2701 Broadway: Despite The SFPD A Plugged-In Reader Reports
September 17, 2010
Plugged-in people knew it was coming, and now a plugged-in person reports on the invite only listing launch for 2701 Broadway last night:
The price tag [is] $32MM and obviously it grabbed my attention. I am in no way affiliated with it, but the steps the current owners went to preserving the place from its original condition is mind boggling.
The molding in most rooms is original cast, and the onyx around all the fireplaces is mined from Germany, which is the only place in the world you can get it apparently. The most stunning features I have to say are the his and her offices on the third floors, and the outrageous outdoor terraces with outdoor kitchen as well.
Again I am rarely blown away, but wow! Not to mention the lower level indoor basketball court is pretty amazing too! I also enjoyed the fact that they had an SFPD as the security. LOL.
I tried taking some pics for you but their security wouldn’t allow me to. Plus it was really foggy so I couldn’t get the view shots which I know you’d love! I found the link on their literature.
I also loved the fact that it wasn’t staged. People actually live there. It was the first time I’ve been in a property like this that was actually lived in. Pretty cool. Even the phones with intercom buttons marked “Maids Quarters” and “Kitchen 2” for which it does boast two kitchens…
Originally built for a lumber magnate in 1910 and designed by James Miller, the renovation of the 16,000+ square foot home began in earnest in the late 1990’s with Moller Willrich Architects leading the way.
UPDATE: It appears as though we owe Stephen Shubel an apology and the credit for the interior design and decorating. And yes, we’ve moved this post to the top of the site for the weekend as that’s where it deserves to be.
Comments from Plugged-In Readers
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Yes. Outstanding attention to detail and probably one of the best renovations in the city. I’m not so sure about the $32M price tag. Been a while since anything sold in that range, maybe the Bebo house which was a ‘make me move’ type offer. Considering 2820 Scott hasn’t budged at $20M and probably has a market value closer to $12-15M I’d say this home is more like $20-23.5M. Personally, I’d take the 2820 Scott home for $12. Who needs anything as big as 2701 Broadway (aka 2563 Divis).
In other news, the mega project on 2615 Pacific just came on at 15 bedrooms. Can’t wait to see this one. $12M. Don’t even know where to begin.
Life won’t be fair until a tech manager and his bank VP wife can afford this place 🙂
According to Property Shark:
11/12/1999 $6,250,000
5/5/1997 $2,550,000
They will have done all right for themselves if they can get $32M for it. I have no idea what it is worth but I am sure it is one of a kind.
I like houses with big prices. To look at. It looks like very high end houses, have a certain special touch to the paint they use for trim. Maybe a photoshop trick, but there are depths to the white / off white paint used for trim. Needing to paint some trim in my house, anyone have ideas of paint brands that might achieve this?
Re: paint. Farrow and Ball.
Attention to detail? There are no lines on the basketball court.
I’ve to to go see this one.
@suspicious: you are correct that high end homes tend to have very nicely painted trim work. The reason is they are typically painted by well paid professional painters. Seriously, if you want to get that look, hire a professional painter as there are many tricks in the book. Barring that, painting is 90% prep work. Sand all trim, ideally to bare wood. IMO if you want the best look use a high quality “oil based” primer on bare wood like Benjamin Moore Fresh Start® Alkyd Enamel and then Satin Impervo® Enamel for finish coats. Key is brush type, use and how to thin the paint just right. If you want low VOCs then use their Aura paint with one of their high quality acrylic primers or you can use Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer. Sand, fill, sand again, remove dust, prime, two coats of finish paint. Don’t buy cheap paint from B’Lowes or Home Despot. Yes, lots of work and not just slapping up one coat of so called primer/paint from one can.
since they can’t fit in the semi-circle, then lines will have little practical value and it’d be better to not include any and preserve the clean look.
$32M to live on that busy intersection? And I know they spent a lot on renovations, but the exterior still looks like a hot mess (it must be that asymmetrical roof terrace level that looks to haphazardly built)
Saw it yesterday – pretty spectacular. Really, there has never been a Gold Coast property this done. They did a pretty masterful job of insulating the home from Divis/Broadway intersection (I think the windows are some odd, extremely high-end, soundproof, glass that is apparently so strong it’s bulletproof?).
Anyway, $32M… so far beyond the range of any client I have, I really don’t have the background the comment on that. But it really is one of a kind.
I am with Skirunman here, use high quality paint, especially on the exterior. Hire someone who will do the job right, which is very labor intensive.
A good paint job pays itself back in a few years because you don’t have to paint as often. I only use Benjamin Moore, is there anything out there that lasts longer? I am asking the pros here.
Looks like the seller is Ron Zeff, founder of Carmel Partners which made a killing on the sale of Parkmerced in 2005 and raised a $700 million fund to invest in multifamily real estate in 2007.
“With the close of its third fund, Carmel has raised equity totaling $1.7 billion. The firm’s investments to date consist of 68 properties with a total of 18,500 units in California, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Denver, and Hawaii.”
Wow. This is the most amazing and beautiful place I’ve seen on SS yet. Colors, finishes, floor plan, views… simply a stunning renovation.
