Lovejoy Wharf - Hoffman Building | 160 North Washington Street | West End

Re: Lovejoy Wharf

choo said:
All those buildings will do more then ok, it's just a matter of timing and people being in leases. That's a short term issue for properties. Come Sept. 1, all those apartments will be filled and then people will trade up.

Boston needs a ton of apts, and a lot are permitted. Developers know that and are going to stagger their timelines to try and avoid competing in the same rental cycle. Without any inside knowledge, this would be my guess as to why the 3/4 buildings proposed and permitted on the backside of north station have been lagging. After these fill, and the bruins/celtics end, I bet the basketball city towers get going. Nashua street hopefully early spring.

There is also a huge demand for condos and i bet many that jumped to rental are exploring the early condo cash out.

This staggering is a short term reaction to buildings and not a change in demand fundamentals. I think the crucial part of the longer-term equation is if Boston can maintain the healthy pace that supports developer interest and conversion but also slows rental rate growth to a more natural/inflationary level.
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I get the staggering thing, but this is my primary concern, the rental rates. I don't see how, even with all the apartments coming on line, the rental market is going to get any better. Those apartments aren't just meeting a static demand; they're also helping to create demand, just as Boston's improving economy creates demand.

So I guess my question to the economists in the room is: even if all these planned luxury rentals come online in a timely fashion, how is this going to substantially affect the non-luxury market? Is there a comparison to be drawn with New York, in kind if not in quantity?
 
Re: Lovejoy Wharf

I'm going back and forth between "probably not" and "I'm not sure that's knowable." The question you'd have to ask is how many people want to move here but are priced out and how many luxury renters are currently in lower-tier housing because of lack of luxury supply? We know these people exist or else prices wouldn't be so high, but how many are there and what will the effect be when they can move into new luxury units? I don't know if there's a way to figure that out unfortunately. In the end, I think that find out that prices in this instance are really, really sticky (aka, slow to react to changes in supply/demand). Developers and whoever they might sell their buildings too can afford to sit on empty spots for a pretty long time. Might even be so long that the best we can hope to achieve is a price stagnation that eventually inflation catches up to like someone mentioned above.
 
Re: Lovejoy Wharf

underground said:
I'm going back and forth between "probably not" and "I'm not sure that's knowable." The question you'd have to ask is how many people want to move here but are priced out and how many luxury renters are currently in lower-tier housing because of lack of luxury supply? We know these people exist or else prices wouldn't be so high, but how many are there and what will the effect be when they can move into new luxury units? I don't know if there's a way to figure that out unfortunately. In the end, I think that find out that prices in this instance are really, really sticky (aka, slow to react to changes in supply/demand). Developers and whoever they might sell their buildings too can afford to sit on empty spots for a pretty long time. Might even be so long that the best we can hope to achieve is a price stagnation that eventually inflation catches up to like someone mentioned above.
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What about the effect that new buildings have on some of the pre-existing "luxury" buildings. For example, does it stand to reason that Archstone Boston Common would become less desirable when compared with The Kensington/Avalon Stuart and their newer finishes and features next door? What about Avenir and now the Victor and soon, One Canal? The existing Avalon Prudential buildings, compared to Avalon Exeter?
 
I don't know if any given building is going to be less desirable per se, but I think it's pretty safe to say it will be less desirable for renters to get in bidding wars with each other when they could just move up the street to a comparable unit. That will at least keep prices stagnant. I mean, sure, there are the type of people who absolutely have to have the newest of the new and will differentiate between a unit built 5 years ago and 5 weeks ago. But again, how do you quantify that demand? Not sure you can other than to know it exists on some level.
 
Re: Lovejoy Wharf

datadyne007 said:
lovejoy.jpg
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gotta say, liked the older (?) render with the dark blue glass and black more than this lighter blue and tan.
 
Is it limestone? If so, it'll be a nice offset from all the brick going up in adjacent developments.
 
Are we moving right into contruction on this or is this to be built at a later date?
 
Re: Lovejoy Wharf

datadyne007 said:
lovejoy.jpg
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That rendering is hilarious. They just ignore the hulking bridge abutting the property? And instead of a stagnant bay filled with police boats they have kayakers.

I know, it's just supposed to show off the best aspects of the project...
 
How many accidents are going to be caused by people going southbound on the Zakim looking up to see if they can find someone naked in their apartment?

I'm a fan of the concept, not the materials of this place. Short shrift on a what is really a gateway parcel to the city from the north.
 
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Yes! This god I love architectural signage. With all the love for the Citgo sign, you would think this city would have more.

edit:
I wish they put it on top of the brick portion instead of the glass. Still awesome though...
 
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I saw a flatbed trucking driving on the Expressway (93 North into Boston) this morning with some of these letters on it. I was wondering what they were for.
 
From my Facebook feed (won't specify specifics):
**Note: NOT TAKEN BY ME.**
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DD - Un-freakin'-believable pictures.

I love this development so much!
 
WOW! That’s so bad ass.

Datadyne – is that a pre-patinated copper? Outstanding shots. You know who designed the signage?
 
Sorry if it wasn't clear. I was not the one on the roof. These photos were posted by a friend and appeared on my feed.
 
This kind of assertive signage should be everywhere. Is it LED?

The building redesign is inferior to the original. The Berklee-esque wavey curtain wall is ok but the bay windows look like a cheap afterthought. This is giving me unpleasant flashbacks to early 80's PoMo.
 
Is that copper? I love how the sign echos the decorative trimming.
 
Excellent place for the sign -- everytime there is a shot of the TD Bank Garden from the Bridge or the Charlestown side of the river Converse will be in the picture

But they should have a Big Pair of Chuck Taylor All Stars hanging from it
 
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