While the 888 Seventh Street website still notes “Sales Office Opening Soon,” and the online floor plans would suggest that all fifty-four market rate condos remain “Available,” according to a plugged-in tipster “[t]he 4 (3 bedroom units) in the cafe building [pictured above] are going fast” with the top two already in contract. Needless to say, something seems a bit off (perhaps in more ways than one).
∙ Fifty-Four Market Rate Condos At 888 Seventh Street Coming Soon [SocketSite]
Talk about a missed opportunity. The two top bedrooms are where I would have placed the general living space to take advantage of the unusual curves. Since the walls are mostly walls and not windows, I guess it does not matter that much however. The Jameson House by Foster in Vancouver took the opposite approach. Instead of fighting the curved shape in the interior, the designers embraced it and created really dramatic bedrooms as well as living spaces. The same is true of the units in the 135 story rising Chicago Spire. I am still waiting for condo spaces similar to what is going on in new projects in Chicago, NYC, and even Vancouver. We are still way behind for what a city like this should be presenting buyers. While temporarily based in N.Y., I was amazed after a trip to Brooklyn to see some of the really creative condos and conversions they were building and selling over there. They are using unique and interesting designs to attract Manhattan buyers to cross the water and it is working. Why can’t projects in less desirable locations present designs that make up for the location risk?
I agree…
you have a cool curved wall with a huge bank of windows… and they put the bedrooms there (where they’ll no doubt get some blackout curtains.)
putting the Living space by the curved wall would have been better, although given the location of the entryway one would have to walk by the bedrooms to get to the living space… but it would be a small sacrifice.
i’d be interested in seeing the pricing of these… the finishes look pretty low end, so perhaps it is “affordable”?
it is good to get some 3 BR places for sale once in a while, for those of us who don’t want to live in a loft or 1BR…
What a waste of space. Speaking on the 3 bedroom, hopefully they priced it at under $700k for the place. Location is somewhat liveable but its a dead zone at nite with no transportation and nobody on the streets.
Plus how will comps affect the building with 90 percent sold as BMR’S. Personally, looking at the building looks cheap. Finishes are bad. Hopefully they’ll look better once finished than on its site.
Even with the non-ideal layout, location, and finishes, if you think you can get a market-rate 3BR in SF for $700k, or $450 psf, then I really need to get some of that sh*t you’re smoking. While this isn’t expected to compete with the likes of the Millenium or One Rincon, they will at least need to sell the units for above replacement cost to compensate for the high percentage of BMR housing at the project.
I applaud AF Evans for their efforts and believe that this is a project that should be emulated all over the City given SF’s pressing need for affordable housing.
And I also applaud SocketSite for making more of an effort to talk about projects such as this and the Bayview project (yesterday). But does it have to be framed by mocking a layout?
Proximity to Caltrain could be a blessing or a curse, depending on your viewpoint. You’ll get a lovely train whistle every half hour 19 hours a day.
Putting the living space where those bedrooms are would not work so well because the views in that direction are of a busy intersection. As it is this arrangement provides nice views of the tree lined and more tame part of the street. That busy intersection is perhaps the biggest drawback of the whole scheme, so putting the main living area there would be problematic.
I like the way the neighborhood map on their website omits an important feature:- the railroad tracks. Truth in advertising?
I think you guys are neglecting an important fact concerning the Caltrain whistle noise. These modern buildings have incredible insulation. I live right by the bay bridge and cannot hear a thing if the window is closed.
“Even with the non-ideal layout, location, and finishes, if you think you can get a market-rate 3BR in SF for $700k, or $450 psf, then I really need to get some of that sh*t you’re smoking.”
Check out 1810 Ellis St Unit C. 3BR/2BA condo, 1185 sq ft, $580,000 ($489 psf) that comes with a deeded parking spot and a private deck. While it is part of the mayor’s office of housing 2nd loan program, it can be bought by anyone that intends to live there (must be owner occupied) regardless of income.
“Even Vancouver”??? Vancouver has had an incredible boom in residential construction over the past 10 years — particularly downtown condos, some of which are amazing (e.g. the Sheraton Wall Ctr. building on Burrard — tall black ellipsoid shape — its awesome). If ONLY San Francisco had 1/10th of the progress that Vancouver has had in the past 10 years– we wouldn’t all still be stuck living back in the ’80s (as in 1880s) and paying 2x as much as Van.
Excellent point by Jimmy (BR) – Vancouver seems at least twice as cheap as SF even with the decline of our dollar versus the loonie. Condos even more so. Their population is growing and they are promoting a lot of development. How can they do this and we can’t?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t this building built to contain the required BMR units from One Rincon? I think the location is OK. Noisy trains, but there is a nice new park right across the street (under 280 off ramp) with a fantastic basketball court. It would be interesting to know the pricing on these units though.
“I think the location is OK. Noisy trains, but there is a nice new park right across the street (under 280 off ramp) with a fantastic basketball court.”
There is a nice basketball court on Berry but is it open to the public? Even that, I dont think you can access the park from 888 7th. Maybe i’m wrong?
The area is a nightmare at nite. Look at 7th Street near Room and Board. There’s glass everywhere and homeless living on the streets. I also think they are proposing a shelter 2 doors down from R&B.
This is the building that the Infinity had to build required for BMR.
I guess you get what you pay for..
“Vancouver seems at least twice as cheap as SF”
Average resale home price in the Vancouver metropolitan area was $590,577 in Oct. 2007. With parity between the American and Canadian dollars, and with the continuing escalation in home prices in Vancouver, the gap between home prices here and there is diminishing rapidly.
Also, no mortgage interest deduction in Canada, further narrowing the difference in cost to the homeowner here and there.