“Estate-like” Noe Valley compound eyes neighborhood record with $13.5M ask

A two-home compound that took five years to develop in Noe Valley is back on the market less than two years after it last sold–and it’s out to set a record for the upscale enclave.

Compass agents Dino Zuzic and Ryan Richards listed the “estate-like” property for $13.5 million this week; it last sold for $9.1 million in the summer of 2020.

A deal anywhere close to asking would appear to be the most expensive sale ever in the southern San Francisco neighborhood. A four-bedroom, four-bath modern T-shaped home at 526 Duncan Street sold for $12 million in May 2017 and has held the neighborhood record ever since.

The developer of the Noe Valley compound bought the corner lot in June 2015 for $1,667,000 and spent the next five years turning the rundown former live/work storefront space, with separate buildings fronting Day Street and Sanchez, into an “exceptional property.” It was designed by YA Architects at a scale unlikely to be approved by the city’s planning department in the future, according to the listing notes. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman introduced legislation earlier this year to ban “monster homes” over 4,000 square feet in certain San Francisco neighborhoods, including Noe Valley.

The main home is at 1647 Sanchez Street and has four stories, connected via elevator and custom steel and glass stairway, with four bedrooms, three full baths and two powder rooms. The interiors were created by Anthem, which runs five home decor stores around the Bay Area in addition to its interior design services. An 11-foot island made of polished quartz is the centerpiece of the open concept kitchen. It also has walnut cabinets, a built-in coffee system and three types of oven: steam, convection and speed.

One level up is the main bedroom level, with three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a laundry room and a flex space lounge area. The primary bedroom suite takes up the entire penthouse floor and features a walk-in closet with hand-cast pulls and knobs that cost upwards of $400 each, according to the listing notes. There’s also a wet bar, wine fridge and a private terrace that wraps around three sides of the floor and has a putting green “suitable for any level golf enthusiast to practice their short game.”

There’s another large terrace with a turf “lawn” off the main home’s entertaining floor, abutting the property’s second home on 220 Day St. This two-bedroom, two-bath, which the listing notes suggest could be used as anything from a tech incubator to an au-pair suite, has its own streetside entrance as well as access via the shared two-car garage.

The garage also provides an entrance to the main home’s ground level, which has a half bath and a media room with custom velvet sofas, 120-inch projection screen and multichannel surround sound.

In fact, “over the top A/V and home technology enhancements” from Summit Technology Group run throughout the property, including 3 Gbps fiber optic internet, Control4 home automation system, 4K security cameras and commercial grade firewall, according to the listing notes. Calling out the specifics of the home’s high-speed upgrades seem designed to lure a tech buyer, and the marketing site’s “Points of Interest” map also makes sure to point out the corporate shuttle stops down to Silicon Valley about 10 very steep blocks away.

The strategy worked the first time; according to public record, the seller is Douglas Beaver, a long-time Facebook engineer-turned-investor who co-created one of the social media giant’s photo storage systems.

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