Fontana’s Club Unique

I have a painful history with this little lake access association positioned due East of the Fontana lakefront. I must have been about 16, and had just finished mowing a lawn that was owned by a well known Park Ridge developer. He was inside with his wife and children, enjoying a sun filled Friday at the lake. I had loaded up the Gravely lawn mower, and was weedwhipping along the edge of a stream that flows through the Club Unique property. I trimmed around a dead tree stump, and without going into detail, walked away from that stump with a swarm of bees chasing me. These weren’t the kind Jerry Seinfeld loving bees, rather, to quote our deceased friend and Wisconsin native Chris Farley, they were “huge and sting crazy”. I threw the weedwhip and ran for my life. I can’t remember exactly how many times I was stung, but I had a carpet of bees on the back of my legs. I was wearing shorts. I retreated to the truck. I felt first pain, then embarrassment when I realized that the owner and his family had witnessed the entire, probably hysterical, event. The full story involves a closing throat, an ambulance, and shots in my stomach, but that’s another story. Today’s story is simple. In spite of the painful memories, I still really like Club Unique.

Club Unique is, well, unique, among lake access associations primarily because of a rare confluence of limited lots and wide open spaces. A total of 13 off-water lots exist in the association, and I believe there are only 11 homes on those lots. Most homes have transferable boat slips, and the lakefront park is surprisingly large for such a small association. There isn’t a lot to do down at the lakefront park, unless of course you’re like me and you consider boating, swimming, sunbathing and lakeside reading exactly the sort of things that summer was made for. The association is highly desirable, and the location off South Lakeshore Drive in Fontana is about a mile from Gordy’s, Chuck’s and downtown Fontana. And since it’s Lake Geneva, every home in Club Unique is walking distance to town along the ridiculously bucolic shore path.

The Club is more spread out than most lake access associations, creating an open feel and a much more idyllic, private, association. The roads only serve the owners of the association, so traffic is at a minimum, and anyone with children or grandchildren, or friends with children, would appreciate the quiet roads that exist more as walking paths to the lakefront park and pier than motorways. There’s not much not to like about Club Unique, and it’s a nice option for those that might find Glenwood Springs or Indian Hills just a bit too congested.

Property values in the association are pretty widespread, but it’s safe to say that most of the off water homes that include boat slips are valued somewhere in the $700k to $900k range. Some of the homes easily exceeded $1MM in value for a short time a coupe years ago, but those values have receded as much as 25%. Need proof? In the past 6 years, Club Unique has only had two sales. That’s not because of a lack of buyers, that’s because of a lack of inventory. One property, without a boat slip, closed for $580k in 2005. The other, a larger home with slip, closed for $890k in 2007. The home that sold for $890k in 2007 was put back on the market this year, and finally came off the market after not selling for a reduced list price of $799k. Ouch. Folks everywhere realized that it wasn’t a good idea to buy in 2007 and try to sell in 2009, and much of Lake Geneva has proved vulnerable in that regard as well.

As of this morning, Club Unique doesn’t have a single offering. So why am I writing about it? Good point. I guess I’m writing to let you know about the association and its merits, and to see if you have any interest in having me locate an off market property for you in the Club. Chances are the expired listing may still be available to be sold, so ask about that if you’d like more information. If you’re a water lover seeking a comfortable vacation home in a very exclusive association, Club Unique just might be a perfect fit. Just watch out for the bees by that dead stump.