As we first revealed earlier this year, the single-story House of Brakes building/garage on the southeast corner of 24th Street and South Van Ness, a rather nondescript concrete structure above which the iconic Carnaval (a.k.a. Golden Dreams of the Mission) mural was painted and subsequently restored on the building behind, was on the market with a $1.65 million price tag.

As we also noted at the time, the prominent corner site in the middle of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District is zoned for development up to 55 feet in height, not including any bonuses, sight lines to mural(s) aren’t currently protected, and the existing lease for the House of Brakes building is set to expire in November.

And as a plugged-in tipster adds, the sale of the House of Brakes building and corner parcel at 3195 24th Street appears to have closed escrow with a contract price of $1.395 million. We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.

10 thoughts on “Prominent Cultural District Site in the Mission Has Sold”
  1. I grieve for all the historic auto repair, dry cleaning, vinyl flooring shops and more of my youth that have gone under the wrecking ball. I certainly hope this one can be saved.

    1. Someone in 1890, and another person in 1950, etc was grieving for what SF once was, as well. Cities change, and hopefully grow. Businesses open and close. It’s a good thing for SF that there’s demand from people to live here, and therefor we need housing for them. This is a prime corner lot that is underutilized and polluting. I welcome the potential change.

      1. It’s curious that this awesome “change” you reference seems to always increases the wealth of the already well-off while further immiserating or even defenestrating the lower economic classes who serve the well-off and bring them their their stuff. It’s almost as if economic power confers political power. Who am I to deny the real; estate gang the pleasure they apparently derive from vacant storefronts, empty commercial buildings, and ghost town office towers?

        1. Yea, I bet the family business and/or property owner is totally pissed that they just got a $1.395M check for selling. I’m curious how this perspective on property ownership has seemingly become so skewed that it forgets those who own, buy or sell property aren’t all cigar-chomping billionaires in high towers looking for ways to squeeze a nickel out of the everyday man—in contrast, most that I know in this city are immigrants or second generation.

          1. Ah, yes, “pull yourself up by the bootstraps.” If you are unable to do so, or don’t have any bootstraps, let alone boots, go die.

            The grudge isn’t with the sellers, but with the gentrifying privateers who smother neighborhoods, culture, and essential workers and their families.

    2. Having a diverse economic base is vital for cities, especially businesses that employ non college-educated workers.

  2. Its not obviously obsolete with current use. EVs will need brake service. $1.4M for garage with 3 drive-in-doors (6 lifts?) sounds like a market rate deal for that kind of use. Best and highest use would be condo development, but even if that stalls out, the buyer still has a way to make money with it at that price.

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