NEW DEVELOPMENT: 32-story complex planned for the Back Bay State picks developers for multiuse project over Pike

A Boston development team has won the right to build a towering $360 million hotel, residential, and retail complex on state-owned property in the city’s Back Bay, adding to a surge of ambitious building proposals in the area.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation on Monday selected Samuels & Associates and Weiner Ventures to construct a 400-foot-high complex — about 32 stories — near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street.

The project, which still needs final approval from Boston regulators, would straddle the Massachusetts Turnpike and bring modern, glass buildings to what is now an empty, windswept corner of the Back Bay. The development would include two buildings with 230 residences, 270 hotel rooms, and 50,000 square feet of retail space.

“This project will make the area more walkable and active for residents, businesses, and visitors alike,” said Adam Weiner, a partner with Weiner Ventures. “It will reenergize the whole neighborhood.”

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View the proposed development (PDF)

The selection of Weiner and Samuels is the first step in a long, uncertain process to get the project built. In recent years, several developers have proposed construction of massive developments in air rights over the turnpike, only to see them fail or get delayed due to financial problems, community opposition, or permitting troubles.

Executives with both firms said they are optimistic because most of the project would be built around the turnpike, not directly over it, making it cheaper and less complicated to build than other air-rights developments.

Massachusetts transportation officials, who have been burned by prior air-rights projects, such as the failed Columbus Center, also struck a positive tone Monday.

“This will be the first air-rights project in over 30 years and we think it will be transformative,” said Dana Levenson, chief financial officer for the transportation department. “We’re very

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS: Major complex planned for Back Bay

Developer Steve Samuels has won the right to build a towering $360 million hotel, residential and retail complex at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street, adding to rapid redevelopment of the area, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation on Monday formally selected Samuels and his partner, Weiner Ventures, to build a 400-foot-high complex -- about 32 stories -- that will include a hotel, residences and stores.

The buildings will occupy two air rights parcels over and along the Massachusetts Turnpike in the Back Bay. On one plot known as Parcel 15, Samuels will develop a high-rise hotel and residences, with a separate building to contain stores along Boylston Street

The Samuels team will also build a mid-rise residential building on a nearby parcel of land, as well as another retail complex that will cover the Turnpike along Massachusetts Avenue. Overall, the development will include 230 residences, 270 hotel rooms and 50,000 square feet of retail space.

Samuels, who in recent years has developed much of Boylston Street in the adjacent Fenway neighborhood, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Massachusetts transportation officials have negotiated a tentative lease with Samuels and Weiner Ventures that will give the state more than $18 million in rent and other payments over 99 years, according to the person with knowledge of the deal but who is not authorized to speak publicy about it.

Samuels was selected over several other developers who also bid for the right to to redevelop the property. They included the Chiofaro Co., Trinity Financial and Carpenter & Co., which was recently designated to build a hotel and residential complex on the nearby Christian Science property.

State and city officials have been weighing competing proposals for the property for several

BOSTON HOUSING BOOM: Boston humming as appeal of life in city booms

Susan Mai’s Beacon Hill apartment is a postage stamp of a place. The kitchen isn’t much bigger than the bathroom, and entertaining friends is a bit like playing Frisbee in a phone booth.

But for all its drawbacks, Mai says she couldn’t be happier. She walks to work at a local publisher, eats out five times a week, and thinks of Boston Common as an ideal front yard.

“It hasn’t crossed my mind to ever want to leave the city,” said the 25-year-old Mai, who shares the 450-square-foot apartment with her boyfriend. “I’ve never thought of our place as too small. I really don’t need a big kitchen or a garden.”

Mai is among the thousands of young professionals whose devotion to urban living is causing Boston to grow at its fastest rate in decades. The influx has spawned a sweeping transformation of the city, with new residences and office buildings filling the skyline and reinventing commercial districts that once felt hopelessly time-worn.

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PHOTOS

Photos: Boston’s population boom

• Almost everywhere you look, it seems, is a new building site: A dozen towers are rising in the downtown area, and city-wide some 5,300 homes are currently under development. Boylston Street near Fenway Park is humming with construction during the day and crowds of diners at night. Downtown Crossing has lured fine restaurants and hundreds of luxury residences. And even once rough-hewn neighborhoods such as South Boston are increasingly drawing gourmet food stores, hip bars, and tony apartments.

The population surge has thoroughly reversed the suburban migration that began in the 1950s, when Boston peaked at about 800,000 people. Head counts in the South End and downtown

BUYING A HOME: Boston Housing Shortage Daunting For Home Buyers

John and Melissa Smith are eager to sell their three-bedroom home in Waltham and buy something larger now that they have two children. But the starter home the Smiths purchased seven years ago — near the market’s peak — won’t command a high enough price to make a move feasible.

