You might not have the kitchen space to cook your grandmother’s Bolognese sauce. There may not even be a full-sized refrigerator in the place. But hey, where else are you going to find an apartment for $1,500 a month in downtown Boston besides a new micro-unit, the extra small apartments being pushed by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino?
The mayor has challenged real estate developers looking to build new apartment towers in Boston to make those units smaller and less expensive than the majority of the rental offerings available in the city proper, allowing the young professionals working in downtown offices to live closer to where they work.
Hundreds of tiny apartments are planned by developers in areas across the city, from the South End neighborhood to the Seaport District, where developers are counting on young renters to think outside the box of traditional units and embrace a concept of minimalism. That could require serious sacrifices on the part of a generation that often buys on credit.
The micro-units being designed can be anywhere from 300 square feet to 500 square feet, not exactly the kind of space you need to host 20 of your closest friends for a housewarming or the Final Four games. Instead, projects will include shared common areas where friends and acquaintances can gather.
But plenty of developers are taking that gamble. Trinity Financial, a Boston real estate developer, is planning to build 245 micro-units, 11 of which will be fully handicapped accessible, at 35 Northampton St., adjacent to Boston
Medical Center. In July, Trinity should begin a $21.5 million renovation of the 29-story former nursing school dormitory tower into micro-apartments that will be rented to people making 60 percent to 70 percent of the median income. Seventy-five percent of the 245 units will be rented by individuals making no more than $39,660 a year, or a couple earning $45,360 total in annual salary. And 25 percent will be for individuals with maximum salaries of $46,250, or a couple making $52,850 or less.
The maximum tax-credit rent will be $991 for a studio.
A second phase of the project, renovation of another existing tower at 860 Harrison Ave., could begin in the next year or two, bringing that project’s micro-unit total to about 300, said Hank Keating, vice president of design and construction for Trinity.
“It’s a pure coincidence in a way that these dorm rooms are of the same scale, about 360 square feet on average, of the micro-units now being planned,” Keating said. “But we are now doing a total rehab of the building to preserve the micro-units as affordable housing.”
Too Small For Some
Don’t be fooled by the square footage. Micro-units can feel bigger than they are. Trinity’s units will have windows spanning the entire 17-foot width of the apartments. Their kitchens will have full-sized refrigerators and stovetops, what Keating called “full galley kitchens.”
“We are building a real kitchen and apartment for each unit,” Keating added. “This is for real people with real needs and limited incomes, and that means they need to be able to cook.”
Not all designers, however, think alike. The architecture firm ADD Inc. created a roughly 300-square-foot micro-apartment replica to display at the Boston Society of Architects space at Atlantic Wharf earlier this month. ADD Inc.’s units are the truly tiny spaces envisioned for young professionals who might not cook meals, but instead just reheat their leftovers. Additionally, the firm’s designs featured miniature refrigerators located beneath sinks. The 8.5-foot ceilings offered vertical space for potential storage.
Those kinds of units are being planned and currently under construction in the city’s Seaport District at projects like 319 A St., Pier 4 along Northern Avenue, 381 Congress St. and 63 Melcher St.
But is your kitchen’s ability to heat up last night’s Chinese food enough? One 34-year-old commercial banker who lives in the Seaport District doesn’t think so, not at up to $2,000 a month in rent for a micro-pad.
“You wouldn’t find me living in such a small place, not for that price,” said the commercial banker who asked for anonymity, fearing a potential conflict of business interest. “It’s only me and my wife for now, but even without kids, you still want some room to move around and get away from each other a little, to read or watch TV by yourself. Maybe if they lowered the prices, but that’s just not enough for two people living together.”
Email: jcronin@thewarrengroup.com
