Office chic?

[jp1]

So, this listing showed up in my facebook feed for whatever reason. It was just so, ummm, remarkable that I just had to share. I can't imagine dropping over half a million for it. And apparently no one else can either since it's been on the market for 143 days. Aside from the place being dreadful the location has approximately zero curb appeal. It's a sort of strip mallish building with a bigger strip mall across the street and other shopping related businesses, including a gas station, across the street in the other direction. On the plus side there are three major grocery stores right there (whole foods, trader joes and a mom and pop whole foods style place) plus lots of bars/restaurants/transit in close walking distance, so if convenience was a key factor for a buyer this place definitely at least has that going for it. But geez, they didn't even bother to get rid of the office style drop ceiling or industrial grade gray carpet.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/777-Grand-Ave-Ste-204_San-Rafael_CA_94901_M95350-99017?from=srp-map

[Tradd]

Ugh. That is awful.

[bae]

Oh that is dreadful!

[ApatheticNoMore]

I would say "well at least it's cheap", but actually that's just the list price, with those high HOA fees it's not at all.

[iris lilies]

I would say "well at least it's cheap", but actually that's just the list price, with those high HOA fees it's not at all.
Dude. That isn’t cheap.

[catherine]

That's hilarious. I guess it's paradise for the workaholic. Instead of working from home, you can eat and sleep at work. Someone will love that. They can probably get away with 100% of the home office tax deduction, too.

[iris lilies]

That's hilarious. I guess it's paradise for the workaholic. Instead of working from home, you can eat and sleep at work. Someone will love that. They can probably get away with 100% of the home office tax deduction, too.

I just assume someone is desperate to sell or lease their commercial space. Commercial real estate is in the toilet these days.

[Tybee]

I admit I like the proximity to Starbucks.

[happystuff]

Interesting. LOL

[jp1]

I just assume someone is desperate to sell or lease their commercial space. Commercial real estate is in the toilet these days.

Yeah, having Starbucks downstairs and the TJ's and other stores so close would be really awesome. But dang, everything about the place itself is just awful. It looks exactly like every small office I've ever set foot in. Even that kitchen looks like a holdover from the office except that it has appliances. There was probably some sort of mini kitchen in that exact spot that just got replaced and slightly expanded with what's there now. It looks like you can't even put the fridge to the left of the "kitchen" because the thermostat is on the wall there.

It's a shame it's on the front of the building so the balcony faces the parking lot and street instead of the canal and Mt Tamalpais (the big mountain behind the building in all the drone pics. It's the highest point in Marin County). That's both a sucky view and means lots of traffic noise since the street is the main street in and out of the east half of San Rafael from the highway.

I would never in a million years buy this place but since it's only 10 minutes from here I'm so tempted to make an appointment for a viewing just so I can find out from the realtor what the deal is with the place.

[Teacher Terry]

Fugly!!

[JaneV2.0]

A good interior designer could probably do something with it, but I gotta say it doesn't have much curb appeal...

[mschrisgo2]

That is truly one of the ugliest spaces I have ever seen!

And I seem to remember seeing advertising for that same building about 10 years ago, also ugly and everyone was saying, No possible way

[jp1]

That is truly one of the ugliest spaces I have ever seen!

And I seem to remember seeing advertising for that same building about 10 years ago, also ugly and everyone was saying, No possible way

The zoning isn't likely to change over time so if the building is now zoned live/work it probably was 10 years ago too, so it's not at all surprising that you may have seen a listing for a unit in this building back then. If I cared enough I'd dig through zillow to see if other units in the building have sold over the past several years, and if so what the details were. But that seems like too much of a project considering that I have zero interest in buying this place.

[SiouzQ.]

That ceiling is horrendous - one of the most depressing living places I have ever seen...

[jp1]

That ceiling is horrendous - one of the most depressing living places I have ever seen...

We’ve all heard of work from home. The vibe of this place is feels more like live at work.