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

This morning we were browsing through the minutes of the Planning Commission (so you don’t have to) from September 30 and noticed that the Commission had approved the demolition of 448 Diamond Street, that poor neglected little yellow cottage in Noe Valley. So watch out. If you’re small, old, inconveniently arranged and don’t live up to the current mantras of energy conservation you risk being demolished and replaced by the new ecologically-correct McMansion: a severe five bedrooms covered in stucco and Ipe and insulated with recycled clothing. Plus a green wall. And the token bay window to keep you contextual.
· Meeting Minutes, September 30, 2010 [San Francisco Planning Commission]
· Noe Valley House Not green Enough to Live [Curbed SF Archives]

The sidelines are getting awfully crowded in this housing game. Thus intones John Walsh at DataQuick as both sales activity and prices decline in the Bay Area, the fourth month of slump and the worst September since 2007. At least we have the Giants. [Money & Company/LA Times]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

666 Post, aka Crown Towers, is a beautiful Art Deco building that was built in 1926. Please argue amongst yourselves in the comments about whether or not it’s located in the Tenderloin, Tendernob, Downtown or Union Square. We’re filing it under Tendernob. Back to the building. Crown Towers is a co-op. That means you have to ditch the cargo shorts and Giants shirt for a suit and tie and present yourself to the board for approval before they let you write a check and move in. The unit up for grabs is a 1-bed, 1-bath, 700 square foot condo on the 10th floor. Asking price? $509,000, just $9,001 shy of our Under 500K Club. The living/dining room has a wood-burning fireplace and a rather cool wall with minimalist recessed shelves for photography displays (or anything else that can fit on a 2″ deep shelf). The kitchen is small and awkward, but does has a decent appliances. The bedroom is super tiny, and from what we gather from the pictures the “large walk-in closet” has to be in another room, as there’s clearly only one door in the only bedroom. The bathroom features a frosted glass window that separates the bedroom from the bathroom. This helps let natural light in so you don’t feel like you’re in a windowless box. Building highlights include a 24-hour door person and shared roof deck. Lowlights include coin operated laundry; leased parking for $260 a month; and monthly HOA dues of $550.

· 666 Post #1001 [Redfin]

· Under 500K Club Archives [Curbed SF]

[San Francisco, CA 2010 via Curbed Flickr Pool/Scott Johnson]

· Giants fever has taken over the entire city [Mission Mission]
· Green bicycle box is working! [SF Citizen]
· The Tenderloin and all its glory in photos [I Know Alyssa Jones]
· Painting the town orange and black (for the Giants) [SF Examiner]
· History of Dolores Park through photos [Bay Citizen]

Complaining about the Fairmont getting rid of the Tonga Room even though you haven’t been there in years, and, let’s be frank, it’s dead inside, can continue on for a few more months. Last night after a three-hour-long discussion at the Planning Commission the environmental review of the proposed project to demo the 23-story hotel tower and replace it with a 26-story residential tower did not get enough votes. It failed 3-2. [SF Examiner]

[Castro Street Station via Curbed Flickr Pool/Jeremy Brooks]

· Where to eat right now in SF [Eater SF]
· Win tickets to the ATA Film and Video Festival [Mission Mission]
· Fort Miley ditching some of its trees [Richmond SF Blog]
· Obama’s at SFO! [SF Appeal]
· Berkeley has a NIMBY robot and it’s made out of cardboard boxes [Uptown Almanac]

Golden Gate Park is fit to be closed during peak hours of bad behavior. “Faced with an epidemic of homelessness and crime, city officials are thinking about closing the park between 1a.m. to 5 a.m. Currently, you’re allowed into the park at all hours.” Although historically uncommon, the rash of vandalism to the park is also cited as a source for park closure consideration. [NBC Bay Area]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

Question of the Day: Why is the San Francisco Tenants Union trying to stop the 8 Washington development project on the Embarcadero?

