The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 161

A33 'Ott Voston (131otic Real Estate News A34 New Hampshire A79 Apartments A90 SUNDAY. MAY 3. 1987 NENA GROSKIND The old and new A (Q) Intown rezoning may trim projects i 4 1 I 4 A''' ,,00: ex, 1 il 0 '''S), ,1:1 0,41 ...,..0,04 4 ,,,1 ft i v. 'sc ir J-44," '1 7- ..,00 --c r- .,..0,0 4741, 0,01101 4 fa' '4 A-4 0100 ".971 .1:2 2 ik I 1,..4,, 7 4, i i 1 lorol 1 4 1 0 1 1. i Ile tri! if rl 1 1 1,1 eit A 1 i 116.1-' 1 11 i 1---, e- l' ille, r-- ri ,1,,..1 1,, -------i 1 It I 4.......,, f' i 1 1 -11-'L 11 I 1 3 .3 3 333 13' 4 il At-N.

NO 1 i I 1 IF voW-3, T.77 3' 3. 3 3 4 3 Ltk ti10.0,00q041C:1 toot ..7. fly' ill 00 Globe staff photoJoseph Rood with new parent, 101 Arch St. behind. Kennedy store facade begins to blend A year ago, the wall was all that was 't.

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Atilloit 1 I 1, .....1:2.1 4 i 0,1 tit i. i 't ---I i 401 '-'1'. --1 1 0,,,, 1 "'ii 1 Kennedy store facade attached to rising building By Anthony J. Yudis Globe Staff A three-story facade section of the old Kennedy Department Store building downtown orphaned when the rest of the building was demolished to make way for a new office structure was left hanging far above the ground for months. The brick wall in the air was a puzzle to many passing pedestrians trying to figure out what the builders had in mind by leaving it so strangely but carefully behind.

But the wall now has been adopted by a new office building under construction, 101 Arch and the old building is now firmly fixed to the new. One hundred and fifty-five tons of steel bracing, which had supported the three-story facade, were removed recently by structural engineers from the George Hyman Construction Co. and KBNA. Tucker Lynch. project manager for Lincoln Property developer of the new 21-story office structure rising behind, said it took three months to erect the braces but only two weeks to take them down.

The top three floors will become part of the base for the new building. The first two were demolished. and only the steel upgrights were saved since the original facade on the lower section had been altered over the years and had no historic relationship to the original building. Lincoln Property, headed locally by John B. Hynes 3d, will fill in the void by replicating the original facade of the two lower floors.

Although the top three floors of the original 1873 building were held up just by the steel supports for a year, Lynch said there was no "I had a lot of faith in our engineers," he said, "but I admit 1 was holding my breath while the facade was hanging there, especially during Hurricane Gloria last year." The concrete office tower is set back 35 feet from the old facade on Summer and Arch streets. When enough floors were built above ground, workers connected the floors of the new building to the facade with structural steel. Saving part of the building was a compromise arrangement made by the developers with the Boston Landmarks Commission and the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The Boston Preservation Alliance, an umbrella organization for preservationist groups. fought hard Move over, Manhattan It's a dubious honor unless you own some, but the office space being built in Boston is the priciest new space in the nation, topping even Manhattan's.

Asking prices here for rents range from $38 to $60 per square foot, according to an office study by Cushman Wakefield, a national brokerage firm. By comparison. new space in downtown Manhattan has a range, while in Chicago the spectrum goes from $20.50 to $39 per square foot. Boston hasn't overtaken New York completely, though. The Big Apple still has some buildings where $65 persquare-foot rents are being sought.

tops in the nation. The study pegs the Boston central business district's office vacancy rate at 11.5 percent, the ninth lowest in the country. Cities with lower rates include Hartford (3.7 percent), Detroit (8.9 percent), Philadelphia (9 percent), midtown Manhattan (9.4 percent), Louisville. Ky. (10.2 percent), downtown Manhattan (10.3 percent), Washington (10.3 percent) and Charlotte, N.C.

(11 percent). 4 Dukakis on the move One beneficiary of Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign is Boston developer Miller Blew. Last year Blew finished an extensive renovation of the Frost Building at 105 Chauncy St. The building has many strengths proximity to downtown, access to the Southeast Expressway but it also is near the Combat Zone, a touchy point for potential tenants. Not, however, for the governor's nascent presidential bid.

