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

Google says they’ve gotten over 600 community requests for their experimental (read: so fast it’s evil) broadband. They’ve also taken note of all self-sacrificing chicanery in the name of scoring the fiber network, and they say to mayors who jump into shark tanks: yes, that’s kind of awesome! But you shouldn’t have to do that to get ultrafast broadband. Besides, you probably only want the upgrade to increase your rate of kitty video consumption. [Google Blog, previously]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

Just one of 126 1-bedroom units at the Clock Tower lofts in SoMa, Unit 109 is the latest on the market from this 1992 renovation of an old industrial building. David Baker, whose Ironhorse project in Oakland by the way just snagged an award for best 2009 affordable project — did the adaptation. This unit’s got 647 square feet, and like its brethren offers “dramatic high ceilings, large industrial windows … lush common area garden and … roof deck.” Asking price is $499,000.
· 461 2nd St #109 [Redfin]

NOB HILL: One-time Curbed SF guest blogger Sally sends us this nice find, or as she writes, “a prime piece of real estate ass.” That’s just a classy way of referring to the Chambord’s old-school blinginess. A walk by the building, designed by “French Renaissance” architect James Francis Dunn, finds a printout advertising a 2-bed rooftop penthouse for lease. Interior shots? We wish. [Curbed Inbox]

INNER SUNSET: A resident asks, “Lots of trucks and construction equipment moving around at 7th ave and Lawton… roaming around the Clancy’s Pumpkin Patch / Christmas Tree lot…any news?” [Curbed Inbox]

UNION SQUARE: The season for shuttering’s not quite over yet! French Connection’s largely retreating from the U.S. market and will be closing down their only California store at 101 Powell. Also going will be the Westfield mall’s Martin + Osa, American Eagle’s sad experiment in selling to the post-college set. [SF Business Times]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

Land use economists Gruen Gruen + Associates have been planning for a couple years now to build up their two-story SoMa building at 564 Howard. After a huge upgrade, the building would become a 10-story mixed-use building with eight stories of residences capped off with a rooftop garden — a building “where you will be able to take the elevator to work.” The project sought approval at the Planning Commission last night for the second time in as many months, but GG+A, along with FME Architecture + Design, had to walk away with another postponement due to commissioners’ concerns with how “tight” it is between the building and an adjacent bus onramp, and the fact that it doesn’t have any ground-level open space. One commissioner said of the narrow gap between building and ramp: it’s “too tight to make sense for me,” but the project team defended it, saying it’s “twice the amount of space” in places as the gap between Soma Grand and Trinity Place.

In the end, however, it was a planning code requirement for “rear yard” space that sent the project team home. Though the commission has tweaked such requirements in the past in favor of courtyard spaces and the like, they said they were feeling really iffy about killing the requirement altogether. But the project team noted that not a single building on that block, between Howard and Natoma, had a rear yard — the buildings are all flush with their respective lot lines — and putting an open space on this one project would make it look “weird.” Given that, the above renderings are likely becoming rapidly out of date, as the firm now needs to work with FME to bake a backyard into the project. The redesign (or not!) should come in a couple months.

The proprietor of Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper doesn’t just keep bees tucked away in 15 “borrowed spaces” around the city, she also sells kits for customers to raise their own bee armies. The sudden urban interest in beekeeping across other cities has to do with rises in other interests like food and sustainability and greening the city, but San Francisco’s particularly amenable to it: lots of plant life, gung ho citizens, and maybe this is the key: “not only is it legal, but it’s totally unregulated.” [NYT]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

“I see you. Homebuyer. You are like a baby. Making noise, don’t know what to do.” Hisssss. Right? Seriously, though, the movie playing in the above projector screen isn’t, for once, courtesy Curbed photochoppage, but comes straight from the listing itself. We think they’re either hinting at an immersive cinematic experience, or they’re just throwing in a free Avatar DVD with purchase of the home. Speaking of which: it’s a 4-bed, 3.5-bath house in Laurel Heights with a “dramatic” master bedroom, a family room with French doors leading to the backyard, and a climate-controlled wine room. Asking price: $3,849,900.
· 125 Commonwealth Ave [Redfin]

Two more points for the walkable, shoppable vision of urbanity that’s been the hot new fashion for a few years now: both Hercules and South City are planning to boost their cred in that department. Hercules’s economic development guy says, “Only multi-family housing will be built from now on in Hercules,” while South City plans a “thriving, pedestrian-oriented area with a mix of uses” (“one-stop shopping”!) on a stretch of El Camino Real. And now we await watercolor renderings of sun-drenched shoppers. [SFBT and IBA]

From torched church and den of blight to “unique” and “boutique” condos: the journey for 200 Dolores has been a long and colorful one. Last month, it came so close to bursting through the finish line — despite its architecture being accused of carpetbagging in from the ‘burbs, the development got support from both the Planning Department and the Mission Dolores Neighborhood Association. Though, it seems, neighbors are typically against new onslaughts of cars, these particular neighbors were strongly in favor of the project, which would have included 16 parking spaces. Neighbors’ support wasn’t enough for the Planning Commission, which voted narrowly against the proposed parking situation and asked the developers to return again with a smaller proposal. Return they did, last night, and one commissioner flipped, saying that parking was hard to find on a busy church-service Sunday. The project will now have 13 total parking spaces — oh, and condos too. Ten in a new building and three renovated units in the old fire-damaged one. Looks like we might be looking at a new chapter for the corner of Dolores and 15th.
· Extra parking approved for 200 Dolores St. condo project [SF Examiner]
· Mission Dolores’s Boutique Condos Get Some Parking Chopped Off [Curbed SF]
· Dolores’ Favorite Blighted Den Is Getting a Makeover and a Friend [Curbed SF]

["Red's Java House," via Curbed SF Flickr photog huangb]

· Foundry Square’s one of two SF finalists for award [SF Examiner]
· Director of SF Architectural Heritage quits [SFBT]
· Report from the Artani party [Inside SF RE]
· Architects suck at websites because they like instability? [Subtraction]
· Twitter CEO’s penthouse sells “without a tweet” [SocketSite]
· Cops are gone from Market Street right turns [City Insider]

More photos are on the way, but here’s a sneak peek inside One Hawthorne for the plugged-in crowd. Both images from the 7th floor model units, the one above is from #7H (a two-bedroom) looking west down Howard. The…