1G Lone Mountain The actual Lone Mountain refers to the hill (mountain) where USF’s administration is located. That parcel, which was bought from a defunct college by USF in the 1970s for $5 million at the time, has some of the most unexpected views in the entire city and is among the most manicured gardens and grounds we’ve seen. But the only people living on the actual Lone Mountain would be USF people in dorms. But the area immediately adjacent to campus (where Turk Street is no longer a street but is now Turk Boulevard) has a few short blocks of largely Spanish-Mediterranean revival houses that can be quite charming, cute and alluring. To us, this is the one of the few neighborhoods that could as close to resembling a college town because you’ll see USF sports fields in the background. The other part of Lone Mountain bleed into the other surrounding areas, like the clutch of Victorians and 1920s-1940s stucco-clad houses closer to the Inner Richmond.
1D A Stroll Through the Lake District, erm, Street District A Lake Street listing will have a 50/50 chance of being a house or a condominium with about 25-40 of each selling every year. If there are any income properties in the area, they tend to be 2-unit building (duplexes) with the occasional triplex or quadplex. Houses are still on the larger side with the median/average house having 4 beds, 3.5 baths with about 3,400 sqft of space set on larger parcels with about 3,000 sqft of space. Condominiums here tend of have 3 beds, 2 baths and 1,600 sqft of living area. People like the area because of its feel which is due, in large part, to its tree-lined streets, wider streets (although Lake Street is now a permanent slow street) and varied, yet rich architecture that is a mix for sure but a style that favors the Arts and Craft movement. Some homes have been spectacularly updated while others were updated in the 90s and 80s and dressed up for sale today (meaning they too could be upgraded). If you do any renovations, be cognizant of applicable permits, get the support of your neighbors and think about how best to use that lower space on garage levels. You’ll understand what we mean if you’re considering just a project, which will cost a lot because of the sheer size of many homes and the scope of work that many may need. Set in between Presidio Terrace to the north down to the south part of the USF campus are three distinct and relatively smaller enclaves of Jordan Park, Laurel Heights and Lone Mountain. 1C Jordan Park is known for its angular, grander scale houses set on three perfectly straight streets: Palm, Jordan and Commonwealth. About 10-12 single-family houses sell in Jordan Park each year. The homes that sell usually have 4 beds, 4 baths and 2,800-3,000 sqft of living area on larger, nearly 3,600 sqft-sized parcels. They are big. On the inside, you’re likely to see larger, grander living areas, formal dining rooms, entry foyers, big kitchens (more likely if a house has been remodeled) with a fireplace-centered living room. Bedrooms are upstairs clustered around a center staircase. The feel has that bigger brownstone/federalist row home or something you’d find on the west side of London in Kensington, Mayfair or even St. John’s Wood. 1C Laurel Heights is another USF-adjacent, curved topography, buried-powerline clutch of larger 1930s and 1940s houses and two-unit buildings that have a suburban feel. That’s probably thanks to the wider-frontage parcels and because the street scape is dominated by driveways and garage doors. The homes here are wide and big with varying details on the inside that may have been updated to something modern or something that has held up well over time. You will have the issues with homes dating from the 1930s and on but not the Victorian era issues (if you have any). Some homes may have views and the area has that feel that someone is always coming or going but in that suburban way if that makes sense.
