Back Bay Stakeholders' Report

BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT FALL 2019 For all your real estate needs, call the best. Check out our testimonials on Zillow and Yelp, then call the real estate economists of choice.

CONTACT THE STEVEN COHEN TEAM

607 Boylston Street #500 1313 Washington Street #115A Boston, MA 02116 Boston, MA 02118 617-861-3636 www.stevencohenteam.com [email protected]

Subscribe to our Stakeholders’ Reports at stevencohenteam.com/publications BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 1

MARKET ANALYSIS Zoning and Multi-Family Housing in the Boston Area ...... 2

You, Your Property Taxes, and Your Residential Exemption ...... 6

Boston’s Top 10 Neighborhoods ...... 8

Focus on Back Bay ...... 9

Citywide v. Back Bay ...... 10

Top 20 Most Expensive Back Bay Sales ...... 11

Notable Back Bay Sale ...... 14

Back Bay Development ...... 18

COMMUNITY FEATURES Honey Bees: The New Urbanites ...... 4

Meet a Back Bay Landmark ...... 16

WalkUP Boston ...... 20

So Good Sounds...... 22

THE BACK BAY REAL ESTATE ECONOMISTS OF CHOICE The Steven Cohen Team ...... 12

Market Movement Index ...... 24

Sunday Open House Guide ...... 25

COVER ART Designed by Boston-based illustrator and jewelry designer Belle Hornblower (www.bellepepperboston.com). Commissioned for proprietary use by the Steven Cohen Team. If you’re interested in purchasing a print, please call us at 617-861-3636 or email [email protected].

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e S d t r s d l Map 1M o e M f e a i s c sa e f t Marlborough St unavailable near where people work, they move further awayc resulting in additional traffc r u r

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w t ing our economic competitiveness.r Unsurprisingly, a principal reason for the area’s housing v a t A Y Ip c ine sw tri kl ich is oo St B-2 affordability crisis isn D the longstandingBr mismatch of demand and supply. B-3 -6 5 t io S at H-2 el v p r H-3 B-2 a ons e v B-8 -1 2 0 a B h ter C A C dwa Boylston St n s t u t o S t B-8 -1 2 0 c r y B-8 rwa e As theG vfasteste growing state in the Northeast, Massachusettsy added 245,000 new jobs from Ri s Peterborough St e B-6 -9 0 b u s h B-8 -1 2 0 c r S e c B h J t a e 2010 to 2017, a 14%o increase. Yet cities and towns permitted only 71,600 housingS unitss overlv c r s id 0 t y 2 a e 1 BIDMC IS H-1 S a re 8 - t - w M S B n t e the same time period, a growth of only 5.2%. One area where we are very clearlym not meeting Huntington IS e Stuart S C H d M R d D Avenue/Prudential R H-2 I y B l demandrim is for multi-family homes in a range of prices, both for rent and sale. In additionr ilg Park Dr e P -1 H-2 g Center L d Fenway E DANA FARBER to being the preferred downsizing option for empty nesters, multi-family homes provide Map 1D CANCER INTITUTE IS v A B-4 ur Map 1Q -1 te environmentalL benefts suchas as reduced heating and cooling loads, less land required per P St is h H-3 u olp Lo ot unit,H-1 and, if locatedL near transit, reduced auto-dependency. The Metropolitan Area Planningt t B o S in n y en Sa t g W ph S w y te on o a nt S t o w Sai rle Council (MAPC) has projectedd thatd nearlyF two-thirdsen of housing demand moving forward a A R C F v e G r c a a a H-2 t l i n a n S c P s y will bei for multi-family units as the region calls for 227,000 additionalh apartmentsb and s a t w MCOP o r S e y Warren Av v r t s

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u um k g l o e lags well behind that target and production increasesg are nowhere near the necessary scale. C le t S s t W S t S a S rd t n n o C o S a A new study commissionedt t by the Massachusettst Smart Growthe Alliance, in conjunction g L m n S i d h s t u e r s n o n o S with several localW groupsh such as the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and MAPC, H t p W il l ls A

id t N e n i e S a w tnames municipal-levelS zoning and land use policies as a major impediment to housing W t o o Sou t r n Mission Hill c

S S t e r s t P e supply throughout the Boston metro area and much ofb Massachusetts. t Ma r l e Map 6D S e A m n r

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e t e m r H S A L The study analyzes zoning bylaws and ordinances both as barriers to limit developmento v il c e l a n n H A i t

