Sold in Belmont: Million Dollar Bonanza Brings in the New Year

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A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 12 Greensbrook Way. Brick Ranch (1957) Sold: $1,250,000. Listed at $1,250,000. Living area: 2,735 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 4 baths. On the market: 16 days.

• 37 Marlboro St. Multi-family (1913), Sold for: $825,000. Listed at $825,000. Living area: 2,760 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 44 days.

• 30 Somerset St. The Albert Higgins House; Antebellum Greek Revival (1850) Sold: $1,950,000. Listed at $2,325,000. Living area: 4,023 sq.-ft. 13 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 3 full, 3 partial baths. On the market: 219 days.

• 85 Juniper Rd. Quite unique architectural style (1952) Sold: $1,325,000. Listed at $1,250,000. Living area: 2,626 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 91 days.

Sixteen days. That’s all it took for a 1950s ranch to sell on fancy Greensbrook Way. For $1.25 million! Well, what do you expect from a residential property across the street from Tagg Romney’s 8,000 square-foot manse. And there’s more! The seller of note was 12 Greensbrook Way LLC, which bought the house in October, 2014 for $1,050,000.

So who is this 12 Greensbrook Way LLC? It’s address is 103 Hemenway St. Suite B2 in Boston, the same address as Real Estate Management & Investment, the Fenway-based real estate investment firm known for constructing multi-story buildings in Boston neighborhoods such as the new 50 Symphony Road condo development. So it won’t shock you to know that the listed broker, OffCampus Apartment Finder, LLC, is a subsidiary of REM&I. 

This sale appears to be a “flip” to a motivated buyer. I would not be surprised if this rather standard eight-room house (rated a B+ by town assessors) on more than half-of-acre of valuable land is put “on the sword” and demolished to build something more “appropriate” for the location. It will be interesting to discover who bought the ranch.

A mention about 85 Juniper Rd: a very unique house with a well-thoughtout architectural approach to the land. I love the two-story rear side, full of windows facing east down the hill. Boxy but functional. It does require work (the interior needs serious updating) but a great house to own. 

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Not attractive even when it was built.

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The backside of this house is just nice.

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With smart interior design, this could become a stunning room.

Sold in Belmont: It’s What’s Inside the Bungalow That Counts; Watch the Oak (Ave) Fall

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A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 45 Choate Rd. #1. Townhouse condominium (1938), Sold for: $590,000. Listed at $629,000. Living area: 1,644 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 210 days.

• 2 Dalton Rd. #2. Ground-floor condominium (1920), Sold for: $465,000. Listed at $549,000. Living area: 1,290 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 132 days.

• 93 Walnut St. Framed bungalow (1920), Sold for: $695,750. Listed at $699,900. Living area: 1,757 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 75 days.

• 65 Oak Ave. Two-family (1913), Sold for: $895,000. Listed at $1,075,000. Living area: 2,976 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2  baths. On the market: 133 days.

• 124 Sycamore St. #1. Ground-floor condominium (1900), Sold for: $410,000. Listed at $385,000. Living area: 996 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 1 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 70 days.

When I think bungalow, I remember the northern neighborhoods of Atlanta where this wonderfully regional example of  residential architecture inhabits. These low-hanging homes, with their porches and woodsy appearance, just screams of someone reading “Gone with the Wind” barefoot on a swinging couch with a glass of Bourbon sitting on the floor as twilight nears.

The house at 93 Walnut St. near PQ park isn’t so romantic. In fact, it appears a developer needed squeeze something less than a Colonial onto a small lot. In 1920, you could still order a bungalow – and East Asian phrase for “a house in the Bengal style” – from the Sears catalogue as they were still a quite popular example of the Arts and Crafts-style. So in it went.

What’s missing here is the prominent, deep front porch typical of the style (A great example of a first-class bungalow in Belmont is located at 72 Cushing Ave. c. 1905, completely renovated in 2007) because the house sits practically on the edge of the sidewalk. Where could you put it? Good-bye, Scarlett.

What it does have is a wonderful recess dormer pointing to a loft space on the second floor.

And it is the interior that reveals the strengths and attraction of this homes. The interesting architectural features go on and on: the pair of columns leading into the “parlor” to delineate common from family space, wooden floors, period molding, a great fire place with a hardwood mantelpiece, built-in hutch and storage and the smart use of space on the second floor.  There are some modern turns – the kitchen now has granite tops (shutter!) and the second bathroom has one of those “shower stalls,” so you can be reminded your at the gym.

