I Left My Heart in San Francisco but Not My Checkbook: The Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square is Quite an Affordable Second Home!

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The Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square offers sweeping views of San Francisco Bay. The waterfront project is in a historic part of the California city on the sea that has always captured my heart. I’m here checking out this amazing property that is available as a fractional ownership for a smidgen over $200,000 for a two bedroom, even less for a one-bedroom!

“We were looking at buying property for a second home in a few places, including Phoenix and Palm Springs,” says Canadian Ron Deyholos. “But my wife is not much of a golfer, so we started to look in San Francisco because we really like the city.”

The couple recently purchased a share in a fractional unit in Fairmont Heritage Place, and love it primarily because they have no headaches or upkeep. This came painfully to my mind as I landed at SFO this morning to news that not one but BOTH hot water heaters were dead upstairs and oh yes, it’s 107 in Dallas and one A/C is out. Great.

It’s about 70 degrees here in San Fran.

Located near Fisherman’s Wharf, the waterfront project is a collaboration between JMA Ventures, LLC, and the Fairmont Hotel chain and is part of the historic former Ghirardelli chocolate factory complex, which dates back to 1893. The red brick exterior walls are original to the chocolate factory, and later I’ll show you how cleanly and cleverly they preserved the original windows but made them more efficient. The development offers 53 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes right in the heart of the city. A courtesy car is about to whisk me off to Inman’s Real Estate Connect at the Hilton in Union Square.

The project is right on the water, offering beautiful views of the Bay across to Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. Plus there’s a fire pit, boutique shops, restaurants and pubs on the street level, so you feel very much in the city.

Fractional ownership gives the buyer a one-tenth deeded ownership of the unit and entitles the buyer to 35 nights per year with benefits, like reciprocity at any Fairmont and Raffles Hotels and Resorts or other Fairmont Heritage communities worldwide. Want to spend more than 35 days per year on vacation? You must be French. Fairmont lets Heritage place owners stay at Ghirardelli for $100 U.S. bucks a night. There are heavy duty discounts available on all other Fairmont properties, too: little bird told me 20%.

What I’m liking and here to really check out: the private residents’ club gives you a five-star experience in your second home. Which is exactly what you want in a second home, not more headaches. Some of these units are in the toney Exclusive Resorts collection. Other benefits I’m checking on for you: the car shuttle, owners’ storage facilities for, say, wine if you hop up to Napa or Sonoma, exercise facility, daily housekeeping (will there be turn-down service? I love turn-down service), great dining, shopping and grocery provisioning. I’m told I’m six quick blocks from Safeway and Trader Joes!

We have a friend in Dallas who owns one of these fractionals –he has a child living in the area, as we do. Also a lot of Canadians are buying in San Francisco  — two lovely gents just popped by my two-bedroom unit for a look/see. Western Canadians love the Fairmont brand, they told me,  and have access to about 12 Fairmont hotels, including the famous Whistler. They were quite impressed with the kitchen. Me, I can hardly wait to draw a bubble bath… and forget about everything that’s breaking in Dallas.

 

 

 

 

Candy Evans

Candy Evans

8 Comments

  1. Matt on August 1, 2012 at 3:51 pm

    Picture perfect view!



  2. Matt on August 1, 2012 at 3:51 pm

    Picture perfect view!



  3. […] you this view for 35 days a year… that’s half of July and August in Texas! As usual, we have the second and vacation home market deets all over on SecondShelters.com… Be Sociable, Share! Tweet This entry was posted in Dallas real estate news, emerging […]



  4. […] you this view for 35 days a year… that’s half of July and August in Texas! As usual, we have the second and vacation home market deets all over on SecondShelters.com… Be Sociable, Share! Tweet This entry was posted in Dallas real estate news, emerging […]



  5. lakucom on August 3, 2012 at 7:50 am


  6. lakucom on August 3, 2012 at 7:50 am


  7. Sadie Kritzgibbons on August 7, 2012 at 1:50 am

    I have stayed at this property and it is amazing! I did not know they sold fractional shares, how long has that been?



  8. Sadie Kritzgibbons on August 7, 2012 at 1:50 am

    I have stayed at this property and it is amazing! I did not know they sold fractional shares, how long has that been?