This stunning loft arrives to the market in desirable Cambridgeport just around the corner from Memorial Drive's Whole Foods Market. A 1994 David Aposhian construction, high ceilings and a bonus loft space define the well-apportioned space. Bedroom built-ins and a granite/stainless kitchen make this a move-in ready unit.

Location

• 0.6 miles to Central Square T
• Blocks to Harvard and MIT
• Easy to Memorial Drive and Soldier's Field Road

Property Description

• 1405 square feet (includes ~200 sq. ft. loft)
• 2 bedrooms/2 full bathrooms
• 1 off-street parking space
• Exclusive penthouse deck
• Hot water baseboard heat
• Wall A/C
• 1994 construction
• FY2013 Tax: $2,942 (includes residential exemption)

Association

• 15 Units (10 are owner occupied)
• Condo fee: $624 monthly (heat, gas, landscaping, snow removal, management)
• Roof repairs in 2010

Contact phil@lemburealestate.com (617.955.2686) or john@lemburealestate.com (617.453.8434) with any inquiries.

Open Houses will be held on:

Friday, May 24, 12-1pm

Saturday, May 25, 12-2pm

Sunday, May 26, 12-2pm

(see MLS)

Buyer is responsible for due diligence in verifying any of the information in this post. 

The NY Times runs a well-worth-your-read article describing Kendall Square's many biotech construction projects--there are sometimes almost too many to keep track of--as indicative of a boom, something that new, and especially longtime, Cambridge residents have been feeling palpably. 

Cranes are busy on eight separate construction sites in this area, and roughly two million square feet of space is being built or renovated or is under city review here. An additional 1.4 million new square feet is committed, and more is expected elsewhere in this city of 106,000, located directly across the Charles River from the city of Boston. If it all gets built, the new investment in Cambridge will come close to $2 billion.

Where to live?

Kendall Square has almost no residential inventory and very few buildings or blocks dedicated to residential uses to begin with. While many who work in the Kendall area do not commute very far, they still largely commute from somewhere else: the T station sees heavy traffic, as do bus routes, bike lanes, auto lanes, and sidewalks.

The seemingly exponential demand for lab/office/institutional space in Kendall Square and surrounds has naturally led to calls for more housing, more retail space, more parks, and ultimately more responsiveness by city planners to institute better zoning practices that require more cohesive residential planning. It may be going somewhere, after all.

Although the closest drugstore and market are still a 20-minute walk away, that may change soon, too. Over the last seven years, 1,000 housing units have opened up in Kendall Square, adding to demand for such stores, Mr. [Travis] McCready[, Executive Director of the Kendall Square Association] said. And last month, M.I.T. formally filed a rezoning petition with the city to turn 26 acres near its red line subway stop into a “gateway” for the campus, along with nearly 1 million square feet of office space and 240,000 square feet for housing units.

The Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog posts a reminder about the 2010 Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling making property owners liable for dangerous snow and ice conditions on their property. This extends beyond localities' requirements that landlords, home and business owners remove snow and ice from public sidewalks on their property, and makes them liable for injuries to visitors and the public to their property. The message is, of course, to clear snow and ice early and often.

Here are various local requirements for snow and ice removal from public sidewalks:

Cambridge:

• Shovel your sidewalk on all sides of your property, down to bare pavement
• Make the path wide enough for someone using wheelchair, walker or stroller (at least 3 feet, preferably 4 feet).  Clear snow to curb to avoid placing trash and recycling containers behind snow banks.  
• Clear ramps at corners and crosswalks.
• Stock up on ice melter before a storm. Use ice melter with calcium chloride (CaCl2), which is the best choice for the environment and only a small amount is required to melt ice. Potassium chloride (KCl) is okay, too. Avoid rock salt (NaCl or sodium chloride), which kills plants and trees.
• Do not use sand. It doesn’t help pedestrians; but it makes hard ice more slippery. It gets into street drains and is expensive to clean up in the spring.
• Remember that, for people on foot, ice can be worse then snow. It can cause dangerous falls. You are as responsible for ice as you are for snow.
• Keep street drains clear of snow (to avoid ponding/ icing at the bottom of ramps)
• Consider helping neighbors who may have difficulty clearing their walk. Remember: pedestrians need safe, clear sidewalks all year long, so be mindful of anything—hedges, trees, parked cars— that obstructs their path of travel.  Keeping sidewalks passable is the neighborly thing to do, and it’s the law.

Somerville:

• Homeowners must shovel, salt or sand their sidewalks when it snows.
• Homeowners have six hours between sunrise and sunset after the snow stops to shovel sidewalks.
• Homeowners are not allowed to shovel snow into the street.
• Not complying with these provisions could result in a $25.00 fine for the 1st offense, $50 for the 2nd and $100 for each subsequent offense.

