Brookline condo has nice surprises
The brick building at 50 Summit Ave. in Brookline is like many of the similarly designed century-old, mid-rise condo and apartment complexes in the Coolidge Corner area.
They’re respectable buildings but not particularly ornate or striking. You can easily pass by 50 Summit without noticing, even if you happen to be a fan of architecture of the early 1900s. Sure, there are some subtle decorations adorning the boxy brown-red brick building, like its shallow rectangular window bays, triple-grouped windows and small cream-colored, Colonial Revival-style porch with two columns, matching pilasters and a faux balcony atop. But overall the place is, as they say, pretty square.
But don’t let the outside deceive you. Sometimes the seemingly plain can surprise.
The first shocker here, at condo No. 1, is not the price — the place is listed for just over $1 million, which seems to be the new normal for condos in this part of town. Instead, it’s the shared roof deck at the top. Walk up a few stories, and you get views of the Prudential, Hancock Tower, the Citgo sign and several other Hub icons. The sights rival those in the old South End row houses, only with everything a bit further off.
Surprise No. 2 is how much this 1,660-square-foot place feels like a family home, and not so much like a crowded condo. Yes, the design is straightforward — the big dining and living rooms are at the front, the kitchen’s in the middle and three bedrooms toward the rear — and that’s a good thing. The place is bright, efficiently designed and airy. Just like the outside, however, the frills are few inside, save for relatively high ceilings, some wainscoting in the dining room, and the remodeled kitchen with stainless steel appliances, new cabinetry, granite countertops and center island.
The third surprise is how, even though this condo is close to Coolidge Corner and within walking distance of the Longwood medical center, it doesn’t feel like you’re in the middle of the city.
Sure, Summit Avenue is about 180 years off from when it was just a rural path on a hill in the middle of nowhere, but even today the place still feels like a good, safe home to raise kids. Teens and children are everywhere here, walking with their moms and dads or carrying backpacks home from school.
A park at the top of Corey Hill offers an escape from the crowds, as do the hidden walking paths criss-crossing the neighborhood.
And for those suburbanites who can’t give up their bloated SUVs, there are two deeded parking spaces.