Now Nrammed Into 3,500 scipare feet of space in the Banks may charge fee in canceling Q. I recently obtained a residential mortgage from a Massachusetts savings institution. A scheduling problem developed, forcing me to delay the closing for one week. I notified the lender of the delay well in advance, before any closing documents had been delivered to my attorney and before any closing work had actually been done. Nonetheless.

I was charged a $250 cancellation fee because of the change. Is that fee legal and, even if it is. shouldn't the lender have informed me of it in advance? R.B., Berkley A. You ain't indicate whether the lender was federally or state-chartered. so I checked with both federal and state banking regulators and got essentially the same response, that there is nothing in either state or federal regulations to prohibit lenders from charging a cancellation fee under the circumstances you described.

On disclosure, both sets of regulators also agreed that while lenders have a general obligation to make their rates and loan terms clear, they can't be expected to anticipate, and disclose in advance, every possible contingency. Fundamentally. disputes such as this boil down to a question of customer relations: how are lenders going to treat consumers and what are consumers going to think of the treatment they receive? By its actions, this lender is telling you it thinks $250 is more important than your future business. And by your actions you should make it equally clear you've received the message and Intend to tell your friends. Q.

You recently described the notice requirements for tenants living in Boston whose apartments are being converted into condominiums. What about people living in other communities? Are there any protections available for them? Quincy A. At least six communities, in addition to Boston, have their own conversion ordinances: Brookline, Cambridge, Acton, Somerville. Malden and Haverhill. Communities that don't have them are covered by the state condo-conversion statute, which provides protections similar to but not as far reaching as those in Boston.

State law requires developers to give tenants at least one year advance notice of a planned conversion and at least two years for handicapped, elderly or low-income tenants. The notice period has to be extended for up to two more years for tenants in the special-needs category who are unable to locate rental housing of comparable price and quality in the community in which they are living. (Under the Boston ordinance, special-needs tenants unable to comparable housing must be allowed to remain in their units until the city's ordinance expires in 1994.1 Developers are also required to give tenants a right of first refusal to purchase their units and at least 90 days in which to exercise that option. Tenants who decide to vacate must be given relocation assistance of up to $750 "for the actual, documented costs of moving." Tenants in the special-needs category can receive relocation assistance of up to $1,000. Q.

For income-tax purposes, how should I treat the expenses I've incurred for repairs to my personal residence? J.S., Brockton A. The Internal Revenue Service distinguishes between "repairs," which do you no good at tax time, and "improvements," which also don't do anything for your immediate tax situation but can help long term. In the IRS lexicon, repairs simply maintain your home in good condition but don't increase its value. Replacing broken windows, repainting your housetand fixing the gutters all would be defined by the IRS as repairs. Improvements, on the other hand, increase the value of your home or prolong its life.

Replacing the roof, finishing an unfinished basement, installing new plumbing or electrical wiring all would be classified as improvements. The cost of improvements can't be deducted from your current tax bill but can be added to the "basis" of your home, which has the effect of reducing the gain you will have to recognize (or defer) when the home is sold. Nena Groskind is exectilive editor of Banker Tradesman. a Massachusetts real estate and banking trade journal. Send inquiries to Realty A.

Globe, Boston, Mass. 02107. By ME. Malone Globe Staff Hine downtown de- yee drawing board sstill on th would have to be significantly scaled down if the Boston Redevelopment Au- thority Board of Directors supports a plan this month to rezone the city's downtown. Because of the proposed rezoning's I55-foot limit on most new construction, tentative plans to build towers of up to 310 feet would have to be scrapped.

causing developers to lose nine to 40 percent of the square footage they had expected. The period for public comment on the proposed rezoning ended last week. and although none of the developers who would be affected by the plans has written to protest. BRA director Stephen Coyle said he expects some opposition. The rezoning proposal, known as the Downtown Interim Planning Overlay District.

encompasses downtown except for the areas around North and South stations. the Fan Piers and Pier 4 and part of the financial district. The proposal is expected to be voted on by the BRA board May H. unless the BRA makes changes in the interim. The plan calls for the height limit for most of downtown.

It also calls for preservation of some historic buildings, open-space requirements. setback restrictions and promotion of residential uses, particularly In Chinatown and the South Cove. Some groups Interested in the proposal, including the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, have recommended that any projects that have received some preliminary approval be grandfathered so their buildings would not be reduted by the new restrictions. Coyle said most of the developers say they are willing to support the down-zoning as long as the restrictions are uniform, but he has not reached a consensus with a developer contemplating a 200-foot hotel and office complex in Government Center, another planning a 278-foot building in Downtown Crossing and others proposing two residential i towers in the South End, of 200 and 310 feet. "The integrity of the whole struc- 1 ture is lost if you start making exceptions," Coyle said.

