October 13, 2008
Taking advantage of the sunshine and warm weather, I spent much of Columbus Day weekend out on the streets, which got me thinking about sidewalks.
Architecture and urban planning critic Jane Jacobs observed back in the 1960s that sidewalks are about a whole lot more than getting to or from somewhere. In the best circumstances, sidewalks are about people-watching, bumping into acquaintances and old friends, and just hanging out. A good city street, according to Jacobs is “a marvel of balance between its people’s determination to have essential privacy and their simultaneous wishes for differing degrees of contact, enjoyment or help from the people around.”
In other words, in the best city neighborhoods, you can share time and space with others without having to share everything with them. Sure, you can have daily chats with fellow dog walkers, but you don’t have to invite every dog walker you meet over for dinner. You can share a conversation with the local shopkeeper, but your pleasantries and chatter don’t have to mean you become best friends. A lively sidewalk brings you in contact with people you wouldn’t otherwise meet, perhaps because you really don’t have much in common. But that’s okay, or even good, because you’re broadening your horizons, no matter how superficial it may seem.
Contrast that with a development with no sidewalk life— no small shops and restaurants within walking distance. Instead, there’s the ubiquitous and always empty “meeting room” or “clubhouse.” You’re not likely to bump into anyone there, and rest assured, whoever you do meet will rapidly become a fixture in your life, for better or worse. In a neighborhood sans sidewalk life, the choice is quick and cutting: either a whole lot of contact or no contact at all. The result, according to Jacobs, is that people become either extremely choosy about their neighbors or they choose no contact at all.
Brookline and Brighton have plenty of areas without much street life. For street life you need walkable commerce. Fortunately, however, there’s that, too, if you know where to look for it. So in honor of weather still warm enough for a stroll, here are three homes near business districts that provide enough sidewalk activity to keep things interesting.
131 Sewall Ave, #63
Brookline
BEDS:2/BATHS:2
SQ.FT: 1456
$549K
37A Harvard Street, #5
Brookline
BEDS:1/BATHS:1
SQ.FT :571
$285K
7 Eulita Terrace
Brighton
BEDS:3/BATHS:2.5
SQ.FT:1600
$574,900K
Sweet Digs Boston Home
Brighton, Brookline Archives
October 11, 2008
Sunday, I’ll continue my indulgence in all things patisserie. A friend of Mr Alyk introduced us to the Chinese Pork Bun, and damn, if those things aren’t addictive. We’ve sampled pork buns from several Chinatown bakeries, and one of the best is Hing Shing Pastry at the corner of Beach and Hudson. The tiny bakery sits across the street from the Chinatown Gate, and its yellow sign is visible in most photos of the gate. The perfect mix of chewy, yeasty dough and savory, sweet pork filling can be picked up for under a dollar; an excellent deal by any standard.
The housing in Chinatown isn’t as bargain-oriented as its pastry: $860 per sq. ft. is average, but that jumps to over $1400 sq. ft. at the Ritz-Carlton. As with other downtown neighborhoods, the location drives up the cost, but Chinatown has the best transportation options in the city: easy access to the Red Line, Green Line, Orange Line, Silver Line, and the Commuter Rail. Loads of dining and Theatre District entertainment make the area perfect for anyone who doesn’t mind the grit of the city and wants to feel smugly superior to the Bridge and Tunnel crowd.
Part of the convenience of Chinatown is hitting all the open houses in under thirty minutes.
40-44 Harrison Avenue, #7D
Boston, 02111
Beds:1 /Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 885
$479,000
Open House: Sunday, October 12, 2008 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
multiple units showing
170 Tremont Street, #205
Boston, MA 02111
Beds: 0/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 537
$319,000
Open House: Sunday, October 12, 2008 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
151 Tremont Street, #8M
Boston, 02111
Beds: 1/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 590
$469,000
Open House: Sunday, October 12, 2008 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Hitting the Links
Boston Sweet Digs Home
Image: Flickr user Shoothead under Creative Commons
October 10, 2008
This week, there are a lot of things on clearance sale, and I’m not just talking about stocks. Coldwell Banker is running a 10-day, 10 percent off sale on many listings … condos on sale like so many cotton socks at Walmart. Meanwhile, realtor John A. Keith reports that many people who would otherwise be listing or buying downtown condos in the $400-$700k range are sitting things out. And who can blame them, with the economy so uncertain — or should I say on the edge of eminent collapse? Here are a three open houses which feature homes that have also recently reduced their prices.
