INSIDE The MOST AFFORDABLE Luxury San Francisco Real Estate Money Can Buy
In this video, lawyer‑turned‑real‑estate agent Austin Klar gives a comprehensive, on‑site tour of the Belvedere, a boutique new‑construction condo at 2525 Van Ness in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow. He begins by highlighting the neighborhood’s flat, walkable streets, proximity to Union Street’s shops, restaurants, bars, and nearby parks and waterfront, emphasizing the area’s desirability and low need for a car. Inside the building, Klar showcases the secure, key‑code/fob entry, a staffed lobby with concierge service, high ceilings, custom wall paneling, and a package room. He details the underground parking with a unique horizontal stacker system and bike/personal storage. The tour moves through a ground‑level 2‑bedroom unit with a 460‑sq ft private terrace, premium finishes (Studio Becker cabinetry, Gabbana Quartzite countertops, Miele appliances, Waterworks fixtures), spacious bathrooms with Calacatta Crema and Breccia Suprema stone, and in‑unit AC, washer/dryer, and air‑conditioning. He then visits a larger 3‑bedroom, ~2,000‑sq ft unit on the 6th floor, noting expanded kitchen islands, formal dining space, en‑suite bedrooms, massive walk‑in closets, and panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Presidio, and bay. The 6,200‑sq ft rooftop is highlighted as a top‑tier amenity with multiple seating areas, grills, and unobstructed city and bay vistas. Pricing ranges from about $1.5 M for 2‑bedrooms (1,160‑1,950 sq ft) to low $4 M for upcoming penthouses, with HOA fees under $1,000/month—considered low for comparable new‑construction buildings. Klar concludes by urging viewers to contact him for more information, linking to additional neighborhood and development videos, and encouraging subscription for ongoing San Francisco real‑estate content.
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This new construction condo building has the sickest rooftop on the north side of San Francisco, the most luxurious residences at anything close to the price point, views that rival those in condos that cost multiples more, security you can't even find in the most expensive homes in San Francisco, and one of the best walkable locations in the city, close to some of the best shops and restaurants. What's up everyone? This is Austin Klar, your lawyer turned real estate agent in San Francisco and Marin County, and I'm standing out front of the Belvedere at 2525 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco's Cow Hollow neighborhood. A boutique condo building, 28 2 and 3 bedroom residences designed by one of the most prolific residential architects. It is unlike anything you've seen in the neighborhood at these price points. Today I'm gonna take you on a tour of this incredible building. I'm gonna show you the beautiful amenity spaces from the insane roof deck to the absolutely immaculate lobby, to the parking, to the mailroom,, and of course, the beautifully finished residences that are still available at the Belvedere. But before I do that, I want to tell you a little bit about where this building is located within San Francisco, because its precise location on the north side of the city is hands down one of the top reasons that this building is already half sold, why so many people are moving here. So let's go check out the area. So this part of the Cow Hollow neighborhood that the Belvedere is located in, it's relatively flat. It doesn't have a lot of those very steep San Francisco Hills. And why is that great? Well, it means it's relatively easy to walk around, and that's really great because the surrounding area has some of San Francisco's best bars, shops, restaurants, and some of the most beautiful sites in the city. And even though we have parking in the building, so you can have a car here if you want, and I'll show you the parking later, you 100% do not need a car if you live here. So immediately around the corner from the Belvedere to the south is Union Street, which is the main commercial corridor of Cow Hollow. I live about 5 minutes away from here. I come down here all the time. The Equinox that I go to is on Union Street. There's also a Crunch if Equinox isn't your thing. A lot of options. There's also some great restaurants on Union Street. My personal go-tos: Rosa's Cafe, great brunch. Flores for Mexican food, super casual. You've got the Brixton, which just reopened as like a gastropub type spot. And then there are Michelin-level restaurants right off Union Street like Atelier Crenn and Bar Crenn. There are also some great bars in the area. Number 1 on my list is definitely Balboa Cafe, espresso martinis on tap, one of the best vibes in the area. On top of Union Street, you're a block from Polk, across Van Ness, which is technically part of Russian Hill, and then across Lombard, you have Chestnut Street in the Marina, and both of those streets have incredible food, bars, and shops as