'Tis no secret that it's Thunderdome when it comes to parking in downtown Boston (or getting gas for that matter). That's why we expect ferocious interest this Thursday when beloved staple of American life, the IRS, auctions a pair of tandem parking spaces at 298 Commonwealth Avenue. Why the IRS? The agency seized the spaces from their tax-cheat owner, who paid $50,000 for them back in 1993.
The bidding for the spaces will start at $42,000, according to The Herald, which says the IRS based the starting point on 2013 assessment values. We all know, of course, that this pair will go for a lot more than that. There's precedent: A single space at 195 Beacon Street recently went for $195,000; one at 37 Brimmer Street went for $275,000; another single space at 286 Marlborough Street went for $250,000 last year; and a single space at 488 Beacon Street sold for $80,000, also last year. And, of course, there was the mother of all Boston parking space sales in 2009, when one behind 48 Commonwealth Avenue went for a cool $300,000. Stay tuned.
· $$ Marks the Spot in Parking Auction [Herald]
· Where Not to Park in Allston, Brighton, South End, North End [Curbed Boston]
· The Incredibly Shrinking Boston Gas Station [Curbed Boston]
· People Really Do Buy Those Six-Figure Boston Parking Spaces [Curbed Boston]
[Photo by Stuart Cahill in The Herald]