This past April, right in an alley near my office, a single open-air parking space sold for $250,000 setting a new city record.  Even though the housing boom is over, the average price for a downtown space rose 16 percent, to $92,810 which is more than double the 2001 average according to a recent Boston Globe article.

For more information on what is available for parking spaces throughout Boston, please feel free to contact me!

Source for picture and article: Sold: 1 open-air parking space in the Back Bay for $250,000 By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff

My Thoughts:  Buy a box truck with a bathroom and kitchen outfitted in it and you have a Back Bay address for a bit under $265,000 w/parking (of course you live in your space but so what!)

 

One of Boston’s landmarks will be changing it’s name come January.  The Tata Group’s Taj Hotels acquired the 79 year old Ritz Carlton for $170 million.  This is the oldest Ritz-Carlton hotel in the world.

Other than the name, not much else will change.  The hotel recently went under a $50 million renovation in 2003. 

My Thoughts:  It’s going to be weird walking down from my office and passing by the Ritz I mean “The Taj Boston” on my way to the Gardens.  It just doesn’t have the luxurious image that the name “The Ritz” creates in your mind.  It’s going to be interesting to see how well this will compete with the new Ritz hotel located across the common.

They Mayor’s challenge to local and world-wide developers to design a building which will symbolize “this city’s greatness” was met with only one proposal and it came from a local!

Steven Belkin submitted a proposal for a 75-story, 1.3 million square foot office tower with some unique features.  The entire building will be elevated three stories with and open air one acre public park to be found underneath.  A canopy system will be put in place during the winter to keep out snow.  Escalators at the buildings ends will bring them up to the lobby where they can hop on high-speed elevators to take them to the rest of the building. 

The reason for the lack of proposals could be the actual site itself.  While being about an acre in size, it is an odd shape which makes development difficult.  Steven, being the genious businessman he is, bought the building next to the site in order to give him more of a square footprint. 

My Thoughts:  I really hope this actually makes it past the drawing board.  It looks like a great design and could potentially be the landmark building for Boston.  My only gripe….put some condos on the top floors so I can have a chance to sell them!  Imagine the views?  Imagine the price per sq. foot haha.  And you thought the Penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton was expensive!

Source:  A glass tower of singular design is sole response to mayor’s call by Thomas C. Palmer of the Boston Globe

 

I was just watching some show on ABC  (okay, it was Desperate Housewives but, in my defense, it was my girlfriend’s choice, I wanted to watch Flip this House) and a little new flash popped up in the corner of the screen with the headline “Downtown Crossing to Change Name”

Now, I knew they had some plans for the area but I had no idea they were going as far as changing the name.  Is this a good idea?  A lot of Bostonians don’t think so, but you have to look at it from a marketing standpoint.  Just down the street they recently completed the Archstone Boston Common luxury apartment building about half a block from the Ritz-Carlton and is on the border of Chinatown right where the T-stop is.  Personally I’d have no problem walking around in this area by myself at anypoint during the night.  I’d feel safe.  But, many of my rental clients that I take through the building can’t get past the fact that they are in Chinatown which they knew as “The Combat Zone” in recent years past.  Many of them even rave about how wonderful the building and it’s amenities are and even tell me that they know the neighborhood is safe but just can’t get past knowing they would be living where “The Combat Zone” once was. 

That’s how much of an affect brand association can have on someone.  In their mind Chinatown=Combat Zone=scary, unsafe neighborhood even when they know it’s not true anymore. 

So when they talk about renaming Downtown Crossing in part of a rebranding strategy to attract new retail and residential tenants to the neighborhood, I say let’s do it!  This, in combination with the new development projects set to take place will truly change the image of this neighborhood and allow it to grow to it’s fullest potential.  I believe this area can once again be a vibrant and exciting place to shop, work, and live in.

Manny Ramirez’s Ritz-Carlton penthouse is on the market for $6.9 million but if high-rise living isn’t your style, you can pick up a Beacon Hill single family home for $18,500,000 that provides you with 9500 sq. ft. of luxurious Boston living.  For some, these homes are only dreams, yet for others, they are about as luxurious as a college dorm.

The type of places the uber-wealthy look to rest their feet are homes unlike any other in the world.  These types of places make Cinderella’s castle look like a starter home.  I’m talking about the $100m+ category.

 

 

Leading that category is Updown Court in England.  This home features 103 rooms, five swimming pools, and 24-carot leafing on the study’s floor.  There’s a squash court, bowling alley, tennis court, 50-seat screening room, heated marble driveway and helipad. All eight of your limousines will fit in the underground garage. Then there are the neighbors, who include the queen (at Windsor Castle) and Elton John.

And you get all of this at a bargain basement price of $122.2m!!  What a steal!!

So, if any of you multi-billionaires out there who read this blog are interested, please call me, I’d be happy to help!