The Aubrey | 149-153 Newbury Street | Back Bay

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Idk how it didnt go sooner. Its on Newbury st so Im sure itll be appropriate, and have retail.
 
Should be interesting to see what goes here. Architecture review is gonna be interesting.
 
This is right near my husband's gallery. The sale was quite the to-do among the various associations of business and property owners on Newbury.
 
$40M. Interesting as that is a lot of money - which makes sense given the location.

However, you can't toss up a 50 storey glass monolith on the site, nor should you.

My concern is that the new owners propose some cheap, alucobond palace with offset windows. Also, I would hate to see something period / ornate proposed and then what gets built looks less detailed than the rendering (Hotel Commonwealth).

I would like to see something modern like 10 Farnsworth as a contrast to the 19th century neighbors. Thoughts?
 
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I don't think they're going to go cheap here. They won't be allowed to. The Back Bay Architectural Commission will also be reviewing this.

Looking at their investment profile, they tend to fit in with the neighborhood character. Though there are a few ultra-modern lots, I feel they will take into account they are on one of the oldest luxury retail streets in America.

Will be interesting to see what they make of this, considering the $40 million for the lot.
 
It'll be like the nike store with a glass penthouse on top.
 
That price seems crazy. It's a 14,000 SF lot. Let's say they get an FAR of 4 (base zoning is probably 2), that means they can put up 56,000 GSF. Call it 80% efficient - that works out to roughly 45,000 RSF. That means the land cost per rentable square foot is $889. They're either planning to sell at $1800 per SF or they're expecting to be allowed an FAR of 7 or 8. Neither seems likely to me!
 
AmericanFolkLegend said:
That price seems crazy. It's a 14,000 SF lot. Let's say they get an FAR of 4 (base zoning is probably 2), that means they can put up 56,000 GSF. Call it 80% efficient - that works out to roughly 45,000 RSF. That means the land cost per rentable square foot is $889. They're either planning to sell at $1800 per SF or they're expecting to be allowed an FAR of 7 or 8. Neither seems likely to me!
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Despite being extremely expensive, $1,800 psf doesn't seem unrealistic for this area, does it? I hate to use this phrase, but this could be one of the premier addresses in the city. Down at the waterfront, 22 Liberty has condos listed for $2,300/sq ft and Pier 4 has some at $3,000/sq ft. List prices at the nearby Mandarin Oriental in Back Bay are topping $3,500/sq ft. too...
 
AmericanFolkLegend said:
That price seems crazy. It's a 14,000 SF lot. Let's say they get an FAR of 4 (base zoning is probably 2), that means they can put up 56,000 GSF. Call it 80% efficient - that works out to roughly 45,000 RSF. That means the land cost per rentable square foot is $889. They're either planning to sell at $1800 per SF or they're expecting to be allowed an FAR of 7 or 8. Neither seems likely to me!
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I'll re-post about a building in Washington DC.

Sagamore Development has sold its building at the corner of Wisconsin and M streets NW to McLean-based Capital One NA (NYSE: COF) for a whopping $50.2 million. The Baltimore-based development arm of Under Armour founder Kevin Plank’s empire bought the building back in 2014 for $12.2 million.

Capital One’s purchase may well be a record for a commercial property sale in D.C. With 3150 M St. NW coming in at 8,769 square feet, the purchase price represents more than $5,720 per square foot for un-leased retail building.
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https://www.bizjournals.com/washing...apital-one-makes-huge-real-estate-buy-in.html

fit


The dark black cornice buildings, and the building with the ivy. Multiple buildings that were joined and added to over time.

Capital One is essentially using this as a billboard.
 
Plus this is literally the last developable lot on Newbury st. After this thats it, so its going to go for absolute top dollar. This is the last chance someone that wants to locate here has to get a new building on Newbury st for most likely a pretty long time, which also is arguably Bostons most famous and most desirable street to locate to.
 
stick n move said:
Plus this is literally the last developable lot on Newbury st. After this thats it, so its going to go for absolute top dollar. This is the last chance someone that wants to locate here has to get a new building on Newbury st for most likely a pretty long time, which also is arguably Bostons most famous and most desirable street to locate to.
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Just guessing -- but consider 10,000 sq ft footprint for the foundation
  • Basement Retail / restaurants -- consistent with lots of buildings on Newbury St. -- and so looking with steps down
  • 1st floor Retail / restaurants -- consistent look with lots of buildings on Newbury St -- ground floor entrances
  • 2nd floor Retail / restaurants -- consistent look with lots of buildings on Newbury St -- possibly steps up?
  • then a step back
  • 3rd floor brick traditional look stories for office -- We Work like spaces with say 8,000 sq ft per floor
  • 4th floor brick traditional look stories for office -- We Work like spaces with say 8,000 sq ft per floor
  • then step back with gloss top
  • 5th floor -- final level of condos -- 2 or 3 with a 6500 sq ft floor area
  • 6th floor - roof deck and mechanical penthouse
That location the condos could each go for $5 to even 10M coming close to covering the cost of the lot

If you could sneak a 2nd level of condos in past the Back Bay Commission -- the top could be a major penthouse single unit with its own deck and the price might be up to 20 M [6,000 sq ft @ 3k/sq ft]
 
We'll have to revise our speculations

here's the detail on the size of the lot from Buildup

Jul 08, 2019

Newbury Street Parking Lot Sells for $40 Million
The parking lot at the corner of Newbury and Dartmouth Street in Boston has sold for $40 million to Chicago-based L3 Capital.

The property features a 9,973 square foot parking lot occupied by SP+ Parking in one of the most heavily trafficked areas of the city in Boston's Back Bay.
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https://www.bldup.com/projects/278-dartmouth-street

I'm guessing that what can be developed is of the order of 8,500 sq ft footprint as there is a building right behind it
278_Dartmouth_Street_Back_Bay_Boston_MA.jpg


On the other hand that building is 7 stories including a setback penthouse -- so seeing as this lot is on the corner of Newbury and Dartmouth -- the developer might be able to sneak 8 to even 10 stories with a couple of setbacks
 
No. They're soil testing to figure out what the site can support.
 
The developer has been in talks with neighborhood groups about a zoning compliant office/retail building at this location tentatively called "The Aubrey".

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While neighborhood groups applauded The Aubrey’s adherence to zoning, concerns remain around its modern design, described by one observer as “unlike anything else on Newbury Street.”
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reverend_paco said:
The developer has been in talks with neighborhood groups about a zoning compliant office/retail building at this location tentatively called "The Aubrey".

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Click to expand...
Where are these "unveiled plans for a six story building with both offices and retail, filling in Newbury’s last undeveloped lot" ??
 
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