South Boston has three sleek new condos

Nearly two years ago, on Oct. 30, 2009, architect Tim Johnson applied for a permit to build a low-rise residential building in South Boston at 3A Telegraph St. with high quality living space and off-street parking.

The vacant lot at the corner East Eighth and Telegraph streets once was the location of a store with living quarters above. During the 1980s, a buyer had planned to start a restaurant on the first floor, but after a fire, the building was razed.

Working with Liam Foley and William Murray, Johnson planned to create three condominiums with side decks built above a garage. The garage entrance would be one story below, accessed from East Eighth Street.

Now the building is nearly complete, and Tia Zaferakis of Jack Conway & Company is marketing the three brand new condominiums at 3A Telegraph.

Unit 1 has 1,352 +/- square feet with two bedrooms, two full baths, a chef’s kitchen open to a large living room with a gas fireplace, a side deck and a deeded garage parking space for $479,000. 

Unit 2 is almost identical to Unit 1, but it has 1,526 +/- square feet with three bedrooms and a one-car parking space. It is listed for $499,000. 

The main living space boasts an open plan and is perfect for entertaining.

Unit 3, the penthouse, is nearly identical to Unit 2 except that it has 1,579 +/- square feet of living space, two garage parking spaces and a roof deck as well as the side deck. Its list price is $535,000.  

No. 3A is near the base of Telegraph Hill. Looking up the street, you can see the beautiful Dorchester Heights Monument in Thomas Park at the top of the hill, framed by the houses on each side of the street. 

In the other direction a majestic brick church gives another pleasurable view. Both landmarks can be enjoyed from inside the units at 3A Telegraph as well. 

The building is deceptive on the Telegraph Street side. It is narrow and has what appear to be two front doors. Actually, the door on the right opens to a foyer with six steps that lead to a spacious landing. 

The door on the left opens to a lift that also has stops in the basement garage below and the spacious landing above. From this narrow front, the building stretches out to become almost three times wider at the back.

In Unit 1 the door on the landing opens to a long hallway that passes a good-sized bedroom with a walk-in closet and then a storage room, which Zaferakis points out is plenty large enough for an office.

The master bedroom, which is on the left, is even larger than the first bedroom and also has a walk-in closet. The en suite marble-floored bath has a combination shower and whirlpool soaking tub. Near the ceiling a course of colored tile is set into the pale-tiled tub surround.

The narrow front of the new building at 3A Telegraph St. belies the expansive condos within.

Farther down the hallway on the right are another bath with a shower and a pocket door at the far end that opens to a storage room and laundry room.

The hallway concludes at the large, open living room with wide crown molding. Seven windows in the far wall have beautiful molding that makes their fitted blinds the only window treatment necessary.

Through the window near the kitchen is a view of the Prudential Tower and the R2-D2-like building at 111 Huntington Ave.

At the other end of the room a gas fireplace has a natural wood mantel and a surround of small tan bricks.

The floors throughout are gleaming maple. There is surround sound and an iPod dock.

The kitchen fills one corner of the room, but less than a fourth of the entire room.

The main focal point in the living room of these condos is the gas fireplace.

The counters and the island that is shaped to fit the space are covered with handsome granite.

Seating is available on the living room side of the island, and pendant lights hang above it.

The kitchen cabinets are a sable brown and contain special features such a narrow shelf that pulls out for storage of herbs and spices.

The stainless steel appliances are all from the top-of-the-line Frigidaire Gallery series and include a side-by-side refrigerator/freezer with interior temperature read-outs and ice and water service on the exterior freezer door, a dishwasher, and a five-burner gas range with a microwave/exhaust fan above it.

The backsplash is made of brick-shaped glass tiles. A door beside the refrigerator opens to a large pantry.

A door beside the fireplace opens to the back stairwell. In the wall beside it another door opens to the large Trek deck.  

On the garage level a privacy fence surrounds the yard.

A hops vine there looks elegant against the fence.

The roof deck is unique to Unit 3, but all three condos in the building have a side deck.

Units 2 and 3 are almost identical to Unit 1 except that they have an extra bedroom in the space taken by the foyer and the landing on the first level. Unit 3 has a roof deck as well where the views include Boston, the John F. Kennedy Library and Boston Harbor.  

DETAILS

Address: 3A Telegraph St., South Boston

Unit 1: Two bedrooms, two baths, 1,352 +/- square feet, $479,000. Condo fee, $122 per month

Unit 2: Three bedrooms, two baths, 1,526 +/- square feet, $499,000. Condo fee, $127 per month

Unit 3: Three bedrooms, two baths, 1,579 +/- square feet, $535,000. Condo fee, $133 per month

Age: 2011

Taxes: to be determined 

Features of the building: Brand new construction by a well known group; lift that stops at the garage, Telegraph Street and first level landing; parking garage on lowest level. 

Features of the units: Open floor plan with large living rooms, chef’s kitchens with granite countertops and center islands with seating area, stainless steel top-of-the-line appliances, large pantry; gleaming maple floors, crown molding, gas fireplaces; whirlpool soaking tubs, laundry and storage rooms; surround sound and iPod docks; separate Trek decks; roof deck in Unit 3; central heat and air conditioning.

Close by: Shopping and restaurants on Broadway; historic Dorchester Heights; beaches; easy access to MBTA buses to trains and downtown Boston and the Back Bay, Routes 93 and 90.

Contact: Tia Zaferakis, Jack Conway & Company, Realtor, 739 East Broadway, Boston, MA 02127. Phones: 617-269-8310 (office) or 617-699-6268 (cell).

Websites: www.jackconway.com or www.tiazaferakis.com

An open house will be held at this property Sunday, Sept. 18, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.