281 Castro St

The two-unit residential building at 281 Castro Street in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood, owned by Nikolai Sklaroff and Hsuing Cha, has undergone significant recent renovations and has a notable history of unauthorized unit conversion and short-term rental activity. Currently, substantial improvements are in progress, with building permits issued in December 2024 for extensive remodeling work in both units, including kitchen and bathroom renovations, electrical upgrades including a new subpanel, and plumbing work involving multiple bathroom and kitchen updates, with a total permitted cost exceeding $181,000 for the front unit alone. A significant legal matter remains active regarding a basement unit, with a complaint filed in September 2021 about an unauthorized dwelling unit with kitchen and bathroom facilities being used for short-term rentals, which had previously been documented as storage space. The building's history includes previous window replacements in 2013 for safety compliance, and earlier maintenance work such as bathroom and kitchen repairs in the 1990s. Multiple 311 calls have been recorded in recent years, primarily relating to street-level issues such as encampments and waste removal, though these are generally not directly related to the building's condition or operations. The property has undergone various review processes, including attempts to convert the building into an inn and address illegal short-term rental violations, though these requests were ultimately disapproved or marked as abated.