The Bryant - 301-319 Columbus Avenue

[PaulC]

Looks like this project is getting started. The site has recently been fenced off.

The Bryant is a mixed-use, luxury, boutique condominium development that is designed with 50 residential units, including 9 au pair suites, 43 storage spaces and 2 ground floor retail spaces. The unit program and mix of units is 2 bedroom and 2 bedroom + study / 3 bedroom units with larger than average square footage and a variety of amenities.

The Bryant is located on 301-319 Columbus Avenue at the threshold of Back Bay and the South End of Boston, Massachusetts and offers easy access to public transportation, the Mass Pike, Route 93, Logan Airport, South Station, Boston's Financial District, restaurants and other urban conveniences.

http://www.wrecapital.com/property.asp?project=5

[Ron Newman]

What was formerly at this location?

[Merper]

currently its a one story commercial building and a fenced driveway.

[briv]

For the lazy kids:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/briv1/303columbus-thebryant_resized_web.jpg

[ablarc]

Overdone, but could be worse.

[Joe_Schmoe]

I don't understand why name a building after Gridley Fox Bryant, and then make it look nothing like a building he would have designed.

[bostonman]

It's ok. The building definitely has room for improvement, but I have seen buildings much worse. Maybe if the building had more drastic height changes or something, it just seems like another simple, flat roofed building for Boston.

[IMAngry]

Haha.

[jass]

Well, itll fit in....

I like the green top though

[quadratdackel]

currently its a one story commercial building and a fenced driveway.
This is what should happen to all one story commercial/retail buildings in the area. And there are plenty of them scattered around town.

Architecturally, I think the building looks pretty nice. It's as tall as they could easily get away with, and matches its neighbors while not outright copying them. The one thing I don't get is why the side of the green part has no windows. Are they anticipating the adjacent building adding a few floors?

[InTheHood]

The reason that there are no windows on the sides of the building is that it is against building code to construct windows within a few feet of a property line (and in this case ON the property line). There are also fire safety reasons for this rule, but if you think about this logically, if this were not the rule whoever built tallest first would preclude his neighbors from building to similar height. No matter what the zoning in place, this does not make sense - one variance should not preclude others.

[Ron Newman]

Why is there a fire safety reason not to have windows?

[statler]

^^
I would guess that fire can jump through a window quicker than through a wall.

[Ron Newman]

But that's just as true for a front or back window as a side window.

[statler]

The buildings on the side tend to be closer then buildings across the street or behind.

Granted, that's not alwas true but on average...

[InTheHood]

I'm not an expert by any stretch, but I think the gist of the rule addresses how fires spread - the statistic addressed by the building codes is the window-to-wall ratio, and you aren't allowed a high ratio if the building is close to a property line. And no windows at all if within 5 feet of the line, or something like that. Of course there are many buildings in Boston built before that code was written. However, you can't expand an existing window built on a lot line. As for egress, lot line windows are by definition not legal exits. From a practical standpoint, a window seven stories up that opened into an alleyway only a foot or two wide likely wouldn't help anyone but Spiderman anyway.

Implication, by the way, if you are condo shopping in older buildings in Boston is to pay attention to this ... what appears to be a bedroom may in fact really be a closet (without a legal secondary means of egress).

[kz1000ps]

Construction is well under way here, with roughly half the site dug down about a floor or so, but they're still a ways away from any concrete being poured.

[kz1000ps]

Earlier today..

http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/4661/bryant1rj6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/2118/bryant2aq2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[kz1000ps]

Kind of a lousy pic, but oh well:

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/7855/img0182tf5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[kz1000ps]

Sorry 'bout the sun, but I couldn't get access to the other side

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/4407/img1852ce3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[kz1000ps]

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4503/img3290sl2.jpg

[JimboJones]

I bet you were hoping today was a sunny day, so you could take all your photos.

Thanks for them.

Question for anyone: I've always wondered, what are those cylinders going across the length of the building (seen in the most recent Apple building photo)? What do they put inside them - electrical? Water? Sewerage? Are they for support?

I can't figure it out.

[kennedy]

eh..i dont love it. but it doesnt suck. just something wrong about it. looks like they took one of the buildings and punched it the lip, and now its all swollen and puffy and irregularly cut up.

