Boston Condo, Loft and Luxury Boston Real Estate Blog

FP3 Lofts Open House Back On for this Saturday and Sunday (since it was rescheduled last weekend).

The Open House will be this Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 pm.  I highly encournage  you go check this building out…it is one of a kind!

DO NOT GO ALONE and make a $10,000+ mistake!!!

Make sure to either bring one of us…or to at least bring our business card and let Marianna know that you are working with CondoDomain.com as your buyers broker.  Remember, buying with CondoDomain.com not only will help you get a lower price for the unit but also will entitle you to a huge chuck of our commission!  Read How It Works

FP3 Lofts  (FP3 Listings on MLS)

Other blogs on FP3

I DIDN’T KNOW!  This a.m. arriving from ACK into Logan Airport, I saw this sign.  I wish I wasnt in a rush because I would have definitely called.  Below is some more information on this Hybrid Taxi setup.

As part of the City of Boston’s continuing commitment to sustainable transportation, the CleanAir CABS program was launched on April 1, 2007. Through the CleanAir CABS initiative, taxi cab owners will have the opportunity to replace ordinary taxis with cleaner vehicle technology.

CleanAir CABS are commercially available, electric, hybrid-electric (hybrid), compressed natural gas (CNG), and other low emission alternative fuel vehicles. The hybrid Ford Escape, the hybrid Toyota Camry, and the CNG-powered Ford Crown Victoria have been approved by the Boston Hackney Division as qualifying for the program. Other vehicles may also be approved in the near future.

There are benefits for taxi cab owners to make the switch to hybrids. Hybrids burn much less gasoline than ordinary vehicles (from 50% to 70% less in the city) and CNG generally costs less per GGE (Gasoline Gallon Equivalent) than gasoline. Drivers of CNG vehicles may qualify for a rebate from a natural gas company and a federal tax credit.

More info here.

(Photo of 107 South Street, MLS listing below courtesy of Maxwell Associates) 

There were 36 new Boston MLS listings to hit the market this week. Here are a few of our picks! (Order: from lowest price to highest)

$290,000 - 790 East Fourth Street - 1Bed 1 Bath - South Boston

$369,000 - 59 P Street - 2 Bed 1 Bath PH - South Boston

$412,000 - 66 Chandler Street - 1 Bed 1 Bath - South End

$495,000 - 4 Bunker Hill Ct - 2 Bed 1 Bath - Charlestown

$570,000 - 111 Beach Street - 1 Bed 1 Bath Loft - Leather District

$649,000 - 390 Commonwealth Ave - 2 Bed 1 Bath - Back Bay

$899,000 - 107 South Street - 1 Bed 2 Bath - Leather District

$1,895,000 - 197 8th Street - 2 Bed 2 Bath PH - Charlestown Navy Yard

Interested in any of these MLS listings - give us a call and we will be glad to set up an showing for you!

Nothing here? Search all Boston MLS Listings

Happy Tuesday

Come on in and meet us This Wednesday!!!

Sorry for such short notice, but we did find a gap in our schedule and we are holding it open JUST FOR YOU!

This Wednesday evening we are going to clear our schedules and hang with you. We have all been so busy lately and feel like there are so many people we want to meet, so please join us at our loft @ 337 Summer Street.

Bring your questions, comments & thirst. Things we will be chatting about:

- The Market in General
- First Time Buyers
- Ask Mortgage Questions
- New Developments Coming Online
- How To Work With Us and Save a Bundle
- And more…questions galore.

After the get together I’m sure we will mosey on over to our neighbor - Achilles | Persephone for a few cocktails…so don’t miss out.

PLEASE RSVP – rsvp@condoDomain.com

Look forward to meeting you all.

Team CondoDomain Boston

If your like me and missed the premier of “The Greening of Southie” last week over in the independant theater in Cambridge…you can now watch it on OnDemand (assuming you have Comcast).

I watched it lastnight and I was totally blow away about what I didnt know about true Green living and how hard it is to obtain a Gold level of L.E.E.D certification. I take my hat off to Pappes Enterprises and especially Tim Papppas, visionary and developer behind the ultra-effecient and super sexy Macallen Building.

