New Hayes Valley Homes by Heller Manus Inspired by Neighborhood Integrity

The Hayes, a new condominium development slated to open soon in San Francisco's Hayes Valley, designed by architects Heller-Manus to maximize space, reflect unique neighborhood style. Media invited to tour, interview Jeffrey Heller.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 18, 2007 -- Jeffrey Heller, chief designer for The Hayes, is confident that a new condominium development located in Hayes Valley is a building that can define the future of the neighborhood. In a recent interview, Heller, a nationally acclaimed architect and co-founder of the San Francisco architectural firm Heller Manus, discussed his inspiration for The Hayes from which grew the building's design direction and ultimate style.

The Hayes is nearing completion in the heart of Hayes Valley, and new residents are scheduled to move in January of 2008. Thanks to Heller's intuitive design, the homes are laid-out to maximize use of space and take advantage of the surrounding views and urban atmosphere via large bay windows that stretch nearly floor to ceiling. Situated on Page Street between Franklin and Gough streets, features of the eight-story building reflect the neighborhood history while also offering contemporary comfort and amenities.

"Hayes Valley is a very cool area," states Heller. "The Hayes is close to Market St. and an area where you are on the edge of interesting neighborhood stuff. You have an emerging neighborhood and you're on the edge of the Octavia Blvd area. Our view was that this was a building that could help define the future of the area. To me, that was a medium density in-town urban area but still fairly small scale as opposed to mid-rise or high-rise."

The majority of the 111 homes at The Hayes will be one-bedroom floor plans with the balance offered as studios or two-bedroom homes. The charm of the surrounding neighborhood is artfully acknowledged throughout the new development, which includes the preservation of an historic former horse stable that extends from Page Street to Rose Street. Consciously unobtrusive, the building will feature retail at the street level and an attended lobby for residents. The new community will greatly enhance the overall urban vibrancy of the area.

"We made a conscious decision to make the building's footprint pattern an off-center H, and to preserve the façade, which helped us with the whole scale and character element of the neighborhood," Heller says. "That allowed us to keep a very large south-facing courtyard on Rose Street which will be very sunny."

The building's ample use of glass also helps connect resident to the neighborhood, and vice versa. "We've created bay windows that are rotated 45 degree at the corner which give a kind of contemporary spin on the traditional bay window," says Heller. "The other thing about that is it makes the building quite glassy, making it light and airy and bringing a lot more light into each unit than if it were just a window on a wall."

Meanwhile, interior spaces are laid out to maximize their efficient size, explained Heller, "The layout does promote the sense of a larger space. The bay windows also provide a visual cue, which makes it feel much bigger. The bays at the corner are big enough that they almost become seating areas so they have a unique feel. We were at the site not so long ago and were delighted to see that there are all kinds of unexpected views around the city - toward Twin Peaks, towards the northwest a little, then back to City Hall and the beautiful dome."

Media are invited to hard-hat tour The Hayes and to interview Jeffrey Heller. Full interview transcript also available. To arrange either or for more information, please contact: Robert Farmer at JSA, 415.353.5693

About Intracorp
Intracorp San Francisco (ISF) is one of the Intracorp Companies who develop primarily high-density residential communities in urban locations on the West Coast. The company evolved from Intrawest, the public operator of "on-mountain" and "on-golf course" resorts. Over the past 20 years, Intracorp has earned a reputation for creative design, quality construction and financial stability evident in more than 6,000 residential units and over $1 billion of housing. Intracorp also has operations in Seattle, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Hawaii.

###