8/8/2019 "Living the High Life"

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2 0 S F i S | San Francisco Chronicle | NOVEMBER 2008 NOVEMBER 2008 | San Francisco Chronicle | S F i S 21 Advertising Feature

By GabrianaMarks

Despite a real estate market in flux, high-riseliving continues to climb in downtown SanFrancisco. What sets these buildings apart are

their amenities and location. Close to public trans-portation, world-class restaurants, shopping andentertainment, these homes boast an ideal locationfor work and play. Many of the homes feature pan-oramic views and each community offers amenitiescomparable to five-star hotels.

“These high-rises incorporate retail with housingand provide common areas for residents to socialize,”explains Jordan Sills, CEO of J2Properties, an industri-al and retail developer in San Francisco. “You can’tfind this elsewhere. It is truly a low-stress lifestyle.”

Soma Grand, a 23-story residential tower that sellswhat they refer to as, “lifestyle condos,” is located at1085 Mission St., between 6th and 7th streets. “Theneighborhood is one of the reasons people buy here,”says Adam Chall, a developer for Soma Grand. “It is arapidly transitioning neighborhood. Four new bou-tique hotels just opened up on the corner by Joie deVivre hospitality. There are all sorts of cool, littlestores and restaurants opening in the neighborhood.”

The exterior features the city’s largest work ofglass art. “Realm” is a 5,000-square-foot, color-infused glass mural designed by Bay Area glass artistDorothy Lenehan. The Reaves Gallery in the building’sentrance also hosts rotating art exhibitions.

A generous, private outdoor space at Soma Grandprovides residents with a fire pit, outdoor heating, abarbecue and plenty of seating. The landscaped deckalso has a beautiful fountain wall and a hot tub.

Residents here also enjoy the community room, agreat place to host events or parties. It includes achef’s kitchen, comfortable seating, a large-screen TVand a sound system equipped for iPods.

A treatment room for massages or yoga classesmakes it easy to unwind after work, and each ma-chine in the fitness center has an individual TV screenso residents can watch whatever they like.

Coming next spring, acclaimed chef Charles Phanof The Slanted Door fame, will open a restaurant/

lounge and lunchtime noodle bar. Still under construc-tion, the yet-to-be-named establishment will include abar made from a huge slab of cypress.

One of Soma Grand’s most prized amenities istheir partnership with Joie de Vivre Hospitality. Com-plimentary Peet’s Coffee and Tea is served in thelobby, and the concierge is on hand to arrange avariety of services.

“They can tell you who can walk your dog, whocan cater your party, who can come give you a mas-sage, just about anything you need,” says Chall.

Many of the homes feature views spanning 210degrees — from the Transamerica Pyramid to TwinPeaks.

Across downtown from Soma Grand sits TheInfinity, a collection of 365 luxury condominiumresidences with spectacular city and bay views. Thetwo towers and two mid-rise buildings are located just off the Embarcadero at the corner of Spear andFolsom streets.

“The inspiration for the building is the location —by the bay,” says Leo Medeiros, sales manager for TheInfinity. “The building itself has curves; t he curvedwindows really bring the outdoors in. There’s amazingnatural sunlight and really incredible views.”

“We love the convenience,” explained Greg andLaura Klenske, who moved into their Infiniti two-bedroom home in late May.“We also really liked the layoutand the amenities are great.We use the gym and the pool alot.”

The Infinity provides con-cierge services, a 75-footindoor lap pool, a club lounge,private screening room, busi-ness center, deeded under-ground parking and a fitnesscenter. A new 9,000-square-foot restaurant from the culi-nary team at Boulevard is setto open on-site in spring.

Distinctive model homesfeature the winning designs from the nationwideDwell Magazine Design Contest. From the hundredsof designs submitted, two local students were amongthe winners of this contest that included that incorpo-rated the design of the building. Interiors also flauntviews with floor-to-ceiling windows and wraparounddecks. “The open floor plans really allow you to becreative with your furnishings,” adds Medeiros.

The most impressive and decadent of the newhigh-rises, Millennium Tower is a 60-story luxuryresidential tower featuring every amenity imaginable.Currently under construction at 301 Mission Street,

between Fremont and Beale streets, the community isnow 20 to 25 percent sold, and new home ownerscan plan to move into their new homes in May orJune.

Millennium Tower offers the ultimate in luxury,catering their residents’ every whim. The Club Levelfeatures a plethora of services. Besides a concierge,there is a screening room with a 100-inch high-definition projector screen, a climate-controlled winecellar where residents can securely store their c ollec-tion and a tasting room designed to look like an

inverted wine barrel. They even offer an on-sitenutritionist.

