Mansion Tied to Gap Founder’s Family Sells Quickly

Another mansion in one of San Francisco’s ritziest neighborhoods has traded hands just a few weeks after hitting the market as the local luxury sector outpaces activity in the rest of the city.

The Russian Hill mansion at 888 Francisco Street traded hands for nearly $17.3 million less than a month after going up for sale, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The manse has a deep history linked to one of the United States’ most recognizable apparel retailers. The home belonged to developer Robert Sydney “Bob” Fisher, brother of late Gap founder Donald Fisher, who died last October at age 94. His children were the sellers. The buyer was listed on the deed at 888 Francisco Street Trust and Kristin Elbach, according to the Business Times.

Bob Fisher built more than 1,000 homes across Northern California through his Fisher Development firm. In the mid-1970s, his brother Donald tapped him to build Gap stores across North America and Europe. That work with Gap made Fisher Development one of the country’s top retail builders, earning the company Shopping Center World Magazine’s accolades as the largest retail contractor in the U.S. for several years in the late 1990s, according to the Business Times.

The roughly 6,000-square-foot manse was originally built in 1998 after the existing house on the lot was torn down. The home has three bedrooms, four full bathrooms, two half-baths, a wine cellar, a butler’s bar, a powder room, an elevator and multiple entertaining spaces with views of Alcatraz Island and the Marin Headlands. The property was designed by architect Sandy Walker, whose resume includes the Jewett House on Broadway and the Russian Hill home of late finance entrepreneur Sandy Robertson, both of which sold over the past two years.

The 888 Francisco sale joins a quickly growing list of eight-figure deals as the artificial intelligence boom and influx of deep-pocketed buyers creates a so-called mansion shortage in the city.

Another $24 million deal closed recently at 2626 Larkin Street in Russian Hill, while 2830 Pacific Avenue traded last month for $27.5 million after listing for $35 million in 2023. The priciest home sale in the city so far this year is the off-market $56 million sale of 2898 Vallejo Street, sold by former Google executive and TelevisaUnivision CEO Daniel Alegre.— Chris Malone Méndez