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Brookline s new Village people: Suburban locale broadens appeal
By Paul Restuccia
Friday, October 6, 2006
F
irst-time home buyer Danielle Russell recently bought a two-bedroom condo in Brookline Village because she liked the area s mix of a small-town feel and a big-city feel.
I wanted to be in an area that was safe, comfortable and convenient to the city, said Russell, who paid $377,000 for a unit that overlooks a park and offers a fireplace, hardwood floors and a private roof deck.
Russell, a 31-year-old marketing researcher who had rented in the neighborhood for years, said she got a good deal and got to stay in Brookline, which is what I wanted.
Located just over the Boston line where Route 9 meets Huntington Avenue, Brookline Village has long attracted doctors and other medical staffers who work in the nearby Longwood Medical Area.
But now, the Village is attracting a wider swath of young professionals and families, as well as suburban empty nesters.
Younger buyers really like Brookline Village
because it has an artsy feel, said William Re of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
Lots of artisans live in houses along narrow White Place or in Station Street s brick former apartment buildings, giving the neighborhood an artistic, East Gloucester vibe.
Re said he s placed both 30-somethings and empty nesters in The Cypress Lofts, a mix of 29 new-construction condos and 46 units carved out of a former Village factory.
Twenty years ago this was a blue-collar area, Re said. But the convenience to city and (the Village s) funky character have made it appealing to empty nesters as well.
Broker Kama Cicero of Ford Realty
said the Village also attracts young families who like the neighborhood s schools, parks and convenient shops and restaurants.
A lot of families with young children (buy) here to take advantage of the Brookline school system, she said.
Developers have noticed the Village s broadening appeal.
Richard Garaffo of Avary R.T.G. is developing an upscale six-unit Village condo complex specifically with suburban empty nesters in mind.
We re targeting buyers selling their homes in Brookline or Newton who want to downsize, but (still seek) high-end amenities and space, the builder said. Our target buyer wants to live in a place where they can easily walk to shops and restaurants.
Garaffo has already pre-sold three units for about $1.1 million each, even though the complex won t be finished until later this fall.
Brookline Village s housing stock ranges from condos near the neighborhood s Green Line T station to grand Mansard and Victorian houses overlooking Ford Playground and Emerson Gardens Park.
One-bedroom condos average $330,000, while two-bedrooms cost about $551,000 and large single-family houses start at about $1.3 million, according to MLS Property Information Network data.
One-time renter Darrell Van Buren recently paid $510,000 for a newly rehabbed three-bedroom condo with marble baths, hardwood floors and a granite-and-cherrywood kitchen.
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