The model units for the first phase of Radiance At Mission Bay (325 China Basin Blvd) officially open their doors to the public this weekend (with a VIP “sneak peek” tonight). As you might recall, the offsite sales office for Radiance opened a year ago with a bit of a bang. From a reader who was there:
I was there last evening around 430pm. The sales staff was great but I was stunned to hear they are actually over 75% reserved. The agent stated they sold 44 units on Saturday so i am guessing they were about 30 sold on Sunday. They had 3 agents all with people still and they were not closing for 2 more hours. Stunning to see basically the entire building purchased in one weekend.
As we pointed out at the time, however, early reservations simply represented $10,000 fully refundable deposits. After moving to hard (non-refundable) deposits a few months later, around 50% of the 99 units were in contract. And as far as we know, there hasn’t been a significant amount of movement in either direction since.
Occupancy is expected this summer with Phase II sales (316 units in two 16-story towers) following soon thereafter. Perhaps seeing will be believing.
∙ Radiance At Mission Bay: Sales Office Open [SocketSite]
∙ Radiance At Mission Bay: Around 50% In Contract (And Conversion)? [SocketSite]
the design looks like a shortened version of the metropolitan. almost exactly. under-whelming.
is bosa doing something newer / curring edge on the interiors?
i understand the metropolitan is consistently losing sales value as newer tower come on stream up the street at infinity and orh.
what does anyone think the bosa units will sell for?? 900 psf??
Reminds me of 255 berry when it was the only condo in the area with views from even groundfloor. Now, all the units have lost their views along with their psf value. Only the units above 6th floor will maintain their views. IMO, 750psf seems about right. You will see many of these units “reserved” will not close.
Just looks like a lot of other new condos in the area. I am beginning to feel like walking in the middle of the old 50s Soviet style commune buildings, except the style is somewhat updated, and it costs a lot more to live there. But a commune nonetheless.
I don’t think this looks anything like the Metropolitan? (from these photos at least – I haven’t ventured that way yet)
I also don’t think the Metropolitan looks underwhelming – I love the way the building looks. There are some ugly ugly buildings in Soma (think Bridgeview or the Palm), and the Metropolitan isn’t one of them.
$900psf?? Water view units were routinely in the $1000-1200psf range! I think people that reserved here over-estimated the quality of the water views they will get. Those two piers right in front of the building will block waterviews to all but the highest floors. And even the high units will have to look ‘over’ those ugly piers to see pano water views.
The neighborhood hasn’t changed much in the last year except for a few new office towers. Retail, restaurants, amenities are years away. The place is dead during the day, and even deader during the night.
These are peak market pricing and in this environment, I think Radiance will see some pretty high cancellation rates IMO…
I wonder if the “refundable deposit” issue is still a good marketing tool. One one hand, you can boast a high rate of reservation, but on the other you have a very high risk of cancellation in a chilling market.
But if all that matters is press releases to stir up the “shop now or be sorry”, then I understand the strategy.
The again, can we trust these pep talks?
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/04/09/toscano/820theywillbesorry040908.txt
Which unit is reserved for the Warden?
like most of Mission Bay, this is a very ugly development. Mission bay is starting to look at lot like San Jose IMHO
What ? Mission bay looks nothing like acres and acres of 1 story, garage in front, tract houses punctuated by L shaped strip malls.
Well, it should. 3rd street is a pretty ugly sight all the way to the Bayview.
I still wish some developer was willing to take the chance to embrace the “ugly”, instead of trying to build “luxury” projects that take their positions from previous developments in San Diego and Berry Street.
Why not waterfront housing that admits that this is not Kapalua, but an aging waterfront port district? Why not have units with less granite, and more spaces that call to what was the existing docks and warehouses? There can be an aesthetic to the docks across the street, but it is not enhanced by more palm trees and towers that belong in Irvine. In other cities, some of the most popular waterfront projects are not “more of the same”, but places that let you feel like you live in a unique part of the city. Seattle has some of these types of developments, as well as Portland and even Long Beach. Will we ever get a waterfront project that is not just more of the same?
I work at the UCSF campus about 2 blocks away from the building. With the constant pile driving and construction everywhere, combined with the never ending ballpark traffic, I’m not sure why you’d want to live there.
If you bought one now and held it in your pocket for the 15 years it will take for MB to become a vibrant neighborhood, you *might* make a tidy profit, but otherwise you’re living in a construction zone surrounded by open parking lot or dirt, unable to convince a cab to cross the channel to come pick you up on Friday night.
Fifteen years is a stretch don’t you think? It took five years for everything north of the channel to develop.
I live in the neighborhood and the pile driving happens during the day and most of the time I don’t even notice it happening. This is part of being in a neighborhood in transition, there are always positives and negatives. In my opinion it adds to the excitement of the neighborhood. Change every day with new buildings, companies and retail.
Radiance seems to be a refreshing new development that has huge potential with it’s waterfront location. I happen to like the architecture, seems much better than the square boxes north of the channel. Pricing seemed to be right in line with homes at Park Terrace, I have a friend there who’s home isn’t nearly as nice as this one. The model was a three level townhouse with nice views from the roof top deck. I went in for five minutes and ended up staying for an hour. The interiors were nicer than everything else I’ve seen in the neighborhood and the roof top deck and the master bedroom were my favorite areas of the home.
