Once-overlooked Alewife sees fierce competition among luxury residential buildings
The Alewife area has seen a development boom in the last few years and the market is heating up.
It’s been referred to as “the gateway to Cambridge’’ and the “final frontier’’ for development in the city, but for many, it’s just called home.
Over the past few years, the relatively open spaces of Alewife have drawn a number of luxury residential developers, despite the neighborhood’s distance from downtown Boston and some pushback from earlier residents.
Throughout 2014, locals worried about a lack of infrastructure, poor city planning and the potential for traffic increases.
But developers seem to be optimistic and so are building managers, many of them highlighting that since the original development began the neighborhood has become a more attractive area for residents, and a more competitive one for the complex owners and operators.
We talked to representatives from Fuse Cambridge, the neighborhood’s newest luxury building that opened in November 2015, along with neighboring luxury buildings Atmark and Wyeth, to get at what differentiates their buildings from the rest and what residents can expect when they live in the western Cambridge spot.
“Among its most appealing features is the proximity to the Red Line,’’ David Perry, the senior managing director at Hines, Fuse’s development company, told Boston.com. “This particular site backs on to the Alewife Brook Reservation.’’
He noted that when Hines bought the land, the reservation was going through its beautification and restoration project, which made the land very useable and desirable.
“The reservation was the biggest way to make it unique,’’ Perry said. “Ours has a two-story glass open space so we can see through to the Reservation.’’
Perry, along with Sean Sacks, the director of development at Hines, emphasized the Whole Foods and a new Trader Joe’s are also selling points for the neighborhood. “It’s becoming a much more mixed-use neighborhood,’’ Sacks said. “It is much more livable then it was five or ten years ago.’’
The livability of the neighborhood in and of itself isn’t enough to attract new residents directly to Fuse, given the number of luxury buildings close by.
“It’s been an arms race in amenities,’’ Perry said, regarding the competition between buildings. “We were able to play off views of the reservation, trying to bring nature inside the building.’’
Fuse Cambridge prices start at around $2,200 for the least expensive studio and go all the way up to around $3,500 for a three-bedroom unit. Those who sign a lease in January 2016 will receive 1.5 months of free rent, those who sign in Feburary will receive one month of free rent, those who sign in March will receive half a month of free rent, and those who sign a lease within 24 hours of their first tour will receive $1,000 off their first month’s rent.
Atmark Cambridge, another building just a short walk away from Fuse, which opened in November 2013, boasts about being right across from the Fresh Pond Reservoir, along with its building’s pet friendly amenities.
“We get a lot of dog owners in our building,’’ Olivia Hammond, Atmark’s leasing manager told Boston.com, as it doesn’t charge an extra pet fee fee.
She also noted that other buildings being constructed nearby hasn’t negatively impacted Atmark’s leasing.
“Having more buildings has increased traffic to the area and [we] see it as a more residential area,’’ Hammond said. “We have comparable leasing specials and we had the highest volume of move-ins this past summer.’’
Atmark’s prices range from $2,195 to $2,432 for a studio, $2,465 to $2,790 for a one-bedroom, and $3,152 to $3,611 for a two-bedroom unit. As of January 2016, Atmark is offering up to 1.5 months of free rent and $1,500 off.
Rebecca Morley, the business manager at Wyeth, which is nearby Fuse and Atmark, said her building, which also opened in 2013 and is currently at 90 percent occupancy, is smaller than the others and has more of a boutique feel.
There don’t seem to be any one-bedroom units available at the moment at Wyeth, but two-bedroom units start at $3,100, and there is one three-bedroom available for $4,950. The building also has four-bedroom units, but none available currently.
“It is very small and offset in a residential area,’’ she said. “There are no over the top amenities, as we want a small homey community feel.’’ Right now Wyeth’s amenities mainly consist of small conference room, a fitness center, and an electric car charging station.
But Morley and her team realize the competitive nature of the area.
“We are going to be adding a major amenity in 2016 to keep up with our competition,’’ she said. “Because they are building these massive properties with all these luxury high-end amenities and that is the biggest disadvantage.’’
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