State Readies Sale Of Incinerator Site to Town; Special Town Meeting To Accept Land

May 3, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker 2 Comments

Photo: The entry to the former incinerator site.

It’s been nearly two years in the works but this week, the state is preparing to hand over a former trash incinerator closed for the past five decades back to the town.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen will vote on a date, likely in June, to hold a Special Town Meeting where members will vote whether to accept or reject the conveyance from the state to the town of the nearly 16-acre parcel sitting adjacent upper Concord Avenue and Rock Meadow Conservation about 1,500 feet from the Lexington town line.

“We have received communication that this conveyance is in the process of being executed by [the state] depending on what we have to execute,” said David Kale, Belmont’s town administrator.

Once accepted, the town is required by the state to remediate the site which includes removing or “capping” the contaminated soil polluted by the ash produced by the burned garbage. As part of the agreement, the state, through the Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance which is responsible for the disposition of state-owned property, will subtract the amount the town spends on remediation from the assessed value of the property.

Belmont in 2006 created a special stabilization account to fund the future “clean-up” of the site. There is currently $4.2 million in the account, according to Kale.

“The total cost will also depend on post-closure uses,” he said.

The sale has been years in the making. In 2012, as it was considering using the site for athletic fields or other uses, the town discovered ownership of the site had reverted to the state once the incinerator was formally shut down in the early 1980s.

In January 2014, former Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation sponsored by State Rep. Dave Rogers authorizing the sale of the state-owned land to the town at a “fair market value.” An important provision of the transfer is the land is limited to recreational or municipal use; it can not be sold or leased for commercial or business operations.

Built in 1959, the incinerator operated until 1975, then becoming the town’s transfer station for two decades. It is currently used by the Belmont DPW for equipment storage, leaf composting and debris.

In November 2014, the selectmen held a meeting with Town Meeting members and the public on possible uses for the former incinerator which included a solar “farm,” sports fields, open space and a future home for Police headquarters or the DPW.

Sold In Belmont: Let Us Now Praise Affordable Homes

May 1, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker 1 Comment

Photo: Stairmaster, 1.0

53 Gilbert Rd., Condo (second floor) in a two-family (1925). Sold: $438,500.

29 Longmeadow Rd., Large ranch (1958). Sold: $1,075,000.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes”:

• 29 Longmeadow Rd., Large ranch (1958). Sold: $1,075,000. Listed at $1,099,000. Living area: 3,000 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 80 days.

• 53 Gilbert Rd., Condo (second floor) in a two-family (1925). Sold: $438,500. Listed at $418,000. Living area: 1,221 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 59 days.

Let’s praise affordability in Belmont. OK, you’ll need to climb a flight of steps to get to the second-floor condo and that could be problematic if you’re carrying two toddlers and a week’s worth of groceries up a flight of stairs. But this Gilbert Road condo is housing that’s economically feasible for a young, two-wage earning couple seeking their first home.

Let’s look at the numbers: Five percent down on a 30-year mortgage at four percent along with taxes and PMI is let’s say $1,600 a month. That’s doable for a young family of three – if they get some help with daycare, etc.

And look what you get (along with a daily aerobic session): a west-facing large living room, working fireplace, a sunroom off the living room and two good sized bedrooms. A nearly century-old built-in cabinet in the dining room. The kitchen is functional with “black and white speckled laminate countertops” with a pantry off the kitchen. The renovated bathroom is from Home Depot, and there is an enclosed back porch which would be called a “three-season alcove” if it was on the Hill. Ok, you have to share the yard as well as the washer and dryer hookup, and you get one car parking. But unless Ted Cruz is downstairs, this is what you have to deal with when you have a limited budget in the “Town of Homes.” And all said it’s not that bad. Now if Belmont could find someone to build 100 more of this sort of housing, we’d be in business of providing quality housing to a wider range of incomes.

