SF Blu

Floor plans are pretty nice. Quality of construction is good. HOA is too high considering there are limited perks (No gym, pool). Prices are decent. It’s not overly crowded so it does not feel like a college dorm. Location is convenient. Views are nice but you have to clear a certain floor (based on where the unit is facing) or you’ll end up with limited sunlight and look straight into another building.

Though I am not (yet) a resident, I have been very impressed by this building. All condo buildings in this area have their pluses and minuses, but based on my own preferences, Blu seems like a perfect fit.
I give Blu 5 stars based on the following:
1) Walking distance to BART, Caltrain, Moma, Ballpark
2) High-​end finishes
3) Efficient ²⁄₂ floorplans
Blu definitely has fewer amenities than some other buildings, no gym, pool, theater, or valet parking, but for me personally these are pluses, as I would prefer not to pay HOA dues to maintain these things. There is a 24hr Fitness across the street offering discounts to Blu residents, I have my own home theater, and I like to park my own car.
Some may also argue it lacks some neighborhood-​feel, again for me this is a positive, as I prefer a quieter, more industrial feel in the immediate vicinity of my home.

We moved in 4 months ago, and we love it here. I think we made the best choice in buying here. Location-​wise, it is perfect for us. We are within a 10 minute walk away from the Embarcadero, the ballpark, restaurants, grocery store, the bank, the gym, the mall, public transportation and work. We are 2 minutes away from the 80, 101 and the 280. We are right in the middle of everything, and yet it doesn’t have the «ghost town» effect that some of the other condos around here have on the weekends. We couldn’t think of a better location. And that should be top priority when it comes to your real estate purchase. Everything else can be changed, fixed, improved.
The finishes are exceptionally good, and the layouts are efficient and clever. The architects managed to pack in a lot of quality in this comparatively small, boutique building. Oh, that’s another thing we love — there are only 6 units per floor, and people chat and smile in the elevator instead of stare at their shoes. It doesn’t feel like we live in a hotel.
However we do have concierge service that our HOA covers! We’ve used that service for show tickets (that were otherwise sold out), dinner reservations, even birthday surprise arrangements. For someone who’s too busy at work, I love knowing that someone’s taking care of this stuff for me when I can’t.
As for the parking, we have yet to encounter a malfunction. It takes us 1 minute and 40 seconds to pull out of the garage. (yes, we’ve timed it.) As someone who works in the building industry, I know that all new buildings have kinks to work out. This building has only been occupied for less than 6 months, and is not at full occupancy. There are going to be growing pains, and so far, the building staff have been great about working these out. It will be a little while before everything runs like a well-​oiled machine, and I think that’s understandable.
Oh yes, did I mention that our concierge arranged for a Fall Harvest Festival for the residents this past weekend? He brought in neighborhood vendors to serve food and drink (tons of it) and hand out free goodies like treats for my dog and fitness assessments. Our friends from a neighboring hi rise condo came with us and left saying, «Everyone here is so friendly. This would never have happened where we live.»
We’re just happy we bought here.

Before anyone writes off this review as bias or unfounded, we want to give a little context.
Over the past three months, we have been in the market for a condo in the city. Even before our window shopping, we read RE sites like Socketsite, Curbed, frontsteps, etc. After reading all of the gripes, praises, unsolicited comments and know-​it-​all posters, we decided to pursue a property intentionally. The first decision was to buy or not to buy in 2009: as you can see from this post, we are leaning towards buying.
But that’s not why you decided to read this review, let’s cut to the chase:
1) Location — if you’re in the market for Blu, you’re probably also looking at Arterra, The Hayes, One Rincon Hill, 829 Folsom, the Infinity, resales at The Brannan, 199 New Montgomery… the list goes on. Considering all of those options, we wanted to focus on a place that wasn’t too busy, but was also close enough to the action. Blu is located on 2^nd and Folsom, so it’s a quick walk to the Bart Station, Metreon, Union Square, and even the Ballpark. Some people dislike the fact that it’s in SOMA, which tends to die at night. Others say this is «not the real San Francisco.» Fair enough. All we can say is if you’re looking for quick access to freeways, Union Square, the Ballpark, and Embarcadero, Blu is a pretty good option.
2) Quality of Construction/​Design — granted, Blu does not aspire to be the Infinity or another property with major cache, but the reviews on Socketsite and other blogs agree– Blu has exceptional good finishes and great architecture. We don’t have even time to go into Handel (the architects), but they did a really good job designing the place. And in general, Lennar Urban did a really good job choosing the contractors. I guess Lennar has to be pretty solid, since they landed BV/​HP projects (not exactly the sexiest projects, but it counts for something). The biggest takeaway is that Lennar has something to prove before they take on bigger projects.
3) Sales Staff — Service is usually very subjective, so we’re counting on some negative reviews about Polaris or WBJ (the preferred lender). That being said, the sales staff was courteous and very responsive. We’ve met A LOT of the marketing groups over the past few months and Polaris has been the nicest, by far. For first-​time home buyers like us, Wendy and team are EXTREMELY patient.
4) Affordable — Blu is very affordable. We can’t publish any figures online, but if you run the comps in the area on the aforementioned condo peer group, you’ll find that you won’t get robbed by the Blu price.
Downsides (because there are some):
1) Parking Situation — it’s a stacker, but you get a parking spot. You will either appreciate the fact that you have parking in this area or not. Stackers are becoming more prevalent in the city, but it’s a deal-​killer for some.
2) HOAs — it’s been said on the forums and blogs, yes, the HOAs are pretty high. They are well over $ 600/​month and there’s no gym, movie theater, or superfluous cleaning service (ahem… SOMA Grand). The only piece of silver lining is that this place is a boutique development, so the amenities (e.g. BBQ area, kitchenette, fountains, art) are spread across fewer people.
Now, onto our next condo review…

I was really excited about this development when I heard about it due to the location on Folsom and 2^nd.
However, when I checked out the floor plans, I was a bit dissapointed. There were 2 floor plans that were nice (A was 1) and you had to get one on the top floors to get a nice view. The penthouses had a solarium which was nice but the floor plan was very weird. Most of units had kitchens that were in their own rooms. I like the living area and kitchen to be open to eachother. Then there were random poles in the middle of the living area.
They also did car stacking for parking, which is a turn off. Who wants to wait for your car to get stacked and unstacked everytime you go in and out.
In addition, half the building faced the AT and T building where you saw a windowless grey building for your view.
the sales people where really nice and I like how they were transparent about pricing (they had a price sheet) but I wish they would have done better with the floor plans.