The proposed project at 576 Washington St. in Wellesley Center, shown above in an artist’s rendering, would include 19 luxury condominiums. Prices would start at $2 million.
Wellesley – a town where multimillion-dollar mansions are no rarity – will be getting a taste of ultra-luxury condo living.
A development team wants to build 19 condominiums, with starting prices at $2 million, in Wellesley Center. The project, which will be built at the site of the former Wellesley Inn, will be one of the largest market-rate condo developments to be built in the town in at least a decade.
The developers are hoping to attract suburban residents who would otherwise head to downtown Boston or the city’s waterfront in search of newly constructed upscale condos.
“This will be something that doesn’t yet exist in Wellesley,” said Holly Grace, project manager with Jones Lang LaSalle, which is developing the project in a joint venture with Westbrook Partners, a real estate fund.
Grace said the units, ranging in size from 2,200 square feet to 2,500 square feet, will offer one-floor living space with high-quality finishes that are similar to condos being built in Boston.
The project, located at 576 Washington St., will include approximately 9,000 square feet of retail space. A cottage on the site will be converted into two units that will be designated as affordable and the developer also will be building two below-market-rate homes at a town-owned site on Boulevard Road, according to Grace. The project was designed by Boston-based CBT Architects.
Wellesley Town Planner Meghan Conlon said most of the condos built in the town in recent years have been created under the state’s affordable housing law, Chapter 40B, which requires developers to set aside about 20 percent of the units in the project for lower-income households. Currently under construction, for example, is an age-restricted 28-unit condo complex along Route 9 and Russell Road that is being built with a Chapter 40B permit.
“There hasn’t been a development of this sort in several years,” said Conlon, referring to the Jones Lang LaSalle project.
Fewer than 20 market-rate condos – units not built under Chapter 40B – have been created in Wellesley in the last 10 years either through new construction or conversions of existing properties, according to information provided by Wellesley Planning Director Rick Brown. Those units are assessed at anywhere from about $200,000 to over $1 million, according to records from the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds.
The condos at 576 Washington St. are likely to appeal to homeowners who want to downsize from larger single-family homes and are seeking a more maintenance-free lifestyle but are not necessarily interested in moving to an urban location, according to local Realtors.
Currently, there are a limited number of $1 million-plus condos available for sale in Wellesley and nearby communities like Weston and Needham. There were two condos priced at $1 million or more for sale in Wellesley as of last Tuesday, 20 condos in neighboring Newton and none in Weston and Needham, according to information provided by MLS Property Information Network.
‘A Limited Supply’
Peter P. Casey, president of Prudential Wilmot Whitney Real Estate in Weston, said when luxury condos hit the market in communities like Wayland they tend to be very popular.
“I would not at all be surprised that people would find luxury condos in these markets pretty attractive,” said Casey.
Casey said he has worked with clients in Wellesley and Weston who can afford luxury living but would like to downsize because they don’t want to deal with the maintenance involved in owning a larger home. Often, they prefer to remain in the immediate area, he said.
“The opportunity to stay in town where they typically have a lot invested Â… is probably a very attractive option if they can find living accommodations that suit their needs,” he said.
But a lot of them are seeking to sell their multimillion-dollar homes for condos that are priced less – anywhere from $500,000 to $1.5 million, according to Casey.
“Whether they would be attracted to $2 million-plus condos remains to be seen,” he said. “There are some folks who can certainly afford it but whether that’s a large group, I just don’t know. We’ll have to see.”
In Wellesley, empty nesters and retirees don’t have many higher-end condo options to choose from, according to Sarah Patrick, an agent with Prudential Town and Country Real Estate. Besides Wellesley Green, a complex along Grove Street that was built more than 30 years ago, there are few condos and they rarely come on the market, she said.
Units at Wellesley Green have fetched anywhere from $715,000 to $760,000 in the last three to four years, according to Norfolk County Registry of Deeds records.
Patrick is marketing the age-restricted Chapter 40B condo project. The project, which involves the redevelopment of a former nursing home, is garnering a lot of interest, according to Patrick. The units, expected to be finished in August, are selling for $469,000 up to $829,900.
“I’m doing three or four showings each weekend and this isn’t a finished project yet,” Patrick said.
But 576 Washington St., which is not age-restricted, is expected to bring a new level of luxury condo living to the town, according to Grace.
“There’s a limited supply of luxury condos in the area,” said Grace, referring to Wellesley and the surrounding towns.
The developers want to incorporate elements of the old inn’s façade into the design of the project, including a colonnade.
“The current design in a way harkens back to the inn,” said Grace. “We have a setback and some green space proposed.”
The developer has received the necessary “project of significant impact” approval from the town and in coming months will go before the design review board and the Zoning Board for site plan review.
Construction is expected to begin during the first half of 2008.
