Archive for the ‘The South End’ Category
April 19, 2008
Gaslight, a brasserie with good-looking brunch menu, sits on Harrison Avenue about halfway between the Mass Pike and Mass Ave. The French toast stuffed with sweet cheese caught my attention, while Mr Alyk’s eyes lit up at the mention of steak and eggs with biscuits and gravy. Along with a full menu, Gaslight created a few unique cocktails that might make open houses a bit livelier.
Harrison Avenue lies in the southeastern edge of the South End. This area formerly housed much of the city’s manufacturing; therefore, plenty of factories and warehouses begged for conversion. Gaslight’s building looks like a converted factory; however, I really don’t anything about its past life, so I’m not sure what it was.
Washington Street, the South End’s main thoroughfare, lies one block north of Harrison Avenue. Back in the 80’s, the MBTA dismantled the elevated tracks, opening up the formerly shady street, making it safe for the rest of the world. Several new residential developments decorate this now sunny street, including Wilkes Passage, Laconia Lofts, and Gateway Terrace.
1313 Washington Street, #314
Beds: 1/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 948
$579,000
Open House: Sunday, April 20, noon-1:30pm
1200 Washington Street, #415
Beds: 2/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 1104
$599,000
Open House: Sunday, April 20, 1:30pm-3pm
1166 Washington Street, #v205
Beds: 0/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 496
$339,000
Open House: Sunday, April 20, 1:30pm-3:00pm
Bonus: The first building, Wilkes Passage, planned another open house just down the hall for those looking for a little more space.
1313 Washington Street, #330
Beds: 2/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1,994
$1,349,500
Open House: Sunday, April 20, noon-1:00pm
More Alyk on the South End
April 13, 2008
The northwest corner of the South End, more specifically the intersection of Dartmouth Street and Columbus Avenue, is one of my favorite areas of the South End. Classic Victorian-South End architecture makes up most of the area, but a healthy dose of 60’s and 70’s urban renewal projects remind me I live in the inner-city. Urban activity never ceases in the area, it just slows down a bit for a few hours in the middle of the night. The constant flow of pedestrians creates a feeling of excitement and anticipation, as though something is about to happen.
While wide boulevards, narrow side streets, and impassible alleys make for a fun recreational walk and urban exploring, almost everything I need for daily life remains within walking distance. A few blocks south I find the Boston Center for the Arts and all the trendiest new restaurants in town, while a few blocks north I find the best retail shopping in New England. Copley Place, Shops at the Prudential, Boylston Street, and Newbury Street all cater to my consumer wishes. I get to enjoy the best of the South End and the best of Back Bay whenever I want.
If all that isn’t enough, I can walk to the Back Bay Orange Line station in four minutes, allowing quick access to Chinatown, Downtown, and the North End.
These three homes all sit within a five minute walk of the Back Bay station:
368 Columbus Avenue, #A
Beds: 1/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 791
$289,900
380 Columbus Avenue, #3
Beds: 2/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 894
$575,000
18 Yarmouth Street, #2
Beds: 3/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1,744
$1,390,000
Several new buildings along Columbus Avenue promise even more activity in the area, but that has to wait for another post, another time.
MORE FROM ALYK ON THE SOUTH END
REDFIN SWEET DIGS BOSTON HOME
AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD-CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY
April 11, 2008
Sunday’s Dine and Dash begins at one of my regular stops: Flour. It’s sometimes convenient, usually quick, and always delicious. Their sticky buns beckon me from all the way across the South End. This sad love affair blessed me with an unintended benefit; I have one more reason to wander through my neighborhood.
As we stroll the city Sunday, our route takes us through Columbia Square (aka Blackstone Square and Franklin Square) and past the beautiful Rutland-Washington Community Garden. The South End Lower Roxbury Open Space Land Trust operates fifteen similar gardens throughout the South End and Roxbury. Members of the trust pay a fee for the right to tend a garden plot as they wish, growing whatever they want, provided they don’t sell the fruits of their labor.
Flour sits directly across the street from the community garden. A leisurely walk through the gardens would be nice, but I don’t know if the grounds are open to non-members. Even if we can’t get in, we can enjoy the view through the wrought-iron fence before beginning the dash.
