Bristol’s most visible and dramatic waterfront development in years is just weeks away from welcoming its first tenants, and though a major part of the project is still under construction, three-quarters of the units, priced from the low $400,000s to $2.16 million, have been sold.
Billed as “luxury coastal living,” the Stone Harbour Condominiums are being built on 4.3 acres formerly occupied by the Coats American and Premier Thread mills, off Thames Street, with underground parking, a pool and spa, a putting green and a 39-slip marina.
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The complex is one of two major additions to Bristol’s condo market, along with the lower-priced, 82-unit Courtyard at Metacom. Two smaller complexes, Arbor View and the not-yet-begun Belvedere Hotel rehabilitation, will add another 26 units.
But it’s Stone Harbour, with its prominent location, historic components, and potential to reshape a key part of the Bristol waterfront that has drawn by far the most attention. Local residents’ concerns have led to several changes: a slightly reduced marina, the swimming pool instead of the originally planned tennis courts; a public boardwalk.
Various issues have delayed the project by a year. And even as the first residents prepare to move in, they’ll have to wait for the lush, sprawling gardens designed by Gates, Leighton & Associates, because the crews need access to one building still under construction.
Yet Stone Harbour units are selling well nonetheless, across the board, said Sean Crump, director of marketing and sales. Buyers have snatched up the smallest, lowest-priced units, but also five of eight townhouses, and five of the six luxury penthouse units.
The complex has special appeal to empty nesters, Crump said, but “we have buyers from their 30s right up to their 80s.” Some own boats and have purchased slips as well – priced at $80,000 to $125,000 for 30- to 60-foot lengths – but their backgrounds and lifestyles run the gamut.
“It’s a nice, diverse group of people,” Crump said. “They have begun to make a real wonderful community for the project, so it now makes the remaining units more saleable.”
Part of Stone Harbour’s appeal, Crump said, is that it’s not a “cookie-cutter” development. Almost every unit is different from its neighbors, with different sizes and configurations, and buyers can choose between traditional, contemporary and intermediate styles and then further customize their units with staff interior designer Deborah Kenworthy.
“We are allowing people to select a floor plan and work with our designer to make interior selections from floor to ceiling,” Crump said. “It makes the project unique.”
Still, the condos do have commonalities. Both Stone Harbour North, on the site of the former Coats building (and with its original façade) and the new Stone Harbour South are large brick structures with one-story units designed to make the most of the water and downtown views.
The sizes range from 887 to 3,818 square feet in North, and 941 to 5,253 square feet in South. Most units have two bedrooms, some with dens, though South will also include some three-bedroom units. Both buildings have elevator access and underground parking.
The 1840s Namquit Mill, between North and South, is dramatically different, with a true historic mill look and feel: a fully preserved white stone and granite exterior, exposed wood beams, deep-set windows, and a restored open cupola.
Inside, the building has been transformed into eight townhouse-style units ranging from 2,065 to 3,491 square feet, with four accessible from the ground floor and four accessible through private elevators to the third floor. All have two bedrooms; two have a den as well.
Units in all the three buildings will have central air conditioning, marble tiling, granite counters, and Sub-Zero, Wolf and ASKO appliances.
Exterior work on Stone Harbour South, the last building to be started, should be done by the end of the summer, Crump said, but the units won’t be ready until late winter. The first units in Namquit and Stone Harbour North, he said, will be ready for move-in next month.