City of Boston:

DO:

• Remove snow, slush, and ice from sidewalks and curb ramps abutting your property within 3 hours of snowfall ending (or 3 hours from sunrise if snow falls overnight) as required by law. Violators will be fined (see fines below).
• Remove snow, slush, and ice from the full paved width of the sidewalk and curb ramp or a minimum path of 42 inches wide. Narrow paths encumber carriages and wheelchairs, and properly cleared pathways ensure flow and safety of pedestrian traffic.
• Remove ice to bare pavement or make as level as possible and treat with sand, sawdust or similar material.
• Please clear any snow that may be blocking a handicapped ramp, fire hydrant or catch basin.

DON'T:

• Shovel or plow snow into the street: Violators caught shoveling snow from private property into the street will be fined.
• Overexert while shoveling: Excessive strain from the cold and hard labor may cause heart attacks. Please help out elderly or vulnerable neighbors.
• Leave snow or ice on stairways or fire escapes. All common means of egress must be clear.

Brookline:

In 1987, Brookline Town Meeting voted a Bylaw to require property owners to “maintain sidewalks contiguous to their property in a non-slippery condition suitable for pedestrian travel by clearing all snow and ice from a pathway at least thirty-six (36) inches in width”. The Town of Brookline will continue to enforce this bylaw to ensure the safe passage of pedestrians within the Town.

Single family and residential buildings occupied by less than five families must comply with this bylaw within 30 hours of a storm’s end. Multi-family property owners and businesses must comply within 3 hours. If you fail to comply with the Town’s sidewalk bylaw, you could be issued fines ranging from $25.00-$100.00 per day.

Arlington:

Waltham:

While there is currently no ordinance in the City of Waltham that requires residents to clear their walks, it is strongly encouraged to ensure safe pedestrian passage.

[Commercial] City ordinance 17-23 states that certain sidewalks (Moody & Main) are the responsibility of the owners of that property.

Residents and businesses should not shovel, blow, plow or throw snow onto the streets or pile it so as to block sidewalks. City ordinance 17-16 prohibits this and could result in a fine.

Medford:

CITY ORDINANCE SECTION 74-114 IS IN EFFECT STATING THAT HOMEOWNERS ARE RESPONSIBLE IN KEEPING THEIR SIDEWALK FREE AND CLEAR OF SNOW & ICE

Malden:

The owner, occupant or agent in charge of any land or building abutting a paved sidewalk in the City of Malden shall make said sidewalk safe and convenient for public use by removing any snow or ice accumulating thereon or by otherwise make the same safe by covering with sand or other suitable substance.

Removal of hazardous conditions shall be made within the first twenty four hours after such snow or ice accumulates on said sidewalk. Sidewalks shall be cleared to provide a minimum passage of thirty six inches in width. A minimum passage of thirty six inches in width shall also be cleared to the street. Handicapped access ramps shall be cleared to the full extent of the width and length of the main slope and side slopes.

Is it really happening?

It may seem mythical, The Green Line Extension.

I have had a few conversations recently with Lembu buyers looking to purchase primary or investment properties in Somerville, as well as recent home buyers, who were wondering if the Green Line extension was actually happening and if so, how long it will realistically take to complete.

While 2017 is the apparent target date for some service to begin (at Union Square at least--as part of an agreement between Somerville and the MBTA), a history of delays prompts most of us to think of the five-year target as an earliest possible service launch date: hopefully we can start riding in five to ten years. 

Well, something's happening

Alas, some construction work has now, finally, actually begun, in the form of bridge widenings and a slated building demolition.

It's long due. Locals and newcomers alike wonder how a city like Somerville, so close to Boston (in fact, Somerville borders Charlestown, a Boston neighborhood, and East Somerville/Propsect Hill are only a hop-skip-jump from downtown), is still in 2012 so heavily autombile-oriented. There is direct rail from Needham and Framingham to Downtown Boston, but not from Union or Ball Squares?

It's a question of providing modern, convienient, and efficient forms of transit. Property and business owners have a lot at stake: if other neighborhoods and cities (and nations) race ahead in building walkable and transit-oriented spaces, what's to keep us competitive? What's to ensure our property values increase with or outpace inflation? What's to keep customers frequenting our businesses, when they can catch a train and walk easier, elsewhere?

Keep the faith. The Green Line extension is going to come true, barring very extraordinary circumstances. The truth is, it has to. Few realize it is actually a legal mandate resulting from the Big Dig: it is one of the offsets promised by the state after being sued over the environmental impacts of the controversial project. 

What the not-too-distant** future holds:

On Beacon St. between Kirkland Village and Inman Square, Whole Foods Market enthusiasts will be excited to find the former Johnnie's Foodmaster entrance is now a construction entrance:

The site is one of six JF leases purchased by Whole Foods earlier this year.