The ‘Manhattanisation’ of Boston: city’s high-rise building boom
A new generation of high-end residential towers is being built in the city centre — but some residents aren’t happy
APRIL 19, 2016
Boston is undergoing its biggest building boom since the 1920s, with a new generation of high-rise condominiums bringing about what some agents are calling the “Manhattanisation” of a city best known for its low-lying Victorian brownstones.
The flurry of construction includes 83 major projects — worth about $7bn — in 19 of the 23 neighbourhoods that make up the capital of Massachusetts.
Traditionally, much of Boston’s new-build stock has been made available only to the rental market. However, anticipating demand from buyers who might consider swapping life in wealthy suburbs such as Weston or Lincoln for car-free condo living in the city centre, developers have been creating a series of high-end apartments for sale that offer levels of amenities previously unknown in Boston.
“If you want a martini at 2am or someone to walk your dog, you’ve got it,” says Richard Friedman, president and chief executive of Carpenter and Company, which is developing One Dalton in Back Bay, one of the three central areas seeing the bulk of new construction. “There will be an Imax cinema, a 70ft wraparound lap pool, secretarial services and 1GB internet,” he says.....One Dalton’s 60 storeys — ....the tallest new building in New England for 40 years — will house a Four Seasons hotel on the first 21 floors and 180 private residences above — costing from $2m to $35m..... The homes on the higher floors will have views all the way to Cape Cod, 70 miles away. Lettings on these new residences will be tightly controlled. “We’ll only allow a minimum of one year and to an approved tenant,” says Friedman. “And no Airbnb.”....He expects a quarter of the units to sell to non-US residents. There will be a smattering of parents with children at Harvard and MIT in Cambridge, just across the Charles river from Back Bay. The remaining units are likely to sell to what he calls Boston’s “distinguished and wealthy”.....
......Property developer Joel Sklar, president of Samuels & Associates, is hoping these new routes will lead to an increase in overseas interest in property in Boston. His company is co-developing Pierce Boston, another of the city’s emerging glass towers, with the Chinese company Landsea.....The 109 units for sale (there are a further 240 rental units) are marketed from $850,000 to $5m. Residents will have access to such amenities as a rooftop pool and a residents’ lounge on the 30th floor, with 360-degree views of the city....
...Property data company Link reports record prices in Boston’s condo market — with nine central neighbourhoods rising by almost 10 per cent between 2014 and 2015 to an average $680,000. In buildings with concierge services and parking, prices rose by double that rate to an average of $1.75m......
Boston’s third-tallest skyscraper — Millennium Tower in Downtown Crossing...will have 442 residences costing up to $37.5m. Ninety per cent of the homes have already sold...A three-bedroom apartment is on sale for $8.65m through estates agents Campion and Company.
“The market leader in every regard is One Dalton,” says Tracy Campion, founder of Campion and Company, “particularly because the Four Seasons lifestyle it offers residents”. Amenities more than architecture drive today’s high-rise buyers, she thinks. “Boston has seen amenity-rich buildings in the past, but today’s offering goes above and beyond anything we’ve known.”
Buying guide
● Boston, not Chicago, is the windiest city in the US, which poses an engineering challenge for architects of its skyscrapers
● Average temperatures range from highs of 24C in July to lows of -2C in January
● Greater Boston is the US’s sixth-biggest economy thanks to its colleges, universities and biotechnology sector
● The city’s violent crime rate has dropped dramatically since the 1990s
What you can buy for …
$500,000 A one-bedroom loft-style conversion in Fort Point, central Boston
$1m A three-bedroom family home in Lincoln with a large garden
$10m A five-bedroom apartment in one of Boston’s new high-end condominiums
