Home of the Week: A 3-bedroom condo in a Fort Point artists co-op
A Fort Point condo with three bedrooms, a studio that can be rented out, and additional workspace is on the market for $743,551.
249 A St, Unit 12, Fort Point
$743,551
Style Mid-rise loft
Year built 1900; converted into co-op in 1983
Square feet 2,667
Bedrooms 3
Baths 1 full, 1 half
Co-op fee $1,607 a month
Money commonly decides real estate sales, but not at this co-op, where artistry is also a necessity. A foundational member of the live/work artist ethos in Fort Point, 249 A Street Cooperative Corp. requires prospective buyers to be skilled with a brush, a camera, or maybe a riffler file — and be able to prove it.
“The purpose of the art review is to substantiate the applicant’s credentials as an actively working visual artist in need of studio workspace,’’ the co-op application, which runs nine pages, reads. Ten images must be submitted to a panel of residents to review. The cooperative “has an on-site gallery with rotating shows and participates in open studio exhibitions,’’ according to the listing.
Unit 12 is a ground-floor space with a double-wide metal back door accessed from the cobblestone alley behind the six-story brick building, an advantage for artists whose visions are too large to fit on a thumb drive. It opens into a storage area that telegraphs what it is like to live in a former factory: The flooring is concrete, and the ceilings are crossed by wooden beams, steel pipes, and a sprinkler system. The half bath on the left side of the room could be considered roughly framed in; the sink is industrial in design.
The co-op has 44 units, and in this one, there is a potential revenue source — or just lots of room to perfect one’s craft. The first door on the right off this storage area opens into a private 500-square-foot studio space, which the owner, Mark LeSaffre, is renting out to another artist. There is no direct access to the living area from this studio. The storage area also opens into the back alley and connects to a second, albeit smaller, space where LeSaffre, of A Street Frames, has assembled the machinery used in his custom framing business (operating in both the South End and Cambridge). Shelving and storage line the other side.
LeSaffre created an entryway from his workshop to the unit’s residential space, which comprises the dining and living areas, the kitchen, and four steps to the front door on A Street.
The kitchen has a galley-like feel, but what sets it apart is the storage. A trio of tall wheeled-door wood cabinets with frosted glass offers storage for coats, pantry staples, and other items. The unit also offers stainless-steel appliances, including an induction stove. A long counter that forms a peninsula with seating for three features a cooktop and sink. The cabinets are a sleek medium-toned wood, and the stainless-steel vent hood is prominent. A stacked washer and dryer sit in a laundry cabinet off the space.
The living area has ceilings of nearly 12 feet high and gains natural light from expansive windows.
The unit also features a space to reflect, an enclosed sitting area framed by built-in bookshelves. From here one can access the full bath, which offers a white porcelain trough sink that’s mounted to the wall, a stand-alone shower behind a curtain, shelving, and brick-red ceramic tile flooring.
Like fans sharing a blanket in Gillette Stadium pre-COVID, the three bedrooms are snuggled next to one another. They radiate off the sitting room behind frosted-glass doors.
The owner bedroom is, of course, the largest (about 180 square feet) and has a set of industrial-sized windows for natural light and a double closet with bifold doors.
The second-largest bedroom offers its own version of industrial windows, while the smallest has glazed transom windows. Both rooms are carpeted and have wardrobes, not closets.
The monthly co-op fee includes heat, water, sewer, master insurance, elevator and exterior maintenance, snow and refuse removal, flood insurance, and property taxes. The owner is responsible for the electricity.
As of press time, an offer had been made on the property, but the co-op’s members have the right of first refusal until Feb. 15.
Margery Connors of Kimball Borgo Real Estate has the listing.
See more photos of the home below:
Follow John R. Ellement on Twitter @JREbosglobe. Send listings to [email protected]. Please note: We do not feature unfurnished homes and will not respond to submissions we won’t pursue. Subscribe to our newsletter at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.
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