It’s been just over a month since we spoke about the ingenuity of live construction web cams at condo developments (see 1330 Boylston Mixed-Use Rental Development), or perhaps, their lack in the Boston market. One of the first mainstream developments to implement a live construction cams was Battery Wharf, when over a year ago, they implemented a mechanism where Buyers that had put a unit under reservation could keep tabs on how things where progressing at the job site.
Not only do Buyers who hold reservations at a new development want to see progress of their purchase, but potential Buyers and even those in the community tell us that a live construction cam overlooking the construction site is an innovative way to communicate with the Boston real estate market.
The development team at 45 Province must have heard the noise on the street, because they have installed a live construction cam recently (thank you to John Keith for bringing this to our attention). 45 Province is a development of The Abbey Group, and is being architected by Bruner/Cott & Associates.
So who is doing it? Unfortunately, only a handful of Boston condo developments have taken the leap:
- Battery Wharf – if you can wait through their rather slow flash-based website to load at http://www.batterywharf.com, there will be a a link in the far left column of the landing page called “Click For Site Camera”. This link serves up 10 distinct views of the development site, all live, featuring the buildout of the Battery Wharf condo development, as well as the Regent Hotel.
- 1330 Boylston – the mixed-use rental developments seem to be quite popular in the Fenway as of late, and 1330 Boylston is no different. We reported almost a month ago that this development was hosting a new webcam at http://fenway.vineyard.net/build.jpg, the camera being perched atop a neighboring high rise, providing an excellent vantage point on the development.
- FP3 Boston – the coveted anchor development in the Seaport District has implemented something similar to Battery Wharf in that they provide three separate shots of the development. The pictures are located by navigating to the developer’s website at http://www.fp3boston.com, clicking “Enter Site” on the lower left, hovering over the “Building” link title along the top of the screen, and then selecting the “Webcam” link. The FP3 Boston condo development is currently slated for a 2nd Quarter 2008 completion, and will add almost 100 high-end condos to the core of the Seaport, as well as an upscale restaurant.
- 45 Province – the long awaited 45 Province condo development, which bull-dozed the famous Littlest Bar of Boston is the most recent addition to the live construction cam club by hosting a single (rather tight) view of construction at http://www.rc3online.com/news.html.
We hope to see this list grow considerably over the upcoming months. There are a number of new condo developments in various stages of build, and adding a webcam is a simple and effective way to allow an engaging relationship to flourish.
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Tim Ryan 
We are a huge fan of 45 Province. Any intel on most recent sales data there?
They’re saying 25% under contract. Not sure if that’s accurate, but seems realistic, to me.
They do come right out to say that they don’t think the project will sell out, prior to closing. They expect to be 60-65% sold when it opens.
That’s brave and the right thing to say (especially to an investor …)
A lot of people won’t buy something until it’s done.
I expect this will be a big success.
The units are not small, but the price per square foot is fair. You’ll need to spend close to $2 million to get Back Bay / Common views, but it would be worth it.
In fact, I think any side of the building on the 14th floor or above will have good to great views.
If you are looking to spend $1 million, you should check it out.