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

["Forty Minutes At That Spot," via Curbed SF Flickr photog Jeremy Brooks]

· Worth it to get earthquake insurance? [Inside SF RE]
· Art Agnos op-ed: Saltworks is really great! [SFGate]
· Oakland: housing vs. industry battle royale [IBA]
· For that matter, same thing in West Berkeley [WSJ]
· Hibernia Bank gets a hot bath [SFist]
· How to advertise your apartment, non-Craigslist style [Uptown Almanac]

[Photo by Matt Baume]

The “block by block” conversion of San Francisco street space into mini-parks got a major ribbon-cutting today with Gavin on hand to unveil Mojo Bicycle Cafe’s parklet in NoPa. It’s got kind of a populist ring to it, doesn’t it: “We’re taking the 25 percent of the city’s landmass that are streets and taking that back.” And district supe Ross Mirkarimi was pretty juiced too: “I’ve always said Divis will be one of our comeback kid corridors.”
· Even More Plazas and ‘Parklets’ Planned From North Beach to Noe [Curbed SF]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

The Four Seasons (which just recently narrowly averted foreclosure!) has a penthouse that’s been on the market now for a little over a month. The 1-bed, 2-bath unit spans 1,450 square feet, and at $2,650,000, that’s a dollar per square foot of $1,828. Interiors look pretty standard issue, so all the “stunning” comes from the views out the window, naturally.
· Four Seaons Penthouse #2E [Website]

More words on Planning Commission fireworks are forthcoming, but the group has just narrowly certified the environmental impact report for the twisty cylinder at 555 Washington by a vote of 4 to 3. Besides the fact that at this very second, there are yet more things to be agreed upon, the SF Examiner reports also that commissioners will have to meet again April 15 for another vote, due to an “administrative error.” Meanwhile, a press release blast from the developers says “We are gratified by the strong and diverse support that turned out today to speak on our behalf. … We hope this project and its inherent public benefits will find equal favor with the Board of Supervisors.” [Previously]

The eighth season of HGTV’s “My First Place” will be hitting San Francisco, which means it’s open casting season! The production team’s looking for “interesting, energetic people” who plan to close on their first home ever by this summer. Want to make your life an “open book”? Send an email to cschneider@highnoontv.com. P.S. If you make the show, you’ll get a “surprise housewarming gift” … brace for high drama. [Curbed Inbox]

The leaking of SFMOMA’s early favorites for architect has spawned a gold rush of pontification and prediction: talented if predictable, said some, and lacking direction, said another. A commenter on Bustler regrets that women are few and far between on the list, while another predicts:

Basically what will happen is OMA will have the most creative design and ideas but it will be too expensive. OMA or Diller, Scofidio & Renfro will win. After the competition (Renzo) Piano will somehow sneak in and get the job. He will design a sweet red egress stair on the main facade. There will also be a roof that looks exactly like the High Museum, and 3 other Piano museums, that will filter light beautifully into the galleries. I am officially begging SFMOMA not to let Piano do this museum. He already has one building in SF.

But if Renzo’s already had more than his fair share of museum play time, a “well-connected source” to the SFBT says there is some excitement about Peter “Above the Rest” Zumthor, who won a Pritzker Prize after working 30 years as something of an unknown. Still, “we have a way of getting world famous architects to do their worst work here. He can pick and choose and why would he put up with our nuttiness?” Meanwhile, a local columnist says the official hush-hushness of the shortlist works ostensibly to shield SFMOMA from “all the kibitzing, sniping, and whining.” To that we say: good luck with all that.
· SFMOMA Gathers Big Names for Expansion Project [Bustler]
· S.F. Designers Find No Love From SFMOMA [SFBT]
· Ultra secret architect selection for SFMoMA [Examiner.com]
· More SFMOMA Front Runners! Critics Say List Is ‘Predictable’ [Curbed SF]
· Architect Shortlist for SFMOMA’s Expansion Goes for Heavy Hitters [Curbed SF]

[SFMOMA photo via Franco Folini]

Newish affordable developments Mission Walk in Mission Bay and Bay Oaks in the Bayview are lowering the bar to allow slightly richer people to buy in. The below-market rate condos, which have maximum incomes on owners — for cheap properties like a 2-bedroom Mission Walk condo for $210K — haven’t been faring well against similarly priced foreclosed properties, which don’t have income ceilings. Says the director of the Redevelopment Agency: “We’ve never had this much inventory on the market.” [SF Examiner]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

The house underneath this fluorescent yellow-green clown makeup doesn’t actually look so bad, which is why it didn’t get immediately filed into our That’s Rather Hideous folder. But the color scheme, especially in combination with the Orangina art above the stairwell, is certainly enough to give you pause. Still, the gentle arch of the ceiling in this 3-bed North Beach condo leaves hope that there’s something nice here. And with that bedroom of three consecutive beds, we think the listing’s crying out to be snapped up by a nice family of three bears with a taste for mattresses that are too hard, too soft, and just right. Asking price for the 2,000 square foot property is $1,295,000, and there’s also a 2-bed unit in the building going for $775,000.
· 28 Vandewater St [Redfin]
· 26 Vandewater St [Redfin]

It’s just as bad as when driving an SUV meant you were a generous donor to al Qaeda— the Weekly points to a shrill editorial at the Guardian, pals that they are, about 555 Washington. Because Aegon, owner of Transamerica and would-be developer of the twisty cylinder, donates money to conservative causes, approving the project would “give them more money that can go to opposing health-care reform and opposing abortion rights and electing right-wing Republicans. And they’re offering the city nothing in return.” And now the debate’s gone nuclear. (By the way, public hearing, take two, is tonight.) [SFBG, via The Snitch]

In a somewhat stock story about the struggles of dead art deco theaters, the Wall Street Journal does have a nugget of information that perhaps we all already knew, in our heart of hearts: “The weak economy has put a restoration of San Francisco’s landmark New Mission Theatre on ice.” For all the controversy over supposed misconduct and alleged wink-wink “typos” that allowed business owner Gus Murad to build 20 feet taller than city officials had actually decided, we haven’t heard a peep from the project team since. The project, if you’ll recall, would have involved a restoration of the theater with “kitchen, dining, and full-bar activities,” while turning the discount store next door into condos and street-level stores. Anyway, the point of the WSJ’s story was this: after eight years and $37.3 million, Alameda reopened their own shuttered movie theater, and its “halo effect” has since contributed to their downtown’s “metamorphosis,” even amid a scary recession! Take note, Alexandria.
· Theater Sets Stage for Local Revival [WSJ]
· Trial by Blog: Chasing Gus Murad, Habitual Lucky Guy [Curbed SF]
· Accidental Gift: New Mission Theater Condos Can Be Taller [Curbed SF]