121 West Concord Street, #2
Beds: 2/Baths: 3.5
SQ.FT.: 1843
$1,195,000
Open House: Sunday, April 13 11:30 to 1:00
112 West Concord Street, #3
Beds: 2/Baths: 3
SQ.FT.: 2046
$1,350,000
Open House: Sunday, April 13 12:45 to 2:30
27 Rutland Street, #2
Beds: 3/Baths: 3.5
SQ.FT.: 1782
$1,230,000
Open House: Sunday, April 13 12:30 to 2:30
More of Alyk on the South End
Redfin Sweet Digs Boston Home
Photo Source
April 9, 2008
Anyone who drives in Boston knows about parking in the city. Parking garages outside downtown are rare and expensive. On-street parking is impossible to find, and the city reserved most on-street spots for residents. Resident parking permits are difficult to acquire, and don’t even guarantee a parking spot–they only guarantee the hunt for a spot. And parking enforcement runs all day, handing out costly tickets for violations. Those with money can buy parking spaces, running $50K and up, but bloated SUV’s and poor driving skills often require two precious spots.
I don’t have a cure for Boston’s massive parking problem; I wouldn’t even know where to start. I do, however, have a suggestion for individuals looking to avoid keeping a car in the city.
Zipcar.
Zipcar began in 1999 as an auto-sharing program in our very own Cambridge, but quickly expanded other cities around the US. Here’s how Zipcar works: customers pay a fifty-dollar annual fee and, when they use a car, a small hourly fee. The hourly fee, usually only nine to fourteen dollars, covers gas and insurance for up to 180 miles of driving.
Zipcar differs from auto-rental agencies in several ways.
- Customers make all reservations online or on the telephone; no dealing with rental agents and long lines.
- Zipcar rents by the hour, not by the day. Customers pay only for the time they need.
- No additional fees. Unless the daily mileage limit is exceeded or if the car is returned late, customers pay no other costs. Hourly rates include all gas and insurance.
- Zipcar placed pick-up locations all over the city, not in huge, inconvenient lots
This is my favorite part (two parts, really): cars are located all around the city, and they are nice cars. Coopers (convertible!), Volvos, BMW’s, Jettas, and even pickup trucks. They have about twenty pick-up locations in the South End and over one hundred spread throughout the rest of the city.
Mr_Alyk works with someone who owns a car, but gets an SUV every time he visits Ikea or moves apartments (JS, time to settle down and buy. With Redfin, of course!)
Another friend uses her Zipcar to shop at South Bay a couple of times a month. She spends sixty dollars a month for her zip car and sixty dollars a month for her Charlie Card. She saves a ton over owning a car in the city. If she kept a car in the South End, she would have to pay all the regular car costs– financing, maintenance, and gas—and then some. She’d also have to pay another couple hundred a month for parking. Her insurance would double, and parking tickets would kill her.
Zipcar isn’t the cure to all the world’s ills, but it’s pretty convenient for those who could use a car, but don’t want to keep one in the city.
More Alyk on the South End
Redfin Sweet Digs Boston Home
March 30, 2008
No news this week regarding the Pine Street Inn purchase on Upton Street; however, a Fenway News post from last summer about my NIMBY neighbors included a letter from the co-president of the Union Park Neighborhood Association. It sounded like she wanted to distance the association from the most vocal opponents of the Pine Street Inn:
Both Jerry Frank and Norm Knickle are expressing their own personal views, not the views of the neighborhood association, which has purposely taken no position on this issue. Neither gentleman is an abutter of Hope House. This is a private sale, and the neighborhood association cannot dictate to whom property owners can sell their holdings…
The people of Hope House have been good neighbors, no one disputes that, and the neighborhood will sorely miss them.
HARRIET FINKELSTEIN, Copresident, Union Park Neighborhood Association, Boston
I’m going to guess she was one of the recently-replaced board members. In a sad turn of events, Linda Rodriguez of the South End News referred to Finkelstein as a former board member, Frank as the president, and Knickle as a board-member. According to the South End News:
Norm Knickle, an Upton Street resident for more than three years and a member of the UPNA board, said that their primary concern is the actually the size of the proposed project. Knickle, who refers to the three row homes as a “complex,” said that the three residential homes “will really define the street.”
