NNN Brokers USA – San Francisco Commercial Real Estate Brokers: "The Scoop"

So what was the source of the poo smell that enveloped the whole city last Friday? Exploded sewer main? Flaming trash barge? According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which conducted an official investigation (pity the person on that detail), no one knows. “We exhausted all the possible sources.” Oh, how we love a good mystery! [The Snitch, previously]

Mission Bay, San Francisco’s most recent exercise in neighborhood-building, gets chalked up as a success today in the Chron, as one reporter documents the influx of young families and empty-nesters to an area that was considered a ghost town just a couple years ago. Wait! Humor us as we continue. Read: “Mission Bay feels as if it escaped the economic downturn – stores are opening, buildings are going up, and young professionals are zipping out of $700,000 condos to get to work. Most live in a six-block area north of Mission Bay Creek. These pioneers say it’s now starting to feel like a place worth staying in on the weekends.” Well, buildings were going up. But the promise is likely real— just add Mission Rock, a new police HQ, and let our Little South Bay simmer for 15 to 20 years.
· Mission Bay becoming a real neighborhood [SF Gate]
· New Nabe Alert: Mission Rock, aka Seawall Lot 337 [Curbed SF]
· Development Watch UPDATE: Mission Walk [Curbed SF]
· Construction Watch: Arrested Development at Radiance at Mission Bay [Curbed SF]

More library news: the Potrero branch, which closed in May 2008 to get itself completely gutted and redone, should be finished with its new self by early next year. An inventory of its improvements has a much-reduced carbon footprint and a design that looks toward “LEED principles” but won’t actually be getting the environmental certification. Still, it’ll be nice to have some insulation in the walls, we expect. Check out a Curbed SF post from back in October 2008 for the destructoporn. [Potrero View]

Gavin’s longtime plan to deck out the Civic Center in eco-toys is moving forward a bit: the city will seek bids before November on solar panels destined for the roof of City Hall. The panels shall total 9,900 square feet, says the Examiner, and power a whopping 5 percent of the building. Five percent! Good thing for the governor-hopeful, the rest of City Hall’s energy will still be relatively eco-blessed, being hydroelectric. Nixed for now: plans to display and track energy savings via electronic displays within City Hall. Not historically kosher, apparently— but we still have greywater and green roofs to look forward to.
· City Hall solar wonderland moves forward [SF Examiner]
· Greening the Civic Center: Second Time’s the Charm? [Curbed SF]
· Gavin Declares Civic Center “Sustainable Resource District” [Curbed SF]

According to J.K. Dineen at the San Francisco Business Times, the 192-unit Strata at Mission Bay has been fully leased having rented 90 apartments over the past two months with an average rent of $3.02 a square foot, “about 15…

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

A historic landmark and famed work of San Francisco architect of lore Willis Polk, 2550 Webster St, aka the Bourn Mansion in Pac Heights, is on the block — its “first time on market in 36 years.” For $2,900,000 at 9,762 square feet, the big mama’s clocking in at a dainty $297 a square foot. Not bad for a 14-bed, 4.5-bath weekend getaway, if we do say so ourselves. The catch? Perhaps a SocketSite commenter said it best: “You really need 10 million to restore this property to its original grandeur.” Or you could save the cash and go for that haunted shabby chic. More shots at the listing.
· 2550 Webster St [Redfin]
· Landmark Bourn Mansion (2550 Webster) Listed And Your Peek Inside [SocketSite]

Inventory of Active listed single-family homes, condos, and TICs in San Francisco declined 10.3% over the past four weeks which is not to be unexpected leading up to Labor Day weekend. Listed inventory is currently running 1.5% under last…

[Hugo Hotel courtesy Whole Wheat Toast]

The Hugo Hotel, that crazy building on Howard and Sixth with barnacle furniture stuck to its walls, finally goes to court today. The suit is between the Oregon-based owners of the building, who refused to sell to the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency back in 2007 for $3.25 million, and said agency, who wants to whip out some eminent domain all over the Hugo and replace it with affordable housing. By the way, the author of the story at the Examiner wins the prize for best description of the Hugo: “San Francisco’s most quaintly decorated blight.” Meanwhile, other things are happening on Sixth Street, says the same story, with French bistro Passion Cafe and a sandwich shop on their way. And without eminent domain too, one presumes.
· Art-draped hotel focus of suit [SF Examiner]
· Sixth Street: 2008′s Comeback Kid? [Curbed SF]
· Eminent Domain: City to Whack Sixth and Howard Hotel [Curbed SF]

As a plugged-in reader reported a week ago, “[The Bourn Mansion] is finally being emptied and mountains of trash removed.” And with bankruptcy heading off its courthouse sale, the landmark 2550 Webster has hit the MLS with an asking…

Per yesterday’s post I recieved a couple of requests from readers looking for more info regarding SFOpenHomes.com. Since the site has JUST been revamped and is just in the beginning phase of being heavily promoted I thought it was a good time to let you know what this site can do that makes it different from SFGate (the online web companion to the Open Home section of the Chronicle).

The rebuilt site offers a plethora of new features some of the features incorporated into the new site include:

~ A new, consumer-focused look and design;
~ One-click open home reports (open homes this weekend and open homes this Sunday);
~ New search interfaces (quick search and an intuitive advanced search);
~ Easy-to-use flash-based map search;
~ Google map-view reports, in addition to more standard report layouts;
~ Search 2-unit buildings separate from 3- to 4-unit buildings;
~ Search for REOs, short sales;
~ Search for probates;
~ Search for green-certified properties.

I haven’t spent as much time myself checking out the new features as I probably should have, but anything is an upgrade from the search filters at SfGate. Sorry Chron but it’s bad…

Open Homes Listings in San Francisco [SFOpenHome.com]