There are fixer-uppers and then there are fixer-uppers. However,an Italian palazzo-style home currently on the market in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood could take the prize for the priciest fixer-upper in the city’s history.
The palatial, 7-bedroom house at 2901 Broadway hasn’t had its heating and plumbing systems replaced since 1927, features an un-renovated kitchen and bathrooms and lacks a security system. But the house is being listed for $55 million—twice as much as the most expensive house ever sold in the city.
The house does have some definite perks to justify the huge price tag. The living room has a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island and neighbors include such well known figures as Gordon Getty and Larry Ellison. Designed by architect Henry Clay Smith and Joseph Strauss, who was also an engineer on the Golden Gate Bridge, the house includes a tennis court, a massive stone staircase leading up to the property’s entrance and plenty of leftover glamor from the roaring twenties.
But according to one listing agent who spoke to Bloomberg news service, the property probably needs “a few million” in renovations to be a luxury property. Contrast this listing to the current record-holder for a home sale in the city, the $25.5 million sale of a 16,000-square-foot home sold in 2005 by J. Crew Group head Mickey Drexler; that property was completely renovated and featured a Roman-style pool in the basement.
Still, the seller, Gladyne Mitchell, may yet see an interested buyer at this price. After all, there are many who enjoy the thrill of a fixer-upper, no matter how massive the scale.
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