Buy This Jamaica Plain Condo, Drive an Electric Car for Free

A Nissan Leaf comes with this energy-efficient condo in Jamaica Plain

This ultra-green apartment comes with an electric vehicle at 21 Lamartine St. Courtesy of Ben Uyeda

April 24, 2015

2 minutes to read

Just call it an environmentalist’s dream.

Most condos come with a parking space. But in Jamaica Plain, this new condo comes with an electric car to park in it as well.

If you buy the unit in architect Ben Uyeda’s new, three-unit, ultra-green building currently under construction, you will also get to drive around in a new Nissan Leaf owned by the condo association. There’s a charging station for the car as well.

The one bedroom, one bath, 1,044 square-foot unit at 21 Lamartine St. is listed for $489,000 and will be ready for occupancy in late June. The other unit will be occupied by Uyeda himself and the other will be put up for rent.

“People are surprised by it,’’ said William Dellea, a broker at Coldwell Banker who is selling the condo. While more developers now are offering Zipcars, “this is the first one I have seen with an electric car.’’

Rendering of the kitchen at 21 Lamartine St. – Courtesy of Ben Uyeda

The new condo building, which is taking shape where an empty lot once stood on Lamartine Street, is near the Jackson Square T station.

So far, traffic through the unit has been brisk, he said.

Still, the main attraction for buyers isn’t necessarily the car but rather the hyper-energy-efficient condo design by Uyeda, co-founder of ZeroEnergy Design, Dellea noted.

The unit features a super-insulated shell designed to keep the hot or cold air in, depending on the season, “including double studded walls, ICF foundation, concrete flooring and low maintenance fiber cement exterior siding,’’ according to the listing.

Outside patio at 21 Lamartine St. – Courtesy of Ben Uyeda

Solar panels help provide some electricity, working with high-efficiency heating and cooling systems and appliances to keep electricity costs low, Dellea said. The unit’s total energy bill is pegged at $300 to $400 a year – or about $30 to $40 a month, he added.

Still, this one-bed, one-bath home is not for everyone, Dellea acknowledged.

“The architect wanted it to have generous closet space and a large open living room,’’ Dellea explained in an email. “A two bedroom with that amount of space would certainly be easier to sell, but I think this unit will be perfect for a single person or young couple.’’