[kz1000ps]

I bet you were hoping today was a sunny day

Nah, I've always enjoyed taking pictures under different conditions (grey skies especially at this time of year makes the greenery come to life), but I've become quite unfazed to what it's doing out now that I work an "outdoors" job. As long as it's not raining cats and dogs with 40 mph winds I don't really care anymore.

[atlrvr]

Jimbo - yes, for support. They are bracing the wall, since there is tremendous pressure from the earth desiring to cave into an area where there is no more earth. They will be removed when strucutre is completed below grade.

[xec]

A crane has finally been erected at the Bryant.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r289/trixecol/Bryant_2007_0920_13.jpg

[xec]

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r289/trixecol/Bryant_20071206_006.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r289/trixecol/Bryant_20071206_008.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r289/trixecol/Bryant_20071206_013.jpg

[vanshnookenraggen]

Is that building in the foreground with the faux mansard roof new? It's terrible but awesome at the same time. I say awesome because it makes the mansard work when so many post-modern buildings make a mansard look like a hat with holes in it.

[itchy]

man, what a piece of junk that is. it looks like a newton or wellesley elementary school.

what's more likely: that there will be born a boy who can swim faster than a shark, or that massachusetts will learn it doesn't have to repeat the architecture of colonial america ad infinitum to create a pleasant place to live and that the thoughtful construction of modern buildings along with (and without destroying) the oldies makes for a richer, more honest and interesting street tapestry?

[czsz]

My god, 131 Dartmouth or whatever is such a whale of a building.

[Padre Mike]

Is that building in the foreground with the faux mansard roof new? It's terrible but awesome at the same time. I say awesome because it makes the mansard work when so many post-modern buildings make a mansard look like a hat with holes in it.

It appears to be an early 20th C. building with a two-story addition from the late 20th. C.

[TC]

My god, 131 Dartmouth or whatever is such a whale of a building.

I couldn't agree more. The frontage on Dartmouth is fine, but it is one of the worst buildings when viewed with the skyline.

And there was not NIMBY oposition because it isn't that tall, but there should have been.

[JSic]

131 Dartmouth is one of the few short, wide buildings (we have more than our share of those) that I like. It looks like a cruise ship.

[singbat]

131 Dartmouth is one of the few short, wide buildings (we have more than our share of those) that I like. It looks like a cruise ship.

i'll vote for that -- 131 is Ok in my book.

there are a fair number of wide-bodies that are not bad. the Park Sq. bldg. is one that is nearby; also the Newbry.

[kz1000ps]

Cruise ship is a very apt description. Its proportions are by no means perfect, but I like it. Plus, the brickwork looks pretty decent.

[rikahlberg]

It appears to be an early 20th C. building with a two-story addition from the late 20th. C.

It's the Electric Carriage House, 321 Columbus Ave. Haven't been able to track down any details on it other than tenants' web sites where they claim the building a "landmark" in the South End. (The address doesn't show up on MACRIS, the online state inventory of historic places, but that isn't always complete.)

[tobyjug]

i'll vote for that -- 131 is Ok in my book.

there are a fair number of wide-bodies that are not bad. the Park Sq. bldg. is one that is nearby; also the Newbry.

From a tenant point of view, the Park Square Building is incredibly inefficient. The shape is wasteful as the amount of space needed for internal access is staggering. As a tenant, you get stuck paying for alot of area you can't use. Spent 10 years doing just that! No more no more...

[JimboJones]

Re: the Carriage House - the tenants said that because they didn't want 131 Dartmouth built, and were doing anything they could to protect their views.

A definite example of "I've got mine, f-you!"

[kz1000ps]

Friday the 18th

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/7861/img0323rs1.jpg

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/2641/img0324ya8.jpg

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/2451/img0325mk7.jpg

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/4317/img0326wl2.jpg

[bostoncitywalk]

January 26th

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2388/2221935148_b16098e343_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostoncitywalk/2221935148/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2395/2221934046_29d575a7e6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostoncitywalk/2221934046/in/photostream/)

This is going up pretty fast.

More HERE (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostoncitywalk/sets/72157603768282392/)

[kz1000ps]

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/2718/img1724lg7.jpg

[bostoncitywalk]

From 3.22.2008:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3083/2354268075_2ec058ec1e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostoncitywalk/2354268075/)

[nedev18]

April 5:

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m306/bostonman2006/4-5-08Avenir1034.jpg

[JimboJones]

I don't believe these units are selling very quickly, from what I've heard on the street. This might not be surprising, considering that all 50 start at $1.5 million and up. However, they purposely built the units large - each has over 1,800 square feet, I believe. Yeah, that block of Columbus is not prime real estate, not in the South End, not in the Back Bay, but I gotta believe that a family of three/four with a live-in maid or nanny would jump at the chance. The layouts are pretty cool. It's a one-of-a-kind development, at least here in Boston.