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P t t S h of multi-family housing, and as vehicles to enable that development. And while only a fewt t S S on t t ing ash v Pl W A r E n municipalities effectively prohibit multi-family housing from being builtr altogether, all e S o K t p g N r t i n Fi S o s g E he d r municipalitiesr highly restrict developmento relative to demand. The report assesses the t f A h i N v o B e a M e w l a a d m w m lc l l o l S l t t E m S p E o t S Roxbury X t t state of zoning for multi-family housing in 100 cities and towns of Greater Boston, outside C n e B o

c n o Web Zoning Maps Disclaimer a lv S d n r t r S e Neighborhood c W T R t o o r e M of Boston itself, to inform efforts at reforming the regulatory system. d K n x s b u a e S Zoning Maps, printed or downloaded frolme ry S n t s Maps 6A/6B/6C t M y n St s i S d e n e a y d e t R c Planning & Developenment Agency (BPDA) website S S h t t u

N e lect tht e most current Maps adopted by the Boston o S t r t D s y fo u t a l d s S k l w A miDssion. The print versions of the Maps as M ey llo i S S Fe v ll t t C m Jamaica Plain t e o y the Zoning Commission, available at the SBPDA, d n r a e r t ton k S S s S r ad t officialM vaerpssio 9nAs o/9f Bth/9e CMaps. Thus, if disacrepan- t t Br P F o St r y t an etween the official print and Internet versions lb A A Newmarket G v Z u e i ig l l ps, the official print version shall be considered d er F S Comm S o t

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se consult the BPDA. t s r S z r t o S H t o a C t M W S

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v APPROVAL PROCESS: The system in recent decades has become more political and discretionary than ever, n A to ing St nt with the local legislative body, usually taking the form of a town meeting or city council, approving many multifamily n Hu he tep int S developments project by project. Because any changes or additions to local zoning rules must be approved by a

St h lp two-thirds majority of the local planning council in question, it’s often hard for new housing developments to get to Bo int Sa off the ground. The study concludes that the current approval processes are unlikely to yield enough housing in the coming years and that policymakers should consider ways to achieve the beneﬁts of negotiated decision-making and local control with a more predictable system.

C a m d e n MIXED USE: In over 80% of the municipalities, the new housing projects that do make it through planning ofﬁcials S v t s A bu um ol Lo are often tied to proposals for retail space. But this can become a double-edged sword, the study warns, as demand C ng fe llo w Br dg for new retail space wanes. There may be a need to shift the strategy toward residential-only development in or near mixed-use hubs and shopping centers.

VILLAGE CENTERS VS. ISOLATED PARCELS: While municipalities have been cautious in allowing development in historic centers to preserve a neighborhood’s character or historical value, the study identiﬁes a major y W r movement to allow and build more housing in the region’s village centers and in parcels on the edge of municipalities, a e r g u M isolated from residential neighborhoods. G id v a D BUILDING UP OR BUILDING OUT: In theory, not a lot of land is needed to meet demand for multi-family housing, H-2 -6 5 Storrow Dr as it can be built upward instead of outward. However, not only is very little land zoned for multi-family housing, Beaver Pl

rict Back St but municipalities highly restrict the density of new development and adopt dimensional standards about height

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n and minimum parcel sizes that limit the potential for buildout. Six municipalities have no provisions for multi-family k

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A development. Municipalities will need to allow signiﬁcant density in a small amount of land area and incremental

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Newbury St o increases in density over larger land areas.

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Stuart Street rt S t The study points out that additional restrictions such as parking requirements can Map 1S Bay Village also undermine development, drive up costs, lead to too much impervious pavement, Map 1N and make areas less walkable. The most common among the zoning tables for parking B-4

t requirements, is two off-street spaces per dwelling unit, which can be more than what S

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k is actually needed when the units are mostly singles and two-bedrooms. Fortunately, r

e Appleton St B many municipalities have been revisiting their parking standards, in particular for H e ra Av the historic centers and transit oriented developments, to lower parking requirements y W t n e ic and list varying standards based on the number of bedrooms. ill M

p E Overall, the study fnds that for the region to accommodate and plan for growth, munici- t o B e n r k S v e t A l t mu e aw y palities will need to designate and plan more areas for more multi-family development. Sh S t South End Thankfully, there is change already brewing at the state and local levels. Massachu-

l t Map 1P h setts lawmakers are considering Governor Charlie Baker’s housing choice proposal, a T h m a y e S r t S t which would enable cities and towns to adopt certain zoning best practices related to housing development by a simple majority vote rather than the current two-thirds supermajority required. Somerville and Cambridge are already taking hard looks at M a d E ld R C e n e a S g n their zoning regulations, some of which haven’t been updated for decades. t a t t o n n ro S F t y xw E ld ra e zg it F F n h o J