Ashley Krause and her partner, Kerri Scott, are interested in moving from Krause’s family condo in Roslindale to a single-family home, but so far they haven’t found anything enticing enough to justify jumping into the real estate fray.

Those are just two examples of why so many people in the region’s real estate industry — and especially potential home buyers — are asking the same question: Where are all the home sellers?

The number of homes for sale in Massachusetts is at an eight-year low, despite an increasing number of prospective buyers and a housing market that — overall — is on the mend. Some owners can’t afford to sell because they owe more than their properties are worth, while others aren’t yet convinced it’s the right time. The result is the demand for homes far outstrips the meager supply, an equation that threatens to hold back growth in a business crucial to the state’s economy.

“There is nothing on the market for me to want to buy to move into,’’ said Krause, a 31-year-old pharmacist who rents from her sister. “I’m afraid to put her condo up for sale and end up on the street.”

The situation differs dramatically from a few years ago, when the local housing market slowed to a glacial pace following the national subprime mortgage meltdown and tumbling home values. Then, real estate agents were practically begging for people to go house-hunting. Now, potential buyers are out in droves — motivated by low interest rates and renewed confidence in the economy — and it’s homeowners who are on the sidelines.

In Massachusetts, the number of single-family homes for sale fell to 18,329 at the end of January, 27.3 percent fewer than during that month last year and the steepest year-over-year fall in almost a decade, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported this week.

The tight market has prompted robust competition in some of the Boston-area’s more popular neighborhoods, prompting bidding wars and price inflation, real estate agents say. Statewide, homes are selling more quickly than a year ago. Single-family homes remained on the market for an average 114 days in January compared with 128 days in January 2012, the realtors group said.

“More buyers are competing for fewer homes and we are shifting to a stronger seller’s market,’’ said Sam Schneiderman, president of the Massachusetts Association of Buyers Agents.

Concerned the lack of properties for sale could hurt the all-important spring selling season, real estate agents are cold-calling potential sellers, penning handwritten notes, and launching seminars to attract new business. Their universal message — demand is high, supply is low; it’s time to list. “Everybody in the world is trying to reach sellers,” said Alex Coon, a Boston-area manager of the online brokerage firm Redfin.com. “Home-buying classes are brimming over. Anywhere we can find a seller, we are trying to reach them.”

It’s not just that sellers are sparse — it’s that buyers are quickly snatching up attractive homes almost as soon as they are put up for sale. Last year, the Massachusetts housing market began to build momentum. Statewide, 46,887 single-family homes were sold, the most since 2006, according to Warren Group, a Boston company that tracks local real estate. The buzz of activity carried over into January, with sales 10 percent higher than the same month in 2012, Warren Group said.

But some worry that if sellers don’t soon start showing up in greater numbers, the upward sales trajectory will falter.

“If we don’t have the inventory to sell, we won’t be able to continue” improving, said Kimberly Allard-Moccia, the president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and broker-owner of Century 21 Professionals in Braintree.

Currently, there is a 4.7-month supply of single-family homes for sale, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. A balanced market has about 6 months worth of supply according to the Washington, D.C.-based, National Association of Realtors. Anything less tips the market in favor of sellers.

Eric Belsky, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, said the relative lack of homes for sale suggests many interested home buyers are coming from outside the area, or are local first-time home buyers or investors. Otherwise, he said, buyers would be selling their existing properties — leaving local inventory relatively unaffected. Thin inventory puts upward pressure on prices, Belsky said, but it’s still unclear whether the increases are enough to get more people into the market. “It’s an open question,” he said.

John Ranco, a senior sales associate for Hammond Residential Real Estate in Boston’s South End, said many homeowners who couldn’t sell their properties during the recession turned to renting, which currently can be a lucrative source of income in the city. In addition, he said, more Boston residents also have decided to stay in their current homes, lessening the opportunities for newcomers.

Also, thousands of homeowners are still plagued by a recession hangover. Despite the recent upturn, Boston-area home values are down nearly 16 percent since their peak in 2005. So many homeowners owe more to lenders than their properties could fetch for sale.

Other potential sellers are simply doing what some do every year — waiting for the snow to clear. “No one likes muddy boots tramping through their houses,’’ Ranco said.

Meanwhile, real estate agents are becoming more aggressive about targeting sellers.

Steve Mehigan, manager of the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage office in Waltham, said his agents are reaching out to homeowners who unsuccessfully tried to sell their properties with other real estate offices. Sometimes his agents will show up at a homeowner’s door to let them know multiple buyers are interested in their property.

