,” he said. “It’s amazing how many people don’t.”
No kidding. And while people once had a BS (“Before SocketSite”) excuse for not knowing what's going on, there's no longer an excuse for not being “Plugged In.”
∙ Bay Buildings: The Metropolitan (333/355 1st Street) [SocketSite]
∙ 2,700 New Condos On Sale Soon [SocketSite]
∙ QuickLinks: Cause And Effect [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
The Oriental Warehouse (650 Delancey)
The Oriental Warehouse was originally built by The Pacific Mail Steamship Company in 1867 to act as a distribution point for imported coffee, tea, rice, and silk. 129 years later, a completely new structure architected by Fisher Friedman was constructed within the original brick envelope to transform the derelict warehouse into 66 residential lofts. (A bit of trivia: the new building is inset from the brick exterior walls by 15 feet with interior walkways running between the two.)
The 66 lofts range in size from 1,350 to 1,800 square feet and feature “open floor plans, 18-foot ceilings, exposed brick and wooden beams.” Needless to say, we’re fans. And we’re happy to report that one of the lofts (#424) recently hit the market.
∙ Fisher Friedman Associates: Oriental Warehouse [fisherfriedman.com]
∙ Listing: 650 Delancey Street #424 (1/2) – $995,000 [Urban Bay] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
July 12, 2006
New Sales Force At The Beacon: Your Neighbors
From a “plugged in” tipster: “Apparently the brokers aren’t referring enough new buyers to The Beacon to get those $2500 Best Buy cards. Yesterday all 500+ Beacon homeowners received a notice on their doors from the Beacon sales office (Mark Company) offering a $15,000 bonus if they refer two new homeowners.”
∙ Bonuses At The Beacon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
July 11, 2006
Bonuses At The Beacon
So while it’s not fifty percent, forty-three percent of the current re-sale listings for 260 King Street (The Beacon) have seen at least one price reduction. Unit #369 is advertising its “Final Price Reduction!” (there have been three) and “Need[s] to Sell Soon!” (it’s been on the market for two months); while unit #555 (floor plan above) “Won’t last long” (although it’s been on the market for four months and has been reduced three times as well).
And as Curbed notes, things might be slowing down at the sales office as The Beacon is now offering “a $2,500 Best Buy Gift Card in addition to our standard 2.5% broker commission fee” for brokers who can help close out the remaining new units. Nothing like a little friendly competition between the sales office and current owners/sellers to keep things interesting.
∙ The Cost Coming Down? [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #369 (1/1) - $499,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #555 (1/1) - $609,000 [MLS]
∙ Walk Away with a Flat Screen TV [Curbed SF]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
July 7, 2006
1081 Pine Street Redux
1081 Pine Street is back on the market (or at least the MLS), has been reduced another $70,000 (now listed at $1,325,000), and is “On Tour as New.” And thanks to our research department (i.e., Google), we just discovered the original marketing site (floor plans!) for the entire building, and noted that #201 first sold for $1,149,000 in early 2004.
∙ Listing: 1081 Pine Street #201 (3/2) - $1,325,000 [Coldwell Banker] [MLS]
∙ Huge Reduction(s) At 1081 Pine Street [SocketSite]
∙ 1081 Pine Street Overview [louis-silcox.com]
∙ First Quarter 2004 Comps [ubayp.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
July 6, 2006
Even More Value At The Lansing!
It appears that The Lansing (“Where quality meets value!”) recently (i.e., yesterday) joined the Watermark, 776 Tehama, and 69 Clementina in discounting prices on brand-new condominiums. According to ZipRealty, the list prices for units #305 and #410 in The Lansing were reduced by $31K and $25K respectively.
∙ The Lansing (50 Lansing Street) [SocketSite]
∙ Watermark Signs Of Weakness? [SocketSite]
∙ They’re Back! [SocketSite]
∙ Price Reductions At 69 Clementina [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
Book Concern Building (83 McAllister)
The conversion of the Book Concern Building (83 McAllister at 7th Street) from offices to “new efficiency lofts” should be completed by the end of September 2006. The 60 new units (6 below market rate) will range from studios to two bedrooms with lofts, and are currently listed starting at $260,000.
While the price point may be low, keep in mind that the price per square foot is not. As best we can tell, studio units average around 270 square feet, while two bedrooms average around 425 square feet. Definitely “efficiency” living.
And since we have yet to tour the Book Concern Building ourselves (so many sales offices, so little time…), we’re opening it up to our readers to answer a question from one of their own: “What's the deal with [the Book Concern Building] besides the questionable location?” We’ll get things started with a bit of trivia: The Church of Scientology once called the building home.
∙ Book Concern Building [bookconcern.com]
∙ Listing: 83 McAllister #312 (0/1) - $260,000 [MLS]
∙ History Of The Church Of Scientology [scientology-sanfrancisco.org]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | (email story)
June 30, 2006
A Troublesome Trend?
Four units in 255 Berry are currently on the market. That's not a lot considering the number of units in the building (100), and not too surprising considering the building recently passed the magical two-year mark (think tax free gains). But then again, perhaps Le Blog Exuberance is on to something?
We were surprised, however, to note that while unit #113 sold for $998,000 ($837/sqft) a month ago, unit #513 (four floors above, but 143 sqft and a half-bath smaller) failed to sell at $849,000 ($809/sqft), and is currently on the market at $799,000 ($761/sqft).
Update: Unit #321 has been reduced to $875,000, #307 is no longer listed, and #309 in now on the market for $1,150,000.
∙ Comments: Arterra: Less Sex, More Green [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 255 Berry #307 (1/1) - $699,000
∙ Listing: 255 Berry #317 (2/2.5) - $1,325,000
∙ Listing: 255 Berry #321 (2/2) - $889,500
∙ Listing: 255 Berry #513 (2/2) - $799,000
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
June 28, 2006
Watermark Signs Of Weakness?
Despite strong initial sales, the Watermark (501 Beale) appears to be showing subtle signs of weakness. According to ZipRealty, the list price for Watermark unit #14D was reduced $10,000 to $975,000 and unit #20M is currently listed for $1,725,000 ($5,000 below the advertised price range of $1.730M to $1.9M for “M” floor plan units on floors 17 to 22).
And despite the fact that the building has yet to sell out, unit #6C just hit the resale market with an asking price of $889,000 (floor plan above).
∙ Listing: 501 Beale Street #6C (1/1) - $889,000 [MLS]
∙ Watermark: “H” Floor Plan [sfwatermark.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
June 27, 2006
188 King Street: An Update
Seven weeks ago we alerted our readers to the opening of 188 King Street and provided a complete rundown of “Phase I” pricing (16 units). At the time, 3 units were already being advertised as “pending,” and only two units were listed on the MLS.
