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

It’s been tough going for the Fairmont Hotel owners trying to gain support for their condo project, from criticism over the architectural changes to the potential loss of the Tonga Room. The hotel’s development consultant went up to bat for the controversial condo conversation, saying the new design “speaks to today, but it’s compatible with… the neighborhood.” What of the Tonga Room, does that speak to today? The Fairmont doesn’t think so, but while the contents of the place might be protected by California historic preservation law, it turns out they don’t actually have to be used at all: the law requires that the stuff be moved, salvaged and reused or placed in “climate-controlled storage.” [the Examiner]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

On the heels of the pricier stuff we’ve seen this week, we bring you 1527 O’Farrell Street. With its 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 1,624 square feet between living, dining, eat-in kitch and a walk-in pantry, this condo is actually not a bad deal at $748,000, even with monthly HOA dues of $445. We’re not sure about all that designer paint job, but the windows sure are nice. Then again, you’ll be just off Webster and Geary, so you might want to keep those things closed.
· 1527 O’Farrell [MLS]

[350 Mission, via its website]

It seems 350 Mission has gotten a little trimmed off the top just in time for summer. Originally proposed as a 27-story, 375-foot tower (and still advertised as such on their website, yesterday the Planning Department issued notice that they are preparing the environmental impact report for 350 Mission for a 24-story structure instead. New Jersey-based owners GII US Office propose demolishing a 4-story building there and, if all goes according to (the new?) plan, replacing it with the 355-foot tall tower designed by Maybeck Award winner and Parkmerced and Treasure Island architect Craig Hartman. The tower will contain 356,000 square feet of office space, 6,600 square feet of restaurant and retail space and about 7,000 square feet of public open space. The LEED Gold building will utilize styrofoam and plastic bottles in place of some concrete “to create the lightest structural system and strongest structural design possible.” A public meeting concerning the scope of the EIR will be held June 22.
· A Portrait of Craig Hartman, Man Behind the Curtain at SOM [Curbed SF]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

[Photos by Curbed SF editor-in-our-hearts Andy J. Wang]

On the eve of their environmental impact report showdown with the Planning Department, Lennar hosted a meet-and-greet for journos and the Hunters Point Shipyard. A recap: $7 billion, 10,500 homes, 3.7 million square feet of commercial and retail space, a theater and artists’ colony. Here, a rundown of Lennar’s side of the story, in what their regional veep says “will probably turn out to be some interesting theater over the next several weeks.” Oh we can only hope.

· Hunters Point Shipyard was an industrial military base, meaning a higher degree of cleanup is needed — the Navy has already invested over $700 million in that effort. Lennar compares the site to the once industrial Emeryville wasteland that has since been paved and malled to the gills. A blank canvas!
· Lennar is currently laying down the roadwork and basic infrastructure for parcel A, the first phase of the Hunters Point project: 1,400 homes on what the developer refers to as “the hilltop.” Fancy! Will they be done by that January 2011 deadline though?
· Lennar says 32 percent of the units throughout the project will be affordable. Their definition of affordable: from current residents of the Alice Griffith projects, who will be relocated into the new buildings, and who Lennar says are big supporters, to residents with 160 percent of the area median income. Most affordable projects put a cap at 100 percent. But if we know anything, we know this is not most projects.
· Santa Clara may be voting on a new 49ers stadium soon, but Lennar is still desperateopen to the possibility of a stadium in Hunters Point, and won’t give up until a 2017 deadline. Now that’s optimism!
· Green stuff: development of Hunters Point will make much of the southern waterfront accessible to the public, and will become part of the 500-mile Bay Trail. And building 813 will be rehabbed to provide space for greentech business and the initial office space for U.N. Global Compact headquarters.

· Lennar-Commissioned Report Says Hunters Point Will Make Bank [Curbed SF]
· The Incredible Blue Greenway [Curbed SF]
· U.N. Global Compact HQ in Hunters Point is Going Adaptive Reuse [Curbed SF]
· Rendering Reveal: Lennar’s Ode to Mission Bay [Curbed SF]

A rampagey driver ran down at least four bicyclists, as well as other pedestrians, in the Mission and Potrero around 10 p.m. Wednesday night. The suspect crashed his car and took off on foot, but dropped his wallet for good measure. Police said the driver was specifically targeting cyclists. Someone not happy about the possible end to our city-wide bike injunction nightmare? [ABC 7]

["Free Free Palestine!" via Curbed SF Flickr photog Whole Wheat Toast.]

· You know you’ve done it when your garage alone spawns its own NIMBY group. [SF Weekly]
· A modest proposal for C.W. Nevius upon his arrival back amongst the sirens. [SF Appeal]
· A $200,000 dollar bush? Only in San Francisco. [SF Gate]
· And there’s a new mural in progress on the Summit on Valencia. [Mission Local]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

On the market for $895,000, this Inner Mission 2-bedroom, 2-bath house perplexes us a bit. “Granite, hardwood, remodeled”? Sorry, we didn’t notice — we were distracted by the dirty towels and strewn papers. The unwarranted one-bedroom in-law apartment downstairs is particularly frightening between the red walls, black floors, haphazardly brown slip-covered couch. Zoning be damned — maybe the new owner could convert the unit into a mini Power Exchange to offset that mortgage?

· 943 York Street [MLS]

No longer fret for your lack of quarters, car-bound city dwellers and sympathizers, but fear for rush hour: The demand-based high-tech SFPark pilot program might be coming soon to your neighborhood. SFPark boasts being “the world’s most advanced parking management system,” utilizing blue street sensors and data that will allow the system to change prices based upon availability. The program is currently focusing on downtown, SoMa, the Civic Center, the Mission, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Fillmore and the Marina, with some outlying blocks.
· Futuristic Parking Meters on 18th? [Mission Mission]
· Fancy Parking Meters Are Multiplying [Curbed SF]

In the works since the Eastern Neighborhoods plan was passed nearly two years ago, 888 Brannan is finally getting its piece of the pie — sort of. The Planning Commission has approved owner ScanlonKamperBard’s plan to convert 140,000 square feet on the 3rd and 4th floors of the building into office space, with the bottom floors remaining jewelrygiftmartshop (you see what we did there?). The original plan for 888 — see rendering — had those office spaces, plus retail, on the ground floor, and renovations were set to cost about $10 million. Now that’s looking more like $30 million, as these things so often go. It might not be ideal, but perhaps anything is better than the 54 percent vacancy rate they’ve currently got going on — a little higher than the surrounding SoMa vacancy rate of about 40 percent. Bonus: 888 Brannan is on the National Registry for Historic Places, so those millions will go to refurbishing and not reducing the two structures there. Says Planning consultant David Prowler, “It’s union jobs. It’s a historic building that is going to come back to life. It’s pretty exciting.”
· City OKs $30M Giftcenter revamp [Business Times]
· Show’s Over for Bling, 888 Brannan Goes Mixed-Use [Curbed SF]