There’s been a lot of chatter about this property and all the new developments popping up in SoMa, Mission Bay, South Beach, Rincon Hill, etc., so we’re going to tell you what we know about the Soma Grand.  We actually know A LOT more than what we’re printing, but we’ve promised not to disclose certain information.  We are not the media, and we don’t care about “breaking stories”.  We just want to educate everyone on the TRUE San Francisco market. 

In no particular order or prose:

• 246 Units
• “Lifestyle Condos” thanks to Joie de Vivre Hospitality (check their website)
• Located at 1160 Mission b/n 7th & 8th Streets (sales center at 1085 Mission @ 7th)
• 2 restaurants at street level
• 22 stories, 245ft.
• lot size: one acre
• 504 parking spaces
• 2 retail spaces totalling 5,000 square feet (4,000 and 1,000)
• Developers: AGI Capital, www.agicapital.com,  and TMG Partners, www.tmgpartners.com, San Francisco
• Contractor: Webcor (good cycling team too), www.webcor.com
• Architects: Architecture International, www.arch-intl.com, Mill Valley
• Landscape Architect: Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey, Mill Valley
• Sales Team: Pacific Marketing Associates, www.pmateam.com
• Move in: October/November
• First release in April at which point they will accept 3% deposit
• Junior 1 Bed- $400,000+ (there’s only 4 so don’t get excited)-618 square feet
• 1 Bedrooms (some plus den)-$500,000-$700,000, 650-848 square feet
• 2 Bedrooms-$750,000-$1,000,000, 1126-1172 square feet
• 3 Bedrooms-$950,000-$1,400,000, 1300-1528 square feet
• The primo unit looks to be the 3bed, 2 bath on the S/E corner of the 22nd (penthouse) floor with a wrap-around terrace priced around $1.4MM or $750-$800/square foot
• Everybody will get parking (how is tbd)
• HOAs: 1bed high $500s, 2 bed low $600s, 3 bed mid $600s-700s
• HOAs include (please verify with sales team): House Keeping (twice monthly), Concierge, Gourmet Tea and Coffee service, Wireless Internet, DVD lending Library, Restaurant Reservations, Monthly wine tastings, Virtual community bulletin board, Exclusive community value card, Friends and Family discount to local Joie de Vivre businesses
• Units start on 5th level, which is 60 feet up (read below why this is a factor)
• South East View will be the money views
• Apartment Building on West side is in city Planning, nothing is set in stone but views to the West could be blocked at some point in the future and those units will most likely be sold for less.  The designer of the building is the same as for the Infinity, so it could look sweet.
• There is a lot across the street from the Soma Grand that is approved for development of condos.  That’s the bad part.  The good part is that the height limit is 60ft (the case for buildings south of Mission), and remember the Soma Grand doesn’t have units below 60ft.  So there should be no effect on the views to the south.   [Update:” There is a 65′ height limit which extends along the south side of the

  mission street corridor from 6th street to 9th street. Going further

  south the height limits drop off into 50′ and 40′ zones. East of the

  project, on both sides of 6th street, is a zoned as 85′ height limit.”

• Here’s the other thing nobody really points out, but is obvious if you just go by.  Soma Grand is right next door to the newly built Federal Building.   Could that affect value?  Definitely, but we’ll have to wait and see how.  There could be around 3000 people in and out of the Fed Building on a daily basis

• What a “Banyan” has to do with selling condos is besides us, but we can always appreciate good art (subjective!)

What about the neighborhood?  It is no secret that 6th Street is anything but prime location, and Soma Grand is close to it, but things are looking up.  There is a ton of development planned in the area, and the only way to make a bad part of town good is to bring the good in.  This is a good way to do it, and the Soma Grand looks to be promising, and a fresh approach (“lifestyle condos”) to an old concept (high-rise condos).  There are no guarantees in life and we certainly have no clue where the market is going (get the sfnewsletter for more info on that), but it is safe to say that the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward can be.   If you plan on purchasing at Soma Grand, make sure to do your due diligence, have someone represent you (costs you nothing!),  and at the very least, tour the ENTIRE neighborhood in the morning, noon, evening, and late at night before handing over your deposit.