“Our buyer appetite is absolutely voracious,” Mehigan said.

Brian Montgomery, a buyer’s agent with Charlesgate Realty Group in Boston, was so frustrated by his inability to find suitable homes for his clients that he recently published a blog post titled: “Desperately seeking sellers.” It included a wish list of nearly two dozen Boston-area homes his clients would like to buy.

Montgomery listed properties in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge. “We’re hoping that by publishing this list, an owner may wake up from their amnesia,” he wrote, “and realize they actually want to sell their property!”

For Emily Glass, 33, of Arlington, it’s not amnesia that is keeping her in her Arlington condominium. She just doesn’t see any place better. “There is really nothing available,” Glass said.

Krause, the Roslindale condo dweller, said properties she’s toured over the last few months are either too small or lack a yard. But she also gets the irony of her situation — while she searches for the perfect home, her family’s condo remains off the market and out of play for some other prospective buyer.

“Right now, I need some people like me to let their places go,” she said.

LOCAL HOUSING NEWS: Residence tower at TD Garden is OK’d

The Boston Redevelopment Authority has approved construction of 38-story residential tower behind the TD Garden that will include more than 500 apartments, restaurants, and stores.

AvalonBay Communities Inc. will build the tower on Nashua Street, filling empty space between the Garden and the Charles River. The $200 million project, approved by the BRA board Thursday night, also includes construction of a two-story retail arcade that will connect the new tower to Causeway Street and North Station.


Executives with AvalonBay have said they hope to start construction this fall.

“We believe the West End neighborhood and, in particular, North Station, has tremendous potential to become a true nexus within the city for residents, commuters, and others,” said Scott Dale, AvalonBay’s senior vice president of development.


The project is one of several large developments expected to transform the area around the Garden in coming years with more than 1,800 new residences, hotels, office buildings, stores, and restaurants.

Converse Inc. recently committed to move its corporate offices into a large new development at nearby Lovejoy Wharf, and Stop & Shop and Target are considering new stores in a pair of towers being planned in front of the Garden by Boston Properties and Delaware North Cos.

The AvalonBay project, called the Nashua Street Residences, will include a mix of studios, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms, and 32 three-bedroom units. The development also includes 219 parking spaces and a terrace on the 35th floor with views of Boston Harbor and the downtown skyline.

In other business Thursday, the BRA also approved plans for a 177-room hotel in East Boston and construction of a 10-story academic building in Government Center by Suffolk University.

The hotel, to be constructed at the corner of William F. McClellan Highway and Boardman Street, will rise to five stories with an adjacent 346-space parking lot. The project also includes

BOSTON HOUSING NEWS: Residential tower pitched for the Fenway

For years, the gritty retail building at Brookline Avenue and Boylston Street has remained a bystander in the Fenway’s revitalization.

Not anymore.

Developer Samuels & Associates proposes building a 22-story residential tower on the property that would contain 320 residences and a two-story retail base with several new shops and restaurants.

The project, to be called The Point, would result in a modern masonry and glass tower on the triangular lot currently occupied by a D’Angelo sub shop and other businesses. Samuels filed plans for the project Friday with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, kicking off a monthslong review.


The building’s construction would continue a decadelong remake of the Fenway portion of Boylston Street, where Samuels and other developers have already built hundreds of new residences, restaurants, and retail shops.

“This counts as among the most exciting of our projects in the Fenway,” said Peter Sougarides, a Samuels & Associates executive. “In the almost 15 years that we have been working with the neighborhood, this property has always been thought of as a gateway into the Fenway and a key element of the redevelopment of Boylston Street.”

Samuels is currently building the nearby Fenway Triangle project at the corner of Boylston and Kilmarnock streets. That $325 million project will result in new offices, 172 residences, a Target, and several smaller retail shops and restaurants.

Designed by the architecture firm Arquitectonica, The Point would be the most visually striking of the buildings Samuels has developed so far. A rendering shows a wedge-shaped glass tower rising above a two-story base with restaurants and stores.

The windows on its north face would be layered so it looks like a series of glass doors are sliding into one another. In its filing with the city, Samuels said the building is meant to shake up

THE ECONOMY: Tech sector spurs Mass. growth as US economy contracts

No one is calling it a return to boom times, but the state’s economy grew modestly in the ­final three months of 2012, even as the US economy unexpectedly contracted slightly, the University of Massachusetts reported Wednesday.

The contrast offered further evidence the state is rebounding from the recession at a more robust pace than the nation as a whole, largely on the strength of its technology industries.

“This appears to be a slow quarter, but the Massachusetts economy is growing still,” said Alan Clayton-Matthews, a Northeastern University economist and author of the report. “And growth is going to pick up.”