[BarbaricManchurian]

Don't forget the "dangers" of UFP or whatever Ned is bitching about, that might scare off all the buyers jk

[vanshnookenraggen]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/2428393141_99acefcf55_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3175/2429274618_b4705de61c_b.jpg

[kz1000ps]

http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/2544/img5096mj1.jpg

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/7250/img5097xp4.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3671/img5099kc3.jpg

[kz1000ps]

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/718/img5305hh8.jpg

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/676/img5306id2.jpg

damn scrim... the brickwork looks to be pretty good

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/2233/img5307wd5.jpg

[vanshnookenraggen]

The stepped setback works really well here.

[jass]

So long since the last update, Id almost forgotten about this place

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6356-1.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6357-1.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6358.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6359.jpg

[vanshnookenraggen]

Safe but not too boring or ugly. It will fit in nicely.

[kz1000ps]

10/31:

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/7665/img1311iy6.jpg

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/5161/img1312yi6.jpg

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/259/img1313ys0.jpg

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5863/img1314bm7.jpg

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2015/img1315eu5.jpg

[vanshnookenraggen]

I love the massing and all the slight setbacks this building has. It could just as easily been a boring slab (which would be contextual with those co-ops just down Columbus Ave). The pre-cast looks strange as always but this is offset by all the variations in the facade.

[czsz]

The massing is nice, but this is the same sort of timid architecture that has held Boston back for decades.

[Lurker]

If the precast had been articulated in a more detailed fashion it would have vastly improved the final product. A slight modulation of scale within the cornices with some sort of decorative, shading, or drip device, along with a chamfered edge on the sills and lintels would have been a rather simple variation at little to no additional cost. With so much lovely cast stone and concrete detail from the prewar years in Boston, it amazes me that no one dares employ it on new construction, where such minor tweaks could vastly improve otherwise visually monotonous facades.

[kz1000ps]

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/7906/img4556ix4.jpg

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6351/img4561ak0.jpg

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6497/img4562dm8.jpg

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/8582/img4559nm3.jpg

[kennedy]

The massing is nice, but this is the same sort of timid architecture that has held Boston back for decades.

Timid, mostly. Contextual, absolutely. And here something contextual looks much better than something bold would have. Give it a decade to age, and the concrete and brick won't look so fake or new.

With so much lovely cast stone and concrete detail from the prewar years in Boston, it amazes me that no one dares employ it on new construction, where such minor tweaks could vastly improve otherwise visually monotonous facades.

Lurker, the detailed stonework seen in prewar cities across America has disappeared, in my mind, not because of a lack in money, but a lack in talent. There simply aren't as many super talented craftsman today, and the ones who would be able to create the kind of detail that was common then, would be exorbitantly expensive. It's the same reason that newly constructed mansions aren't as finely detailed as say, the Breakers in Newport.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Tame, but it steps the scale down very nicely.

[kz1000ps]

Lack of intellectual ambition aside, my one gripe with this building is how the windows are massed. The last shot I posted shows an existing cityspace with window bays one or two units wide (or no more than eight feet in width), while the Bryant has three or four windows grouped together, creating a horizontal emphasis that betrays both the street's and the building type's character (it looks more like an ungainly-massed school than somebody's residence).

[singbat]

that last shot reminds me of a building at the end of charles st. (across from the T on the right looking towards the common). that building might be a garage or former garage -- can't remember, but i liked it. it's a plain building, but fits it's context. this one will probably age gracefully also, my guess.

[jass]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7594.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7595.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7596.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7597.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7598.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7599.jpg

[BarbaricManchurian]

Looks eerily similar to the Mandarin.

[kz1000ps]

^ That's an insult to this building, which is so much more pleasant up close and in person than the MO.

[joebos]

I don't know, I walk by that building all the time and feel like the surface detailing looks cheap.

[Lurker]

Timid, mostly. Contextual, absolutely. And here something contextual looks much better than something bold would have. Give it a decade to age, and the concrete and brick won't look so fake or new.



