Living at the mall: A look inside upscale Natick condos
It is the first residential building attached to a mall in the New England suburbs, but are buyers willing to shell out upward of $425,000 to spend their days and nights in an all-inclusive enclave?
The developers of Nouvelle at Natick, the 215-unit luxury high-rise condominium community attached to the former Natick Mall - renamed the Natick Collection - believe it's a concept whose time has come.
Apparently, so do area residents who have reserved - sight unseen - 30 of the one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging in size from 800 to 2,200 square feet. In fact, two of the 17 penthouses are under agreement, priced between $1.2 million and $1.6 million, said Wayne Lopez of Otis & Ahearn, the Boston real estate firm marketing the project.
It is one of the first such complexes by General Growth Properties, the developer of the $170 million condominium and the $370 million expansion at the Natick Collection.
Starting tomorrow, when the Natick Collection opens, consumers will be able to look into a model unit at the attached, full-service condo community.
They will not be able to see the luxurious entrances featuring video monitoring and guest reception areas with fireside seating at the north and south towers or meet the doormen/concierges who will be available 24 hours a day.
Nor will they take a walk in the 1.2-acre rooftop garden, Parc Nouvelle, the largest of its kind in New England, designed by international landscape architect Martha Schwartz. The private terraces, rooftop penthouse gardens and Juliet balconies are not ready, but occupancy is expected next June.
What the curious will see is a top-of-the-line, luxury, two- to three-bedroom, two-bath condominium, outfitted by Wellesley interior designer Susan Dearborn, owner of Susan Dearborn Interiors Inc.
The fourth-floor unit, available for a tour through the sales office on the second floor of the Natick Collection next to Neiman Marcus, features the standard granite countertops in the kitchen, stainless steel appliances, walnut floors and marble floors and counters in the two baths.
There are two official bedrooms in this unit, plus a study that doesn't have a window. Units above the seventh floor - where the garage ends - have a designated third bedroom with a window.
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<param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object> All owners have access to the rooftop garden and the use of Club Nouvelle, a private club room with a private dining area and a library, as well as the Bosse Fitness Center.
Each unit comes with one or two indoor parking spaces, a draw for those who no longer want to brush snow off their cars.
Buyers are coming from Natick, Weston, Wellesley, Newton and Framingham and some are relocating from downtown Boston, Lopez said.
The new retail/residential complex ``offers an urban lifestyle in a suburban environment,'' Lopez said. ``It has the sophistication, finishes and lifestyle people are looking for without the hassle of the city.''
Sue Brickman, real estate editor for the MetroWest (Mass.) Daily News, can be reached by e-mail at sbrickma@cnc.com.