24 Adair Road, #24
Brighton
BEDS:3/BATHS:1
SQ.FT:985
$329K. Reduced from $339K Oct. 1
O.H. Sunday, October 12, 2008 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
18 Lakeshore Court, #3
Brighton
BEDS:2/BATHS:1
SQ.FT: 824
$249,900. Reduced from $257,900 on Oct. 6.
O.H. Sunday, October 12, 2008 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
25 Kilsyth Road
Brookline
BEDS:5/BATHS:4.5
SQ.Ft: 5,540
$1,750,000. Reduced from $2,200,000 Oct. 9
Sunday, October 12, 2008 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Redfin Sweet Digs Home
Brighton, Brookline Archives
October 10, 2008
No question things have changed a bit in the past few months, but when I wrote in August that foreclosures in some of the city’s tonier neighborhoods could be right around the corner, I didn’t mean 60 days around the corner.
And yet there they are, foreclosures in Beacon Hill and Back Bay, plain as the Golden Dome or the Pru. So, distressed owners and would-be buyers, battling to stay on top of your payments, or trying to find some way to squeeze a new payment in, may I humbly suggest making a lifestyle adjustment?
I’ve heard about the trauma downgrading your spending can incur, but let’s be realistic: either way, you’ll lose the inflated sense of wealth—but if you don’t get into a property you can actually afford, you’ll be giving up your home and credit rating, too.
So say you did it to be edgy. Say you did it for the space. Say you realized the emptiness of your Platinum card life. You could even tell the truth and say you did it to save money. But whatever you say, decide to say it soon, or you’ll be just another foreclosure statistic, saying it’s someone else’s fault to a nation that has become far too preoccupied with their own losses to worry anymore about yours.
Some comparatively humbler open house suggestions suggestions for the distressed upscale owner:
73 Lexington Ave #2
Somerville, MA 02144
2 beds, 2 baths
2,097 sq. ft.
$679,000
Sunday, October 12, 2008 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
131 Willow Ave #2
Somerville, MA 02144
2 beds, 2 baths
1,232 sq. ft.
$535,000
Sunday, October 12, 2008 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
22 Appleton St #1
Somerville, MA 02144
1 beds, 1 baths
783 sq. ft.
$319,000
Sunday, October 12, 2008 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Sarcastic Econ Cat Sez: Bailout Bill Working Purr-fectly
Boston Sweet Digs Home
October 10, 2008
You’re looking at the best deals in Real Estate in this region in 20 years. And this region, for its short summer and long traffic delays, is as stable as it gets in the US.
And my little corner of this region is way prettier than the others. Come up and see. Slumming it and renting your way to this point may have ultimately been a good idea — but now is the time. Sellers and sellers’ agents will never be this desperate again. Make an insultingly lowball offer and see what happens.
Then hope the banks have money to lend….
100 Northridge Road #100
Beverly, MA 01915
Beds: 3/Baths: 1.5
SQ.FT.: 1300
$79,900
Open House: Sunday, October 12, 2008 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
423 Essex Street
Beverly, MA 01915
Beds: 4/Baths: 1.5
SQ.FT.:1872
$ 334,900
Open House: Sunday, October 12, 2008 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
9 Beach Street
Beverly, MA 01915
Beds: 3/Baths: 2.5
SQ.FT.: 2080
$ 650,000
Open House: Sunday, October 12, 2008 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Fall: Heater Filters, Wood Stoves, and Duct Cleaning
Boston Sweet Digs Home
October 9, 2008
O noes! Seems like some CNN editors need to look up the definition of “hubris,” or perhaps “market volatility”. Because that is definitely what we have here: a market with no compass.
Irresponsibly low interest rates–which drove investment firms into the subprime markets in the first place–continue to force people to put their money somewhere other than bank accounts and Treasury bonds.
But scared people with money are almost as bad as scared people with guns; instead of stimulating the economy, panicked investors are tearing it apart. Today’s trade volume: 8,716,329,600, four times average.
