Thanks to a plugged-in tipster, we (and now you) know about 733 Front Street‘s “Pre-Opening” event this Saturday (5/12/07) from 11am to 6pm. Reservations will be taken (along with $5,000 reservation checks or 3% deposits), tours will be available, and “[t]his exclusive opportunity arrives prior to opening our doors to the public.”
Luckily you’re “plugged-in” (and the “public” be damned).
Checked these out last weekend – very, very nice and very, very expensive.
Prices are high but from the 6th floor up the views are great. Some of the sq ft pricing is seriously deranged, but there were a lot of old ladies doing a walk through so I expect these to be city homes and exe accommodation.
Very envious of anyone who ends up there as it is such a great location 🙁
Good location and the top 2 levels units facing water get great views. However, the building is probably the most boring conversion I’ve seen so far in the city. There is no character whatsoever. The prices are also way too high for what it is.
I toured the property and agree that pricing is really high @ $1,000-1,200 per sq ft; 2 bedrooms are $1.5M-1.7M on the 5th fl and $1.9M on the 6th fl. Even at that price, I think the units facing the water will go quickly since this is the only new development in that area. The location is close to the Ferry building but there is not much more in terms of other amenities within walking distance.
“The location is close to the Ferry building but there is not much more in terms of other amenities within walking distance.”
There are a few other amenities, within walking distance to 733 Front Street.
1 block to the Safeway, three coffee shops, 5 restaurants;
2 blocks to Golden Gateway Swim & Tennis Club(2 pools, 9 outdoor tennis courts & spa), Eureka Theatre(live productions), Embarcadero trolly;
4 blocks to North Beach, Chinatown, Ferry Building, Pier 1, 3, 5, Embarcadero Center (restaurants, shops, movie theaters) 9 banks, 20 additonal restaurants (some of the best in SF);
5 blocks to the SF Bay Club, 5 more restaurants, the heart of the Financial District (a few more shops, restaurants and offices to work in!)
Other than the location for most of San Francisco’s television media (ABC, CBS), leading advertising agencies, architectural firms and other creative business not much is going on.
Maybe a walk around the neighborhood would be in order.
Frederick
Frederick, how would you compare this location with the Residence at Jackson Square’s location? They are not far from each other, but they feel quite different to me.
Best location in the city close to the financial district and will have less supply in the future versus SOMA or Mission Bay. I toured the place today and they have a lot of interesting layouts and views. The Safeway close-by is a huge plus. The only negative is that some of the less pricer units do not include parking.
I just toured the place today. The unit floorplans are awkward as well as markedly overpriced. There are large columns in many of the living and bedrooms that obstruct views and undoubtedly will make it more difficult to furnish.
A few positives are the views from a few of the units and the location although I’ve heard there are many homeless in that area at night.
The most expensive unit was selling for 1.95 mil for approx 1500 square feet. While it is a relatively nice unit, I can’t imagine anyone paying that price.
Dear Anony at May 12, 2007 2:21 PM,
I was on the City committee that counted the homeless this year. From Washington to Bay Street, and Sansome to The Embarcadero (known as The Barbary Coast), there was one homeless person in our count.
As of May 12th at 6:00 PM there were 21 reservations taken and or signed contracts to purchase.
The accepted prices range from $600K to $2.5M.
They property has not been advertised nor is in the MLS yet.
Frederick
Frederick,
I’m trying to buy my first home, and this location sounds too good to be true. Do you think it’s a good value? I mean $600,000 for a place there sounds unbelievable.
There’s got to be a catch…
Dear SF Curious at May 13, 2007 10:47 AM,
The condominiums priced at $600K are junior 1 bedrooms, with 9 ft ceilings, but do not have views of the Bay or Bridge.
Also, there are 69 condominiums in the building and only 40 parking spaces in the building.
So 29 units will not have parking in the building. But, just across the street there is a garage that has over 300 parking spaces that can be leased.
Go see the building, it’s open today. Ask for Wendy of the Mark Company.
The location is great.
You can find further information about the neighborhood at http://www.theBarbaryCoastNews.com
Frederick
Frederick,
I am not a member of any city committee and do not know the area intimately but I was in that neighborhood not more than 45 minutes yesterday and saw 2 homeless persons within the area that you have defined as the The Barbary Coast. So, either our definition of homeless differ or your committee has made a sampling error.
That is not an overwhelming number of homeless but it does raise questions about what that neighborhood is like at night.
And what neighborhood doesn’t have homeless people?
Near the Golden Gateway apartmetns is very safe. If you’re worried about a nighttime neighborhood look towards the Soma Grand!
I love the neighborhood. Not the Marina or other areas as far as safety and neighborhood feel, but real good for most people. The low priced units pretty much face a wall or very small internal courtyard. Floorplans on those models are a little cluggy. Not very good closet spaces and I always hate when the only bathroom is in the bedroom. Great high ceilings and comes with floors and great kitchen. No parking though, those places across the street are surely $300 bucks a month. Add that to a $550+ HOA…which does not seem to include that much? and you are looking at well over $800 in HOA and a place with a bad floorplan and a view into your neighbor or a wall. Can pay about $750 for that one bedroom and look clearly into a dingy parking lot out back.
Toured the place and it seems that it is reasonably priced in comparison to a lot of the SOMA/Mission Bay projects. The neighborhood is much more desireable than SOMA for those in the financial district. I walked through the Embarcaderos and it seemed to have some life on the weekends versus a large majority of the city. It’s also very accessible to North Beach and Chinatown. The only negative was electric ranges and some units are without parking. Some other units had odd poles but I think that it’s still workable for most.
I live right across the street from 733 front and I can say that while their may be a few transient homeless from time to time (even homeless have feet!), the area is spectacular. It is quiet and mellow on weeknight evenings, and there is a LOT going on during the weekends (including the famous Saturday farmers market at the ferry building). I walk around at night all the time, and it is safe, partially due to the fact that the embarcadero center is nearby and some very nice restaurants are around the corner such as Kokkari. It doesn’t have the strong neighborhood feel, but it feels more like living in a high-end area of a big city (which it basically is).
My husband wants us to buy one of the units. I am having a hard time accepting this because I didn’t get any feeling when I walked through 733 Front Street. Since it was an old office building I still got that office feeling there. It is strange that the developer isnt going to have a FOB entry for the elevator. I am not familiar with the neighborhood but my realtor keeps saying it is a great neighborhood. Really up in the air about purchasing there.
bbpatters,
I personally think it is one of the better new developments, that has much more character than some of the others, and the neighborhood is good. Not great, but good. If you want that “neighborhood” feel, you probably won’t get it there. Go over the hill to Northbeach or Telegraph Hill and you’ll get it. Or even down to South Beach. Where 733 is, feels very “attorney-esque”. 😉 But we all knew that already. Good luck.