“Own a piece of San Francisco,” says the official real estate listing for 250 Fitzgerald Ave.
The listing goes on to explain that the land is underwater and the street address is fictitious, since there’s no network of underwater streets in the area, and no place to put a mailbox.
The property is officially in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, sitting about three blocks off of Candlestick Point State Recreation Area. It’s not clear how far down the land is, which would vary depending on the tide.
Trent Zhu, the Daly City realtor selling the land, is also its owner. He says he’s never donned snorkeling or diving gear to take a look at his property, nor even paddled out to peer down from a boat.
He bought the 50,000-square foot lot for $5,000, along with some adjoining parcels during a foreclosure auction about five years ago. He had no real plans for the land, he said, though he figured it might have some value, since major development is planned at the former home of Candlestick Park.
“It was more of a fun thing to buy a piece of land underwater,” he said.
A few years, he said, his firm sold an underwater piece of land in South San Francisco to a biotech firm. It’s still undeveloped.
So what would someone do with a piece of land in the bay? A pier might be a possibility, said Zhu, who said he owns other underwater land, including some smaller parcels, in the area.
“San Francisco has more than 40 piers along the waterfront,” he said. “But there is nothing in this corner on the southeast side of the city.”
The land is zoned to allow a single dwelling unit on the lot, though it could also be used for a residential care facility, a child care center, open space for horticulture or recreation or a public structure, according to city zoning regulations. With city approval, it could also be used for a hospital, a school, a nursery or a public building.
While the listing has only been posted for a few days, at handful of people have inquired about the submerged property, Zhu said.
One man thought he might buy it to anchor his two houseboats instead of continuing to pay rent in Marin. Another wondered if they could build a slightly offshore restaurant. And others have suggested that it could be the site for a future ferry landing.
Zhu refers all of those questions to the city.
“I have no idea, really,” he admitted.
His listing ends with a similar admission: “Seller is not sure if this land can be developed into a pier or anything at all.”
Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
Article source: https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/S-F-real-estate-deal-50-000-square-feet-for-16178358.php