Archive for the ‘Green San Francisco’ Category
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Way, way back, we looked at the then just starting Ardenwood luxury home project. We all speculated on price (around $2 mil, was the consensus) and rapidity with which they would sell. Many people also complained that a set of less than ten luxury homes was not the best use of the lot, given our housing scarcity, but that last complaint falls on deaf ears given that the homes are now for the most part complete.
And they’re all for sale. Still. As far as I can tell, and I beg you to set me straight (kindly though, please?) if I am incorrect, but these homes have yet to find their owners. There are seven of them, ranging at the “new” prices of $1,699,000 to $1,950,000, with two homes not yet priced. Looks then like the $2 mill estimate was not far off. (See prices, etc. at the Ardenwood website.)
Personally, that price seems steep to me. The homes are really lovely on the inside and I do love the West Portal village life, but the exteriors make me think of office buildings. They are also awfully close together and for that price, I would like the option of thinking I was all alone in the world. But what do I know? Surely someone is now dying to tell me how ignorant I am.
Bring it.
Photo, of the estate still under construction, via nativesf. Current photos abound at Ardenwood’s website, already linked above.
Posted in "Green", Anna Marie Hibble, Architecture, Green San Francisco, Luxury Homes, San Francisco Real Estate, Single Family, West Portal | 11 Comments »
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
Everybody knows it’s hip to be green and San Francisco almost leads the pack (we were edged out by Portland, OR) , but what’s a city without its people, right?
We want to try to do a little thing here on theFrontSteps (by getting your comments) and it goes something like this:
My name is _____ and I’m greener than thou because… recently my wife and I began throwing all of our food waste, paper towels, egg cartons, milk cartons, and pet fish in the green bin and damnit if it doesn’t feel good! We’ve reduced our black bin waste by at least 50% each week, and our breezeway stinks to high heaven (could be the diapers we save for the landfill). We still drive mediocre gas consuming vehicles (Subaru and Volkswagen), but we’re considering a hybrid or something else “green” (although a Porsche GT sure would be nice, and a helluva lot faster than a Prius.) We send our boy to school with reusable containers rather than Zip Lock bags, and try to use “green” detergents and soaps when possible. We no longer shave our legs, face, armpits or privates, and toilet paper is a thing of the past, (Just kidding! Jesus H Christ…did you honestly think….?) and that is what makes me green.
And that’s how it goes. Share with us just how green you are (especially any green things you might have done or are doing to your San Francisco home) and let’s prove to Portland they ain’t got nothing on San Francisco!
p.s. For those of you that are ready to pounce on us for making fun of hippies, or tree-huggers, or Oregon, or whatever…save it. We’re sarcastic. Should you decide to delete the sarcasm, we are actually doing all of those things in an effort to be greener. (It’s the demons within that want the Porsche GT, not us.)
[We'll go ahead and tag this a Battle Royale should you care to forward to your Oregon friends.]
Update: We just noticed Curbed uses the title “Greener than thou” for many of their posts and has done so for quite a while. Some things slip by…sorry Curbed!
Tags: Battle Royale, san francisco, theFrontSteps
Posted in Battle Royale, Green San Francisco, Just plain fun, san francisco, theFrontSteps | 10 Comments »
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007
by Tiffany Elston:
In the spirit of keeping tabs on San Francisco’s green housing inventory, it seems only logical to draw attention to a green 2 unit TIC in the Mission: 1303 Alabama. The main unit is being retained by the owners. The second unit is a 1,200 SqFt home. The project is the result of a collaboration between Sunset Magazine and Meridian Builders and Developers Inc. and was designed to “take the magazine’s Idea House Program into a dense urban area for the first time, and demonstrate how to maximize construction on a compact site.” Interesting.
I got to preview the 2 bedroom 2.5 bath two Sundays ago during the Build It Green San Francisco Home Tour.
In terms of green building features, the house gets a high score: solar PV, recycled glass tiles, reclaimed wood floors, double insulated windows, dual flush toilets, rooftop garden, and the first residential windmill in the city (On a 1-year variance to see how the birdies fair with spinning blades.)
The unit is on the market for $1,089,000.
How long will it be before someone swoops in on this green baby? Wagers, anyone?
[Editor's notes: It'd be fun to see what "A" and "M" think it will sell for. I know "A" is reading, but what about "M". And WTF is up with the MLS photos of this place! You'd think better quality would be demanded of the agent.]
-Info on the Sunset Idea House
-1303 Alabama [MLS]
Tags: Architecture, san francisco, Sunset
Posted in "Green", 2-4 Units, Architecture, Green San Francisco, Inner Mission, Sunset, The Mission, san francisco | 24 Comments »
