March 2008

Potrero Hill and Dogpatch Condominiums Attract Buyers

By Kerry Fleisher

Young urban professionals, empty nesters and families in the market for their first San Francisco home are often torn between the quaintness of a Victorian and the efficiency of a new condominium.  Condominium developers in Potrero Hill are banking on a historic-cum-modern approach that works both these angles, and the strategy seems to be working.  Sales at Homes on Esprit Park in Dogpatch, a development created out of two historic brick-and-timber buildings; and The Potrero, situated on the cusp of old and new Potrero Hill near Showplace Square, are meeting—if not exceeding—company expectations.    

Homes on Esprit Park, which is bounded by Minnesota, 22nd, and Indiana streets and Esprit Park, has 15 homes under contract and 14 reservations, even though construction is still underway.  The model homes are slated for completion in approximately one month, with the entire project, which consists of 142 units as well as commercial space, scheduled for completion by the end of the year.  The Potrero, bounded by Mariposa, Rhode Island, 17th, and Kansas streets, has sold 75 percent of its 165 units.

Homes on Esprit Park, which features a variety of units – from one-bedrooms selling for almost $600,000 to three-bedrooms at roughly $1.5 million – has experienced steady sales within months of going on the market.  Sales Associate Andrew Paolucci noted that contracts and reservations have been signed for both one- and two-bedroom units as well as for several commercial spaces.  The average residential sales price is $802,000; buyers include young families and urban professionals, several of whom are restaurateurs and artists.

The Potrero has also successfully catered to new couples, a mix of educated professionals who work downtown and in the South Bay.  According to Caroline Anza with the Mark Company, The Potrero’s marketing arm, “we’ve had really strong traffic that exceeds expectations.”  Whole Foods Market’s opening last fall, which Anza described as a “positive amenity, a value-add,” ushered in a fresh crop of prospective buyers.  Mark Chow, The Potrero’s sales manager, noted that one buyer “went in for brocolli at Whole Foods Market, and came out with a home in the $900,000s.”

Homes on Esprit Park and The Potrero are condominium developments with two quite distinct architectural frameworks, floor plans, and engineering scopes.  Yet they both merge on one similar selling point: old meets new.  Homes on Esprit Park, a project developed by Build Inc., an environmentally-minded real estate team composed of Doug Ross, Loring Sagan, and Lou Vasquez, converted what was originally the old Schilling Wine Cellars to blend with the Victorian aesthetics nearby.   The team “merged the warmth of antique wood and masonry with the best of modern engineering,” and have devoted several pages of their sales brochure to Dogpatch history.

The Potrero, which was built from scratch on the former S&E Ford site, also strived to capture the Hills’ characteristics.  Their brochure boasts, “It is a rare event indeed to find new construction in Old San Francisco.”   With two landscaped courtyards and state-of-the-art fitness center, their push-point is more about the modern amenities cushioned in the “eclectic” Potrero Hill surroundings than historic preservation.  The Potrero’s studios start in the $400,000s, and their three-bedrooms are priced at almost $1 million.

Homes at Esprit Park has implemented one price drop since it went on the market, scaling down some of the one-bedrooms from the low $600,000 to the high $500,000s.  Their penthouses, some of which overlook the Bay and boast 18-foot ceilings, have whipped up so much interest that prices have actually gone up.

Aiming to create a community feel amongst Homes on Esprit Park’s eight buildings and two courtyards, Build Inc. placed several commercial spaces in the north building that faces the park.  Those units have been sold to Nate Appleman, co-owner of the critically acclaimed A16 and SPQR restaurants.  He’ll be opening a 6,000 square foot restaurant capable of seating 130 people, alongside a rosticerria that will serve Italian food on-the-go.

While vetting the commercial space Appleman fell in love with the condominium complex and decided to buy a residential unit for his family, who will be moving from the Sunset.  “I like the green aspect of the whole project, especially the use of recycled material,” he said.  Build Inc. reused or recycled more than 90 percent of the demolished material from the old winery for its new construction; they’ve also incorporated a water-efficient irrigation system, amongst other green-friendly touches.  “There’s no real room to grow except for that area in San Francisco,” said Appleman of his choice to open a restaurant in the Dogpatch.  “It’s uncharted territory.”

 

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