It was the fall of 1999, and I had just finished showing a lakefront condo at Fontana Shores. My customer's that day were a nice couple from St. Charles, and how they began working with me I can't exactly remember. I do remember that it was a sunny day, and it was evident that they had little interest in the Fontana Shores building. Scanning the depths of my oversized brain for ideas, I remembered had heard about a new condo that was going to be built on the southern shore of Fontana, in Glenwood Springs. The old Fontana Club hotel that had fallen into disrepair had stood haphazardly on the lakefront there for almost a century, but the village had recently given their approval for its demolition, and for the new 8 unit condominium that would share the same name. Whether the old hotel had met the wrecker's ball prior to that sunny Saturday afternoon in September, I cannot remember. I walked this charming couple around the site, and we poured over construction drawings at a picnic table on the lakefront where the new condominiums would be built. Later that same day at that same picnic table is where this couple decided The Fontana Club was the place for them.


I wrote the contract that day, and unit 8H subsequently sold for $393k the next summer to become the first sale at the newest lakefront condominium on Geneva Lake. I ended up procuring the listing to sell the entire building, and with some mixed success, proceeded to close on several of the units over the next year or so, before finally losing the listing to another office, (they came in to clean up my scraps). The building was mostly finished by the end of 2000, though the interiors weren't complete, and there was much lipstick remaining to be applied to the building itself. The developer tried to get out ahead of the market, as we were selling units in the high $300k's at a time when other lakefront condominiums could be had in the low $300k's. We were seeking a new construction premium, and the fact that the building took more than 3 years to sell out (only 8 units), is proof that the idea was a bit ahead of its time. Had the building been built in 2003, the units would have probably sold for closer to $450k a piece, and the 8 units would have undoubtedly sold in just one year.

The building famously does not have balconies. People are very confused by this, and assume that the developer just forgot to add them. To the contrary, the developer begged and pleaded for them, but Glenwood Springs and the village wouldn't allow the balconies that were originally asked for. The reason? The building had to be built in the footprint of the old hotel. The old hotel was not particularly large, and in order to get 8 units in the building, square footage was at a premium. If balconies would have been included, our living rooms would have had to shrink by at least 6 feet, and while we would have had balconies, we would have also had a living room that was barely big enough for a single chair. My solution to the design issue? We put in large 6' french doors, with accompanying french balcony. My thought was at least you could open up two huge doors, have the lake breeze and lake sounds wash over your unit, even if you couldn't physically step out on a balcony. If someone liked the idea, I quickly took credit. If they told me it was a bad idea, I'd just as quickly blame the builder...

While the building was originally built as an 8 unit condo, with six lakefront units and two off-lake rear facing units, the building has been transformed over the years. The two first floor lakefront units have morphed into one, very large, very beautiful, ground floor condominium. Unit 6F on the second floor turned into one large unit when the owner purchased the rear two level unit behind his and reconfigured the space. Unit 6F is a particularly close friend of mine, since I sold the unit originally for $376,900, then a couple years later for $389k, then a couple years after that (once it turned into two units) for a staggering $1.125MM. So a building that was once 8 units is now only 6. The condominium also includes the free standing home at 431 Harvard that is located directly behind the lakefront building (at least it was originally part of the condominium- no word as to whether legal action has been made to extricate itself from the association). This home also has an curious history, as it sold originally from the developer for $336k, then was torn down and rebuilt. Not interesting, right? Well, it was torn down, then a new foundation was poured. The new foundation wasn't poured according the village approvals, so the new foundation was dug out, and another new foundation was poured. The home that rose from that second new foundation sold in 2006 for $1.24MM. That home, to be fair to that price, was fantastically high end, and did have a boatslip.

The condominium has been 100% sold out for years, and there isn't a single unit currently on the market here. The last sale was the double unit I sold for $1.25MM in the winter of 2007, though there was a FSBO two bedroom lakefront unit that sold for around $625k a year prior. The building doesn't have any of the common amenities that many people look for in a lakefront building, but the quiet residential location of the building, and the meager 60' of grass between the condo from the waters edge more than make up for the lack of a tennis court or a swimming pool. There is a fabulous lakeside patio for owners to enjoy, complete with built in grills and patio furniture, and the parking is ample, with a full paved lot located just to the south of the building behind the free standing home. Since the condominium is within Glenwood Springs, all owners of the Fontana Club are also members of Glenwood Springs, a membership that affords them a buoy for their boat should they desire one. The condo also has a private pier for swimming, lounging, and temporary boat mooring. For buyers seeking condominium ownership in a quiet, residential setting, there is no better lakefront condominium on the water.

When I sat at that sunny lakeside picnic table that sun drenched afternoon in 1999, I could picture pretty clearly what was going to be built on the patch of lawn behind me, and thankfully, my customers could as well. In the 11 years that have passed, neighbors at the Fontana Club have come and gone. Units have grown, prices have escalated, and improvements have been made. What remains unchanged is the 60' that separates this condominium from the conditioned waters of Geneva Lake, and the enduring water views from the units themselves. I'm still here as well, more than happy to sit at that old picnic table, and introduce new buyers to the possibility of the Fontana Club.