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

It’s a date! The 34th America’s Cup match will begin on September 7th, 2013. The Louis Vuitton Cup, which will determine the challenger, has been scheduled for July 13th through September 1st, 2013. Both matches will take place on San Francisco Bay. [SF Examiner]

Oh, Oakland. You just can’t seem to catch a break, can you? And now this. TripAdvisor just released it’s 2011 list of the dirtiest hotels across the United States. Coming in at #2 is the Jack London Inn in Oakland. 80% of reviewers on the site do not recommend the hotel, and wrote gems like “had to go buy socks so my feet wouldn’t touch the carpet,” and “the parking lot resembled a post apocalyptic junk yard.” So sad. [NBC Bay Area]

San Francisco-based real estate search company Trulia.com has whipped up some enticing, interactive data porn which ought to help potential homeowners weigh the pros and cons of renting versus buying in the country’s 50 largest cities. (If nothing else, it’ll at least help us renters justify our embarrassing lack of property ownership.) Using data based on the ratio between the median rent for a two-bedroom in the city and the median list price for a similarly-sized home, we can learn that our rent-to-buy ratio is a 21. In other words, San Francisco is one of the top 14 cities where it makes more sense to rent than to buy. In fact, the only two cities who beat us on that metric were Seattle and New York. On the other hand, our rents are still astronomical with the median price landing between $3000 and $3500 for a two bedroom, which means a lot of you are still living in some very expensive apartments.

· Rent vs Buy Index Q1 2011 [Trulia.com]
· Thinking About Buying an Apartment? Red Light! [CurbedNY]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

Was: $2,965,000
Now: $2,325,000
You Save: $640,000

First brought to market in August, 2009, 815 Alvarado Street went unsold (in fairness, as did so much else that year) at nearly $3,000,000. In the spring of 2010 it became the Dream House for the Yerba Buena Center’s hugely successful annual auction. Shunning the house, the winner took the $1,500,00 cash prize, choosing to remain ensconced in Oakland where she already had a house and presumably, a mortgage to pay off. There was a price chop in 2010, and this month, a major wobble, in which the asking price went back-and-forth between $2,335,000 and $2,2325,000 over four days. We offer the brokerbabble intact for this 3-bed, 2.5-bath house with a legal 1-bed/1-bath apartment:

The fathers of the Arts & Crafts Movement would surely give an approving nod to this inspired interpretation of their work. Behind a commanding facade is a home of grand scale, with such a comfortable feel, reminiscent of the master-crafted Bungalows of the early 1900′s. 3br 2.5ba home over a self contained legal 1br 1ba unit on the garden level. Renovation shows much attention to detail and a keen eye for cohesive design. Coveted Noe location.

Actually we think they’d be spinning in their graves while (grudgingly) expressing wonderment at the lavish bathrooms, palm trees and backyard hot tub. William Morris in a hot tub might have sent the Arts & Crafts movement in a completely different direction.

· Grand Craftsman in Noe [Paragon]
· 815 Alvarado Street [Redfin]
· Noe Valley dream House is $3M and has a Self-Contained Apartment [Curbed SF Archives]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

The last time 25 Coleridge in Bernal Heights was on the market was back in 1993 when it sold for $345,000. Shoot forward eighteen years and it’s back with a $1,239,000 price tag. It’s a 4-bed, 3-bath, 2,159-square foot fully detached home that recently underwent a remodel. As expected, the home sits on a pretty big lot and is surrounded by all sorts of lush foliage, perfect for frolicking! The first floor has an open floorplan that ties the kitchen to the dining and living rooms. Property highlights include a rather large master bath and a large outdoor patio that’s perfecto for entertaining.

· 25 Coleridge [Redfin]

A little bird just told us that grocery chain Fresh & Easy is this close to signing a 20-year lease for the recently shuttered Delano’s space on South Van Ness in the Mission. The length of the lease is raising eyebrows, and most people involved in the deal are concerned that the Mission won’t embrace the brand with open arms. A Fresh & Easy in the Outer Richmond is already in the works. And the company’s pretty upfront about wanting to open up locations all across the Bay Area. [Curbed Inbox]

Some of the most spectacular scenes in The King’s Speech, which leads the pack with 12 Oscar nominations, take place in the home of Geoffrey Rush’s Lionel Logue, with its peeling, decaying, wallpaper and limited furnishings. Today our interiors-obsessed cousins at Curbed National look at the terrifically diverse sets of five of the best movie contenders. [Curbed National]

[swish via Curbed Flickr Pool/Bhautik Joshi]

· Hanging out in the Castro with Beth Spotswood and Brock Keeling [SF Gate]
· Regents back plans for new LBNL Solar Energy Center [Daily Cal]
· New landscaping at CVS/Fresh & Easy building [Richmond SF Blog]
· Please be a responsible dog owner! [Mission Local]
· Jennifer Siebel Newsom at Sundance [NBC Bay Area]

Rendering from the Tenderloin Economic Development Project via SFGate

Good news for the neighborhood known as Mid-Market: ACT (American Conservatory Theater) is in the very early stages of planning a new dramatic arts and performing center at Turk and Market Streets. With the usual caveat of “Oh this will take years” ambitious plans are afoot for a new theater, rehearsal spaces and a costume facility to replace an existing two-story building on the same dreary block as the Warfield and the Crazy Horse, both of which will stay. Which is good, because those stripper poles are landmarked. ACT is looking for partners to bring this off, which could create a critical mass of entertainment resources across the street from CItyPlace, scheduled to break ground this spring. The site, just half a block west of the busy Westfield Centre and the tourist-packed cable car turnaround, needs all the help it can get.
· American Conservatory Theater Eyes Mid-Market Site [SFGate]
· Mid-Market:CityPlace Moves forward, You Pay More to Park [Curbed SF Archives]

Spider Dan, aka Dan Goodwin, the man who used suction cups to climb up the Millennium Tower, took the stand yesterday to tell his side of the story.He was arrested after reaching a 59th floor balcony. While on the stand, Goodwin said that he was trying to bring awareness to the fact that fire fighters can’t fight fires in high-rise buildings. Three misdemeanor charges have been filed against him. [SF Appeal]