well. Chestnut, more like chain stores like Marine Layer and Apple. Polk, a little bit more boutiquey., and there are multiple grocery stores throughout the area. You've got Luke's Local on Union Street. You've got a Safeway in the marina just a few minutes away. You're also only a few minutes away from a ton of parks and open green spaces and event spaces like Fort Mason, Marina Green, Chrissy Field, Aleem Park, George Sterling Park. There's a ton of them in all directions surrounding the Belvedere. And you are really close to the North Waterfront, which is why you have those incredible bay views from the building, which I'll show you in a few minutes. And on top of all that, you are just 10 to 12 minutes drive to downtown San Francisco. So really great place to live if you need to commute into the city. If you want to learn more about all the great things to do and see in the Cow Hollow neighborhood and what the lifestyle is like, definitely reach out to me. I lived in the area for several years, so I know it really well. I'd be happy to help you. I'll put my contact information in the description below. So now I'm going to take you inside the Belvedere and show you the beautiful common spaces and the amazing units that are available. And the first thing you notice as you walk up to the building is to get in, you can either use a key code or a fob. So you don't have to use like annoying manual keys to get in, which is really great. It's very secure. It's also nice because if you're upstairs in your unit, you've got friends or family coming over, you can give them a code to get into the building or buzz them up so you don't have to come down to get them. Super convenient. And immediately when you enter the building, the sense of grandeur and attention to detail really hit you. Starting off with these incredible ceiling heights, thanks to that concrete and steel construction that enable these expansive spaces, both here and throughout the building, as you're gonna see. The lobby is beautifully furnished. The custom wall paneling here is gorgeous. The stone and wood really go well together with the furniture. And you know from the second you enter the building that you're in for something special, and it is just a little taste of what I'm gonna show you when we get into the residences and go up onto the rooftop. And on top of the beautiful space here, you get something incredibly valuable, an attendant monitoring the lobby Monday through Friday during business hours. So someone is always gonna be here during the week to make sure that the only people who get into the building are people who should be in the building and to take in packages and put 'em in a package room so they're not like laying out in front of the building on the street where somebody can take them. You can really be, you know, almost carefree or worry-free here knowing that you and your belongings are safe in the building. Not that this area is particularly unsafe. It's actually one of the safest areas in the entire city, but it's nice to have somebody monitoring the building and taking in packages, having that extra layer of security. Nobody's going to say no to that. You can also access parking directly from the lobby as well. I'll show you that later in this video. But first, what you've been waiting for, I'm going to take you inside the residences that are available here and show you the amazing finishes and views. We're going to start with the residences that are on the ground level. I understand not everybody necessarily wants to live on the ground level, But these residences more than make up for the fact that you're on the ground. First of all, they're on the west side of the building, the backside of the building, so they are not fronting the street or facing the street. They're very private and very quiet. They also offer something that is incredibly rare in condos in San Francisco that make them perfect for entertaining or if you have pets. So we're in unit 103, one of those ground-level residences. It's 2-bed, 2.5-bath, and it's also got a 460-square-foot private outdoor terrace, which I'm going to show you in a minute. But what you notice is immediately when you enter past the entryway, you hit the kitchen. And what I love the most about these kitchens are the massive kitchen islands. And one of my favorite things about these kitchen islands is that it is straight up cook space, prep space, seating space, hangout space. There's no cooktop or no sink in the island taking up that valuable space. So you're not going to be like spraying hot oil or boiling water— or when you're washing dishes, throwing water everywhere, all over your friends while they're hanging out at the island and just trying to be with you. And these islands are massive. Enough seating for 5 people, a ton of storage, including wine storage built into the island itself, plus all the additional storage on the other side of the kitchen near where your range is, your cooktop, and