The state’s economy grew at a 1 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, while the Commerce Department said the US economy shrunk at an annual rate of one-tenth of a percent, largely because of a pullback in government spending.

The state growth rates were reported in MassBenchmarks, an economic journal published by UMass and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The decline in US economic growth was the first contraction since the first half of 2009, according to the Commerce Department.Over all of 2012, the Massachusetts economy grew 2.1 percent, compared with 1.5 percent nationally, according to UMass. The state also put people back to work at a faster rate — employment grew by 1.6 percent last year, compared with 1.4 percent nationally. Those figures could change, however, as revisions to the data are made in coming weeks by statistical agencies.

The report put a damper on the recent rally in US stocks, which retreated from five-year highs. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 44 points, or 0.32 percent, to 13,910.42, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5.88 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,501.96. The technology heavy Nasdaq lost 11.35 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 3,142.31.

Economists said the contraction was not the harbinger of another US recession. But Federal Reserve policy makers, meeting in Washington on Wednesday, acknowledged in a statement that the economy had slowed in recent months as a result of Hurricane Sandy and other temporary factors. The Fed said it would maintain its policies to stimulate the economy and keep long- and short-term interest rates low.

Still, the decline surprised many analysts, who had forecast that the national economy grew at the end of last year, albeit weakly. Uncertainty about whether Congress would avoid a scheduled combination of tax increases and deep spending cuts — and potential recession

MARKET TRENDS: Pending Home Sales Fall Due to Dwindling Supply

Signed contracts to buy existing homes fell 4.3 percent in December from the previous month, according to a monthly index from the National Association of Realtors. That missed analysts' expectations of a one percent gain. The index is 6.9 percent higher than December of 2011. Realtors say it is not lack of demand but supply at the end of 2012 that pushed the numbers down.

"Buyer interest remains solid, as evidenced by a separate Realtor survey which shows that buyer foot traffic is easily outpacing seller traffic," wrote Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR in a release.

Much of last year's gains in existing home sales was driven by investor demand for foreclosures and other distressed properties. Millions of dollars, largely in cash, from private equity, flowed into the market, pushing supplies down dramatically and even causing bidding wars in some of the previously hardest hit markets. That pushed prices up in the double-digit range, but critics caution that this is not a real organic recovery in the overall market. These existing sales numbers as well as a disappointing read last week on sales of newly built homes are bolstering that warning.

The Realtors' monthly index fell 5.4 percent in the Northeast month-to-month, rose 0.9 percent in the Midwest, fell 4.5 percent in the South and fell 8.2 percent in the West. The West, and its severely distressed markets like Phoenix and Las Vegas, has been the center of most investor interest and is therefore seeing the lowest supply of properties for sale. The West is also the only region that saw a year-over-year decline in signed sales contracts in December.

Housing inventory usually drops in the winter months, only to rebound in the spring, but this winter has seen a larger than normal decline. Realtors are looking for more homes to come on the market in the spring, but there are still 10.7 million borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, and an additional 2.3 million who have less than five percent equity in their homes, according to CoreLogic. Those homeowners cannot sell without having to pay into their mortgages, so they are largely stuck in place. First-time home buyers are purchasing at an unusually low rate due to tighter credit standards, and many potential sellers simply don't want to list until prices rise more substantially.

"We expect a seasonal rise of inventory in the spring to help, but a seller's market may be developing," notes Yun. "Much of the West is already a seller's market for homes priced under a million dollars, but conditions are much more balanced in the Northeast."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100412357/Pending_Home_Sales_Fall_Due_to_Dwindling_Supply

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS: Panera opens nonprofit Hub cafe

Customers pay what they can afford here

Jonathan Diotalevi wasn’t sure what to expect when he walked into Panera Cares near Government Center on Wednesday, the restaurant’s first day of business. The recent UMass Dartmouth graduate said he doesn’t have a lot of cash and was just looking for a cheap lunch.

A smiling employee greeted Diotalevi at the door, he waited in line, ­ordered a tomato- mozzarella panini, and then asked the clerk, “So, can I, like, just give you two bucks?”

Yes, he could. And he did, dropping the money into a nearby donation bin.

The restaurant at 3 Center Plaza may have been as busy at lunch time as any of the chains’s other cafes nationwide — more than 1,600 of them — but there’s a reason cochief executive Ron Shaich calls this one “a test of human nature.”

The nonprofit outpost of Panera Bread Co. doesn’t have any cash registers, or set prices. Instead, it depends on donations from customers who pay whatever they can afford. The Government Center shop is the fifth of its kind for the St. Louis-based company — the first in this region.