Sd outh Bo R

t r a Map m d Sources: “The State of Zoning for Multi-Family Housing In Greater Boston” June 2019 Report o o F by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors & the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, rket Industrial t S Boston Agent Magazine, Curbed Boston a W mmerckial id e pe tt Cir Map 6TEo

S t 4 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

HONEY BEES: THE NEW URBANITES

WHY YOU SHOULD SET UP A BEEHIVE ON YOUR ROOF DECK

One of the great, underestimated challenges of the modern world is the rapid pollinator decline. Of the 200,000 species of pollinators, honey bees are the most well-known and well-understood, yet Massa- chusetts alone inexplicably lost nearly half of its beehives in 2017. And if our honey bees go, so would over 70 fruit and vegetable crops we rely upon. Even foods that our cattle eat — hay and alfalfa — would disappear, resulting in global hunger and economic collapse. Noah Wilson-Rich, founding partner and CEO of the Boston-based Best Bees Company, has dedicated himself to expanding honey bee population, and improving its health and safety. He found the solution in the last place he expected: our growing urban centers.

The Best Bees Company is a full-service beekeeping operation that delivers, installs, and manages beehives for residences and businesses in 14 cities and 19 states nationwide. Each of its 1,000-plus beehives serves as a data point that contributes to its affliated nonproft, Urban Beekeeping Laboratory & Bee Sanctuary, as well as its partners — Harvard University, the MIT Media Lab, NASA, the National Geographic Society, Google Earth, and TED — to advance the science of beekeeping, improve the health of pollinators, and sta- bilize food systems locally and nationally. To accomplish this, Noah needed an answer to his research question: “Where are bees doing best?” Contrary to expectations, his beehive data points identifed the areas where bees are thriving mostly in cities. Urban beehives have are more biodiverse, have a longer lifespan, and produce more honey than rural and suburban beehives.

“What we found is that variety is key,” said Noah. A genomics test his company developed was able to read honey DNA and identify the exact plants present in a single teaspoon. It revealed that, on average, rural areas have around 150 plants per honey sample, suburbs have just over 100, and urban areas over 200. Boston honey in particular has traces of 411 plants compared to only 52 in Duxbury honey. That’s eight times the plant-life diversity found in the city’s suburbs. But there are also specifc regional characteristics to honey. “Every city has distinct favors,” Noah said. “Cape Cod is predominantly sumac honey, while Boston honey is mostly linden trees.” Narrowed down further, Jamaica Plain’s Pond results BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 5

in water lily honey, Back Bay produces mostly clover honey, and the South End falls into Boston’s overall linden tree favor profle.

The benefts of this kind of specifc data are endless. It can inform city planners and community members on the best things to plant, whether in parks, roof decks, or window planters. It also provides a baseline measure of any habitat. “By triangulating honey DNA, we know what plants to replace, in what quantity, and where,” Noah said. “We can see what plants are good for pollinators that also have deep roots and can secure the land against erosion and increasingly violent storms. We now have a blueprint suspended in time on how to restore a town’s habitat if it gets swept away or destroyed by a natural disaster. All of this is easier than ever to accomplish thanks to organizations like the Best Bees Company.

“We call ourselves America’s beekeepers,” Noah said. “And we’ve been seeing high demand on both the residential and commercial side.” His company has set up beehives at the Fairmont Copley Plaza and the Taj Boston. With over 10 million pollinators coming through the city annually, Noah urges urban gardeners to consider a variety of plants such as milkweed, creeping thyme, lavender, and chives. “There is so much empty space in cities, and adding a beehive is a low-maintenance, high-impact decision residents and businesses can make,” he said. Potential Best Bees clients only need as much space as the equipment itself — about 1.5’ x 3’ — with some room for a beekeeper to work the hive. Honey bees can forage up to 5 miles, so the immediate surroundings in an urban environment are less critical to their diet that one might imagine. And as an added bonus, a typical healthy frst year hive produces between 10 and 20 pounds of harvestable honey per year, just to sweeten the deal.