your sink, along with all the upper storage as well. And they did not skimp on finishes here at all. Yeah. Countertops in the kitchen are Gabbana Quartzsite Stone, which is one of the most durable natural stones available on the market. It has that look of marble but without all the downside that comes with marble. It is much more durable and stain resistant than marble is. And the warmth of these, you know, brown and light gray tones in that stone really go well with the oak floors they have throughout the unit, as well as the custom Studio Becker cabinetry and the other finishes in the unit. You've got Miele appliances, panel-ready fridge and freezer, Waterworks fixtures throughout. It's super clean, super modern feeling. Immediately to the left of the main living space, you have the primary bedroom, which is plenty of space, big enough for a king, multiple nightstands. You've got beautiful views of the outdoor terrace, which I'll show you in a second. But what I love the most about these primaries are the bathrooms. They're exquisite. Calacatta Crema stone tiles on the floors and showers. Breccia Suprema stone on the vanity and walls, Waterworks bath fixtures, a standalone tub, gorgeous shower with that really dramatic stone carried through. Very luxurious spa-like feeling in this owner's suite, and it's plenty of space for 2 people with the multiple vanities so both people can get ready at the same time in the morning. You don't have to take turns using your space. And I really like the layout of these 2-bedroom units because the sleeping spaces, like where the actual beds are positioned, are on complete opposite sides of the unit, so it doesn't feel like you're sleeping immediately next to your guest. You have that sense of privacy. And the guest bathroom is finished just as beautifully as the primary. Bardiglio stone used throughout, gorgeous cabinetry. So your guests get that same luxury feel as you in the primary in their guest suite. Really nice touch to these units. And all the units have air conditioning here. So on the rare occasion where it does get hot in San Francisco, Yes, it does happen. You're not just forced to deal with it. You can do something about it. There's also in-unit washer and dryer, which obviously we love. They really thought about every touch in these units. And now for my favorite part about these ground-level units are these massive private outdoor spaces. This one is 460 square feet. It is huge. You'll notice as we go upstairs that there are patios or like view decks where people just can take in the views. They're not these massive outdoor spaces, so they more than make up for the lack of views on the ground level by having so much outdoor space at your disposal, which is great because the weather in Cow Hollow in this part of San Francisco is relatively mild pretty much at all times. It's a lot less cold, a lot less windy than, you know, over by the Pacific Ocean, like in the Sunset or the Richmond. It is very mild here, perfect for enjoying your outdoor space. If it were me, I would have, you know, pizza parties out here. I would cook for people all the time out here. Mm-hmm. These spaces are awesome. Now I'm going to take you upstairs and show you one of the larger units in the building and the views that come with it. So we're in the elevator now going upstairs. And what you can see is you use the same fob that you use to get into the building to get up to units that are on the upper floors in the building. So it really is super secure. We're now in Unit 602, which is a 3-bed, 3.5-bath, almost 2,000-square-foot unit. So a lot more living space than the one that we just saw on the ground floor. Thank you. As you'll see, the same luxurious finishes throughout, but what you'll notice is that there's a lot more space. You have that same massive island with storage and wine fridge, but you also have an entire wall of cabinetry, separate oven and coffee maker as well, plus all the cabinetry and storage that you have, you know, where your range is and where your sink is as well. And these larger units are even more open than the units downstairs that we just walked through. The kitchen open to the formal dining space, much more room for a larger formal dining table. And a lot more room in the living space for additional seating, more people hanging out together. The view is all the way across the northwest part of the city to the Presidio out west. You've got the Golden Gate Bridge, you've got the bay, and to the south you have the city of San Francisco. It's beautiful. Each of the 3 bedrooms in these units are en suite, which is great. The primary in particular is spectacular. Immediately to my left, you've got a secondary closet and then a massive walk-in closet on my right. And then you have these really expansive bedrooms big enough for a king, nightstands, plus you have completely separate seating areas so you could have a nice little reading nook or little library space or