Hidden Victorian cottage from 1870 asks $1.29 million

Realtors use the phrase “hidden gem” a lot, but in the case of 75 Wood Street in Laurel Heights the “hidden” part at least is rather literal: This “Victorian cottage” (from 1870, at least according to the ad) sits right behind a much taller Wood Street duplex, completely obscured from the curb.

That’s right, Wood Street apparently has Italianate Victorian houses that conceal additional Victorian houses. The cup runneth over. Presumably into a smaller cup behind it.

In fact, the arrangement of the two buildings seems a bit of a shame on account of the fact that the smaller, obscured place at 75 Wood is clearly the more attractive of the pair.

Inside, 75 Wood presents a lesson in intense San Francisco renovations. The city has no publicly available record of the last time this home sold, but an old ad reveals the home in its previous state as a two bedroom, one bath pad that sold in 2012 for $527,000.

Now the place lists as four bedrooms and two baths, apparently doubling in size but remaining seemingly unchanged from the outside. What kind of magic is this? Just a smart redesign.

“There was always a lower level,” realtor Amanda Jones tells Curbed SF, “but before it was just a basement. The owner did a new foundation and completely repurposed the lower space.”

That handy trick also led to aspirations for a handy payday: The new asking price is more than $1.29 million, double the dollars for double the goods.

• 75 Wood, 2017 [Compass]
• 75 Wood, Prior [Woodruff]