A new condominium unit has recently gone up for sale in Roxbury for $1,999,000 amidst abutters’ concerns over increased property taxes, limited parking, and a new neighborhood dynamic.
The 3rd floor bathroom has a skylit ceiling, a soaking tub and shower stall.
Kitchen island with custom lighting.
The 3,292-square-foot property with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and one-car garage on 51 Hutchings Street was restored and developed by Shanti Acquisitions LLC.
“The developer has priced it by looking at what the unit is offering,” said Deborah Bernat, the condo’s listing agent from Coldwell Banker. “The price is based on the space, amenities, and location.” The unit’s amenities include an outdoor patio, walk-in closets, and a living room fireplace.
As for location, Hutchings Street is a quiet, tree-lined residential street, about a 20 minute drive to downtown Boston.“People want to be in the city, close to the action,” said Bernat.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data provided on the listing’s Coldwell Banker webpage, the median household income in the surrounding community is $30,028.
“The market is not for people in Roxbury, it’s for people from the outside looking for a shorter route to work,” said Louis Elisa, president of the Garrison Trotter Neighborhood Association.
Connie Forbes, Co-Secretary of the GTNA and resident of Hutchings Street, told the Banner that there wasn’t open communication between the developer and the residents of the area about the new condo and another ongoing housing development project on 55 Hutchings Street.
“We need to know everything that’s happening in our area before any process is done,” Forbes said. “The projects were approved without Garrison Trotter input.”
Community review
According to Forbes, there were preliminary meetings between abutters and developers through the Hutchings Street Civic Association where issues of parking and increased property taxes were discussed for 55 Hutchings but “they did not see final plans or make a formal vote,” she said.
New developments can increase the property value of other units in the area but Forbes argues that, “People in Roxbury have not moved in multiple generations.”
“This is our home, not an investment we’re going to flip,” she said.
Even though the unit offers a private parking space for the buyer, Forbes said that it still might not be enough to combat increasing traffic congestion and limited parking spaces on the street.
Data taken from the U.S. Census Bureau on the listing’s Coldwell Banker webpage shows that 71 percent of residential dwellings in the area are rentals while only 20.6 percent are owned.
“That dynamic needs to change because there are all these people coming in to build rentals at the community’s expense,” said Forbes.
Forbes fears what she calls “community busting” where new generations of longtime residents are driven out of the neighborhood because they can’t find affordable units where their family lives.
Although a far cry from the average home value in the neighborhood, according to Elisa, 51 Hutchings is not the first million dollar property that has gone up for sale there.
Just several blocks away on Howland Street, a renovated Victorian sold last year and was listed at $1,124,000, according to a Zillow listing page.
Final selling prices usually settle at $850,000 or $900,000, said Melvin A. Vieira Jr., a real estate agent who grew up in the area.
“51 Hutchings has a lot of square footage compared to a condo in the South End for the same price,” said Vieira Jr.
However, “the price is a hard number to wrap your head around,” he said.
Or perhaps $1 million is not too hard for people to wrap their head around — at least not anymore. A Boston Globe article published in September reported that, “In Greater Boston, high demand, low inventory, and an influx of foreign money have pushed prices so high that in some neighborhoods it’s come to this: $1 million buys a fixer-upper.”
According to the article, in 2017, people are willing to pay big for the location, even if the unit doesn’t offer outdoor space or private parking. The housing market in Boston is currently inflated.
An online report by David Bates, a real estate agent, shows that 6,853 condos have been assessed by the City of Boston as worth $1 million or more.
Although slowly, “inventory is finally increasing,” said Vieira Jr. “The city is approving permits more than ever.”
When it comes to issues of community impact, Vieira Jr. said that as a real estate agent, he can’t steer buyers in any direction but he can see the difference in “the pride and care of owners in a neighborhood versus transient investors,” he said.
