The new Four Seasons tower is expected to shatter Boston condo price records
The 180 condos at One Dalton Street, the new Four Seasons tower under construction in the Back Bay, haven’t even officially hit the market. Yet how many of the new uber-luxury digs have landed buyers – and at what prices – is already the talk of the town.
Tracy Campion’s high-powered sales team has already signed up buyers for several units in the posh 61-story tower, even before the main marketing push kicks off, say brokers tracking the project.
The deals have been struck during a quiet, “friends and family” period meant to set the stage before the launch of the all-out sales campaign, brokers say. It includes selective showings of a model unit built out at the old Four Seasons across from the the Boston Public Garden.
The faux condo is designed to highlight all the things that developer Dick Friedman has promised will bring a new level of luxury to Boston’s condo scene.
It includes high ceilings – ranging in height from 11 to 14 feet – marbled bathrooms and top of the line finishes, as well as a representation of the spectacular 360-degree views One Dalton will boast after it opens.
The $750 million tower will be topped with a trio of 8,000-square-foot penthouses, each with its own private elevator entrance.
A private restaurant is also planned for the 50th floor, with a 70-foot indoor pool that will be the longest in Boston.
“It is just gorgeous – it really hits you when you go and see it,” said Kevin Ahearn, chief executive of downtown luxury condo marketing and brokerage firm Otis & Ahearn, of the model unit. “It’s a new level for Boston.”
Campion, principal and owner of Campion & Co., declined to comment.
Still, it’s not just the pace of sales at the uber-luxury tower that has brokers’ tongues wagging, but also speculation that some units are already fetching Manhattan-level prices.
At least one unit is under agreement for $4,000 per square foot, according to one top Boston-area real estate executive. That could mean a sale price of $20 million or more given the large penthouses for sale at the top of the tower.
Asked in a recent interview with broker/blogger David Bates whether Boston might see its first $20 million condo sale this year, Campion replied, “I hope I can do it for you.”
That price wouldn’t surprise Ahearn, but he notes the consensus among downtown brokers following the project is that One Dalton condos are fetching $2,500 to $3,000 per square foot, still very high.
That is a remarkable number given deals of $2,000 per square foot or more are a new but fast-growing phenomenon in Boston.
Three condos at this time last year had broken the $2,000-per-square-foot mark, compared to 11 so far this year, Ahearn said.
However, it’s not just established areas like the Back Bay – and projects like One Dalton – that are shattering records.
Seven super luxury condo addresses across Boston saw sales of $2,000 per square feet and above last year, including the Mandarin Oriental, next door to the Prudential Center, and 22 Liberty at Fan Pier down on the waterfront, Ahearn said.
In fact, one of the more surprising new members of this club can be found in a Boston neighborhood that is just now starting to see significant condo development. A condo at the new Pierce Boston tower near Fenway Park recently sold for nearly $2,000 per square feet. It’s a landmark price, with the neighborhood around the old ballpark so rundown a decade ago that the idea of luxury condos would have seemed ill-advised.
“The Fenway’s edginess, combined with Pierce Boston’s striking design and amenities, has positioned us for faster success than we had even anticipated,” said Sue Hawkes, president and CEO of The Collaborative Companies, the tower’s exclusive sales and marketing agency, in a statement.
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