| PASU N DAY, NOV EM BER 15, 2009T H E E X A M I N ER 3
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CONTACTS
Maryann Bologna Peninsula
415.359.2652
mbologna@sfexaminer.com
Sonya Winterhalder San Francisco
415 359 2776
swinterhalder@sfexaminer.com
Larry Rosen Reporter
415.359.2754
lrosen@sfexaminer.com
144634
356 Darrell Road, Hillsborough
PRICE REDUCED! Completely remodeled single level home w/fantastic
kitchen,familyroom,4BR/3.5BA,largelevelyard.
$3,095,000
250 Woodridge Rd, Hillsborough
1.9 acres with bay views, completely remodeled 10,000 sf home, library,
exerciserm,winecellar,inlawapt,mediaroom,pool,spa&bocceballcourt
$6,695,000
730 Brewer Dr, Hillsborough
Remodeled 4BR/4.5 BA French Colonial with family room, guest quarters
withseparateentrance,pool,spa,outdoorfireplace&BBQ
$4,495,000
553 Shoal Circle, Redwood Shores
Lightfilled2storyTownhome,2BR/2.5BA,kitchenw/breakfastarea, private
patio,attachedgarage
$619,000
251 Park Road, Burlingame 650.342.1141 � clayherman.com
Letmehelpyouachieveyourrealestategoals!
Susan Herman
..
sueherman@clayherman.com
OPEN SUN 2-4
With apologies to Dos Equis,
the most interesting man in
the world has nothing on the
Albion Castle
Someone please
buy the Albion
Castle. I'm beg-
ging you. It's the
coolest property
presently for sale in
San Francisco. It's
probably the cool-
est property for sale
in California. Save
for a few fog-shrouded Medieval cas-
tles on the market in Ireland, it might be
the coolest property for sale right now
in the world.
Name another listing that would
prompt a 12-year-old boy to give up
free computer time."It has underground
caves,"is all he needs to hear.Two hours
later, he's standing next to one of the
Albion Castle's four underground cis-
terns, sampling some natural spring
water.
How many San Francisco listings
include a ten-foot tall painting of Abra-
ham Lincoln? How many have two-foot
thick adobe walls? How many drip
roughly 10,000 gallons of fresh water
into San Francisco Bay each day? One;
that's how many.
If you read the Examiner business
section last Thursday, you already know
that the Albion Castle was built in 1870
as the Albion Ale & Porter Brewery.
You know that it eventually became the
Mountain Spring & Water Company,
and that it was purchased at auction in
2005 by a party wanting to re-establish
it as a brewery and perhaps a restaurant.
That owner restored the main house
(the castle), updated the kitchen and
lived in baronial splendor until shift-
ing her attention to her Wine Country
interests. She turned to Charlene
Attard, a San Francisco native and
Alain Pinel agent, to handle the sale.
Attard knew what she was getting
into when she agreed to represent the
Albion Castle."To start, there are no
comps,"she laughs. The Albion Cas-
tle, located at 881 Innes Avenue, is in
Hunter's Point, site of few $2.9 million
properties. Nor are there many six-
story castles located nearby. The best
appraiser in the world would have trou-
ble assigning value to water rights and
underground caves.
So who buys the Albion Castle?"It
would make a great bed and breakfast,"
suggests Attard. I think it could poten-
tially be the most unique brewpub in
town. Its stone wall-enclosed courtyard
would make for some excellent al fresco
dining.To that end, the next buyer
receives rights to the name"Albion Ale
& Porter Brewery."
"Maybe the Speakeasy Brewery
could buy it,"suggests Attard, whose
marketing strategy includes interna-
tional exposure.
It has a bay view, a Viking range, a
two-car garage and is located near Len-
nar's Hunter's Point redevelopment site.
If the cards fall right, the Albion Castle
could someday be a new, hip neighbor-
hood's best brewpub; or a B & B; or a
city-owned source of valuable water
reserves; or the site of the freakiest Hal-
loween party in the history of parties.
Someone, please; buy it.
lrosen@sfexaminer.com
Larry Rosen
Examiner Real
Estate Writer
The uncompable property
TALKING REAL ESTATE
How did you get your kicks in 1976? Perhaps you were not
even yet born.That year, as the U.S. celebrated its bicentennial,
Coldwell Banker's Steve Bellumori was beginning his career in
real estate.This year, Bellumori marks
34 years in the business � all of them in
the Menlo Park/Atherton area. Bellumori,
who consistently ranks among the top
five agents in Coldwell's El Camino
Real, Menlo Park office, has also made
a name for himself as an "agent's agent," always ready to advise
and mentor other agents.We tip our patriotic, bicentennial hat
in honor of Bellumori's 34 years in the biz.
Got the rising unemployment numbers blues? Maybe you
should mosey on down to an Exit Realty job fair. Exit, a national
brokerage based on a "unique formula of single-level residu-
als," plans to hold 20 simultaneous job fairs (including fairs in
peninsula
locations
Daly City and
Millbrae) on
November 21. From there, they hope to hire 1,000 prospects,
then quickly slam them into a 10-month internship program.
Sound like your way to "exit" joblessness? Pre-register for a job
fair at www.ExitRealtyJobFair.com, or call Harry Hui at (650)
376-5555, extension 103.
In a move that seems designed to break the hearts of
SoCal-hating Niner purists around the Bay, Joe and Jennifer
Montana have put their 9,700 square-foot Calistoga home on
the market for the ironic sum of $49
million. Coldwell Bankers Previews Inter-
national is representing the home, which
sits on 500 acres in both Sonoma
and Napa Counties. Why will this move
break the hearts of local pigskin fans?
Because the Montanas `aim is to decamp for the much-loathed
Los Angeles area, where sons Nick and Nate both presently
attend school (and play quarterback).All I'm saying is that Steve
Young still lives local.
Speaking of crazily expensive homes, some local press is
all ga-ga over Malin Giddings' listing at
1772 Vallejo Street, in San Francisco.
The Burr Mansion, was built in 1875
and survived the '06 and '89 `quakes to
bring restored glory into the 21st cen-
tury. It can be yours for $6.775 million,
fourteen years after being purchased
by the biggest of big-time local lawyers for $1.3 million. Here at
Brand X, we dig the mod makeover of 1711 Broderick, located
about 12 blocks west. On the market for a mere $2.695, what
this Victorian lacks in breeding it makes up for with clean, crisp
style.
Please send your real estate insider news and tips to lrosen@sfexaminer.com
ON THE MARKET by Larry Rosen
Steve Bellumori Joe Montana
Malin Gidding
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