MULTI-GEN SOLUTION
Who:
Lizzette Henríquez, a personnel technician for the city; her brothers Juan Carlos and Mario Alejandro; and their parents, Alex and Blanca, all share a 2,100-square-foot house in the Excelsior district, designed by architect Sandra Vivanco of A + D.
How long have you lived here?
Our whole family immigrated to San Francisco in 1984 because of the conflict in El Salvador, so it’s been 30 years this past May. We moved in with my grandparents, who had a two-bedroom cottage here.
What made you decide to build?
Originally I was thinking of buying my own house, back in 2003, but the prices were outrageous and the houses were smaller or in even worse condition. Then we thought about doing a remodel/addition to the cottage, which was built in 1900 and was really small and not very functional. But it had a lot of asbestos and termite damage. The architects told us that the best thing was to demolish and rebuild, because in the long run, it would cost the same to maintain an older house in San Francisco. So my dad put the house under our name, and my brothers and I decided to pool our resources and take out a construction loan, which is very hard to get.
What are your favorite features of the
house?
The best thing is having more space. There are two master suites, one for my parents and one for me. We included two small bedrooms for my brothers just in case, and they have since moved back in because they couldn’t afford the rent where they were living. The larger kitchen makes a big difference — the cottage had an eat-in kitchen and the dining table pretty much filled the entire space. Now we can all be there together comfortably even when our cousins visit from El Salvador. People are surprised by the design of the house, because we have two older parents and they were not expecting something so modern. But my mom had a lot of input, and she likes clean lines too.
What advice would you give to others who
are considering this kind of project?
To be involved as much as possible with the contractor and the architect — they have other projects going on, and you don’t want to fall off their radar. Make sure that you do not accept what materials the contractor offers you just to finish the project. It’s a different story if you take charge. Be prepared for it to take a long time — there will be delays that are out of your control. I
knew it was really hard to build in San Francisco, but I never thought it was going to take three years. The cottage was demolished in 2006 and the house wasn’t completed until 2009.
What is it like to share a home with your
parents?
Living at home is part of the Latino culture. I was 20 when we moved from El Salvador, so I’m very used to how things are done there. You’re giving up some privacy, but if I want to be by myself, I can be in my bedroom. My parents know that we are adults and have our own life. My mom cooks, which is great — when I go home from work, I know there is going to be dinner. My parents are getting older, and they will need us to be close to them. They get to enjoy a brand-new house with us, too.