There was a time when I was everything to the Bay Shore Condominiums in Williams Bay. Bay Shore needed me. While everyone else thought Bay Shore wasn’t worthy, I helped Bay Shore up and carried her in a triumphant display of solidarity and understanding. She was mine, and I, by default, was hers. The time of which I speak was some time ago by relationship standards, but not that long ago as it relates to real estate. While the exact year escapes me, it had to have been either 2003 and 2004, and Bay Shore was in the midst of some serious changes. To this day, these changes are complicated, but most ownership structures as it relates to private frontage and boat slips by corporations usually are.
In May of 2003, I sold a two bedroom unit at Bay Shore for $280k. This was a good price at the time, as previous sales just a couple years prior had struggled to break the $200k mark. This buyer also assumed a very heavy burden of a pending $50k+ special assessment. At this time, Bay Shore the association was in the process of buying Kirsch’s restaurant- a restaurant that was inconveniently located right in the middle of the residential condominium complex. The 28 units form a bit of a “V” off the water, and at the crux of that V was the restaurant. Along with ownership of the restaurant came ownership of the piers and a chunk of the parking lot, and the Bay Shore association shrewdly took control of their destiny by buying this parcel. The price tag was not slight, and as a result each owner at the time ended up funding $50k+ (I believe it was $55k) to complete the purchase. It was a difficult time for Bay Shore owners, but it was a necessary expense if they wished to insulate themselves from the potential dangers of losing their lakefront and a large interior section of their property.
Today, no sign of the restaurant remains. The association quickly tore down the building, planted very large evergreen trees, and installed a new pool. The new pool was bigger and better than the original pool, a newly robust design that was possible only because of the absence of the encroaching restaurant. Bay Shore now controlled their lakefront (through the LLC), and their parking lot, and life was good.
Life continues to be good at Bay Shore, and a recent sale proves that property values have slipped at the association, but not as much as one might think. A two bedroom unit recently closed (last week) for $420k. This unit was in need of some “freshening up”, but it had a pretty nice view, and for sheer proximity to the water, Bay Shore cannot be beat. A key feature that people miss when hunting for lakefront condominiums is the individual unit taxes and association fees. It is in this that Bay Shore is most strong, as monthly dues of $196 and taxes of around $3300 for a two bedroom unit are by far the cheapest on the lakefront. While other associations spend out of control like a democrat controlled congress, Bay Shore remains even keeled.
Bay Shore has both one and two bedroom units. The one bedroom units are on the ground level, the two bedrooms above those. Bay Colony, Fontana Shores, and Bay Shore are the only true lakefront condos that offer one bedroom units (Geneva Towers, you’re not true lakefront to me). With this last unit sale, there are currently no units available for purchase at Bay Shore. I’m the long time sales leader for units here (since 1999), and I’d wager that no other agent understands the individual market here quite like I do. With many clients placed in Bay Shore, I generally know the scoop as it’s happening, and the scoop today is that owners in Bay Shore are largely happy and not needing to sell.
Faithful reader Bret would have to remind me if I didn’t put a map of this location online for you, so please consult the map below for the exact location. If you were at the Art in the Bay event this weekend, you saw the blue/gray buildings just to the south of Edgewater Park. Bay Shore might not have a single offering today, but for anyone looking to get into this economical lakefront development, all you have to do is call. Me. Call me, and I’ll do my best to find you a unit. Expect to pay $300k or so for a one bedroom right now, and around $420k for a two.