The Bryant - 301-319 Columbus Avenue

Beton Brut said:
Is it strange to anyone that I look at Lyman Hall (and the rest of Richardson's earthy, asymmetrical work) as the great-grandfather of our sadly maligned City Hall? In Richardson and Frank Furness, I find the seeds of both Organic Architecture and Brutalism.
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Interesting theory. Wonder if it's been explored.
 
Why would anyone pay a million dollars, or more, to live in the Bryant? Maybe the interiors are spectacular. The outside looks like a cheap university dorm.
 
joebos said:
Why would anyone pay a million dollars, or more, to live in the Bryant? Maybe the interiors are spectacular. The outside looks like a cheap university dorm.
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They're having open houses everyday from 10am to 6pm for the next couple weeks... go see for yourself.
 
The fenestration ruins it for me...it only enhances the building's fat-ass massing.
 
I read that the realtors are requiring identification for viewing the units and are writing down address information. If that's true I'm not going to take a tour. I only live three blocks from the building so it would be easy to drop by.
 
czsz said:
Interesting theory. Wonder if it's been explored.
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I'm sure someone a lot smarter than me has written a dissertation on it. It's just...obvious.

There was a book reviewed in ArchRecord over the summer (will post Amazon link here when I find the issue) that examined Wright, Aalto, an a few others as the true path for Modernism, but that academia never co-opted their theories (even though their work was widely published).

I've heard Richardson referred to as a Proto-Organic architect. Furness could be termed a Proto-Brutalist (massing, not necessarily materials) on strength of this and this. I'd bet my life that Gerhard Kallmann loves Frank Furness.

I just love how threads on boring projects seem to generate interesting off-topic discussions...
 
I agree with joebos...the exterior is pathetic. The 50% off price is OVER 1 MILLION DOLLARS. That's insane. I get that they are big units, but if you want to sell for those kind of numbers the place should look special.
 
I figured out what's wrong with the exterior, even more so than the cheap precast or the lack of quality, detailed ornament. The windows aren't set back far enough. They're practically flush with the wall. They should have been set 4" to 6" back, and those concrete slabs pushed out about 2". Would've made all the difference in the world.

Okay, I cheated a little bit. David Hacin mentioned this when he talked about FP3, and how he wanted the new construction on the streetwall to remain contextual, but still have a thoroughly contemporary feel, without feeling cheap or "thin" as he called it.
 
I just noticed I coincidentally took a picture from the same angle as the render

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303columbus-thebryant_resized_web.jpg
 
From Curbed NY

Boston's Condo Auction Experiment a 'Complete Failure'

Monday, October 19, 2009, by Joey

2009_10_bryant.jpgOver the weekend developer Vornado Realty Trust auctioned off 10 luxury condos in The Bryant, a new 50-unit brick building on the border of Boston's Back Bay and South End neighborhoods. Why do we care? Because developers holding on to unsold "shadow inventory" in NYC have been quietly keeping an eye on this auction. Vornado's hypothesis: That luxury condos can and will maintain their value (value according to the developers, that is) at auction. So how did it turn out? The Boston Herald reports that most of the units sold for around $1.3 million after being listed for $1.7 million to $2.2 million. Doesn't sound like the end of the world, but one broker called it a "complete failure for the developer," adding, "The units averaged $671 per square foot with parking. That's not good news for Vornado. Buyers are paying $700 per square foot in the Back Bay and Beacon Hill for walk-ups without parking." Ouch, does this mean auctions are out as NYC's next big sales gimmick? Greenpoint, it's up to you, little buddy.
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and from the Herald

Buyers hit condo jackpot
Boston luxury units sell for way less at auction
By Thomas Grillo
Sunday, October 18, 2009 - Updated 22h ago

Once touted as private entry to the best of Boston living, 10 super-luxury condominiums were unloaded at an auction yesterday for up to 41 percent off their list price.

More than four dozen bidders packed a room at Boston?s Colonnade Hotel for a chance to own a two- or three-bedroom home at the Bryant, a new 50-unit, 10-story brick building on Columbus Avenue straddling the Back Bay and South End neighborhoods. Most of the units sold in the $1.3 million range after being listed from $1.7 million to $2.2 million.

Vornado Realty Trust, owner of the Bryant and co-developer of the stalled former Filene?s project in Downtown Crossing, hired Accelerated Marketing Partners, a Weston-based auctioneer, when it was clear the units were going unsold. Prior to the auction, only one unit had closed, according to the Suffolk Registry of Deeds.

Russell DeMartino, Vornado?s vice president of development, declined to comment. But Jon Gollinger, Accelerated Marketing?s chief executive, said he was frustrated that the units sold at such low prices.

?We wanted more and we are disappointed in the numbers,? Gollinger said. ?But buyers got a great deal and we have to live with their judgment of the Bryant?s value.?

John Ford, a Boston real estate broker, said the auction was a disaster for Vornado, which was hoping the auction would reset the high prices buyers once paid for luxury living in the Hub?s downtown.