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(Of course, if you get that dream job in Tampa, this is what $440,000 gets you in a good community with an excellent school system – well, great by Florida standards.)

The million dollar ranch on Belmont Hill is another home – I’ve counted four this year alone – in which the owner has spent four/five decades in and is now departing. And while this house is a nice size and all, you’d expect more from a seven figure house. An example is the kitchen. I think the Gilbert Road kitchen is warmer and more inviting. It’s all location, location, location.

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Sold In Belmont: How Hot Is The Market? Winn Brook Cape Tops $1 Million

April 25, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: This Cape sold for nearly $200K more than its assessed value.

150 Sherman St., Over-sized Cape (1940). Sold: $1,065,000.

7 Belmont Cir., Condo in a two family (1958). Sold: $389,900.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes”:

• 150 Sherman St., Over-sized Cape (1940). Sold: $1,065,000. Listed at $995,000. Living area: 2,463 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 90 days.

• 7 Belmont Cir., Condo in a two family (1958). Sold: $389,900. Listed at $389,900. Living area: 935 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 1 bedroom, 1 baths. On the market: 70 days.

Ah, the Cape Cod-style of residence: simplicity in design, affordability in mind. Created in New England in the 1700s, the structure was intended to withstand the storms that hit Cape Cod with its recognizable amoderately steep, pitched roof – anyone more than six feet tall has to be careful navigating those rooms – with end gables and very little ornamentation other than the use of shutters. Even the 20th-century version especially those built after WWII (that include dormers that bastardize the roof’s pre-Revolutionary elegance) still retain the essence of its Puritan roots. For those reasons, the Cape was seen as a more affordable family residence to Belmont’s favorite, the Colonial.

Even the 20th-century version especially those built after WWII (that include dormers that bastardize the roof’s pre-Revolutionary elegance) still retain the essence of its Puritan roots. For those reasons, the Cape has been seen as a more affordable family housing compared to Belmont’s favorite, the Colonial.

So when the Cape at 150 Sherman sold last week in the heart of the family friendly and not-so-fancy Winn Brook neighborhood, you’d expect it would sell at or around the town’s assessed value.

And you would be wrong; this over-sized Cape (about 5oo extra square feet than the traditional abode) with a renovated kitchen – gray granite countertops and boxy cabinets doesn’t really work for me – along with a new air system and extensive landscaping broke the seven-figure barrier, a whopping $200,000 greater than this fiscal year’s assessment.

Just as the overheating real estate market has produced million dollars sales in neighborhoods where you least anticipated, you can now add Winn Brook to that list.

Sold in Belmont: After Being Put On the Bench, A Colonial Sells With a Big Bow

April 17, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: On, off and then on big time with a Bow.

94 Prospect St., Dutch Colonial (1923). Sold: $935,000.

14 Bow Rd., Colonial (1928). Sold: $1,479,000.

10-12 Ash St., Two-family Residence (1954). Sold: $680,000.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes”:

• 94 Prospect St., Dutch Colonial (1923). Sold: $935,000. Listed at $995,000. Living area: 2,292 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 80 days.

• 14 Bow Rd., Colonial (1928). Sold: $1,479,000. Listed at $1,499,000. Living area: 3,181 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 70 days.

• 10-12 Ash St., Two-family Residence (1954). Sold: $680,000. Listed at $649,000. Living area: 1,932 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 41 days.

On a section of Bow Street awash in brick homes, the 88-year-old Colonial with the off-center entry stands out for several reasons. One is the exquisite interior renovations the last owner spent $30,000 in permitted changes. The other is a mind-numbing price someone with a nice-sized wallet who purchased the quintessential Belmont structure: just a hair under $1.5 million dollars. Wow. This for a place in which the basement is unfurnished, there’s no rec room (OK, there is an attic family room) and it’s oil heated.