Norm, buddy, the character of the street was defined long before you blessed the South End with your presence.
Several Upton Street residents placed their homes for sale recently. If you chose to purchase a home on that street, I feel obligated to warn you:
- Hope House operates a transitional-living facility on that street.
- Pine Street Inn will purchase the facility and continue its operation as a transitional-living facility.
- You shouldn’t whine about it; Hope House moved in long before you.
7 Upton Street, #1
Beds: 2/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1750
$/SQ.FT.: 502
$879,000
14 Upton Street, #1
Beds: 2/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1637
$/SQ.FT.: 433
$709,000
27 Upton Street, #3
Beds: 3/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1831
$/SQ.FT.: 791
$1,449,000
And, closest to the “complex”:
46 Upton Street, #2
Beds:1 /Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 645
$/SQ.FT.: 712
$459,000
More of Alyk on the South End
March 29, 2008
I don’t really know how this happened, but in all my years in this city, I’ve never been to Mike’s City Diner. And I love diners! I spent my college years in the South, where the diner isn’t just another restaurant; it’s a cultural institution. The importance of the town diner grows in relation to the size of the town; the smaller the town, the more significant role the diner’s role in its customer’s social lives. Folks don’t just get a cup of coffee and some eggs; in some small towns, the diner is the focus of the entire social scene.
I hope Mike’s isn’t like that. The South and the South End run on different speeds, and I much prefer the speed and anonymity of the cig city.
I heard nothing but great things about Mike’s. Apparently, the only problem is the line–I hear it sometimes reaches the sidewalk–but it moves quickly. The online menu looks great, but didn’t see one of my southern favorites: biscuits and sausage gravy. I hope it’s just a webmaster oversight, but even if it isn’t, I’m sure I’ll find some other country food that’s just as good.
After brunch, I’ll hit several open houses on Worcester Square:
15 Worcester Square, #4
Beds: 2/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 840
$/SQ.FT.: 642
$539,000
Sunday, 12:00 – 1:30
18 Worcester Square, #3
Beds: 1/Baths:1
SQ.FT.: 788
$/SQ.FT.: 646
$509,000
Sunday, 1:30-3:00
34 Worcester Square. #4
Beds: 2/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 895
$/SQ.FT.: 546
$489,000
Sunday 1:30-3:00
1 Worcester Square, #1
Beds: 3/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1464
$/SQ.FT.: 573
$839,000
Sunday, 2:00-4:00
More of Alyk on the South End
March 24, 2008
My Upton Street neighbors repeatedly embarrass me in front of the entire city when they voice hollow concerns over the Pine Street Inn purchase of three townhouses on their street. Hope House currently owns and operates the townhouses as a transitional-living facility for up to seventy recovering addicts. It wants to sell all three units to the Pine Street Inn, which will continue using them as a transitional-living facility, but for only thirty-six residents. The sale hit a snag when some whiners decided they no longer want a shelter in the neighborhood. The Union Park Neighborhood Association (UPNA) is up in arms because they weren’t included in any negotiations.
I’m not sure why UPNA members feel like they should be included in any Pine Street Inn business. Even association president Jerry Frank, who moved to Upton Street several years after the opening of the Hope House facility, admitted the association is sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong. According to The South End News, Mr. Frank conceded:
“We’re going to find out how this happened, what the plans are … we want to address the economics of this, although it’s really not our business.”
Hope House used the townhouses in question as transitional-housing facility for over twenty-five years: probably longer than most of these whiney-assed Upton Street residents lived in the area. It’s unforgivable that these people saved a few bucks buying homes near a shelter, and now want to force the shelter out. Maybe they can push the Pine Street Inn onto some other less organized, less educated, less affluent families in some other neighborhood. Again, according to The South End News, Mr. Frank whimpered:
“We want to know why Pine Street Inn persists in pushing here when they know the neighbors object.”