Just…
Wow.
As for the price and how it compares to other trophy properties, I’m a minimalist and can’t relate to places like this or the people that would want to live in them. To me, it’s just art. And dayum, this is one stunning piece of art.
I remember the old thread referred to 2563 Divisadero, as can be seen above. Is this “2701 Broadway” thing just marketing by the agent so they can point out it’s at the corner of Broadway and Divis? Or was there actually paperwork done?
wow…time suck, but well worth it.
I have always been surprised and pleased that SF does not put a high value on street addresses they way they do in New York, London and Paris. East west street names are perhaps more desirable here, but it is not of great concern.
In NY, there are buildings three lots off Park Avenue that have Park Avenue addresses by virtue of air rights. Every building that touches Fifth or Park uses that street rather than the side street where the entrance is.
They are doing the same with this property, but the neighbors on Divis are not at all unhappy with their address.
By the way, the site misspells “offered” on the main page.
Who did the staging/decorating? … I think I’ve been thinking too much about design recently.. It I think I recognize 90% of that furniture.
Anyway, it looks better than I thought, but the price is extremely high. And aside from the aforementioned Bebo house, what else has sold in this price range? I mean, 15+ maybe, but 32? I’m also working under the assumption that 2950 Broadway never sold… I would think you could buy it for 32 (even though it needs some updating). There really isn’t any comparison between those two properties… and no reason their prices should be comparable.
The only thing I have in common with the people that live here are the chocolate colored bedsheets with stripes. I have that set. Other than that, this house is what real estate porn is all about. Sexshy!!
Denis –
Having been in both 2950 Broadway and this house, I have to say it’s a much closer call than “no comparison” and depends on the buyer. In fact, for the mega-zillionaire looking for the move-in ready, turn-key, everything absolute top-of-the-line home, 2701 is the superior home. It’s about 6,000 square feet bigger too.
2950 has the better Gold Coast location and the much better grounds, but also hasn’t been touched since being a Decorator Showcase in the mid-late 1980s. Nobody is buying that house then leaving it untouched, it needs serious updating.
So, I guess it depends on what a buyer is looking for. Who knows – at this point neither has sold – but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one move first.
Truthfully, I’d be surprised if either home sold above $20M. 2950 is probably one of the 15-20 best lots/locations in the city but it probaly does need 5M of work. 2701 is just a spectacular home on a big lot that boarders on Divis. I don’t care if it has super secret military grade sound isolating windows. Divis is really just a nicer version of Gough.
All of this is really in context, I don’t actually believe any of these homes are really worth this much money. But in relative / comp terms, I suppose there is a buyer somewhere north of $20M.
UPDATE: It appears as though we owe Stephen Shubel an apology and the credit for the interior design and decorating. And yes, we’ve moved this post to the top of the site for the weekend as that’s where it deserves to be.
Let’s face it – this property transcends any “immediate” history and is a true, gold coast gem deserving of a long history…if I had $20 or $30MM to throw around, I’d buy it in a minute…c’mon GaGa, you need an SF residence!!
My guess is it will sell in the 20’s. I think most people would prefer 2950 Broadway in this price range.
@dave, did you represent the buyers of the lake street home? How are they liking that house? Was one of my favorites in a long time.
The interiors were designed by Steve Schubel and the house is not staged. The house is absolutely gorgeous.
[Editor’s Note: Cheers (and updated above).]
Jaybee is correct. The interiors were designed by Stephen Schubel. Easy confirmation can be found on his website and I must also agree this home is fantastic.
(Look under “San Francisco Mansion“)
Its a lovely house, to be certain… but take a look at the sales history of the property (4,100,000 in 8/98)… and the land values of the recent sales along Divisadero and comparable busy blocks… and then show me a property that has sold over 20MM that didn’t have a substantial historical reference point, regardless of the state of the improvements (ok, there is that one, but)… in general properties that are worth over 20MM that traded in the 90’s had some correlation with that price range even then…
Its tough to argue that the value of the land supports anything in the realm of the asking price… so the next question becomes; what is the next person whose company goes public willing to pay the seller for his time and trouble? If they like basketball and are slightly hard of hearing, they might pay the 20MM+ the list price suggests… otherwise it could be a bit of a wait…
This is a minor quibble, but I think while 95% of the furniture is the owner’s, there was still a little bit of sprucing up involved here to get the house ready for sale. Did Stephen do that as well?
I also have some other questions… but this public forum isn’t totally appropriate.
I think poster above touched on but apparently needs to be repeated.
“I think a person in this range would prefer 2950…”
There is a similarity in price and location. Both homes I will never be able to afford. Beyond that… two very different properties. I’ve spent time in both. I think the idea behind this house is that it is a massive Gold Coast home totally done to the absolute highest degree. That is the angle the agents are pushing – it makes sense. There hasn’t been a Gold Coast property anywhere near this level yet.
2950, and the 2901 for that matter (Mitchell house), are both better lots, totally. But there’s something to be said for not having to spend $5-$10 million and 3+ years on renovation. From someone who went through a renovation not too long ago, it’s pretty horrendous.
