Massachusetts commercial real estate

In a market starved for inventory, Newburyport Crossing brings 76 brand-new apartments for rent, and a walkable lifestyle

If you have scoured apartments for rent in Newburyport recently, you’re probably used to them being in painfully short supply. Finding an apartment rental anywhere on the North Shore has for years been a patience-trying exercise where any dreams of finding the perfect home often fades into, “I’ll take what I can get.” 

But now there’s relief in sight for starved apartment hunters — and this new option comes with a range of features rarely found among North Shore apartments for rent. 

How do you like the sound of brand-new construction, options from studios to 3-bedroom apartments, 15 floor plans, green living, and live/work units? How about being within steps of the commuter rail station and the Clipper City Rail Trail in Newburyport and a short distance from the beaches of Plum Island? 

Welcome to Newburyport Crossing at 1 Boston Way in Rail’s End, a reimagined, walkable neighborhood off Route 1 south at the gateway to the city. 

Let’s peek inside Newburyport Crossing’s apartments for rent

With the spring move-in date fast approaching, the most recent construction photos show off the interiors, like the sleek plank floors, oversized windows, charcoal bathroom tile, and glass shower door. The hard hat tour gives you a  chance to see it all up close — run your hand over the quartz countertops, open the flat-panel kitchen cabinetry, overlook the living room from behind the kitchen island, discover the in-unit washer and dryer, and check out the views from up above (yes, Metzy’s Cantina is a next-door neighbor). 

At a time when available Newburyport rentals can be counted on two hands — Trulia lists seven, Zillow four — you’ll be happy to know Newburyport Crossing expands your selection with 76 apartments (57 market rate, 19 affordable units).

Now pre-leasing, you have a rare opportunity to actually look at that wishlist of yours and cross off the must-haves: open-concept living (check), on-site fitness center (check), modern design (check), pet friendly (send your pup to the dog wash station), garage parking (check), courtyard with grills (check), walkable neighborhood (check). 

Live green

Then, there are the features you may not even have thought to ask for. Energy efficiency is, after all, not the first thing that comes to mind when you have grown accustomed to looking at apartments for rent housed in century-old homes. 

But Newburyport Crossing lets you marry any aspirations to live green with your apartment of choice. As a LEED and Fitwel certified community, Newburyport Crossing is built in accordance with the latest in green building design. Here, you get individualized air exchangers for fresh air flow in each unit, energy efficient HVAC, and electric car charging stations.

The question is which apartment best suits your lifestyle? Whatever you decide — studio, one bedroom, two bedrooms, or three bedrooms — it includes all of the above. 

Several trends driving up home values

The opening of Newburyport Crossing really comes at the right time for anyone searching for apartments north of Boston. For years, North Shore apartments have been a hot commodity, coveted both by people escaping skyrocketing rents in Boston and developers seeking to turn them into condos. A Boston Magazine writer compares her apartment hunt to The Hunger Games in which an ever-growing number of prospective renters battle for an ever-dwindling number of apartments. 

Pandemic fuels move from big cities

And if Massachusetts apartment rentals were in high demand before the arrival of Covid-19, the pandemic lit a match under an already overheated real estate market. Untethered by commutes, Greater Boston residents have made a notable exodus from the city and the impact is felt in communities like Newburyport where single family homes for sale these days frequently receive multiple, instant offers and the price per square foot now hovers around $400, up approximately 28% since 2018. 

To get a foot in the door of a Newburyport home now means competing for listings with a median price of $692,000, a figure that pushes home ownership out of reach for the majority but still garners enough buyers to fuel more bidding wars.

“Homes are selling incredibly quickly — nearly two weeks faster than last year — because the market is so starved for inventory,’’ says Danielle Hale, Realtor.com chief economist.

Drawn by walkable lifestyle

The urban migration feeds into other trends that have been driving up home values in recent years: low mortgage rates, millennials —  now in their 30s — buying homes or trading up, and empty nesters giving up large homes in suburbia for carefree living close to everything they want to do. 

“People still want the walkability and they don’t want to have to get in their car for everything, especially those coming from the inner city,” Steve McKenna, a Gibson Sotheby’s realtor, tells Boston Magazine. 

So close to everything

Newburyport Crossing not only enables you to enter the exceedingly competitive real estate market and live in one of the most stunning coastal communities in New England, it is also, in fact, built around walkability and public transit. As the city’s first Smart Growth community, Newburyport Crossing capitalizes on the proximity to the MBTA Newburyport/Rockport Line (you’ll reach North Station in an hour), the 3.3-mile long rail trail, retail stores around the Route 1 traffic circle, and nearby restaurants and industries. 

A 5-minute bike ride down the leafy rail trail leads to the Harborwalk along the Merrimack River and restaurant row on the Newburyport waterfront. How about boat-peeping over cocktails on the deck of Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar when summer arrives? 

That dream home can be yours after all. 

 

About Newburyport Crossing

Now leasing for spring occupancy

• Studio: 535 SF +/-
• 1 Bed/1 Bath: 683 SF+/-
• 2 Beds/2 Baths: 1,096 SF +/-
• 3 Beds/2.5 Baths: 1,242 SF +/- 

Amenities

• Garage parking
• In-building elevator
• Fitness center
• Dog wash station
• Communal area with Wi-Fi
• Latest in air filtration and ventilation
• Individualized air exchangers for fresh air flow in each unit
• Designed to meet Fitwel and LEED certification standards

Learn more at www.NewburyportCrossing.com