For more information about the Best Bees Company and its affliated nonproft, visit www.bestbees.com.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MEL TAING. 6 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

YOU, YOUR PROPERTY TAXES, AND YOUR RESIDENTIAL EXEMPTION

WHAT IT ALL MEANS

In taxation, the term “property” includes both real and personal property. Real property is the physical land and everything attached to it. This encompasses everything under the ground such as water and mineral rights, as well as above the ground including all benefts, rights, interests, and limitations inherent in the ownership of the real estate. As of January 1 of each year, the Boston Assessing Department assesses all property at its full and fair cash value, or “the price an owner willing, but not under compulsion, to sell ought to receive from a buyer willing, but not under compulsion, to purchase.”

In practice, there are three accepted approaches to determining property value. The market approach analyzes market sales of similar properties sold in the year prior to January 1, and forecast what the property would sell for on January 1. This is how most residential property is valued. The income approach determines the income stream that a property is likely to produce for an investor by examining data such as rents, occupancy rates, and expenses. The process of capitalization converts the future income stream into present worth or market value. This approach is most applicable to real estate bought and sold based on its income-producing capabilities, such as retail stores, offce buildings, and apartment buildings. Finally, the cost approach determines the current reproduction or replacement cost of a property with adjustments made for depreciation and land value. It’s most applicable to special purpose properties that are not readily sold or rented.

According to a recent City of Boston report, property assessments continued to increase in Fiscal Year 2019 thanks to an active real estate market throughout most of the neighborhoods. The tax base — or the total value of all taxable assessed property — rose from $153.9 billion in Fiscal Year 2018 to $164.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2019, an increase of $10.6 billion or 6.9%. If you own a home in Boston, you may already know that the city offers a number of property tax relief programs for qualifed homeowners. Among them is the residential tax exemption.

The City of Boston defnes residential exemption as a reduction in real estate taxes for those homeowners who occupy their property as their principal residence. It’s a local option that must be adopted by the board of selectmen or mayor, with the approval of the city council. In 2016, Mayor Walsh advocated for a change in state law that increased the BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 7

residential exemption limit from 30% to 35% of the average assessed value of all residential properties. This year, the City Council, with the approval of the Mayor, once again chose the maximum exemption allowed by law. The Fiscal Property Tax Recap: Past Past Seven Years Year 2019 residential exemption amount increased $3,000 by $180.62 over last year’s amount, from $2,538.47 to $2,719.09, equivalent to a $2,719.09 property value reduction $2,500 of $257,978. $2,538.47 $2,432.91 To qualify, homeowners must own the property and $2,000 occupy it as their princi- $1,961.58 pal residence before the $1,879.53 January 1 preceding the $1,727.47 $1,763.84 current fscal year. The $1,500 exemption is applied to FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 the third quarter tax bill, which is issued in late De- cember and must be fled by early April — usually April 1 — of the fscal year. So for Fiscal Year 2020, owners would have until April 1, 2020 to fle an application for the current fscal year. Home- owners can apply for other exemptions alongside the residential exemption, but the taxable value of the property cannot be below 10% of the assessed value unless fnan- cial hardship or physical ailments are involved. Property owners are urged to check the Assessor’s Database for information which will show whether they are qualifed to apply for residential exemption.

How to File for a Residential Exemption

ONLINE: Conﬁrm your eligibility and ﬁll out the application online. Print it out and submit or mail it to the Assessing Department in Room 301/Taxpayer Referral and Assistance Center on the Mezzanine level of City Hall.

IN-PERSON: Complete the application for exemption at the Assessing Department of City Hall.

MAIL: Call the Taxpayer Referral and Assistance Center at 617-635-4287 and the department will mail you the residential exemption application. Mail the completed application to the Assessing Department, Room 301, 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201.

Sources: City of Boston, “Property Tax Facts & Figures: Fiscal Year 2019” Report 8 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

BOSTON’S TOP 10 NEIGHBORHOODS: Q2, 2019

Top 10 Boston Neighborhoods by Number of Sales

South Boston 228

South End 177

BACK BAY 117

Seaport 110

Charlestown 83

Beacon Hill 60

Midtown 53

Fenway 42

Waterfront 36

West End 21

050100 150 200 250

2018 Top 10 Boston Neighborhoods2017 by Median Sales Price

Seaport $2,092,000

Waterfront $1,315,000

Midtown $1,200,000

BACK BAY $1,100,000

South End $950,000

Beacon Hill $905,000

South Boston $801,000

West End $730,000

Charlestown $720,000

Fenway $654,000

$0 $500,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,000,000

2017 2016

Source: LINK Boston Quarterly Report BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 9

