North Beach Asks: What's With 553 Vallejo Street?

A Curbed SF reader dropped the following nugget in the comment box in response to yesterday's post on another construction project in North Beach:

Curbed SF, What I would really love for you to investigate is the condominium being built about a block from here. It's a brand new building going up in the 500 Block of Vallejo, bordered by Romolo St. and Fresno Alley.

I've lived in North Beach for 20+ years, and never seen a development go up so under-the-radar, with no outcry from the neighborhood associations, etc. I've searched the sfgov sites for permits to see if I can get info on it, but it's sketchy at best. I've written my supervisor (good ole Aaron Peskin) to ask about the project twice and received no response. The rumor in the neighborhood is that the developer is a long-time North Beach restauranteur, but those are the only clues I have in the mystery.

What we do know: Curiously enough, we couldn't find any permits for the site listed on the city's ever-malfunctioning system. (Perhaps someone else has better karma with that site than we apparently do?) Genius app Everyblock lists 3, however, all of which allow for "additions, alterations, or repairs." Beyond that, we do know that 553 Vallejo Street is a 7-unit residential building. We even went to extra mile on this one and dispatched a Curbed SF operative to the scene— The report came back negative: no contractor's signage or permits displayed on the premises. WTF? Now which one of you omniscient North Beachers knows something the rest of us don't?