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Prices keep going down at Lennar’s Library Tower, located at 520 S State St in the South Loop. The developer on Wednesday slashed the prices of two listed one-bedroom condos by more than 20 percent, bringing them down from the $330s and $350s to the $260s and $270s. Lennar also offering garage parking spaces, originally priced at $40,000 or more, at no additional cost.
Those numbers represent your “big” home costs, but we often forget to delve into the assessments that come with a home. Starting today, we’ll devote an occasional post to these monthly payments — how much the developer estimates a buyer will pay each month, and which services those payments are meant to fund.
According to a price sheet from late 2008, assessments at Library Tower pay for the following utilities and services:
- 24-hour door staff
- High-speed Internet
- Basic cable
- Fitness center
- Business center
- Conference room
- Hospitality room
- Rooftop deck
- Bicycle storage
- Indoor dog run
- Dry cleaning
- Landscaped park
- Common area maintenance and insurance
- Water and trash removal
Assessments for Library Tower’s one- to three-bedroom condos appear to come out to about 25 cents per square foot. Lennar currently estimates the following monthly amounts for its listed units:
- One-bedroom / one-baths: $239 to $285
- Two-bedroom / two-baths: $334 to $378
- Two-bedroom / two-bath penthouses with dens: $404
- Two-bedroom / 2.5-bath penthouses with dens: $444
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{ 14 comments }
These places are still way overpriced, considering today’s market and Lennar’s well-known poor build quality. Did they really think someone would have paid $350,000 for a one-bedroom Chinese drywall palace?
Jon,
Lennar has obviously recognized that the market has changed.
Any evidence that Lennar built poor quality at this project? Any evidence that it used Chinese drywall at this project? Share that with us. YoChicago is not a place that’s friendly to cheap-shot artists with no knowledge.
There might not be any evidence, but Lennar has had its fair share of Chinese drywall complaints in Florida. Regardless of where people are buying, they should ask if Chinese drywall was in newer construction. Since we don’t live in a hot/humid climate, the health and corrosion problems tied to it might not appear for a couple years.
Allison,
Caution and due diligence are always good things.
Chinese drywall problems have been reported in a dozen states. To my knowledge there have been no reported instances of its use in Illinois. Do you have any knowledge to the contrary?
To my knowledge, no there has been not been defective chinese drywall reported here yet. That doesn’t meant that it isn’t going to become a problem in the future. A few weeks ago I went under contract in a new development and apparently I was the first person to ask if they had used chinese drywall. People who look at this post deserve to know that Lennar is having problems w/ it so Jon had a good point that your readers deserve to read.
Here’s an article and its more than a dozen states now. It’s an ongoing problem.
Allison,
People need to be more skeptical about who is posting and why. We have no idea who Jon is, and he might be a disgruntled contractor, former employee, competitor, etc. simply spreading poison. Read all the comments he’s written and you’ll find little of substance in them.
If Jon has evidence he should present it. If he doesn’t, he shouldn’t state as fact that this property has Chinese drywall and poor quality, which he did. Our readers deserve better.
We’ve linked to a number of credible articles on the Chinese drywall issue in the past. That’s what our readers deserve – credible information, not made-up stuff from anonymous sources.
I could care less about seeking out proof. As a potential buyer (looking in this area) Lennar would need to provide overwhelming proof to me that their building is top quality, since I am aware that their reputation is mud. That may not be fair according to Joe Zekas but that is how the mindset of this and many buyers work. We’ll just take our money to one of the many other sellers. Were I the marketing chief of Lennar I would launch a big PR initiative outlining the steps taken to improve build quality and assure buyers that this building is not like the Florida developments, but I doubt they really care enough to do that. Lennar is too accustomed to the boom years when they could build something and buyers would line up to overpay.
Back on the topic of assessments for this building, they look really low for this kind of property. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them double once Lennar moves on and turns the building over to the condo association. This, combined with the still-high prices make this building a sure loser.
Sorry, Jon, but when you state something as fact you need to have some evidence for it. You’ve made it clear that you “could care less” about facts.
You lose all credibility with that approach.
I wasn’t sufficiently attentive for a bit, but you’re now out in the open. Your IP address – no surprise – is the same as the know-nothing troll with the handle of Pete/etc. that I’ve previously banned here. A review of Pete’s comments shows him to be, beyond any doubt, a disgusting little creep. Move on, Jon / Pete / Dan / Jane / John. We still don’t want you here.
Getting back to a discussion about assessments, those estimated numbers for the Library Tower seem pretty reasonable. However, the key word in the post is the word “estimated”
After I bought my new construction condo in the West Loop and our newly formed Board took control, the Board determined that the Developer’s “estimates” were inadaquate, and they raised everyone assessments by 18%. They are talking about another double digit raise next year.
The lesson that I take from this is that when budgeting for a new construction condo, those assessment numbers given by a developer are not written in stone, and you need to be prepared to potentially pay alot more than what is advertised.
garrett,
Developers vary widely in how responsibly they estimate assessments. Some do a great job, some not so.
And, it’s possible for an owner’s association to change the level of service the building offers, which can result in very substantial assessment increases. Whatever the cause, your advice is good: buyers should not rely totally on the estimates when they prepare their personal budgets.
The reason assessments are relatively low at Library Tower is b/c what I was told, “heat is not included in the assessments.
When visiting, I was told by the sales rep., just as princeplato was, that heat and air conditioning aren’t included in the assessments. Additionally I was told that there is an additional $50 assessment for parking.
Susie,
Always ask for the Property Report that a developer must deliver per the city ordinance. That’s your most reliable source of info on this type of question.
Property report info may list what is being charged but I find it woefully inaccurate and negligent…
Developers can have early budgets that are underfunded, but appear to be budgeted properly for many reasons including:
> developer may have budget for utilities knowing early on the number of units will use less for gas, water, sewer, common electric while he may be on his budget early on when less people live there, it is not representative of a full building.
> Plans can change including additions of individual metering for gas, water, or design of heating system from contract to final design.
> they can bury some of the trash costs in construction trash removal overlap
> underestimates reserve funds for things like facade, windows, roof, painting and carpet maintenance
> Insurance costs are sometimes misleading as while under construction, developer, if he carries for property as required under IL Law, usually would not file claims and carry’s higher deductable – he can do much of this items as a punch list work that he can expense.
> Building common area property taxes are lowballed and come up after pin is assigned.
As an resident and association, make sure you get accurate records of utility use prior to and after turnover, and make sure you get affidavites of payment. Make utilities come out for actual meter readings and request that property manager provide copies of utility bills and readings while waiting for building to be turned over. See City of Chicago website for examples, especially for water & sewer.
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