Predictably, the response to this has been nationalization, worldwide, and on a broad scale. And highly regulated, nationalized economies are notoriously inefficient. Not the thing you want to see if you’re hoping to regain the 30-some-odd percent losses your portfolio incurred over the past few months. Looks like that bailout bill we “needed” might turn into the Smoot-Hawley Tarriff Act of our generation.
Anyway, if you traded you gold or oil for a house, like I suggested a few months back, you’d have cashed out at the best possible time, and you’d have an investment that paid you dividends every day in the form of shelter, not needing to drive, and potential income from renters or roommates.
I still think a property downtown is a good option. Brokers like to say “buy when there’s blood on the streets,” but you still want to make sure the blood isn’t yours.
295 Commonwealth Ave #6B
Back Bay, MA 02115
2 beds, 2 baths
860 sq. ft.
$659,000
280 Commonwealth Ave #206
Back bay, MA 02116
1 beds, 1 baths
612 sq. ft.
$480,000
76 Marlborough St #4
Back Bay, MA 02116
2 beds, 1.5 baths
1,312 sq. ft.
$829,000
Support Your Local Neighborhood Turkey
Boston Sweet Digs Home
October 9, 2008
The days are getting shorter, but what really bums me out is that we’re closing windows and getting ready to run the heater. I hate dry, canned air, and no matter how much I run the humidifier, it still sucks.
Last spring we had a wood stove installed. Honestly, wood isn’t cheaper than gas heat right now ($350+ per cord) unless you truck it in from more rural areas.
And I got burned — 2 guys from the South Shore were supposed to bring me 2 cords for $440. I’ll be lucky if I get one out of what they dumped in my driveway (a cord is 4′ high, 8′ long, and 4′ wide, stacked). Worse, I paid cash, so good luck reporting them to the state.
But, once in a while, if you have a chainsaw and a truck, you can score a month’s worth of free heat. I look for the big orange tree and brush trucks — the guys who run them are always glad to give you the wood they’re supposed to feed into the chipper (apparently it isn’t as fun as it looks), and sometimes you can get a tree removal service to drop a whole tree, in pieces, in your yard. It doesn’t hurt me that my neighbor lets me use his log splitter (thanks, Mike!).
Remember you can’t burn green wood — it needs to dry out. And — watch for termites and carpenter ants. If you get them, you have to get rid of them ASAP. That means poison, as much as I hate to say it. You can’t be all vegan about termites unless you live in a yurt.
I think we’re going to get some Biobricks to supplement our cord wood — Biobricks are made from waste wood (sawdust) like pellets. We decided against a pellet stove because we wanted to be able to burn found wood (oak pallets, scrap lumber — anything that isn’t treated or varnished or painted), but they are very clean and very efficient, when the lumberyards don’t run out of the fuel. Biobricks are the same stuff, but engineered for regular wood burners. And no bugs.
Why not run the gas heater instead? Well…nobody’s dieing because of Biobrick, and I’d rather spend money burning a waste product than a fossil fuel. Sawdust, in industrial quantities, can be a pollutant; in Biobrick, it’s a clean fuel. That matters to me. And we like sitting by the fire. I’d have a wood stove if I lived in Georgia.
The chimney was brutal — $2,000 for a stove was okay, especially as the it was a housewarming gift from a very special person, but the chimney ran us almost that much. We had to run 6″ Metalbestos stainless stell chimney pipe up the back of our house, and that’s often cheaper than rehabbing an old masonry chimney. Pellet stoves cost significantly less to install because they use a shorter, small pipe, and becuase the temperatures of the vented gas are lower than the temperatures inside a woodstove chimney. Seriously consider going for a pellet stove if you have little space (they’re great for condos) or if you know you’re going to buy your fuel anyway.
One other big issue is air quality. Our VT Castings stove claims to be very environmentally sound, but I know I’m going to get particulate. So, I have a 4 part plan to burn wood and stay healthy.
First, I’m going to run a HEPA air filtration unit in the living room near the stove. I already use one in my bedroom at night when I sleep in a/c or enclosed rooms. This will grab particulate at the source.
Second, I’m going to have my ducts cleaned. Sounds dirty, I know, but they hook vacuums up to the ducts of your heating system and suck all of the nastiness out into a big truck.
Third, I’m putting a HEPA filter on the furnace. I’m thinking of getting them for the grills of the ducts, too, to keep dust out of the ducting from both ends. I will run the blower on the furnace all the time when the wood stove is heating, and hopefully the filter(s) and the furnace will catch most of the particulate in the house, keeping the general level down.