FOCUS ON THE BACK BAY: Q2, 2019

Back Bay Median Selling Price by Square Footage Back Bay Sales by Square Footage

700< $601,375 >2,400 14 701-1,000 $950,000 1,801–2,400 <700 7 1,501–1,800 32 1,001-1,500 $1,405,000 3

1,501-1,800 $2,000,000 1,001–1,500 36 701–1,000 1,801-2,400 2,750,000 25 2,400> $6,000,000 $0 $2147483

Back Bay Median Selling Price by Number of Bedrooms Back Bay Number of Sales by Number of Bedrooms Studio $530,000

1 Bed $810,941 3+ BR Studio 16 13 2 Bed $1,405,000

3+ Bed $5,300,000 1 BR 40 $0 $2147483 2 BR 48

Source: LINK Boston Quarterly Report 10 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

THE PAST FIVE YEARS: BACK BAY V. CITYWIDE

Five Year Price Index: Back Bay v. Citywide

140 CITYWIDE 141

BACK BAY 135 130

120

110

100

90 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Sales Over Asking Price for Past Five Years: Back Bay v. Citywide

60%

50%

40% BACK BAY 37%

30% CITYWIDE 30%

20%

10%

0% Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Source: LINK Boston Quarterly Report BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 11

20 MOST EXPENSIVE BACK BAY SALES: Q2, 2019

ADDRESS SALE PRICE PRICE/SF TYPE

1 The Lydon @ 401 Beacon Street #5 $14,300,000 $2,332 CONDOMINIUM

2 305 Commonwealth Avenue #2 $9,500,000 $2,217 CONDOMINIUM

3 309 Marlborough Street $8,500,000 $1,776 SINGLE-FAMILY

4 128 Beacon Street H $6,950,000 $2,076 CONDOMINIUM

Zero Marlborough @ 6 Arlington 5 $6,550,000 $1,973 CONDOMINIUM Street #8 Trinity Place @ 1 Huntington Ave- 6 $6,400,000 $1,769 CONDOMINIUM nue PH1702 One Dalton Four Seasons @1 Dalton 7 $6,250,000 $2,376 CONDOMINIUM Street #2901 Heritage @ 300 Boylston Street 8 $5,750,000 $2,108 CONDOMINIUM #502 The Clarendon @ 400 Stuart Street 9 $5,500,000 $2,265 CONDOMINIUM #26-A

10 313 Commonwealth Avenue #3 $5,100,000 $1,847 CONDOMINIUM

11 305 Commonwealth Avenue #3 $5,000,000 $2,211 CONDOMINIUM

One Dalton Four Seasons @1 Dalton 12 $4,800,000 $2,200 CONDOMINIUM Street #2805

13 40 Beacon Street #2 $4,750,000 $1,962 CONDOMINIUM

One Dalton Four Seasons @1 Dalton 14 $4,700,000 $1,787 CONDOMINIUM Street #2601 One Dalton Four Seasons @1 Dalton 15 $4,400,000 $1,977 CONDOMINIUM Street #3003

16 16 Follen Street $3,805,000 $1,063 MULTI-FAMILY

17 192 Commonwealth Avenue #5 $3,350,000 $1,214 CONDOMINIUM

18 315 Commonwealth Avenue #1 $3,183,622 $1,104 CONDOMINIUM

19 110 Saint Botolph Street $2,900,000 $935 MULTI-FAMILY

One Dalton Four Seasons @1 Dalton 20 $2,850,000 $2,091 CONDOMINIUM Street #3004

Average price per square foot among the 20 most expensive Back Bay Sales for Q2, 2019: $5,050,000

Source: LINK Boston Quarterly Report 12 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

LISTING AGENT AND LISTING TEAM LEADER AGENT

Steven Zach Cohen Jay

BUYER SPECIALISTS MEET THE REAL ESTATE

ECONOMISTS Barrie Nicole OF CHOICE Stavis Spencer RENTAL SPECIALISTS

The Steven Cohen Team provides expert insight, guidance and representation for discerning residential property buyers and sellers in Boston’s Back Bay and adjacent neighborhoods. Our unmatched experience in the local real estate market, long-term approach Josh Michael to customer service, and coordinated team- Leibowitz O’Driscoll work make us an industry leader in Back Bay and beyond. OPERATIONS TRANSACTION MANAGER COORDINATOR Now, more than ever, you need a real estate professional with skill and experience.

