Ashbury Queen Anne renovation runs out of steam, sells at $1.3 million loss

Fate of interiors still unknown

By Adam Brinklow Jan 3, 2017, 3:59pm PST

During last week’s High & Low we glimpsed a curious case that came just short of being the city’s biggest sale to close 2016— a Queen Anne from 1891 in the shadow of Buena Vista Park that somehow sold for a loss on Friday.

Turns out 1450 Masonic, as the big, frothy beauty is known, is an old friend. We noted its original big money listing in 2014, its eventual sale for more than $5.3 million, and its somewhat dejected relisting a year later.

That second, $4.5 million list in October of 2015 came about in mid-renovation. “Potential buyers are even required to sign a waiver just to tour the under-construction property,” we noted at the time.

And apparently it sat unsold for more than a year, most recently reappearing asking a humbling $4.2 million. Its eventual sale price: $4 million even. That’s less than it commanded way back in 2005.

All this is pretty nerve-wracking for backseat architects, because nobody has circulated a photo of the interior for three years now.

So, we’re not sure what’s being changed or how far along they are. Below you can see what the place looked like before the eventually stalled work began.

Truth be known, it’s unclear why the six-bed, 5,500-square-foot mansion demands such an extensive overhaul.

Sure, the decor was looking a touch dated and an update wasn’t out of the question, but how much do you really need to do? Even SocketSite even points out that the whole place was restored as recently as 2002.

Maybe it just doesn’t pay to fix what probably isn’t broken.