Not to say this place is a dump: the kitchen/mud room coming off porch is nice – but we will need to mark down the kitchen due to its use of granite counters – and the details in the living room (no great room in this 1920s abode) are charmers: the dual open shelf/cabinets on either side of the fireplace are attractive (but what is this annoying insistence of placing a television monitor above the fireplace? Stop it!) and the beautiful detail molding of the era in the other rooms. And the bathroom renovations are surprisingly right on, classic modern in white with a tile floor that is understated. While coming in at 3,000 square feet, the house does feel comfortable.

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But worth $100 more a square foot than the average home in Belmont ($465 vs. $363) even if it is within a short walk to the two elementary schools, a bit of a hike to the Chenery and a hop from the High School? Hot markets do lead to top dollars in sales.

What the house has is an interesting sales history. It was sold in June 2005 for $904,000.

It came back on the market on Oct. 8, 2013, listed at $1,100,098. But three days later, all traces of being on the market is gone.

Four months later, the house is sold that former asking price, $1,100,050 in January 2014 without the benefit of being sold through the Multiple Listing Service in a private sale. The new owner puts $30,000 into remodeling the bathrooms and paint and spruce up the place.

Two years later, in February 2016, it’s listed for $1,499,000 and sells only 70 days later for $1,479,000.

Goes to show you what a little paint and time in a hot market can reap.

Sold In Belmont: Townhouse Condo Gets Love From Buyer

April 10, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: A townhouse condo that took off like a single-family.

80 Maple St., Townhouse condominium (1993). Sold: $715,000.

133 White St., Condominium (1928). Sold: $513,000. Listed at $515,000.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes”:

• 80 Maple St., Townhouse condominium (1993). Sold: $715,000. Listed at $639,000. Living area: 2,008 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 66 days.

• 133 White St., Condominium (1928). Sold: $513,000. Listed at $515,000. Living area: 1,431 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 87 days.

Two former two families now individuals condominiums sold last week with differing outcomes. The newly-converted condo that once was a multiple family on White Street was able to hit its list price of just more than $500,000.

While over on Maple Street, the more traditional townhouse hit the right note for one buyer resulting in a $75,000 premium over the $639,000 list price. The final sales price is a whopping $150,000 more than the town’s appraised value of $561,000 and $220,000 more than when was last sold in 2009.

The nearly quarter-century old townhouse does provide three bedrooms and approximately 2,000 square feet, although the interior appears to have all the hallmarks of a townhouse; open floor plan, narrow room on the ground floor – note how tiny the living room is (is it more a living “space” with the small divider separating the entry way/front door), an updated but smallish kitchen area, and not so spectacular room details.

But with the medium price of single-family homes reaching the high six figures, buyers are willing to put down extra for a condo that resembles a traditional residential structure even if it does share a common wall with its neighbor. Take a look at the newly-constructed townhouse that sold last month on Trapelo. Despite being located across the street from the Fire Department headquarters, next to the VFW, a funeral parlor, a popular park and fronting a busy state highway, it sold for a million dollars.

Hotel Proposal Hopes Third Time the Charm Before Zoning Board of Appeal

April 4, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: A rendering of the proposed Belmont Inn Suites at the corner of Pleasant and Brighton streets.

“Some conjurers say that number three is the magic number,” wrote Charles Dickens and Waltham developer Michael Columba hopes his third time before the Zoning Board of Appeals is a magical one as he one again presents his proposal to build a small hotel at the base of Belmont Hill.

It’s expected the Board will take a vote tonight, Monday, April 4, on Columba’s attempt to secure five special permits which will allow the construction of a 19-unit “European-style boutique hotel” at the corner of Brighton Avenue and Pleasant Street at the location of the now vacant Mini-Mart convenience store.

And there is every reason to think that the hotel has a better than average chance to pass board muster as the five members have asked Columba and his architect, former Belmont Selectman Andy Rojas, twice to return with greater detail and data on what are standard technical issues – sound levels of air conditioning, lighting, trash collection – that a commercial real estate development is required to present.

