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The 2009 Parkway Reunion!

Reminisce, Reconnect, Reunite and ENJOY!

Parkway Reunion 2009: Reminisce, Reconnect, Reunite!

(Boston, MA) Reminisce – Reconnect – Reunite! The Parkway – comprised of West Roxbury and Roslindale – will come together and celebrate all that is great about the Parkway under a large tent at the West Roxbury High School Football field. Honorary Chairman, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Chairman City Councillor John Tobin, Executive Director Carol O’Connor and a dedicated group of volunteers have been busy planning this event since January 2008.

WHEN: Saturday, June 20th, 2009 7PM-11PM
WHO: All ticket holders must be 21 years old. EVENT is Rain or Shine.
WHERE: West Roxbury High School Football Field – 1205 V.F.W. Parkway,
West Roxbury, MA 02132

Your $50 ticket will include all the fun of reminiscing, reconnecting and reuniting with old friends as well as meeting new friends. Passed hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, DJ Dave Solimine, The Richie Travers Orchestra, dancing, raffles, an impromptu LIVE auction, photographers to capture you and your friends’ camaraderie at this one time only event. All proceeds above cost will be donated to the Boston Parks Department for the further upkeep of the parks, playgrounds and open spaces of the Parkway.

Each person that buys a ticket for The Parkway Reunion 2009 will be automatically entered to win a week’s stay for four in Roscommon, Ireland, halfway between Dublin and Galway. European style residence features a modern kitchen, three-bedroom on-suite, overlooking 15 acres of beautiful, green Ireland land! For Golf enthusiasts - Athlone Golf Course - located nearby.

See parkwayreunion2009.com to purchase tickets online or email info@parkwayreunion.com

“This will be a night that people will talk about for years! It’s for anyone who has lived in the Parkway for 80 years or 8 months. It’s for people who still live here or don’t.” said Councillor Tobin. “The Parkway Reunion of 2009 will be a chance to celebrate all that is great about our community. From our people to our places, we have a lot to be proud of.”

Home Improvement in Boston: The Full Dormer

Hi Folks! This week Isellboston.TV begins the first in a series of home improvement videos which will focus on a variety of home improvement topics over time. This week, and for the next 2 weeks, our attention will focus on the process a homeowner in Boston must go through to place a full dormer on his or her home. Robert Holley of Sturges Rd. in West Roxbury has been kind enough to let us chronicle the project at his house and videotape the event from start to finish. Here is episode 1. Enjoy.

2009 Parkway Little League Parade in West Roxbury

2009 Parkway Little League Parade (West Roxbury, Roslindale)

Hot off the presses folks! This years Parkway Little League parade was a huge success, rivaling that of opening day at Fenway.

West Roxbury Community Profile

Boston — West Roxbury

• Boston is often referred to as “A city of Neighborhoods,” with each one offering its own distinct character and vibe. Boston’s West Roxbury neighborhood is unlike any other part of the city and has been dubbed by some as “Boston’s leafy suburb.” Due to its majestic tree-lined streets, single-family homes and the fact that it contains more than 3 –times the amount of open space on average than any other of Boston’s neighborhoods, West Roxbury gives residents a uniquely suburban feel in and urban setting. (Consider using a google maps flyover here).
• Speaking of open space, or “green” space, another of West Roxbury’s unique characteristics geographically speaking is that it is virtually surrounded by hundreds of acres of public parks and conservation land as well as a substantial portion of privately managed open spaces. Some of the larger public open spaces include Boston’s newest and largest park name Millenium Park, Stoney Brook Reservation and Allandale Woods. On the Privately owned side, Roxbury Latin and the West Roxbury quarries also contain 100 of acres of open spaces.
• The residents of West Roxbury take the education of their children seriously. This is evidenced not only in the quantity but also in the quality of schools that call West Roxbury their home. By the numbers there are three (3) elementary and three (3) high-schools with the community. Represented is a nice balance between public and private schools for all ages. The crown jewel within the WR school system is prestigious The Roxbury Latin school. Also, Catholic Memorial has an outstanding reputation that cultivates strong moral character. On the public side, there’s West Roxbury Educational complex as well as access to the exam schools of Boston Latin and Boston Latin Academy.
• Because West Roxbury is within Boston’s city limits, it benefits from having access to a world class transportation system. Whether it’s by bus, subway, commuter of any one of Boston’s special purpose transportation methods, there is no place you can’t get throughout Boston. Additionally, access to major highway routes (interstates 95 and 93) are within a couple of miles and are easily accessible.
•West Roxbury is also home to many fine restaurants, delis, shopping centers and a plentitude of independent boutique shops.