૽૽૽૽૽ ૽૽૽૽૽ ૽૽૽૽૽ Tim Margaret McCarthy Marder

MARKETING & COMMUNICATION

Bruce Anastasia Ronnie Withey Yefremova Lee SOUTHBACK ENDBAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 13

“…I would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to buy or sell a home…”

“…Incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, friendly and effcient…”

“...I ended up selling my condo quickly at a price above my ask…”

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS “...Smart, strategic, meticulous and able to manage complications when they arise For additional Steven Cohen Team effectively and with grace…” client testimonials, visit stevencohenteam.com/testimonials

“...Professional, prompt, knowledgeable, and delivered above and beyond what I thought I could get for my condo...”

“... Stellar skills landed us our city dream home and we couldn't be happier…

…”Always accessible and provided top notch guidance and service…” 14 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

NOTABLE STEVEN COHEN TEAM BACK BAY SALE

166 MARLBOROUGH STREET #1

Set in the heart of the Back Bay on a prime block of Marlborough Street, this pristine home was gut renovated in 2015 and has been outftted with premium modern fnishes throughout. The parlor entry foyer leads to a grand, front-facing living room with huge bay windows, exquisite crown molding, chandeliers, and a gas freplace - one of three in the home. Soaring ceiling height and gleaming mahogany hardwood foors carry throughout. The professional chef’s kitchen features a separate Sub-Zero fridge and freezer, a 48” Wolfe range, two dishwashers, a warming oven, and a wine fridge. The beautiful rear family room includes a bay window, marble freplace, and pocket doors that lead to a perfect offce/bedroom. The lower level offers a master bedroom with another marble freplace, a large walk-through closet leading to an elegant spa bath with a rainfall shower, a separate soaking tub, and double vanities. French doors open from the master to a private, landscaped patio with snow melt. There is also a large second master bedroom with an en-suite bath, third bedroom, additional full bath, and dedicated laundry room. An elevator services both levels, and locked basement storage along with direct-access deeded parking with snow melt complete this truly spectacular home.

SALE PRICE: $4,935,000 SIZE: 2,925 sq. ft. BEDROOMS: 4 PARKING: 1 Deeded BATHROOMS: 3.5 BUILT: 1900 BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 15 16 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

MEET A BACK BAY LANDMARK

THE CROWNINSHIELD HOUSE AT 164 MARLBOROUGH STREET

Tucked away on the corner of Marlborough Street and Dartmouth Street is the frst house designed and executed by renowned American architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Known as the initiator of the Romanesque revival in the United States and a pioneer fgure in the development of an indigenous modern American style of architecture, he favored horizontal lines, simple silhouettes, and uniform large-scale details. While not quite as impressive as some of his later works, the Crowninshield House at 164 Marlborough Street is Richardson’s frst attempt at domestic architecture and one of the only two surviving buildings he designed in Boston along with Trinity Rectory.

The house was commissioned in 1868 by Benjamin W. Crowninshield, a former Har- vard classmate of Richardson’s, and was completed in 1870. Crowninshield served in the Civil War and eventually settled in Boston as a dry goods merchant with his wife, Katharine May (Bradlee) Crowninshield. The building Richardson designed for his friend is constructed almost entirely of red brick and is four stories high, including a full story mansard roof. The lintels and the water table that caps the rusticated brick foundation, are brownstone. The tall front door is sheltered by a semicircular wrought iron hood and fanked by a pair of equally tall, narrow windows. The parapet at the top of the pavilion is fnished in an elaborate brick design with small, wrought iron panels. Set in a diamond pattern, a row of square tiles below the stringcourse adds to the horizontal integrity of the building.

