Playhouse prices, too, climb sky high

Chronicle staff report
Saturday, June 18, 2005

The real estate boom apparently has spread to the children's playhouse market. Rebuilding Together Peninsula patrons set a record with winning bids of $70,000 and $60,000 on two of the professionally designed and built structures auctioned off at an annual fund-raiser for the nonprofit that renovates houses for seniors and the needy.

"Under the Tuscan Sun," by Focal Point Design of Menlo Park and W.L. Butler Construction of Redwood City, landed the top bid at the June 4 benefit, which in previous auctions had topped out at $38,000 for Gary Ahern's Ahwanee in 1999. Ahern owns Focal Point and co-chaired this year's event.

"Castelgard," by Simpson Design and Sundquist Associates, was the house that brought in $60,000. Two other creations of the 12 donated by Bay Area architects and builders and displayed at the Stanford Shopping Center last month surpassed the Ahwanee record, and Rebuilding Together raised more than $450,000 on the auction and its surrounding events.