OK, it’s not what goes for an “average” sized house in town, but it’s quite cosy if you are starting a family and want a first house. All-in-all, a wonderful house.

• • •

If the residential two-family at 65 Oak Ave. just off Trapelo Avenue was being sold on “The Price Is Right,” host Drew Carey wouldn’t have to worry about disqualifying either of the contestants for bidding too much for the property as it appears only two people in the world, the seller and their salesperson, believe the house is valued at more than a million dollars.

Not saying the house isn’t nice; it’s a great late-period Victorian (so it has high ceilings) with a new paint job, new windows and roof along with surviving architectural details such as built-in cabinets and old-fashioned molding. But a million dollars for it?

So when the seller listed the price of the house in the seven figures, they neglected hearing the marketplace yelling “TIMBER!” Here is the grizzly fall of the Oak:

Original List Price:

Sept. 4: $1,075,000

Sept.10: $995,000

Oct. 1: $975,000

Oct. 14: $955,000

Nov. 14: $925,000

Jan. 15: $895,000

A $200,000 plunge from list to actual sales price in just over four months. Ouch.

 

New Group Seeking Moratorium on ‘McMansions’ Near Grove Street Playground

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Photo: 185 Dalton Rd. is an example of an “overbuilt” homes near Grove Street Playground which initiated a citizen’s petition.

Building on the success of those who brought a temporary halt to residential teardowns in Belmont’s Waverley Square area, a newly-created group submitted on Jan. 11 a citizen’s petition seeking Town Meeting approval to place a one-year freeze on the construction of so-called “homes on steroids” or “McMansions” in the neighborhood around the Grove Street Playground.

According to one of the leaders of the Belmont Citizens for Responsible Zoning, the initiative could become a jumping off point for a more wide-ranging rethinking of Belmont’s residential zoning laws.

“This could be farther reaching than just this moratorium. We believe this group will have a broader appeal around town to re-examine the bylaw,” Stephen Pinkerton told the Belmontonian.

The BCRZ is seeking to place a one-year suspension of “oversized single-family dwellings in a portion of Belmont’s Single Residence C Zoning District,” according to the group’s press release dated Friday, Jan. 16.

The area – at times called the Shaw Estate – includes single-families within the bounties of School, Washington and Grove streets and Grosvenor, Dalton and Bacon Roads. (See map below.)

The moratorium would set a 32-foot height limit from the average grade to the roof ridge of structures built to replace demolished homes, also known as teardowns.

According to Pinkerton, the area has seen the construction of five large teardown replacements in the past two years. (See second map below.) One example is 185 Dalton Rd., newly constructed with 4,000-plus square-feet and 34.1 feet high. It replaced a Garrison Colonial built in 1952 with 1,600 square-feet.

The press release states concerned “oversized replacement houses will:

  • change the character of the neighborhood;
  • crowd out sunlight, trees, and natural habitat for song birds;
  • exclude middle-income families from single-family home ownership;
  • undermine the value of existing homes; and
  • take advantage of zoning that is not as strict as existing rules for renovations and additions.”

Pinkerton said he and the group are not opposed to developers building in the neighborhood.

“They have a right to make a living like the rest of us. But there should be some limits on what is built,” he said.

Pinkerton attributes the successful effort by neighbors in Precinct 3 and 4 who fought for a one-year moratorium two years ago as spurring the BCRZ to seek its stay.

“They set the precedence,” said Pinkerton.

Town Meeting in May 2013 passed a moratorium on single-family homes being replaced with two-family structures in general residence zoning districts with the majority located near to Belmont’s Waverley Square. In the five previous years, 20 single-family houses were torn down and replaced by 40 attached townhouses in the area.

The article will need to win two-thirds approval from the 290-member Town Meeting. If that occurs, the BCRZ “will work with the Belmont Planning Board and others to craft new zoning by-laws that will help preserve the neighborhood’s distinctive character,” said the press release.

The BCRZ will be holding a precinct meeting in the next few weeks to discuss the moratorium.

Pinkerton said the BCRZ’s moratorium effort could start a discussion on a possible comprehensive review of the town’s residential bylaw in the near future.

“We already see interest in that. Our expectation is this sort of discussion will only grow.”

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Moratorium Flyer

Sold in Belmont: Dorset Road Colonial Takes a Price Tumble for a Reason

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A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 18 Dorset Rd. Center-entrance Colonial (1937), Sold for: $912,500. Listed at $1,035,000. Living area: 2,797 sq.-ft. 9 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 181 days.

