Yesterday was about Nob Hill so today I will talk about Pacific Heights, which is considered the most prestigious neighborhood in San Francisco. So make sure you have your checkbook handy if you want to live here:)
Pacific Heights is a fairly large neighborhood composed of about 116 blocks bound by Green Street to the north, Van Ness Avenue to the east, California Street to the south, and Presidio Avenue and then Lyon Street to the west.
Neighboring districts include Cow Hollow to the north, Russian Hill and Nob Hill to the east, Lower Pacific Heights to the south, and Presidio Heights and the 1,480-acre site of the Presidio to the west.
Pacific Heights has grid pattern streets carved into generally hilly terrain. Portions of the district situated near Van Ness Avenue and California Street have gentle slopes, but most of the neighborhood has moderately steep topography and rocky soil. As a result of the topography, some of the sites at higher elevations offer good views of the San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, Alcatraz, and/or surrounding districts. Views can add major price or rent premiums to properties in the subject's district. All else being equal, views of the bay and the bridge produce the largest premiums.
A plurality of the neighborhood has been zoned for and developed with single family residences. However, large parts of Pacific Heights have been zoned for two-family residential use or multi-family development, and those sections of the district include duplexes, condominium projects, apartment buildings, and a few stock cooperatives.
In general, the areas zoned for multi-family use are situated toward the east side of the district, particularly in the corridor between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street and portions of the corridor between Octavia and Webster streets. Commercial uses within the district are concentrated mainly on the two major thoroughfares, Van Ness Avenue and California Street. Commercial uses typically are located within mixed use buildings composed of ground floor commercial uses and upper floor residential apartments or condominiums.
Buildings within Pacific Heights vary considerably in age, design, quality, condition, and size. However, many of the dwelling units were developed in the period between 1900 and 1930. Structures built in those decades encompass a diverse mix of styles, including San Francisco Stick Victorian, Italiante Victorian, Queen Anne Victorian, Edwardian, Federal, Neoclassical, Mediterranean Revival, Second Empire, and other designs popular during those eras. More contemporary designs are interspersed through the neighborhood, but even much of the newer construction reflects the prevailing western European-influenced architecture predominant in the early decades of the 20th century.
Housing prices and apartment rental rates in Pacific Heights tend to be among the highest of any neighborhood in San Francisco. All else being equal, apartment rents are considerably higher than the majority of neighborhoods in San Francisco.
