130-year history, plus 14,000 square feet, equals one expensive townhouse
305 Commonwealth Ave. is a doozy.
Even in the rarified air of Back Bay’s luxury real estate market, this one stands out.
305 Commonwealth Ave. was built in 1885 and has nine bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, and 13,712-square-feet of living space. It is now up for sale for $12,500,000 after being off the market for close to 30 years. If it sells at that price, it would become the priciest Boston sale of the year (though it’s only the fourth-most expensive home currently on the market).
“It’s rare something like this comes on the market,’’ said Tracy Campion, owner of Campion and Company and the co-listing agent on the property.
Peabody and Stearns, one of Boston’s leading architectural design firms, designed 305 Commonwealth Avenue for Mrs. Cornelia Thayer, the widow of Nathaniel Thayer, who was a prominent Boston banker, according to Backbayhouses.org.
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See inside 305 Commonwealth Avenue:
The home stayed in the Thayer family until 1897 and then changed hands throughout the years, surviving at least one attempt to legally convert the building into offices. One owner successfully received a permit to turn the building from a single-family home into a three-family building.
Campion said that 305 Commonwealth Ave. is “ideal for someone who wants a trophy home or to bring it back to condos.’’
The home has two parking spaces, original details from the Gilded Age, an expansive garden, an elevator shaft, and large formal entertaining rooms.
The property is being sold by a sealed bidding processing. Bids are due by October 30 at noon.
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