san francisco: Better Market Street Project: What San Francisco Has In Store For Us - 06/22/11 03:08 PM
Wiki HistoryJasper O'Farrell established Market Street as the widest street in town, he envisioned a grand boulevard, an arrow straight to the heart of Twin Peaks. The Better Market Steet Project is designed to recapture his vision all these years later.Market street has been a blight for a long long time. When the freeway came down it opened up the Emarcaderos for development. We have a new Farmers Market and Boulevard, Rincon Center and a host of restaurants and condo development. Twitter is moving to 1355 Market and that will no doubt help grow out mid Market. Upper Market is seeing new … (0 comments)

san francisco: First The Clay And Now The Roxie - 01/16/11 09:19 AM
The Roxie is the oldest continuously operating movie in San Francisco. The Roxie,  a 300-seat theater in the Mission hosts Bay Area and international film festivals,  indie movies and documentaries. Now the Roxie theater in the Mission is having problems, as is the Clay theater on Fiillmore. In 2005, Roxie was bought by New College of California,in the Mission and  became part of New College's Media Studies Program.  Now the New College is closed and the Roxie is on the brink.Outside of  the megaplex movie mold, the Roxie is an alternative theater. They show offbeat indie movies, supports local film artists … (3 comments)

san francisco: San Francisco Apartment Rent Recovery - 12/12/10 10:57 AM
San Francisco investment properties are bottoming. According to Jay Greenberg, in an SFAA magazine article, San Francisco has seen positive sales numbers this year. Rent rates have also been getting stronger in the city. Im a firm believer that well paying jobs and the reverse commute busses provided by the tech sector, are a big part of why rentals are up and property is on the rebound. Greenberg points out that interest rates are low, rent rates are increasing and cash flows are improving. Following is a synopsis of Greenbergs review of apartment sales: Chart Source National Real estate Investor 5-9 … (0 comments)

san francisco: Russian Hill: Greening the Broadway Tunnel - 10/04/08 09:41 AM
This is a very good project that has been fully supported by the Russian Hill Neighbors Association, a nonprofit neighborhood organization established in 1981 to encourage friendly association among Russian Hill neighbors and merchants and to respond to neighborhood concerns.
Greening the Broadway Tunnel-West was a $660k DPW project. The City awarded us $325k, but the funds were retracted because of major budget cuts. Some of that money has now been restored.
Greening: ($299k) -- planting twenty-eight trees up the sides of Broadway (just outside of and rising with the tunnel retaining walls), four planter trees on the pedestrian bridge, and … (1 comments)

san francisco: Moody's Upgrades San Francisco's Bond Rating - 09/20/08 07:50 AM
Still Solvent After all These Years
Mayor Gavin Newsom today welcomed Moody’s upgraded bond rating for the City and County of San Francisco. According to its most recent ratings, Moody’s upgraded the City’s general obligation bond rating to Aa2 from Aa3 and revised the rating outlook to Stable from Positive. Moody’s also upgraded the City’s various general fund obligations to A1 from A2.
"We are proud that Moody’s has upgraded the City and County of San Francisco’s bond rating," said Mayor Newsom. "This rating is a statement about the strong, fiscal health of San Francisco, but we must remain steadfast in … (0 comments)

san francisco: New Real Estate Trends in San Francisco - 08/16/08 08:26 AM
 What do you do with older historic buildings...Well the Ritz Carleton has built eight floors of luxury apartments onto a building that was once the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi.
690 Market
A new approach to real estate that has been unfolding at 690 and also at Ghiradelli Square has been fractional ownership. Most of these fractional ownership condos are starting at a million and they are targeting or perhaps creating a new demographic. You can buy 1/12 of this beauty at an asking of only $ 279,000.
Its a beautiful 2 bedroom 2.5 bath living space. The developers … (0 comments)

san francisco: San Francisco Economy is Looking Good - 06/07/08 08:42 AM
The Internet Drives the City
Thanks to the internet and the technology industry continuing to be the infinite work space, thousands of new technology jobs drove the city's population to a new high of more than 824,000.
Yahoo and Google have opened offices in the city and continue to provide shuttle buses that have dominated the city neighborhoods. The increase of high paying young professionals has caused a crimp in the housing supply, but it has also certainly boosted the local economy.
This huge influx of workers connected to south bay industries seem to be merging the economies of San Francisco … (0 comments)

san francisco: San Francisco Goes Green in a Big Way - 02/24/08 09:13 AM
San Francisco ’s Climate Action Plan has ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals: a 20 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2012. To meet these, each person who lives or works in San Francisco will need to cut almost 2 tons of carbon dioxide annually. The city program has set a mid-term goal of 10% by 2010.
Rather than dissect the forward of the plan which is now available on line, I wanted to tip my hat some of the organizations and business people who are on the active edge of creating a clean and healthy place to live.
1.Climate Action: The … (0 comments)

san francisco: Prop A Passes: Great for City Parks and Revenue Neutral for Owners - 02/13/08 07:25 AM
Our first local blog. We will be focusing on all things real estate in San Francisco.... Proposition A: A bond measure authorizing the city to borrow $185 million for construction, rebuilding and improvements to park and recreation facilities, was approved by nearly 72 percent of voters.The bond funds will be divided into $117.4 million for 12 neighborhood parks and $33.5 million for potential projects at nine waterfront parks. The remainder will be allocated for park restrooms, athletic fields, nature trails, forestry and other park and recreation projects.Fiscal Impact: Proponents argued the money is needed to repair or replace deteriorating facilities, and … (1 comments)