Green Not a Panacea in a Down Market

And really, what is (besides a 4.5% 30-year fixed)? It's cool; it came to SF burdened with great expectations, and it was never able to live up to that original listing price. Still, if green doesn't carry a PRICE premium in a down market, could it carry at least a foot traffic premium? We'd like to (and truthfully, we do) think so.

First, the bad news: SF's first green home hit the resale market this month, with some unfortunate news.

"1": The First Luxury Eco-friendly Global Hotel Brand

Barry Sternlicht (W Hotels, Sheraton, St. Regis, Westin = Starwood) is outdoing himself again. In 2008 he'll launch the first hotel of his new "1" Hotels and Residences chain, in Seattle at Second and Pine Streets. "1" will be categorized as "eco-luxury", not "eco-ultra-luxury," though it also aims to compete with St. Regis and Four Seasons. The typical hotel will offer ~250 rooms and locations will immediately follow in Mammoth Mountain, California, Scottsdale, Arizona, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Paris. A staggered following is slated for NYC and L.A. Most impressively, "1s" won't just be built green; they will operate green too. According to Hotel Law Blog, 15 "1" hotels will be under construction before October 2008. According to Sternlicht, all will be marketing to "the guilt-conscious yuppie."

It's undecided whether we will ever be able to refer to the brand as 1, not "1."

It's Free. And They Pick It Up.

Besides being a fire hazard, latex paint is one of the more toxic substances found in almost every home you'll enter. If you decide to make a low-VOX purchase for your next room re-do (Remember when the wall was "salmon" and it was so, so horrible?), you can leave your old toxic latex paint in front of your home and call (415) 355-3777 to schedule a pick-up. No need to even be there, and it's completely free. For other paint collection/drop-off services in San Francisco, visit http://www.sfenvironment.com/directories/paint.htm.

Lennar commits to SF

From Builder magazine's Feburary 22, 2006 issue:

"Lennar Homebuilding announced Wednesday that, beginning immediately, all of their new communities constructed in the greater San Francisco Bay market will be equipped with a roof-integrated solar electric system from PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation, as a standard feature. The launch begins with the introduction of Milano, a 77 luxury home development in Danville, Calif.

... Milano is one of 25 California communities that are under construction and using PowerLight's solar electric system. In addition to a one-time $2,000 federal tax break, home buyers will also receive a $5,000 to $6,000 California Energy Rebate and an average electric bill savings of 40 to 60 percent or up to $1,000 a year. Kelly says the cost to the consumers for the system is $23,000 to $25,000."

SF's Greenest Architects

KMD architects states that 90% of their projects are green (and almost entirely by clients' requests now, so the firm is spending less time selling the concept and more time executing it). They're not just pushing the commercial and residential curve in their office-headquarters town of San Francisco, but across Europe and in Mexico too. Their work is beyond compare and deserves more than a blog note, but their site conveys it much better than we can.

SF Environment Green Building Projects List

It's not entirely up-to-date, and doesn't include the new multifamily projects like Arterra (which many consider green or light green by relative standards), but SF Environment maintains a list of green projects in the city, as well as a (mostly) local green resource guide and an event listing for the EcoCenter (11 Grove Street, right across from the south entrance to the Main Library. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Slightly-Green Sale: 1401 Eddy Street #3

This 23-year old 1BR/1BA condo near Fillmore has a solar-powered hot water system and, at a sales price of $385,700 for its 588 square feet, went a nice 3.3% under asking in September 2006. And that, friends, is the cheapest home with some sort of green-ish attribute that closed recently in SF.

The Greenest Little House in San Francisco

Blue Jean insulation, the City's first residential rainwater catchment system, and fly ash concrete (we love it so much) contribute to 520 Clipper's designation as the "greenest" in SF (and if not, most definitely the greenest in the ever-earnest and lovely Noe Valley where Avenue finds green to be oh-so-compatibly located).

What did Lorax Development's 4BD/4BA work list at? At $1.89M, 520 Clipper asked a competitive, if not high, $730/SF. (Construction costs were estimated at $350/SF.)