Lurker, the detailed stonework seen in prewar cities across America has disappeared, in my mind, not because of a lack in money, but a lack in talent. There simply aren't as many super talented craftsman today, and the ones who would be able to create the kind of detail that was common then, would be exorbitantly expensive. It's the same reason that newly constructed mansions aren't as finely detailed as say, the Breakers in Newport.

Making molds for mass casting of cast stone or concrete isn't very difficult. During the depression lots of cheap buildings were lovingly ornamented with cheap cast concrete repeatedly cast from stamped steel molds. Neither is carving with machine tools. The advent of computer assisted and automated manufacturing makes these industrial processes cheaper, more precise, and easier to execute than anyone could have dreamed a century ago. In a slightly different vein, all the lovely millwork seen in Victorian mansions for the most part was mass produced in factories, bought from catalogs or warehouses much like, Home Depot today, and installed by labor not as skilled as people think.

Ornament isn't as expensive or labor intensive as people think. It's just a major taboo in the industry and many architects aren't terribly familiar with the so called 'traditional building industry' to the point of being to shop for the best prices. You'd be really surprised to find some items selling for hundreds of dollars from one supplier can be found for tens of dollars with the same exact manufacture.

[Arborway]

I don't know, I walk by that building all the time and feel like the surface detailing looks cheap.

Yeah, the seams in the prefab "brick" stand out like sore thumbs.

[BarbaricManchurian]

^ That's an insult to this building, which is so much more pleasant up close and in person than the MO.

I'm not meaning my comment as an insult to the building, it's just that the massing is very similar to the Mandarin (both around ~8 stories, brick, with slight setback at the top), but judging from the pics, the detailing is better on the Mandarin IMO. The cornices before each setback on this building look especially cheap. It's a shame that they won't improve them before opening, right now they have no decoration whatsoever on them, it's just a piece of concrete sticking out.

[Lurker]

$200 artificial ruby covered stencil pattern plate (essentially what super market checkout scanner surfaces are made of)
+
2 clamps
+
One worker
+
Bucket lift
+
Sandblasting equipment
+
2 Hours
=
Pattern etched precast concrete which looks much better than it does now.

Will that happen? No

[ablarc]

Making molds for mass casting of cast stone or concrete isn't very difficult.

Ornament isn't as expensive or labor intensive as people think. It's just a major taboo in the industry and many architects aren't terribly familiar with the so called 'traditional building industry' ...
^ What he said.

[jass]

Looks to be done. Is it a compliment to say that I started walking past it before noticing that I was at my photography destination?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2983.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2984.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2985.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2986.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2987.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2989.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2990.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2991.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2992.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2993.jpg


This car is legally parked.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2988.jpg

[czsz]

Looks to be done. Is it a compliment to say that I started walking past it before noticing that I was at my photography destination?

Means it's boring.

The two garage openings side by side: yuck.

[vanshnookenraggen]

In the Suggestions for Stalled Developments (http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=3033) thread someone posted an idea for a New New City Hall which was featured on Boston.com:

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Third_Party_Photo/2009/09/23/newcityhall__1253723205_6767.jpg

If this was built today it would certainly turn out exactly like The Bryant.

[ablarc]

If this was built today it would certainly turn out exactly like The Bryant.
^ Or maybe not (might depend on the architect and developer) (http://www.qftarchitects.com/#). Click on "projects". (May be a bit slow to load.)

[Beton Brut]

If we're gonna do patternbook historicism (for a new City Hall, or anything else), can we please move on from Bulfinch to H.H. Richardson?

[czsz]

Haha, imagine trying to replicate that stonework today. I think even Prince Charles would have trouble paying for it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/BrownUniversity-LymanHall.jpg

[ablarc]

^ At least we can name a developer who might be willing to try.

[Lurker]

To do that work today it would either be CNC carved stone, or the most cost effective means would be to do cast stone or concrete in reusable resin formwork.

[statler]

What? We can't just head to local Masonic Hall and hire a few guys?

On a more serious note:
I wonder how much it would cost to hire some of the last few remaining stone masons/artisans to do work like that on a large scale.

[Beton Brut]

Is it strange to anyone that I look at Lyman Hall (and the rest of Richardson's earthy, asymmetrical work) as the great-grandfather of our sadly maligned City Hall? In Richardson and Frank Furness, I find the seeds of both Organic Architecture and Brutalism.

