Living in the SF Shipyard: A Two-Year Resident's Perspective…read more For the past two years, I've called the SF Shipyard home. Nestled at the end of a peninsula, it was once a quiet, safe, and charming neighborhood with delightful views of the bay and a scenic path adorned with large sculptures. It felt like a hidden gem--peaceful, warm, and full of promise. But 2025 brought change. With three new apartment buildings opening, the influx of residents has shifted the dynamic. Crime has increased enough that discussions about hiring full-time security have begun--at an additional cost to our already high HOA dues. Parking, once manageable, has become a daily challenge. Being on a peninsula means overflow traffic has only one direction to go: up Kirkwood and Jerrold. Pros of Living in the SF Shipyard * Affordability (Relatively Speaking): Your dollar stretches 2.5-3x farther than elsewhere in SF. No more throwing money away on rent. * Warmer Climate: It's about 10 degrees warmer in summer. * Peace and Quiet: It's still one of the quietest neighborhoods in the city. * Scenic Views: Water views are a daily luxury. * Modern Living: Homes come with decent appliances, in-unit washer/dryer, air conditioning, and energy-efficient features. * Outdoor Spaces: India Basin Park and two other parks nearby offer green space. * Walkability to Unique Spots: Archimedes Banya is walkable, and Pier 70 & 80 events are nearly within reach. * Community Events: Frisco Fridays add a fun, local vibe. Cons of Living in the SF Shipyard * Odors: Occasionally, the sewage treatment plant makes its presence known. * Property Value: Don't expect significant appreciation, if any. * Mello-Roos Fees: The city doesn't seem to be fulfilling its obligations with these funds. * Hidden Costs: High HOA dues, move-in/out fees, and Mello-Roos -make it less affordable than it appears. * Limited Amenities: No nearby grocery stores--you'll need to go to Bernal, Potrero, or the Mission. * Restricted Access: Much of the surrounding open space is off-limits due to radiation or naval restrictions. * Safety Concerns: Little to no police presence. Drivers often speed, run red lights, and ignore stop signs. SFPD rarely enforces traffic laws here. * Car Dependency: You need a car, and parking is a major issue. Without a designated spot, you must be home by 5-5:30pm to find parking. Going out at night risks losing your spot. Guests struggle to find parking at any time. Public transportation at night feels unsafe. * Madison Building Issues: Electrical issues are widespread--13 owners had to band together to get the developer to act. (Personally, I'm on my fourth set of breakers and second HVAC compressor.) The EST3 alarm goes off almost every weekend and can blare for 48-72 hours if it happens outside business hours. Hosting a party in the Pavilion costs over $200, on top of $700+/mo HOA dues. Final Thoughts I moved here for the peace, the views, and the modern amenities. I wanted to stop renting and avoid being house poor. But with the current growing pains, I can't recommend moving to the SF Shipyard--especially not to the Madison building.

Before you should deal with Lennar be aware that Lennar is 2nd worst builder in USA in terms of…read morecustomer satisfaction. I got to experience this first hand. I signed a purchase agreement on a home. A week later they dropped prices on similar homes by $22K. We requested them to adjust the price as any decent national builder would do. But Lennar doesn't give a s**t about you once you are trapped in the contract. So they denied. Never again in my life I'm doing business with this company. I advise you all to also add price drop contingency in your purchase agreement if you decide to deal with the devil or better yet stay away.

Samantha and her team for the job done for us!…read more Before any referrals, by chance we met Samantha at an open house while we were in our window shopping phase. We were impressed with her approachability and professionalism. It crossed our mind to work with her as our exclusive buying agent then. Later, we found out several of our friends also successfully bought with Samantha in San Francisco so we decided to reach out. The process was simple, we met on a zoom call and shared what our preferences and deal breakers were. Four months later and we closed in the sunset district! We never felt pressured and Samantha kept us positive and kept us engaged as the market competitiveness can be disheartening at times.

Samantha helped me through every step of the process of selling my home and purchasing a new one…read more Thanks to her expertise and strategy, my house sold for $170K over the asking price in less than a week after listing. She also helped create professional marketing videos and promoted the property on social media, which brought in great exposure and strong offers. On top of that, her team was incredible , they helped refresh and prepare my house within just a few weeks before listing, making it look its best for buyers. I truly feel blessed to have had Samantha as my agent. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to sell or buy a home. Her professionalism, dedication, and amazing team made the entire experience smooth and successful.

I've used Payman and Bay Area Design and Construction for two big projects now, and I honestly…read morewouldn't go anywhere else. They first rebuilt my San Jose home back in 2017. The work was excellent, but what really impressed me was the follow-up. A year later, Payman sent his crew back just to handle the little adjustments that come with a house settling. Even years later, he's still helpful whenever I need to get in touch with one of his subcontractors for maintenance. Because of that trust, I hired him again last year for a major remodel of my vacation home, and he didn't disappoint me as always. Payman is easily the most responsive contractor I've worked with, he gets back to every email within 24 hours, no matter how complex the issue is. His project management is top-tier. The crew is respectful and polite, and they actually finished the job ahead of schedule. It's rare to find a contractor who is this efficient and actually stands by their work long-term. Highly recommended.

I had pleasure of working with Payman and his associates Dario and Ginu on my home renovation…read moreproject. From the very beginning they were professional responsive and transparent about the design and construction project. Payman took the time to explain different design options in detail--outlining clear timelines, estimated costs, and how each plan would fit my goals and budget. His approach was thoughtful and collaborative, ensuring that every design decision made sense for my home's layout and potential. Throughout the process, communication was excellent. Payman and his team kept me updated on city approvals, vendor coordination, and project timelines. They were patient in answering all my questions and flexible with revisions as the design evolved. I truly appreciated their honesty, attention to detail, and commitment to quality. It's clear that Bay Area Design and Construction takes great pride in their workmanship and client satisfaction. I would highly recommend Payman to anyone looking for a reliable, skilled, and trustworthy design and construction team in the Bay Area.

