21 Lee Street - Unit 3L Cambridge, MA : Mid Cambridge 02139
List Price: $449,000
Territory Rebate: $6,230

Charm and character throughout this lovely two bedroom Condo in a circa 1851 Victorian building on a tree lined street in desirable mid Cambridge. Featuring a formal dining room with hutch, a sun room/office, hardwood floors, high ceilings, lots of built ins, in unit laundry and tall windows, making this a bright and airy space. Additional features are a large private storage room, a spacious outdoor deck, and hard to find deeded garage. Fantastic location between Harvard an Central Square.

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Listing courtesy of Bob Bittelari @ Century 21 Adams. This property information was gathered from third party sources including the seller and public records and was complied by MLS Property Information Network, Inc. Territory Real Estate, LLC disclaims any and all representations or warranties as to its accuracy.

MLS #: 70832150 - Condo - Low-Rise
Address: 81 Pine Street - Unit 2 Cambridge, MA : Central Square
List Price: $389,900
Territory Rebate: $4,753

Listing Office: Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Cambridge - Huron Ave.
Seller’s Agent: Fawn Ren
Buyer’s Agent: Mary Hios

Location: Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered around the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street and Western Avenue. Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street and Main Street, is also considered a part of the Central Square area. Harvard Square is to the northwest along Massachusetts Avenue, Inman Square is to the north along Prospect Street and Kendall Square is to the east along Main Street.

Central Square is known for its wide variety of ethnic restaurants, bars and live music and theatre venues. It is gentrifying rapidly, and a number of upscale restaurants have opened in the Square. Many startups, including pharmaceutical, videogame and Internet companies, have moved research and office operations into the Square to take advantage of the proximity to MIT, Boston medical resources and relatively low costs. - Wikipedia.com

Three Up:

1. 2 Bedrooms and 2 Full Baths
2. Central AC
3. Low Condo Fee at $139.50

Three Down:

1. $429 Price per Sq Ft
2: Forced Hot Air Heat
3. Off-Site Property Management

Guide’s Opinion: New renovation is rare to find so close to Central Square. This is a beautiful unit that’s also situated on a quiet , residential street. What’s also appealing is that the 2 full-sized bedrooms and 2 full baths are perfect for sharing. This unit is great as an investment, for students or couples. The only downside for this Guide would be the price. At $429 per square foot it is slightly higher than Central Square averages, and the price has already dropped once from $389,900. Might be smart to wait, or it might get snatched up fast…either way, it’s definitely worth a look.

Territory Rating: Buy

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And by “this” I am referring to this ….

This bugs me [almost] everyday … I am walking down Mass Ave through Central Square on my way to Dunkin Donuts for a morning brew. I attempt to window shop for entertainments sake and realize there is NOTHING TO LOOK AT ! I have probably had this discussion 900909090 million times because I just can’t - won’t ever - understand how prime commercial real estate is not being utilized in Central Square, Cambridge.

Central Square is perfectly sandwiched between MIT and Harvard - primo! - flooded with students, professors and business persons alike (trust me, try driving down mass ave between 3:30-6:30pm you will be yielding for 30 minutes) - aka retail customers = cha-ching$ … Yet, somehow, some way, nada. But walk another 4 blocks past central square and whala! Harvard Square. A place filled with wonderful shops, boutiques, cafes, restaurants and bars.

Central Square is not a cheap place to live. The median condo price is $333,000 with an average price/ square foot of $401. Compared to distinguished Harvard Square’s median price of $400,000 and $527 price/square foot, that is pretty high considering. Despite Centrals lack of retail it still has the draw: two of this countries greatest learning institutions and this will never go away and therefore real estate prices will remain stable if not continue to increase … So, why not meet the demand? I think it’s a million dollar question.

Ok, ok … dont start freaking out … I am NOT suggesting a high rise but I wouldn’t mind the proposal just for PR’s sake

Work with me here. Picture this:

Start your morning at Arlington St and work your way down Newbury to Mass Ave, take a right, walk just 10 minutes over Harvard Bridge and shop your way from MIT to Harvard Square, grab yourself lunch or dinner and cab it home. Genius. If you were really aggressive (or had awesome sneakers) you could even start on Charles St in Beacon Hill, work your way over to Newbury and then head to Central Square.

My point, I think Central Square has been on “the verge of greatness” so can someone please do something? Or perhaps tell me something?

Toscanini’s, Cambridge’s Central Square ice cream and coffee shop was seized by the department of revenue last week after the owners failed to pay more than $167,000 in taxes dating back to 2000. - boston.com

Today they reopened after handing over more than $30,000, raised from fans over the last five days. - savetosci.com

“Owner, Mimi Rancatore, said all of the money raised has been turned over to the state, and even though the website surpassed its fundraising goal of $25,000, she plans to keep it going for awhile.”

Not sure if we should be totally horrified that the owners of Toscanini failed to pay taxes for the last seven year and walked away scott free or incredibly proud that the residents of a neighborhood and customers of a business came together to save something they all cared about.

Mimi, clearly you have built something of value and something that is important to people, I hope you will take better care of it going forward and for the love of god, take down the website already, its time to start paying your own damn taxes.

Viva Toscanini’s Coffee!

The condominium market in Cambridge is soaring. Cambridge condo sales have jumped 33 percent, while the median prices increased 1.4%. Cambridge condo sellers have been fetching 96 percent of the original asking price, up from 95 percent a year ago. - Banker & Tradesme

NY investors buy a block of Cambridge buildings including 479, 485 and 493 Massachusetts Ave., as well as 49 Bishop Allen Dr. The Central Square purchase comes amidst a renaissance for the business district. Mixed-use projects as University Park at MIT have arrived to bring new businesses such as medical research there. More recently, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG has infused the area by occupying more than one million sf in several buildings on Massachusetts Avenue, while investors have turned to overhauling properties in the retail section of Central Square. - GlobeSt.com