This closed garage/service station at 1601 Beacon St. near Washington Square in Brookline will soon be the home of a new luxury condominium development.
With demand for condominiums in Brookline at an all-time high, town officials are keeping their eyes on new residential developments that are replacing commercial property and cutting into the community’s commercial tax base.
At least two old gas stations in town are being converted into condominiums and one is already home to nine new units. In addition, a former automobile body shop, lumberyard storage shed, and an underutilized office/warehouse building are also being replaced with condominiums.
Amy Schectman, Brookline’s economic development officer, said town officials are somewhat concerned but maintained that the town’s commercial sector is “quite healthy,” as evidenced by a new hotel under development.
“Ideally, you don’t want to lose commercial space to residential,” said Schectman, explaining that it could affect the tax base in the long run. However, Schectman said that some of the commercial space that is being replaced is “on the margins.”
The current tax rate in Brookline is $12.90 per thousand dollars of valuation for residential property and $21.07 for commercial.
“You’re not seeing something smack in the middle of Coolidge Corner being converted,” she said, referring to an area of town that is bustling with a mix of commercial and residential activity.
The new wave of condominium development comes at a time when demand for condominiums in Brookline is strong. Sales of condominiums during the first quarter of the year were almost 39 percent higher than the same period last year. There were 172 condominium sales from January through March, according to The Warren Group, parent company of Banker & Tradesman. During the same months last year, 124 condominiums were sold.
As of fiscal year 2002, there were 7,804 condominiums in Brookline, along with 4,422 single-family homes and 485 commercial properties, according to statistics from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services.
Although the median price for a Brookline condominium was slightly lower during the first quarter of 2002 compared to a year ago, anecdotal information provided by local Realtors points to steady increases in condo prices. Statistics complied by The Warren Group show that median condominium prices in Brookline have surged 115 percent during the last six years. The median price for a Brookline condominium last year was $329,000, up from the $152,750 median price recorded in 1995.
Realtor Alan Cohen, vice president and marketing specialist with Coldwell Banker Hunneman’s Brookline office, can attest to the healthy demand for condos in town. On Mother’s Day this year, he put a two-bedroom condominium on the market and had 10 offers by the end of the day. In the past month, he has sold five condominiums, priced in the mid-$300,000 to $600,000 range.
Just recently, he put a Beacon Street condominium on the market and had four competing offers. Activity at condominium open houses has doubled from last year, he estimated, with anywhere from 25 to 60 people attending.
“It’s wild,” he said.
According to Realtors and town officials, Brookline’s stellar school system and its urban convenience make it a “real downtown alternative.”
Recognizing this, developers have been introducing luxury condominiums to Brookline, which they market to so-called empty nesters who are eager to downsize but want to remain in the town and young professionals who cannot afford a single-family home in the community. The median price for a single-family home during the first quarter was $730,000, 25 percent higher than a year ago, while the median price for a condominium during the same months was $341,000, according to The Warren Group.
“It’s obvious that the condominiums are the entry point for buyers,” said Fran Price, Brookline’s housing development manager.
In fact, the greatest demand has been for condominiums in the $300,000 to $450,000 price range, according to Cohen. But generally there is a shortage of condominiums in that price range. As of last Monday, for example, there were 134 condominiums on the market in Brookline, with only nine in that highly demanded $300,000 price range. Nearly half were priced at $700,000 or more. Another 14 cost over $1 million.
Last year, there were only seven condominium sales that exceeded $1 million, said Cohen. This year, with 41 condominiums on the market with price tags of $1 million or more, it’s clear that a whole new product line and new price points have been introduced into the market.
No ‘Panic’
With no large tracts of vacant land available in Brookline, developers have set their sights on vacant and under-used commercial property. Last week, Price examined the condominiums that are popping up on former commercial sites. Condominiums are under construction at the site of two gas stations – 164 Harvard St. and 1601 Beacon St. The Harvard Street development will also feature first-floor commercial space. Nine condominiums have already been built at the site of another old gas station at 11 Longwood Ave.
On sites at Hammond and Heath streets, where an automobile repair shop, former bus company and some residential units once stood, multiple condominiums are being constructed. One project will feature eight units when completed and another will feature 23.
New units are being planned at Aspinwall and St. Paul streets and Harvard Court – where once commercial and other residential units stood, said Price.
Construction has started on 14 condominiums at 187 High St., which had a storage shed on the site and was zoned residential with non-conforming uses, according to Price. Some buildings, including one with offices, were torn down at 1146 Beacon St. for the construction of 14 very-high end units. At 110 Cypress St., an underutilized office/warehouse building will be the site of 45 new condominium units.
Price said that in most cases, the commercial properties that are being converted into residential condominiums were long abandoned, and some sites are no longer amendable to commercial use. The former gas station sites, for example, are too small to accommodate modern-day service stations, she said.
While town officials are aware of those residential developments, they’re remaining optimistic because, as Schectman said, the commercial sector in Brookline is “thriving.”
A hotel on Coolidge Corner is currently under construction, the old town garage is being converted into office space, and 1010 Commonwealth Ave. – once a state police headquarters – is now back on the tax rolls as commercial property, said Schectman.
“There’s some concern [about the loss of commercial space],” said Schectman. “But I wouldn’t say there’s widespread panic.”