Today, 9 units are active on the MLS (including 7 of the original units), and four more are listed as active contingent. In addition, at least one unit that was originally identified as “pending” (#404) is now active. And while it’s possible that the sale fell through, a quick review of the “Agreement of Sale” for 188 King specifically discloses that “Seller herein informs buyers that a number of units will be retained for investment purposes. . . . Some or all of these units may be designated as “Sold” for marketing purposes.”
∙ Welcome To 188 King (188 King Street) [SocketSite]
∙ 188 King: Phase I Pricing [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 188 King Street #404 (1/2) - $925,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
June 23, 2006
The Infinity Sales Center: SocketSite’s Inside Scoop
While the sales center for The Infinity opened last week, no units have been offered for sale. In fact, the first release of units isn’t scheduled to occur for another couple of weeks. That being said, the sales center is accepting pre-qualification letters from one of The Infinity’s preferred lenders, and “the order in which the sales center receives the pre-qualification letters is the order in which prospective purchasers will be offered units in the release.” So jump to it if you’re interested.
Other key details, rough pricing, and a couple of sneak peeks:
∙ The first release will consist of 365 "residences" in three buildings: one tower (301 Main) and two mid-rise buildings (333 Main and 318 Spear). First occupancy projected for early 2008 (little mention of the second tower).
∙ Rough pricing: studios (539-690 sq.ft.) from the $500,000’s; one-bedrooms (714-931 sq.ft.) from the $600,000’s; two-bedrooms (800-1,726 sq.ft.) from the $800,00’s; three-bedrooms (1,293-1,755) from the $1,800,000’s; luxury homes and penthouses (3,364 sq.ft.) over $2,000,000.
∙ One deeded parking space per residence and average monthly HOA’s of $700 per month.
∙ Purchasers will be required to make a 5% good faith deposit (held in escrow). (“Investment opportunities [versus owner occupied] are limited.”)
∙ “The Infinity welcomes Real Estate Broker/Agent participation and will pay a commission to qualifying licensed Real Estate Brokers/Agents.”
∙ Model residence sneak peeks:
Floor plans, design porn, services, amenities, and simulated views are available online. And perhaps most importantly, the air conditioning in the sales center is supposed to be turned on today…
∙ The Infinity [Official Site]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
One Building, Four Listings, Four Different Answers
It’s always interesting to compare the listings in a building. Take 1201 California for example. There are currently four coop’s for sale in the building ranging in price from $1,195,000 to $1,995,000; the units have been on the market from twenty days to six months; and at least two of the units have been reduced (by as much as $200,000). And depending upon which listing you believe, the building consists of 63, 70, 76, or 94 units…
∙ Listing: 1201 California #601 (2/2) - $1,195,000 [Coldwell Banker] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1201 California #1101 (2/2) - $1,195,000 [Coldwell Banker] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1201 California #1401 (2/2) - $1,250,000 [Hill & Co.] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1201 California #1601 (2/2.5) - $1,995,000 [Ackerman] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
June 20, 2006
One Rincon Hill: 301 Deposits
One week, three hundred and one deposits, 80% sold. Will the South Tower of One Rincon Hill be “sold out” by the end of the second week? Are the developers kicking themselves for not pricing it higher? And what’s going to happen in 18-24 months when it comes time to actually fund the closings?
Posted by socketadmin at 1:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
June 16, 2006
First Impressions: One Rincon Hill Sales Center
Well, we finally made it over to the multi-million dollar One Rincon Hill Sales Center (511 Harrison) last night for the “Select One” (i.e., not quite VIP) “Preview Event.” It lived up to all the hype. And all of a sudden, the sales center at The Palms (amongst others) just seems so early 2006…
Most likely you’ve already read about the touchscreen kiosks that allow you to browse floor plans, views, and availability (floor plans 02 and 06 appear to be popular); the model unit (floor plan 03) with simulated views from the 45th floor (complete with a little box of grass on the balcony for Fido); and the gaggle of people eagerly awaiting their chance to throw down 3% deposits (we were skeptical of the initial reports, but apparently it's true, well over 200 of the 376 units have already been reserved).
And then there’s our first impression of the model unit: small (especially the living/dining area) but relatively well designed; nicely appointed kitchen with Sub-Zero/Bosch appliances and Del Tongo cabinetry (which the uberexpensive collateral materials somehow manage to list as “Sub Zero” and “del” Tongo); and decent closet space but with freakishly cheap doors (hopefully not the final finish). Eight basic floor plans for the majority of the tower (not too sure about the three bedroom/penthouse floors), four basic color schemes, and perhaps 30 floors finishes from which to choose.
The crowd was younger than we were expecting (based on the price point), and there was a palpable buzz of excitement in the air. In fact, it almost felt like people were buying into an exclusive new San Francisco club (and lifestyle) rather than just a new condo development. Based on what we've seen, we'd be surprised if One Rincon has any difficulty selling out in record time (and well ahead of the Watermark).
And as an extra bonus to our loyal readers, we scored the recipe for the “One Gincon”: 2 oz. Gin, 1.5 oz lemongrass syrup, splash of ginger puree, ice, and club soda in a tall glass. Now that’s a scoop. (Okay, so perhaps they were handing out little recipe cards.)
Now might be an opportune time to talk, discuss, and gossip amongst yourselves.
UPDATE: According to a tipster, 250 deposits were made in the four days of "pre-sales."
∙ One Rincon Hill (425 First) [SocketSite]
∙ The “Signature Cocktail” Of One Rincon Hill [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
301 Bryant Update
In April we profiled 301 Bryant, pointed out three units that were for sale, and provided an answer to the trivia question of why only a quarter of the 39 units in the building have gas ranges. And as Curbed notes yesterday, the same three units are still on the market (two at the same price, one reduced $112,000), and that sweet 50” plasma/stereo setup is still available.
∙ Three In 301 Bryant [SocketSite]
∙ 301 Bryant, Not Selling [Curbed SF]
∙ Let’s Make A Deal! [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
June 13, 2006
One Rincon Hill (425 First)
We’ve been talking about One Rincon Hill for months: the design, size, sales center, and opening bash. The basic overview:
∙ Two towers: South tower - 55 stories, 550 feet, and 376 condos; North tower - 45 stories, 465 feet, and 319 condos (plus 14 townhouses at the base of the two towers)
∙ Architect: Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB)
∙ Anticipated opening: South tower - late 2007/early 2008; North tower - 2009
∙ Sales: Sales center "officially" opening at 511 Harrison on Friday (6/16), but already taking deposits for "VIPs"
And while the Chronicle reports, the lavish “preview party” was yesterday (6/13), we believe it's actually tomorrow (6/16). Either that or we're going to be all dressed up with nowhere to go all week long...
