Haight-Ashbury- Home to San Fran’s Hippo Movement

The famed Haight-Ashbury was one of the few neighborhoods spared from the 1906 fires allowing its gorgeous Edwardian and Victorian houses to survive. But that doesn’t mean the neighborhood didn’t have its struggles. WWII brought about a sub diving of its large homes into apartments and the 50s a general decline from suburbanization. This left many buildings vacant or in decline and interestingly paved the way for the Beats allured by its cheap rent to move in during the 60s after being displaced from North Beach. This helped create a culture in Haight-Ashbury conducive to the 60s Hippie Movement and home of the Summer of Love in 1967. This alternative culture has remained in the neighborhood but most notably along Haight Avenue the business district. The late 70s and 80s brought revitalization and gentrification to the wider neighborhood and homes here are as expensive as anywhere else in San Francisco.

The smaller Cole Valley district to the SW is come to a smaller but attractive business district along Cole Street, newer architecture from the 1900s-1940s, and became a major destination for white collar dot-commers during the late 1990s. The area is also home to many young University of California (San Francisco) students and staff.

Both Cole Valley and Haight-Ashbury are dense, highly walkable neighborhoods with close proximity to many parks (including Golden Gate) and cultural amenities. Compared to much of San Francisco, biking infrastructure and access to schools is a bit limited here. But similar to most of the City, housing is very expensive. At least 70% of all units are rent controlled.

Click here to view my Haight-Ashbury Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Great public transit service and access to Downtown San Francisco.
* Good racial diversity.
* About 70% of units are rent controlled in the district.
* Great park access here between some of San Fran’s finest parks (i.e. Golden Gate, Buena Vista Park, Mt Sutro, Corona Heights Park, and the Panhandle). Also a handful of smaller parks.
* Excellent tree canopy.
* Some excellent historic architecture, especially the colorful Victorians in Haight Ashbury. Homes in Cole Valley are a bit newer and less ornate but still very attractive.
* Excellent urban form and streetscaping.
* Cultural amenities include a good array of restaurants, bars, and cafes, and several live music venues. Great access to several wonderful museums in Golden Gate Park (de Young Art Museum, Botanical Garden, Academy of Sciences, Conservatory of Flowers, & Japanese Tea Garden). Several “boutique museums” within the district.
* Neighborhood Amenities include a Whole Foods and many smaller local grocerias, several drug stores, a vast array of quirky boutiques, gift stores, unique stores, and fitness centers; there are also a couple book stores, several hardware stores, several churches library and post office, and two hospitals within a 1/2 mile of the district.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* ADA generally very good but a good amount of intersections in the hilly parts of Ashbury Heights don’t have modern curb cuts.
* Decent # of electric bikes and bike stations. Dedicated bike lanes are limited to only the Pan Handle Park.
* Economic and generational diversity is so .
* For sale housing is very expensive. 1-bedroom condos start around 700K and sell upwards of 1.3 M. 2-bedrooms start around 850K and sell upwards of 2 M. 3 bedrooms generally between 1-3M. Some larger homes selling btwn 3-5 M.
* Studios lease around 2K, 1-bedrooms mid2Ks-mid3Ks, 2 bedrooms 3 & 4Ks. 3-bedrooms 4K-5K.
* Modern architecture limited to some small scall residential in-fill built close to WWII.
* Only a handful of schools in the district but well rated & diverse.
* Only a handful of live music venues and banks.

The Mission District- San Fran’s original settlement and now thriving Hispanic District

outh America, the Middle East, Philippines and former Yugoslavia. The late 90s-2010s brought the gentrifiers and professionals into the district, especially in the western and northern sides of the neighborhood. The neighborhood’s Chicano/Latino residents, still reside on the eastern and southern sides.

With its highly diverse population and dense development, this is one of my favorite districts in the City. It also boasts great urban form with high quality transit, bike infrastructure , tons of cultural and retail amenities, and great walkable schools. There are several commercial districts (Mission, Valencia, 24th Street, 16th) and most of the neighborhood is highly mixed-use. With 65% of its units rent controlled, many can still live in relative affordably. For sale prices are certainly very high but a decent amount of condos selling between 400-750K, which by San Fran standards is “moderately priced housing”. There are some minor areas to improve including the redevelopment of surface parking and industrial uses along the district’s northern edge, outdated streetscaping, and a somewhat lack of street trees throughout the district.

