45 Province Shows Progress, Of A Sort

The Abbey Group, developers of the 45 Province St. condo tower in Boston’s Downtown Crossing, did something last week they hadn’t done in more than four months. They closed on a sale.

The 12th-floor unit is tiny – 685 square feet tiny – and it sold for just $432,000. That’s nowhere near the $1 million to $2 million bigger units had been going for. It was the sixteenth sale at the 138-unit tower, making the thing just over 11-percent sold now. Back in June, the developer told a crowd of reporters that the building was already 20-percent sold. But still, hooray for progress. Right?

Several brokers have been talking recently about how strangely lifeless the downtown tower has been. Especially because the developers have a $120 million construction loan hanging over their heads.

One downtown broker speculated that the Abbey Group is laying low, keeping marketing costs down and waiting to see how the spring selling season shakes out. And if they trip over a sale between now and May, this person said, it’s a bonus.

So The Teller says: Congrats on the trip, guys!