Bay Village Apartment Tower | 212 Stuart St. | Bay Village

^^ I'll third these notions. It checks off just about all the boxes for a livable neighborhood, it's got great architecture, a stupendously central location, AND your average tourist has no idea it exists. IMO it's just about perfect.
 
I lived in the South End for 5 years- I absolutely love Bay Village to death- it does have at least one drawback- its in a bit of a food desert, especially if youre on a budget. Whole Foods is fairly close but its not a pleasant walk and its Whole Foods so its not everyone's cup of tea. Also most apartments there are tight on square footage.
 
DBM said:
Have you guys ever walked through Bay Village?! I have, dozens of times, during morning rush hour, from Back Bay station heading toward DTX. In the midst of the noise and the traffic and all the assorted unpleasantness of morning rush hour in the area, Bay Village is an oasis of calm solitude, an exceedingly pleasant enclave of gorgeous rowhouses. And yet it is within a 15-minute walk of a elite array of cultural/civic attractions--Fenway, MFA, BPL, BSO, DTX, Boylston, Newbury, and the Columbus St. overpass to convey you into the South End. It is the LEAST surprising thing that Bay Village area should command the highest prices. It has all of the desirable attributes of Beacon Hill, minus the annoyance of the steep slopes (which, face it, are a hassle for walking unless you're seeking exercise). The only place it would be very strange in Bay Village for the highest prices in the city to be would (of course) be the Cortes St. frontage on the Pike, but this is not going up there.

Also, how does this "get such a nod" thing work? Is there a central planning soviet for the urban Boston residential price spectrum that meets weekly to formally dispense said "nods," in order to create every available price point that shall constitute the market?
Click to expand...
I think you missed the point of what I'm saying. I'm not saying Bay Village isn't an attractive area, I'm saying this building, which tops out at a modest height, have apartments that are speculated to be the most expensive per square feet in the city, beating out penthouses and condos in skyscrapers in Downtown Crossing or Back Bay. That to me is a problem. They are pricing something that is likely smaller and from my personal opinion, less luxurious, at a rate higher than its superior/contemporaries. Obviously, what is superior and inferior is a matter of opinion but I personally don't believe this tower warrants that price and only widens the divide between the uber rich haves and the have nots which frankly includes people making in the lower end of the 6 figure spectrum.

If Boston moving towards the direction of San Francisco is something to cheer about, then I hope you are all making well above $100k, but I prefer a city with a mix income level and one that doesn't force those in the lower wealth category to move out to the suburbs/exurb, settled for dilapidated apartments, or have roommates in perpetuity. Honestly, it's no longer my problem since I don't live in Boston anymore and am no longer being scammed by these sky high rent that limits my ability to save for a house or pay for anything else but I pity those that are trying to live with some comfort in Boston while paying off student debt and living off ramen and roommates for their first 10+ years of their adult life. We can take this post elsewhere since it's off topic but yeah, paying for rent in Boston is an absolute scam.
 
KentXie said:
I think you missed the point of what I'm saying. I'm not saying Bay Village isn't an attractive area, I'm saying this building, which tops out at a modest height, have apartments that are speculated to be the most expensive per square feet in the city, beating out penthouses and condos in skyscrapers in Downtown Crossing or Back Bay. That to me is a problem. They are pricing something that is likely smaller and from my personal opinion, less luxurious, at a rate higher than its superior/contemporaries. Obviously, what is superior and inferior is a matter of opinion but I personally don't believe this tower warrants that price and only widens the divide between the uber rich haves and the have nots which frankly includes people making in the lower end of the 6 figure spectrum.
Click to expand...

Yes, clearly I misconstrued your original post--thank you for the helpful clarification. We'll see if you're right re: if the developer is fundamentally misreading the market!

(As for the remainder of your post, yes, the housing affordability crisis in metro Boston has probably only been exacerbated of late, despite the decade-long residential building boom from ca. 2010-20 and then the pandemic-induced exodus, the impact of which is still unclear as far as I'm aware. Tens of thousands of new units built, but still not nearly enough to depress rents to achieve the affordability levels so desperately needed in the aggregate, for the whole area inside Rte 128--if that is the geographic area of greatest concern. The lack of a regional housing commission, duly delegated by the Commonwealth legal powers to destroy the prevailing NIMBY sentiments, continues to be the killer here as far as I'm concerned... but oh for our precious, Norman Rockwellian "home rule." But that's a subject for a different thread.)
 
3/19
IMG_20210319_1.jpg
IMG_20210319_2.jpg
IMG_20210319_3.jpg
IMG_20210319_4.jpg
IMG_20210319_5.jpg
IMG_20210319_6.jpg
IMG_20210319_7.jpg
 
It's so interesting seeing a topped-off skeletal concrete structure. I feel like most buildings built this way start outfitting the lower floors by the time the pour gets to the higher levels.
 
George_Apley said:
It's so interesting seeing a topped-off skeletal concrete structure. I feel like most buildings built this way start outfitting the lower floors by the time the pour gets to the higher levels.
Click to expand...

I know. Looking at those pics, "Beirut" keeps popping into my head.
 
Are those prefabricated concrete panels? I can't tell from the photos what the material is.
 
ra84970 said:
Are those prefabricated concrete panels? I can't tell from the photos what the material is.
Click to expand...

From posts in this thread (back in 2017), it is supposed to be limestone. I have a vague memory of someone saying "Indiana" limestone, but that doesn't seem to be in any of the posts.
 
If that is precast concrete, it’s the best I can recall seeing.
 
bdurden said:
If that is precast concrete, it’s the best I can recall seeing.
Click to expand...
I may have spent a long time in a land of stucco and concrete walls, sometimes with very fine finishes, but polished concrete nonetheless.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top