Click here to view my Mission District Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Excellent Density.
* Great public transit access. All around a very walkable district.
* Wonderful mixed-use development throughout the entire district.
* Excellent bike infrastructure, public transit access, and general walkability here.
* One of the most economically and racially diverse districts in the City.
* 65% of all units are rent controls helping to create a large amount of affordable/moderately priced units. Medium rent at $1,700 is lower than the City average.
* Good park amenities starting with expansive and well known Mission Dolares Park. Plenty of small-medium sized parks spread throughout the district. Most are in good shape and amenity rich. Largest skatepark in the City.
* Culturally the district offers a great array of restaurants (esp. ethnic ones), plenty of bars & cafes, a good number of breweries, art galleries, clubs, and live music venues. There are also several performing arts centers, a pair of cinemas, the historic Doloares Mission Church, several smaller museums and historic sites.
* Neighborhood amenities include several full-size supermarkets (esp. along the northern edge), lots of small grocerias, a couple drug stores, a Best Buy and Office Max, plenty of banks, boutiques, florist’s, and antique/thrift stores, 2 post offices, a library, tons of bookstores/gift shops, dessert places and salons, a couple gyms, a major hospital (Zuckerberg General), and a decent # of churches.
* Walkable access to a wide arrange of schools for all ages. Public receive decent rankings.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* For sale prices are certainly expensive but this district actually has some condos 1 bedrooms selling between 350K-750K. Fair amount of modestly priced condos selling between 750K-1 M. SF homes sell anywhere from 1-3M depending on size and condition.
* Market rate rents are typically in the 2000s for 1 bedrooms, 3000s for 2 bedrooms, 3.5K-6K for 3 bedrooms. Some studios rent in the $1,000s.
* Overall a good tree canopy but below average for San Fran.
* The district is generally safe especially nowadays. Still some blight in along Mission and other commercial streets in the southern edge of the district, a vestige to its past.
* Northern edge of district has a good amount of surface parking and industrial uses.
* Streetscaping is solid but dated. No recent investments.
* The image of the Mission district has certainly improved in recent history (just look at the hsg prices), but still a prospection with some that it is a rough, unsafe place.

The Castro District- America’s first Gayburhood

Castro Street was named after José Castro (1808–1860), a Californian leader of Mexican opposition to U.S. rule in California in the 19th century, From 1910 on, the Castro District and some of the surrounding areas were known as Little Scandinavia, because of its large Finnish, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish populations attracted to the City’s shipping industry. A large influx of Irish and Italian immigrants arrived in the 1930s transitioning Castro into an ethnically mixed working-class neighborhood up until the 60s when Castro underwent a major transformation. At that time the neighborhood became one of the first “Gayburhoods in the United States. The 1950s saw large numbers of families moving out of the Castro to the suburbs opening up large amounts of real estate for gay purchasers. Castro’s gay village is mostly concentrated in its business district along Castro Street from Market Street to 19th Street heavily demarked by flags and banners.

Regardless of Castro’s status on San Fran’s original “Gayburhood” Castro is a high quality urban district blessed with great walkability, urban amenities, attractive Victorian architecture (located mostly outside the 1906 burn zone), great urban form and business district, and vibrant area. Some areas for improvement includes a grave lack of affordable for-sale housing and limited economic diversity. Rental controlled units, however, still comprise about 60% of the district. Bike infrastructure could use several more dedicated lanes, and there is a limited amount of churches in the district. The western edge of Castro is rather hilly and not as conducive of an urban environment, although still well endowed with sidewalks and ADA ramps.

