DarkFenX
July 7th, 2005, 07:07 AM
Condomania: Hub can't build enough high-end housing
By Scott Van Voorhis
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Think Boston's condo market, with new luxury towers popping up all over the skyline, is getting a little overcrowded?
Well think again. An internal study by a major downtown developer sees a whole decade of growth ahead for the city's booming condo market.
The Boston market could handle an additional 2,500 to 5,000 units over the next 10 years and still not go bust, an internal report by New Jersey-based Gale Co. recently concluded.
Led locally by Hub development veteran John Hynes, Gale may be best known for building, with a group of minority business partners, a new office tower near South Station. Armed with its study of the local condo market, Gale and Hynes are now scouting for residential development opportunities. That could include building another high-rise condo project in the city, Hynes said.
Such a project would add to thebevy of big condo towers already open or preparing to open, from Copley Square's now well-established Trinity Place to the posh Intercontinental condo and hotel tower taking shape on Atlantic Avenue, nearRowes Wharf.
Empty nesters from the suburbs are helping to drive the condo building frenzy, selling their suburban homes to buy chic new city digs.
``It's not getting to the point of saturation. It's getting to the point of maturity,'' Hynes said of Boston's high-end condo market. ``We envision a demand for 250 to 500 units per year for the next 10 years.''
Still, some are urging caution when it comes to the potentially risky game of building new condo towers. There is growing concern among economists that the dramatic run-up in real estate prices, both in the Boston area and nationwide, may be poised to take a steep dive.
Boston may be able to absorb the large number of new condos that Hynes is talking about. Then again, if the economy were to hit a rough patch and shed jobs, all bets are off, noted Wellesley College economist and housing expert Chip Case. ``It doesn't sound to me like a fool's gamble, but you could certainly experience a rough market in the next few years,'' Case said.
Hynes contends the growth numbers he's touting aren't as radical as they sound. The city already has been adding anywhere from 200 to 600 new condo units a year since 2000, thoughmuch of that growth was harder to spot because it tended to involve conversions of office and industrial buildings.
By Scott Van Voorhis
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Think Boston's condo market, with new luxury towers popping up all over the skyline, is getting a little overcrowded?
Well think again. An internal study by a major downtown developer sees a whole decade of growth ahead for the city's booming condo market.
The Boston market could handle an additional 2,500 to 5,000 units over the next 10 years and still not go bust, an internal report by New Jersey-based Gale Co. recently concluded.
Led locally by Hub development veteran John Hynes, Gale may be best known for building, with a group of minority business partners, a new office tower near South Station. Armed with its study of the local condo market, Gale and Hynes are now scouting for residential development opportunities. That could include building another high-rise condo project in the city, Hynes said.
Such a project would add to thebevy of big condo towers already open or preparing to open, from Copley Square's now well-established Trinity Place to the posh Intercontinental condo and hotel tower taking shape on Atlantic Avenue, nearRowes Wharf.
Empty nesters from the suburbs are helping to drive the condo building frenzy, selling their suburban homes to buy chic new city digs.
``It's not getting to the point of saturation. It's getting to the point of maturity,'' Hynes said of Boston's high-end condo market. ``We envision a demand for 250 to 500 units per year for the next 10 years.''
Still, some are urging caution when it comes to the potentially risky game of building new condo towers. There is growing concern among economists that the dramatic run-up in real estate prices, both in the Boston area and nationwide, may be poised to take a steep dive.
Boston may be able to absorb the large number of new condos that Hynes is talking about. Then again, if the economy were to hit a rough patch and shed jobs, all bets are off, noted Wellesley College economist and housing expert Chip Case. ``It doesn't sound to me like a fool's gamble, but you could certainly experience a rough market in the next few years,'' Case said.
Hynes contends the growth numbers he's touting aren't as radical as they sound. The city already has been adding anywhere from 200 to 600 new condo units a year since 2000, thoughmuch of that growth was harder to spot because it tended to involve conversions of office and industrial buildings.