Anyway, that’s my rant.
Does anybody know if there are floorplans to be seen on this monstrous home? I would love to see them if anybody has a link or print copy.
If anybody does have them, please email a copy to me at: C.Jayson@live.com
Many thanks!!
I am am perplexed. A very formal Beaux Arts manse, with a rustic fir country floor. Looks especially ludicrous in the very formal, white marble kitchen. Likewise the distressed country dining table. All very schizophrenic.
quite the pile of redwood to insure against the rain.
either dollars will eventually evaluate it at $40mm or it will drift back to tidier empire SF at $4mm or so
Absolutely beautiful. Total real estate porn – looked at it for like 30 minutes.
This house was actually in Modern Design (I think??) when it was finished about 5-6 years back.
Oh and Jim, I love the floors – there wide plank walnut. I know because my nerdy ass read the website details on a Saturday night.
Oh, clearly the which-house-is-better dilemma is easily solved by buying both and moving into this one while remodeling 2950. 😛
Seriously though, I haven’t stopped thinking about this house all weekend. I’d settle for just the top floor. 😉
It’s a great house. But the intersection of Divisadero at Broadway is brutal. Large trucks get stuck on the crest of the hill on a daily basis. Sometimes more than once a day. Sometimes in the wee hours of the morning. One is stuck there right now as I type this.
Also, cars screech their tires all day long at the stop sign at that intersection because it is so steep. And cars are constantly honking at each other because the hill is so steep, they frequently can’t see each other until they are in the intersection together.
The point is, it’s a really noisy intersection. Too noisy to pay $30 million to live there.
But you do get the best immediate neighbors.
I personally think the large stranded trucks are a feature, not a bug. It’s free entertainment!
Ooh… they did add in the floor plans. I didn’t see those before. They’re to scale and everything. So very pr0ny.
A – I don’t know where you got the idea that’s a noisy and busy corner. I’ve lived nearby for about 20 years and I’ve seen 1 stuck truck. Granted, there must have been others, but EVERY DAY??? It’s no busier than any other corner in this neighborhood. Find another imaginary reason not to like this house. This one’s ridiculous.
The stranded trucks are a permanent fixture all over San Francisco, and not concentrated, or unique, to this location. I have seen trucks stuck on Scott Street, Pierce and of course on Fillmore despite the “no trucks” signage. I still remember the cluster-blank created by a stranded moving truck at the corner of California and Powell street which was great entertainment for the tourists.
nvj
“I only use Benjamin Moore, is there anything out there that lasts longer? I am asking the pros here.”
dunn edwards makes great paint. check ’em out.
Yeah, stuck truck are really rare. Oh wait!
https://socketsite.com/archives/2010/05/dont_ignore_the_signs_but_do_avoid_broadway_and_divisad.html
LOL
“I don’t know where you got the idea that’s a noisy and busy corner.”
I live there. That’s where I got the idea. And I’m home a lot during the day, so yes, I can confidently say that it happens at least once a day. Sometimes they get unstuck pretty easily. Other times, like today, they have to call a tow truck.
Did these guys exceed their bandwidth limit too? The site says “This website is temporarily unavailable, please try again later.”
First of all you are all wrong about this noise being on the corner and all. I spent about 2 hours in the house from 6-8 on a Thursday evening (height of commute hour on that corner) and you can’t hear a thing. The house is so well insulated it’s scary, and since not everyone has read; the home boasts 3 and 4 pane bullet proof/resistant windows. Including the fourth floor outdoor terraces. It’s quiet. Trust me.
i hope someone cached the website images (and the floorplan which i did not get to see), because it looks like the site has been taken down. perhaps a sale already?
Site seems to be up just fine for me – maybe just had a quick downtime?. Floor plans up too!
Looks like it is back up on Mcguire’s site. It hit the WSJ real estate page…
11/12/1999 $6,250,000
5/5/1997 $2,550,000
following a.t.’s lead i’d like to point out that large sums of money are not just lost in sfre, they are also made.
Heck yeah! Buy before 2004 and sell before 2009 and you did great! But all ponzi schemes end in a crash. Buy in SF after 2003 and keep the place and you are in serious financial hurt.
Bernie Madoff’s investors got rich too, except those who jumped in the last few years who lost a fortune.
ponzi scheme huh? so that means this place goes back to $2.55 again?
The asking price for 2701 Broadway was recently reduced to $28,500,000.
The listing for 2701 Broadway has been withdrawn from the MLS after 449 days on the market without a reported sale.
tFS has this as sold off market. Gee, I wonder who could have possibly purchased this home? Hmmm?
This did sell.. and it’s not who you think..
In due time.
Recorded as sold for 27 million.
Amazing. That’s a big tax bill.
Speaking of Broadway… I just noticed the oddly located 2798 Broadway (it’s on the slope in between Broadway and Vallejo) sold again for 12 million. It last sold in 07 for 9.5 million. I don’t recall it undergoing a major renovation in the interim. Hmmmm
Interesting, seems maybe the market is being cornered. An interesting case study 😉