The Tower features a 5,500-square-foot fitnesscenter operated by The Sport Club/LA. The fitnesscenter includes yoga and Pilates studios, massageroom, steam rooms, cardio equipment, free weights,locker rooms and a saline (chlorine-free), 75-foot,indoor lap pool with skylights above. The conciergecan arrange for a full array of spa services, personaltraining and private yoga and Pilates sessions. There isalso a children’s playroom and a private, landscapedterrace.

In case that’s not enough, Millennium Towers alsofeatures a 2,500-square-foot owners’ lounge and anexclusive, resident-only dining room serviced bycelebrity chef Michael Mina’s new, wine-themed

restaurant, rn74, set to open on theground floor of in spring ’09. In theprivate dining room, residents canselect from the rn74 menu or order adish from the special residents-onlymenu. They can also reserve theprivate dining room for specialfunctions or even a family dinner.

“The restaurant really ties intothe exceptional lifestyle of the build-ing,” says Diana Nelson, salesexecutive.

Millennium Tower sits acrossfrom the soon-to-be-revampedTransbay Terminal, which developersare calling the Grand Central of t he

West. A beautiful 5.5-acre park is proposed for thetop of the new transit terminal, adds Nelson. Withinwalking distance of all public transit — from Muni toBART to CalTrain — the community is set in the heartof the Financial District. Underground parking is alsoavailable.

Many high-rise buildings are actually more“green” than other buildings because they are builtwith environmental factors in mind, such as maximiz-ing natural light.

These buildings also adhere to San Francisco’s“transit-first” policies by providing plenty of bicycle

storage and easy access to a wide variety of publictransportation. Many also house car-sharing services,such as City CarShare or Zipcar, within their parkinggarages.

Soma Grand, The Infinity and Millennium Toweralso benefit from their locations’ “walkability.” Notonly is San Francisco rated the most “walkable” cityin the nation (www.walkscore.com), but topping thelist of the city’s most “walkable” neighborhoods arethe Financial District, downtown and SoMa withscores of 99, 98 and 96, respectively.

Living the High LifeResort-typeamenities includingworld-classrestaurants, on-callmassage andvintner programs,and locations thatput residents in theheart of SanFrancisco, set thesehigh-rise residencesabove the rest

Soma Grand offers one- to three-bed-room homes with up to three bathrooms.Prices begin in the mid-$500,000s. Formore information, call (415) 252-5888 orvisit www.somagrand.com .

A yet-to-be-named restaurant/lounge andnoodle bar from acclaimed chef CharlesPhan will be opening in spring.

Residents can utilize concierge servicesprovided by Joie de Vivre Hospitality, an

expert in providing one-of-a-kind ameni-ties and personalized services, with morethan 30 boutique hotels throughoutCalifornia.

The Infinity’s homes range from studiosto three-bedrooms with 536 to 3,364square feet, starting in the $600,000s. Formore information, call (415) 512-7700 orvisit www.The-Infinity.com.

The Infinity will be featuring a restaurantfrom the acclaimed culinary team at Bou-levard this spring.

Residents can enjoy an indoor, 75-foot lappool with natural light pouring down fromskylights giving the feeling of being out-doors. The pool also features an intricatelydesigned mosaic wall and floor-to-ceilingwindows that provide a spacious andrelaxing ambiance.

Millennium Tower features one- tothree-bedroom residences with up to threebaths and 660 to 5,000 square feet.Pricing starts in the $700,000s and ex-ceeds $10 million. For more information,call (415) 989-3333, or visit www.millen- niumtowersf.com .

Celebrity chef Michael Mina’s new restau-

rant, rn74, is set to open next spring witha fantastic wine program.

Residents can store their personal winecollections in the private, temperature-controlled cellar. Everyone in the buildingwill have storage for a dozen bottles andthe concierge is available to assist withreplenishment.

Many high-rise buildingsare actually more “green”

than other buildingsbecause they are built with

environmental factors inmind, such as maximizing

natural light.

Above: Millennium Tower, still under construction just south of Market Street, will climb 60 stories and provide residents with abird’s eye view of the city. Above right: Homes at The Infinity boast panoramic vistas of the city and the bay, includingunobstructed views of the Bay Bridge.

 Advertising Feature

Residents at The Infinity can unwind from the day with a relaxing massage at home, arranged by the on-site concierge service. Millennium Tower features a 75-foot, indoor lap pool set beneath an expansive skylight. Soma Grand homeowners can enjoy a state-of-the-art fitness center and beautifully landscaped, private outdoor sundeck with barbecue area.

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