The reallocation of the bond will also help pay for $10 million in security improvements at various sites; $15 million toward the design of a new school in Mission Bay; $1 million for portable air cleaners; $14 million for schoolyard improvements; and $20 million for planning and design of additional schools and other district facilities in the Bayview area.
The 2016 measure approved by voters authorized $744 million in bonds for facilities improvements, including the $100 million for the art school, which remains unused.
The decision disappointed supporters of a new site for Ruth Asawa School of the Arts at a former high school near City Hall. The plan also includes an art center for all district students. The Asawa school is currently located at the site of the former Eugene McAteer High School near Diamond Heights.
The project, however, would require seismic and other upgrades to the Spanish Colonial Revival building at 135 Van Ness Ave., with a total estimated cost of $400 million. Supporters and district officials have said the project would primarily be paid for with philanthropic donations, but so far, that money hasn’t been raised.
The Van Ness property takes up a block of prime real estate in the center of the city and in the arts district, but now houses only school district administrative offices.
The measure passed by the board will prioritize the new art school in a future bond and directs staff to develop a realistic timeline to raise the outside funding for the project.
Supporters urged the board to keep some bond funding available for the art center and school, as approved by voters, to keep the project on the table.
“Regrettably, I’m here this evening to speak about how disappointed I am,” former school board member Jill Wynns said prior to the board’s vote. “That was a promise for the people of San Francisco to fulfill the 30-year dream of the school district, for the community to create the best public arts high school in the Civic Center.”
“Redirecting the funding and proposing to take all of this, you are responsible for damaging the effort.”
Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
Sure, many homebuyers are looking for a place that they can really put their stamp on and make their own. After all, a major appeal of homeownership is being able to do whatever you want with the property.
Well, this “bare bones opportunity to renovate/rebuild/restore” in Walnut Creek, Calif., is advertising just that. The four-bedroom, 2,395-square-foot house that was scorched in a two-alarm fire last fall has been listed at $850,000 — and it still drew plenty of bids despite the damage.
The 2,395-square-foot house was scorched in a two-alarm fire last fall.
Melinda Byrne
Byrne said that eight offers came in, in less than three days. “By the time I marked it ‘pending,’ I had five other people wanting to write offers — and I’m still getting people who would like to write on it to be in a backup position,” she said.
“Which kind of tells you what our market is like out here,” Byrne continued, adding that it had to be an all-cash offer because “there’s no lenders that are going to lend on it because of its condition.”
So how bad is it exactly?
“Extensive damage from a fire has this house stripped to the studs on both floors,” warns the listing. “Bring your contractor, architect and designer: This is more than a fixer and the potential is limited only by imagination.”
Most of the interest in the house came from buyers who wanted to flip the property and resell it.
Melinda Byrne
But the listing also spins this “bare bones opportunity” as a rare chance to make dramatic changes.
“This one is ready to start fresh and build to suit your style preferences,” it reads. “Opportunities like this are rare to make dramatic changes to a home and floor plan. Great neighborhood, large lot and close to shopping and conveniences.”
Again, the house is charred from a two-alarm fire last September, which caused the roof to partially collapse, and engulfed the garage in flames. Firefighters determined that the blaze began in the garage, but did not say what might have caused it.
“Great neighborhood, large lot and close to shopping and conveniences,” the listing for the house reads.
Melinda Byrne
But a burnt-out house isn’t dissuading Bay Area buyers.
Byrne said that while a few people were interested in buying the house for themselves to actually live in, a majority of the interest came from people who wanted to flip the house and resell it. And the house did indeed go to an investor who plans to flip it.
“As you know in California, there is a built in profit on this just because even if this person put a half million dollars into the house, he’s going to reap great, great rewards on it,” Byrne said.
And at least three people interested in purchasing the home after its remodeled have already started calling Byrne, she said.
While a fire-charred house going for $1 million might seem strange, it tracks with the crazy demand the housing market has seen recently.
Homes nearby the scorched house go for anywhere from $1.2 million to $2.1 million, Byrne said. The average home value for houses in Walnut Creek is over $1.1 million — up 24.9% over the past year, according to Zillow.
Of course, the house has been mocked on local news, Byrne said, because people think it’s a burned-down house. Yet because it’s basically a skeleton, it’s better for a remodel, she said.
Because it’s basically a skeleton, the house is well-suited for a remodel, listing agent Melinda Byrne said.
Melinda Byrne
“Yes, it had a fire,” Byrne said. “But it is actually a better fixer than most, because you can see more, [and] the potential is much easier to deal with from a construction standpoint.”
And it’s not the only super-fixer-upper to become a hot property in this wild market. In June, a $600,000 listing for a Colorado Springs “nightmare” house covered in obscene graffiti that smelled like “there’s a dead body in there” also started a bidding war. “Only in this real estate market could we possibly sell the house like this,” the listing agent told MarketWatch at the time.
Byrne said she wished the market would slow down, but the only way that will happen is if there is more inventory.
“But I have a heart for buyers, too,” Byrne said, “and I just kind of look at it, and the competitive nature of this market is really hard on people … it’s hard.”
Compounding the power outages, scars from past wildfires became riverbeds, with few trees and roots left to prevent the runoff from turning areas already ravaged by Mother Nature into prime real estate for floods and mudslides.