“I think it’s awesome because it’s obviously beneficial for people who are a little less fortunate,” said customer Yanick Belzile of Lowell. “We can ­afford to, so we put in a little bit extra. If we can help someone else who can’t pay for a meal, why not?”

Belzile said he donated about $3 more than the suggested donation, or regular retail price,

NEIGHBORHOODS: Press is on for more hotels in South Boston

1,000-room facility sought next year for Convention Center

State officials want to start construction on a pair of midpriced hotels across from the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center this year, and follow in 2014 with a larger 1,000-room hotel on one of two sites off Summer Street.

The timetable was laid out Monday night during a public hearing on the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority’s plans to expand the massive convention complex. The authority’s director of capital projects, Howard Davis, said the hotel rooms are badly needed to support the South Boston hall and that officials must take steps to get them developed.

“If we continue to wait for these hotels to happen on their own, they are probably not going to happen,” he said, noting that the facility has about 1,700 rooms within a half mile, compared to competing cities that average about 7,600 within that distance.

Private developers have not stepped up to build new hotels in recent years, so the authority is seeking to entice them by purchasing land for their development on D Street and committing to build a 1,350-space parking garage to serve their guests.

The authority paid about $33 million to buy the property last year, and two bidders recently submitted proposals to build 450 and 500 hotel rooms, respectively.

‘If we continue to wait for these hotels to happen on their own, they are probably not going to happen.’

Commonwealth Ventures, which is the developer of the nearby Channel Center complex, wants to build a 275-room Aloft Hotel and a 175-room Element Hotel, which would feature extended-stay rooms. Both would be operated by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

Carpenter & Co. is proposing a 300-room Hyatt Place hotel and a Hyatt House with 200 extended-stay rooms. A winning bidder is expected to be selected by the end of February.

Development of the D Street hotels is the first step in a broader $2 billion expansion that would include a 1,000-room headquarters hotels, a doubling of the convention center’s exhibit space, and construction of public parks and retail stores. Davis said the goal is to start construction of hotels in the next two years, and follow with the new exhibit space in 2015.

During last night’s meeting, a couple of residents expressed concerns that the development of additional hotels would encroach on South Boston neighbors and worsen traffic problems.

But Davis said the hotels on D Street will help provide more business to the convention

MARKET TRENDS: Home Prices Could Jump 9.7% in 2013, J.P. Morgan Says

Home-price forecasts for 2013 are on the rise.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. expects U.S. home prices to rise 3.4% in its base-case estimate and up to 9.7% in its most bullish scenario of economic growth. Standard & Poor’s, which rates private-issue mortgage bonds, on Friday said it expects a 5% rise in 2013.

The J.P. Morgan analysts boosted their base-case estimate from 1.5% after a convincing rise in the “net demand” for housing this year has surpassed 2 million homes for the first time since 2006, said John Sim, a strategist at the investment bank. Net demand is the pace of existing home sales minus the inventory of homes available for sale.

“Net demand has picked up a lot in 2012,” said Mr. Sim. “Once you get north of the 2 million territory, you are in the positive growth area unless you get a lot of distressed inventory, which this year hit a low point” since at least 2008, he added. J.P. Morgan predicts that net demand to rise from 2.7 million next year from 2.3 million this year.

An expected increase in home prices in 2012 triggered a run into some of the riskiest real estate assets, such as subprime mortgage-backed securities from the real estate boom, and analysts including Mr. Sim expect that trend to continue. Rising home prices and the quest for yield has also given a tailwind to new mortgage bond issuance that has been mired in the fallout of the housing crisis and regulatory uncertainty for the past four years.

U.S. home prices nationwide increased on a year-over-year basis by 6.3% in October, the biggest increase since June 2006, according to CoreLogic. Investors zoning in on the increases bought subprime mortgage bonds, which have posted returns of more than 40% since December.

Home price increases could exceed J.P. Morgan’s base forecast if investors seeking yield push deeper into real estate, according to Mr. Sim’s home price report.

That may already be happening, considering recent comments by Luke Scolastico, a vice president at Credit Suisse, one of two issuers of mortgage bonds without government backing since the financial crisis. Credit Suisse is increasing its purchases of jumbo loans to meet demand for securities it sees from investors, he said on an American Securitization Forum panel this week.

“We’re buying loans, every day…and (on the month,) more than the month before,” Mr. Scolastico said. Part of the reason is because of home price appreciation, but also because of the “technical demand” for relatively higher yielding assets as Federal Reserve policies depress interest rates, he said.

