odurandina
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Lovejoy Wharf | 131 Beverly Street | West End
- Thread starter goldenretrievers
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I'm interested in hearing some of your thoughts about this project and the area.
I'm thinking about buying a unit in the building. I currently live in the South End. The finishes and amenities in the building are outstanding. The roof deck is incredible. It also has a really nice lounge area and gym. The proximity to the water is nice and it sounds like good restaurants and bars may open downstairs, facing the channel.
The price is fairly reasonable at about $1000 per square foot. I could sell my renovated (though not top shelf renovated) condo in the South End for about $1050 per square foot.
My concerns are the neighborhood and the parking. I would have to rent in the north end garage for $340 per month (on the roof). The traffic around rush hour is a disaster and is going to get worse with the north washington street bridge rebuild. And of course there's the madness of the TD Garden. The new supermarket and movie theater should be a great amenity.
In sum, the price seems reasonable (when the boulevard and the samuels project in fenway are north of $1450 psf)
I'm betting the values in the building will rise as the TD Garden project is completed.
Any general thoughts about the project/location/parking/neighborhood?
I'm thinking about buying a unit in the building. I currently live in the South End. The finishes and amenities in the building are outstanding. The roof deck is incredible. It also has a really nice lounge area and gym. The proximity to the water is nice and it sounds like good restaurants and bars may open downstairs, facing the channel.
The price is fairly reasonable at about $1000 per square foot. I could sell my renovated (though not top shelf renovated) condo in the South End for about $1050 per square foot.
My concerns are the neighborhood and the parking. I would have to rent in the north end garage for $340 per month (on the roof). The traffic around rush hour is a disaster and is going to get worse with the north washington street bridge rebuild. And of course there's the madness of the TD Garden. The new supermarket and movie theater should be a great amenity.
In sum, the price seems reasonable (when the boulevard and the samuels project in fenway are north of $1450 psf)
I'm betting the values in the building will rise as the TD Garden project is completed.
Any general thoughts about the project/location/parking/neighborhood?
I think if you're concerned about parking, then you're probably not the right type of person for this development. The spirit of it is being able to walk or take transit everywhere you'd need to go. If that's not possible, then uber, zipcar, etc are the reasonable alternatives.
KentXie
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Well that doesn't seem fair to say. What happens if sidewalks needs a car to drive to work that is not accessible via the T. It is unreasonable to have to uber or zipcar everyday just to get to work.
What if his/her place of employment is in Burlington or Woburn? Zipcar to work 265 days a year? Providing no parking does not mean you aren't supposed to have cars. It means owners have to look to lease a spot nearby if they want a car, making it less convenient but still an option.
bigpicture7
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^ Right and if a nearby garage has a spot & the situation is (financially, otherwise) viable for him/her, then this place remains an option for him...
That established, I think sidewalks is on the mark with the analysis...
1) I see upside for the neighborhood/ potential increases in condo value
2) Construction quality is outstanding
3) area's vibrancy is only going to increase...
4) supermarket will substantially increase convenience. There's already a CVS right there, a good coffee shop, several other amenities right there.
In my humble opinion, the only wildcard is whether getting in/out by car works for you schedule-wise (& patience-wise). The area is gridlock during key commute times (with cops blocking traffic for commuter rail pedestrians crossing the street at rush hour).
I don't know what direction you're heading in via car, but I might look to see if there's a garage over in Charlestown I could walk to to grab my car...
This actually raises another potentially important factor for you:
They'll soon be re-building the Charlestown bridge...
Does anyone know if it will be closed off to pedestrian traffic too during construction?
You may want to consider the schedule of that as you weigh your decision...
That established, I think sidewalks is on the mark with the analysis...
1) I see upside for the neighborhood/ potential increases in condo value
2) Construction quality is outstanding
3) area's vibrancy is only going to increase...
4) supermarket will substantially increase convenience. There's already a CVS right there, a good coffee shop, several other amenities right there.
In my humble opinion, the only wildcard is whether getting in/out by car works for you schedule-wise (& patience-wise). The area is gridlock during key commute times (with cops blocking traffic for commuter rail pedestrians crossing the street at rush hour).
I don't know what direction you're heading in via car, but I might look to see if there's a garage over in Charlestown I could walk to to grab my car...
This actually raises another potentially important factor for you:
They'll soon be re-building the Charlestown bridge...
Does anyone know if it will be closed off to pedestrian traffic too during construction?
You may want to consider the schedule of that as you weigh your decision...
stick n move
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I mean yeah the traffic sucks but your literally right on the highway. So maybe before if you had to drive 15 mins to get to the highway now you may sit for 15 minutes to get on, but your right there.
If you're already planning to sell, why not just move to where you actually want to be in the first place?
Because it's a 700 square foot one bedroom that probably won't be suitable for the rest of my life...regardless, how many people do you think stay put forever once they purchase a property? Not too many.
lexicon506
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Having a personal vehicle in downtown Boston will only become less valuable in the future. Assuming the units are selling well now I can't imagine you'd have any problem finding a buyer down the line.
JumboBuc
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Assuming parking remains as in-demand in the future as it is now, the lack of parking should only inhibit resale by as much as it inhibits sale in the first place. In other words, the lack of parking is already priced into the unit today. It's likely one of the reasons why pricing for this building is below that of otherwise comparable buildings, as you explained. You benefit from this markdown as a buyer, but you'll be hurt by it as a seller. Overall, I'd say the effect of not having parking pretty much cancels (although not paying property tax and interest on it in the meantime is a plus).
So then you gotta ask: "will the demand for parking change between now and a future selling date? In which direction?" If anything, I'd say there will be less demand for parking in the future. As a society we're putting less value in privately-owned personal vehicles than we used to. I'm not saying that I foresee some mass shift away from auto ownership (especially for those in the market for "luxury" housing), but I also have a hard time seeing demand for a private spot for one's car increasing over the medium-term.
Sounds to me like sidewalks does want to live there now, but he/she also understands that it won't be forever. Buying a property without considering resale would be completely irresponsible.
Well it's clearly one of the fastest developing areas of the city. Regardless of parking, the incoming gentrification is going to spike the property values. The parking situation will also likely be different by then too.
JeffDowntown
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Also given the transit-oriented location at Lovejoy Wharf, I doubt that the lack of parking would be a big issue for resale. There are a lot of condo buyers in Boston who do not own cars, and do not want units with deeded spaces. Perhaps not a majority, but a strong minority of the buyer population.
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Sidewalks, if you’re going to be living there at least 8-10 years, the next buyer won’t own a car. Everything will be autonomous vehicles one merely dials up. Good chance privately owned cars will be banned from the city center by then.
IMHO, that’s the best project in years. That neighborhood is soon to be one of the best in the world with all that is going on with North Station. However owning a car there sort of defeats what the city is trying to accomplish in that section.