If there is one issue that could derail Columba’s plans to bring to Belmont the first hotel in more than century it would come from ZBA Chair Eric Smith’s quiry on just how a hotel fits within the town’s bylaws. As there is no mention of hotels in the table of uses in the zoning documents, “the closest … is apartments which are a prohibited use in [this zoning district],” Smith said at the previous meeting in March and February.

In March, Columba’s team made the connection the zoning bylaw’s parking requirements – which does briefly refers to hotel use – suggests a hotel would be similar to a daycare center or a catering business, retail and service uses that are allowed at the site with a special permit.

The project would involve renovating the two-building, two-story structure at 334 Pleasant St. to open a boutique hotel consisting of 19 guest rooms, a cafe for guests, a fitness room, a business center and management offices on the 14,400 sq.-ft. site.

Columba, who is head of a construction company that specializes in building airport control towers and other aviation infrastructure, built his first hotel, the Crescent Suite Hotel in Waltham and is preparing to construct a multi-level hotel on the foot of the Charles River on Moody Street.

Sold in Belmont: Pricey Per Square Foot in Waverley

April 3, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker 1 Comment

Photo: How much per square foot?

33-35 Lawndale St Unit 33, Condominium (1921). Sold: $462,000.

51 Stella Rd., Mid-century contemporary (1961). Sold: $1,250,000.

28-30 Lewis Rd., Arts & Crafts two-family (1924). Sold: $1,065,000.

2 Lambert Rd., Colonial (1930). Sold: $1,300,000.

159 Beech St. Condominium (1913). Sold: $415,000.

45 Dartmouth St. Unit 2, Condominium (1900). Sold: $380,000.

8 South Cottage Rd., Unit 63, Townhouse condominium (2008). Sold: $1,320,000.

79-81 Waverley St., Barracks-style two family (1974). Sold: $1,320,000.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes”:

• 33-35 Lawndale St Unit 33, Condominium (1921). Sold: $462,000. Listed at $425,000. Living area: 1,182 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 31 days.

• 51 Stella Rd., Mid-century contemporary (1961). Sold: $1,250,000. Listed at $1,250,000. Living area: 1,162 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 199 days.

• 28-30 Lewis Rd., Arts & Crafts two-family (1924). Sold: $1,065,000. Listed at $959,000. Living area: 3,326 sq.-ft. 14 rooms, 7 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 54 days.

• 2 Lambert Rd., Colonial (1930). Sold: $1,300,000. Listed at $1,475,000. Living area: 3,825 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths. On the market: 66 days.

• 159 Beech St,, Condominium (1913). Sold: $415,000. Listed at $419,000. Living area: 1,005 sq.-ft. 4 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 72 days.

• 45 Dartmouth St. Unit 2, Condominium (1900). Sold: $380,000. Listed at $329,900. Living area: 695 sq.-ft. 4 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 72 days.

• 8 South Cottage Rd., Unit 63, Townhouse condominium (2008). Sold: $1,320,000. Listed at $1,359,000. Living area: 2,857 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 74 days.

• 79-81 Waverley St., Barracks-style two family (1974). Sold: $1,320,000. Listed at $1,359,000. Living area: 2,857 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 74 days.

It’s a tiny place, a condominium that is half the size of most apartments. Just under 700 square feet. And on a square foot basis, one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Belmont.

The condo on Dartmouth Street has five rooms, two bedrooms (the living room can be transformed into a third bedroom) and a single full bath. They squeezed a clothes washer in the kitchen, which also serves as a dining room. This is less cozy that really tight. It has been pretty much gut rehabbed, so it doesn’t feel like you’re living in an 115-year-old structure. Oh, and you’re on the second floor.

The Dartmouth location is nothing like the condo that sold in the Woodlands this past week, one of those townhouses that is better situated outside of Houston with its vast open spaces – do you need a 20-foot ceiling? With approximately 2,900 sq.-ft., there’s enough room to park an RV inside.