Oh, the poor sellers of a very nice Colonial a stone’s throw from Route 2; victims of the reality of the housing market stomping on the perception that any home on Belmont Hill is worthy of a seven-figure sales price. Not to say that this house’s design is a detriment to the sale; in fact, it’s a beautiful period Colonial with outstanding architectural features (just look at the living room’s exposed arched beams – but why is that big flat screen in the bay window?! – and molding), what appears to be original lighting fixtures and a garage hidden in the back. Take away the horrible new shower and back-to-the-future granite-top kitchen island (next time, use tile), this is an outstanding house for a growing family with four bedrooms, three baths and a quarter acre.

But was it worth the initial +$1 million price tag? Obviously the population of buyers seeking this house have kids they were expecting to be hanging around for a few years and putting down a cool mil along with handing Treasurer Floyd Carman a $1,000 check each month was not in their calculations, especially when houses in Belmont’s “Lowlands” can be gobbled up for 250,000 fewer dollars. The result: take a look at the offering price from Independence Day to New Year’s Day. It’s like watching a climber fall off the Matterhorn.

List Price: July 9, 2014: $1,035,000

Sept. 4: $1,025,000

Sept. 5: $1,024,000

Sept. 24: $999,000

Oct. 22: $949,000

SOLD: Jan. 6, 2015: $912,500

Remember the days when sellers and their salespersons would list low and see the bids come in? I do. What’s happened?

Sold in Belmont: Paying Premiums on the High-End Homes

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A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 40 Randolph St. A big, brick Tudor-style Colonial (1929), Sold for: $1,255,000. Listed at $1,250,000. Living area: 3,320 sq.-ft. 11 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 54 days.

• 255 Slade St. Brick Colonial (1925), Sold for: $1,131,000. Listed at $995,000. Living area: 2,390 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 61 days.

• 165 Radcliffe Rd. Dutch Colonial (1948), Sold for: $705,500. Listed at $725,000. Living area: 2,417 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 54 days. 

Would it surprise anyone that the two high-end houses picked up on the final days of 2014 where sold at a premium – contrary to the trend over the past six months of seven-figure structures having a hard time holding onto the listed price –  as new owners seek a tax advantage for this year and 2015?

Then again, each property had its selling points. The huge (expanded horribly in the early 1990s with the dormers running front to back) Tudor wannabe on Randolph Street in the Presidential neighborhood is the perfect location for parents with kids in the schools. A jump and a skip from the Burbank, just up Washington Street to the Chenery and a leisurely stroll to the High School. Just think, never have to drive the little ones to school and no need to give them a car when they turn 16. The Slade Street house would have been considered, at 2,300 sq.-ft. of livable area, a “big” house in Belmont up until about 15 years ago. But being the neighbor to the (bland) massive new residential construction at the corner of Common and Slade (will it go onto the market or is being built for someone?), it’s now not even the biggest kid on the block. But it doesn’t hurt that the former c. 1920 structure that resembled a haunted house was finally demolished in 2013. Finally, the Dutch-Colonial on Radcliffe was bought for a steal at just more than $700,000. Of course, the house is literally on Route 2, but still a great place to call home.

Sold in Belmont: Haircuts for List Prices on All Homes in Belmont

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A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 10 Wood Rd. “A mish-mash” Colonial “on steroids” (2006), Sold for: $997,000. Listed at $1,159,000. Living area: 3,661 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 95 days.

• 29-31 Flett Rd. Two-family (1939), Sold for: $600,000. Listed at $659,900. Living area: 2,112 sq.-ft. 11 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 101 days.

• 51 Berwick St. #1. Single-floor condominium (1908), Sold for: $370,000. Listed at $379,900. Living area: 1,199 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 67 days.

• 59 Stults Rd. Colonial (1926), Sold for: $960,000. Listed at $1,025,000. Living area: 2,743 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 101 days.

• 55 Elm St. #1. Single-floor condominium (1925), Sold for: $600,000. Listed at $599,999. Living area: 1,317 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 92 days.

The year in Belmont real estate is ending with an adjustment downward as four of the five residential home sales defied their list price and sold for a discount – the only property that sold above the initial sale price did so by a single buck –with the houses owners and the salesperson believed would take in seven figures came back with a healthy haircut. 

Former Macy’s Site On Schedule for Spring/Summer 2016 Re-Opening

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Kevin Foley is a man on a mission; telling Belmont the former Macy’s site in Belmont Center will return from its current mothball state and will be filled with tenants.

But not in 2015.