The primary value of the Crowninshield House lies in its availability for comparative studies of Richardson’s work and the development of his unique style. The chimney piece of the Dartmouth Street facade was used ten years later on the Newbury Street facade of Trinity Rectory. In Harvard’s Sever Hall, Richardson worked with the same red brick material, and even obtained noticeably better results. The House remained in Crowninshield hands until 1958 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Sources: The National Register of Historic Places, Back Bay Houses, Britannica.com BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 17 18 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

BACK BAY DEVELOPMENTS

4 1

2 3

Source: Boston Planning and Development Agency BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 19

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

• 431,243 sq. ft. gross floor area 40 Trinity Place • 154 hotel rooms • 146 residential units

BOARD APPROVED

• 439,500 sq. ft. gross floor area 1000 Boylston Street • 108 condominium units • 45,500 sq. ft. retail space • 175 garage parking spaces

• 1,371,480 sq. ft. gross floor area 145 & 165 Dartmouth • 600 on-site residential units Street • 591,800 sq. ft. commercial office space • 61,500 sq. ft. retail/restaurant space • 2,013 parking spaces

UNDER REVIEW

• 545,000 sq. ft. gross floor area TBD Boylston Street • 150,000 sq.. ft. residential/hotel space (upper corner of Boylston • 325,000 sq. ft. office space St. and Mass Ave.) • 70,000 sq. ft. retail/restaurant space • 150 parking spaces

NOTE: PROJECT STATUSES AND DETAILS ACCURATE AS OF JUNE, 2019 20 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

WalkUP BOSTON

NEW STUDY IDENTIFIES BOSTON AS LEADER IN SHIFT FROM SUBURBAN LIVE-WORK TO URBAN

It’s not a stretch to say that real estate development in the second half of the 20th century was dominated by the drivable suburban approach, now known as “sprawl.” It appeared to provide a solid foundation for the U.S. economy at the time, but by the mid-1990s the redevelopment of center cities and suburban town centers, along with the New Urbanism movement, showed renewed demand for walkable urbanism. This type of development includes substantially higher densities, relaxed or overlay zoning to allow for higher density mix of real estate products, emerging “new” mixed-use product types, and connections to the metro area via multiple transportation options. It could also provide a far more resilient and fruitful metro-level economic base for the 21st-century economy than drivable suburbanism did in the mid- to late-20th century.

According to a new report by The George Washington University School of Busi- ness, there are specifc places in metro areas across the country where walkable urbanism is concentrated, so called WalkUPs that often end up defning the region’s sense of place in the collective consciousness. These locales are where mixed-use, higher-density development is found, with a higher concentration of economic activity and jobs, as well as rental and for-sale premiums compared to drivable suburban locations. And Boston’s WalkUPs push our city to the highest level of walkable urbanism.

There are 761 regionally signifcant WalkUPs in the 30 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. While the WalkUPs occupy a minute portion of their total land mass — less than 1% — they deliver outsized economic performance. The report analyzes and ranks the current level of walkable urbanism in the 30 largest metro areas based on the share of offce, retail, and rental multi-family occupied square footage in the WalkUPs relative to the metro regions as a whole.

CURRENT RANKINGS

Based on the occupied square footage of total metro inventory of offce, retail, and rental multi-family homes as of the year-end 2018, the top six urban areas have 375 total WalkUPs, 49% share of all WalkUPs in the top 30 metros, and a 29-37% range of metro offce, retail, and rental multi-family space located in WalkUPs.

Sources: “Foot Traffc Ahead: Ranking Walkable Urbanism in America’s Largest Metros” 2019 Report by The George Washington University School of Business & Smart Growth America BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 21

1. New York City 2. Denver 3. BOSTON 4. Washington, DC 5. San Francisco Bay Area 6. Chicago

Over 40% of occupied WalkUP space in Boston and Washington, DC is in urbanizing suburbs. These metro areas, the report concludes, serve as models for future walkable urban development, as the regions are capitalizing on opportunities to urbanize suburban places, as well as continuing to develop walkable places within their central cities. In particular, Boston’s drivable suburban development may be reaching its end thanks to a signifcant amount of historical walkable urban (pre-1930s) neighborhoods undergoing redevelopment, a high-tech driven economy, and an extensive regional rail system.

FUTURE GROWTH RANKINGS

The Future Growth Momentum rankings are defned by a series of indicators. Those include rent premiums, absorption, the urbanization of suburbs, and the Market Share Shift Index (MSSI). The MSSI measures the walkable market share increase or decrease of net absorption of real estate for a given time period, compared to market share at the beginning of that time period (the base year), near the start of the current real estate cycle. In this case, the time period is between 2010 and 2018. Boston emerged as the undisputed leader.

1. BOSTON 2. New York City 3. Detroit 4. Washington, DC 5. Pittsburgh 6. Miami

Aggregated across the 30 metro markets the report covers, for-sale housing makes for 71% of the metropolitan product mix, and for-sale and rental housing combined come to 84% of inventory. The average for-sale per square foot premium in a WalkUP is 90%, while the average rent premium is 46%. For-sale premiums vary dramatically by metro, but Boston leads the country at a whopping 223% estimated premium to purchase a home in a WalkUP.

