THE COMPLETE GUIDE

BOSTONHOMESBOSTONHOMESO P E N H O U S E S L I S T E D I N S I D EA L L O P E N H O U S E S L I S T E D I N S I D EA L L

FEBRUARY 14 - 20, 2009 SERVING BEACON HILL, BACK BAY, FENWAY, SOUTH END, JAMAICA PLAIN, CHARLESTOWN, NORTH END/WATERFRONT, DOWNTOWN, SOUTH BOSTON, DORCHESTER & EAST BOSTON

I N D E X — PA G E 1 2N E W & S E A R C H A B L E

BY KATHLEEN ZIGMONTCORRESPONDENT

There’s a pretty little street near the topof one of the highest points in SouthBoston that is home to one of the

prettiest houses in South Boston.At 4 Pacific St., off Thomas Park and just

steps from the lovely and historic DorchesterHeights Park, is a brick-front, single-familyhome built in 1890 that manages to beautiful-ly blend gracious period detail and modernamenities.

“This home was built around the turn of thecentury and retains much of the charm, but ithas everything today’s buyers are lookingfor,” said Mike O’Hagan of Coldwell BankerResidential Brokerage who has listed thishome at $630,000.

“It has everything going for it – top qualityupdates, space and a perfect South Bostonlocation,” O’Hagan said.

This mid-block home is on a street of othersingle-family, owner-occupied homes, he said.

“This neighborhood is one of the fewneighborhoods in South Boston to have

BY JUNE ALBRITTONCORRESPONDENT

On the Flat of Beacon Hill is anamazing house that today com-bines the best of green building

standards and smart house technology.Tracy Campion of Campion and Com-

pany and Brad Sprogis and John Nealeof Sprogis & Neale Real Estate have list-ed this ultimate family home at $7.95million.

Built in 1869 for the Rev. John Parkman,the home is located at 20 Brimmer St., aone-way tree-lined street that starts atPinckney Street and ends at Beacon Streetnext to the Bull and Finch Pub, also knownas the original Cheers. The home is on thefirst block, before Mount Vernon Street.

Developer Peter Georgantas and hiscompany, PEG Properties and Design ofBoston, actually are renovating two prop-erties on Brimmer Street, this one andone next door where he and his familywill live.

The home is red brick with granite key-stone pediments above the doors and

Beacon Hill home exudes refinement

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The roof deck greenhouse, viewed from the stairwell at 20 Brimmer St. on the Flat of Beacon Hill, provides abundant light. The five-bedroom home has been listed at $7.95 million. PHOTO BY JUNE ALBRITTON

HOMEPORTRAIT

In South BostonOne-family homehas details, charm

A three-bedroom single-family home at 4 Pacif-ic St. in South Boston, near Thomas Park, is onthe market for $670,000. PHOTO BY KATHLEEN ZIGMONT

The interior courtyard at Lincoln Wharf at 357 Commercial St. along thewaterfront creates a beautiful first impression. Unit 809, a penthouse duplex,is on the market for $759,000. COURTESY PHOTO / THE CHARLES REALTY

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Penthouse duplex on water is specialBY JUDY ASHWORTHCORRESPONDENT

gem of a penthousehas just come on themarket at Lincoln

Wharf at 357 Commercial St.in the North End/Waterfrontneighborhood.

The current owner hasspared nothing in his recentrenovation of this living space,and he is known for being veryparticular about details,including paint colors.

“It’s beautiful and unique,”says Betsy Herald of the CharlesRealty who is marketing theduplex penthouse at $759,000.

The attractive, turn-of-the-century brick building was

converted from a power sta-tion to condominiums in 1987.

Greeted always by aconcierge, one enters the hall-way to the elevators and thecentral courtyard, a commonspace nicely finished withinterior landscaping and seat-ing areas and soaring dramati-cally to the eighth floor. Aglass elevator provides asmooth ride to the penthouse.

Everything is new, exceptfor the entry space, the largesliding windows and deckdoors, and the hardwood oakparquet floors.

The most dramatic changeto the space came when the

A

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Page 8 BOSTON HOMES: THE COMPLETE GUIDE • www.linkbostonhomes.com Week of February 14 - 20, 2009

windows and a black oriel window.Georgantas kept the front wall of

the home, but every other part fromthe foundation to the roof deck isnew. Lasers were used to ensure thatall floors are level, and the most up-to-date technology was built into thehome. All of the new components arehistorically accurate, producing botha livable and a beautiful home.

The front garden has small ever-greens and a weeping fruit tree. Dou-ble oak doors paneled with etchedglass open into a small vestibulebefore another set of double doorsopen into a grand living room, whichhas gorgeous wide molding. A stair-case with a double birdcage newelpost is at the far left.