New mortgage bond sales from other issuers, including investment banks, could boost

BOSTON HOUSING NEWS: Hopes are high for new development in Roslindale

The hulking power substation stands vacant at the edge of Roslindale Square, a bleak remnant of the network that powered trolley cars in Boston more than a century ago.

The Roslindale substation was one of several in Boston neighborhoods that supported the old streetcar network.

Out of use for 40 years, the brick building has slowly deteriorated into an eyesore that belies both its proud history and prime spot overlooking an active business district.

Now, after years of false starts, the city-owned substation is poised for a dramatic transformation: a mixed-use complex with dozens of apartments, restaurants, and a produce market.

The project, led by local nonprofits and a Rhode Island developer, involves restoring the original details of the 1911 building, designed by the prominent Boston architect Robert S. Peabody, and constructing about 40 apartments on an adjacent lot.


The substation itself will house a restaurant, small cafe, and the produce market. Pending city approvals, the developers hope to begin construction next fall.

The project would refurbish the building’s massive arched
windows, many of which were bricked over years ago.
 About 40 apartments would be built on an adjacent lot.

“This is going to completely change the way people see that corner,” said Kathy Kottaridis, executive director of Historic Boston Inc., one of the nonprofits leading the project. “It’s an exciting economic opportunity for this building.”

The project would refurbish the building’s massive arched windows, many of which were bricked over years ago. About 40 apartments would be built on an adjacent lot.

The project will refurbish the building’s massive arched windows — many of which were bricked over years ago — and create a stronger visual connection to Adams Park at the center of Roslindale Village. Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a longtime supporter of the substation’s revitalization, said the effort will save a key piece of Boston’s history and bring the dilapidated building “back to active life in the community.”

The substation was one of several in Boston neighborhoods that supported the old streetcar network that led to a period of rapid growth in the city.

Historic Boston is working on the project with Roslindale Village Main Street. Those groups

LOCAL NEWS: Western Mass. viewed as territory for fracking

The possibility that Western Massachusetts may hold limited deposits of shale gas is catapulting the contentious issue of hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, into the state.

An industry-supported group plans to hold a daylong session Thursday at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to tell landowners and the public about gas extraction, six months after a federal study mentioned the likelihood of gas deposits in the Pioneer Valley.

While the state probably does not have expansive reserves, American Ground Water Trust executive director Andrew Stone said that small-scale gas development could begin in several years, and landowners need to be given “calm, objective facts.”

“The facts are, [a study] drew a circle around the middle of Massachusetts” where shale gas could be found, said Stone, whose New Hampshire group includes representatives from engineering and chemical companies on its board.


“We want landowners, individuals, and the community to understand there could be drilling, and they need to be ready for it,” Stone said.

‘I can’t say if there is a lot of gas or little gas. We really won’t know unless industry becomes interested.’


Geologists say it is unlikely the deposits will be extracted anytime soon, because they are probably too small, scattered, and of questionable quality.

No companies have expressed interest in exploring for shale gas, state officials say, and the type of wells needed to get to the gas is prohibited in the state.


Still, a group opposed to fracking has formed through the Pioneer Valley Green-Rainbow Party and the Western Massachusetts chapter of Progressive Democrats of America, with the goal of banning the process.

“We know that it is probably not going to happen in Massachusetts now, but the technology advances so rapidly it is best to take precautions,’’ said Peter Vickery, a lawyer and cochairman of the Pioneer Valley Green-Rainbow Party. He is speaking at the conference to give the Sierra Club’s perspective on fracking.

Hydraulic fracking is a controversial technology that involves injecting pressurized water mixed with chemicals and sand deep into the earth to free large reserves of natural gas trapped in rock.

As its use increases, so have concerns over gas or chemicals seeping into drinking water and

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Even higher heating bills in new forecast for winter

Figures exceed predictions made in October

Despite recent mild temperatures, colder days — and higher heating bills — are still on their way, according to a forecast released Tuesday by the federal government.

Heating oil consumers can expect to pay a record high average of $2,544 to warm their homes this winter, about $450 more than last year, according to an analysis by the Energy Information Administration.

Tuesday’s estimates were slightly higher than those released earlier in the season. In October, the agency predicted an average cost of $2,494 for the winter. Even a small increase, however, can have a significant effect in the Northeast, where 32 percent of households depend on oil heat, a considerably bigger proportion than elsewhere in the country.

Those who rely on natural gas — about 51 percent of Northeasterners — will pay an average of $1,031, close to $200 higher than last year. That estimate is about $20 higher than predicted in October, but overall prices have been falling as new sources of natural gas have become available in the ­United States.

Heating bills are expected to be that much higher because the government forecasts a more typical winter. Last year’s unusually warm weather kept thermostats lower, but this year the government expects consumption for heating oil and natural gas customers to increase by about 18 percent.

