News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
By FRAN MORELAND JOHNS It may be a sleek luxury high-rise condominium bringing new life to Cathedral Hill. Or it may be a code-violating, too-tall tower adding traffic, wind, noise, parking and shadow nightmares — and opening the door for more spot zoning across the city. New York developer ADCO Group’s plan to build a…
REAL ESTATE | PATRICK BARBER A pair of recent single-family home sales in Pacific Heights illustrate that properly pricing a home for sale can pay off on multiple levels. In the 3000 block of Jackson Street, two properties that are practically next door to each other changed hands in early June, with the transactions and…
REAL ESTATE | PATRICK BARBER The frenzied overbids that characterized neighborhood real estate in the first half of 2014 began to subside in the second half — one sign that the San Francisco housing market could move toward a more balanced state in the coming year. Bidding wars in Lower Pacific Heights, Pacific Heights, Cow…
By CHRIS BARNETT When the developers and designers of The Pacific were hunting for inspiration and ideas for San Francisco’s plushest and priciest condominium complex, they looked east and heavenward. The team transforming the former University of the Pacific dental school at 2121 Webster flew to New York and swarmed over 96-story 432 Park Avenue,…
REAL ESTATE | PATRICK BARBER A significant slowdown in the number of multi-unit building sales in San Francisco’s northern neighborhoods suggests that Proposition G may be having an impact on the local real estate market months before city residents cast their votes. On the ballot for the upcoming November 4 election, Proposition G is designed…
REAL ESTATE | PATRICK BARBER A pair of recent single-family home sales in Pacific Heights underscores that affluent San Francisco buyers will often pay a whole lot more for location and views than they will for size. On the surface, 2858 Vallejo Street and 1948 Pacific Avenue are similar. Both were built around the turn…
REAL ESTATE | PATRICK BARBER WE’RE PLEASED to welcome Patrick Barber, a native of the neighborhood and president of the Pacific Union brokerage, as our new real estate columnist. So you’ve lived in the neighborhood a long time. Yep, 48 years. I grew up on Clay Street not far from Fillmore. I went to Stuart…
By Chris Barnett THE RANCOROUS LEASE DISPUTE between Paolo Shoes and its landlord has been resolved out of court, and the custom Italian shoemaker won’t be taking a hike from the corner of Fillmore and Pine for at least two more years. The clash between the two San Francisco real estate dynasties was recently settled…
PLANS HAVE BEEN UNVEILED to demolish the Shell station at 2501 California Street and replace it with a new high-end convenience store called Loop. “Loop is the next evolution in service station retail,” said Nick Goyal, one of California’s largest operators of Shell service stations, who now controls the local station and more than 100…
By Nina Hatvany SALE PRICES of real estate in San Francisco’s southern neighborhoods have taken off dramatically in recent months. Noe Valley, Potrero Hill and South Beach are especially sought after by people who commute to the Peninsula, but still want to live in the city, or couples in which one person commutes south or…