The manager of Locatelli Properties who oversees the significant stake the company has in Belmont’s commercial hub, Foley came before Belmont’s Board of Selectmen last week to reiterate what he told the Belmontonian in October: the historic building which opened in 1941 to house a Filene’s Department Store and then Macy’s (Macy’s closed in January 2013) will soon be transformed  inside and out to attract at least four and up to eight commercial tenants.

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“We are all excited about the future of the [site],” Foley told the board.

“My goal is to renovate the building and bring back the details,” he said, pointing to plans to re-establish large windows  along Leonard Street that were boarded up in the 1980s, as well as add architectural details to the facade.

“We are essentially bringing back … more store fronts to the street,” Foley told the board.

As he told a public meeting on Oct. 30, Foley said there will be “no substantive” exterior alterations to the building other than the creation of a vestibule on the parking side of the building to assist people entering the top and lower floors of the complex.

Locatelli has received the go-ahead from the Zoning Board of Appeals to move forward on the plans.

When asked about possible tenants – there will be nearly 50,000 square feet of retail space in the new structure – Foley remained mum, only saying “that everyone is asking me the same question.”

Foley does not rule out either national, regional or independent retailers or a restaurant becoming tenants. He has time to ponder which business will be coming to Belmont Center.

“Right now, I’m hoping spring or summer 2016 to open,” he said.

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Sold in Belmont: A Million Dollar House that SHOULD be Torn Down

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A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 5 Lodge Rd. A framed Colonial (1930), Sold for: $716,000. Listed at $695,000. Living area: 1,505 sq.-ft. 7 rooms; 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 47 days.

• 665 Concord Ave. “Contemporary” (1961), Sold for: $1,175,000. Listed at $1,175,000. Living area: 3,080 sq.-ft. 10 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 4 baths. On the market: 64 days.

• 53 Leslie Rd. Two-floor condominium (1929), Sold for: $457,200. Listed at $437,000. Living area: 1,339 sq.-ft. 6 rooms; 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 50 days.

Some lucky individual just bought an upper Concord Avenue house for just more than a million dollars. (Kudos to the salesperson for selling the property the town appraised in 2014 at $920,000!)

Now the buyer(s) can provide a public benefit by tearing down this out-of-place, contemporary, rabbit hutch.

If this badly-aging, low-to-the-ground substandard example of Usonia architecture was situated in Palo Alto or Boulder or any of many western/West Coast communities where this sort of building is appreciated (along with “A” frames and split-levels such as Colorado which is actually attempting to preserve this architecture) then fine. But in Belmont, the Concord Avenue house is akin to the nice person on Bright Road who places palm trees and other exotics on his lawn most of the year: it’s interesting but out of place.

Frank Lloyd Wright developed this design (it’s also called Wrightian) as a low-end Prairie School-style house in which he attempted to “integrated the house with the landscape and nature in an attempt to get away from box-like structures (1)” that were plopped onto a plot of land.

Arranged in zones, typically with three areas: living space, small bedrooms, and a kitchen-dining area, the “Usonian houses were quite unlike the boxy, stark International Style houses that appeared to be dropped onto, rather than a part of, their location.”

But the Belmont house fails because it wasn’t designed by Wright but by a lesser architect who threw up (pun intended) a building that is a mashup of Wright’s principles and suburbanites’ demands. The structure the public can glimpse around that ugly fence (what did Robert Frost say about fences in “Mending Walls“?) is the garage! Is this Belmont, California? Garages are fine but not as your “Welcome” mate. Usonia is where carports (a word Wright created) became an architectural feature. Additionally, the open floor design with a large footprint has become hopelessly old-fashioned and inefficient, like having a typewriter on your office desk.

The house is a duck out of water, a dud. In temperament and temperature, New England is bound with Scandinavia. Residencies here need compartmentalization with multiple floors and designated rooms with doors to conserve warmth and energy but also large vertical windows to capture daylight especially in fall and winter. The Concord Avenue house had to rip out portions of the roof to install skylights to bring in the light.

Additionally, Belmont is suited for the tall over the squat (I would fear my six-foot, one-inch tall son would bump his head on the low ceilings at Concord Avenue): high windows allow for a view of the canopy of evergreens and the changing leaves; the narrow slits of the Usonia – which are fine for seeing the scrub and low grass of the West and Midwest – limits you to tree trunks and pet-eating coyotes to stare inside.

