The Boston Real Estate Blog

Please update your bookmark - the Boston Real Estate Blog is now at www.bostonreb.com

The Boston Real Estate blog is now at www.bostonreb.com.

http://www.bostonreb.com

BRAND NEW WEBSITE, SAME OLD SARCASM.

Boston Real Estate Blog sets up home under new domain name - bostonreb.com

It's too difficult to udpate both blogs, so I'm switching over to my new blog, and only posting entries over there.

Please go to www.bostonreb.com from now on.  (Boston REB means Boston Real Estate Blog.)

The new blog is just like this one, with some nice enhancements.  There is search functionality, so you can find your favorite posts, quickly.  Also, there's links at the bottom of each page so you can go back 20 posts, 40 posts, etc.  I don't think half the people visiting my website now realize I have more than 15 posts because there's no "earlier" link.

Plus, the new site is hosted by me, not typepad, so I'm not paying the man anymore.

I will need to keep this current website up, for the time being, as it is picked up by all the search engines, etc.  Hopefully, as people start visiting the new site, bypassing this one, the other one will become more popular.

Change your bookmarks, now!

(You can also navigate from my new site to the other websites / blogs I'm writing.  How much fun will that be?)

Longwood Towers (Brookline) to go condo over coming months

Longwood Towers, three rental buildings located near the Longwood Medical Area (and the D-line on the MBTA Green line) is going condo.

Longwood Towers is at the end of another era. The looming English Tudor-style complex, built in 1924 as a luxury residential hotel and for decades an upscale address for renters, is going condo. Longwood's new owner, the Radco Cos., which bought the complex in November for $110 million, will begin marketing condominiums next month. Tenants in the 277 units must decide whether to purchase an apartment or move out by December.

Interesting piece of information buried in the story, which is applicable to anyone living in a building that goes condo:

By law, disabled and elderly tenants and low- and moderate-income renters are entitled to extend their lease for another year if they can't find comparable rental housing ... That lease can be extended two more years for the elderly and disabled ...

Complete article: A castle for renters is going condo - By Jennifer Ehrlich, The Boston Globe

New loft condo projects to rise in Chelsea

Developers with ties to Habitat for Humanity plan to invest an estimated $8 million to convert seven former Catholic parish properties, including Our Lady of the Assumption Church on Broadway, into loft-style condos for first-time home buyers.

John Judge and Tom Truong plan to remake the closed Catholic church, two schools, three convents, and a rectory into 60 to 80 units to be sold at market-rate prices, with the average unit costing $240,000, they said. ''We're interested in affordable home ownership," said Judge, 38, a former executive director of Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston, standing inside the empty church. ''That is the philosophy driving this whole project."

(The project is not being built by Habitat for Humanity nor is it affiliated with that organization.)

Complete article: Condos set for former church property - by Kathy McCabe, The  Boston Globe

South Boston condo development planned for D Street / Seaport District area

A local developer has announced plans to redevelop the nine-story Fargo Building, a half-vacant, three-building former US Army structure at 451 D St. near the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. It would create 263 residential condominium units from office and commercial space, with 18,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor.

Complete article: Plan to redevelop Fargo building submitted to BRA - Thomas Palmer, Jr., The Boston Globe

NorthPoint gets new subway link earlier vs. later

There is a monstrous retail, commercial, and residential project going on, right now, in East Cambridge, near Lechmere Station.  It's called the NorthPoint project, and is estimated to cost $2 billion, once everything is built (in about a decade).

There are two condo buildings on the market, right now, with more to come, later (make sure you contact me if you want to see it).

Good news for those looking to buy, over there.  The developer has fast-tracked the building of a new Lechmere Green Line MBTA station.  Originally scheduled to be built at the tail end of the project, they are planning on doing it, now.

Once they build the new station (it will be across the street from where it is now) they'll be allowed to redevelop the unused area.

Complete article: NorthPoint speeds new T station plan - by Jay Fitzgerald, The Boston Herald

If I could live anywhere, I'd live at the InterContinental, 500 Atlantic Ave

The closest Boston will ever come to real estate porn, probably, at least in the foreseeable future.

You'll pay $900 / SF, or so, but that includes a parking space, and views to die for (depending on location in building, of course).

BRA approves 54-unit condo and retail development near North Station

The Boston Redevelopment Authority has given approval to a 54-unit condo and retail development at 121-127 Portland Street, near North Station.

There will be 47 one-bedroom units, and 7 affordable units.

The building, already vacant, will get two additional stories of housing.

Construction will begin this spring.

Complete article: Portland Street condo/retail building gets BRA approval - from The Boston Business Journal

New development may rise near Theater District and Combat Zone

Kevin Fitzgerald, of FitzInn Parking fame and owner of the Jacob Wirth's restaurant (and building) has a tentative deal with a developer to put a condo high-rise up, next door.

Complete article: Deal would be Wirth it - by Scott Van Voorhis, The Boston Herald

New project brings moderately-priced condos to South End

There was a brief story in today's Herald about local developer David Goldman and his New Boston Ventures.

Goldman does good work.  He built the Dover Lofts, on Berkeley Street in the South End, plus a slew (?!) of other projects in the area.

