It is not the most expensive or the most remote, nor does it stand out for its size, but Red Rock Isand It has been a time of the most peculiar “candy” in the American luxury market for some time. The reason: a sum of factors among which are their price, their characteristics and especially its location, in the middle of San Francisco, where it stands out as The only one Private Island His is a privileged location, but who is willing to spend the 25 million dollars that it costs will find a reddish rock (hence its name) without water or light, populated by birds and in an convoluted administrative situation.
Things of the most select luxury market.
In a place on the west coast … More specifically in the Bay of San Francisco, very close to the busy Richmond-San Rafael Bridgethrough which almost almost 13 million vehiclesis a small island baptized as Red Rock Island. The name is no coincidence, it takes it from the manganese concentration, mineral that for a while attracted the interest of the miners.
If Red Rock Island stands out for something, it is nevertheless for its tone, or location, but for its administrative condition: it is The only one Island of private property of San Francisco’s bay and stands between three counties different (San Francisco, Marin and against Costa), with which any procedure related to its lands must take into account the regulations of those three administrations.


A reddish rock in the Pacific. Red Rock awakens the curiosity of the drivers who circulate on the Richmond-San Rafael bridge because it rises as a reddish, steep and soulless promontory in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. After all, the islet It is uninhabited. His only tenants They are the seagulls, the Canadian geese, bats and the occasional rabbit that raises among their reddish rocks, bushes and excavated tunnels decades ago by the miners.
Red Rock Isand measures approximately 5.8 acres, about 2.3 hectares. Its dimensions are discreet for an island, although not far from there are islets like The Brothers and The Sisters Even smaller. It is estimated that Red Rock measures 150 meters wide, 230 long and 54 high. Chris Lim, Christie’s International Real Estate, in charge of The management of your sale, stands out However, the insula is located in the deepest part of the bay and its coast is “perfect” to arrive aboard a yacht or with a helicopter. Perhaps they are not the most economical means of transport or the most accessible; But it is that Red Rock Island has not been put up for sale in a suitable market for any pocket.
Are you left over 25 million? If so, congratulations, you can have your own private island in a privileged place on the west coast of the US. That is the price for which went on sale Red Rock Island last year, a sum that, as remember The Guardianplaces it in the “mid -range” of the private island market, well above the between 600,000 and several million dollars that can cost a small island in the Bahamas, but below the more than 100 million that are paid for some specially coveted insulants of the Caribbean.
25 million .. and something else. Of course, if the Red Rock buyer has in mind to build in the islet must have that those initial 25 million will be added another amount, equal or even more generous, to move materials, personnel and supplies. Red Rock lacks electricity and running water. And any future plan must take into account that it is between three counties. For lim The island is nevertheless more than a simple islet with potential. In his opinion it is a kind of “collectible” luxury, just like there are those who choose to hang a Mark Rothko of your living room or bid for one of the very expensive pieces of da Vinci that come to auction.
“Unique and prestigious investment”. Thus the island is announced in The portal of Crhistie´s International Real Estate, where the offer is still active 213 days after its publication. “This extraordinary island offers unparalleled natural beauty, historical importance and an infinite potential for the demanding buyer who seeks a unique and prestigious investment,” The agency emphasizes. Whether or not a “cholo”, the truth is that Red Rock Island seems to have attracted market interest. In Julio Lim assured to the CBS News chain that the seller had already received two offers and there was at least one “active”, on the table, in which they were working.
What is your current state? This same The Guardian He informed That at the end of July a contract was signed with a buyer who, at least for the moment, has asked for anonymity. The operation would not have yet been completed. “It will be a long process and the closing of the deposit will not be carried out until next year”, explained Recently the agency spokesman The Real Deal. In any case, the announcement is still active in the catalog From Christie´s International Real Estate, where it is also allowed to request information from adults or schedule a visit to the island.
Something more than luxury and nature. Red Rock Island is not just a reddish islet in the middle of Francisco’s bay populated with shrubs, seagulls, bats, geese and the occasional rabbit that hides between its pines. The island has an interesting story behind. It is said that he served as a home to merchants of Russian skins, who around 1850 lived in it the commander and businessman Selim E. Woodworththat in the nineteenth century worked in it miners interested in manganese oxide and in 1964 it was acquired by David Clickman for a sum today: $ 49,500.
In The 80s He was about to go to the controversial guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh And there are those who saw in its size and location a reef to lift “a beach club with Puerto Deportivo”, a tourist area or even, a Playboy mansion is counted. Its mineral wealth, which includes shalealso aroused interest as a quarry for the construction of a highway. He is now owned by the Durning family … and seeks to write a new chapter in his fascinating chronicle.
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*An earlier version of this article was published in August 2024
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