To compete with new product, this Mag Mile condo board is slashing fees

The Water Tower Place condo board voted to reduce fees to nearly 35%

Water Tower Place at 835 North Michigan Avenue (Credit: Google Maps)
Water Tower Place at 835 North Michigan Avenue (Credit: Google Maps)

The board at Water Tower Place has made a daring decision they’re hoping will give their building an edge against the slew of new product on the market.

Beginning Jan 1., homeowners will have their monthly assessment fees cut by nearly 33 percent. This will save a three-bedroom 2,750-square-foot unit about $9,600 a year. Homeowners in the building such as Michael Rosenblub, who is also a Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group agent, told Crain’s he’s hoping “this could jump-start sales” with the six listings he has at the building units he represents.

Units in the building, which has $28 million in reserves, have sat stale on the market. Crain’s found that 12 condos at the building at 835 North Michigan Ave. which sold this year spent an average of 202 days on the market.

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With the exception of some pricey new condo towers, it has been a tough year for the residential market. Home sales earlier this year fell by almost 10 percent in the Chicago metro area and fell by 13 percent in Chicago itself, according to the RE/MAX Chicago Housing Report.

But it hasn’t been all that bad for the Mag Mile condo building. Earlier this year, co-founder of Vivid Seats Eric Vassilatos wanted to combine six units in the tower to assemble a 14,000-square-foot luxury condo. This is similar to what Oprah did in the 1990s with her 9,600-square-foot space from four condos in the building. She sold it in 2015 to Centaur Interiors in 2015 and have sold off the units for a combined total of over $10 million. [Crain’s] — Jacqueline Flynn