YouTube co-founder Steve Chen purchased one of four penthouse shells atop the Ritz-Carlton Residences in San Francisco for $4,850,000 in 2007 and proceeded to have the 3,000 square foot, two-level condo built-out as an überswank one-bedroom bachelor pad.
Having since gotten married and had two kids, the family has recently moved south to the Peninsula. And according to a plugged-in source, Chen is finally giving up the penthouse.
From Interior Design which featured the build-out and design by Melissa Winn Interiors with Joel Sanders and Winder Gibson Architects back in 2010:
Unifying [the two levels] visually, a double-height living area is overlooked, mezzanine-style, from the balconies of the master suite and a contiguous space designed as a game room that could double as guest quarters.
An Eero Saarinen armchair and a Vladimir Kagan lounge chair and footrest outfit a sitting area in the master bedroom, where the bed’s blue-gray upholstery plays off the blue wall paint. The wool-silk shag, meanwhile, is a slightly creamier white than the oatmeal-colored rug down in the living area.
Behind [the bed’s Corian headboard], dividing the bedroom from the bathroom, a glass wall can change from clear to frosted and back again at the flip of a switch. A less high-tech privacy device is the set of white stacked pocket doors that slide out to close off the bedroom from the game room.
While Chen’s penthouse pad isn’t yet listed, nor up on YouTube for that matter, it is very quietly being shopped. So quietly, in fact, that we haven’t been able to confirm a price. But if a couple of our sources are correct, Chen is estimated to have spent nearly as much on the build-out as the shell, so the asking price should be interesting.
UPDATE: The day after we broke the news, the penthouse was listed with two bedrooms, which includes the game room, and a price of $8,000,000 ($2,612 per square foot).
∙ Listing: 690 Market Street #2402 (2/2.5) 3,063 sqft – $8,000,000 [ritzph.com]
It’s a really beautifully designed home. You can see some more pictures on Houzz.
Wow. Had no idea this place existed. Proverbial best house on the block.
Well, it’s one of the Ritz-Carlton Residences. 2 Bedroom, 2.5 Bath 1510 ft.² units on lower floors with $2,600+ HOA dues and a single parking space are currently asking $1.5M and up.
Like they say when it comes to other Veblen goods, if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.
Who is the agent that’s “very quietly” shopping it around?
@ Loftlover: It looks like an entry in a design competition but “home” is not a word that leaps to mind when I see those pictures.
That place gives me the creeps. I would be afraid to touch anything…it’s all been arranged *just so*.
Wrong building for an incredible place.
What kind of wood is that used on the book cases. This place is very nice. $7.5 @ $2500/psf would be my best guess. The architects here did a very nice job it seems given the challenge at hand.
how easy is it to get laid if that is your bachelor pad?
This was built by SF based, general contractor, Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders
A good example of mediocrity…though costly.
The oversize sofa and scrappy little coffee table says it all.
@SF Agent I see your point. It’s not for everyone, but based on my handle you can see why I really dig it 🙂
Cheers
I’ve always thought you’d have to be pretty dumb to live in the RC or 4 $easons. The neighborhood is a dump and the views aren’t that great. I’ll take Russian Hill or Nob Hill over Kearny Street any day.
http://www.ritzph.com/
So, using the asking figure at the link above provided by chloe, this place is about $2,670+ per ft.² looks like they’re going for the record books with this one.
philip: Uh, it’s a bachelor pad. That’s in all likelihood why the current owner is selling, he’s not a bachelor anymore.
The next owner isn’t going to care much about the neighborhood, they’re probably spending all of their time out and about or in their apartment.
I’d argue the fact that it’s not in a tony ‘hood heightens the impressiveness when the pickup artist who buys this place brings his score home from the club or bar. Seeing/walking through the surroundings lowers expectations before entering the building, and when they get off the elevator, the “wow” factor has much more of an effect on whoever he or she is trying to impress, if that person’s materially oriented.
[Editor’s Note: While a sale at the $8,000,000 asking price would be a record for the building, as plugged-in people know, the record for a condo in San Francisco remains $2,784 per square foot.]
I take your point Brahma, but that is such a sucker price. The question is…is there a sucker in the house?
The non-cooled open air “CB2” style wine cellar is a very poor fit for an $8M penthouse. Some very cool design here, but also some obvious “WTF?” elements.
The glass wine rack is probably the only thing that is out of place, but it probably makes a nice bar / serving area during entertaining. Everything else is pretty spectacular. If I had to nit-pick, I’d say the lack of 360 degree views in a penthouse is disappointing (unless I’m mistaken).
Wow…interesting comments on this place. I’d love to see the homes of the people being so critical. There pads must be oh so perfect!
[Brahma],
I’m certainly glad I don’t have such horrible luck with women that I need to go to such lengths. That would be, IMO, pathetic. Then again, I suppose that sort of reasoning suits most tech types who lack even the most basic social skills.
curmudgeon: I don’t know about “sucker price”, I’d say “wishing price”, but I’m far from an expert on luxury District 8 condominiums. I wouldn’t be shocked if this goes for asking or close (less than 3% under) asking.
But that’s because I have this stereotype in my head of an overcompensated finance or investment banker type (like the characters in the movie Boiler Room or the younger characters in Margin Call) who have lots of disposable income to acquire a place like this. I could very well be wrong.
Or maybe someone like that will buy it, but drive a hard bargain on the price. From all appearances, the seller can afford to sell at significantly less than asking.
I like it, but would I pay $8 million? No.
UPDATE: YouTube Co-Founder’s Penthouse Newly Listed for $2 Million Less