∙ One Rincon Hill [425 First]
∙ Solomon Cordwell Buenz [sbcdesign.com]
∙ City's skyline moving upscale [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
June 12, 2006
Symphony Towers (750 Van Ness Avenue)
In 2002 Lakeview Ventures received approval to build an “affordable housing project” of 141 apartments at 724 Van Ness (actually two towers, a 14-story tower on Van Ness and a 7-story tower on Turk). Two years later, the project was sold to condo developer West Bay Builders. And today, construction of Symphony Towers is well underway, but in the form of 130 condominiums (~16 BMR) which should be finished late 2006/early 2007.
It’s a classic case of urban infill, and how despite the fact that “they’re not making any more land,” two one-story buildings (housing an auto shop, restaurant, and retail) can become 130 new homes (albeit not overnight). The “community” will be marketed by Pacific Marketing Associates.
∙ Recovery just around the corner -- sort of [bizjournals]
∙ Zillow Is A Lot Catchier [SocketSite]
∙ Symphony Towers [Pacific Marketing Associates]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
June 7, 2006
235 Berry Street Sales Release (6/11/06)
Another six of the 99 units at 235 Berry Street hit the market this Sunday (6/11/06), and if you want one you might want to arrive “promptly at 10:00 am . . . with a copy of your pre-qualification letter and evidence of source of funds for the balance of your purchase.” It’s also interesting to note that “[a]ll purchasers will be required to sign an anti-speculation agreement with their contract documents.” (No flipping for you!)
According to SF New Developments, the first release of 20 units sold out on the first day through a “mini-lottery” for the 60 interested parties. (Then again, that was four months ago.) The six units that are scheduled to be released this Sunday include:
∙ 235 Berry #104 (1,255 sq. ft.) - $997,050
∙ 235 Berry #105 (1,255 sq. ft.) - $1,001,050
∙ 235 Berry #112 (1,255 sq. ft.) - $1,000,050
∙ 235 Berry #109 (2/3) - $1,260,250
∙ 235 Berry #106 (2/3) - $1,275,250
∙ 235 Berry #110 (2/3) - $1,285,250
∙ 235 Berry [235 Berry Street]
∙ June 11th Sales Release [SF New Developments]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
June 6, 2006
The "Shore|Line" (41 Federal)
Thanks to a reader’s comment, we finally have a little background on the Shoreline (or rather “Shore|Line”) to share. It's a modern development of nine units ranging in size from about 900 to 1600 square feet, and with prices ranging “from the mid $800's to under $1.4 million.”
A couple of notable features: “spa-inspired baths,” 10-foot ceilings, wide plank bamboo floors, private balconies, and the requisite stainless steel appliances (GE Monogram) and granite countertops. A full set of floor plans are available online (via First Release Homes).
So who’s got the inside scoop? Anybody taken a tour?
∙ Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? [SocketSite Comments]
∙ Shore|Line Overview and Floor Plans (pdf) [firstreleasehomes.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
June 5, 2006
They’re Back!
As we expected, at least 7 of the listings in the 776 Tehama/1277 Howard development are back on the MLS with…wait for it…new pictures, new MLS numbers, and new prices. So while it might appear like the units have only been on the market for a week, they’ve actually been on the market for two months. And their prices have been reduced from 2% (#3) to 13% (#15).
∙ When “SOLD!” Really Isn’t Sold [SocketSite]
∙ 776 Tehama/1277 Howard: Pricing [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 1277 Howard #3 (2/2) - $735,000 [Vanguard] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 776 Tehama #6 (1/1) - $469,000 [Vanguard] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 776 Tehama #10 (1/1) - $515,000 [Vanguard] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 776 Tehama #11 (2/2) - $695,000 [Vanguard] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 776 Tehama #13 (1/1) - $529,000 [Vanguard] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 776 Tehama #15 (1/1) - $479,000 [Vanguard] [MLS]
∙ Listing: 776 Tehama #17 (2/2) - $749,000 [Vanguard] [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
The “Signature Cocktail” Of One Rincon Hill
What do oysters, caviar, duck, crab, live jazz, and valet parking all have in common? They’re all part of One Rincon Hill’s “Preview Event” next Thursday. And if that’s not enough, let’s not forget the debut of “One Rincon’s Signature Cocktail, the ‘One Gincon’” (if only we, or they, were kidding). Yep, an interesting summer indeed.
∙ Behind The Velvet Ropes [SocketSite]
∙ Party Like It’s 2006 [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
June 2, 2006
The Lansing (50 Lansing Street)
THE LANSING has opened the doors to its 82 units at 50 Lansing Street (off First) and is stressing “IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY.” Developed by Lambert Development (of The Brannan fame), and touting a whole host of other contributors (including SB Architects, BaMo design, and lighting consultants Auerbach Glasow), the building is positioning itself as a “quiet urban oasis.”
Lottery numbers have already been drawn, and contracts closed, for the 10 BMR units (which ranged from $254,575 to $287,873), but market rate units are advertised to start from $595,000 for 1 bedrooms, $695,000 for 2 bedrooms, and $1,150,000 for penthouse homes. At the same time, the Chronicle’s ‘Neighborhood Homes Sold’ feature from May 21st reports that unit #111 closed for $557,500 and unit #212 closed for $579,000 (so there just might be some room for negotiation).
And if you want to try before you buy, unit #804 is being advertised (in the New York Times?) for rent at $2,700/mo.
∙ THE LANSING [50 Lansing]
∙ THE LANSING Development Team [thelansing.com]
∙ Neighborhood Homes Sold: Sunday, May 21, 2006 [SFGate]
∙ Rental Listing: 50 Lansing #804 (1/1) - $2,700/mo. [NYTimes]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
May 31, 2006
The Italian Riviera By The Bay
Four blocks from Jack London Square in Oakland, the 100-unit Aqua Via (125 Second Street) seems to be upping the amenity ante for luxury rental properties with its private 29’ Back Cove water taxi (at the beck and call of residents) and a lighted bocce ball court. If you invite us over for a game, and send the water taxi to pick us up, we'll bring the Chianti.
∙ Aqua Via [aquavialiving.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
May 26, 2006
Rincon Towers Going Condo
Not so much a rumor as a confirmation – it appears that the Rincon Towers apartment building at 88 Howard has finally been sold (but to Beacon Capital out of Boston and not Crescent Heights out of Miami) and is going condo. And although the 320 unit building is not very highly rated, the majority of the low marks appear to have been as a result of the soon-to-be-past management.
