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Ground broken on new waterfront condo project
By adamg on Wed, 10/30/2013 - 12:05pm
The mayor and officials from the Fallon Co. put their ceremonial shovels in the ground today to launch 22 Liberty, a 14-story luxury condo building on the waterfront that features a stepped design so that residents can get views of both the harbor and downtown.
Fallon says some of the units will feature three or more bedrooms, unusual in a city where developers seemed to go out of their way to ensure families with kids would be sent looking elsewhere.
The building is the latest piece of a 21-acre project between the federal courthouse and the ICA.
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Comments
Yes, please
Anything that helps bring us one step closer to hiding the hideous One Marina.
Great to see the push for 3+ bedrooms, but gotta be kidding if you think most middle class families could afford whatever they build. Going to be pretty pennies, I'm sure. But hey, families are families. But I imagine they'll just be filled primarily with 3+ college kids.
good
Nowhere does it say the middle class should be able to raise a family in the heart of a major city in a brand new building. Show me ONE example of a this in NYC, DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or even any 2nd tier city. This building is a 3 minute walk from the Financial District, on the water, and near transit hubs. Of course it's going to be an expensive place to live, as it should be!
I'm not saying it should be nor has to be
I'm just saying I find the way the developer and city want to spin it as being for families is a bit silly.
It is for families....
Named Al-Saud, Windsor, Gates, Slim.
I'm kidding, but some of our older waterfront condos; Union Wharf, Lincoln Wharf, Harbor Towers, are showing their age, some people might want to trade up, thus loosening supply in the market and stabilizing prices, which is good for the city overall. We have a lot of residential in the pipeline or under construction in South Boston / Seaport, Cambridge, Somerville, and secondary markets like Everett and Chelsea. Are rents / prices going to be Kansas City level here in a few years? No, but developers are trying to keep up with demand, eventually one or two will be left without a seat when the music stops, helping stabilize things. Already asking rents are dropping from cocaine lifestyle to Crystal level in the Seaport. They are still high, but stabilization looks like it is on its way.
The City does NOT want cheaper housing
Two things the city fears most 1) rising interest rates/falling rents or both which decimate commercial values meaning commercial taxes go down residents' taxes skyrocket as they have to make up the difference and 2) any other falling real estate values.
The city's stability and entire financial structure rest on a foundation of stable or rising property values and continued expansion of the real estate base. Mess with any of that and the city's finances are toast.
Not their spin, mine
The press releases say nothing at all about families. I put that in because of all the complaints about how we need more units with more than two bedrooms in this city.
Yes, we're talking about Wellesley and Newton-style families with enough resources to pay 7 figures for waterfront views (or, as explained below, companies seeking to get into extended stays), and, yes, the number of 3-bedroom units is probably really small (just like the number of those $1,700 broom-closet "micro units" in other buildings that the mayor so loves), but it seemed interesting enough to warrant mention in a tiny post.
No need to speculate
Per the BBJ: Fan Pier, a $3 billion joint venture of The Fallon Co., MassMutual and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, is one of the country’s largest mixed-use development sites, spanning 21 acres and nine city blocks. Fallon would not reveal the condo project’s cost. He said the units will be priced from $1,400 to $1,500 per square foot, or about $910,000 for a 650-square-foot studio. At that price per square foot, you are probably looking at around $2.7mm for a 3-bedroom.
Not too shabby
$2.7M for a (relatively) small three bedroom apartment, that's close to $15K worth of mortgage per month. Assuming one cannot spend more than a third of their income on mortgage, that works out to well over half a million a year. Heck, even the shoebox-sized studios that are normally student housing or first apartment for someone fresh out of college working a low-paying entry level job would require close to $200K worth of income. Who in the world makes this much and would want to live there, other than the middle eastern oil kiddies mentioned in the other post?
You're not very familiar with Greater Boston real estate
Only someone totally unfamiliar with Boston real estate would ask this kind of question. Answer: Lots of people. Yes, that's a ton of cash, and when you add in taxes and condo fees, you're talking real money. Real money that a lot of people have. And they may have second homes worth equally as much. So yes, a lot of people (that aren't me).
Mortgage? Surely you jest. We're talking cash sales a lot of times, financing maybe half of it or less.
The BBJ report was incorrect
The BBJ report was incorrect as it relates to pricing (which has not yet been determined). As such, the speculative, inaccurate numbers were removed from the piece.
And private school!
Poopsie can't suffer the indignity of being assigned to an elementary school in Dorchester. Or Catholic school- Poopsie doesn't look good in pleated skirts and hair bows.
Hey now
Trustfunders are people too, they need a place to live. Those three bedroom units will be at least $6000 per month, that should keep all the bums making under 250k a year out so the gentry can ponder about the plight of the poor in peace, without getting interrupted by all those evil insensitive righties.
Keep This Area Expensive
The South Boston Waterfront is the one area in Boston where educated, worldly and sophisticated people gather.
We can only hope this area stays expensive. Keep out the riff raff and meathead sports fans that ruin just about every other area of the City. This area will keep the late 20s to early 40s demographic from moving to SF, NYC, DC..etc. We need to grow up as a city.
Oh...and don't vote for any life long townie dinosaurs on Nov. 5th!
Message to Archie Bunker ...
Has it occurred to you inside that thick skull of yours that maybe, just MAYBE having someplace for rich people to go buy rich people stuff is an effective strategy for preserving affordable housing in the neighborhoods?
Not that you would have the slightest clue about this, but Boston is actually decades behind other cities who have successfully lured the wealthy away from gentrifying middle class neighborhoods by giving them a special luxury zone of their own.
3+ bedrooms
At the prices these will go for, that isn't about families.
That is about making sure the units don't get snapped up for extended stay and corporate use and thus compete with the hotels.
this is not the start
there is a building already complete and two almost complete.
Drr, you're right
Thanks. Post corrected.
What else is there besides
What else is there besides One Marina (which has no housing)?
Why is it called "The Liberty"
When it is not on Liberty Wharf , which is what about a quarter mile away?
I suppose "The Fan" didn't have as good a ring to it.
I suppose "The Fan" didn't
Maybe they were afraid that it would remind people of "When the shit hits..."
Because it's on a new street
Because it's on a new street currently being built called Liberty Drive. There will be 2 residential buildings (the 2 closest to the Harbor) on Liberty Drive - 22 Liberty and 50 Liberty.
Aha, thanks. Please allow me to re-state my question then:
Why on earth would they name a new street "Liberty Drive" when Liberty Wharf is already, what, a quarter mile away?
Oh well, at least it won't be One Liberty Center (will it?).
Because LIBERTY! LIBERTY!!
Because LIBERTY! LIBERTY!! LIBBBBEERRRRRTTTYYYY!!!!! USA! USA! USA!
Hope this helps.