"unless these guys have the political muscle to win exceptions. But I don't think they will." Rosalind Gorin, who wants to build on a site affected by the proposed rezoning, said she and other developers she has spoken with "welcome the opportunity to know what the rules are." She said she has confidence in the proposal "as long as it is applied evenly." Gorin, who also serves as president of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, said the board is generally supportive of the proposed rezoning, but is concerned about some aspects, including a 50-cent-persquare-foot fee to pay for traffic-impact studies, and some of the regulations on historic preservation. "Overall, I think that Boston will continue to be attractive to the local developers who have shown support and pride in this city," she said. The rezoning proposal has evolved over the last two years and is part of an effort by the BRA to stop the "verticalization of Boston," in Coyle's terminology. Among the most vocal supporters of the proposed rules are architects, preservationists and some neighborhood groups.

"I feel very positively about it," said Antonia Pollak of the Boston Preservation Alliance. The nine projects include: 116 Huntington a 200-foot office and retail complex; a site adjacent to Don Bosco High School, slated for the two residential towers of 310 and 200 feet; 110-120 Tremont a combination of renovation and new construction: downtown Woolworth's, where a 278-foot office and residential tower has been proposed. Also, Parcel 7, a Government Center lot, and New Chardon Street, where mixed-use buildings are envisioned; Lowell Square, where a building of up to 310 feet has been proposed: Park Square, a BRA lot that now would allow a building as high as 300 feet; and Back BayPost Office, where an office and retail building is contemplated. Developers have not been chosen. on some parcelsbut heights woull be lowered from prior guidelines.

to keep the building intact, but lost a the compromise of hooking on part of court battle. the old to the new, a concept it derisive-The alliance never was in favor of ly termed a "facadectomy." Lots 84 Blocks vvi AS, 1 i ,4 er (,, V. i i ril Ili): til ))11. it 4, I LI 111 4,, It 1986 Globe file photo left in place after demolition. Tower of power Ever since workers wrapped it In white sheets and scaffolding last summer, 360 Newbury St.

has been one of the most visible rehab projects in Boston, especially to drivers entering the city on the Massachusetts Turnpike. When the wrapping comes off this fall. what's underneath may surprise people who view Back Bay architecture as tasteful but sometimes staid. The rehab design by Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry and the local firm SchwartzSilver Architects includes the use of lead-coated copper on the south and east sides of the building. The Newbury and Massachusetts Avenue sides primarily will feature the original brick and stone.

but glass canopies will protrude, supported by lead-covered steel. The major retail tenant will be New England's first Tower Records store. Plans for the upper floors, however. have changed dramatically. Originally, developer Richard Cohen envisioned art gallery space on the upper floors, which include a new eighth floor with glass walls and 20-foot ceilings.

The new thrust is office space. with asking prices starting around $26. BRA OK's housing plan Developers planning to recycle the former Baker Chocolate mill complex in Lower Dorchester Mills gained approval recently from the Boston Redevelopment Authority. A hearing on their proposal was held in January. but approval was put off until an affordable-housing program could be finalized.

The developers, Baker Chocolate Limited Partnership, plan to rehabilitate the former machine shop building Into 31 units, much of it affordable housing. They would develop five other buildings into 180 conilqs. and would 'construct a nine-story it tiding with 89 condo units and a 349-space garage. The new look set for 360 Newbury. Statler Office Building at Park Plaza, the campaign staff is moving this month to 105 Chauncy, where it will occupy 11,000 square feet with options to expand should things go well.

A starting staff of 35 will run the office, which will house every aspect of the campaign. Other tenants also have decided to gamble on the location. Blew says 75 percent of the building is either leased or committed, and he expects it to be filled by September. Not that Blew has lost interest in the area. The developer has hired the architectural firm Ganteaume McMullen to draw up a development plan for lower Washington Street, looking at such issues as traffic.

what scale should new development be, and how things should be timed. Blew hopes an early draft can be finished by June. Loolvonlool.mmommewOmon,amommwolomm.moommolbollwikelPook.00,11owsmonagel0,,ImomeIRMPOolo.