∙ The Rumors You Heard Are True [Craigslist]
∙ Two deals put condos on the rise [bizjournal]
∙ Apartment Ratings: Rincon Towers [apartmentratings.com]
∙ Rincon Center Tenants Association [RCTA]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
May 22, 2006
Glen Park Market Place: Range Of Prices And BMR Deadline
The doors are open at the Glen Park Market Place and of the 15 residential units 13 are market rate (ranging from $759,000 to $869,000) and 2 are BMR ($271,040 and $272,371). All units are 2 bedroom/2 bath and applications for the BMR units are due by next Wednesday (5/31/06). And yes, we’re still looking for a complete pricing breakdown (email tips@socketsite.com).
We have yet to take a tour so we will reserve our comments on the design, finish, and feel until we've had a chance to do a walk though. There are, however, at least two things that caught our attention in the listings: the average size (~1100 sqft), and the fact that earthquake insurance is covered by the HOA (~$400/mo).
∙ Glen Park Market Place: 2815 Diamond [SocketSite]
∙ Mayor’s Office of Housing: Current Listings [SFGov]
∙ Glen Park Market Place BMR Application [glenparkmarketplace.com]
∙ Listing: 53 Wilder #203 (2/2) - $759,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 53 Wilder #301 (2/2) - $779,000 [MLS]
∙ Virtual Tour: 53 Wilder #302 (2/2) [lonestartours.com]
∙ Virtual Tour: 53 Wilder #404 (2/2) [lonestartours.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
May 19, 2006
Behind The Velvet Ropes
In just under four weeks invited “VIPs” of One Rincon Hill will be making 3% deposits to secure their “first choice of units and views at preferred pricing.” Not on the list? Not to worry; it's possible you might be able to make the “VIP” cut by simply registering online. We'll see you behind the velvet ropes.
∙ One Rincon Hill VIP Registration [onerinconhill.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
When “SOLD!” Really Isn’t Sold
Despite being marketed as “SOLD!” over the past six weeks, we recently noticed a listing for 776 Tehama #9. As we previously noted, #9 is a Below Market Rate (BMR) unit and will be offered through the Mayors Office of Housing for $247,566. Not a bad deal considering that unit 6 (same floor plan on the floor below) was originally listed for $519,000.
Then again, according the 776 Tehama website only two of the 15 market rate units in the development (776 Tehama/1277 Howard) have actually sold (#7 and #13); prices have been reduced across-the-board (unit 6 was lowered $50K to $469,00); the listings are now advertising “Seller will pay HOA dues for a year”; and as best we can tell, all of the active listings for 776 Tehama and 1277 Howard were recently removed from the public MLS (usually an attempt to obscure inventory levels, days on the market, or price cuts).
∙ Listing: 776 Tehama #9 (1/1) - $247,566 (BMR) [Vanguard]
∙ 776 Tehama/1277 Howard: Pricing [SocketSite]
∙ Mayor’s Office of Housing [SFGov]
∙ 776 Tehama & 1277 Howard [776 Tehama]
∙ Listing: 776 Tehama #6 (1/1) - $549,000 [Vanguard]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
May 18, 2006
Read It Today (Because Tomorrow You Pay)
Columnist Bob Bruss offers up “10 key questions smart condo buyers should ask (but condo sellers hope their buyers don't ask)”:
1. What is the financial condition of the homeowner's association (HOA)? 2. What is the percentage of renters in the complex? 3. Is the condo complex professionally managed? 4. How do the monthly fees compare with similar nearby condo complexes and what services are included? 5. Has your condo seller prepared a defect disclosure report? 6. Has the condo unit been professionally inspected? 7. How good is the soundproofing? 8. Has the seller complied with applicable statutes? 9. Are there any special contracts or long-term leases affecting the condo complex? 10. Are there any negative influences to consider?
If you’re interested, you might want to read the full column today (free access at Inman through the end of the day and then by subscription only).
And while we’re currently working on a piece concerning the percentage of renters in a building (#2), we would like to believe that all of our readers already know the importance (and impact) of soundproofing (#7). [Note: there are now 5 units for sale in the 22-unit Midtown at 1452 Bush].
∙ 10 questions to ensure good condo purchase [Inman News - $]
∙ Eighteen Percent Of (The) Midtown For Sale [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
May 8, 2006
188 King: Phase I Pricing
188 King opened its doors this weekend and has priced its first of three releases. The high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, and open layouts, particularly of floor plan 3 (or the 02 series), did not dissapoint; and the finishes were impressive (although the Amana refrigerator seemed out of place next to the Viking range and Bosch dishwasher).
And if you’re a Giants fan, you really can’t beat the location, or view from the front half of the building.
Full pricing for the first release as follows:
∙ 188 King #201 (915 sq. ft.) - $825,000 [MLS]
∙ 188 King #203 (1123 sq. ft.) - $895,000
∙ 188 King #204 (1113 sq. ft.) - $925,000
∙ 188 King #206 (1113 sq. ft.) - $925,000 (pending)
∙ 188 King #301 (909 sq. ft.) - $825,000
∙ 188 King #302 (1900 sq. ft.) - $1,650,000 [MLS]
∙ 188 King #305 (1123 sq. ft.) - $925,000
∙ 188 King #306 (895 sq. ft.) - $895,000
∙ 188 King #403 (1123 sq. ft.) - $995,000
∙ 188 King #404 (1113 sq. ft.) - $925,000 (pending)
∙ 188 King #406 (1113 sq. ft.) - $925,000
∙ 188 King #503 (1123 sq. ft.) - $1,075,000
∙ 188 King #505 (1123 sq. ft.) - $1,075,000 (pending)
∙ 188 King #506 (1113 sq. ft.) - $1,025,000
∙ 188 King #603 (1669 sq. ft.) - $2,150,000
∙ 188 King #604 (1662 sq. ft.) - $2,150,000
We're doing some checking on those "pending" units (no BMRs); the second and third releases are to be priced and made available based on the performance of the first release.
∙ Welcome To 188 King (188 King Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
The State Of The Brannan
As foundations are poured, sales offices are opened, and new developments start hitting the market, questions abound about the impact on existing buildings about town (especially with regard to premium priced buildings like The Brannan).
And while eight open houses signs lining the street, and twelve active listings on the MLS (including the “Architect's Residence” #16D) for The Brannan might appear somewhat dramatic, it’s really not. For perspective, there are 336 units in the three buildings that comprise The Brannan, which means that less than 4% of the building’s units are currently for sale.
Now granted, from what we’re told it’s taking 60% longer to sell a unit in The Brannan this year versus last year (70 days on the market versus 42), but we believe that this reflects an overall slowing of the market rather than any particular weakness in The Brannan.
∙ Listing: 219 Brannan #16D (2/2) - $2,150,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
May 5, 2006
New Developments: Park Terrace (325 Berry)
The Park Terrace (“Urban living redefined”) is a seven story, 110-unit development under construction at 325 Berry in Mission Bay (which apparently is “not just a neighborhood, it’s a lifestyle…”). Developed in partnership by Opus West and Phoenix Property Company, the building is slated to be completed by the end of the year (sales center anyone?). And yes, large terraces overlooking Mission Creek seems to be the central theme.