But when comparing how much to get for the price you paid, the upscale home has nothing on the Waverley Square condo as its $380,000 price tag brings the dollar-per-area ratio to $547 per square foot or about $90 more per square foot than the South Cottage Road unit. Belmont, Mass. is catching up with a Silicon Valley bedroom community named Belmont, California for similar-sized property.

Compare that to the condo on Lawndale, which is roomier – nearly 500 more square feet and two extra rooms – with a fireplace, central air and is on the first floor. The ratio: $395 per sq.-ft.

And unlike the South Pleasant Street condo, which sold for a $39,000 discount off its initial listing price, the Dartmouth condo saw a nearly $20,000 increase from the first asking price.

The story here is that unless there is a way to bring more affordable housing to Belmont – new construction, incentives to developers or through a total collapse of the housing market – people will be paying a greater percentage of their income for whatever is available, especially someone looking for good schools and safe community.

Sold in Belmont: Big is So Passé, Small Is The Way to Go

March 27, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Small and livable on the Elm.

17 Little Pond Rd., Colonial (1947). Sold: $750,000.

54 Elm St., Brick Colonial condo (1928). Sold: $549,000.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes”:

• 17 Little Pond Rd., Colonial (1947). Sold: $750,000. Listed at $779,000. Living area: 1,542 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 123 days.

• 54 Elm St., Brick Colonial condo (1928). Sold: $549,000. Listed at $549,000. Living area: 1,162 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 62 days.

Today, many home buyers wouldn’t deem it worth their time to view a house that is smaller than 2,000 square feet. And as for new construction, 3,000 square feet appears the new minimum. Anything smaller is too “cozy” (translation: SMALL) for most modern families, the thinking goes.

But do you need a “great room” – remember when they were called living rooms? – with a kitchen the size of would equip a good-sized restaurant (so you can microwave dinner) in a floor plan in which you need roller skates to navigate the manse? Is it necessary to have five bedrooms when you only have two kids and relatives come by once a year and stay at the Meridian? A full size “play” space with the jacuzzi that no one uses? You’re a success of what you do, not what you own.

For a growing number of people, minimizing their footprint and their lives has become an important aspect of their lives. And there is a segment of the housing market to match these new demands. There is the extreme “tiny” home (300 square feet) phenomenon going on in the South and West – there aren’t any of these in Belmont … yet! – and the growing popularity of home designs and plans for homes with under 1,000 square feet, again outside of New England.

A pair of properties that sold this week in Belmont show why you would be wrong to think that big is better. The classic center-entry Colonial – just a bit over 1,500 square feet – on Little Pond shows what a little living care can go a long way to bring warmth and a modern feel to a fairly standard post-war design. The kitchen was upgraded with design smarts behind it, with new appliances and warm cherry color cabinets and Cambria countertop (Yes! anything but granite!). Space is not wasted here; you do most of your eating at the kitchen table adjacent where you cook (what a concept), and the bikes are parked beside the side door. The living room is a hop and step way and there is a dining room that is fine for most events; the stairway leads to three bedrooms and the full bathroom which was updated. Again, not a master suite in the boudoir but a bedroom that serves its function. Not a half acre out back for the coyotes to roam but a place for a grill and games.

The condo on Elm is fascinating as it was a single family segmented into condos. I know something of this as my grandfather and his employer, a banker, “bought” – they foreclosed on an elderly man and threw him into the street in 1930 – a beautiful 1874 Colonial Revival with Victorian elements on Aldersey Street in Somerville. They literally split the house down the middle including dividing the grand staircase (!) and master bathroom.

The Tucker half of the house on Aldersey Street in Somerville.

But here, a magnificent brick and frame Colonial was converted into condominiums in 2010 with the space separated horizontally (thankfully!) with the first-floor space having 38 percent ownership and the second and third floor with 62 percent (with 1,900 square feet).

