Originally constructed in 1929, the Spanish Revival residence at 2040 Jackson Street was recently rebuilt and expanded up and out – and over the objections of its neighbors – in Pacific Heights.
A blend of classic architecture and contemporary design, the home now measures over 7,000 square feet, not including the all-new rooftop terrace with a full outdoor kitchen, barbecue and panoramic bay views.
Inside, the new kitchen on main floor is open to the great room and finished with custom walnut cabinetry; high-end Gaggenau, Bosch and Thermador appliances; CaesarStone counter tops and a walk-in pantry.
The lower level was built-out with a full-sized sauna and steam room, a home theater and an en suite bedroom, and a second family room with a wall of glass which opens to a backyard with built-in benches, planters and fire pit.
In the works since 2008 when the property was purchased for $5,200,000, the re-imagined home at 2040 Jackson is now on the market for $15,000,000.
I’m curious what Conifer will say about this. I was surprised that many of the design choices ignored the spirit of this home and went towards the standard Dwell-ish Noe flip design aesthetic. Why are remodeled homes of similar vintage in Southern California going for vintage tile and fireplace designs that call to the original structure while we go towards metal fireplaces and the latest horizontal ceramic tile fad? Still, the views and deck are jaw-dropping, good luck.
What a horrible, horrible shame.
Arch,
I say it is a prime candidate for Interior of White Shoe Box of the month, yet another desecration of a great old house.
The question you pose is not yet answered. Why is that style acceptable to buyers here but not in LA? Why is there, and long has been, a substantial premium in Paris for original floors, fireplaces, moldings?
Why is the Dakota still the best building on the west side of NY, full of original magnificent interior architecture?
In short, what is wrong with San Francisco? Is it just buyers from China and rich young Techies? We are supposed to be a civilized, educated, cultured, historically sophisticated city, but many of our houses are being flipped into this aesthetic horror.
However, the $15 million price tag is just another way to help all the neighbors feel — or even be — richer.
THANK YOU for making me feel that I am not alone in my views on contemporary architecture: white shoe box design and stripping spaces bare of any significant greenery, (vg. flower pots or bushes instead of mature trees). You would not believe the windowless geometric monstrosities, surrounded by empty spaces, they ( the ultra rich and clueless ) keep inflictin on us in prime historically significative sites throughout Spain !!! Not to forget Californian causes célebres: Do you remember, the late Steve Jobs winning a legal battle to raze a 1920 Spanish style mansion and build a wsb instead? Plutocracy at his worst. Anyway, I am still hopeful tha the remodeling of the Presidio ( Spanish related again! ) is not going to prove so disappointing and neglectful of cultural an historic identity.
Here is an example of how a home with original interiors, fixtures, etc. can increase the value of a residence in Southern California as Conifer and I have pointed out: The William Ford Hacienda.
I dare say if this home were in Sea Cliff or Presidio Heights, it would have had its architectural beauty stripped bare long ago all in the name of San Francisco house flipping. It is nice to see other areas of the country still value historic architecture, and I do not expect everyone to want a kitchen like the Ojai home, but homeowners are never given a chance as every opportunity that pops up gets flipped after a “white shoe box” (Conifer’s term) makeover.
Probably speaks to the taste of the buyers here. I’m not always against altering the interiors of older homes – sometimes it’s an improvement. I don’t know what this one looked like before, but personally I would not have gone contemporary if this were my own house. If one wants to blame the techies, look no further than silicon valley itself. That’s the main driver of extreme wealth in the Bay Area right now and it’s a place that is, generally speaking, devoid of even the slightest hint of personality. Sand Hill Road is basically low slung office parks. You’d expect something more impressive for the beating heart of technology investment in this country (the world, really), but it is completely soulless.
Thanks for providing the link to a very beautiful property. I’m sure you’re right about the kitchen, and the same probably goes for the bathrooms, but I think they’re perfect for the property. Anyone able to spend 8 million on a home can certainly afford to make a few changes if they yearn for stainless steel. Assuming the pictures are accurate, I wouldn’t change a thing.
@Arch/Conifer: Most of the remodeled homes featured here seem to be designed for the broker’s Open House, as opposed to being designed as a place for living. I predict that the Dwell look will be the “green shag carpet” of the future, but not as easily corrected. Each of these remodel jobs is a loss of something irreplaceable in our architectural landscape.
And yes, I realize it is the owner’s right to remodel as they see fit. But that doesn’t excuse bad taste/lack of culture (IMO).
BTW, they did a nice job restoring the streetside facade, which appears to be mostly original. The back yard facade…not so much.
Arch–Thanks for sending that link to the photos of the Ojai home. They were gorgeous. I wonder if architectural training programs in this country are focusing on classic design and how to update it with sensitivity.
The Cadillac Sedan DeVille was (until, perhaps 1984) a wonderful automobile. It rode gracefully and passed other cars with ease. It would shimmy and object if you ever tried to take it round a track, but that was never the point.
Cadillac stopped making the Sedan DeVille because people stopped buying it. Now people want luxury _and_ performance.
The William Ford house is beautiful, full stop. It’s apples/oranges to compare a big sprawling floorplan on a ranch lot to an attached-on-both-sides San Francisco house. Though it’s beautiful, I can smell the mix of musty wood, old nice rugs, and women’s perfume from the very web site. I don’t really buy the argument that there are ‘young buyers with money and taste’ who will buy that house and yet we only have young people with money and no taste in San Francisco. I would wager that Ojai home will be purchased by someone over 50 if not 60.
