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Downtown Condo Market


Frankie811

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I wonder how many, if not all those hits were from people from this forum  :D

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It wasn't me, it wasn't me!! :D

Seriously, though, that article is very encouraging. After I read no Westin units had sold yet, I was starting to get worried...

- Garris

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although.. the westin has almost 2 yrs

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That's right... people should be inquiring soon, but you probably won't see too many sales until the project is being visibly constructed, and there are a few tours of an apartment... also, I don't know about you, but the idea of having hotel service at your condo sounds unbelievably expensive... I bet a lot of people are thinking the same.

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Folks, take this interview to the bank. I don't know virtually anything about Gilbane or his company, but this is finally someone with a national perspective who sounds like they've got the perfect take on the RI market, the RI economy vs the national market, and the national economy. Everything in this interviews rings as 100% genuine and true.

Nice find Frankie. Thanks.

- Garris

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Interesting that he mentioned Portsmouth. Portsmouth was actually where I orignally had planned to move when I left New York. My boyfriend and I were all ready to make an exploratory trip up there when at the last minute I decided it was crazy, it was just as expensive as Boston and we would likely need to buy two cars on top of that. So litterally 2 days before going to Portsmouth we (I) decided we should check out Providence instead.

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Folks, take this interview to the bank. I don't know virtually anything about Gilbane or his company, but this is finally someone with a national perspective who sounds like they've got the perfect take on the RI market, the RI economy vs the national market, and the national economy. Everything in this interviews rings as 100% genuine and true.

Nice find Frankie. Thanks.

- Garris

Interesting. When the Mrs. and I were touring the city with a Matt's real-estate guy last month, we couldn't help noting how much condo conversion is going on -- seemed like every neighborhood that had any three-deckers or other multi-family buildings, they were all being converted to condos. The agent said there was a lot of buy-convert-flipping going on.

Anyone here that lives in that type of unit?

Urb

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Interesting. When the Mrs. and I were touring the city with a Matt's real-estate guy last month, we couldn't help noting how much condo conversion is going on -- seemed like every neighborhood that had any three-deckers or other multi-family buildings, they were all being converted to condos. The agent said there was a lot of buy-convert-flipping going on.

Anyone here that lives in that type of unit?

Urb

I don't (I live in one of the few townhouse style developments in Providence, a unit of which might be coming on the market soon), but I saw a ton of them on the East Side when I was looking two years ago. The quality varied dramatically. I only saw one that I thought was a blatent explotation (a apt building to condo conversion on South Angell), but many (usually under 250K) were of the type Liam (I think) described. The fresh coat of paint, Home Depot cabinets, cheapest stainless steel appliances, Chinese granite countertops without much more done.

Between 250K and 300K, it was a toss up, some done as above, and some done really well (especially the ones I saw in Hope Village and Oak Hill). Most of the ones I saw over 300K (mostly just to get a sense of quality difference, as anything near 300 was well out of my price range) seemed to be done well, but I felt were overpriced. A lot of 2 bedrooms are really one bedroom conversions where you can close some french doors in the living room or dining area to make it a 2nd bedroom type of conversions. Buyer beware...

- Garris

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http://www.pbn.com/stories/printdetails.php?id=116907

So from this should we exspect to see more proposels for condo's sooner rather then later?

I don't think we'll see any major proposals until '07 (Hilton Condos, circular gas station site...). I think people are waiting in the wings now to see how well OneTen, Waterplace, the Westin, and Jefferson (I guess) do. If they sell well, and at the prices these people want for them, then others will know it's safe to procede, or at least see where the market is at and how to procede.

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Boston's condo market being overpriced is not necessarily a bad thing for Providence...in fact, I think it may make us seem like a very affordable and attractive alternative.

Unfortunately, we are quickly losing that attractive affordability...

Providence had its greatest advantage when it was dirt cheap. That is no longer...

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Believe me, there is still a significant gap. I toured a building in the South End last night with asking prices of $1,100 per square foot. One Ten will range from $525-600 per square foot. This is the South End, only ten years ago a rather "unsavory" neighborhood.

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Believe me, there is still a significant gap. I toured a building in the South End last night with asking prices of $1,100 per square foot. One Ten will range from $525-600 per square foot. This is the South End, only ten years ago a rather "unsavory" neighborhood.

No matter what the South End was ten years ago, it is now one of the most chi-chi neighborhoods in Boston, with a few little pockets of more moderate income people. (And it really has been closer to 15 years since the South End was seedy, anyway). We need to stop comparing Providence prices to the most up-scale of Boston neighborhoods. It's just not the same market. Providence overall is much more like Dorchester- much of the city worse than the "worst" parts of Dorchester, and the most up-scale parts of Providence are maybe like Jamaica Plain. If someone wants to be close to Boston but can't afford the South End, they move to Dorchester. People who want to be in the city but can't afford Dorchester might (might) consider moving to Providence. (Frankly, Dorchester has far more urban amenities than downtown Providence, no matter how tall the buildings are going to be).

What is the $/square foot asking price in Dot compared with One Ten? That would be a more a more realistic and useful comparison. (And note: the $525-600 asking price downtown is not for the un-seedy Providence of 10-15 years in the future, it is for the quite seedy Providence of right now)

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Certainly good and valid points. I think your post minimizes some of the wealth in Providence (the East Side is not Jamaica Plain), but with that said you're correct in emphasizing the differences between the two markets. I also don't mean to compare Downcity to the South End; they are entirely different neighborhoods both in morphology, aesthetic and social make up.

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  • 2 weeks later...

[quote name='ruchele' date='Sep 30 2005, 05:02 PM' post='210042'

What is the $/square foot asking price in Dot compared with One Ten? That would be a more a more realistic and useful comparison. (And note: the $525-600 asking price downtown is not for the un-seedy Providence of 10-15 years in the future, it is for the quite seedy Providence of right now)

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"Comparing a premier luxury condo tower in downcity to *anything* in Dorchester is not a fair comparison. Dorchester is, at heart, a commuter neighborhood. People don't live in Dorchester for the arts, restaurants or to be in walking distance to their jobs. While downcity is not downtown Boston, it is certainly not Dorchester."

Yes, but there seems to be an assumption that many of the occupants moving into the new downtown condos will be commuting to Boston for work. Which means that Providence, too, will be a commuter neighborhood, just one that is much further from downtown Boston.

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Yes, but there seems to be an assumption that many of the occupants moving into the new downtown condos will be commuting to Boston for work. Which means that Providence, too, will be a commuter neighborhood, just one that is much further from downtown Boston.

I think while Boston commuters are a component (especially perhaps for Waterplace), there are other important local sources of residents as well. I wonder if Ari would be willing to comment on what percentage of the Cornish Lofts are to Boston commuters and what percentage to local workers?

- Garris

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