“This is the classic example of climate change,” said Keary Sorenson, 66, whose one-room cabin in the Russian River town of Monte Rio caved in on Sunday when a portion of hillside slid onto it. “When is the last time a hurricane’s worth of rain fell in October? I’ve never seen it.”
Like the Sorensons’ cabin, much of the infrastructure throughout the Bay Area wasn’t designed to withstand breakneck winds and some of the region’s wettest days ever recorded in a single weekend. Parts of the Bay Area broke records for rainfall and wind speeds, including a 92-mile-per-hour gust reported in Livermore.
In San Francisco, which had its wettest-ever October day downtown with 4.02 inches of rain, the storm felled 700 trees and large branches, a Public Works spokesperson said, and there were more than 200 reports of flooding in the city, primarily at clogged catch basins at intersections. Street lights flickered down the Panhandle, a 40-foot-tall tree fell and blocked the Great Highway and floodwaters seized the Marina, shutting down the main boulevard. In some neighborhoods, flooding forced drivers to suddenly swerve or trudge through the water, sometimes soaking unsuspecting pedestrians or those waiting for a bus.
“Our sewer system really isn’t built for this type of intense raining and precipitation,” said Francis Zamora, chief of staff for the Department of Emergency Management. “So there’s just going to be a backup, and when the rain stops, the system will catch up.”
Interstate 880 was flooded in Fremont Sunday night into Monday morning, forcing the California Highway Patrol to shutter the East Bay artery in both directions between Thornton and Mowry avenues. Eight vehicles became stranded in the water around 4 a.m. Monday, officials said. At least one tractor-trailer was overturned by the wind on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, resulting in traffic jams and a now-viral TikTok showing the truck tipping over.
In Sonoma County, thousands of students had their classes canceled Monday after flooding and power outages prompted officials to close down at least six school districts, according to the county’s Office of Education.
San Francisco optometrist Julie Ng spent all night Saturday and into Sunday trying to save her Richmond District office and equipment from the deluge after water broke through ceiling tiles and drenched the interior of her storefront.
“It was like it was raining indoors,” Ng said of the state of the shop when more than a dozen ceiling tiles gave way. She compared it to a creek’s worth of water flowing through the office, overflowing trash bins and buckets she and her husband set up to try to stanch it.
Ng said her eye exam equipment was drenched, and she wasn’t sure if some pieces were in working order. Those included a visual field analyzer and a retinal camera, each of which costs tens of thousands of dollars. She said she carried business insurance, but the last time she made a claim her rates doubled and she was concerned that the same thing could happen again.
Ng said she doesn’t know when she’ll be able to reopen. She said water damage during a 2017 storm shut her down for more than a month, adding, “This today is probably 10 times worse.”
The roof of the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum needs patching, thanks to leaks that made it another San Francisco casualty of the weekend’s fierce storm.
“We took a beating last night,” Executive Director Justin Hoover said of the Chinatown building that was designed by famed architect Julia Morgan in the 1930s.
More frustrating was that the society just patched the roof last year. Hoover said the storm’s toll on the building, previously a YWCA, included leaking above the main display area. The space was empty in preparation for a February exhibit on San Francisco native and martial arts film legend Bruce Lee.
Meteorologists said the rainfall totals across the region were “staggering.” “We literally have gone from fire/drought conditions to flooding in one storm cycle,” the National Weather Service said.
Mount Tamalpais in Marin County saw the most rain over the last two days. This month alone, the mountain has registered 26.92 inches of rain, the weather service said.
Even areas that are usually dry, such as Livermore, saw about 3.57 inches of rain on Sunday.
Another weather system headed toward the region could bring light showers to the North Bay on Tuesday, while the rest of the region could expect drier conditions.
Staff writers Sam Whiting and Trisha Thadani contributed to this report.
Jessica Flores, Julie Johnson, Chase DiFeliciantonio and Andres Picon are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com, julie.johnson@sfchronicle.com, chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com, andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @jesssmflores, @juliejohnson, @ChaseDiFelice, @andpicon
When reached on their automated chat service, one building dubbed Potrero Launch that offers the service couldn’t provide details on how often it was included or, presumably, if you can still throw out your trash on your own, too.
This luxury apartment is for rent in San Francisco on Craigslist.
Craigslist
While someone taking out your waste sounds great, we’ve seen other buildings that offer everything from rooftop pools, rock climbing walls, outdoor kitchens, butterfly habitats, music rooms, valet parking, libraries and wine cellars. NEMA, a luxury apartment building in SOMA, won the Best Amenities Award by the San Francisco Apartment Association two years in a row. In Nov. 2020, it was offering three months of free rent plus a bonus offer of your choice — such as free personal training sessions or a donation to your preferred charity — to sign a lease.
These buildings often charge above market rate for their units. “Our analysts found that the more amenities a property had, the more expensive it tended to be,” a spokesperson at Zumper said. “Buildings with more than the average number of amenities were 16% more expensive than those with less.”
This luxury apartment is for rent in San Francisco on Craigslist.
Craigslist
A two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment at Potrero Launch has access to a rooftop lounge, a 24/7 gym, a yoga studio and a “zen” garden. There’s also a “social lounge,” a dog run and bike storage available. Coveted and rare in-unit S.F. amenities like in-home laundry and air conditioning are also included.
The Craigslist listing is currently offering four weeks of free rent, but it’s worth noting there’s no parking available. It goes for…drumroll…$3,999 per month! Zumper reports that the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Potrero Hill is $4,188.