∙ Park Terrace [325 Berry]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
May 4, 2006
New Developments: Odeon (181 O’Farrell)
The Odeon is a boutique new development featuring 29 two-story spaces boasting “expansive window walls” [our interest officially piqued]. If nothing else, it’s bound to be a shopper’s paradise (located at 181 O’Farrell at Powell, and directly above H&M).
As best we can tell, and with the possible exception of one corner unit, all units appear to be one bedroom (with one a half baths). Details when we have them, and a sales office opening in June.
Posted by socketadmin at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
May 3, 2006
Welcome To 188 King (188 King Street)
This Friday (5/5), 188 King is scheduled to first open its doors for property tours and to release complete pricing for its 40 upscale units (“starting at $825,000”).
Based on the pictures, descriptions (“…double-height window lines illuminate high-volume living spaces with 16-foot ceilings and offer outstanding bay and city views.”), and floor plans, we’re definitely looking forward to Friday (even more than usual).
∙ 188 King [188 King Street]
∙ New Developments: 188 King Street [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
May 2, 2006
Curbed Shoots…And Misses
Yesterday, Curbed tried to make sense of CA Assembly Bill 728 (allowing developers to accept binding non-refundable 3% deposits on pre-construction developments) and the current condo market; sales at the Watermark; and the relevancy of new sales centers to consumers. Unfortunately, we think they missed the mark on all three.
Curbed statement #1: “While no one's saying, the likely reason for this change [AB728?] is the glut of condominiums on the market, selling slowly or not selling at all.” Keep in mind that AB728 was signed into law back in September 2003 by then Govenor Gray Davis (definitely no “glut” or lack of sales back then). And as far as a current market “glut”? We’re not seeing it (Yet).
Curbed statement #2: “The most high-profile and worrisome project being the Watermark . . . where six months after opening the sales office, only thirteen units have closed escrow, or ten percent.” As background, it’s important to know that while the Watermark sales office opened six months ago, occupancy wasn’t an option until last month. Would you close escrow and start making mortgage payments before you had to? Neither would we. The relevant statistic is that 65% of the units have either closed escrow or are currently in contract (with no speculative resales currently listed on the MLS). That being said, 50 units remain available, the pace of sales appears to have slowed, and we’ve noticed that marketing efforts are being ratcheted up.
Curbed statement #3: “These new sales centers don't mean much to consumers.” Actually they do. As Damion Matthews writes, “condo buyers are going to have some dilemmas -- do they commit to taking a fabulous brand new high rise condo with bay views and the works, which they can't move into for another year or two; if so, which one do they chose (based only on floor plans, renderings and model interiors); and if not, what's going to happen to the value of their place at the Metropolitan or Bridgeview once the inventory of all those new pads opens up in late 2007?”
And as far as our 2,700 number (Curbed: "Supposedly, 2700 units have yet to be built..."), that’s not the entirety of the new development pipeline, but simply the minimum number of units that we expect to be represented by sales offices opened by the end of the summer. And it's a number, and a market, that changes every day, so keep 'plugging in'!
∙ Doing it Florida Style [Curbed]
∙ Your Condo Here [democrats.assembly.ca.gov]
∙ 2,700 New Condos On Sale Soon [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
May 1, 2006
Price Reductions At 69 Clementina
Great news if you’re looking to buy (probably not so great if you already did). After four months, four condos in the 18-unit 69 Clementina are still available, and at least two have been reduced in price (by as much as $100,000). In addition, all four are now advertising 6 months of pre-paid HOAs.
As far as we know, this is the first new development in San Francisco to openly advertise price reductions and incentives. There’s nothing quite like knowing that your neighbor isn’t paying HOAs, received a $100,000 discount, and just reduced your building’s sales comps…
∙ 69 Clementina [69 Clementina]
∙ Listing: 69 Clementina #602 (2/2) - $829,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 69 Clementina #803 (1/1.5) - $829,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 69 Clementina #802 (2/2.5) - $969,000
∙ Listing: 69 Clementina #801 (2/2.5) - $999,000 [MLS]
∙ Three New Developments Around Town [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
The Palms: Phase II Release
While the sales center at the nine-story, 300-unit Palms is open for business, the first model units are still a couple of weeks away from completion (only hardhat tours at the moment). Regardless, Phase I has sold out (80 units), and Phase II just hit the market (~100 units); release date and pricing have yet to be announced for Phase III (floors 7, 8, and 9).
As far as Phase II pricing is concerned, we’re seeing current availability from $399,000 to $895,000 with only six representative units listed on the MLS. And yes, plenty of floor plan and rendering porn available online.
∙ The Palms [555 4th Street]
∙ Listing: 555 4th St #103 (0/1) - $399,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th St #620 (0/1) - $455,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th St #314 (1/1) - $579,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th St #533 (1/1) - $625,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th St #418 (2/2) - $795,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 555 4th St #529 (2/2) - $865,800 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
April 28, 2006
The Mayor Is Moving On Up!
According to Damion Matthews, Mayor Gavin Newsom just closed escrow on a two-bedroom condo high atop Russian Hill in the Bellaire Tower (1101 Green Street). And the purchase price, according to the Business Times, was $2,350,000 (seller none other than Peter Getty).
Good news for those hoping to share an elevator (at least for a couple of floors) and catch his eye, unit number 303 is available and listed for $749,000. Apparently demand spiked at the St. Regis when Gore decided to make it his home, we’re guessing the same just might happen at the Bellaire.
And no, we’re really not expecting an invitation to the housewarming (although it would be nice).
∙ Listing: 1101 Green Street #303 - $749,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
April 27, 2006
Don't Forget The Trunks/Bikinis
On a day like today, and with a glorious forecast for the weekend, we can’t help but wonder: what building sports the best outdoor pool (and scene) in the city? The Brannan? The Bridgeview? The Royal Towers? Let us know because we’re definitely brining the trunks/bikinis along to the open houses this weekend.
Update: "Continue Reading" for additional pictures...
The pool atop 2200 Pacific (thanks pwb):
Posted by socketadmin at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
Glen Park Market Place: 2815 Diamond
Polaris Group has launched a website for the Glen Park Market Place which consists of 15 condominiums offering “stylish finishes and contemporary floor plans,” a grocery, and a public library.
In doing so, it also appears that Polaris Group has liberated borrowed lifted done none of the aforementioned. (see update below) a number of the site’s images directly from Gregg & Garrett’s Glen Park Real Estate site. And although “flattered,” they’re really not so happy about it. Let's just say that we can definitely empathize…
Update: A major mea culpa from Gregg & Garrett, “It appears I was dead wrong on the use of my images.” (Did you try blaming the intern?) Kudos to Polaris Group for being gracious, understanding, and reasonable (really).