Another volley was fired out of the Golden Gateway tennis courts this week with the announcement that the lawsuit seeking to shut down the proposed 8 Washington/Seawall Lot 351 project was expanding with new defendants and new plaintiffs. To recap, opponents of the project are invoking the Save Tara decision of the California Supreme Court which said that West Hollywood may have been too enthusiastic over building some new senior housing, and that the Planning Department and Ports are doing the same in endorsing the 8 Washington project ahead of an EIR. This time, in addition to suing some poor retired teachers who just want to invest their pensions, opponents have rounded up a rogue’s gallery NIMBYs from all over town:

…the lawsuit now names, as real parties in interest, that project’s development team, Pacific Waterfront Properties and CalSTRS (CA State Teachers Retirement System). “The City continued to ignore state environmental law after we filed our lawsuit” said Dick Stewart of Neighbors to Preserve the Waterfront, “and this troubling precedent has attracted new plaintiffs to our cause including the Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association, Dolores Heights Improvement Club, Sunset-Parkside Education and Action Committee (SPEAK), Russian Hill Neighbors and Middle Polk Neighborhood Association as well as two of the city’s largest tenant and housing organizations, the San Francisco Tenants Union and Affordable Housing Alliance.

We don’t understand why Mr. Stewart expects the Planning Commission and Ports to stop because he’s filed a lawsuit- Dick, it just doesn’t work that way.

What became of Save Tara besides the best lawsuit name, ever? West Hollywood finished their paperwork and soon those senior citizens will have a new place to live. As for the new plaintiffs, there are the usual suspects, but we’re wondering why the San Francisco Tenants Union has joined in. It’s not like anyone’s being evicted except tennis courts that happen to be standing in the middle of Pacific Avenue. We couldn’t find anything called the Affordable Housing Alliance in California, and the project calls for 30 out of the 168 units to be BMR, so what’s up? As for the Dolores Heights Improvement Club, where’s the EIR for that Pirate Ship playground?
· Tennis Anyone? NIMBYS Rage Over Turf on the Waterfront [Curbed SF Archives]
· The Two Sues: Hand-to-Hand Combat in the NIMBY Trenches [Curbed SF Archives]
· Waterfront Plan Lawsuit Press Release [PDF]

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal asked, “Would You Retire in a Doppelganger Town?” Which is not the premise for a horror movie, but rather a legitimate question about whether it is worth living out your waning years in a community with lower housing prices than some of the more popular retirement destinations. Boulder, Colorado for example, has seen an increase in the over-65 demographic, but median home prices are 51% above the national median and have only been going up since 2006. As an alternative, the WSJ offers Carson City, Nevada where homes are less than half the price of those in Boulder and you’ll save about a grand a year in property taxes. While you won’t be nestled in the Rockies, Carson City does have the Sierra Nevadas and Lake Tahoe. On the other hand, you’ll be living in Carson City, so it might be a toss up. Also, what’s the doppelganger for San Francisco? Are we still going with Portland?
· Would You Retire in a Doppelganger Town? [WSJ]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

New construction in Buena Vista! Well, 2005 new. The first thing that crossed our mind was “where is the front door?” Upon further inspection we figured it’s next to the garage door (google street view shows a floor mat), which is a disappointment because it seems so informal. Especially considering that the listing agent describes the home as “dramatic contemporary design.” That said, it’s a 2-bed, 2.5-bath, 1,920 square foot home for $1,195,000. The home features a reverse floor plan. Meaning, the bedrooms are on the first floor and the common areas on the second. Highlights include a spacious 2nd story with cathedral ceilings; 1-car garage with interior access; and a wood burning fireplace in the living room. Lowlights include a pretty boring and beige interior. Also, we assume the builder has a fetish for lighting. We see recessed cans, IKEA tracks and fans with lights. And all in one room! It’s a bit excessive, no?

· 1650 Masonic [Redfin]