For most of June and July, the weather in Chicago has been pretty mild. So mild, in fact, that until last week I only felt the need to turn the A/C on once since summer began. Paying assessments for an outdoor pool might have seemed superfluous during that stretch of cool weather, but once temperatures peaked in the mid-90s over the weekend, I’d suspect that anyone with a pool quickly became a little more popular.
Following up on my post last week about the “bank-forced” closeout sale at the Grand Plaza Penthouses, I walked over to 545 N Dearborn St in River North this morning to check out the outdoor swimming pool and some of the other common amenities. The pool — which is shared by condo owners and renters from the Grand Plaza Apartments — was pretty active for midday on a Tuesday, but most of the other amenities on the ninth floor were pretty sparsely occupied.
Aside from the outdoor pool and patio on the building’s south side, there’s also a running track and garden on the north side, and for the committed swimmers, there’s a small pool with air jets that enable you to swim in place. Other amenities at Grand Plaza include a business center; a party room with TVs, a pool table and Golden Tee (of course); a half-court basketball court; and a large fitness center.
