Pacific Heights mansion with makeover plans in final approval stages hits market

After about four years in the planning process, the owner of a historic brick mansion in Pacific Heights seems to be throwing in the towel.

That doesn’t mean giving the towel away, though, especially with long-awaited remodel plans “in the final stages of approval” at the San Francisco Planning Department, according to listing notes from agent Savannah Wieser of BHHS Drysdale Properties.

Fang Yu Liao is asking $9.5 million for the 118-year-old, an historic brick property she purchased in late 2017 from its longtime owners for just under $8 million, according to public record. The following summer, Liao and her architect filed a planning application for a “full top to bottom interior remodel,” including digging down 18 feet on the sloped property for a basement addition, adding a roof deck and making seismic upgrades, according to planning department documents. Without changing the envelope of the historic facade, the plan at the time was to take the home from its current 7,580 square feet to over 11,000 at an estimated cost of $600,000.

Earlier this year, Liao’s architect was still in conversations with city planners, the roof deck had been dropped and the home’s proposed size had fallen to under 10,000 square feet. Despite the fact that planners seem to not want to see alterations to any of the home’s original facade, particularly its windows, Wieser’s notes promise “four levels of extraordinary living spaces highlighted by expanses of glass, open-plan kitchens, vast outdoor entertaining space, wine cellar, elevator and 7 car garage.”

The historic nature of the 1904 home at 2188-2190 Vallejo seems to be a big reason for the approval holdup. It was built by Edgar Mathews, who designed numerous turn-of-the-century mansions in the neighborhood, including his own, most with his signature wood-shingled style. The Vallejo home is a bit of a departure with its brick facade and was created as a single-family home but turned into a two-family property in the 1960s, according to planning documents.

Despite the fact that the home has not operated as a two-unit since the late 1990s, the illegal merger of the two units back into one by the previous owner appears to be one of the sticking points with planning as well.

The San Francisco Planning Department has gotten heat from the state for its slow approval timelines, which are the longest in the state. Yet if the new owner can stick it out, they may well be rewarded. Some of the biggest sales in the city so far this year have been in Pacific Heights, including the recent $17.6-million sale of a 115-year-old mansion a few blocks away that is the most expensive trade so far this year.

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