BOSTON MAGAZINE                 JANUARY 2012
Living Large

Rachel Slade’s off-kilter take on Hub dwellings.

By Rachel Slade

Pahk the Cah – For $350K
Life just keeps getting tougher for Back Bay die-hards, as ex-suburbanites pour into the city with their pedigreed dogs and black BMW’s. So when circling the block for three hours after a hard day’s work loses its charm, it’s time to invest in some asphalt. But with only a handful of parking spots listed on the MLS, the Back Bay’s alleys are precious property, indeed. Case in point: Though a two-vehicle tandem space between Commonwealth Avenue and Newbury Street is exposed to all the elements – snow (BYO shovel), inebriated students – it costs about $1,000 a square foot, making it some of the priciest pavement in the world. Get a Zipcar account, you say?
That’s part of the problem–the car-sharing powerhouse has already gobbled up 107 spots around the neighborhood. Where’s teleportation when you need it?
Address: 132 Commonwealth Avenue, #5/6 Listing Price: $350,000, Listing Agent: Shelagh Brennan, Cabot and Company, 617-896-5002, cabotandcompany.com, Stats: One big, expensive slab of pavement in the Back Bay.