Olympics Opposition in Roxbury; Convention Center Hotel
ROXBURY—Neighborhood residents are none too keen on the gentrification the Olympics could bring: "'Mission Hill is already gone, Northeastern has taken that. Then the next step is Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan,' DePina said to cheers. 'People, read between the lines. What has happened is gentrification, and 2024 is just another way to finish it off.'" [Herald]
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WATERFRONT—The new inn would be tied to a Convention Center expansion that may or may not happen: "The three teams vying to build a massive hotel on the South Boston Waterfront have included prominent minority business partners, in the hope that diversity will help them win the bid for the project, according to documents disclosed Tuesday." [Globe]
Examining Nepal's Architectural Legacy After the Earthquake
A sunset behind the temples of Durbar square in Kathmandu from 2010, which was heavily damaged during the quake last Saturday. Photo by Pietro Columba/Creative Commons.
As images of flattened buildings bounce across the Internet, the scale of the humanitarian tragedy left in the wake of the recent Nepal earthquake has begun to take hold. And while the loss of life, and efforts to aid survivors, are paramount, another loss has also begun to reverberate. Nepal's unique position, perched on the roof of the world and at the crossroads of great civilizations, has left the country with an unrivaled and singular architectural heritage with seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites spread out across the Kathmandu Valley, many of which were severely damaged in the quake. "It's just aesthetically stunning," says David Gellner, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford. "It's like going to Rome, history is built into every street corner. This kind of Hindu-Buddhist urban landscape was once much more pervasive. It stretched from Afghanistan to Bali, and now the Kathmandu Valley is where it is. It's like going back in a time machine to see what northern India was like in the first century AD."
This has gotta be the most fun RentSpotter in a long while, and that's mostly due to the property in question: an unabashedly funky 1-BR condo in the Seaport that has flourishes such as a hot tub in said bedroom (on carpeting, mind you) and a bona fide sauna in-unit. The ceilings are also inexplicably low in some places and there's a random dais in the living room. Anyway! Polls open through Thursday. Try to guess the asking rent. [Curbed Boston]The Best Examples of Boston's Famed Federal Architecture
[Credit: Mass. Office of Travel and Tourism via Flickr]
Classical features, clean lines, always with the pilasters—the Federal style of architecture is unmistakable and it is present throughout Boston. No surprise, really: It was all but invented in the city, a post-Revolution successor to the more English style called Georgian. If you check out only a handful of Federal creations in Boston, we humbly suggest that they be these fab four. These embody the style and highlight the work of two of its greatest practitioners.
Let's start (where else could we?) with the Massachusetts State Houseat 24 Beacon Street in Beacon Hill, finished in early 1798 and built on a cow pasture John Hancock once owned. Charles Bulfinch, thestarchitect of his day, designed the grand home of the commonwealth's legislature. Wood shingles originally comprised its famous dome; those gave way to copper and to a 23-karat gold coating (which looks neat, yes, but was also practical: to prevent leaks).
Inside the Grocery Store for Downtown Crossing's 1 Percent
Here's the latest installment of Bates By the Numbers, a weekly feature by Boston real estate agent David Bates that drills down into the Hub's housing market to uncover those trends and people you would not otherwise notice. Follow him on Twitter and check out his ebook, Context: Nine Key Condo Markets, 2.0.
[Say cheese! Roche Bros. readying for its grand opening today; credit: David Bates]
A Millennium Place resident called Wednesday's opening of Roche Bros. Market in Downtown Crossing "huge."
She was quite possibly speaking behalf of a few thousand residents in this key part of Boston who own luxury condominiums with enviable amenities, but who are bereft of a convenient grocery-store commute. For them, things like obtaining quality fresh vegetables, important ingredients for a new recipe, or even decently prepared take-away often means it's time to jump in the car, an action which flies right in the face of why they chose to pay downtown living prices in the first place—to avoid jumping in the car FOR ANYTHING.
So, even though this densely populated part of the city has diverse demographics, the new Roche Bros. in the former Filene's Basementsite has the dubious distinction of being able to improve the quality of life of even millionaires, the 1-percenters who live nearby in some of Boston's newest and most expensive condominiums, including in the near future Millennium Tower.