West Roxbury and Parkway Area Holiday House Tour

West Roxbury Holiday House Tour

What a magnanimous and festive event was this years Parkway Holiday Tour! Sponsored by West Roxbury Main Streets, the Holy Name Bernadines, and local Parkway area businesses, and supported by hundreds of local residents, the annual Parkway Holiday Tour was an event to expereince and behold.

Held last Sunday, December 7th, at St. Theresa’s Monsignor Donahue Hall, residents gathered to buy gifts from local retailers and enjoyed many yummy treats and refreshements. A little later on in the day, local residents boarded (and filled) two Old Town Trolleys which ushered them around town with stops at Blanchards and Kalembar Dune for some wine tasting. But the highlight of the tours was visting several wonderful West Roxbury homes that were all decked out in holiday decor.

It was a really great time for all involved who offered an extra helping of good cheer for the holidays.

Season Greetings From Carol White Associates

see video above

West Roxbury 2008 Senior and Caregiver Expo

Ethos-AgeWell West Roxbury Seniors & Caregivers Expo

Last Tuesday night, Ethos and AgeWell West Roxbury teamed up with members of the West Roxbury Business and Professional Association to support Parkway area seniors by hosting the 2nd annual Senior and Caregiver Expo at St. John Chrysostom church on Washington Street in West Roxbury.  The Expo provided a forum for local seniors and caregivers to gather information on services, discounts and special programs being offered by local businesses and presented opportunities for both groups to share in the magnanimous goal of making West Roxbury a better place to live for all of us.  The Expos title was “Protecting the Future: Security for You and Your Family,” and focused on helping caregivers, seniors and support groups of all ages.

Seniors and caregivers in attendance also benefited from listening to the expertise of several guest speakers who offered featured presentations on topics such as: estate planning, selling & downsizing your home, long term care options, investment strategies and more.  Presenters included Senior Residential Real Estate Specialist (SRES) Maureen O’Keefe of Century 21 Carole White Associates, Marilyn Larosa of Larosa Real Estate, Ann Marie Walker of Walker Insurance, Jan Crosby of RE/MAX First Realty  among others.  Specific topics included how to avoid probate, managing the emotions of selling your home and how to prepare your home for sale.

Cathy Slade, coordinator for Ethos–AgeWell West Roxbury organized and chaired the event which was planned in honor of National Caregivers Month. 

Historic West Roxbury Neighborhood Association Meeting Tackles Spate of Zoning Concerns

West Roxbury Neighborhood Meeting

Last Monday, a first-ever joint meeting between the Bellevue Hill Improvement and Higland Civic Associations moderated a lively discussion between residents, developers and local politicians over some recent zoning controversies stemming from two newly constructed properties and a proposed future development in West Roxbury.  Specifcally, two completed development projects on Grayfield Ave and a proposed development on Ruskin Street have spurred concerned residents, many of whom feel they have been left out of important decisions making processes and that their voices are not being heard, into action.  

The meeting drew a large crowd of West Roxbury residents as well as several At-Large City councilors and neighborhood councilors.  Present were At-Large Councilors John Connolly, Mike Flaherty and Steve Murphy as well as West Roxbury City Councilor John Tobin.

In addition, representatives from two other neighborhood groups were in attendance: Olivia Waishek, president of the West Roxbury Civic & Improvement Association, and Stephen Smith, president of the Charles River/Spring Valley Neighborhood Association.

Both the West Roxbury Bulletin and West Roxbury Transcript newspapers reported on the meeting.  The artciles can be found here:  http://tinyurl.com/6ctpxl and here http://blogs.townonline.com/parkwayBlog/?p=7241

Also, to learn all about Boston Zoning, go here: http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/zoning/zoning.asp

A Nightmare on kELMan’s Street?