Fourth, I had them put one of those spinning chimney caps on top of the chimney — I’m wasn’t waiting to see if it needed one. I want it to draw perfectly all of the time, even on windy days on the North Shore.
New On The Market This Fall
Boston Sweet Digs Home
October 8, 2008
So let’s pass on talking about another down day on Wall Street for some lighter news. It seems that Boston’s growing turkey population is really getting ahead in life.
After completing some undergrad work at MIT this spring, it seems the intelligent-yet-delicious birds have now begun pursuing their MBAs at nearby Harvard.
While most at HBS have greeted the new arrivals with open arms, there has been some resistance, including an anti-turkey Facebook group that must be invisible to non-HBS students because I can’t seem to find it.
It’s nothing, of course, compared to the uproar that struck when turkeys attempted to roost in nearby Brookline; the hate speech in that incident culminated in unfounded accusations of attempted murder.
So while Brookline may be Boston’s premier family-friendly neighborhood, do you really want your children growing up in an environment of anti-avian intolerance? Sure, the turkeys may not share your secular humanist views, but they bring much-needed diversity to the region in the forms of white meat, dark meat, and giblets.
So show your kids these birds aren’t just something that ends up on your kitchen table every November, and check out a home in Cambridge. And if you learn to grow to enjoy the presence of turkeys in your neighborhood, remember that there are far better business schools out there than Harvard.
998 Memorial Dr #998
Cambridge, MA 02138
4 beds, 4 baths
2,300 sq. ft.
$1,585,000
987 Memorial Dr #672
Cambridge, MA 02138
3 beds, 2 baths
2,106 sq. ft.
$1,350,000
11 Story St #28
Cambridge, MA 02138
Price:
2 beds, 1 bath
775 sq. ft.
$489,000
Apocalypse Watch: Day 2
Boston Sweet Digs Home
Image: Flickr user cmurtaugh under cc-by-nc-sa-2.0.
October 8, 2008
The New York Times just published an article on “family friendly” housing. Thanks to a families with young children who are choosing to stay in the city, family-friendly housing has become a big issue in the Big Apple.
In most parts of the country, “family friendly” means a four-bedroom home with a yard and a family room, preferably on a cul-de-sac. In New York, however, “family-friendly” means a two bedroom, maybe three, and hopefully at least 1300 square feet. An in-unit washer and dryer officially seals an apartment’s “family-friendly” status.
What else makes an apartment attractive to those with kids? According to the New York Times:
- Other children in the building so that 3 a.m. wailing will be tolerated, if not necessarily appreciated.
- A friendly doorman who will give the kids a high-five.
- An elevator in the building, so kids don’t have to be carried and strollers don’t need to stay parked underneath the stairs.
- Shower curtains rather than a glass partition around the tub.
- A large second bedroom big enough to sleep two kids.
- A balcony or terrace with a high wall, or preferably, no balcony at all.
- A location within walking distance of parks, schools and play centers.
- An open kitchen so that the cook can watch the kids while cooking.
- A garage underneath the building.
- Oh, and did I already mention an in-unit washer and dryer?
While families have long accepted apartment life in New York, it’s a newer concept for many Bostonians more accustomed to a two-family, or even better, a single-family home in suburbia. And yet, Boston’s South End is in the middle of its own baby boom. And that’s despite the fact that families must struggle along without a yard and garage parking.
Meanwhile, Brookline, has long attracted families willing to live in smaller quarters in exchange for the opportunity to attend Brookline schools. In honor of all those families who opted for apartment life in New York, the South End, and Brookline, here are a few Brookline condos for less than $550K that could potentially satisfy the needs of people with kids… I can’t, however, promise an in-unit washer and dryer.
15 Park Vale, #2
Brookline
BEDS:3/BATHS:1
SQ.FT: 1290
$549K
50 Garrison Road, #1
Brookline
BEDS:3/BATHS:2
SQ.FT: 1492
$549K
17 Stearns Road, #3
Brookline
BEDS:2/BATHS:1
SQ.FT: 1250
$529K
Brookline, Brighton Archives
Sweet Digs Boston Home
The W Hotel and Residences is topping out this week. [The Chinatown Blogger]
