Univeral Hub reports that developer Ori Ron is pushing ahead with plans for a new condo tower at Kingston and Essex, where Chinatown and the Leather District meet. Interesting tidbit: The city actually asked that the building be made more boring so it wouldn’t distract from the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Did they stop to think that sometimes beauty enhances beauty — and that ugliness sometimes distracts from beauty?

Feng Shui and your Boston condo: How to bring wealth into your life

Here’s a unique take on how to bring more wealth into your life by tapping Feng Shui at home. Credit to New York real estate professional Debra Duneier:

-The burners on your stove represent wealth. Keep them clean and alternate your use of the burners when cooking … The refrigerator should be filled with healthy food. A full refrigerator brings in abundance.

- The indoor plants that are wealth enhancers are bamboo and jade plants.

- Take three lucky Chinese coins and tape them to the back of a rug. Every time someone walks in (your home’s entry point) they symbolically are bringing money into your property and into your life.

- Keep toilet seats down when not in use. Keep them up and money will disappear.

- Goldfish … are also magnets for wealth. Fill your tank with eight goldfish for luck and one black fish to keep away bad luck.

Looking for Boston condo with great Feng Shui visit our Boston real estate website

According to the The Boston Courant Suffolk University’s plan for a new art school building at 20 Somerset Street in Beacon Hill cleared an important hurdle last week.

At the Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) meeting on October 14, Suffolk University received aurthorization to demolish the former Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) headquarters.

The word I’m hearing from many long time Beacon HIll residents is that their very upset with another expansion plan of Suffolk University in their neighborhood.

Buildings new and old, around Boston.

(New) John Hancock Tower

W Hotel and Residences

Ritz Carlton Hotel and Towers

Dominic’s Restaurant and Bar

Paramount Theater

Rose Kennedy Greenway, Chinatown

InterContinental Boston and The Residences at the InterContinental and Russia Wharf and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

– click on photos to enlarge

What’s a townhouse, what’s a rowhouse?

Row house, town house, brownstone – By James McCown, The Boston Globe

It is a question that has vexed real estate brokers and lovers of urban architecture for generations: What’s the difference between a town house, a row house, and a brownstone? Boston native Kevin D. Murphy, whose book ”The American Townhouse” will be published in November, defines each:

So town house is an overall term, row house a subset of that, and brownstone a further subset of both.

Accompanying the story were photos of three properties then on the market (October, 2005).

* 348 Beacon St., Back Bay, brownstone:One garden-level, 727-square-foot studio condominium for sale. Price: $499,000
* 50 Beacon St., Beacon Hill, town house: Four condominiums for sale. Units all have three bedrooms and range in size from 2,051 square feet to 3,141 square feet. Prices range from $1.99 million to $3.99 million.
* 5 Union Park, South End, row house: One owner’s duplex with three bedrooms, and four rental apartments with two bedrooms each for sale. Five story building with 1,225 square feet per floor. Price: $2.99 million

Did they sell? Well, two of the three did, according to the public record.

* 348 Beacon St, #1: sold for $395,000
* 50 Beacon St, #3: sold for $4,400,000 (3,974+/- SF)
* 5 Union Park: listing withdrawn

Don’t shed a tear for the developer of 348 Beacon Street; while the “garden” unit sold for around 75% of asking price, the other four units in the renovated building sold for much closer to asking, at around a 5% discount, with prices from $2.2 million to $3.9 million.