Residents of a San Francisco neighborhood known as one of the hottest real estate spots for tech executives are not thrilled about the latest abode under construction.
The cube-shaped mansion at 801 Sanchez St. sits on a hilltop in picturesque Dolores Heights, and its stark, geometric design has upset residents who say it doesn’t fit in with the character of the neighborhood, where narrow, shingled cottages and Victorians are rubbing shoulders with the nouveau-riche dwellings.
“I think it’s absolutely hideous,” said one neighbor, Linda, who declined to share her last name. “And you can quote me on that.”
The house is owned by Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger, according to a neighbor who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Noe Valley Voice reported the same in April 2019, citing anonymous sources. The project foreman who was at the site when The Standard visited Tuesday — who shared only his first name, Sam — said he could not confirm details about the home or its owner because he was bound by a nondisclosure agreement.
‘It doesn’t fit San Francisco’
The home was planned in 2019 and required the demolition of a stately house on the plot, which was fully cleared in mid-2022.
The new home’s dark wood-and-glass facade has gone up, and the garden has been put in place, a neighbor said. A worker at the site said construction is expected to be finished by December.
The Standard made the rounds to ask neighbors what they thought of the place.
“Oh, god, every time I pass there I’m like, ‘Look at this behemoth building,’ ” said real estate agent Eileen Bermingham, calling the mansion “over the top.” “All it’s missing is a moat.”
Others were exasperated, rather than furious, at the design.
“Whaaaaat!” said dogwalker Monica Prado, 26, after seeing pictures of the prior home and renderings of the new plans. “It’s too modern. There’s no pizzazz. It doesn’t fit San Francisco.”
“It’s all boxes now,” said Eric Holeb, 69, who lives around the corner on 21st Street. “And it’s all three materials: wood, brick, metal.”
Holeb, whose family has lived in the neighborhood since 1956, said other well-to-do people have peppered his street with metal-and-glass cubic dwellings.
According to the city Planning Department, the home at 801 Sanchez St. is 7,874 square feet and has three bedrooms, four bathrooms and two powder rooms. It will have a “library garden,” along with a bigger garden and lower terrace with 5,200 square feet of open space. Planning documents filed with the city also describe a reflecting pool in the backyard and a yoga room and playroom on the second floor.
‘Little tech row’
While the plans are readily available, the owner’s identity has proved elusive — apparently by design. Tax records show that two LLCs — Woof Hall and Square Seven Management — own the property.
Square Seven is managed by two high-level executives at Iconiq Capital, an investment portfolio company serving high-profile tech clients, including Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg. Krieger, according to Business Insider, is a former client of Iconiq.
In Woof Hall’s initial business filing, the lawyer who manages Krieger’s Future Justice Fund is listed as its registered agent.
Krieger is hardly the first techie to buy a home in the neighborhood. A real estate agent previously told The Standard that Dolores Heights was a quaint, family-oriented neighborhood before Zuckerberg purchased a home there in 2012. The Meta boss sold it in 2022 — he’s now building a compound on the western shore of Lake Tahoe — but other Meta executives still call the neighborhood home.
“That whole block there has become this little tech row,” Bermingham said. “I think people have gotten used to it.”
Dolores Heights is coveted real estate thanks to its striking views of downtown San Francisco. Longtime residents have opposed the modern designs of techie homes before. Holeb said the designers of the house across from him had to make changes after facing community backlash, since the proposed roof garden blocked the views of downtown.
Holeb said he understands the desire to build modern homes, pointing out that many of the older ones on the surrounding hills aren’t suited to 21st-century living.
“A lot of these places were built before indoor plumbing. These were the horse-and-buggy days,” Holeb said. “It’s OK to have modern conveniences.”
He would know. His one-car garage was a 1911 addition to his 1907 one-bedroom home and was originally designed to house a Ford Model T. It’s a tight fit for the cars of today — his wife has to shimmy against the wall to get out of her Subaru Outback, he said.
Others weren’t bothered by the looming new cube-shaped abode. Carolyn Kenady, who chairs the Dolores Heights Improvement Club, said she had no real love for the previous home at the top of the hill. Kenady, who lives in the wood-shingled, two-story house her parents purchased in the 1960s, said the previous home at 801 Sanchez St. wasn’t historic and was built piecemeal over time. Still, she wishes the city had purchased the plot and built affordable housing there.
“I could grouse about people building giant homes, but it’s not going to fix the issues we have in San Francisco,” Kenady said. “We need more affordable housing.”