There are several condo developments in the heart of the city that maintain their appeal over the years in the midst of new inventory and choice around Boston, and the Albert A. Pope Building is one of those developments. That said, it’s rather surprising to see that the latest sale in the luxury building came at $577 per square foot. Not so surprising is the fact that there has only been one sale in the development over the past six months – residents seem to stay longer in the Pope Building than in other developments, and coupled with the fact that there are only 25 units in the building, turnover is rather low.
Unit 203 in the development sold for $875,000 on April 30, 2009 after being on the market for 82 days with an original listing price of $949,000. Condo fees for the unit are $1,094, and the unit came with a deeded parking space in the onsite garage, and access to the building’s common roofdeck.
Unit 203’s lower price per square foot, compared to a 12-month moving average of over $600 per square foot, could be attributed to its placement within the building, level, and the fact that the Clarendon Back Bay will block views of the Hancock Tower from the Pope Building (see Clarendon Back Bay to Block Pope’s View).
Nonetheless, the real estate community will need to place assumptions on the sidelines until another unit in the building comes available, at present, no condos are listed for sale in the boutique concierge-served Albert Pope Building.
In March 2008, we ran a story about the Clarendon (see Clarendon Back Bay Condos Looking Up), out of which came a conversation thread about whether the 33 story tower would block views of the Hancock Tower from the adjacent luxury Albert A Pope Building once the new ultra luxury Clarendon was complete.
It was somewhat speculation in March what the situation would entail, but it is apparent now that the Clarendon Back Bay will indeed block views of the Hancock Tower from the Pope condo development. Inside sources connected to the Clarendon are stating that the building should top off in approximately 6 weeks time, and the 33 stories will definitely block views of at least the lower portion of the Hancock Tower.
There were two units available for sale at the Pope building earlier this year, both have since closed for $1 million+ each, with price per square foot averaging a little over $600. Sales at the Clarendon appear to be strong, at a different price point ($1,100+ per square foot) entirely. Regardless of a direct view of the Hancock Tower, the 24-unit boutique Albert A Pope Building that sits above the Mistral restaurant will remain one of the premier condo developments along the Back Bay and South End border.
One of the most sought after buildings in the northern part of the South End is the Albert A. Pope Building, a 25-unit boutique luxury development with the high-end Mistral Bistro on its ground floor – some refer to this development as the Mistral Condos.
As of this week, there are now two units available in the building, including one corner unit with multiple exposures. Unit 603 is a 1,508 square foot two-bedroom two-bathroom listed at $1,049,000 ($695 per square foot), while the multiple exposure unit 404, is a 1,873 square foot two-bedroom two-bathroom listed at $1,350,000 ($720 per square foot). Both units include one deeded garage parking space.
Readers recently inquired whether the Clarendon Back Bay would eventually block the view of the Hancock Tower from the Pope building, and by the looks of the below picture of the Clarendon job site taking from the Pope Building, the answer to that question is, yes – eye level views will be blocked, but you will obviously still see the Hancock Tower in the background above the 33 story Clarendon.
Tim Ryan 
