5642-5644 California St, San Francisco, CA 94121

The 5642-5644 California Street property is a two-story, four-unit multi-family residential building constructed in 1923, currently owned by Eric Louie. The building has experienced several significant events, most notably a structure fire in October 2013 that rendered it unsafe and required major repairs costing $247,000 to address fire damage, including rear stair repair and kitchen cabinet replacement.

Following the fire, substantial renovations were undertaken, including the installation of new central furnaces for all units (2014), complete rewiring of units 1, 2, 3, and 4 with an upgraded 400-amp service (2014), and bathroom & kitchen plumbing work (2014). The property has faced multiple compliance issues, most seriously regarding an unauthorized fifth unit behind the garage that was removed in 2003, which had triggered numerous safety violations including inadequate fire safety features and ventilation problems. Recent concerns have focused on construction compliance, particularly regarding the rear deck replacement work in 2015-2016, which generated complaints about work being performed beyond the permitted scope.

The building underwent significant improvements between 2013-2015, including structural repairs, electrical upgrades, and plumbing improvements, though several permits from this period show as expired. Historical violations from 2003 included plumbing and electrical issues, safety concerns such as inadequate smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, and sanitation problems, though these were all marked as abated within two months. The most recent activities recorded at the property (2020-2023) primarily involve typical urban maintenance issues such as street cleaning and parking enforcement, with no major building-related complaints or violations noted in the past several years.