Audubon Park condos to be auctioned Oct. 19

Twenty-five stunning condominiums at Audubon Park in West Fenway, just off Beacon Street, will be auctioned at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, at the Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave.

“What’s really important about this auction is that, when Audubon Park was bought by Jonathan Davis five months ago, it was with the purpose of re-auctioning the development,” said Sue Hawkes of Velocity Marketing Services, which is handling the auction.

She said it was the first time in Boston that a developer had purchased a property at auction with the intent to auction it again shortly thereafter and may even be the first time that this has happened nationally.

Davis is founder and CEO of The Davis Companies, and it was an affiliate, DIV Miner St. LLC, that acquired the property at auction for $13.51 million.

Velocity Marketing Services, a division of The Collaborative Companies, handled the June auction of the American Brewery Lofts in Jamaica Plain, when 21 lofts were sold in a half hour.

It also oversaw the auction of the 1850 at 90 Waltham St. in the South End last year to close out that development.

Audubon Park is six-story, 65,000-square-foot building of precast brick, glass and silver metal cladding.

A second bedroom, newly painted, at Audubon Park has been staged as a home office.

Designed by the Architectural Team of Chelsea, it comprises 18 different floor plans. It was completed two years ago and includes a two-level 34-car garage that wraps around a tunnel for the MBTA’s Green-D Line.

Two studios, five one-bedroom units with one bath and 11 two-bedroom condos with two baths, plus seven residences with two bedrooms and two baths will be auctioned. Ken Cullum will be the auctioneer.

Single parking spaces are available for an additional price, either $60,000 or $70,000, depending on which floor it is located in the garage. A tandem space is available for $100,000.

Bids will start at between 46 and 59 percent lower than the last asking price.

Minimum bids range from $195,000 for a 663-square-foot studio on the fifth floor to $325,000 for a 1,067-square-foot, two-bed, two-bath home on the sixth floor.

A living room in one of the condominiums has been furnished to serve as a model. The kitchen is open to the living/dining area, which has bamboo flooring.

When the property first came on the market two-and-a-half years ago, the developer described the design of Audubon Park as “Asian fusion,” with clean lines, high-end finishes and a glass-walled entry framed by a curved wood pergola.

A green stone concierge station anchors the expansive and inviting lobby with a stone floor and two stainless steel elevators. Artwork is displayed on the newly papered walls.

The interiors feature wide-plank, carbonized bamboo flooring and kitchen cabinets built of burnt sienna rubberwood. Both the rubberwood and bamboo are renewable.

The kitchens have glass-topped Bosch electric ranges, convection ovens, microwaves and full-size, front-loaded stacked washer/dryers and Fisher & Paykel refrigerators with bottom freezers.

The granite counters are either honed Absolute black, Baltic brown or Carioca gold.

The bedrooms are carpeted, and the white baths boast marble-topped vanities with contrasting ceramic-tiled floors that echo the palette of the kitchen counters.

For example, the Carrara marble vanity contrasts with Asian black floor tiles and light gray tub surrounds in the units with Absolute black granite.

The –08 units feature two bedrooms and 1,084 square feet of space. This kitchen in Unit 508 has a honed Absolute black granite peninsula and two pendant lights.

Botticino Classico marble, Egyptian beige floor tiles and almond wall tiles are in the baths of condos with Carioca gold granite.

The third color scheme is Rosa Aurora marble, Indian red floor tiles and blush surround tiles in the condos with Baltic brown granite counters in the kitchen. 

Many of the units have Juliet balconies, and many of the units have more than one exposure. CAT-wiring with connections for telephone and cable are in each room.

The rooftop holds a single source of heating and cooling in an elaborate system of gas burners, eliminating the need for a hot water tank in each unit.

In addition to the all-new construction, its location is advantageous as well. It is close to two MBTA Green Lines – C and D – and to the Longwood Academic and Medical Area. Fenway Park is not far away either.

Just 12 units had been sold before the developer, 16 Miner Street LLC, defaulted on a construction loan held by California’s beleaguered lender, IndyMac, according to public records. OneWest Bank took IndyMac out of FDIC receivership and then sued the developer for repayment of the construction loan.

In late April, DIV Miner Street LLC purchased the 41 unsold units and 22 parking spaces at a foreclosure auction.

At that time, Davis told Banker & Tradesman he had not decided whether the units would be sold or rented.

A wood pergola frames the entryway of Audubon Park, located off Beacon Street.

However, last week, the master deed for the Audubon Park condominiums was amended to broaden regulations governing pets and tighten bylaws that forbid an undergraduate college student from owning a condo, although there are some exceptions. Subletting would be subject to approval by the condominium trustees.

The Oct. 19 auction will establish the market value of these condos, at which time prices will be set for the remaining 13 units and sold conventionally, explained Hawkes. Three affordable condos will be sold at below-market prices, which will be advertised through the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Information about the auction is available at the www.audubonauction.com and by phone at 617-266-0661.

An on-site sales center will accept registrations for the auction. Sales staff will show the condos between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.