In an apparent effort to shake off its bad reputation, San Francisco’s 33 Tehama luxury high-rise has changed its name—and its address.
The 35-floor tower in SoMa first flooded two years ago, displacing around 609 residents who were forced to move or stay in hotels. Residents were told at the time that the earliest they would be able to move back was late 2022 or early 2023. Residents began moving back in on March 18, developer Hines said.
But more chaos followed; nanny cams caught workers snooping through apartments, stealing belongings. Then came the lawsuits.
Now, Texas-based developer Hines has changed the building’s name to SperaSF. Its address has also been modified to 39 Tehama St.
The renamed building has a fun new website, replete with a vibey slideshow highlighting the luxury amenities and plush homes. Zillow listings to rent the apartments show one-bedroom units starting north of $3,000. Two-beds go for over $4,000. The original 33Tehama.com website has been taken offline. The building was 75% occupied as of May, Hines said.
Former tenant Marina Bianchi said Hines still owes her rent and deposit money.
“I’m not gonna go back there—not a chance,” said Bianchi, who now lives elsewhere in the city. “I don’t trust them anymore.”
Bianchi said she is aware of a handful of tenants that moved back into the building as they enjoy the “fantastic amenities,” but added she wasn’t impressed by the name change.
“They changed the address before; it was 41 Tehama; they picked 33 for alliteration,” she said. “Now they just wanna get away from when you Google ‘33 Tehama,’ it’s a pretty lame marketing maneuver.” City planning records show the address of the building’s parcel listed as 35-39 Tehama St.; the property is also listed as “aka 41 Tehama.”
Hines said they could not comment on individual rents.
Another former tenant, Ankur Sharma, told ABC7 they decided not to move back into the building after their rent was raised by 50%. Hines said some rents went up and some went down during market adjustment from 2022.
“We are turning the page and marking a new era for the property. In the last 18 months, we have completed extensive work on the property inside and out, including address changes,” a Hines spokesperson said via email. “In addition to the restoration and renovation work, new signage and signature art are coming this summer, as well as enhanced activity programming and concierge offerings.”
The new name, Spera, reflects the building’s “360-degree lifestyle complemented by our unmatched combination of location, team, amenities and services.”
The name and address change has not yet served to totally rescue the property’s online reputation.
The building currently has a 1 out of 5-star rating on Google reviews, with the top comment calling out the “two years of displacement and nightmares residents had faced due to the poor management of the building.”
“A building can choose to call itself whatever it likes, the question is whether other people respect that,” said Dan Sider, chief of staff for the city’s Planning Department.