Attention traditional real estate professionals!  Want to know what Glen Kelman’s worst nightmare is?  Aside from spending another six hours being interviewed by Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes, Mr. Kelman of Redfin may have unwittingly revealed to the audience of Bloggers at Inman’s Blogger Connect during his keynote address what really keeps him awake at night–that is: a blog army of traditional real estate professionals intently focused on producing high quality, hyper-local, consumer-centric real estate content on a city by city, town by town, or even neighborhood by neighborhood basis 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  

Apparently, the above scenario strikes fear in the hearts and minds of some of the newer entrants–the so-called web 2.0 companies–that are all the rave now.  And, by golly,  it should. 

Let it be known that I have no axe to grind against Mr. Kelman or his company.  On the contrary, I found him to be quite affable, knowledgeable and certainly presentable enough, and I wish him and his firm much success.  Anything that offers consumers more choice is O.K. with me. 

But let’s be honest.  There are many traditional Realtor’s who are not as eager for Redfin’s success–and perhaps some who may secretly wish for Redfin’s demise.  There are also some traditional agents who are perhaps fearful of some of the emerging business models and web 2.0 companies (e.g. Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, etc.).  But here’s something they may not know….

They fear us, too.

I’m not sure if fear is a good motivator for either side, but if you happen to be on the traditional side of things take note of Mr. Kelman’s nightmarish revelation.  The fact is that many of the tools available to these hi-tech firms are also available to the old school players who only need learn how to pick them up and use them.  According to Dale Stinton, there are currently 1.4 million Realtors members of NAR.  Could you imagine if even half that number started blogging in earnest about real estate in their respective communities, or even if one-third of them started engaging consumers on social networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace?

Forgetaboutit! 

My point is this: Mr. Kelman and the current cadre of Web 2.o firms are indeed onto something BIG (IMHO).  But instead of being fearful of this new breed of real estate technologists, traditional agents should learn from them, and embrace some of the same tools they use and the social media strategies they employ in order to level the playing field.  And then let’s compete head to head on things that matter to consumers: local knowledge, service, negotiating expertise and follow up. 

For more on hyper-local blogging, check out:
http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=864 
http://www.buzzmachine.com
 

Roslindale Real Estate Market in Review

Over the past week, I’ve reported in detail on the various residential real estate market dynamics at play in the Boston neighborhood of Roslindale in an effort to provide readers with a better sense of the current state of the market.  The analysis itself was broken down by residential property type (e.g. single family, condos and multi-family ) as each of these segments is distinct in that they not only speak to different audiences but also because the data subsets reflecting inventory and sales rates present unique trendlines for each segment.  Furthermore, we examined each property type segment over a 24-month period using as our tools certain key market indicators such as median sales price, supply and demand by # of units, and sales rates as measured by monthly supply of inventory (MSI) in order to “see” the market through a variety of lenses, thus adding precision and clarity.

This blog post is designed to bring it all home, so-to-speak, in terms of what’s happening overall in the Roslindale real estate market as of July 2007.  But first, a quick review:

Single Family Market Conditions–In a word, the single family market in Rolsindale has been consistent over the past 24 months in terms of median sales price, supply and demand by # of units, and the sales rate measured as monthly supply of inventory (MSI).  For a more detailed accounting of this market segment click here.

Condominium Market Conditions–A bit of a mixed bag.  The perception of this market segment as demonstrated by the median sales price is not in line with the reality of the market when taking into consideration such key market indicators as supply and demand by # of units and the sales rate MSI.  There appears to be somewhat of a stalemate between perceived value on the buyer’s side versus seller’s perceived value.  It may be that adjustments need to be made on both sides.  For a mored detailed accounting of this market segment click here.

Multi-Family Market Conditions–Presently, the multi-family market in Rolsindale is stagnant and values are declining.  Unfortunately, all the key market indicators are pointing to the same difficult reality for multis in Roslindale.  For a full account of this market segment click here…and to understand why the multi-family market in general has been experiencing tough days click here.

Overall, the real estate market in Rolsindale is struggling a bit.  Although there is strength in the single family market segment, the condo market is lackluster and the multi-family market has its share of problems to overcome before that segment can fully recover.  For sellers, the key to selling is having the proper motivation, perspective, and expectation and then, after being armed with the facts, determining a realistic sell price.  For buyers, there are many opportunities in all segments of the Rozzie market, but be prepared to act when the right one comes your way.

 NEXT UP:  A CLOSER LOOK AT THE JAMAICA PLAIN REAL ESTATE MARKET

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