Who would have thought one of the most sophisticated and well though out residential buildings would be built in South Boston? Well it is. The Macallen Building is nothing short of a work of art standing 11 stories tall over Dorchester Avenue in Southie.

Interested in green living, green architecture or of my new favorite Boston condo developments? Check out The Macallen Building and watch the new independent film - The Greening of Southie.

Again - great work and hats off to the Pappas family for developing something that effects us all!!!  Interested in buying in this work of art (Prices range from 500k - 2M).

The Macallen Building goes to the big screen via a documentary produced by Curt Ellis.  A new documentary looks at the building of the luxury condo Macallen building, which followed environmentally friendly design and building techniques.

It might not seem like it now, with all the focus on going green and eco-chic.

But a few years ago, the very concept of an environmentally friendly residential building in a long-overlooked industrial section of South Boston was startling to some.

“What’s the point?” a union plumber wants to know, as the project manager explains the water-saving benefits of a low-flow toilet.  Continued…

The Greening of Southie airs tonight on the Sundance Channel @ 9pm.

Source:  Boston Herald

April 22, 2008 is EARTH DAY!

• Reduce, reuse, recycle!

• Turning down the thermostat five degrees saves about 10% on your heating bill.

• Set your hot water heater to 140 degrees in warmer weather.

• Choose compact fluorescent light bulbs; they use about one quarter of the

energy of regular light bulbs.

• Consider installing ceiling fans — they cool in the summer and circulate warm air in winter.

• In sunny weather, hang out your laundry to dry for a lovely fresh smell and great energy savings
• Visit www.earthday.net to learn more about activities in your community and how YOU can make a difference.

Searching for an Eco-Friendly Condo?  Try The Macallen in South Boston for total Green Living!!!

The Boston Herald picked up Allele Lofts over in South Boston today with a great write-up on this brand new loft development in what we call A-Lofty-Corner.

Once an industrial district surrounding the Broadway Red Line T station, the Lower End is quickly becoming a residential enclave. In addition to Allele (which rhymes with “real”), the neighborhood already hosts the Court Square Press, Macallen, The Lofts at 36 A and other high-end condo developments in South Boston.

From the Herald Allele is almost finished (another few months) and still has about 37 units remaining out of the original 48 which doesn’t surprise me as buyers looking to buy new construction have been holding off until the project was close to completion…so we anticipate for Allele to start packing on some sales over the next 2-4 weeks!

Allele Lofts on Boston MLS:

$979,000, 2 Bd, 2 Ba, 1920
$709,000, 2 Bd, 2 Ba, 1499
$599,000, 1 Bd, 1 Ba, 1216
$569,000, 1 Bd, 1 Ba, 1116
$499,000, 1 Bd, 1 Ba, 1030

Continued…

Photo Source: Boston Herald

Brandon Currier…one of our newest all-star team members here at CondoDomain Boston has been struck with a tad of back luck lately. Brandon was with me a few weeks back at the “Worst Showing Ever“…you know the one that the dog pee’d all over the floor, furniture and listing agent…now we got him on the ground opening lock boxes….sorry Brandon!

Well, yesterday we had a very interesting showing in Southie. A lock-box showing…which is very rare in the downtown Boston real estate marketplace…but were up for anything…so off we went with our little lock-box code.

To make a very long story short after we ducked under the tree that clearly got hit by lightning and over the 1979 television set sitting out on the curb we got to the front door….where…hmmmm no lock box. After multiple calls to the listing brokers office we decided to just check if the door was open and guess what…wala…it was wide open. After a tour of the property we locked up as any great buyers broker would do…and left. On the way out we finally found the lock box. It was securely fastened to window bars for the basement washer/dryer room. Great Spot Mr. Listing Agent…

I mean c’mon…is the market that good that you can just whip a lock-box on the ground level window grate and expect us to hustle clients in and out of your listing while your off somewhere else…ugh!

Search All South Boston Condo (and ask for Brandon will ya…he’s needs some good luck to make up for!)

Everyday on my way to work I drive through what I consider to be a very Loft - Y corner in Southie! Driving over the W. 4th Street bridge you have the gorgeous view of the all new Macallen Building which is a modern achievement of outstanding green architecture.

