Apartment buildings in the Davis Square area

[anyee.livejournal.com]

I'm debating a move from the Fenway to Somerville to be closer to friends, work, etc. I've gotten really accustomed to living in an apartment building rather than on the second or third floor of a multi-family home. (Various reasons include: I enjoy anonymity, I enjoy an elevator, I enjoy being able to control my heat, etc.)

As far as I can tell, most of the apartment-style buildings I've seen are on major streets above stores or Section 8. Are there any brownstone-ish buildings in more residential areas of Somerville? I'm not so excited about living on Mass Ave.

Comments

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

Not sure what you mean, you have anonymity, you control your own heat, in multi-family houses. There are few solely section 8 buildings. Most people on section 8 live in regular apartments. Or do you have a problem living near people on section 8? Sorry if I misunderstood that. Most aren't on main streets as there are more side streets then main streets and most aren't above stores. Only some are. There are a few brownstone buildings I can think of off the top of my head, though I'm sorry I am unsure of whether or not they have anything available. Maybe you aren't right for Somerville, lol. Too many generalizations.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

I believe the original poster is simply stating his preference for apartment buildings over multi-family houses.

I also believe they were stating that they were having trouble finding apartment buildings in the Somerville area that were not Section 8. Apartment buildings here are either Section 8 or not; section 8 residences are not uniformly distributed through all apartment residences.

I do not believe they expressed an issue with Section 8 people, but simply stated their preference to live in a residence that is not Section 8; a preference I can fully understand.

[anyee.livejournal.com]

How do I say this nicely...bleh, I can't.

I've lived in a multi-story house. Several of my friends do so at the moment. There is not nearly the degree of anonymity in a multi-story house as there is in a 30 apartment building unless you're living with ninjas.

As someone who enjoys having loud sex, I'd rather not be high-fived in the stairwell the morning after. Larger apartment buildings tend to absorb that sort of noise more easily (yes, from personal experience as the listener and generator of said noise). Even if the sound isn't muffled, so long as the noise isn't incessant, you learn to deal with it since it's part of being in an apartment building. I don't want the cops called when I'm having happy loud consensual kinky sex, nor do I want a cheering section.

Also, don't accuse me of disliking section 8 people when I live in the goddamn Fens. Remember that the area has gentrified but that a lot of working families still live there. The people are not the problem. The quality of the housing is.

[norton-gale.livejournal.com]

Butting in to say that the section 8 issue generally isn't a bias against the people eligible to rent those units. The main problem is that landlords of section 8 housing rarely keep up with remodeling and repairs, and those buildings can be a nightmare to live in. I went to see a Sec.8 apartment with a friend in LA, and there were roaches on the ceiling even with the unit vacant.

[cutieperson]

there are several on Highland Ave. they're pretty much all outrageously expensive, but i guess if you're coming from Fenway that might not be a shock.

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

There are fewer large apartment buildings in Davis Square than in other neighborhoods, but there are at least a few. For one, there's 36 College Ave, upstairs from Michael & Anthony's Hair Fashions. I used to live there and it was fine and has an elevator.

You might also try looking for a rental in some of the condo developments around - Davis Square Lofts / Building 5 Lofts definitely has a few rentals from time to time, and I would be surprised if the ones up in Teele were any different. You might also try renting from an individual condo owner who'd rather sell, but can't find a buyer right now. I hear there's a lot of that - they call it "shadow inventory" in the real estate biz.

[ron_newman]

Davis Square has a number of 1920s brick apartment buildings of the type you describe, scattered around Day Street, Orchard Street, Dover Street, Grove Street, and College Avenue. I live in one of these so they definitely exist. None of them have stores on the first floor.

However, "being able to control your own heat" doesn't necessarily come with the package. My building has steam radiators and no thermostats in the units. Heat and hot water are included in the rent.

I don't understand the reference to Section 8.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

That's a very good point, [Unknown site tag], in that not all of these units allow you to control your own heat.

[ursamajor]

*nod* I was gonna say, I lived in one of those Fenway brownstones for three years and the only way I could control my heat was by opening the window. Most winter days I would come home, strip down from Eskimo-layers to a tank top and shorts, and sit by the open window with blowing snow as far away from the radiator as I could get, and it would still be 85 degrees in the apartment by the time I went to bed!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

And the people on the first floor were probably complaining it was freezing.

