Avalon at Prudential Center - 780 Boylston
“A window - it’s more entertaining than TV. Just ask a cat looking out, or a man looking in on a life he desires.”
I feel confident in saying that this is the best studio apartment I’ve ever seen. It’s spacious, in a full servicing building with unparalleled views from the 26th floor. To give some perspective, Avalon Prudential is 27 stories.
The original Avalon buildings were completed in 1969. This is somewhat obvious from the exterior. However, all of the buildings are currently going through renovation. Common areas have been modernized, and individual apartments are slowly being updated. The updates are based around the kitchens. Appliances and counters are being replaced, and in some cases walls are being removed to open up the spaces. Since this building is a little older, the apartments are a little more spacious than in most of the newer buildings.
This is the mirror image of the apartment I saw.
This studio is larger than my one bedroom, at 543 square feet. The plan for this apartment is pretty basic. There’s nothing wrong with that, and in fact think this place would be particularly easy to maintain some privacy around your sleeping area. The bathroom has plenty of room, and an old fashioned hamper built right into the wall. Connecting the bathroom and living area is a decent sized dressing room and closet. The dressing room is nice for the studio because it’s got great storage and can conceal a mess of laundry when friends visit.
The kitchen is small, but not terrible. There’s a good amount of storage, but counter space is limited. The cabinets and drawerss are very cool. They’re actually white painted metal. The sink is deep with a garbage disposal. Most importantly, there is a dishwasher.
The living area is spacious. The basket weave parquet floors remind me of an old New York City Co-op, but that’s not a bad thing. They definitely date the place a little, but fewer and fewer places have real wood floors. Parquet floors are meant to last for a while without maintenance, so they’re serving a purpose and don’t look all that bad. I don’t know If these are held in place with asphalt though.
The windows and the view are by far the past part of this apartment. Fifteen feet of windows overlooking the heart of Back Bay. This place even looks down on the Mandarin. You get a clear picture of the Charles River and beyond to Cambridge. I bet the Fourth of July fireworks are quite the spectacle from up here.
Cats are allowed with provisions. An additional $500 deposit is required, as well as $50/month rent per cat. You may have up to 2. Unfortunately, no dogs. Or any other animal that isn’t a cat.
Parking is available for, I believe, $385/month. It’s through the garage under Prudential. Avalon rents a certain number of spaces and offers them to residents. What’s nice is, they only rent them to reserve them. You pay no more than if you were to rent the space directly from the garage!
Being a full service building, there are many Community Amenities:
24 hour fitness center
Exclusive resident events
Community room and courtyard
Valet laundry and on site laundry center (Not all places have been updated yet, and concierge will take care of your dry cleaning. But don’t dry clean if you don’t have to)
Bike storage
24 hour full service concierge
On site management with 24 hour emergency maintenance
On site ZipCar
Additional on site storage available
This apartment is currently being offered at $2,900/month for a 12 month lease. Leases as short as 2 months are available, however the monthly rate will be higher. Prices vary with the market and availability. Sometimes incentives are offered, currently there is no fee. All fee’s subject to change.