just hangout space. And all of it is perfectly oriented to maximize the incredible views to the west and to the north. You get those views to wake up to every single morning and you get those beautiful sunsets over the bridge in the evening. Now these are from the 6th floor. You are going to get similar views from lower units as well on the west side, on the back side of the building. So you don't have to be all the way up on the 6th floor to get these amazing views. Obviously, if you're living on the east side of the building, on the other side of the building, you don't have views out this way. But as a result of that, those units are less expensive. There are also penthouses in this building coming soon on the 7th floor of the Belvedere. So one floor above the unit that we're in right now that'll showcase all those incredible views. And now I'm going to take you to the best amenity of the building, the rooftop, which is incredibly finished and has insane views. I think it's the best rooftop in San Francisco on this side of the city. Let's check it out. This is the 6,200-square-foot rooftop at the Belvedere. Multiple hangout spots, dining spaces. You got multiple barbecues and kitchen spaces. It is the perfect place to have a party, bring friends and family over, or just hang out by yourself just to relax a little bit and take in these incredible views. And what I really like about this rooftop is it services a building that is relatively small. Remember, there are only 28 residences in the building, so it's not like there's going to be 100 people up here any time you're trying to use the roof. You've also got daybeds scattered throughout the rooftop, other dining spaces as well, taking in all the different vantage points of the city. Pacific Heights to the south, all the way to the Presidio out west, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the bay. Now, as I mentioned before, this building does have parking, and it's underground parking, so it is very safe and secure. You enter the parking lot on the Van Ness side, and it takes you down into the lot What's really unique about this stacker system is that it's not stacked vertically like you see in most new construction buildings. It's stacked horizontally. So these front spaces actually shift left to right to create an open space to let the cars that are parked against the wall to come out. So you actually have a lot more space to park your vehicle. You're less liable to like scrape your vehicle on the top of the structure. So it is a lot more convenient, much easier parking system. There aren't parking spaces for every unit in the building. 21 of the 28 units have spaces. 3 of the units that have already sold were ones that did not come with parking. There's also bike storage and personal storage on this level, so you don't need to keep all of your belongings taking up space in your unit. You can keep your unit decluttered, looking beautiful 24/7, super convenient. So how much does it cost to actually live in the building? From a size perspective, units range from about 1,160 square feet to about 1,950 square feet. Two-bedroom units start at around $1.5 million, and they go all the way up to the three-bedroom penthouse units, which aren't out yet, but they're going to start in the low $4 million range. And we all know that the cost of the actual unit itself is one of the many costs of ownership for the building. You also have HOA fees to pay for these incredible amenities. And HOAs in the building are actually among the most reasonable for amenity buildings on this side of the city, especially for new construction, under $1,000 a month, which is incredibly rare for something like this. The building just across the street, similar amenity stack, the HOAs are 2x the price. So it is a really good deal on HOAs at the Belvedere. With views, interiors, and prices like this, it shouldn't be a surprise that the Belvedere is already half sold after less than a year on the market. If you're looking for new construction buildings with these amenities in one of the best neighborhoods of San Francisco, then the Belvedere needs to be on your radar. If you want more information about pricing or availability, or if you want to schedule a private tour, you can reach out to me directly. I'll link my contact information in the description below. I've lived in the neighborhood for several years. I know it incredibly well, and I'd be happy to help you. And before you go, if you want to learn more about what it's like to live in the Cow Hollow neighborhood, I've got a completely separate video tour of the neighborhood. I'll link that up top in the description below. And if you want to learn more about new developments in the city, current events, what's coming soon to SF, and all things living San Francisco, then make sure to subscribe to my channel because I make videos about that stuff every single week. I hope you enjoyed the video, and I'll see you in the next one. Bye.
