East Boston condos get new life, look
As city views go, the ones at the top floor of 85 Lexington St. in East Boston are pretty awesome.
From the sunny fourthfloor deck of this newly renovated condo building, you can see jets landing at Logan International Airport, the Custom House, the Prudential and Clarendon towers, as well as pretty much every other high-rise along the skyline.
This perk, however, is provided only to whomever moves into condo No. 4 at the address, and, it’s not the main attraction here.
What stands out in each of the building’s four condo units — selling for around a half-million each — are the details: the marble tiles in the main bathrooms and on counters in the kitchens, the frameless glass shower doors, the thick crown moldings, the wainscoting in the common stairwell, the three-sided window bays, the recessed lighting and the dark-stained oak floors throughout.
“I’ve been doing rehabs now for 30 years,” said Hank Duong, the project’s developer. “I do very detailed work. ... I like to do a little bit extra.”
Renovating the property from the foundation up, said Duong, took two years, and matching the form of the late 19th century house while building in luxury finishes required some effort, he said.
“We made it look a little historical, with the area, (but) I wanted to make everything high-end,” Duong said.
While each of the units feels similar to the others — all white, bright, clean and modern and with rear decks — the smaller top unit has the bonus of the great views. The bottom unit — the only one to span two floors — has extra space with its groundfloor family room and covered patio.
As for the specs, condo No. 1 has 1,259 square feet, three bedrooms and three bathrooms and is listed for $569,000; the other three units are around 850 square feet with two bedrooms and two baths each. Unit No. 2 is priced at $509,000, while the Nos. 3 and 4 are not yet priced, real estate agent Paul Campano said.
“I think he gave it the highest-quality finishes,” Campano said of Duong’s work, “while still being practical.”