Purchased by Mark and Alison Pincus for $16 million in 2012, the nearly 12,000-square-foot Pacific Heights pad at 2950 Pacific Avenue, the rear facade of which is pictured above, returned to the market in 2014 with plans to add a bunker below the home and an $18 million price tag.
Withdrawn from the MLS and scrubbed from the listing agent’s site in early 2015, the property quietly sold to developer Troon Pacific for $16 million that November, at which point even bigger plans to gut and expand the Albert Farr-designed home were working their way through Planning.
Since then, Snøhetta (yes, that Snøhetta) has further refined their plans for the spec mansion. And in addition to two new basement levels – with a new media room, gallery, (art) storage rooms, a catering kitchen, courtyard, terraces and an all-new (secondary) entrance on Broadway – the latest set of plans now include an all-new interior design and flowing central staircase.
The redeveloped mansion would measure a little over 18,000 square feet, with an elevator running from its lowest level to the home’s remodeled fourth floor, above which the existing attic would be converted into a partial mezzanine level and open roof deck.
And yes, a placeholder mailbox for a coveted “2895 Broadway” address, along San Francisco’s Billionaires Row, which the home currently only overlooks, has been hung.
spec mansion
That phrase just seems all wrong (“!” optional): “mansion”s should all be bespoke for the plutocrat who lives there…otherwise its just a “house” (or as Planning would probably call it, a “greater than 350gsf living unit”)
I don’t get it either. We’ve seen so many cases where millions spent on a recent remodel are ripped out and re-remodeled by the next buyer to customize the home to their taste. Maybe even at this price level there’s a market for a complete spec home? The buyer would have a combination of not needing to personalize the home and a lack of time to go through what is likely a lengthily construction phase.
Troon is going all in… I referenced this in a previous thread, but what they are doing is unprecedented… They are putting 100s of millions into luxury mansions. Expect pricing on their listing to top 50mm..
neighbors are going to love all that drilling into rock
it’ll usher our own SF version of “iceberg basements”
You mean like the subterranean expansion ongoing in Central London’s posh neighborhoods?
Planning should approve upon the condition the existing driveway gets converted into a parklet.
Transit First!
Windows are ugly.
The current original interior of this home is spectacular. What a shame.
Indeed. This is truly an act of desecration being committed by philistines. While the original interior would have looked fantastic generations into the future, the replacement will be sterile and dated in a few years.
The comments here are largely devoid of the opprobrium toward the Pincuses that we saw in earlier threads, presumably because they no longer own it, but then again, since they were the ones who set off this whole round of barbarian incursion, it might be a good time to remember the hard earned wealth that comes up with ideas like this. Oh my: looks like the basement is already filled…hopefully the new owner will have created more sustainable value.
I think the lack of criticism in the comment is simply because we’ve feared this since the permits to gut the interior were filed. Now that it’s actually happening, while still a terrible thing, is not a surprise.
I do still find it curious that all the ZNGA insiders sold at the absolute peak and then after lack luster earnings came out the stock tanked, leaving a lot of unhappy employees. That’s not to say I wouldn’t do the same if I were in their position (selling at the peak).
Fantastic if you like cedar shingles as an indoor wall treatment and/or have a predilection for grog and sea shanties.
So the interior of this place is going to go. We’ve known this for years. At least it is well documented. I’ve seen worse things happen. The remodel will cost around 20mm and if it finds some plutocrat, oligarch, tech zillionaire buyer for 50mm that’s over 600k in property taxes into the city coffer annually. That should make up for that “SF Gold Coast’s history of low taxes” article that appeared a few years ago.
Also, if you want a laugh, did anyone read the article in the Chronicle about 2901 Broadway where neighbors were incensed about the exceedingly long construction time and the (gasp!) 5.3mm budget! The last I heard (a few years ago), it was already 8x that. I still remember speaking to contractors who toured the home with a client back in 2008 that the structural upgrades alone would start at 10mm. Thankfully construction costs and steel prices have only gone down since then.
looks like a mad-scientist starter mansion, before you outgrow it and have to move to a castle/base on a remote island.
maybe an arch-villain incubator?
I predict it gets overly specific, sits too long and quietly goes under asking. But Billionaire’s Row, so maybe in just a couple months.
I’d live there if you gave it to me.
Does anyone else think this looks the house from Amityville Horror?
I have great stories about the dowager who owned the joint before Pincus. VERY eccentric. But honestly why not tear the thing down? It’s not especially historic or attractive. It’s oversized and boxy.
Amazing and wish them all the luck. Would love to see more details like parking and other finer points of the plan.
I’m glad they are doing one big project and taking this all the way. The North side should be excavated and maximized to its potential. To do anything less is just delaying the inevitable. $50mm is a pretty good bet on the final sale price here at $3k/psf. Could be much higher potentially and I suspect they will be shooting for the moon.
All of this aside, very risky strategy.
Everyone probably saw Troon’s 950 Lombard is on at 45MM, which we knew was going to happen, but still. I can’t imagine how this is all going to go.
With respect to 950 Lombard: The “Most Expensive Home in San Francisco” Sold for Far Less
UPDATE: Permits for Designer Mega-Mansion Have Been Secured