As a side note; what a great way to foster affordability to Belmont by taking those big homes and turning it into condos or apartments. Solidly built, they can be converted with a little care allowing buyers who can’t afford a seven-figure mortgage into Belmont.

Sure it’s 1,100 square feet, but the buyer is getting a condo with a sense of largeness, big rooms and lots of windows, which, if smartly used, you can create a loft feel which is pretty cool. The kitchen is spare but again, just a few upgrades and you can have a combo kitchen/dining area. Plus, no stairs and a big porch where you can spend summers getting a bit tipsy on wine coolers.

3,500 square feet? So passé! Go small.

Cushing Village 2.0: Toll Brothers Project’s New Owner As Starr Falls

March 23, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker 3 Comments

Photo: Toll Brother’s Bill Lovett.

After more than two-and-a-half years of delays and broken promises, the long-troubled Cushing Village multiuse development entered a new chapter Tuesday, March 22 as national real estate firm Toll Brothers announced its purchase of the project’s development rights and two land parcels from original owner Smith Legacy Partners completed on March 14.

With Smith Legacy’s lead partner Chris Starr sitting quietly in the front row, Toll Brother’s Bill Lovett was introduced to the Board of Selectmen during a joint meeting of the Planning Board held at Town Hall.

“We’re very excited as we see this as a perfect location in a perfect community,” said Lovett, a senior development manager at Toll’s Apartment Living, a relatively new whole-owned subsidiary within the Horsham, Penn.-based firm.

With the sale, the project and town moves from an “endless loop of uncertainty” that prevented any work from commencing at the site for 969 days under the previous owner’s stewardship, said Selectmen Chair Sami Baghdady.

Lovett said Toll Brothers was initially interested in Cushing Village about a year ago when Smith Legacy was actively seeking a deep-pocket investor to partner with but did not pursue the offer then.

“So we actually selfishly very excited when it came back around [at the beginning of the year] because it is such a terrific asset,” said Lovett, saying Cushing Village “checks many, many boxes” of a project it is seeking such as retail on the location, walkability, and a lifestyle community.

“[Cushing Village] really fits the bill,” said Lovett.

The price Tolls Brothers paid for the rights and the parcels was not revealed.

As part of the agreement, Toll will pay the town $1 million for the parking lot and an additional $150,000 in fees to complete the transfer.

After the announcement, the selectmen voted unanimously to approve a one-time only extension of the purchase and sale agreement to August 26 for the sale of the municipal parking lot at the corner of Williston and Trapelo roads to Toll Brothers.

Lovett said this will allow the firm to do its due diligence of the property – which once housed a dry cleaning store – before committing to its development of a property Smith Legacy’s attorney Mark Donahue called “extremely complicated.”

Lovett told the board it is taking the project “as is” with no plans to ask for changes to the massing and basic design that the Planning Board took 18 months to create in July 2013.

“There will be no refiguring of the project,” said Lovett.

As for financing the project which bedeviled the previous owner, Lovett said Toll Brothers “is fortunate that we have a very large balance sheet” with $1.5 billion in cash on hand which will allow the project to be self-financed with available liquidity.

Founded in 1967, the firm is the country’s largest luxury housing “brand” said Lovett, known for its upscale communities in 19 states – mostly on the coasts – and ability for clients to “build” their house. It was also named one of the most admired companies worldwide, according to a survey by Fortune magazine in 2016. It is also known as the company that in 2005 rescued the weekly Metropolitan Opera broadcasts (now in its 85th year) after longtime sponsor Texaco dropped out a year earlier.

The Apartment Living division was created after the 2008 economic crash, said Lovett. With ownership in upscale apartments nationwide, Toll Brothers receive a consistent cash flow as a hedge to protect its financial position if the core business of residential housing construction falters. As of March 2016, Toll has just a few apartment buildings under profile, but several are in the pipeline including a few in Massachusetts.

Lovett reassured Baghdady that the firm is not looking to “flip” the project – place it on the market – once it is completed.

