BY JUNE ALBRITTONCORRESPONDENT

This story is about a perfect combination brought together to pro-duce an amazing property.The first part of the combination is the location. Union Park was

built by the city of Boston in the 1850s to attract some of the wealthy buy-ers who were moving from the city to the suburbs. The plan must haveworked since the first residents included S.S. Pierce and Alexander Rice,a mayor of Boston. Susan and Michael Southworth in “AIA Guide toBoston” call Union Park “one of the loveliest green spaces in the SouthEnd.” Donlyn Lyndon in The “City Observed, Boston: a Guide to theArchitecture of the Hub” calls Union Park Square “the South End’sanswer to Louisburg Square.” Phebe S. Goodman in “The GardenSquares of Boston” writes, “Union Park has become the trophy neighbor-hood of the South End, offering a convenient location, expensive housing,

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

SEPTEMBER 12-18, 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 8

BY MARILYN JACKSONSTAFF WRITER

At the corner of Exeter and Marl-borough streets is a handsomefour–story building designed by

W. Whitney Lewis in 1886. Constructed inthe Romanesque Revival style, it reflectsthe influence of H. H. Richardson, the icon-ic architect who designed Trinity Church inCopley Square just a few blocks away.

The building comprises rusticatedbrownstone on the first story and brick onthe upper floors. Arches and multi-panedwindows atop a single pane are typical ofthis style.

Along Marlborough Street are two sepa-rate entrances, at 198 and 196 Marlbor-ough, which are part of the four-unit com-plex known as the Bradbury House. Theother two residences have addresses at 16Exeter St.

At 16 Exeter St., a columned arch pre-cedes the recessed entrance, which bears abronze plaque identifying the building asthe Bradbury House / A.D. 1886. E.P.Bradbury, a dentist, lived here and main-tained his offices here as well.

Lili Banani of Coldwell Banker Residen-tial Brokerage – Itzkan & Marchiel is mar-

keting Unit 1 at 16 Exeter at $3.65 million.This home is a grand corner duplex,

which Banani describes as like living in acastle.

A flight of stairs leads to the condomini-um and opens into a beautiful foyer orreception hall. Straight ahead is a moststriking staircase. Although not original tothe home, it is crafted with the same sensi-tivity to details as the original architect’sdesign. It has an open balustrade, curvedrailing and boxed wainscoting on the sideand the underside.

It is in the center or the living space andis extraordinarily wide. Before the stairsturn halfway up is a large landing, whichholds a table. The cove ceiling above thestairs is painted pale blue with fluffy whiteclouds and holds a lovely chandelier.

All the rooms surround the staircase, andon the second level, the walls serve as anart gallery.

The main living area is on the first leveland is perfect for entertaining. To the leftof the reception hall is a double livingroom. At one end is a wide, wood-burningfireplace with a wood mantel, flanked bybuilt-ins.

Back Bay home offers gracious lifestyle

Continued on page 20

Continued on page 14

The Romanesque Revival building at the corner ofExeter and Marlborough streets includes four condominiums, one of which is for sale.

PHOTO BY MARILYN JACKSON

The new buildings at 28-30 Union Park feature completely new inte-rior construction from the parlor level up. There are two landscapedfront gardens with weeping birches and two front bays.

SKETCH COURTESY OF JOHN GALLAGHER

Luxury condos in twoSouth End buildings

N E W & S E A R C H A B L E

HOMEPORTRAIT

South End triplexpenthouse issumptuous

Unit 2 at 39 Rutland Square, a penthousetriplex, offers a spacious and lovely place tolive that is filled with custom finishes.PHOTO BY PENELOPE LANE

BY PENELOPE LANECORRESPONDENT

Rutland Square is certainly one of themost charming streets in the SouthEnd, with a slender park enclosed

by a wrought iron fence separating rows ofbeautiful bow front homes that date fromthe mid-19th century. At 39 Rutland Square,a really splendid triplex penthouse condo-minium is being offered for sale. Unit 2, athree-bedroom, three- and a half-bath home,filled with custom finishes and thoughtfulupgrades, is priced at $1.895 million. JohnNeale of Sprogis & Neale Real Estate ismarketing the property.

The two condominiums at 39 RutlandSquare were created in 2005 when thebuilding was completely gutted and rebuilt.

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Page 20 BOSTON HOMES: THE COMPLETE GUIDE • www.linkbostonhomes.com Week of September 12 - 18, 2009

and a well-manicured, locked garden that theresidents treat as their own.”

The rest of the combination includes thepeople involved and the property itself.