He is now proposing 37 units of housing for the South End, just west of Massachusetts Avenue, on Northampton Street (whoops, I guess he considers it more to be SOUTH OF COLUMBUS than west of Mass Ave).  He has another project going on down there, too.

Complete article: Developer puts different spin on pricey city condos - by Scott Van Voorhis, The Boston Herald

New projects approved for Roxbury / South End and North Station areas

Three new developments have been approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The first, in Roxbury, includes 265 condos.  Albany Fellows is to be located at the intersection of Fellows St, Albany St, and Northampton St.

The second, in Roxbury, includes 71 condos.  The project is located at the site of the former Kasanof bakery.

The third, near North Station, includes 248 condos (as well as retail and commercial space).  The project is located at the intersection of Canal, Causeway and Haverhill streets.  Those names may mean nothing to you, since previously they were (partially) under the Central Artery.

Complete article: BRA gives not to projects in Roxbury, North Station area - Boston Business Journal

Regatta River Residences - design your own condo

Article today in the Herald about the Regatta - the two towers across the street from the Museum of Science.  These used to be called "Museum Towers" back when they were rentals (they are converting the apartments over to condos as leases expire).

I lived in the building when it was rentals.  I liked it.  The hallways and apartments were quite antiseptic, in a hotel kind of way.  Clean and simple.

The building has a concierge, a health club, and on-site parking, plus is right next to a new park.

May be worth checking out.

Create your own Cambridge condo: You can design your own unit at the Regatta - by Paul Restuccia, The Boston Herald

For as little as $380,000, you can create your own condo at the Regatta River Residences - a luxury high-rise that overlooks the Charles River, Zakim Bridge and downtown Boston.

Located across from the Museum of Science and within walking distance of Kendall Square and Boston’s West End, the Regatta River Residences is a two-tower complex formerly known as the Museum Towers.

Built in 1998, the 436-unit complex is going condo as rental leases expire.

So far, developer Crescent Heights has converted 182 units to condos, with 67 others currently available. (Another 187 units will go condo as time goes by.)

Available properties range in price from $380,000 for one-bedroom condos on lower floors to $1.2 million for two-bedroom penthouse units.

Eastie to get new condo developments

Lots going on in East Boston.  Good place to live - easy commute, great views, good prices.

Changing scenery in East Boston - by Emily Sweeney, The Boston Globe

Developers also have big plans for Eastie's waterfront.

Roseland Property Co. has proposed building Portside at Pier One, a mixed-use development on 26 acres of waterfront land and piers on Marginal Street. The project would include 490 residential units, retail space, a restaurant, and a day-care center. The marina and docks would also be refurbished.

The project would also include a public landing and a new marine services building. It will also add 2,300 feet to the city's Harborwalk along the water. Meanwhile, the Clippership Wharf project would revive an old wharf on Lewis Street. Plans include building retail stores and 400 condos on 13 acres of waterfront.

Both Clippership Wharf and Portside at Pier One will have views of downtown Boston. The projects could break ground as early as next spring, the Boston Redevelopment Authority said.

Manny Ramirez' property at the Ritz goes on the market; media goes wild

How to piss off another real estate agent, in one easy step:

I think my name appears in this article more often than its subject, Manny Ramirez.  Oh, well.

I consider it bad manners to dis' someone else's listing.  But, in this case, I'm not really criticizing it, just ... discussing it.

BOSTON -- Manny Ramirez often is accused of having his head in the clouds. You might feel that way, too, in his penthouse condominium, with its bird's-eye view of Boston and a $6.9 million price tag.

The Citgo sign that hovers over Fenway Park, which Manny would love to put behind him after demanding a trade from the Red Sox, is visible, as are nearly most Boston landmarks from his 37th floor condo in the North Tower of the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton.

The stunning views and the "white glove" service are the selling points of his 4,500-square-foot, four-bedroom, six-bathroom pad, which includes three valet parking spaces. Monthly condo fee: $4,000.

The 2004 World Series MVP trophy sitting on the shelf beside the widescreen television in his living room is not for sale. But the 3-foot Pedro Martinez bobblehead statue can be had.

"If you want the furnishings, they're available," Wil Catlin, partner at Boston Realty Advisors, said on a recent tour.

Ramirez might grouse about the intense media and fan spotlight athletes get in Boston, but that didn't stop him from opening his home to reporters and photographers after he put it on the market, a first step in severing his ties with a sports-intense city. It's been on the market about two weeks.

Ramirez can't wait to get out of town. But he's owed $57 million over the next three seasons, so he and wife Juliana aren't ready to slash prices just because there have been no offers.

"As you can imagine, if he doesn't sell it right away, I don't think it's going to affect his lifestyle too much," Catlin said.

That's a good thing, because the asking price is too high, says John A. Keith, an independent broker who operates The Boston Real Estate Blog. The unit is priced at about $1,530 per square foot.

Complete article: Ramirez Enjoy's Bird's-Eye View of Boston, by Ken Maguire, The Associated Press (by way of the Washington Post)

New condo construction announced for South Boston and Dorchester

There will be 127 units of housing at the "Residences at 50 West Broadway" in South Boston, the site of the former Cardinal Cushing High School.

The second project is called Crescent Court in Dorchester, and is on Dorchester Ave.  The building will include 59 loft-style units.

Complete article: BRA green lights residential projects in Dorchester and South Boston, The Boston Business Journal