The rising cost of oil heat is of particular concern for low-income households that depend on federal fuel assistance to warm their homes. Applications are flooding in to the offices of Action for Boston Community Development Inc., an agency that administers heating aid in Boston and surrounding municipalities, said its president, John Drew. Last year, the group processed 18,000 applications; this year he expects to see as many as 24,000.

“We have an awful lot of people in need,” he said. “They’re more desperate than last year.”

And the aid they get may not be enough, he said. The maximum heating oil benefit this year will

THE ECONOMY: Fed Survey Shows Economy Improving in Most Regions

WASHINGTON — A pickup in consumer spending and steady home sales helped lift economic growth in October and early November in most parts of the United States, according to a Federal Reservesurvey released Wednesday. The one exception was the Northeast, which was slowed by Hurricane Sandy.

The New York Times

Growth improved in nine of the Fed’s 12 regional banking districts, the survey said. Growth was weaker in New York, Philadelphia and Boston — areas where the storm caused widespread disruptions.

The survey noted that growth improved despite nervousness about the automatic tax increases and spending cuts that could kick in next year if Congress and the Obama administration cannot reach a budget deal before then.

Hiring increased in more than half of the districts. But manufacturing shrank or slowed in seven regions and was mixed in two others.

The report, called the Beige Book, provides anecdotal information on economic conditions around the country from October through Nov. 14. The information collected by the regional banks will be used as the basis for the Fed’s policy discussion at the Dec. 11-12 meeting.

Many economists say they believe that the Fed could announce plans to buy more Treasury bonds at that meeting to replace a program set to expire at the end of the year. The goal of the program is to lower long-term interest rates and encourage more borrowing and spending.

In another economic report Wednesday, the Commerce Department said sales of new homes fell slightly in October, and September sales were slower than initially thought. The October sales pace was dragged lower by steep declines on the East Coast, partly related to the storm.

New-home sales dipped 0.3 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of

THE ECONOMY: U.S. construction spending climbs on housing rebound

Dec 3 (Reuters) - U.S. construction spending rose in October by the most in five months, with stronger spending on homes outpacing tepid gains in business and government projects.

Construction spending climbed 1.4 percent to an annual rate of $872.1 billion, the highest level in over three years, the Commerce Department said on Monday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 0.5 percent gain.

The department also said superstorm Sandy, which hit the East Coast at the end of October, likely had a minimal effect on the data.

Home building is expected to add to economic growth this year for the first time since 2005, although the housing sector remains a shadow of what it was before the 2007-09 recession.

Spending on private residential projects rose 3 percent in October, a reflection of this year's improving housing market.

Muting the gain in overall construction, however, private spending on nonresidential projects edged up just 0.3 percent.

Businesses have shown signs they are holding back on investments because federal austerity plans could trigger a recession next year, and the construction data could be another sign of

BOSTON HOUSING NEWS: Mass. home sales up 22% in first 10 months

Buy­ers snapped up more than 4,000 sin­gle-fam­ily homes in Mas­sachusetts last month, push­ing the num­ber of statewide sales for the first 10 months of 2012 above the to­tal for all of last year.

War­ren Group, a Bos­ton real es­tate track­ing com­pany, re­ported Tues­day that home sales in Oc­to­ber in­creased by 21 per­cent, to 4,044, com­pared with the same month last year, re­flect­ing in­creased op­ti­mism about the state’s hous­ing mar­ket.

Sales be­tween Jan­uary and Oc­to­ber rose to 39,491, a 22 per­cent in­crease com­pared with those months in 2011.

“Record low mort­gage rates, an im­proved econ­omy, and grow­ing con­sumer con­fi­dence are boost­ing the hous­ing mar­ket in Mas­sachusetts and around the coun­try,” said Ti­mothy M. War­ren Jr., War­ren Group’s chief ex­ec­u­tive.

The me­dian home price re­mained rel­a­tively flat, how­ever. For a sin­gle­fam­ily home, it held at $270,000 in Oc­to­ber, sim­i­lar to 12 months ear­lier, War­ren Group said.

Between Jan­uary and Oc­to­ber, the me­dian value slipped to $287,500, down nearly 1 per­cent com­pared with Oc­to­ber 2011. That means half the prop­er­ties sold above that price and half sold for less.

The state’s con­do­minium mar­ket fared slightly bet­ter.

Condo sales were up 48.8 per­cent in Oc­to­ber, com­pared with the same time last year. The me­dian price rose to $255,000, less than 1 per­cent higher than Oc­to­ber 2011.