Once on the Southie side of the bridge you have The Macallen, Court Square Press Lofts both completed and occupied. Also you have Lofts @ 36a which is now complete and Allele which is a brand new South Boston Loft that is currently under construction.

Recent news also notes that there may be another project coming online right here which will include luxury condos. The site of the new project is right next to Allele and right on the site of the old Quiet Man Pub.

Why all this activity? Well with the Broadway T-Stop (Redline) right at the doorstep of all of these condo & loft buildings and with instant access to 93N, 93S and the Mass Pike…this is an incredible location to call home. It is an emerging neighborhood which the Pappas family jump started with Court Square Press about 5 years ago! Now we are seeing cafe’s and other lifestyle amenities rush into this mini neighborhood over in wonderful Southie!

So which loft is for you?

Got the loot? Spend it at Macallen. Big bucks…but a killer building. Great views, green living, great open floor plans and brand new construction! We have a few friends who live here and they love it! (oh…and they got a pool!!!) See all Macallen Lofts for sale.

Brick & Beam, we got it at Court Square Press! This is the first building that got converted back in 2004-2005. Half of the building is true loft brick & beam lofts and the other half is new construction infill which makes this building incredibly unique. Many units have city views and most have that authentic loft feel. Prices aren’t bad either making Court Square Press much more affordable. We have a few clients who love this building (both the new construction and the converted loft side). See all Court Square Press Lofts for sale.

Insta-Value, Lofts @ 36a. Huge open floor plans, underground garage parking, a more boutique smaller building. Not a view building, but certainly great unit layouts and a cool hip-new construction loft type building. We like 36a for the hip interior style & the value! See all Lofts @ 36a for sale.

Allele, we are learning… This is the new kid on the block. Still very much under construction and wraps the corner on Dorchester Ave & W. 4th Street. Allele has been designed as a very large open living space. The units include stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, bamboo floors, and large windows. See all Allele lofts for sale.

Boston gets some press from the NYTimes today regarding our new emergence of a once disconnected city to now a whole pie connecting the Waterfront, North End, Seaport to the rest of the city.

In the gloom of winter, it is hard to see potential amid the strips of brown grass and pavement that lie where this city’s hulking elevated highway used to be.

But with the $15 billion construction project known as the Big Dig officially over as of last month, the promised transformation of downtown Boston — not just its traffic patterns but also its look, its feel, its very essence — finally seems within reach.

Expectations are high, and for good reason. The Big Dig drained not only public coffers but also the psyche of Boston as it replaced the traffic-choked highway with sleek tunnels over nearly two decades. The construction forced hellish traffic jams and proved faulty, with the new tunnels springing hundreds of leaks and worse. Four workers died during the construction, and in 2006, concrete ceiling panels in one tunnel collapsed and killed a woman in a car.

Where the highway used to be is now a milelong green space with benches, fountains and fledgling trees ready to welcome pedestrians come spring. Where the highway cut off waterfront neighborhoods from the rest of the city, there is now a clear view to Boston Harbor, the Italian North End, the New England Aquarium and the wharfs that surround it. Continued…

Source: NYTimes

Ok, I have been passionately searching the market for one of my clients for the ultimate Boston Loft. We are pretty open to location and parking situation (as long as it is somewhat convenient), however I do need the following.

- Volume and lots of it.
- Bright light and open space
- True loft feel, brick and beam, high ceiling height, etc
- Private outdoor space (roof deck, etc) and lots of it

Ideally, we are looking for approximately 2,000 sq/ft and up. It could be a completely built out 2+ bedroom or a raw space in which we can convert into the ultimate New York style loft condominium. We know the product exists here in Boston, but is very rare to find.

Our price point for this gorgeous Boston Loft would ideally be at or below $1M but would love to hear and see any Boston Loft property that would fit this description.

Whether your Boston Loft is on the market or not or you are a Boston Real Estate listing agent and you know of such a Boston Loft, please contact me direct.

Thank you,

Tony Longo
Anthony @ condoDomain.com / 617-314-7704