Click here to view the Castro album on my Flickr page

URBAN EVALUATIONS:

* Over ADA infrastructure and sidewalks are excellent with the some small exception of some missing modern ADA curbs on the hiller sections.
* Great architecture both historic and modern.
* Excellent Tree Canopy.
* Good amount of affordable housing here as 60% of all units are rent controlled. Also a handful of public housing developments here.
* Parkwise there are several great medium sized parks within Castro (Corona Heights, Kite Hill, and Rikki Streicher Field). Mission Dolores & Buena Vista Parks are wonderful larger parks just outside the neighborhood. Tons of smaller pocket/community parks spread throughout.
* Good array of walkable private and public schools. Private schools were generally rates well and public was a mixed bag.
* Great cultural in Castro including a plethora of restaurants, bars, and cafes along with a ton of clubs and live music venues. There is also a historic Movie theater, several smaller local museums + the Science Museum, and a good array of art galleries.
* Retail amenities are great as well. Several grocerias and health food stores. A Safeway and Wholefoods are located just outside the district. Other amenities include several drug stores, fitness centers, plenty of banks, good array of boutiques and unique stores, a couple home good/hardware stores, a book store, tons of barbershops & Salons, lots of dessert place, a public library & post office, and many eclectic and creative stores. Sutter Hospital only 1/2-1 mile away.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Generally good street connectivity but some curvy streets in the hilly section of the district. Still good stair connections for pedestrians here.
* Bike infrastructure good but not great compared to other San Fran districts. Dedicated bike lanes run down Market and 17th street to the center of District but no coverage in western half of district. Bike share is similar in distribution.
* Medium rents at $2,100 are a bit higher than the average City wide . Market rents start in the 2Ks and 3K for studios and 1-bedrooms, and 4K & 5K for 2 & 3 bedrooms. Not a ton listed on the open market.
* For sale housing very expensive. 1-bedroom conds run for 700K-1M, 2-bedrooms 1M-1.5M, and 3 bedrooms 1.5M-3 M generally.
* Not many churches in the district but a good amount in neighboring Mission District.

South Beach- San Fran’s new Downtown District

The district of South Beach was originally referred to as Rincon Hill. The South Beach name is more of a modern invention. The 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed the remaining Rincon Hill mansions, which were already on their way out. Post fire, Rincon Hill languished but eventually became an industrial/maritime district serving the Embarcadero wharfs. Things really started to go down hill in South Beach in the 50s with the construction of the Embarcadero Freeway (surrounding the neighborhood on three sides by freeway ramps) and the decline of the maritime industry. From the 1960s to the mid-1980s, while the nearby Financial District was built up, Rincon Hill was largely ignored.

Fortunately things started to slowly improve for South Beach. The 1989 earthquake had the positive urban affect of its disassembly which helped removed a major physical and psychological barrier to the rest of Downtown. An upzoning in 1985 lead to some new housing and office (albeit with poor urban design) and a 2005 revision helped create a Vancouver esh mixed-use downtown district. South Beach is now a highly attractive and walkable urban neighborhood sitting on the edge of the San Francisco Bay, Financial District, and South Market neighborhood.

There are still some areas of improvement for South Beach. The district has limited schooling options making it a bit hard to raise a family here. While they are a high level of affordable rental units, modestly priced for sale options is non-existence with 1 bedroom condos starting at 700K.

Click here to view my East Cut album and here to view my South Beach Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Excellent ADA infrastructure overall.
* Great public transit and overall walkability. Great bike lane system and a plethora of dedicated bikes (both electric and non electric available).
* Great racial diversity with just as many Asians as Whites and a large Hispanic population.
* About a quarter of all rental units are rent controlled but overall about 60% of all units are affordable. This certainly shows in the data as the median rent is around $1,700 (lower than the median Citywide).
* No large parks in the district (or nearby ) but plenty of excellent medium parks (i.e. Salesforce, Yerba Buena Garden * Public Square, San Fran. Bay Trail and waterfront parks, Sue Bierman Park, and Maritime Park). Also plenty of Dwtn plazas and pocket parks throughout.
* Some Homeless issues in the district, but overall it is very safe and low crime neighborhood. In 2015 the district created an improvement district.
* Not a ton of historic architecture but a decent amount of attractive warehouses remain. Lots of dense urban infill with good urban form and pretty good aesthetics.
* Culturally great array of restaurants, bars, cafes, and breweries, some art galleries, and several great museums (i.e. Mexican Museum, SFMOA, CA Historic Society, Museum of African Diaspora, and the San Fran Railway Museum). Really no theaters within South Beach but plenty nearby in the Dwtn area.
* Retail amenities including: 3 full service supermarkets within or on the edge of the district, several drug stores, post office, Ferry Building (a market with plenty of shops and stores), lots of banks, several book stores. Plenty of major shopping areas just outside of South Beach (Union Square, Embarcadero Center, Crocker Galleria, Metreon, Westfield Mall, and two targets.
* Generally excellent urban form with the exception of a couple surface lots and some cold modern bldgs on the streetscape. Even better urban streetscape as much of it is new.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Decent generational and economic diversity. Certainly a high overall medium income but still a 10& poverty rate and many other modest income earners.
* For sale housing is very expensive. The cheapest are 1-bedroom condos selling for around 700K. 1-bedrooms typically sell btwn 1M and 1.5M, 2-bedrooms anywhere from 1.5M-2.5 M, and 3-bedrooms generally 2 & 3 Million.
* Market rents start around 3K for 1-bedrooms, $4,000s for 2-bedrooms, and 5K+ for 3 bedrooms.
* Only a handful of schools within South Beach. Some still walkable in adjacent districts but none are large schools.