I lived in apartment buildings in NYC that were the same, where you would freeze on the bottom, and the people on the top would be opening the windows to let the accumulated heat out.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

Oh my God, yes—that arrangement is so common in NYC, especially in older buildings (tenements, big apartment buildings, brownstones, you name it). I remember apartments where it seemed like the heat was on constantly from October through May.

I stayed with friends in an awful tenement building on the East 60s once where it was too hot to sleep in the dead of winter. There was this forced-heat radiator belching hot air on me all night. So awful. Leaving that kind of heating situation behind has to be one of the best things about my move here.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

Oh, I feel there are lots of things great about moving from NYC to here :) I was in a tenement on E91 and 2nd, and had just an exposed metal pole as a heater. There was no way to control the heat. It just was always hot in the winter.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

I lived in a dorm like that. There was insulation of some sort on the pole, but it didn't do a lot. It's a wonder half the dorms at Columbia haven't been condemned.

[rozasharn.livejournal.com]

Conversely, the triple-decker I live in has a separate furnace and thermostat for each apartment, so we DO control our own heat in a multi-family building.

[anyee.livejournal.com]

It's a hit or miss thing as far as I can tell. I purposefully look for adjustable radiators in the places I visit, but I've found them more often in apartment buildings than smaller buildings. Go figure.

[narya.livejournal.com]

There's an apartment building at Summer and Cherry, though I don't know that it has an elevator.

[melithiel.livejournal.com]

The apartments are pretty nice, though.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Highland, near the corner of Cherry.
Highland, near the corner of Porter. (I know someone who lived there, I can ask him about it)
The corner of Summer & Cherry
Cherry, near Summer. (I know someone who lived there, I can ask her about it)
Orchard, near the corner of Day St. (I think someone in this thread lives there)
College Ave next to the library (sorry, don't remember the cross street)
Liberty? Ave, near the corner of Kidder

Further out, there are a couple of apartment buildings on Beacon Street, some on Highland closer to City Hall.

Anyways, that's what I can think of off the top of my head.

These are mostly modernish apartment buildings, more than brownstonish type places. And for the most part I just know about them from walking around, I can't swear that they're all apartments not condos.

You might also be interested in Medford for cheaper but easier to drive to places.

[ron_newman]

I'm the guy at 18 Day. My building and two others (49 Dover, 123 Orchard) are all run by ActionVest Management of Brighton. Give them a call on Monday and maybe they'll know about vacancies.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

The library is College & Morrison.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

You may want to try one of the local real estate firms that specialize in apartments. They'll probably know most of the buildings in the area.

[hoppzor.livejournal.com]

there's one on porter street between crown and brastow, and another big one on highland and cromwell (sp?).

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

There's no such thing as a "Section 8" building. If you mean "public housing project" that's a different thing entirely. Section 8 is a voucher system for privately owned rentals.

In addition to the Davis Square buildings mentioned upthread, there are a ton of old-fashioned multistory apartment buildings in Porter Square, and on Mass. Ave. in Arlington. I recommend talking with a realtor: Red Line Realty, on Elm St. between Davis and Porter, is quite good.

[anyee.livejournal.com]

I was looking for a euphemism and flunked my knowledge roll. I couldn't figure out a nice way to say "I don't want to live in a housing project" because now I have to explain why I don't want to live in a housing project. *sigh* No, it has nothing to do with the people and everything to do with the quality of the housing, but I'll just be over here with a hat on that says "I'm a bad person".

[ron_newman]

Besides everything just mentioned, there are a number of ugly boxy apartment buildings on Chester Street in both Cambridge and Somerville, probably built in the 1970s by developers with no sense of style or taste or context. They may be fine inside, but I wouldn't want to live in buildings with those exteriors.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

My roommate and I live in one of the ones that has been mentioned in this thread. And, compared to the multifamily unit we used to live in on willow, it's pretty bad. Much less space, terrible kitchen, loud neighbors, it took me forever how to figure out how to shut off the radiators, and every week it seems like something breaks.

Honestly... there are some great deals on craigslist right now for multifamilies in the area. Check them out. Most importantly I'd suggest you don't get involved in a september lease cycle.