[eljusticiero67]

^ Or maybe not (might depend on the architect and developer) (http://www.qftarchitects.com/#). Click on "projects". (May be a bit slow to load.)

WOW
Can we get them to build everything ever from now on ever???

[czsz]

Is it strange to anyone that I look at Lyman Hall (and the rest of Richardson's earthy, asymmetrical work) as the great-grandfather of our sadly maligned City Hall? In Richardson and Frank Furness, I find the seeds of both Organic Architecture and Brutalism.

Interesting theory. Wonder if it's been explored.

[joebos]

Why would anyone pay a million dollars, or more, to live in the Bryant? Maybe the interiors are spectacular. The outside looks like a cheap university dorm.

[dshoost88]

Why would anyone pay a million dollars, or more, to live in the Bryant? Maybe the interiors are spectacular. The outside looks like a cheap university dorm.

They're having open houses everyday from 10am to 6pm for the next couple weeks... go see for yourself.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Seriously, and take pics. Even if they say no do it anyway.

[kz1000ps]

The fenestration ruins it for me...it only enhances the building's fat-ass massing.

[joebos]

I read that the realtors are requiring identification for viewing the units and are writing down address information. If that's true I'm not going to take a tour. I only live three blocks from the building so it would be easy to drop by.

[Beton Brut]

Interesting theory (http://www.archboston.org/community/showpost.php?p=84304&postcount=81). Wonder if it's been explored.

I'm sure someone a lot smarter than me has written a dissertation on it. It's just...obvious.

There was a book reviewed in ArchRecord over the summer (will post Amazon link here when I find the issue) that examined Wright, Aalto, an a few others as the true path for Modernism, but that academia never co-opted their theories (even though their work was widely published).

I've heard Richardson referred to as a Proto-Organic architect. Furness could be termed a Proto-Brutalist (massing, not necessarily materials) on strength of this (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/ProvidentTrust.jpg) and this (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/B%26OStationFromEast.jpg). I'd bet my life that Gerhard Kallmann loves Frank Furness.

I just love how threads on boring projects seem to generate interesting off-topic discussions (http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=1544&page=4)...

[sidewalks]

I agree with joebos...the exterior is pathetic. The 50% off price is OVER 1 MILLION DOLLARS. That's insane. I get that they are big units, but if you want to sell for those kind of numbers the place should look special.

[kennedy]

I figured out what's wrong with the exterior, even more so than the cheap precast or the lack of quality, detailed ornament. The windows aren't set back far enough. They're practically flush with the wall. They should have been set 4" to 6" back, and those concrete slabs pushed out about 2". Would've made all the difference in the world.

Okay, I cheated a little bit. David Hacin mentioned this when he talked about FP3, and how he wanted the new construction on the streetwall to remain contextual, but still have a thoroughly contemporary feel, without feeling cheap or "thin" as he called it.

[jass]

I just noticed I coincidentally took a picture from the same angle as the render

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_2989.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/briv1/303columbus-thebryant_resized_web.jpg

[vanshnookenraggen]

From Curbed NY
(http://curbed.com/archives/2009/10/19/bostons_condo_auction_experiment_a_complete_failur e.php)

Boston's Condo Auction Experiment a 'Complete Failure'

Monday, October 19, 2009, by Joey

2009_10_bryant.jpgOver the weekend developer Vornado Realty Trust auctioned off 10 luxury condos in The Bryant, a new 50-unit brick building on the border of Boston's Back Bay and South End neighborhoods. Why do we care? Because developers holding on to unsold "shadow inventory" in NYC have been quietly keeping an eye on this auction. Vornado's hypothesis: That luxury condos can and will maintain their value (value according to the developers, that is) at auction. So how did it turn out? The Boston Herald reports that most of the units sold for around $1.3 million after being listed for $1.7 million to $2.2 million. Doesn't sound like the end of the world, but one broker called it a "complete failure for the developer," adding, "The units averaged $671 per square foot with parking. That's not good news for Vornado. Buyers are paying $700 per square foot in the Back Bay and Beacon Hill for walk-ups without parking." Ouch, does this mean auctions are out as NYC's next big sales gimmick? Greenpoint, it's up to you, little buddy.


and from the Herald (http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1205508&srvc=rss)


Buyers hit condo jackpot
Boston luxury units sell for way less at auction
By Thomas Grillo
Sunday, October 18, 2009 - Updated 22h ago

Once touted as private entry to the best of Boston living, 10 super-luxury condominiums were unloaded at an auction yesterday for up to 41 percent off their list price.

