7 Responses to “Downtown Crossing – always something going on outside your door” »»

1. Observer
   Comment by Observer | 05/05/08 at 11:02 am

   As a SE resident that works in Downtown Crossing, I expect that 45 Province will do poorly..once their target wealthy buyers actually go out in the evening, they will see things far beyond a bad night in the South End. High-end product probably will not do well…this is more of a pioneer, value-buyer locale. In time, though, inventory will get absorbed (either at or under asking), more home-owners will be around, and the area will clean up….I would venture a couple years after the Vornado deal is complete.

2. John A Keith
   Comment by John A Keith | 05/05/08 at 12:31 pm

   It’s good to get the perspectives of people already in Boston.

   A couple of things I’d add are – people were probably very skeptical that the Ritz Carlton Towers would succeed. The original sales effort took a long time, if memory serves me correctly. It was a big building, but it seemed as though they didn’t sell out as quickly as might be imagined. Still, that had the name going for it, plus great views.

   About 45 Province, although the sticker prices may seem high, I don’t think the prices per square foot are outrageous – in the $800 – $1,100 range for a normal unit. They go up much higher, but still, just a little bit above what similar properties are selling for.

   The Clarendon, in Back Bay, has a much higher average price, but of course there you are paying for location as much as anything else.

   I would consider living at 45 Province myself, my comments notwithstanding. The problem is, the 35-45 “urban sophisticate” is not necessarily their target market – they are looking to fill it with the older suburban transplant, and the like.

   I do think it will be a complete success, though. There is a lot of comment about it on the ArchBoston.com forum, along with some killer photos of the building, as well as views from the top floor (at least the top floor that’s built …). I wouldn’t call it “iconic” but a great addition to Boston’s skyline, and a needed contribution to the residential housing stock (and property tax base!).

3. Jay Levitt
   Comment by Jay Levitt | 05/05/08 at 7:05 pm

   The Ritz *did* fail, it just doesn’t know it yet…

   Seriously – there’s a certain part of you that dies when you live there. I had to get all the way up to Central Square to revive it.

   It’s not just no grocery store, but no reliable access to your car; there’s no staging area for the (required) valet, so it can take 5 minutes or 45 minutes to get going, with no way to know. (They’ll always tell you “right away”, even if you ask for the real wait time.) And, of course, your neighbors are empty storefronts, and probably always will be; look how they chased away that sushi bar. There were rumors in early 2007 of a coffee shop opening on the first floor. A year later, that space is still vacant too. Add that to the Emerson and Suffolk construction, and the vacant Kensington Place, not to mention your self-important neighbors (“Don’t you know who I am?”), and constant rock-star tour buses in front of the hotel, and it’s just not a pleasant environment.

   45 Province has remarkable views above the 18th floor (almost half the building); John, have you seen the “simulated view” in the sales office? There are a bunch of ~1400SF condos on the south tip of the building that have windows on three sides and one or two balconies. As for the neighborhood, it’s a totally different feeling than the Ritz, even though it’s just blocks away. There’s a lot more life at the north end of Washington Street; after the financial district closes for the evening, Faneuil Hall starts to pick up. There’s lots of pedestrian traffic. Yeah, I’d live there, except maybe for the valet parking again (which Abbey claims they’ve designed to an 8-minute max wait).

   Are they really targeting suburban transplants? I went to one of their sales parties, back when I had delusions of living there, and a surprising number of buyers were in their 30s. Or, at least, a surprising number of buyers who went to a sales party. I guess that may be the distinction.

   PS – John: “That’s true.” I think you just nodded in agreement with yourself.

4. John A Keith
   Comment by John A Keith | 05/05/08 at 7:19 pm

   Jay, call me. We can list your apt at the Ritz and get you into a sweet suite at 45 Province, special deal, today only.

5. Osric
   Comment by Osric | 05/06/08 at 9:33 pm

   You know, I wanted to live in Downtown Crossing since I am one of those urban 35-45 types who would rather walk to the office than drive. But I’m not a Ritz dweller and wanted something in the under-$500k price range. 10 West look like a nice project, then it got sold to Suffolk. Where do people who don’t make seven figures buy in DTX?

6. John A Keith
   Comment by John A Keith | 05/06/08 at 10:59 pm

   True, right now the housing stock down there skews toward the higher-end, but you can find one beds in the $400,000 – $500,000 range at 170 Tremont (Parkside), Tremont on the Common, 55 Temple, and 453 Washington Street. Also at 3 Avery, which is in the Ritz Towers but are finished less luxuriously than the other two buildings.

   There might even be units at 45 Province, I don’t remember what the smaller units are going for.

7. Jay Levitt
   Comment by Jay Levitt | 05/07/08 at 8:16 am

   I seem to remember that 45 Province started around $750K, but that was last year; they may have dropped (or, for that matter, sold out – they had a lot of early sales, even before groundbreaking).

   I’d recommend avoiding 3 Avery; see “part of you dies”, above. You have all the disadvantages of the Ritz, with none of the glitz – and last I heard, your neighbors at 2 Avery were pushing for a separate entrance so they didn’t have to deal with the riff-raff.

   I think there are plenty of *opportunities* in DTX – the zoning there is pretty flexible, as I recall – but those would require wanting to develop a building, live in one condo, and sell the other units, and finding someone who’d loan that kinda money right now. There’s just not a lot of housing there… closer to the Greenway, there were a bunch of small condo projects going on in 2006 that should be done by now.

   Did Broadluxe ever get done? They were going to be more reasonable, weren’t they?

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