One of the most robust and architecturally unique condo developments that Boston has seen in some time is actually not in Boston, but just north, across the Charles River in (East) Cambridge. The One First condominium development is composed of five (5) separate and distinct buildings tied together by a landscaped private courtyard. A majority of the units are south-facing, which provides great light all day long, and the melding of different living styles, from duplexes to entire floors in one of the Otis Street buildings, makes One First living unique.
The way in which the development is laid out, its interconnectedness specifically, creates a community feel with individual spaces. Residents are moments from Green Line T access at Lechmere station, and practically adjacent to the CambridgeSide Galleria shopping mall.
The main lobby of One First sits at 150 Cambridge Street. While each of the five buildings has its own separate entrance and lobby with mail service, the 24/7 concierge operates out of the main lobby, and is intimately connected with the remainder of the development’s buildings. Similar to Boston condo developments like One Charles, One First makes use of a rather new technology called Building Link. Building Link is an Internet-based system that manages all day-to-day communications, record-keeping and task tracking between occupants, building staff and property managers in residential buildings.
The One First development consists of 196 residences, as well as 4 commercial spaces. Approximately 148 of the condos in the development have sold (76%), and two of the commercial spaces are leased. The condo development is currently two unit sales away from the developer handing over control of the HOA to residents.
HOA fees are approximately $0.60 per square foot, and support amenities that are becoming standard in Boston, but not entirely ubiquitous, including wireless Internet in the common areas, a library and screening room for resident use, common roof deck adorned with approximately $58,000 of teak furniture, small fitness center, 24-hour concierge, garage parking, and a well maintained and landscaped set of grounds and common areas. Perhaps the only thing lacking in the units themselves are a Washer / Dryer included, hookups are available in each unit, however.
Parking and additional storage are amenities that are expected and an added bonus respectively. The One First parking garage boasts 180+ parking spaces, mainly in the underground elevator-served garage, as well as a handful of spaces in the north end of the courtyard. The development also has 40 storage units that offer residents an additional refuge to store possessions (units themselves do have relatively ample storage capacity), however, given the ratio of condos to storage units, there is a long waiting list for an available storage unit.
Two rather small items, but quite noticeable about this development, come in the elevators and the insulation in the units. Elevators across all five buildings are sophisticated and classy, lighted well by small recessed lighting. Insulation within units is excellent – even after intent listening, buses going by outside one of the units that line Cambridge Street are only faintly audible.
There’s a relatively low investor presence in the building as it relates to rentals, with approximately 10 units used for that purpose – a comforting ratio for both residents and potential Lenders in the building. One First does boast unusually spacious floorplans for comparable developments, as the developer and sales staff opted to, in some units, knock down walls where a second, smaller, bedroom may have been in an effort to open up living space, creating more open and flowing floorplans.
One significant factor that One First has in its corner is that the condo development, despite Buyers still being able to purchase units that have never been occupied, is an established development. One First is approximately 76% sold, and has a very strong owner-occupied percentage. These are items that both Buyers and Lenders look for in dissipating fears that a building is going to turn into a rental property, and from a pure lending perspective, One First boasts the kind of statistics that open up the credit markets so financed transactions can occur.
There are currently 48 units for sale at One First, ranging in price from approximately $414,000 for a 663 square foot one-bedroom, to $965,000 for a spacious two-bedroom of 1,626 square feet. Average price per square foot for units listed for sale in the Boston MLS is approximately $600.
Keith Munsell 