More than four dozen bidders packed a room at Boston?s Colonnade Hotel for a chance to own a two- or three-bedroom home at the Bryant, a new 50-unit, 10-story brick building on Columbus Avenue straddling the Back Bay and South End neighborhoods. Most of the units sold in the $1.3 million range after being listed from $1.7 million to $2.2 million.

Vornado Realty Trust, owner of the Bryant and co-developer of the stalled former Filene?s project in Downtown Crossing, hired Accelerated Marketing Partners, a Weston-based auctioneer, when it was clear the units were going unsold. Prior to the auction, only one unit had closed, according to the Suffolk Registry of Deeds.

Russell DeMartino, Vornado?s vice president of development, declined to comment. But Jon Gollinger, Accelerated Marketing?s chief executive, said he was frustrated that the units sold at such low prices.

?We wanted more and we are disappointed in the numbers,? Gollinger said. ?But buyers got a great deal and we have to live with their judgment of the Bryant?s value.?

John Ford, a Boston real estate broker, said the auction was a disaster for Vornado, which was hoping the auction would reset the high prices buyers once paid for luxury living in the Hub?s downtown.

?The auction was complete failure for the developer,? Ford said. ?The units averaged $671 per square foot with parking. Thats not good news for Vornado. Buyers are paying $700 per square foot in the Back Bay and Beacon Hill for walk-ups without parking.?

A Falmouth couple, who declined to be identified, purchased a third-floor, three- bedroom unit for $1.3 million, or 22 percent off the original list price of $1.7 million.

?The price we paid was very close to the highest number we were willing to spend,? the buyer said. ?If they hope to sell the rest of the units, they should lower the prices more dramatically.?

Another buyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, paid nearly $1.4 million for a three-bedroom dwelling on the fourth floor, 28 percent off the original asking price of $1.9 million.

?The prices were on the high side, but the units are fantastic,? the buyer said. ?They?re big and the construction is first-class and it comes with self-parking. This auction will set the prices for luxury condos in the downtown for the next few years.?

Brokers from the Clarendon and the W Hotel Residences, two downtown luxury condo projects where sales have been scarce, watched the auction unfold, a source told the Herald.
tgrillo@bostonherald.com

[Lurker]

"The units averaged $671 per square foot with parking. That's not good news for Vornado. Buyers are paying $700 per square foot in the Back Bay and Beacon Hill for walk-ups without parking."

Urbanism and Prewar details (ornament such that 'luxury' looks noticeably different from any typical hotel chain) add value? Who would have thought! Next thing you know they'll be telling us that people actually like traditional townhouses and courtyard buildings with smaller distinct rooms.

[jass]

You mean people dont want to spend over a million for a small apartment? Holy shit!

WHy not lose the gym, dump the parking, fire the concierge and sell apartments that people are willing to pay for?

Youll note that the ever popular brownstones are essentially private homes, people dont need all the extra services the condos try to add. Nobody moves to the suburb because of a spa.

[Shepard]

^ My thoughts exactly. It's a sad commentary on urbanism and neighborhood activity when "the good life" in an urban context is essentially equivalent to living in a full-service hotel.

When will residential developers stop doing market research in suburbs and start understanding what drives people to enjoy living in an urban context?

If I wanted to be able to access a gym, a spa, a hairdresser, a parking spot, a multimedia room etc all without breathing fresh air, I might as well stay in the suburbs where point-to-point car access essentially allows me to do the same thing - and with 5 times the square footage. Developers need to start realizing that part of the draw of a city is, in fact, to be able to get fresh air and WALK to your local bagel shop, the gym down the street, the hairdresser three blocks away, the Dunkin Donuts that won't get your order right.

Jeesh.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Well what you don't seem to understand is that this is a LUXURY building and the developers were not doing market research in the suburbs, they were doing it based on what other LUXURY buyers wanted. Middle class people who like cities live there because of the walkable amenities you mentioned but upper class buyers want all those things, and they want them IN their building.

Nobody moves to the suburb because of a spa.

When you are a developer trying to fit one more over priced luxury condo into an over saturated market it's the little things like a in building spa that count.

It's a sad commentary on urbanism and neighborhood activity when "the good life" in an urban context is essentially equivalent to living in a full-service hotel.