Between Jan­uary and Oc­to­ber, the me­dian price for con­dos went up

slightly to $275,000, less than 1 per­cent higher than a year ear­lier.

The Mas­sachusetts As­so­ci­a­tion of Real­tors, which also re­leased data on Tues­day, of­fered slightly bet­ter hous­ing num­bers.

The as­so­ci­a­tion said that the me­dian value of a sin­gle-fam­ily home in­creased mod­estly in Oc­to­ber to $287,000, 4.4 per­cent above the Oc­to­ber 2011 me­dian.

The me­dian condo price rose to $265,000, up 2 per­cent com­pared with that month last year.

The as­so­ci­a­tion tracks data from three af­fil­i­ated list­ing ser­vices, while War­ren Group bases its

BOSTON HOUSING NEWS: State may not qualify for post-Sandy federal aid

Massachusetts homes and businesses were probably not hit hard enough by Hurricane Sandy to qualify for additional federal disaster aid, a state official said Friday.

Though many Bay State homes sustained damage from falling trees and flooding — and hundreds of thousands temporarily lost power — the uninsured damage total probably fell short of federal requirements for President Obama to sign a “major disaster declaration” for the state. There is no precise damage threshold for states to qualify for such a declaration, but they must paint a picture of extensive damage.

“We literally would have to come up with hundreds of homes that were uninhabitable,” said Peter Judge, spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

It’s still possible, Judge said, that the state could qualify for federal assistance to repave roads and repair other storm-ravaged government property. State government agencies would need to identify at least $9 million in damage to public infrastructure from the storm.


The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has received preliminary reports of significant damage on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, but state inspectors are still surveying it.

The federal government has issued “major disaster declarations” for parts of New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Eqecat, a California firm that creates computer models to calculate the risk from storms, estimated that 84 percent of the $10 billion to $20 billion in insured losses from Sandy occurred

NEWS: Dealing With Delayed Closings After Hurricane Sandy

THE extensive power failures that have paralyzed the region in the wake of Hurricane Sandy have understandably delayed closings in mortgage deals that had otherwise been buttoned up. But lenders are adding to the logistical bottleneck by requiring that properties in affected areas be reinspected for damage.

“If you are in a FEMA-declared disaster area or emergency area,” said Jason Auerbach, a divisional manager for First Choice Loan Services, of Morganville, N.J., “banks are requiring an inspection of the home to affirm whether there was damage done. They are reinspecting properties to make sure it’s still a functional property that can be lived in.”

FEMA has declared disaster areas in much of coastal New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. However, even properties outside these areas may still be subject to another inspection because of agreements with the investors who bought closed loans, noted Joshua Weinberg, the senior vice president for compliance of First Choice.

For properties in areas that didn’t suffer extensive storm damage, the inspection may constitute no more than a drive-by. The delay in such cases may be no more than a few days.

Both buyer and seller may also be required to sign a form attesting that they agree the property suffered no storm-related damage. Regardless, buyers should do a thorough walk-through well before the day of closing, advises Scott Penner, a real estate lawyer in Milford, Conn.

“What we don’t want to have the day of the closing is that they go into the property and see

NEWS: housing market set to continue strong into 2013

The housing market recovery should continue through the coming years, assuming there are no further limitations on the availability of mortgage credit or a "fiscal cliff," according to forecast presentations at a residential forum here at the 2012 Realtors^®Conference and Expo.

Lawrence Yun , chief economist of the National Association of Realtors^®, said the housing market clearly turned around in 2012. "Existing-home sales, new-home sales and housing starts are all recording notable gains this year in contrast with suppressed activity in the previous four years, and all of the major home price measures are showing sustained increases," he said.

"Disruption from Sandy likely will be temporary, notably in New Jersey and New York, but the market is likely to pick up speed within a few months with the need to build new homes in damaged areas," Yun added.

Yun sees no threatening signs for inflation in 2013, but projects it to be in the range of 4 to 6 percent by 2015. "The huge federal budget deficit is likely to push up borrowing costs and raise inflation well above 2 percent," he said.

Rising rents, quantitative easing (the printing of money), federal spending outpacing revenue, and a national debt equal to roughly 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product are all raising inflationary pressures.

Mortgage interest rates are forecast to gradually rise and to average 4.0 percent next year, and 4.6 percent in 2014 from the inflationary pressure.

With rising demand and an ongoing decline in housing inventory, Yun expects meaningfully higher home prices. The national median existing-home price should rise 6.0 percent to $176,100 for all of 2012, and increase another 5.1 percent next year to $185,200; comparable gains are seen in 2014.

"Real estate will be a hedge against inflation, with values rising 15 percent cumulatively over