My husband and I highly recommend Martinkovic Milford Architects! Blake, Amanda, and Amelia were…read moreour brilliant team of architects overseen by Brian Milford. They designed our dream home and also monitored the construction/renovation process in addition to recommending a great contractor to build our home.

Disappointed by my experience here. I got more value from a 15 minute phone conversation with a…read moredifferent architecture firm than I did from my interaction with this firm, which involved multiple hours of billable research.

They did good work, Fouad is a reliable guy. Would hire them again…read more Yelp wants more characters, so here are some more comments: reliable and reasonably priced.

We just finished our kitchen and bathroom remodel with IY, and we are very happy! I appreciated…read moreFuad's open communication style - every prediction and estimate he gave turned out to be completely accurate. He and his team, led by Victor, earned our trust and delivered great value. I was especially pleased with the tilework - we had some challenging materials and patterns. The next time we want to do any work on our home, we will turn to IY without hesitation!

My house was in need of some complex and extensive repair work. I was very nervous about what would…read morebe involved and how much time it would take. KAG Designs alleviated all of my fears. They did an excellent job repairing my house. They did the work in a timely, professional and friendly manner. They took care of a complex issue efficiently and with high quality. I highly, highly recommend them for any renovation or design jobs one may have.

From the owner: KAGdesigns is a San Francisco based residential design and project management firm specializing in…read morethe renovation of the Bay Area's most distinguished properties.

It's been a great experience working with Christine and her team, whom have gone above and beyond…read morestaging my mom's condo in S.F.! Thank you Christine for making this process such an ease and beautifully set up, much recommended.

Christine was very communicative throughout the process. We appreciate her understanding and…read moreflexibility when need be. She made the process so easy!

I hired Prime to renovate my kitchen - countertops, backsplash, cabinets, electrical, freezer, etc…read more They also helped install a new bidet toilet for me. Overall the experience was very good; Elijah and Bryan were super friendly and responsive. Eli was very patient and accommodating as we discussed several different potential change orders, from new windows to painting, to other misc. things that popped up. Bryan Luna was especially a pleasure to work with. His attention to detail and proactivity to solve any little thing I mentioned was definitely the highlight of working with Prime. Their contracted electrician, Hector, was great as well. I also think they did a great job building out a cabinet to fit our freezer next to the matching fridge. Their master carpenter managed to salvage our existing wood to make it match perfectly. Definitely better than what I'd expect from even a carpentry specialty contractor. I will mention that it wasn't without some snags. Prime deals in volume so they're very busy. I think because I had delays in sourcing a freezer I ended up not getting a dedicated project manager for some time. We had timeline issues made worse with holidays. This caused cascading delays which inevitably pushed back my move in date a few weeks. When I finally did get a new project manager, they ghosted me (later on I found out they had a family emergency). Eli had to step in again to help. Another thing is that their pricing is quite opaque. The estimate will break down prices by milestones, but they repeated told me that it's not a valuation of the milestone itself. This made it nigh impossible to understand if I wanted to contract out specific pieces of the project (e.g. flooring). Design was OK. I felt that the designer was very busy. Sometimes very responsive (5min replies), sometimes not responsive at all (no reply). I wish I had a better, more thorough back-and-forth session about the intricacies of the design. But we made do. Ultimately, the designer made a render and helped point us to some vendors, but from there we had to make our own selection alone (cabinets, handles, pendant lights, faucets, etc.). I did appreciate her presence when we picked out countertops, though. All in all, I think this was a 4.5 star job, but I'm rounding to 5 because of Eli and Bryan :)

We hired Prime Design for a home remodel project, but unfortunately the experience has been very…read moredisappointing. There have been multiple unresolved issues with the quality of work and follow-through. One example is an LED light that continues to flicker. It has been more than six months, with many calls and text messages, but the issue still has not been fixed. Another example is damage to our garage cabinet, where a hole was created during the work. We are still waiting for this to be repaired as well. Overall, the lack of timely resolution and poor communication after the project has been extremely frustrating.

We worked with Oleksii and team on an 850 sq ft addition including interior and exterior designs…read more I had requested quotes from 5 architect/ design firms and found Oleksii to be the most thorough, responsive, and transparent in terms of pricing and packages. We are thrilled with the outcome of the experience working with Oleksii and team. The designs they developed were beautiful and they were patient and proactive with their communications with the city during the permitting process. They created an expansive spreadsheet for all the items we'd need to purchase and their blueprints are the most thorough you'll find. I would highly recommend working with Vanguard on your project - whether big or small!

I asked for a quote for a simple architectural plan for an au pair unit, 620 sq. feet. The quote…read morewas $8-$20k!! I found an architect who did an amazing plan in 5 days and I paid him $750. The plan was approved in 20 minutes. They may be good, but you'll pay for it!

I hired Adler Builders to install new countertops, sink, and to raise an over-the-cooktop cabinet…read moreto accommodate the new micro hood. They also remodeled two bathrooms. The crew was very helpful and creative and they always left the work area spotless. Would absolutely work with them again!!

We were looking for a reliable contractor to renovate our bathrooms and our neighbors recommended…read moreto call Adler Builders. We were happy with the whole process start from the explanation of the schedule and the price. Very professional crew! So happy with this company:)