Originally hotels and apartment buildings for the upper classes were exactly that, a place where you could live and have someone else do all the work for you. It really isn't a commentary on urbanism but on how things have come full circle.

[Suffolk 83]

Comparing Beacon Hill to Columbus ave doesnt seem to be very fair.

[Beton Brut]

Developers need to start realizing that part of the draw of a city is, in fact, to be able to get fresh air...
(ed: emphasis added)

Isn't The Bryant a block from Ned's place. Fresh air? These buyers will all be goners from the UFPs if Columbus Center is ever built.

[briv]

Comparing Beacon Hill to Columbus ave doesnt seem to be very fair.

Used to be more than fair, pre Methunion Manor and urban renewal. Columbus still retains some of its old character:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/briv1/hassam2.jpg

[jass]

Well what you don't seem to understand is that this is a LUXURY building and the developers were not doing market research in the suburbs, they were doing it based on what other LUXURY buyers wanted. Middle class people who like cities live there because of the walkable amenities you mentioned but upper class buyers want all those things, and they want them IN their building.

When you are a developer trying to fit one more over priced luxury condo into an over saturated market it's the little things like a in building spa that count.

Originally hotels and apartment buildings for the upper classes were exactly that, a place where you could live and have someone else do all the work for you. It really isn't a commentary on urbanism but on how things have come full circle.

I understand that they built a luxury building and thats the problem. Their market research obviously failed if they had to go to auction.

They SHOULD have built a midrange building selling units for 500k. Lower price can be obtained by not building all those extra luxuries. Gym space = more apartment. Concierge desk = more apartment. Built a rooftop patio if you really want a public area for residents.

[Shepard]

^ Agreed with Jass. I didn't mean to imply that they did their market research wrong with regards to luxury buyers; I meant that they did their market research wrong if they thought luxury buyers were a prime growth platform. As Jass said eloquently, many more people would live an urban lifestyle without under-the-roof frills for a price tag that can still be worthwhile to developers.

[Suffolk 83]

If this is on Charles st north of the common, then their getting what they want. Briv, nice pic and yes Columbus still has some of its character, but its no Beacon Hill.

[vanshnookenraggen]

^ Agreed with Jass. I didn't mean to imply that they did their market research wrong with regards to luxury buyers; I meant that they did their market research wrong if they thought luxury buyers were a prime growth platform. As Jass said eloquently, many more people would live an urban lifestyle without under-the-roof frills for a price tag that can still be worthwhile to developers.

True, the developers took a risk here and obviously lost.

Their market research obviously failed if they had to go to auction.


I don't think it was the research that failed so mush as the their market dried up.

[Shepard]

True, the developers took a risk here and obviously lost.

Have there been any developments that actually downgraded from luxury to midrange and filled in addtional units? Or are the permits and headaches too great to recalibrate at a late stage like that?

[JohnAKeith]

I don't see it as a sign of anything more than the times. Not an anomaly but also not indicative of the state of the market. Even today, if you asked me, "Is there a market for 2,000 SF three-bedroom homes in downtown Boston," I'd say, "Yes."

You can't find a comparable property of the same size for the same price. The only difference is, the Bryant is in "no-man's land" between South End and Back Bay. But, compare it to 285 Columbus, just half a block down the street - they were able to sell 60+ units in less than 2 years. Some would say 285 Columbus is WORSE being that it is up against (over?) a subway & Amtrak rail line (and now has CVS as its anchor tenant - great place to pick up your Antabuse).

A fair question is, what kinds of buyers have the resources to close on these deals? Less than 50% sold means no traditional financing. The buyers aren't "rich" in the sense they don't have money to burn. Hope (and assume) they arranged their financing beforehand; don't know if they were able to get a mortgage contingency clause, I doubt it.

Would I buy in a building less than 50% sold? HELL NO.

[kennedy]

Why wouldn't you buy in a building half-vacant? Because it would be boring, or is there an economic reason? Just wondering.

[Ron Newman]

Maybe they overshot the market, but Columbus Ave in the South End is still quite a desirable location, near lots of restaurants.

[Lurker]

It would have sold better if Columbus Center was under construction. Sitting next to a wasteland of highways doesn't help that stretch of Columbus Avenue in the slightest. Then again, the UFP would kill everyone and possibly cause a zombie outbreak, bankrupt the nation more than a few bailouts and stimulus plans, in addition to carnivorous shadows and deadly winds, so maybe this is the best we can get.

