The sale of the rather pristine Mid-Century Modern infill pad at 3610 Washington Street, which was designed by William Wurster and built on the site of an adjacent home’s former tennis court in 1959, has closed escrow with a reported contract price of $11,300,001; exactly $2,000 per square foot.
Listed for “$7.5 million” three weeks ago, the sale of the 5,650 square foot home is officially “50 percent over asking!” according to industry stats and marketing materials. Of course, a plugged-in reader had estimated the home would fetch at least $11.5 million, which was off by less than 2 percent.
The new property tax bill for the property should be around $134,000 a year based on current rates, up from the $5,266 paid in 2014 based on the home’s current tax assessed value of $426,666, thanks and curses to Proposition 13.
Congratulations all around. Beautiful house.
I wonder how many houses in Presidio Height have sold for $2Kper foot?
I also wonder if the system as it is would allow such a home to be built today – or whether neighbors here would excessively disdain the understated entrance etc..
Across the street, 3621 Washington fetched $2,055 per square foot last year. And down the street, 3700 Washington fetched $3,741 per square foot (in 2012).
Thank you.
anyone have insight into whether this structure is protected or can the new owners tear down and rebuild?
It’s extraordinarily unlikely. William Wurster is a famous (regionally anyway) architect. Any exterior changes whatsoever would face very intense scrutiny and I can’t imagine any scenario where demolition would be allowable. Given this it’s almost certain that new owners intend to live there as-is.
Not true at all. A William Wurster home that is similarly classic (although fallen into disrepair) at 2590 Pacific is adding a story and undergoing extensive exterior remodels. It may help that the owners are a famous SF family.
Its more than 50 years old so the door is wide open for a determination of historical significance and a challenger to demo or material alteration having legal traction. Warranted or not is another question.
protectionism for modern architecture hasnt yet reached the full pitch that protection of Victorian and ogher “historical” styles has, even if they are very mediocre exemplars of those styles.
For a modern architecture, however, Wurstur’s work would appear to meet the rather low standards that apply to preservation of “historical” styles.
So I’ve often repeated the received wisdom that Prop 13 makes housing a bad deal for cities (because the services end up costing more than the property taxes), but if Prop 13 has driven up housing prices by restricting supply – and therefore driving up property tax revenue, I wonder if that comes full circle at some point and makes housing a winner for (certain) cities?
“The new property tax bill for the property should be around $134,000 a year based on current rates, up from the $5,266 paid in 2014 based on the home’s current tax assessed value of $426,666, thanks and curses to Proposition 13.”
This is a William Wurster house with a Tommy Church garden, rated an “A” historic resource by the Planning Department. It would be a huge fight to tear it down. The owners of the brick house to the west could be expected to mount a major protest also. But why would you want to tear this down? The quality of the spaces are wonderful and gracious, the floor plan works. Any new house could only occupy the front 60% of the lot so you would certainly lose view and possibly square footage, although 40′ is height limit.
BTW, 3700 Washington is a Joe Esherick. It would seem, architecture does count.
Jim, I learned about Tommy Church from you at Cal Berkeley extension. 😉
I hope that cypress tree is in good health. It would cause serious damage if it were to come down in a windstorm.
I’m not sentimental about this house, or its garden. I’d demo it in a heart beat; but wouldn’t buy it in the first place. Hope the new owners enjoy it. Tear down or not I suspect it will be getting the full treatment.
Ugh. Another damned barbarian in our midst. How depressing.
While the front elevation is pretty “meh” to me (looks like a standard suburban rancher), the spaces and detailing of the interior are lovely.
Cathern Bauer Wurster (Mrs. William Wurster) said of her husband’s work, “Bill is the only architect who can make a $10,000 house look like a $5,000 house.”