Harvard Commons News

Harvard Commons offers a suburban-style subdivision in the heart of the inner city. Located in the former Boston State Hospital site on the Dorchester/Mattapan border, the development features a choice of four distinct home styles. Prices range from $399,900 for three-bedroom "Audubon"-style homes to $539,000 for five-bedroom "Brookside" houses. That works out to just $200 or so per square foot on all homes - a great deal.
The first phase of Harvard Commons' planned 54 homes is done - 26 houses are completed, with 18 still available. All feature gas fireplaces, rear decks, large master-bedroom suites, attached garages and oak floors throughout. Named after the Dorchester street that runs along its edge, Harvard Commons offers quiet roads and grassy yards. The builder, Cruz Development Corp., also plans to eventually add a recreational building with a fitness room, tennis courts and a day-care center. We recently checked out 9 Snowden Way, a three-bedroom "Arbor"-style home that offers 2,170 square feet of living space for $449,900. This house features a gray HardiPlank exterior, with white trim and a projecting gable on one side. Steps lead up to a 20-by-6-foot covered front porch. From there, a red wooden front door with fan lights on either side opens into an 8-by-8-foot foyer.

To the left, a 21-by-13-foot living room boasts crown molding, 9-foot ceilings and a gas fireplace set inside of a wood mantel. Brightness pours into this room from six windows, augmented by recessed lighting. The home's 13-by-12-foot dining room features crown molding, chair-rail wainscoting, three windows and a chandelier hanging from a plaster medallion. A 15-pane French door leads to a 14-by-8-foot galley kitchen. This L-shaped space offers recessed lighting and a wide expanse of Uba Tuba Butterfly granite counter space. An island extends out to form a three-seat breakfast bar, while the kitchen also boasts 20 cherry-wood cabinets - some of them large pantry cabinets and others outfitted with Lazy Susans. Amana stainless-steel appliances include a dishwasher, a double-door refrigerator and a gas stove with a matching microwave oven above. Adjacent to the kitchen, a 17-by-13-foot family room boasts two windows that look out over the home's grass-covered back yard. Glass sliding doors lead out to a 17-by-12-foot rear deck outfitted with Trex flooring and a built-in propane connection. Back inside, a 5-by-4-foot half bathroom features brown ceramic-tile floors, a white pedestal sink and a large coat closet. Nearby, a wide oak staircase leads up to the home's second floor, where three bedrooms branch off of an L-shaped hallway. The 15-by-13-foot master bedroom features an entry foyer, vaulted ceilings, recessed lighting, three windows and a 7-by-6-foot walk-in closet. A 9-by-8-foot master bathroom boasts brown ceramic-tile flooring, a combination shower/whirlpool bath, double sinks and a natural cherry-wood vanity with a wheat-colored granite counter. The home's 16-by-12-foot second bedroom features two windows and a 6-by-5-foot walk-in closet, while a 13-by-13-foot third bedroom has a double-door closet and three windows. These bedrooms share a 7-by-6-foot bathroom outfitted with brown ceramic-tile floors, a combination tub and shower and a cherry-wood vanity with a wheat-colored granite countertop. There's also a linen closet nearby. Downstairs, the home's 35-by-34-foot full basement has roughed-out plumbing and a washer-dryer hookup and also holds the house's gas-fired water heater and heating/cooling system.

Additionally, 9 Snowden Way features a 22-by-14-foot one-car attached garage. For more information or a chance to see this property, call John Cruz III of Cruz Development Corp. at 617-445-6901. BOX: Home checklist: Information about this week's profiled home. ** Address: 9 Snowden Way, Harvard Commons, Dorchester ** Bedrooms: Three ** Bathrooms: Two and a half ** List price: $449,900 ** Square feet: 2,170 ** Price per square foot: $207 ** Annual taxes: To be determined ** Features: Gas fireplace, rear deck, one-car attached garage, oak floors throughout. The kitchen features natural cherry-wood cabinets, Uba Tuba granite counters and stainless-steel appliances. ** Location: Located on the former Boston State hospital property along the Dorchester/Mattapan line near Franklin Park. You're one long block from Blue Hill Avenue's shops and bus service to the Mattapan Red Line T stop. Additionally, the Forest Hills Orange Line T station is about a mile away. ** Built in: 2008 CAPTION: HUB HOME: The three-bedroom single-family at 9 Snowden Way in Dorchester has oak floors throughout, a stylish galley kitchen and an adjacent dining room, (above), and a living room with a gas fireplace, (right).