∙ Glen Park Market Place [2815 Diamond]
∙ Glen Park Real Estate [glen-park.com]
∙ Come On Curbed (comments) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
April 26, 2006
Spoiler Alert: One Rincon Hill Video
Okay, so maybe we were less than impressed by the One Rincon Hill webcam, but their video left us dazed (and yet strangely giddy). Yes, based on the pictures and press (“the tallest residential property west of the Mississippi”) we knew these towers were going to be tall, but it wasn’t until we saw the rendering of the towers 23 seconds into the video that we really understood. Holy…
∙ One Rincon Hill [425 First]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
The Hayes: 55 Page Street
And speaking of Intracorp, The Hayes has launched a new website since we first alerted you to New Condos Starting In The $400,000s. (And yes, the new site is complete with the requisite floor plan porn, their own inside scoop, and a nice little neighborhood map.)
∙ The Hayes [55 Page Street]
∙ The Arterra: “Clean Design, Pure Living” At 300 Berry Street [SocketSite]
∙ New Condos Starting In The $400,000s? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | (email story)
The Arterra: “Clean Design, Pure Living” At 300 Berry Street
The Arterra, a 268-unit ‘Green’ condo development, has broken ground at 300 Berry Street. Developed by Intracorp San Francisco (also developing The Hayes) and architected by Kwan Henmi, the Arterra is marketed as “clean design, pure living,” and billed as a "pioneering green building of sophisticated design."
The three-level complex will be the first San Francisco building clad in Trespa, smooth and colorful panels produced with recycled materials. It will have natural coastal grass-covered roofs on parts of the fourth, sixth, and tenth floors, a high thermal insulation glazing system with operable windows and a water-efficient landscape design. Interiors will be built with rapid renewal materials, like bamboo and cork, and energy-efficient appliances.
And if good design and environmental consciousness aren’t strong enough selling points for you, there’s always the pure sex appeal (sultry female pic, sultry male pic). You had us at hello green.
Update: The Arterra website has been updated. Gone are the sultry pictures. In their place, actual details.
∙ The Arterra [300 Berry Street]
∙ New Condos Starting In The $400,000s? [SocketSite]
∙ Condo project painted 'green' [bizjournal]
∙ First Green Condo Project Breaks Ground in San Francisco [Green Key]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
April 21, 2006
Three In 301 Bryant
301 Bryant is a beautiful building. Designed by Tanner Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects (now in the portfolios of both TANNERHECHT Architecture and LEDDY MAYTUM STACY Architects) and developed by ECB, the 11-story structure includes 39 residential units and was built on a small 8,000 square foot site. In fact, according to ECB, 301 Bryant is “a model of in-fill development on a small, extremely constrained site that was considered by the San Francisco redevelopment agency to have limited value.”
Three units currently available in 301 Bryant, and we’re big fans of the windows and terrace, but definitely not the electric range, of unit #103. So why does #103 have an electric range when units #101 and #704 advertise gas ranges? Rumor has it that the developer only bothered to run gas lines in the stack of the building that included the developer’s unit. It’s good to be the developer.
∙ Listing: 301 Bryant St #101 (2/2) - $1,048,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 301 Bryant St #704 (2/2) - $1,110,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 301 Bryant St #103 (2/2) - $1,150,000 [MLS]
∙ ECB: 301 Bryant
∙ TANNERHECHT Architecture: 301 Bryant
∙ LEDDY MAYTUM STACY Architects
Posted by socketadmin at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
April 18, 2006
The Royal San Francisco
The Royal Insurance Building at 201 Sansome Street was built in 1907 for the Royal Globe Insurance Company, and after ninety-nine years, it’s going residential. Designed by New York City architects, Howell and Stokes, the building was designated a San Francisco Landmark in 1983 (the exterior of the building has not been altered during the conversion to condos).
The Royal (not to be confused with the Royal Towers) is comprised of forty-six (46) residences with one bedrooms starting from $430,000, two bedrooms from $940,000, and four two-story “townhouses” from $1,575,000. High-end finishes throughout, and discounted gym membership (Equinox) and parking (down the block) for residents of the building.
Unfortunately, the majority of the units have already been pre-sold (according to the developer), but as Damion Matthews points out, you still have two days to register for the five BMR units available in the building (April 21st deadline). Plus, we wouldn’t be too surprised to see some early speculative turnover once the doors have been flung open.
And while The Royal’s website might not win any awards for its aesthetic design, we give it two thumbs up for information (including complete pricing), interactivity (floorplans), and honesty (actually identifying BMR units).
∙ The Royal (San Francisco)
∙ Truth In Advertising: 1750 Taylor (Royal Towers) [SocketSite]
∙ Mayor’s Office of Housing: Current Listings [SFGOV]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
April 14, 2006
New York In The Marquee
Did we mention that we’re suckers for windows as well? And now about that in-unit sauna…
∙ Listing: 151 Alice B. Toklas #813 (2/3) - $1,995,000 [MLS]
∙ New York In Nob Hill [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
Eighteen Percent Of (The) Midtown For Sale
Sporting a “New Price” (originally $1,200,00), new paint (we’re biting our tongues), and a new MLS number (soon to be filed under ‘trends’), unit #21 in The Midtown (1452 Bush Street) joins the three other units (#3, #9, #16) currently for sale in the twenty-two unit building.
∙ Listing: 1452 Bush Street #21 (3/3.5) - $1,125,000 [MLS]
∙ Locking In Gains At The Midtown? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
April 12, 2006
The Beacon: 90% Sold
According to Centurion Real Estate Partners, the group that converted the Mission Place apartment development into the 595 condo development named the Beacon, the South of Market condo market remains strong (and the Beacon is 90% sold).
Quote: “Every time I check, our numbers are beating our pro formas. We sold 10 condos last weekend.” Sixty units (and six weeks?) to go.
∙ Bringing home the Beacon [bizjournals]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
April 5, 2006
Locking In Gains At The Midtown?
At least three units in the twenty-two unit Midtown are currently on the market. The Midtown was built in 2004 which means that the two-year capital gains tax exclusion should be in sight for most of the original owners who have occupied their units since purchasing.
And yes ‘pwb’, you'll be happy to know that all units feature granite counter tops. (And that we couldn't agree with you more.)
∙ Listing: 1452 Bush St #3 (2/2.5) - $759,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1452 Bush St #16 (2/2.5) - $849,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1452 Bush St #9 (2/2.5) - $899,990 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
April 4, 2006
Semi-New Development: Alamo Square
Originally constructed in 1999, and mapped as condos, the 63 units that comprise Alamo Square (988 Fulton) are currently undergoing a transformation from apartments to condos.