What a Party!!
As a local business owner, I attended the Radiance Event last tnight to kick off the Living for the City Condo Tour that starts this weekend at six local properties. The unofficial estimates of 300 people in attendance looked pretty accurate to me. The Radiance sales office was mobbed! The party was catered by the best of the Ferry Building merchants. What a great touch! The black limo bus that left every 15 minutes for tours of the first model on site, were mostly full of folks returning to the party with rave reviews. Looks like there is a lot of pent-up demand to see the new (and only) Bay Front Mission Bay model.
MissionBayMD-
The development plan of the university is 15 years. Much of the area will probably be built by then, as you mention, but it won’t have the real feel of a neighborhood for some time after, in my opinion. The area on King north of the channel, though built, has this sort of ‘new-in-box’ feel that’s hard to describe, but it doesn’t have the ‘character’ (for lack of a better word) of an entrenched neighborhood, which I find appealing. In 5-10 more years it will, with the southern areas to follow.
If you live north of the channel, you wouldn’t hear the pile driving, because you have a wall of buildings damping the sound. In the open area near campus, I can tell you it really travels and echos. In the 2 years I’ve worked here, the pile driving has never really stopped because of the number of buildings.
The architecture is better than the boxy neighbors, but it does has a shape similar to the gap building and that faux-brick building next to it. It’s very much white-collar suburban-techy style, like something I’d see in the valley, which turns me off.
I just don’t get Mission Bay. Again and again people post about how they like this area because it is closer to their jobs on the peninsula, but why travel so far to live in buildings that are no different than San Jose? What is so “urban” about this area now, or in 15 years? Will you really be able in ten years to walk out of your door to various shops, reatuarants and cultural attractions? I would rather live in downtown Palo Alto in a new condo above University Avenue than Mission Bay. (And I did during grad. school). At least in my old condo in Palo Alto I had within 4 blocks two bookstores, four coffeehouses, 8 restaurants, and countless shops and a library.
Cheap cab ride to most any part of the city.
“Cheap cab ride to most any part of the city.”
Maybe so, but at the current prices, the psf cost is about the same as condos in parts of the city where you don’t need a cab to walk to restaurants, shops, etc.
Upper floor views are nice, but this is a lot of money to pay to live in isolation.
Now THAT’S curb appeal!
I love the new in box feel and find it exciting to have new restaurants moving in constantly (Orson, District, Tsunami (in a few months) and Serpentine). Some like that old neighborhood feel where nothing ever changes, I on the other hand do not. Just because Mission Bay has a new feel doesn’t mean it isn’t a great neighborhood. I happen to be very proud of my neighborhood and enjoy living here with my family and work in the neighborhood within one block of the Mission Bay developments and honestly cannot hear the pile driving; the noise from King Street bothers me much more. I just don’t understand why people complain about it so much and if it bothers you why not move elsewhere. There is obviously many people that disagree because many of these buildings are filled with happy people, I bump in to them every day and know many of them personally.
I appreciate the old architecture but cannot live without having a washer dryer in my home. I also do not wish to live in an old dilapidated structure that is prone to fall over during a bad earthquake with constant maintenance problems. The new construction does seem modern but that is the style and trend right now and I do love my warranty that covers everything top to bottom.
Different strokes for different folks but I do think you should visit the model (see topic) and see how quiet it is, I’m sure the soundproofing is much better than the old structures you are accustom to.
I am sorry, but I live in the area now. There is nothing now or in the foreseeable future that can justify this price psf-especially in this current market. The developer has not made any accommodation for the current market.
Personally I would hold out for this developer to end up in foreclosure especially with the amount of inventory that they will putting into the market in the near further.
I live (rent) in Poop Terrace (better known as Park Terrace). The architecture is neo penal bland. The apartments are basically adequate; nothing exceptional. The view on Berry is into the Aterra which seems as if it will never be finished. The views onto the China Bay inlet are OK, as you have nothing in front of you. There is plenty of road noise from the 280 overpass and the stench from the water treatment center can be quite over-whelming. Low tide is a special delight. The cacophony of drills, cement mixers, and pile driving is mind numbing. The best thing is that you have access to transportation, Caltrain and the Muni…I get the feeling that most folks who write on this site don’t mix with commoners as they only allude to taking taxi’s around town. This is a neighborhood in transition; a cute term meaning that there is nothing here. The King Street corridor has Safeway; which is a blessing…like having a giant refrigerator at your front door. The Radiance does have a more upscale fit and finish than Park Terrace; but the view is challenged at best and there will be construction for years…and with the slowdown in construction and delays in building starts and the plans for a new complex near the ATT Ball Park, the area will be a dusty, gritty construction site for years. I personally don’t have an issue with neat and clean and bland….it’s a shelf where you live; how else can you warehouse people in expensive condos and maximize profits…if you like cutesy and old; those places abound aplenty in SF; but be prepared to live in a money pit with repair du jour.
who is the architect?