?The auction was complete failure for the developer,? Ford said. ?The units averaged $671 per square foot with parking. Thats not good news for Vornado. Buyers are paying $700 per square foot in the Back Bay and Beacon Hill for walk-ups without parking.?

A Falmouth couple, who declined to be identified, purchased a third-floor, three- bedroom unit for $1.3 million, or 22 percent off the original list price of $1.7 million.

?The price we paid was very close to the highest number we were willing to spend,? the buyer said. ?If they hope to sell the rest of the units, they should lower the prices more dramatically.?

Another buyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, paid nearly $1.4 million for a three-bedroom dwelling on the fourth floor, 28 percent off the original asking price of $1.9 million.

?The prices were on the high side, but the units are fantastic,? the buyer said. ?They?re big and the construction is first-class and it comes with self-parking. This auction will set the prices for luxury condos in the downtown for the next few years.?

Brokers from the Clarendon and the W Hotel Residences, two downtown luxury condo projects where sales have been scarce, watched the auction unfold, a source told the Herald.
tgrillo@bostonherald.com
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"The units averaged $671 per square foot with parking. That's not good news for Vornado. Buyers are paying $700 per square foot in the Back Bay and Beacon Hill for walk-ups without parking."

Urbanism and Prewar details (ornament such that 'luxury' looks noticeably different from any typical hotel chain) add value? Who would have thought! Next thing you know they'll be telling us that people actually like traditional townhouses and courtyard buildings with smaller distinct rooms.
 
You mean people dont want to spend over a million for a small apartment? Holy shit!

WHy not lose the gym, dump the parking, fire the concierge and sell apartments that people are willing to pay for?

Youll note that the ever popular brownstones are essentially private homes, people dont need all the extra services the condos try to add. Nobody moves to the suburb because of a spa.
 
^ My thoughts exactly. It's a sad commentary on urbanism and neighborhood activity when "the good life" in an urban context is essentially equivalent to living in a full-service hotel.

When will residential developers stop doing market research in suburbs and start understanding what drives people to enjoy living in an urban context?

If I wanted to be able to access a gym, a spa, a hairdresser, a parking spot, a multimedia room etc all without breathing fresh air, I might as well stay in the suburbs where point-to-point car access essentially allows me to do the same thing - and with 5 times the square footage. Developers need to start realizing that part of the draw of a city is, in fact, to be able to get fresh air and WALK to your local bagel shop, the gym down the street, the hairdresser three blocks away, the Dunkin Donuts that won't get your order right.

Jeesh.
 
Well what you don't seem to understand is that this is a LUXURY building and the developers were not doing market research in the suburbs, they were doing it based on what other LUXURY buyers wanted. Middle class people who like cities live there because of the walkable amenities you mentioned but upper class buyers want all those things, and they want them IN their building.

Nobody moves to the suburb because of a spa.
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When you are a developer trying to fit one more over priced luxury condo into an over saturated market it's the little things like a in building spa that count.

It's a sad commentary on urbanism and neighborhood activity when "the good life" in an urban context is essentially equivalent to living in a full-service hotel.
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Originally hotels and apartment buildings for the upper classes were exactly that, a place where you could live and have someone else do all the work for you. It really isn't a commentary on urbanism but on how things have come full circle.
 
Comparing Beacon Hill to Columbus ave doesnt seem to be very fair.
 
Shepard said:
Developers need to start realizing that part of the draw of a city is, in fact, to be able to get fresh air...
(ed: emphasis added)
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Isn't The Bryant a block from Ned's place. Fresh air? These buyers will all be goners from the UFPs if Columbus Center is ever built.
 
Suffolk 83 said:
Comparing Beacon Hill to Columbus ave doesnt seem to be very fair.
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Used to be more than fair, pre Methunion Manor and urban renewal. Columbus still retains some of its old character:

hassam2.jpg
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
Well what you don't seem to understand is that this is a LUXURY building and the developers were not doing market research in the suburbs, they were doing it based on what other LUXURY buyers wanted. Middle class people who like cities live there because of the walkable amenities you mentioned but upper class buyers want all those things, and they want them IN their building.

When you are a developer trying to fit one more over priced luxury condo into an over saturated market it's the little things like a in building spa that count.

Originally hotels and apartment buildings for the upper classes were exactly that, a place where you could live and have someone else do all the work for you. It really isn't a commentary on urbanism but on how things have come full circle.
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I understand that they built a luxury building and thats the problem. Their market research obviously failed if they had to go to auction.

They SHOULD have built a midrange building selling units for 500k. Lower price can be obtained by not building all those extra luxuries. Gym space = more apartment. Concierge desk = more apartment. Built a rooftop patio if you really want a public area for residents.
 
^ Agreed with Jass. I didn't mean to imply that they did their market research wrong with regards to luxury buyers; I meant that they did their market research wrong if they thought luxury buyers were a prime growth platform. As Jass said eloquently, many more people would live an urban lifestyle without under-the-roof frills for a price tag that can still be worthwhile to developers.
 
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