The substandard 1,522-square-foot lot at the corner of Folsom and Chapman has just sold for $299,000, having been marketed as “high above the fray and close to Bernal Heights Park, Cortland and all that makes Bernal so wonderful,” but without any warranties that the parcel could actually be developed when listed back in 2014.

But if one did build up, there are potential views.

Plans for an efficient 1,252-square-foot, three-bedroom home to rise up to three stories upon the 3579 Folsom Street site have been drafted and approved.

And building permits for the modern little pad, which is to be known as 495 Chapman, were just secured.

7 thoughts on “Little Lot Sells for $299K with Big Plans for a Small House”
  1. Congrats to the developer and seller. I believe this required a conditional use because of substandard lot. Someone had tried in the past but I think ZA at the time (Badiner) did not support this plus neighbor (or neighbors) were also against. Maybe opposing neighbors moved.

  2. Nice use of a small space. I see three bedrooms in the plans, not two.

    [Editor’s Note: Friday wasn’t one of our better days. But since corrected, based on the floor plans we provided, above.]

  3. It’s amazing what you can do on a small lot when you incorporate height.

    One of the major mistakes made in the 30s/40s in the Sunset/Outer Richmond was the construction of 2BD homes on top of garage parking. They all should have been 3 floors.

    1. You mean SFH 3 floors, or 3 floors and duplex, as some buildings are? The homes were built to be affordable, and 3 floors were probably beyond the reach of the target populace. And the target populace probably wanted SFH, not a duplex. Two floors probably already seemed dense enough, given that there were swathes of undeveloped land in the 30’s and 40’s, and the Peninsula/South Bay was still orchards. I don’t fault developers for not taking into account density needs for oh, what 70, 80 years later? Also, three floors over soft story with 1930’s seismic standards (e.g. none)? Could be a big retrofitting issue now.

  4. Why on earth didn’t the guy next door buy it? Adding that lot would give him the potential for expansion.

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