The "transformed" units boast stainless steel appliances, granite slab countertops, dishwashers, in-unit washer/dryers, and are tagged, “A Genuine Home in the City.” To us, however, it still feels like apartment living (just more expensive).
Units range from studios to three-bedroom “residences” and, according to the sales office, are “approximately 60% sold”. As far as pricing, the one-bedrooms (~662 sqft) currently start around $535K while the two-bedrooms (~900 sqft) start around $695K (no word on studios or three-bedrooms). And while the price point might seem relatively cheap, on a $/sqft basis, it’s really not.
Only the two “model” units are currently listed on the MLS (we hate it when they do that). Bonus points, and glory, to the tipster that can supply a full pricing/availability sheet...
∙ Listing: 988 Fulton St #232 (1/1) - $535,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 988 Fulton St #314 (2/2) - $695,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
March 29, 2006
Adam Grant Condos: 114 Sansome St.
The 14-story Adam Grant building at 114 Sansome is going condo. Class A commercial condo that is. That’s right, you can now own your office space. And for those who might find this old news, we also offer the lineup for their Grand Opening this week:
Welcoming escorts; catering by MeMe Pederson; professional billiards player, Jeanette Lee (aka “the Black Widow”) challenging guests to games; a complementary Cigar Lounge hosted by Sherlock’s Haven; and a full bar + wine tasting bar by Niebaum-Coppola.
Now that’s an opening. And the real question, other than whether or not we’re going invited, is: how long before all the new residential condo buildings are forced to start following suit?
∙ Adam Grant Condos [adamgrantcondos.com]
∙ The Adam Grant Building [emporis]
∙ Miami Investment Group Purchases 114 Sansome St... [grubb-ellis]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
March 27, 2006
The Californian on Rincon Hill: 375 Fremont St.
As we mentioned last week, ‘The Californian on Rincon Hill’ a 40-story and 435 unit luxury condo building is in the works for 375 Fremont St. Richard Keating, “international celebrity architect”, professor of architecture at UC Berkeley, and designer of the Elihu Harris State Building in Oakland is heading up the design team.
“The building will have an eight-story podium with glass townhouses along Fremont Street. Atop the podium will be outdoor terrace areas with a lap pool, gym and entertaining room. The average-sized unit will be about 1,000 square feet. The top 25 floors will provide unobstructed views of the entire San Francisco Bay and surrounding areas.”
Sounds very nice. That is unless your ‘unobstructed views’ from another building are about to become very much obstructed by The Californian…
∙ Chicago firm nabs pair of S.F. sites for 40-story tower [bizjournals]
∙ Bay Buildings: The Metropolitan (333/355 1st Street) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
March 24, 2006
Bay Buildings: The Metropolitan (333/355 1st Street)
Back in early 2004 the San Francisco Business Times wrote the following: “As the first true housing highrise to sprout out of San Francisco's Rincon Hill, [the Metropolitan’s] 20-story north tower and 27-story south tower look awfully lonely…But fortunately for our forlorn friend, Rincon Hill's soil is fertile and more company is on the way.”
Or not (fortunately that is).
Damion, a frequent SocketSite commenter, points out that according to the San Francisco Business Times, a 40-story high rise ("The Californian on Rincon Hill") is planned for 375 Fremont. The “not fortunate” part? In Damion’s own words, “Who should be worried? The good folks at the Metropolitan on First Street who are facing the bay -- their views are going to be blocked!” That’s definitely something worth keeping in mind when checking out any of the open houses this weekend (especially if boasting “Unobstructed Views of Bay”).
Another SocketSite tip? Unit number #1103 is touting “Ice Cream!” at both open houses (Sat/Sun 2:00-3:30). Hey, it’s the little things.
∙ Winner: The Metropolitan [bizjournals]
∙ The Metropolitan (San Francisco) [themetsf.com]
∙ Comments: New Home Sales Plunge In The West [SocketSite]
∙ Listing: 355 1st St #1103 - $599,000 [MLS] [Skybox Realty]
∙ Listing: 355 1St St #301 - $649,000
∙ Listing: 355 1St St #806 - $669,000 [MLS] [Skybox Realty]
∙ Listing: 333 1St St #1502 - $729,000 [MLS] [Skybox Realty]
∙ Listing: 333 1St St #1703 - $785,000 [MLS] [Listing Agent]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
Yerba Buena Lofts Redux
Last August we featured three units in the Yerba Buena Lofts (855 Folsom). Today, Curbed offer a great overview of the building, its architect, and three new listings. A couple of observations: Michael Broerman owns the listings in that building; and is it just us, or do the average listing prices seem to be coming down?
∙ Building du Jour: 855 Folsom [Curbed SF]
∙ Yerba Buena Loft Liquidation? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
March 23, 2006
Truth In Advertising: 1750 Taylor (Royal Towers)
It’s not often that we wholeheartedly agree with an agent’s description of a listing. In the case of 1750 Taylor #1301, we just might...
“With over 3,200 square feet of living space, state-of-the-art amenities, walls of steel & glass, and three terraces, this magnificent home offers unequalled sophistication and simply the best views in all of San Francisco.”
We want to wake up in that bed. Of course with a price tag of $6M, and a monthly HOA of $2906, this definitely falls into the category of “if you have to ask…”. (And unfortunately we do.) But for those who don’t, we suggest you also consider purchasing #1201 ($5.5M) and adding a staircase to create THE deluxe apartment in the sky (and four car parking back on the ground).
And if you have to ask, but still covet the building, consider #302 which has been reduced twice since hitting the market back in August and now gets you in the doors for a mere $1.195M.
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor St #1301 - $6,000,000 [Louis Silcox]
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor St #1201 - $5,500,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1750 Taylor St #302 - $1,195,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
March 22, 2006
New Developments: Sierra Heights
You still have to wear a hardhat if you’re planning on a tour, but the Sierra Heights sales office is definitely open (Sat-Thu). Sixty-seven units, three buildings (East, West, and North) and one phase (targeting occupancy for June/July).
As best we can tell, about 50% sold (90% of the East building, 25% of the West building, and the 13 units in the North building have yet to be priced). And while the MLS might only show four 'Active' units, we offer our readers four bonus prices:
∙ 25 Sierra #305 East (2/2) - $645,000
∙ 25 Sierra #302 East (3/2) - $759,000 [MLS]
∙ 25 Sierra #301 East (3/2) - $849,000 [MLS]
∙ 25 Sierra #302 West (2/2.5) - $849,000 [MLS]
∙ 25 Sierra #304 West (2/2.5) - $869,000
∙ 25 Sierra #306 West (3/2.5) - $899,000
∙ 25 Sierra #505 West (3/2.5) - $949,000
∙ 25 Sierra #506 West (3/2.5) - $949,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
March 20, 2006
New Developments: 776 Tehama
Vanguard Properties has been advertising “Coming in March 2006” for the 17 new condos at 776 Tehama, but as far as we know, they have yet to hit the market.
