As we outlined in mid-2018:

Built to serve as an armory for the National Guard around 1906, and on the market for $9.9 million in 2017, the asking price for the three-story parking garage at 819 Ellis Street is now down to an even $8 million.

While since shuttered, the third floor of the garage had been illegally converted into the “American International Hostel,” an un-permitted tourist hotel which had operated up until last year despite being on the City’s radar since 2014.

Keep in mind that the Ellis Street site is zoned for development up to 130 feet in height and the existing Polk Gulch garage has been deemed as having no historical importance to the city, state or nation.

With a buyer having failed to materialize, big plans for the site were subsequently drafted, plans which envision a 13-story building rising up to 135 feet in height on the site, with 138 units/bedrooms of “group housing,” shared lounges and amenity spaces for its residents, and an 1,100-square-foot retail space on the ground floor.

And while the aforementioned plans have yet to be entitled, the 819 Ellis Street site is now slated to be auctioned next week with an opening bid of “$2 million” (but a target price of $8,999,999).  The garage was acquired for $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2003.

We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.

10 thoughts on “Former Armory on Ellis Slated to Be Auctioned”
  1. The editor is again pulling our chain, previously describing this as an “existing Polk Gulch garage” and by applying the above tag to the right of “Related”. The southern boundary of that neighborhood is Geary, according to google maps.

    This property is located on a block four blocks south of that street bounded by Van Ness Ave, Polk St. and Willow St. and is inside The Tenderloin, not “Polk Gulch” (although I’d grant that it’s on the edge). If the editor wants to dispute google maps, they should cite a source, preferably not CAR.

    1. Well “the development” such as planned, is unlikely to happen at any point in the near future, as it was obviously a play predicated on gentrification happening in The Tenderloin that didn’t take place over the last three years. Are we supposed to cheer on the sellers and hope that they find some sucker in the auction who will take this off their hands? I would not be surprised if the buyer holds the property while lining up (more) entitlements and then flips to another speculator. Lather, rinse, repeat.

  2. The foreclosure auction, which was scheduled for today with an opening bid of $4,154,836.38 on a $3.8 million first mortgage that’s past due, has been postponed.

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