William Welsh, Don Rossignol, and A.J.Schnopp III own the buildings at 28 and 30Union Park. At least 10 years ago, Welsh andSchnopp decided that they wanted to turn thebuildings into condominiums. Schnopp has adesign business. He also owns a glass companythat produces custom glass for commercial andresidential projects. His father has a construc-tion company in western Massachusetts, so hegrew up understanding construction. Duringthe 10 years, he listened very carefully as peo-ple talked about what they liked or didn’t likeabout their projects and their condominiums.He also observed the work of contractors andbuilders in the area. When it was time to beginthe project he was ready.

The building was gutted to the brick wallsand repointed both inside and out. Steel beamsand steel seismic plates were added for stability.Because of historic restrictions, the front win-dows cannot be changed, but they are all beingrestored. The windows in the back have beenreplaced with luxury Pella windows. Each ofthe units will have four heating and cooling sys-tems with controls in each room for separatetemperatures. The bathrooms will have radiantheat in the floors. The stairways will be extrawide to allow for furniture movers. The unitsare pre-wired for audio and video and for auto-matic shades. The roof is synthetic slate with a30- to 40-year warranty. Each unit will have asprinkler system and security system.

Schnopp and his partners decided that theywould like a total of four condominiums inthe two buildings. Each condominium spansthe entire width of both buildings so thatrather than being the standard 24 feet wide,they are each nearly 48 feet wide. Unit 1 is aprivate entrance duplex on the street and gar-den levels. Unit 2 is a floor through on theparlor level with a private entrance, a deck,two bedrooms, two and a half baths, and aparking space. Unit 3 is a floor through on thesecond floor with a deck, two bedrooms, twoand a half baths, and a parking space. It sharesan entrance with the penthouse. Unit 4 is thepenthouse, a duplex that fills the top twofloors of the building. It has an elevator, threebedrooms, three and a half baths, a roof deckwith a head house, and a parking space. All ofthe units will have extra storage in the base-

ment. Unit 1 will remain with the owners whowill live there. Unit 2 will be listed for$2,000,000. Unit 3 will be $2,100,000, andthe penthouse will be $4,000,000.

All of the finishes and fixtures will be very

high end that can only be bought through adecorator or designer. The appliances will betop of the line. The flooring will be walnuthardwood and the kitchen cabinets lacqueredhorizontal grain maple. The countertops areimported marble. Each unit will have two gasfireplaces. Insulation to provide both heat orcool retention and also sound-proofing will bebetween rooms as well as between floors.Schnopp said that he wants the units to be asseparate as possible so that someone movingfrom Wellesley will feel that they are movinginto a home, not an apartment.

The project architect is Gordon GreenfieldAssociates. The interior design companyworking with Schnopp, Barnum & Company,has experience in both traditional and con-temporary design.

Vista Projects, Inc. is overseeing the project.Keith R. Diggans, PE, is president of the compa-ny. He has more than 20 years of experience insuch things as engineering, project manage-ment, accounting, planning, construction man-agement and quality control.

John Gallagher is a principal in Vista Pro-jects, Inc. He has more than 25 years experi-ence in architecture and construction.

The project is on time and in budget, some-thing that seems to be rare.

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Address: 28-30 Union Park, South EndUnit 2: BR/BA: 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 1 halfbath, exterior deck, private entrancePrice: $2,000,000Size: 1,600+/- square feetCondo fee: To be determinedTaxes: To be determined

Unit 3:BR/BA: 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath, exterior deckPrice: $2,000,000Size: 1,600+/- square feetCondo fee: To be determinedTaxes: To be determined

Unit 4:BR/BA: 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 1 half bath, roof deck with full headhouse, elevatorPrice: $4,000,000Size: 3,200+/- square feetCondo fee: To be determined Taxes: To be determined

Features of the units: Chef’s kitchens,luxury baths, designer fixtures, hard-wood floors, top of the line appliances,including laundry equipment. Decksplumbed for gas grills. Each unit includestwo bays. Twice the usual living spaceon each floor, requiring fewer stairs.Oversized multi-jet showers, soakingtubs with air jets. Recessed lighting,security systems, sprinkler systems, and wiring for audio-visual.Designer lighting pendants and sconces.

Close by: The Boston Center for theArts and many fine South End art gal-leries and restaurants. Easy access toMBTA trains and buses and to the MassPike and Route 93 north and south.

Contact: Heather Olin, GRI, ABR,Campion and Company Fine HomesReal Estate,172 Newbury Street, 3rd Floor, Boston,MA 02116.Phones: Office (617) 236-0711, Cell:(508) 934-6699.

Web site: www.campionre.com E-mail: heather_olin@yahoo.com

Unit 1 will serve as the modeluntil the other units are complete. For an appointment,

contact Heather Olin.

Artist’s rendering of the living room of Unit 2.

The full bathrooms will feature oversized multi-jet showers and soaking tubs with air jets.

Units have chef’s kitchens, luxury baths, hardwood floorsContinued from page 1

Artist’s rendering of the master bedroom of Unit 2. SKETCHES COURTESY OF MICHAEL BARNUM