With nearly half an acre of land that is adjacent to Week’s Pond and Meadow, why not envelop the ever-changing coloring provided by the Southern light onto the trees and land? You want a unique, then go with a Farnsworth House-type structure (OK, you’ll probably need $10 million to build that today … ) On the more affordable side, there are great modular houses from noted Canadian and Swedish companies that would be a great modern addition to upper Concord Avenue.

So paraphrasing Ronald Reagan: “Mr. Homeowner, tear down this house!”

(1) “Selected Post-World War II Residential Architectural Styles and Building Types” Center for Historic Preservation, Research Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Colorado Historical Society, 2006.

Finally: Sale of Town-Owned Woodfall Road Parcel Likely by Year’s End

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More than a year after it was selected to develop a town-owned property on Belmont Hill, a conglomerate of local businessmen will finally close on a deal to purchase the property and build three or four luxury homes on the site.

The 5.4 acre Woodfall Road parcel, a long-abandoned residential lot currently home to road material and overgrowth, “will be purchased by the end of the year,” said Andy Rojas, chair of the Belmont Board of Selectmen, at a meeting of the Warrant Committee on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

The winning bidder Belmont Advisors – made up of partners Greensbrook Development, Line Company Architects and Phoenix Construction Group – will pay the town a purchase price of “between $1.8 to $1.7 million” to build luxury housing on the land, said Rojas.

When it was selected by the Selectmen in Nov. 2013 as the future developer of the site, it’s bid was $2.2 million. The other bidder, Northland Residential Corporation, which developed the residential portion of the McLean Property in Belmont, offered $750,000.

The deed transfer and final sales price were affected by a series of delays that included financing issues and drawn out concern with the abutting property owner, the Belmont Country Club. Apparently, the proposed housing was in the flight path of golf balls launched by members on the pitching and practice course. There is likely to be fencing on the property line.

The drawn-out purchase process would have a significant impact on the financing of the Belmont Center road reconstruction project. Early in 2014, town officials predicted the sale of the Woodfall Road site at nearly $2 million and the $850,000 for the municipal parking lot in Cushing Square to the current developer of the Cushing Village, Smith Legacy Limited, would fund the $2.8 million road and parking project.

When the two sales did not materialize, the town was forced to use a portion of its “free cash” reserves and call a special Town Meeting in November to secure the remaining funds to complete the project by the fall of 2015.

The proceeds from the sale, deemed “one-time” revenue receipt, will not be heading to the town’s general fund. In the past, such “one-time” monies have been directed to the Capital Budget Committee, which pays for long-term, large budget items such as public safety vehicles and repairs and upgrades to municipal buildings.

The sale for the parcel – known as 108 Woodfall Road – will bring to an end nearly a decade of attempts to sell the property that the town acquired through a foreclosure in 1938. The town thought it had sold the land to a private developer in 2006, but he never came up with the money.

In June 2012, the town’s Office of Community Development proposed a plan that would allow an Atlanta-based for-profit hospice firm to build a small residential building for end-of-life care for Belmont residents and others. But the opposition from homeowners in the upscale neighborhood drove the Selectmen’s decision to withdraw the proposed plan and restricted it to only residential construction.

Open Homes: The Priciest Open House in Belmont is on … Waverley?

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Belmont has some neighborhoods and byways that are readily associated with upscale homes and family manses: Belmont Hill, the McLean property, Somerset, Marsh, Grey Birch and Rutledge.

And this week, joining the avenues of the ritzy-priced homes is … Waverley Street.

Where are the smelling salts?

If you knocked on the doors of property owners along that fine street between, let’s say, Town Field and the square, the homeowners would say they live in a great neighborhood with good folks. But they would admit their humble road would hardly be considered a place where high-income houses are located.

But this weekend, the priciest open house is not in the converted asylum on McLean Hospital (a mere $1,495,000 for a condo) or on the Hill. No, it is the attached townhouses at 54-56 Waverley St. Priced at nearly $1.6 million, the new construction (built in 2009) duel homes are, um, tightly situated (i.e. crammed) onto 9,000 square feet of land with a garage – the salesperson calls it a “barn” that can become an office space – in the back.

So what do you get? Just like some newly-built residences around town, this is a standard two-family that has been fed steroids: each townhouse has three levels along with a portion of the basement that takes up nearly 4,400 square feet total. Each unit has six rooms, three bedrooms and either 2.5 or 3.5 bathrooms. It’s the Arnold Schwarzenegger of multi-family homes. Ja!

The townhouses are also being shopped around separately but how can you break up this pair? It’s being showed today, Saturday, Dec. 13, from noon to 2 p.m.