To the right is a wood-burning fire-place with a carved marble mantel-piece. The floor is beautiful oak in aherringbone pattern with a doublecourse of walnut following theperimeter.

A door with an arched header is inthe center of the back wall. Pocketdoors can be closed there, but theview is so striking that they probablywould remain open. The hallwayfrom the living room to the diningroom has a barrel ceiling, a floor pat-terned of oak and walnut, and anoth-er arched door to the dining roomwhere light pours through the win-dows.

The rooms on this level are lit withGeorgian-style wall sconces for evenlighting. The dining room has a fire-place like that in the living room. Adoor beside the hall door opens to agood size butler’s pantry and wet bar.In the hallway are a coatroom and apowder room and stairs to the kitchenlevel. Beneath the stairs is a powderroom.

Having the kitchen and the diningroom on separate levels is not a prob-lem. A wood-paneled elevator withmirror inserts and a mosaic tile flooroperates between all the floors.

The French bistro-style kitchen isopen from the front wall to the back.It features custom white cabinetryand black stone countertops andbacksplash, along with a 36-inchSub-Zero refrigerator and a separate36-inch freezer. Other top-of-the-lineappliances include a Wolf doublerange gas cooktop, two large ovensand a custom-made vent hood plus a

microwave and a convection oven aswell as a Miele dishwasher and aFisher & Paykel two-drawer dish-washer.

In the center of this area is a largeisland topped with a black stonecounter that extends to allow roomfor a couple of chairs. A Sub-Zerobeverage cooler is built into theisland.

A breakfast room with a built-inbench has been created midway inthe next section of the room, and atthe far end is a wood-burning brickfireplace next to a wall of windows.Here is a view of the brick patio, theraised planting beds, and the gate thatleads to the brick paved parking areafor two cars.

A door beside the elevator leads to

the stairs to the French barn-stylebasement that has a cedar closet, a cli-matized wine cellar and extra storage.

One flight up from the living roomis the library paneled in quarter-sawnoak that also has a butler’s pantry andwet bar. At the front of the house is aguestroom with a full bath and a dec-orative fireplace that was bought inLondon. A powder room and a stor-

age room complete this level. The master bedroom suite occupies

the entire next floor with a spaciouswalk-in closet plus two other closetswith built-ins. The walls of the masterbath are Calcutta gold marble cut toform a continuous pattern throughoutthe room. There is a double rainforestshower as well as a claw foot soakingtub. Both the master bedroom and thebath have gas fireplaces.

The top floor has a large bedroomin front and two other bedrooms,which could be combined, two fullbaths and a beautiful laundry room.

Stairs on this level lead to a glassconservatory/greenhouse and a largeroof deck with a built-in grill. In addi-tion, a living green roof has been cre-ated at either end of the deck.

Other amenities include a wholehouse water purifier, 15 zones of radi-ant in-floor heat, and five zones ofcooling. Twelve sets of speakers havebeen installed. Three wireless anten-nas are located throughout the houseto provide uninterrupted phone ser-vice.

“Peter loves building and is proudof his houses,” says Campion.“While some builders may cut a fewcorners to make a greater profit, Peteralways uses the best products for theproject. He really cares about qualityand craftsmanship.”

Adds Neale: “While some peopleare satisfied with a Timex, there areothers who demand a fine Swisswatch. This is the fine Swiss watch ofbuildings.”

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Address: 20 Brimmer St., Beacon Hill

BR/BA: Five bedrooms, four fullbaths, three half baths

Age: 1869; 2008-2009

Price: $7.95 million

Size: 5,700 +/- square feet

Taxes: $20,631

Close by: The Public Garden,historic Church of the Advent,antique shops and restaurantsalong Charles Street; theEsplanade and the Hatch

Shell; easy access to ArlingtonStreet and CharlesStreet/MGH MBTA stations,Storrow Drive, Route 93,Mass. Turnpike.

Contact: Brad Sprogis or JohnNeale, Sprogis & Neale RealEstate, 679 Tremont St.,

Boston, MA 02118. Phone:617-262-1504. Or, Tracy Cam-pion, Campion and Company,172 Newbury St., Boston, MA02116. Phone: 617-236-0711.Web sites:www.campionre.com,www.sprogisneale.com orwww.thebrimmerhouse.com

D E T A I L S

Home on Flat of Beacon Hill is simply extraordinary

The French bistro-style kitchen is open and features a large center island topped witha black stone counter and state-of-the-art appliances. A breakfast area is nearby.

The pattern in the marble behind the twin vanities was carefully matched tocontinue perfectly on all of the master bathroom walls. PHOTO BY JUNE ALBRITTON

The family room includes a built-in desk with pullout cabinet for computer equipment, a wood-burning fireplace and awall of windows with views of the private patio, the raised planting beds, and the two private parking spots.

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This home may be seen byappointment.