Ink Block (Boston Herald) | 300 Harrison Avenue | South End

I have to admit, after a decade as a real estate agent and 15-years of home ownership, I'm somewhat mystified by the whole process of how the Boston assessor's department comes up with assessed values. My interpretation is that the law is just as dirtywater says, it's just that when you come to specific cases, the math doesn't always work.

The question that was asked was basically, does a sales price become the new assessed value and the answer given was correct that it does not. That's because of the vagaries of the market plus, again as dirtywater says, the current assessment period may begin months after the sale.

In my experience, assessed values go up after a sale, but then again, so do assessed values when there are no sales. Assessed values always go up in Boston! (LOL) I would estimate that residential properties in Boston are around 80% of their market value, meaning most buyers don't see a giant increase in their property taxes once they buy.

I guess that means (again, as dirtywater says) that the assessors are doing their jobs.

I created a spreadsheet of 100 sales taking place in 2012 to get an idea of how property taxes went up in the 2.5 years since then to see if their current property tax bills are close to what they would be if you simply took the 2012 sales prices and applied last fiscal year's (2014) Boston property tax rate ($12.58).

Basically, the results are inconclusive. You'd have to do a lot more analysis and include a lot more data (say, compare the #s with 100 properties that weren't sold to see if property taxes rose less/more than the others). Plus, some of the 2012 sales were in buildings that existed for a year or two, and in situations like that, assessed values can vary a lot since the city doesn't have much data to examine.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RA4vuEU6uv__tadKQgVvwoO0M3qMo3hZ7lGGtWQWYpY/edit?usp=sharing
 
Are there any plans for the parcels between Shawmut & Harrison? Obviously we've got the Ink Block and there were plans for the church, but there is a lot of open space there...is there anything planned?
 
tmac9wr said:
Are there any plans for the parcels between Shawmut & Harrison? Obviously we've got the Ink Block and there were plans for the church, but there is a lot of open space there...is there anything planned?
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Yes.
 
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The Ink Block building seems so flimsy to me. Maybe it's because it's a small building, I dunno, but seeing it go up I was struck by its plainness.

I don't imagine it's being done any differently than other buildings so I don't know why I had this reaction.
 
Do less ...charge more. This is how things are happening right now.

cca
 
JohnAKeith said:
The Ink Block building seems so flimsy to me. Maybe it's because it's a small building, I dunno, but seeing it go up I was struck by its plainness.

I don't imagine it's being done any differently than other buildings so I don't know why I had this reaction.
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Nah, I felt the same way, too. They're just a bunch of over-hyped boxes. Rather than an inside court/great public space, they've put parking in front of the Whole Foods.

It's just urban infill and sure as hell beats what was there before, but it has a very utilitarian contribution to the area. Now, 345 Harrison across the street...that should add some visual interest where Ink Block was lacking.
 
They were way too timid with the Ink Block. It's kind of disappointing.
 
Do you think road noise from the highway here would be unbearable?
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
They were way too timid with the Ink Block. It's kind of disappointing.
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While somewhat true, you need to remember the time and place of the design and proposal of the development. This thread starts in 2007. The recession was just starting, and new housing construction really had a moratorium effect going on in Boston.

This place was fantastic news as they were taking a real risk starting when they did.

That being said, it would have been nice to see some updates in the later buildings as the economy and housing market has strengthened over the last few years.
 
Im always the one sticking up for developments on here except waterside place and the kensington....but this came out pretty bland and depressing.
 
SeamusMcFly said:
While somewhat true, you need to remember the time and place of the design and proposal of the development. This thread starts in 2007. The recession was just starting, and new housing construction really had a moratorium effect going on in Boston.

This place was fantastic news as they were taking a real risk starting when they did.

That being said, it would have been nice to see some updates in the later buildings as the economy and housing market has strengthened over the last few years.
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Point taken, but let me offer a counterpoint. Ink Block's been planned from around the same time as the Troy next door. Troys are what should be going up all along that stretch. I'd be much more sanguine about the Ink Block if they'd come out more like their neighbor. Overall it just lacks the ambition that the redevelopment of such a prominent site should have had.
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
Point taken, but let me offer a counterpoint. Ink Block's been planned from around the same time as the Troy next door. Troys are what should be going up all along that stretch. I'd be much more sanguine about the Ink Block if they'd come out more like their neighbor. Overall it just lacks the ambition that the redevelopment of such a prominent site should have had.
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And they had to be pushed (by the community and the BRA) to make it as large as it is.

There should definitely be high rise development along Albany street.
 
Driving back from the Cape today, I thought that both the Ink Block and Troy developments looked as though they did the job right as well as add needed density and a nice step down effect from downtown. Overall, good.
 
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