Newly Completed Harborview Condos takes Drastic Turn - Now Rentals

Harborview on the Navy Yard has been under construction for the past two years or so. The 224-unit, mixed-use condo development, also includes nearly 26,000 square-feet of retail space, and was just completed within the past few weeks, on the Charlestown waterfront. The development's sales center has been welcoming potential buyers, and brokers, for about the past 18 months, and sales of the residences seemed to going pretty steadily. However one of the main partners in the project, Trammell Crow Residential, recently announced that the residential development was now going to be "repositioned for sale as an upscale mixed-use rental development."

In an article in the most recent issue of Banker and Tradesman, the principal of Trammell Crow Residential, Joseph Torg, explained "with mortgage markets tightening nationwide and local housing sales continuing their slowdown, we determined that the best direction for the project is to reposition the property as an upscale rental building."

It's unfortunate that developers couldn't lower the listing prices on the residences to promote quicker sales, and keep the waterfront development as residential ownership. However it's hard to disagree with the present increase in rental rates, and the growing market concerns, that the developers are trying to take advantage of potential buyers in the market who have decided to rent property for a while until, in their mind, the condo and mortgage markets become more attractive. There has been no word, as of yet, as to when the development will begin to accept rental applications from prospective tenants.