San Francisco- Duboce Triangle and Lower Haight

I combined the two smaller neighborhoods of Lower Haight and Duboce Triangle and also the smaller area to the eastern slopes of Corona Heights Park.

The name “Lower Haight” derives from the significant elevation change as Haight Street climbs steeply from Scott Street to Buena Vista Park. The district is also referred to as “Pine Valley” in the 70s because of all the pine trees. The district was built up mostly in the late 19th century and fortunately was mostly outside of the 1906 Fire helping it retain much of its more ornate Victoria architecture. The main business district is along Haight St. but a couple good blocks along Divisadero and plenty of business mixed throughout the district.

Duboce Triangle – is south of Lower Haight between Market and Duboce Avenue. The area is sometimes known as Mint Hill as it hosts a US Mint Branch. Market Street is a major commercial corridor that the district is blessed to have providing many retail assets. Market hosts the bulk of in-fill in both neighborhoods and most of it is of a very high quality. Some very attractive homes along both Corona Heights and Buena Vista Park.

Both Lower Haight and Duboce Triangle are urban neighborhoods of a very high quality and walkability. The biggest downside to these districts is that it is impossible for most to be able to purchase a home here. Fortunately many rent controlled units remain in the neighborhood. The district could also use more schools, and better economic and generational diversity. Other than that, not a whole lot to complain about.

Here click to view my Lower Haight Album and here to view my Duboce Albums on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Like most of San Francisco great density.
* ADA infrastructure is great as sidewalks are generally comfortable everywhere. Here and there a couple intersections without modern ADA curbs and some hilly streets along the parks.
* Excellent public transit access and very convenient access to the Financial district across all modes. Also decent access to Dwtn Oakland via driving, public transit and even biking.
* Good amount of bike lanes but wonderful access to bike stations and dockless electric bikes throughout the district.
* Good racial diversity.
* Around 65-70% of units are rent controlled. In the neighborhood. Medium rents are around $2,100.
* Very good park amenities including convenient access to Buena Vista, Corona Heights Park, Almo Square, and the Panhandle. Plenty of smaller parklets as well.
* Good cultural amenities including a great array of restaurants, bars & cafes, breweries, plenty of art galleries, and a couple live music venues.
* Great neighborhood amenities including several full service supermarkets and lots of grocerias, several drug stores, hardware store, fitness centers, tons of boutiques &small retail, lots of banks, several antique and home good stores, a major hospital, and 3-4 book stores, and a decent amount of churches.
* Great tree canopy.
* Gorgeous Historic Architecture (helps that it was locate outside of the 1906 fire). Not much modern in-fill but some great buildings along Market Street.
* Several schools within or near the district but not a ton. Very walkable of course.
* Great urban form and streetscaping throughout.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* High income district with low poverty rates. Some income diversity but not great. Also pretty low pct of family households.
* About 30% of rentals (non-rental controlled) are astronomically high. 1-bedrooms lease for around 3K-3.5K, 2-bedrooms 3K & 4Ks, and 3-bedrooms in the 4Ks-5Ks.
* For sale prices are astronomical. Cheapest units are small 1-bedroom condos selling for 800-900K. The vast majority of for sale units are selling above 1 M and maxing out around 2.5 M.
* No theaters or cinemas, or museums within the district but several in surrounding areas.
* Some crime issues in the past but that was at least a decade ago. Feels now like a very safe place.