The Boston real estate market is all over the place. The inventory of available homes is cartoonishly low, prices seem ever-ascending, and no one knows exactly where West Roxbury ends and Roslindale begins anymore. Perhaps the most berserk facet of the market is development. The city is seeing more development, particularly residential, than it's seen in eons (though it's really not enough to close the housing gap responsible for Boston's San Fran-like prices and rents). A few developments in particular are particularly momentous.

One of those is the mother of all recent Boston towers: Millennium Tower. The 625-foot, 56-story spire off Washington Street (rendered above) could very well give Downtown Crossing the nudge it needs to become truly 24-7 neighborhood. Or it could become just some giant gated community, another missed opportunity for more middle-class housing in Boston. (Hey, just because these developments are rocking the city right now doesn't mean they're necessarily rocking them for good.) Sales registrations have been under way at Millennium Tower since early May. Closings should start after the new year.





The ginormous Boston Landing, which got officially under way in September 2013, will spawn (deep breath) a 250,000-square-foot HQ for New Balance shoe empire; a 345,000-square-foot sports complex with an NHL-regulation arena; a 175-room hotel; up to 650,000 square feet of office space spread amongst three buildings; 1,750 parking spaces; and 65,000 square feet of retail. It might also include up to 295,000 square feet of residential space at 125 Guest Street. Oh, and Boston Landing birthed another commuter rail stop. Is it all enough to make Brighton Boston's new It Neighborhood? Stay tuned. It's certainly one of the biggest single developments beyond the city's core in years.



The Lovejoy Wharf project is one of many residential projects under way or almost so in Boston. What makes it rocking unique is this: The city O.K.'d it without any on-site parking. That's right—in a town that values a good parking space more than human life (probably, if we're honest), the developers of Lovejoy Wharf are going ahead with an entire complex of 175 condos, plus amenities and retail, without plans for any on-site parking. The logic? There's so much public transit nearby, why take up (literally) valuable real estate with great slabs of car-parkage? Why, indeed. Lovejoy Wharf is currently under construction and expected to be finished in 2015. It is the first large-scale Boston condo project ever without on-site parking. Truly rocking.