Two completely random notes: one, according the website, floor plans for the two bedrooms and junior one bedrooms are currently unavailable (probably wishful thinking that they’ve been reading SocketSite and are now redesigning the units, but we can dream can’t we?); and two, if you buy a unit, you’re indirectly funding the re-election of Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval.
Posted by socketadmin at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
February 27, 2006
1635 California Street
Vanguard’s marketing materials describe 1635 California Street as having a “stylish entrance lobby and elevator much like a boutique hotel”. And after making it to yesterday’s open house, we’d say “boutique hotel” fairly characterizes the “36 modern luxury residences” as well. Much like 1725 Washington, these “residences” suffer from a lack of space.
1635 California opened its doors over three months ago and at least 7 of the units are still on the market (with more yet to be “released”). And although we were not able to secure a full pricing sheet (the agents staffing the open house seemed downright defensive when asked), nor any property statements (none were made available), we’ve still got some numbers for our readers:
∙ 1635 California Street #31 - $715,000 [MLS]
∙ 1635 California Street #43 - $789,000 [MLS]
∙ 1635 California Street #44 - $719,000
∙ 1635 California Street #52 - $725,000
∙ 1635 California Street #55 - $739,000 [MLS]
∙ 1635 California Street #62 - $739,000 [MLS]
∙ 1635 California Street #63 - $835,000 [MLS]
∙ Update: 1725 Washington Street [SocketSite]
∙ Comments: Condo’s Going Up. Prices Coming Down? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
February 7, 2006
Update: 1725 Washington Street
Some brokers' tour comments for Washington Square West (1725 Washington): “great light, area, and reasonable HOA,” but “little storage space with small rooms and living space”.
And despite being advertised as “SOLD” on the pricing sheet, units #2 and #6 have simply been reserved for below market rate ("BMR") sales (here we go again), which leaves a full fourteen units up for grabs at "full" market rates:
∙ 1725 Washington Street #1 - $799,000 [MLS]
∙ 1725 Washington Street #3 - $879,000
∙ 1725 Washington Street #4 - $875,000
∙ 1725 Washington Street #5 - $829,000
∙ 1725 Washington Street #7 - $849,000
∙ 1725 Washington Street #8 - $845,000 [MLS]
∙ 1725 Washington Street #9 - $859,000
∙ 1725 Washington Street #10 - $865,000 [MLS]
∙ 1725 Washington Street #11 - $875,000
∙ 1725 Washington Street #12 - $879,000
∙ 1725 Washington Street #13 - $879,000
∙ 1725 Washington Street #14 - $885,000
∙ 1725 Washington Street #15 - $899,000 [MLS]
∙ 1725 Washington Street #16 - $895,000
Posted by socketadmin at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
February 2, 2006
New Developments: 1725 Washington Street
14 of the 16 brand new condominiums at 1725 Washington Street hit the market this week with an open house this Sunday (2/5) from 1-4 PM. We can’t make this one, but would love for some kind soul to take a camera (we need a better picture), grab a property statement, and report back.
∙ Listing: 1725 Washington Street #1 - $799,000 [MLS]
∙ Listing: 1725 Washington Street #15 - $899,000 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | (email story)
October 27, 2005
Forget $340M Powerball, Just Give Us A Damn Condo!
4,300 applicants, 400 drawn names, and only 20 lucky “winners”. Residents in other cities dream of winning multi-million dollar lotteries, while here in San Francisco we dream about winning the right to purchase a 600 square foot condo in the Beacon for a measly $172k.
The fine print: “applicants may not have owned a home in the past three years, must have limited assets and must earn no more than 70-110 percent of the area's median income ($66,500 if you’re single, $95,500 for a family of four)...[and] the amount of equity they can accumulate is capped [around 3% a year].”
We would, of course, love to hear from any lucky winners. And as always, please feel free to invite us to the housewarming (we’ll bring champagne).
∙ Lottery attracts a host of would-be S.F. homeowners [Chronicle]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:45 AM | Permalink | (email story)
August 9, 2005
Three New Developments Around Town
Three new condo developments are on our radar screen and we’re looking for some insight to share. Has anyone researched, toured, or bought any of these units? (email tips@socketsite.com)
· 69 Clementina [Downtown - GMAP]
· 175 Bluxome [SOMA - GMAP]
· Sierra Heights [Potrero - GMAP]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | (email story)
August 1, 2005
Yerba Buena Loft Liquidation?
Barbagelata’s two page ad in the most recent Real Estate Times features eighteen properties, of which 28% are Yerba Buena Lofts. Only three units, however, are listed on the MLS (all of which have the same listing agent). Perhaps this is an investor sensing the top of the market or the builder trying to cash out?
Any Yerba Buena owners/renters care to comment?
· Listing: 855 Folsom St #305 - $649,000 [SF MLS]
· Listing: 855 Folsom St #112 - $699,000 [SF MLS]
· Listing: 855 Folsom St #515 - $969,000 [SF MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:07 AM | Permalink | (email story)
July 18, 2005
199 New Montgomery: Update
It’s been six days since we last reported on 199 New Montgomery unit #1501 and once again the price has been “Reduced!!”. Somehow that original 1.2% reduction failed to generate a ton of interest, so this time it’s down another 2.2% (asking $879k). Death by a thousand paper cuts...
· Listing: 199 New Montgomery #1501 [SF MLS]
· REDUCED!! OFFERS ANYTIME [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:36 PM | Permalink | (email story)
July 14, 2005
525 Gough: No Sell Out
Although showing a list date of 7/06/05, 525 Gough #405 has been on the market for at least four months (all the while at a list price of $1,025,000). This unit is quite possibly the only one not to be sold by the developer (out of 21). And as far as we can tell, no other units have hit the market for re-sale by flippers (but we’ll be keeping an eye out).
· Listing: 525 Gough #405 [SF MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:01 AM | Permalink | (email story)
June 13, 2005
Reduced! At 199 New Montgomery
It’s only been a few months since a bidding war left 199 New Montgomery “sold out” and at least seven units are back on the market (i.e. being flipped). In the current market it wouldn’t really catch our attention except that at least one unit (#506) is already being advertised as “Reduced!” Any owners or insiders care to comment?
We’re struggling to decide if we should post this under “Listings” or “Trends”. Screw it, we’ll just add it to both.
· Listing: 199 New Montgomery #506 [MLS]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:56 AM | Permalink | (email story)