“We are long-term holders of our assets, and we also manage [them],” said Lovett, calling Cushing Village “a core asset.”

Lovett said once its due diligence is complete, the firm will hire a general contractor and begin to move the development “cautiously but quickly.”

“Our business model is to move people in, to start construction and move them in as quickly as possible,” said Lovett, describing it as putting “heads into bed.”

Pressed on a timeframe in which the project would be completed, Lovett said due to some difficulty in the underground parking; he expects the project to be completed “in less than 30 months.”

The purchase of the site and the special permit was the inevitable finale of a nearly 1,000 days of grand designs that could not match the business reality of a small-time developer in Starr – his previous real estate experience was as a partner in a modified strip mall in his hometown of Bedford.

Like Sisyphus, Starr’s dream of leaving a lasting monument in the town from where his family hailed led to frustrating and futile labor that in the end all his work and effort was all in vain.

With the sale, Starr leaves the scene as a cautionary tale for developers and town officials to take care before committing to a builder’s dream.

Sold in Belmont: Math Says Hurd Road Colonial Goes for Seven Figures

March 20, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker 2 Comments

Photo: A million no matter how you count it.

54 Hurd Rd., Colonial (1926). Sold: $1,000,000.

35 Radcliffe Rd., Ranch (1975). Sold: $701,000.

329 Mill St., Ranch (1955). Sold: $714,000.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes”:

• 35 Radcliffe Rd., Ranch (1975). Sold: $701,000. Listed at $679,000. Living area: 1,557 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 67 days.

• 329 Mill St., Ranch (1955). Sold: $714,000. Listed at $747,900. Living area: 2,092 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 131 days.

• 54 Hurd Rd., Colonial (1926). Sold: $1,000,000. Listed at $995,000. Living area: 2,644 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 70 days.

The quintessential Belmont Colonial; on a side street (Hurd Road, with its tumbling elevation change) on a “squat” lot (6,400 sq.-ft.) with lots of room for kids and just general living. So how much is the oh-to-typical Belmont house is going for?

The sellers did know how to crunch the numbers: one a prominent math professor – he has a well-known theorem in number theory named after him! – while his spouse is a mathematician, computer expert and biologist. Don’t have to worry about how much to tip or split a check when you’re out with this Belmontian couple. When the wife was named this summer to a big-time position in San Diego, the house purchased exactly 30 years ago for $259,000 was placed into a market in which family homes are at a premium.

What a boom for the homeowners: The typical 30-year mortgage is paid off, the sale is pure profit, and they got great use from a wonderful house. Win, win, win.

And what a nice well-cared for house with an up-to-date kitchen. It’s also in that zone of homes that are within “walkable” distance for elementary, middle and high schools, so you don’t have to drive the kids every morning (“I don’t care if it’s a snow day, you’re still walking to school.”)

And for the past three years, the assessed value has shot up $130,000.

2014: $776,000
2015: $832,000
2016: $906,000

And the sum of it all: a cool million for the homeowners.

But still, a million for a 90-year-old house in a neighborhood that isn’t the first place people will look for a seven-figure house is a bit much to swallow. But this is Belmont, 2016. I will not be surprised if the Board of Assessors come to the Selectmen in December with its property tax rate recommendation with the data showing the median home in Belmont tops $1,000,000.

Let’s do the time warp again

The house on Radcliffe is likely one of the last ranch-style homes built in town, in 1975 when they were seen as out-dated (townhouses where the “cool” structures being built.)

I just want to show the photos of the interior – which is all original as the couple who built the house sold it – which is like opening an interior designers book from the mid-1960s. Wow, The vibrant pink bathroom, patterned wallpaper, the iron railings. And the kitchen: words can’t express this look into this time tunnel: much like Howard Carter’s experience opening King Tut’s tomb.

But you can’t be that critical of the owners choice: it’s of its time when it was furnished, an age that’s best remembered in photos.