The St Regis Residences (former Whiskey Priest site) | 150 Seaport Blvd | Seaport

From today 9/6/23
IMG_0677.jpeg
IMG_0678.jpeg
IMG_0679.jpeg
IMG_0676.jpeg
 
Had lunch there last week, very good food and service. Waiter told me there's an issue with one of the 'smoke eaters', or something, in the kitchen and it's getting replaced next week, hence the staining on the building.
 
Article in the Globe about Cronin's woes.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/10...nin-sales/?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter

And today almost half of the building’s units remain unsold, an uncomfortable spot to be in for any condo developer with construction debt to pay off.

But Cronin confirmed this week that he has secured new financing from Cottonwood Group, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm that developed EchelonSeaport, a luxury condo and apartment complex across Seaport Boulevard from St. Regis Residences.

Cottonwood’s mortgage signals its confidence that Cronin can sell the remaining St. Regis units, and it will allow him to pay off the outstanding balance of the $345 million construction loan he received from Madison Realty Capital in January 2022. Neither side would disclose terms of the financing, though Cronin said the interest rate is lower than the rate on the construction loan.

....sales at Echelon Seaport, which was about 50 percent sold when the complex opened in 2020 and is now up to 90 percent. She also worked with Raffles Residences, a hotel and condo combo in the Back Bay that opened in June and is 80 percent sold.

Things have picked up since Labor Day,” he said. And the recent opening of Savr, a two-level restaurant on the premises, has made the building more appealing.

Cronin said his larger, more expensive units have sold well among cash buyers. Less expensive one- and two-bedroom units are moving more slowly, but he doesn’t feel pressure to reduce prices. Almost all the buyers are local, he said.
 
Goodness gracious, that building is simply breathtaking.
It looks really stunning from the angle of the street, but not the water side. I was eating dinner at Nautilus Pier 4 last week, and I kept staring at the facade all night from my table. It was kind of boring and flat. I had an architecture friend visiting from Nebraska, and I was trying to point out all the new buildings as we walked along the waterfront, and this building just wasn't a stand-out from the Pier 4 walkway.

This is the only interesting view in my opinion.

1697164436633.png
 
It looks really stunning from the angle of the street, but not the water side. I was eating dinner at Nautilus Pier 4 last week, and I kept staring at the facade all night from my table. It was kind of boring and flat. I had an architecture friend visiting from Nebraska, and I was trying to point out all the new buildings as we walked along the waterfront, and this building just wasn't a stand-out from the Pier 4 walkway.

This is the only interesting view in my opinion.

View attachment 43504
Unfortunately, I would have to agree. I wish that it wasn’t only on the one side.
 

St. Regis Residences developer Jon Cronin sold 10 units in the luxury condominium tower through a “limited inventory bid sale” designed to stir up interest in the nearly half-empty Seaport building.
All 10 one- and two-bedroom units included in the bid sale fetched prices above the minimum required bids, according to a statement on Monday from Cronin Development and The Collaborative Companies, which took over marketing of the 114-unit building last month.

Buyers paid all-cash, Sue Hawkes, managing director of The Collaborative Companies, said in the statement. Prices weren’t disclosed.

The minimum required offers were set at about 20 percent below recent comparable sales.

The 22-story tower has prime waterfront views and white-glove amenities such as 24-hour concierge and butler services. But the condos — even units that don’t look out over the harbor — were priced at a premium to the market, and sales had been sluggish.

Most of the units offered don’t have waterfront views. The minimum bid was $1.4 million for one-bedroom units with a den, down from the most recent comparable sale of $1.775 million. The minimum is $3 million for 2-bedroom units with a den, down from $3.7 million.

Cronin said last month that he had secured new financing for the St. Regis Residences from Cottonwood Group, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm that developed EchelonSeaport, a luxury condo and apartment complex across Seaport Boulevard from his building. According to Monday’s statement, Cottonwood provided $240 million for a senior mortgage. Other terms weren’t disclosed.
 
Those who bought a similar unit for 20 percent more can't be too happy about this.

And were there any other sales during this period, other than through the auction?
 
Those who bought a similar unit for 20 percent more can't be too happy about this.

And were there any other sales during this period, other than through the auction?
Maybe / maybe not. Above states that those auctioned did not have water views, as the ones without water views were the ones most struggling to sell. It was unclear whether the -20% was with respect to other units also without water views, or whether they are with respect to similar square footage / bdrm count units on the other side of the building.
Further, is it not in every owner's interest to get the building fully sold sooner than later? It would seem prospects for selling one's own unit are stronger if the buildings overall statistics look better.

I think your comment pertains more to those who might have been hoping to flip a unit, as we heard there was such activity in the early days of Fan Pier (which feels like a lifetime ago now). This auction will no doubt affect near term prices of other units, but I am not sure how much people who actually want to live in this building will care.

Lastly I'd assume that the recent investment of Cottonwood (tied to Echelon across the street) is a positive: a firm committing to the neighborhood and seemingly endorsing this as part of that neighborhood.

Don't get me wrong there's some negatives here, but it's a mixed bag overall with some longer-term positives.
 
Those who bought a similar unit for 20 percent more can't be too happy about this.

You missed this quote: "All 10 one- and two-bedroom units included in the bid sale fetched prices above the minimum required bids...."

However big the gap was, it wasn't the full 20 percent.
 
Maybe / maybe not. Above states that those auctioned did not have water views, as the ones without water views were the ones most struggling to sell. It was unclear whether the -20% was with respect to other units also without water views, or whether they are with respect to similar square footage / bdrm count units on the other side of the building.
Further, is it not in every owner's interest to get the building fully sold sooner than later? It would seem prospects for selling one's own unit are stronger if the buildings overall statistics look better.

I think your comment pertains more to those who might have been hoping to flip a unit, as we heard there was such activity in the early days of Fan Pier (which feels like a lifetime ago now). This auction will no doubt affect near term prices of other units, but I am not sure how much people who actually want to live in this building will care.

Lastly I'd assume that the recent investment of Cottonwood (tied to Echelon across the street) is a positive: a firm committing to the neighborhood and seemingly endorsing this as part of that neighborhood.

Don't get me wrong there's some negatives here, but it's a mixed bag overall with some longer-term positives.
I agree it is in his interest to sell as many units as quickly as possible, because he is on the hook for the balance of the construction loan. IIRC, Cottomwood took over the loan from the original lender. I expect Cronin was/is being squeezed financially because of the carrying costs of that loan.

Construction was much delayed, and then the Fed began raising rates, and putting an end to cheap money. Plenty of stories currently about homeowners not wanting to sell because they like the cheapness of their current mortgage.
 
From the mansionglobal article, the seller was Jon Cronin, the developer. And again from the article, the new owners will be ripping out Cronin's décor for their own, at a cost of "millions". With an apartment size of 5,500 sq ft, "millions" would mean at least $400 a square foot.
Just got this email, pretty impressive sales considering the environment:

Exciting news from The St. Regis Residences, Boston! This year alone, the Sales Team has surpassed an impressive $90 million in closed sales – and we can’t wait to see what 2025 brings.
 

Back
Top