Purchased for $5.25 million in May of 2017, the designer Lower Pacific Heights loft at 2230 Bush Street, which is hidden in plain sight above the recently shuttered FLOR store and features two stacked shipping containers that divide the 3,600-square-foot loft’s living and family rooms, and yield a convertible guest suite and home office, returned to the market last month and quickly traded for $300K more ($5.55 million).

As always, design matters.  But the re-sale wasn’t perfectly apples-to-apples as a new rooftop bar has been added to the unit (and the Japanese soaking tub removed).

And in the midst of a pandemic, well equipped and functional outdoor space is trading at a premium.

16 thoughts on “Modern Shipping Container Loft Trades for $300K More”
    1. You missed the past decade, apparently. Use the search function to go back to – say – 2011 and start working your way forward: it won’t really make any sense but you can get caught up in the “vision” thing.

      1. I’ll take Apple Store lookalike Homes for $5.5M any day.? Although, I agree this particular specimen has its challenges. It’s all a matter of taste, lifestyle, and perceived value to the buyer.

  1. You have to compare square foot cost. Admittedly, condo prices have fallen, but a couple of years back a very standard (ie. cheaply built) cookie cutter condo with cheap-ish (ie. Bosch) appliances regularly sold for $1,100 – $1,300/SF. This is certainly worth $200/SF more. And although prices have fallen since the peak, there’s always someone who has the means and is looking to buy something more unusual.

    But it’s all very personal. Just look at how long 55 Sheridan was on the market, went through a price reduction and ended up selling for less than $1000/SF.

  2. The former Unity Church at 2222 Bush ie 2 doors down was purchased by a group planning on putting in a dispensary, could be good or bad for the new buyer if they gain approvals.

    1. Would that matter? It seems like the door of this place is on Wilmot. You might not ever notice the Bush St. side.

    2. It’s already right next to Filmore Street. This isn’t the place for someone wanting serenity. This is for someone with an active social life.

  3. say what you will but it’s still cool

    super specific buyer but apparently still around and willing to pay to have a hip entertainer’s pad.

    tough times coming but quality will always have an audience

      1. Don’t let the shipping containers confuse you. That’s obviously a personal artistic request by the owner who commissioned the design. Take a close look and you’ll see that there is a lot of expensive custom work and top notch appliances & fixtures. Just because you don’t recognize them doesn’t it make it so. Kinda like art.

      2. The shipping containers only contain the office and guest room, and they are just used as a design feature. They could either be redone in a more traditional finish, or even removed. Overall, the interior is not to my taste, but the owner of the unit is hardly “living in shipping containers.” I prefer a more traditional living space, but I understand getting a large home (3,600 square feet) with full-scale entertaining outdoor space does not come cheap in San Francisco. This is an expensive city–it is what it is.

  4. I know the designer/builder of this space and this was—as are all of his spaces—a true representation of his own design aesthetic vision and how he chooses to live. He lived in this space for over a decade and he did in his previous spaces. The art collections were also his. So when he sells, he truly does not care what the market dictates, square foot pricing, resale, etc. They are design creations meant to be lived in and enjoyed by those who share a similar design aesthetic and appreciate them.

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