[commuter guy]

Why wouldn't you buy in a building half-vacant? Because it would be boring, or is there an economic reason? Just wondering.

FHA and Fannie Mae have recently tightened up standards making it more difficult for buyers to get financing to buy condos. Aslo, even if a buyer gets financing, they may be worried whether other potential buyers can do the same.

[Lurker]

It's a bad idea to buy in a half vacant building because of condo fees as well. If half the units are unoccupied, someone still has to pay for the upkeep of the building. I doubt anyone likes the idea of having their fees doubled because half the units are empty and the bills still need to be paid.

[AmericanFolkLegend]

Developer is typically still on the hook to pay the condo fees for the units he still owns. Of course, if the developer is cash strapped . . . .

[jass]

Theres also the issue where you pay listed price and then 6 months later the other units go to auction for 30% less....

[kz1000ps]

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/117/img5287y.jpg

[Joe_Schmoe]

If this building just didn't have those off-the-rack looking cornices it would be much better.

[Suffolk 83]

I thought the top was going to be green... wtf mate?

[palindrome]

Heads up to all interested, but applications for the affordable housing lottery for this building just came out.

170k for a 1 bedroom
244k for the 2 bed

http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/affordhousing/AHopps.asp?action=ViewOpp&OppID=311

http://www.bryantlottery.com/

[Shepard]

Do affordable units get a discount on the condo fees? With all the amenities this place has, I'd estimate those fees to be in the $500-$700 range.

Also, how does resale of affordable units work? Is there a cap on the future sales price and if so how is that determined?

[sidewalks]

yes there is a cap...I believe it has to stay "affordable" to someone making the same percent of the median income from when you bought it. IE if the unit was meant for someone making 90% of area median income, that means that 30% of the income for a single person- perhaps 30% of $50k, would go towards a mortgage payment. The value of the unit would be calculated based on the amount available for housing payments in relation to the prevailing interest rate on a 30 yr mortgage. The next time the unit comes up the sales number would be based on the same calculation.

[AmericanFolkLegend]

^^Right. And not only does the condo fee count in the "30% of income" housing cost calculation, it also largely absolves the affordable units from pitching in on assessments. This has lead to some lawsuits in situations where affordable units have been denied votes in front of the condo board (the question being, should someone who won't be asked to pay for an assessment be allowed to vote for one).

[itchy]

Hypothetical question. Let's say I'm 25 and make a salary qualifying me to buy an "affordable" apartment (I guess if you make more, you're expected to pay too much :rolleyes: ), but I hope to have some upward mobility and make a "non-affordable" salary by the time I'm 35.

Am I allowed to buy the apartment today, or will they look at my current job performance and likelihood I may get a raise and prevent me from doing so? And if I buy the apt and I do get that raise 5 years down the road, will I be kicked out of the apartment I own when I get it?

This seems like such a bizarre, opaque and convoluted game (no wonder Charlie Rangel owns a small town of "affordable" apartments). Me no understand.

[Shepard]

Unless I understand wrong, this just sounds to me like an expensive game of rent with closing costs. If you can only sell it within "affordable" guidelines based on what you described, then you'll never profit on it beyond inflation. You'll be paying interest and condo fees with no upside.

[AmericanFolkLegend]

Shepard is right regarding condos. But to Itchy's point, you can get an affordable rental unit even if you're a couple years out of college. I had a buddy with a degree from UMass and a good job who moved into Tent City after we graduated college.

[itchy]

But if I was viewing it as a home and not as an investment vehicle, I'd be able to get a nice subsidized home that wasn't intended for me... You see this with the upper middle-class Mitchell-Lama bluehairs who are worth hundreds of thousands and freak out when their regulated rent goes up to $150 per month.

Not that you can blame them; it's the whole idea of the state subsidizing housing (and forcing it in every new development) that's to be blamed. Whenever you have a spoils system, it's going to be abused, act as a disincentive to better behavior, and ultimately be yet another unsustainable cost.

[sm4269a]

Itchy - Yes, the BRA and/or management company will certify your income on an annual basis. I assume if you no longer qualify you would be forced to sell or be unable to renew a lease.

Also, there are a lot of things to keep in mind when applying. First of all, you have to be able to front the down payment on your own, no one can help you. They require you divulge all your financial info, tax returns, pay stubs, etc. So you can't get the down payment from your folks or have a ridiculous trust fund (+1).

I have a sweet BRA AHC spot.