November 3, 2014 In Blog

Developer creativity takes form of cobbling together smaller land parcels

Creativity has taken on added value in the San Francisco real estate market. According to the San Francisco Business Times, the extremely small supply of new land in the city is pressing developers to pull out ever-new tricks.

One of those tricks involves piecing together lots of small sites in order to make for a larger piece. However, that’s not quite so easy since convincing site owners to sell means negotiating with many different individuals; many of San Francisco’s land parcels have multiple owners. Some will wish to sell, and others might opt to hold out. In short, one gun-shy property owner can down a potential deal.

The Business Times listed a few deals where larger sites have been cobbled together from smaller ones. These include:

  • 900 Folsom Street
  • 1001 17th Street
  • 340 Folsom Street
  • The Market Street Place mall at 935-965 Market Street.

Another project cited by the Business Times is 1634-1960 Pine Street, a mixed-use property currently under construction. The project entails two 13-story residential towers with 262 units, ground-floor retail and parking for just shy of 250 cars. The site previously housed five empty buildings and a parking lot. Yet another is 1554 Market Street, where Trumark Urban is designing 109 condos with Handel Architects.

Trumark managing director Arden Hearing told the Business Times that they originally had a 10,000-square-foot parcel with an adjacent 2,000-square-foot parcel that was separate from the project – and the owner was not open to selling. Getting the deal done took some “heavy lifting” and a similarly heavy (though not specified) price was paid, but it went through.

Seeking your own piece of the San Francisco real estate pie? Get in touch.

Dreaming of San Francisco? Cece Blase offers local advice to San Francisco buyers, sellers and owners– and feeds the dreams of those who wish they could live in Tony Bennett’s ‘City by the Bay.’ Call 415-577-0809 or email cblase@paragon-re.com. www.ceceblase.com

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