Take a look inside a glittering, $16 million penthouse in the hottest new San Francisco neighborhood that Facebook, Google, and Salesforce call home

Katie Canales

Aug 16, 2019, 03:12 IST

Katie Canales/Business Insider

There are six luxury penthouses on the top floors of The Avery in San Francisco.

A new luxury apartment property spanning 56 floors in a glass high-rise in San Francisco is one of the newest additions to the city's skyline.
The Avery sits in San Francisco's East Cut neighborhood, an area of the city that has seen multiple high-rise condo projects sprout up in recent years just blocks from the offices of some of the biggest tech companies in the city, including Facebook, Google, and Salesforce.
The Avery has a number of apartment rentals priced between $3,750 and $8,125, 118 condos for sale priced between $1,785,000 and $4,950,000, and six luxury penthouses, including a full top-floor $41 million unit.
If the $41 million penthouse sells for the asking price, it would be one of the highest-priced homes to be sold in San Francisco.
We toured one of the penthouses: a half-floor 4,312-square-foot, three-bedroom unit on the 53rd floor of the towering glass complex priced at $15.95 million. Take a look around.
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Take a look inside a glittering, $16 million penthouse in the hottest new San Francisco neighborhood that Facebook, Google, and Salesforce call home

The Avery luxury apartment tower is one of the newest additions to the San Francisco skyline.

It sits at First and Folsom Streets in the recently rebranded East Cut neighborhood south of San Francisco’s Financial District.

The neighborhood known as the East Cut is actually a blend of existing parts of San Francisco — portions of Rincon Hill, South of Market, and South Beach are all within the new neighborhood's 20 blocks.

Before the area's recent redevelopment, it was largely known for its cluster of industrial buildings and for being where the Bay Bridge spat out cars crossing from Oakland into the city, leading to traffic gridlock. Traffic is still an issue in modern-day East Cut.

But now, the neighborhood is home to some of the city's — and country's — largest tech companies. Big tech companies, including Salesforce and Google, are mere blocks away from the Avery's doorstep.

And the city's $2.2 billion Salesforce Transit Center is also situated within the neighborhood's limits.

Another defining characteristic of the East Cut is its menagerie of sleek high-rise glass towers that loom overhead, like the Avery building.

Some of the skyscrapers are for commercial use —Facebook leases the entirety of the Park Tower and is also the sole commercial tenant of the mixed-use tower at 181 Fremont.

And some of the high-rises house residences. The area has seen 6,000 housing units built in recent years, many of which are luxury condos.

One such unit is a $15 million condo recently sold at 181 Fremont. You can spot the tower that houses the condo from the formal living area of the $16 million penthouse we toured at The Avery.

And the East Cut is also where the infamously sinking Millennium Tower is, well, sinking. The 58-story luxury condo skyscraper has sunk 17 inches since 2009, leading to a slew of concerns among residents and the general public.

So the Avery is just one of the most recent luxury living complexes springing up in the East Cut hoping to attract deep-pocketed tenants with the neighborhood's proximity to some of the country's largest tech companies.

You'll find an entrance to the Avery 450 apartments at 450 Folsom St. This is where residents living in the tower's apartment rentals on floors one through 33 enter their units.

Studios cost $3,750 a month, one-bedrooms start at $4,845 — $1,245 more than the city's one-bedroom median rent — and two-bedroom rentals cost $6,870 a month …

There's also a separate entrance for owners of the for-sale condos that start on floor 33 of the high-rise.

There are 118 condos for purchase at The Avery. One-bedrooms cost around $1.8 million, two-bedrooms are priced at $2.5 million, and three-bedrooms are $3.7 million, according to a press release.

And then there's the cluster of luxe penthouses on the top floors, from floor 53 to floor 56.

The top floor is home to a $41 million penthouse, which would be one of the highest-priced homes to be sold in San Francisco if it sells for the asking price. A private rooftop deck is one of the many bells and whistles of the unit.

On floor 53 there are two half-floor penthouses. The one we toured is 4,312 square feet, has three bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms ...

… and is priced at $15.95 million.

A $16 million price tag may seem steep, but this is San Francisco we're talking about.

The accumulation of tech money in San Francisco has created a demand for high-priced living, at the Avery and in the tower's luxury high-rise neighbors.

This is what you see when you first walk into The Avery's half-floor penthouse. The expansive Bay Bridge is in full view through the unit's floor-to-ceiling windows.

The main room is situated on a corner of the tower, so there's lots of natural light ...

... and extraordinary views of both the bay and of downtown.

Oracle Park, home to the San Francisco Giants, is in view in the distance also. The ballpark is situated about a 20-minute walk south of The Avery.

To the left of the formal living area there's a library separated by a wall and a fireplace.

The interior of the unit was designed by Jay Jeffers, a prominent interior designer based in San Francisco.

Rich colors and gold accents are found throughout the space.

A hallway with a half bathroom leads to the other parts of the penthouse.

There are lighting and Nest thermostat controls in the hallway, as well as in other areas of the unit.

A sliding door allows privacy, if needed, from the main entertaining area.

And through the sliding door is an informal living and dining area.

There's a full gourmet kitchen complete with Miele appliances and marble countertops.

The height of the stove hood is adjustable via a panel on its side.

And the Bay Bridge can be seen through more floor-to-ceiling windows from the kitchen.

Down another hallway is the master suite situated on a corner of the tower.

So the views are just as stunning as they are when you first walk in.

Here's one view of the downtown cityscape, including LinkedIn's black cube-like offices and the rooftop park atop the Salesforce Transit Center.

And just like in the other rooms, a clear and stunning view of the Bay Bridge can be seen from the master suite.

There's a custom headboard that runs the full length of one wall.

And textured wallpaper runs along the walls that aren't windows.

There are two master closets in the master suite.

Built-in shelving is already in place.

There are also two bathrooms in the master suite.

Each is conjoined with a master closet. One bathroom has a shower and the other has a bathtub.

The other two bedrooms are down a short hallway.

One of these bedrooms is decked out in blue and grey tones …

… and the other in a rich wine color.

Each bedroom has its own ensuite bathroom.

As dazzling as the ultra-luxe penthouse is, there's a pressing need for affordable housing in San Francisco, a city that is swept up in a crushing housing shortage.

A portion of the apartments on floors one through 31, as well the units in an adjoining building, are priced below market rates.

There will also be shops and restaurants in an area called The Shops at Avery Lane on the same block as the high-rise and the attached building designated for affordable units.

As for the $16 million, half-floor penthouse, it and its million-dollar views are still on the market looking for a buyer.