The Ford house is indeed beautiful, inside and out. If I bought it, I’d still remodel the kitchen and probably the baths. Not saying I’d go contemporary, but for those rooms I’d want to work in new appliances and some smoother surfaces.
Echoing the point above, Ojai – especially the country club area – attracts an older crowd for sure. There is nothing young or hip about Ojai. Most likely buyer is someone 60+ from LA who made a lot of money and wants to slow things down.
Awww, I like the kitchen and baths, but I acknowledge I’m in the minority and certainly don’t have the funds and style/mindset of someone who can afford a $8 mil house. Also, the grout probably looks much worse in person than in the photos. While I’m fantasizing, I might as well fantasize I owned the house back when it was brand-new.
Loved Ojai when I lived back in LA. I’m not yet 40, but after 10 yrs of 60 hour work weeks I wouldn’t mind slowing things down. But maybe a couple years of recovery, the lack of ethnic food, and being surrounded by retired folk might send anyone running over to Silver Lake.
Toured this home when it was on the market a few years ago. Here is a link to the flyer with pics at the time.
The house generally was in disarray and needed significant help. I like the final product here but it is a shame more couldn’t be done to retain some of the authentic features of the home. Whatever became of the arched solid oak doors I wonder. It’s debatable now, but the purchase price of $5.2M in 2008 seemed high given the condition and work needed, and while on an OK block with decent views; you are still in eastern pacific heights and there is no view of the golden gate bridge.
$15M seems a major stretch. At some point buyers are going wake up and while I remain very bullish on san franciscio over the long term; I’d have a hard time justifying $15M for this home. $10-12 maybe.
Thanks for the flyer. Not much there showing the inside of the house. It almost looks like it had already been stripped, judging from the photo with the arch doors. Not the ceilings I would have expected.
“I don’t really buy the argument that there are ‘young buyers with money and taste’ who will buy that house” Well…from the N.Y.Times “Hollywood is a town full of bold-faced architecture buffs“.
Here is another example of home that was restored by “young buyers” and is now truly iconic.
All of the ‘bold faced architecture buffs’ named are over 50 – DeGeneres 56, Kelly Witt 55, Diane Keaton, (Priceless).
Nobody in San Francisco is tearing apart Neutra houses. They are all trying to build shallow interpretations of them. Any house in San Francisco made it into a Julius Shulman portrait would sell at a huge premium. It’s just that I don’t think we have many (any?) of those. The googs would be all over that like:
Turtlenecks on Steve Jobs
Eco-righteousness on a Tesla owner
A beard on your coffee server
Show me someone under 40 in LA scraping lead paint off a 19teens victorian so they can have dinner in a 12 foot wide dining room with a butler’s entrance. That’s the challenge facing San Francisco ‘preservationists.’
What is up with the current trend of putting full outdoor kitchens and enough seating to furnish a small cocktail lounge on roof of every high end remodel? Does anyone actually use them more than a couple of times a year? As for those who do don their parkas and tough it out, have they no regard for the neighbors who have to put up with barbecue smoke and noise? What am I not getting?
Unless the neighbors are also on their roofs, what are the chances they’re going to smell much at all, especially compared to BBQing in the backyard.
@sfrejunkie – Pacific Heights has more than it’s share of decent weather to enjoy that rooftop. To me it’d be perfect to entertain a few friends and have dinner and drinks. Noise issues are one thing – but barbecue smoke? Really? Get over yourself.
@Soccermon–I’m sure glad we have the market to determine which bits of our architectural heritage are wiped-out forever. Because the market is never wrong.
But at this rate, there will be no remaining homes with “musty wood” when the target demographic reaches their 50s/60s. That’s may be ok as this group of buyers will probably survive that long with their lack of style intact.
I’m really confused because the first image shows the front of the home retaining its original stucco decoration, while Google Street View shows all of that stripped off. So which is right?
Here is a value judgement: Greedy and sad. That is what this represents, greed that makes one sad. There are sometimes when absolutes make sense and there is no relativity, your perspective v. my perspective, kinda thing. This sucks. When is the bubble coming??? The cauldron is bubbling actually. Right now I feel like one of the witches in Macbeth and that is OK by me when I see stuff like this.
not many pictures in the old flier to judge – but i don’t see much in them to suggest the loss of great moldings or mill work. a smaller yard for sure but now with a better view and space that will be used. the railing change on the stairs is an improvement.
i like the baths, the kitchen and the floor plan.
the floors ARE period appropriate and the arches remain.
i side w/ soccermom.
there is certainly a place for historic interior preservation but this was not it.
This is going to be a hard sell this far west of Fillmore. I think that area has had a bit of a resurgence, but this would be close to a record price. I agree with Eddy…. I could see this selling for 12.5. I’m personally torn on the interior. We’ve seen it before… and they have become so ubiquitous that it’s hard to remember what house we’re looking at. There are worse atrocities out there. I’m partial to traditional homes, and it saddens me to think that as soon as I sell my place, all the amazing 19th c. detail will head straight into the dumpster
UPDATE: The sale of 2040 Jackson has closed escrow with a reported contract price of $14 million, one million “under asking” but nearly $2,000 per square foot ($1,972).