Open Family Room & Dining Room with Fireplace and water views. Large Kitchen with Marble Bar -- great for entertaining. Spa baths have whirlpool tub & steam shower. Hardwood floors throughout. Neighborhood Description Salem's condo appeal -- Empty nesters, young professionals drawn by prices Boston June 1, 2006 When Dan and Jessica Gelb were looking to move out of their Boston apartment, they typed into a computerized real estate search. Soon they were driving through Salem, checking out the two-bedroom condo they would purchase in a converted police station. ``We thought we could get a whole lot more for the dollar out here," said Dan Gelb, a 28-year-old lawyer. The couple looked in Cambridge, Boston, and Brookline before settling on Salem. ``We wanted something that had a bit of a scene to it but was realistic, and we felt that Boston was astronomical." The Gelbs are part of a wave of young professionals and retired couples who have recently moved to this famed old fishing port, drawn by one major factor: price. While Salem has clung to its old buildings and history for centuries, much of what the Gelbs and other new downtown residents are experiencing did not exist three years ago. In 2003, the Peabody Essex Museum reopened after a $125 million expansion project; last year, the city's largest private developer, RCG LLC, opened its $20 million, six -story, 54- condo Derby Lofts building. With more people living and working downtown, the city also has become a destination for diners, with 15 of downtown's 52 restaurants opening in the last three years -- including eight last year alone. Developers, residents, and business owners say a confluence of real estate, architecture, history, geography, and a commuter rail line to Boston is helping Salem rebound from an ill-fated urban renewal project of the 1960s. ``We want development by choice, not by chance, and it's imperative that as we go forward we stick to that principle," said Driscoll, who m voters chose as the city's first female mayor last year.
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