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I lived in Noe Valley for 14 years in a rent controlled apartment that quadrupled in value during that time. I was eventually evicted with an owner move-in but

I lived in Noe Valley for 14 years in a rent controlled apartment that quadrupled in value during that time. I was eventually evicted with an owner move-in but during that period I saw all of the useful local businesses close and be replaced with ... 1. Doctor/Dentist offices 2. Real-estate agencies 3. Banking and financial institutions 3. Doomed boutiques riding off the areas old reputation - these always closed within 6 months. 4. Expensive date restaurants or bars serving just enough food to count as a restaurant. Off the top of my head, we lost the newspaper/magazine shop, hardware store, a few cheap restaurants, the glass blowing shop, the running store, a bunch of nice boutiques, the local butcher and most (but not all) of the businesses that made someone want to live in Noe in the first place. We gained a ton of financial and real-estate frontage (useless for day-to-day life) a couple of nice but expensive upgrades like a Whole Foods. All this money and no-one seems to actually spend it on local business, so nothing stays open for long.

birken 7y ago
I used to live right by 24th street right before the whole foods moved in, and I can visualize all of those shops as I walked down the street to Holey Bagel (still going strong!). The little weird boutiques! The running store! But even then I would never go into any of those places. I am fully on board lamenting the fact that numerous one-of-a-kind stores no longer exist in SF because it is not economical for them to do so (RIP Macbeath hardwood), but a lot of those little shops on 24th street were put out of business by Amazon and the internet, not by SF.
- cardiffspaceman 7y ago
  This is quite possibly just a manifestation of a national trend by landlords (all ten of them) to raise rent so high that sure things like 7/11 or KFC quit. The only tenants that seem to be able to afford the rent are $COFFEE and The Habit. I've seen this in my home town (San Diego), Spokane, and Manhattan. I've probably seen it in other towns but it stops being noticeable.
refurb 7y ago
A friend moved to Noe Valley about 15 years ago. Said it was working class at the time (still well off by SF standards). Now it’s like a playground for the rich with a standard 1,500 sq ft home nearing $2.5M.

birken 7y ago

I used to live right by 24th street right before the whole foods moved in, and I can visualize all of those shops as I walked down the street to Holey Bagel (still going strong!). The little weird boutiques! The running store! But even then I would never go into any of those places. I am fully on board lamenting the fact that numerous one-of-a-kind stores no longer exist in SF because it is not economical for them to do so (RIP Macbeath hardwood), but a lot of those little shops on 24th street were put out of business by Amazon and the internet, not by SF.

cardiffspaceman 7y ago
This is quite possibly just a manifestation of a national trend by landlords (all ten of them) to raise rent so high that sure things like 7/11 or KFC quit. The only tenants that seem to be able to afford the rent are $COFFEE and The Habit. I've seen this in my home town (San Diego), Spokane, and Manhattan. I've probably seen it in other towns but it stops being noticeable.

refurb 7y ago

A friend moved to Noe Valley about 15 years ago. Said it was working class at the time (still well off by SF standards). Now it’s like a playground for the rich with a standard 1,500 sq ft home nearing $2.5M.