The highest-ranked walkable urban metros, the report concludes, are models for the future development patterns of many, if not most, U.S. cities. There is a potential demand for an additional 472 WalkUPs, an increase of 62% over the current inventory. This pent-up demand — in addition to the growth of existing WalkUPs and the appropriate infrastructure, zoning, and fnancing mechanisms at the federal, state, and local levels — is expected to create a new foundation for the U.S. economy. 22 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

“SO GOOD SOUNDS” SOUNDS SO GOOD

ENHANCING COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS THROUGH MUSIC

Down-sizing from their large, Victorian house in Exeter, New Hampshire, Peg and her husband moved back to Boston. Not only had they called the city home 35 years ago, but two of their children live and work in the area. The change felt natural for this new phase of their lives. They moved into a large downtown apartment building, not knowing any of their neighbors and looking for ways to form new connections. But for all the advantages of urban living, they struggled to fnd a sense of community. And they quickly realized they weren’t the only ones. “All of these high-end, beautiful new buildings in Boston have these common spaces and ame- nities for residents to use,” Peg said. “Anything Peg Gaillard and Sydney Matlock at the Rose from an extended living room space to a full Kennedy Greenway "So Good Sounds" concert. blown restaurant bar like in Millennium Tower. But they are almost never used.” With the luxury construction boom Boston has experienced in recent years, there are under-utilized community spaces in high-end buildings all over the city. Peg saw this as a challenge and an opportunity both. At the beginning of 2019, her solution took shape in “So Good Sounds.”

Peg is a long-time entrepreneur serving on various boards, having started businesses, and getting involved in community organizations — but music has always been a passion of hers. “I’ve always loved to sing,” Peg said. “And I really believe that music has the power to bring people together, providing a wonderfully easy, accessible context by which to join a disparate group of people in a shared experience.” Among her other accomplishments, Peg has created several music series, the frst based in her old home in Exeter. She and her husband paid for the talent and got a yoga studio to donate the space. All proceeds went to local charities and, more importantly, Peg gained experience fnding and working with musical talent. She applied that experience to her

Sydney Matlock at the Rose Kennedy Greenway "So Good Sounds" concert. BACK BAY STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT 23

new life through “So Good Sounds,” creating curated house concerts to bring together Bos- ton’s new urban communities. Using the city’s own wealth of burgeoning talent — primarily Berklee College students she met at open-mic nights — Peg seeks to bring the universal connecting language of music to facilitate a sense of community.

She frst tested her idea in her own building. “We did just a small concert, maybe a dozen people attended,” Peg said. “But several of the people I met, most of them for the frst time, are people that I now chat with and whose dogs I pet! The concert was a really wonderful connector, just as I had hoped and envisioned.” She wasted no time in reaching out to residential buildings all over Boston, many of which have a budget specifcally for entertain- ment. “Millennium Tower jumped right on,” she said. “They even decided to implement the program on a monthly basis beginning this August.”

And while Boston residents beneft from Peg’s efforts, she’s just as invested in making sure her musicians get the best reward for their hard work. “I want these young musicians to get paid,” she said. Alongside the regular payment artists receive, Peg creates signage for a virtual tip jar. This not only incentivises performers to connect with their audience, it sometimes doubles their money from the event. Peg’s other priority when it comes to her musicians is to book them into concerts, so the people who come to watch are there to see their performance as opposed to a guitarist in the corner playing ambient music at a cocktail party. Dillon Havins was one of “So Good Sounds’” frst bookings. He performed at Millennium Tower with his folk indie Americana band, Havins. “What Peg is trying to do is showcase artists’ songs and originality,” Dillon said. “And not just some band playing cover songs.”

And Peg is not restricted by venue size. Small or large, someone’s apartment or a neighborhood gathering, her grand utopian vision is to soften the edge of city living, build community, and create connections among people. “If you went to one of these concerts with even a dozen people and shared music for an hour, I guarantee that the next time you see those people there will be a connection,” she said. “There will be eye-contact, a smile, a memory that wouldn’t be there if you didn’t have that experience together.”

For more information on “So Good Sounds,” visit www.sogoodsounds.com. For more information on “Havins,” visit www.havinsmusic.com.

24 STEVEN COHEN TEAM

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