Complementing the high-end appliances are historical windows restored on-site during the redevelopment and a near endless list of amenities, including a fitness center, the aforementioned bike shop, a wine cellar and chef’s kitchen, a yoga and Pilates studio, and a massage room with masseuses regularly on staff to sooth the aching muscles of the Presidio Landmark’s active, outdoorsy residents, while private resident courtyards with fire pits and hot tubs take full advantage of San Francisco’s chilly, misty evenings.

Into the Fold

Picky Bay Area renters have embraced the project, rushing the property as units are slowly released by ForestCity. With no comparable mid-rise luxury in the immediate submarket, the firm is taking its time to stabilize the property, beginning with middle-floor units and working its way to the lower-end ground-floor apartments and super high-end penthouses. After a grand opening in the third quarter of 2010, the company released floors three and four, powering the property to a 20 percent occupancy with two-thirds of the community yet to be opened for lease-up. Rents currently range between $1,800 and $3,500 for apartments and an incredible $7,800 for the adjacent townhouse units.

The redevelopment also restores the building to its ’30s-era grandeur. ForestCity replaced some 20,000 bricks of six different colors, and limestone fascia used on the exterior wasn’t simply matched: It was sourced from the same Indiana quarry that provided the original stone.

“When you go to do historic tax credits, you always have to figure out the individual importance of every decision,” Ratner says. “It’s a jigsaw puzzle, but that’s what gets you into development like this. Creativity expands when you give it boundaries, and when you go from a 90 percent solution to a 96 percent solution, it begins to show up in the rents, and you have to think the final results are spectacular.”