Well, Jerry, the Pine Street Inn may not care that you don’t want it there. Keep in mind, you chose to move in to the neighborhood knowing what was there. Deal with it, Holmes.
Photo Source
Click here for more South End news and posts by Alyk
March 22, 2008
I traditionally kick off my Sunday open house tours with a huge coffee and a bagel or pastry at any one of the great bakeries around town, the South End Buttery. Occasionally, when the motivation strikes, I wander over to Back Bay or hop a train to the North End. One of my favorite places outside the South End is Chinatown’s Eldo Cake House; I love their salty-sweet pork buns.
Although Sunday is Easter, I still plan to make my weekly open-house stroll through the South End, but it will be an abbreviated walk; I snagged brunch reservations at Hamersley’s Bistro. Family get-togethers are always fun, but I have a feeling I won’t be much in the mood for a long walk after eating a huge Easter Brunch. Luckily, a couple of nearby open houses won’t take us far off track.
26 Dwight Street, #2
Beds: 3/Baths: 1.5
SQ.FT: 1300
$/SQ.FT: 585
$759,900
OPEN HOUSE: Sunday, March 23, noon - 1:30
35 Fay Street, #217
Beds: 1 /Baths: 1
SQ.FT: 1060
$/SQ.FT: 656
$695,000
OPEN HOUSE: Sunday, March 23, 1:30 - 3:00
In case you missed it, someone corrected the great deal in the last post: 411 Shawmut Avenue, #1, changed from $313,000 to $434,000.
Photo Source
Click here for more South End news and posts by Alyk
March 17, 2008
Asking prices in the South End topped $2 million in recent years, but near Shawmut Avenue three homes managed to stay under $400K. Amazingly, one hovered just above $300K. When I first received the price updates last week, I assumed it was a typo, but the asking price is still listed at $313K, and no one made any effort to correct it.
Current owners first listed 411 Shawmut Avenue for $479K, but chopped off a whopping $166,000 over the last six months. I don’t really know what the story is, but I’d love to find out. Whoever buys it will be getting quite a bit of space: 1116 square feet. While $280/SQ.FT may not seem like the deal of the century, it’s definitely a South End bargain.
411 Shawmut Avenue, #1
Beds: 1/Baths: 1.5
SQ.FT: 1,116
$/SQ.FT: 280
$313,000
247 Shawmut Avenue, #3
Beds: 1Baths: 1
SQ.FT: 434
$/SQ.FT: 827
$359,000
48 Worcester Street, #4
Beds: 1/Baths: 1
SQ.FT: 695
$/SQ.FT: 545
$379,000
OT: John Keith at Boston Real Estate Blog mentioned a rumor that Whole Foods set its eyes on a new store for Harrison Avenue.
Header photo: South End Buttery on Shawmut Avenue. As the name implies, pastry chefs prepare everything with loads of butter; therefore, everything is fabulous.
Correction: 411 Shawmut Avenue was re-adjusted for $434,900: not quite the bargain it was at $313,000.
Click here for more South End news and posts by Alyk
March 9, 2008
Today’s episode of TV Diner on NECN featured our beloved South End, with much focus on Tremont Street- also known as Restaurant Row. They filmed segments in several local restaurants Wednesday, interviewing several restaurateurs, including Gordon Hammersley of Hammersley’s Bistro and Barbara Lynch of B & G Oysters Ltd and The Bucher Shop. Much of the discussion focused on the South End’s emergence as a destination for fine dining; host Billy Costa even declared the South End the hottest area in the city, if not the nation.
These homes all fall within a short walk of Boston Center for the Arts and Restaurant Row:
528 Tremont Street, #4
Beds: 1/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 603
$/SQ.FT.: $711
$429,000
505 Tremont Street, #408
Beds: 2/Baths: 2.5
SQ.FT.: 1504
$/SQ.FT.: $ $994
$1,495,000
40 Hanson Street
Beds: 2/Baths: 3
SQ.FT.: 3036
$/SQ.FT.: $789
$2,395,000
Photo source: The Food Aficionado
Click here for more South End news and posts by Alyk
