Related residents decry rising Caledonia gym fees

Condominium owners at the Related Companies’ Caledonia building in Chelsea are upset about Equinox gym membership discounts that will soon expire, lifting the monthly fitness fee from $49.50 to $136 per month, Curbed reported.

The discount, written into sales contracts, expires five years from the closing date. Renters in the building, meanwhile, pay only $100 per month.

Related owns both the condominium tower and the gym chain.

But the growing gym fees aren’t the only occurrence rubbing Caledonia owners the wrong way. The board at Caledonia, according to Curbed, has a 3-2 ratio in favor of Related reps who also live in the building. As such, residents allege, the board doesn’t have residents’ best interest at heart.

“It [the gym] was pitched as an amenity and a great experience, but at the end of it… the vice president of sales came back and said, ‘We don’t need your business. The gym is full of members… It’s in the bylaws. We don’t really have to do anything for you,'” a tipster told Curbed.

Equinox has reportedly attempted to lessen the pain of the gym fee with a free training session, but unhappy condo owners are reportedly throwing around the idea of boycotting extras such as the spa, shop, trainers and classes, like Pilates.

Equinox told Curbed that it “would prefer not to comment at this time.” [Curbed] — Julie Strickland