Central Square's big-time Mass + Main project is inching forward: "The final step for the zoning petition that will allow a 195-foot tower with 232 units overlooking Jill Brown-Rhone Park is a last council vote before its expiration May 27." [Day]
Here's an idea for dealing with Boston's spiraling housing costs: "a 14-story, block-long $225 million building on a prime downtown parcel near TD Garden with 239 apartments, each priced at rents well below the going market rates. A little more than half of the units would be so-called workforce housing for middle-income tenants, with the rest aimed at low-income residents." The trick involves a bevy of tax breaks and other financial alchemy, however. Stay tuned. [Globe]Here's One Millennium Tower Condo That Hasn't Sold Yet
Above is the floorplan for a 3-BR, 4.5-BA spread on the 46th floor of the game-changing-est building in town: Millennium Tower in Downtown Crossing. That 442-unit spire is nearly all sold out and well on its way to becoming the most expensive residential development in New England history. "Nearly," however, means exactly what it means: Not every unit has been spoken for at Millennium. This particular 3,172-square-foot spread, Unit 4602, is one of those handful.
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Boston's Priciest House for Sale Has 26 Rooms, 11 Fireplaces
The hits just keep on coming in Boston mega-listage. If it's not a $15,000,000 asking off the Public Garden, it's a $5,000-a-square-foot asking off the same said garden. And if it's not either of those, then it's this monster: Tracy Campion has listed the 26-room, 14,871-square-foot mansion at 315 Dartmouth Street in Back Bay for a cool $20,000,000. That makes it far and away the most expensive house on the Boston sales market and second overall to that dictatorial floor-through condo in the under-construction Millennium Tower that's daring someone to pay $37.5M.
Lovejoy Wharf Constructon; Boston After the Olympics
NORTH END/WEST END—The groundbreaking residential component of Lovejoy Wharf has broken ground. The commercial bit (a.k.a. the new Converse HQ) is much further along. And here's how the whole shebang will meet the waterfront. [BostInno]
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SOUTH BOSTON—Here's what would happen to any Olympic Stadium after the Games left town: "When the 60,000-seat temporary stadium planned for Widett Circle is dismantled, the 80-acre site would be converted into mixed-use development, with 720,000 square-feet of hotel space, 3.975 million square-feet of residential space, 870,000 square-feet of retail space, and 1.55 million square-feet of office space." [Daily]
Sneak a Peek at the New White House China Set Michelle Obama Created
All photos via Apartment TherapyOn the heels of debuting a redecorated family dining room at the White House, Michelle Obama has unveiled the brand new Obama state china service, which will be deployed for the first time at the Japan State Dinner tomorrow night. The 11-piece place setting, which Apartment Therapy got to preview last week, consists of white china adorned with bands of a white relief pattern featuring pinwheels and palm fronds, matte gold, and a bright "Kailua blue" inspired by the waters seen in President Obama's home state of Hawaii.
"Don't worry folks. When interest rates rise back into the 6's, things will be much more affordable again, and the folks who bought today are going to be in for a long ride." —a reader awaits some schadenfreude re: the Hub housing market
There Are All of Five Condos for Sale in Medford
Medford is most famous as the hometown of New York-based hegemon Michael Bloomberg. It's also one of the tightest condo markets in a region of tight condo markets. Simply put, there are not a lot of units for sale. In fact, we counted a mere five as of the start of this week. They range from a 3-BR near the Somerville line asking nearly $460,000 down to a 1-BR out by Melrose asking under $250,000. Act fast, if Medford is your bag. These go fast.
This Massive Colonial Is Suddenly for Sale in Cambridge
Whether it's hundreds of thousands of dollars for a public toilet or a gobsmacking Colonial mansion suddenly up for grabs, the People's Republic can really surprise you. The Colonial in question is at 30 Gerrys Landing Road near Mount Auburn Cemetery and a stone's throw from the Charles. It dates from around 1910 and comes with an astounding 16 bedrooms and nine fireplaces. Not surprisingly, it's huge by Cambridge standards: more than 13,200 square feet on nearly one acre.
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