There was nothing like it in 2002 just as there is nothing like it in 2017. A lakefront community engineered to attract high end buyers, in a high end setting, on this, our high end lake. It was a fresh take on lakefront living, combining the traditional layout of the Congress Club, albeit on a much more impressive scale, with the sheer size and quality of a true lakefront estate. The South Shore Club might have been a bit before its time in 2002, but by 2013 its time had come. The market saw this development and recognized just how special it was. Buyers who might otherwise buy a $3MM piece of dirt on Geneva were instead inclined towards buying a $3MM house with all of these rich amenities and so much style. Today, a blast from this short-term past.
The Original Vacation House, or so it was then called, was built by Orren Pickell to encompass all of the best that the South Shore Club could muster. The lot was special, set into the woods on that East side, but still prominent and capable of delivering a unique lake view. The style was lighter, brighter, more intricate, more involved, and as time wore on there was one house that kept looking new and ideal. It was this house, the Vacation House, the house that had all of the toys and all of the upgrades. The house was sold originally as a spec home, and enjoyed from that day until this day by the current owner. Alas, the property has run its course and the family has decided the time to move on has arrived. Today, I offer you the Original Vacation House, as wonderful now as it ever was then.
But it’s better now than it was then. The market has enjoyed consistent sales over the last five years, and so the faith that the initial buyer displayed way back in 2002 is no longer required of a new buyer. It’s just a beautiful house and fits the market, and it fits the style and it’s ready to be sold. The home has been lovingly maintained, and as the construction on either side of it is complete, there will be no disruption to the new buyer’s summer caused by backhoes or nail guns. The finishes as what you’d expect, with Wood-Mode cabinetry, Sub-Zero and Wolf kitchen appliances, Rohl fixtures, Lutron whole-house control, and more. The South Shore Club is complete, it’s functioning as it was intended, and it offers a lakefront buyer a luxurious retreat at a fraction of what such a home would cost on private frontage.
That’s really what the South Shore Club is about, by the way. It’s not about an association home with association home amenities. These homes were built and the association was designed to stack up against private frontage competition. If you have $3.275MM to spend on a lake house, you cannot buy anything of any reasonable scale or quality possessing a good amount of private frontage for that number. To put it another way, this new listing in the low $3s, if given a 1.5 acre lot and 100′ worth of frontage, would easily sell in the $5.5-6MM range today. You’re not paying lakefront prices for a South Shore Club home, you’re paying a discount to that cost and you’re achieving a much easier vacation home experience.
What’s easier? Well, all of it. Boats are included, no need to buy, maintain, and depreciate your own. The pool is there, included, a lifeguard as well. The tennis is there, ready, green with clay and ready for you. The lawns are maintained, the snow is plowed, and in the winter, if we have a winter with some normalcy, there’s an ice rink, too. The South Shore Club doesn’t just give you a lakefront experience, it gives you that experience at a discount, and it allows you, the owner, a much more convenient and leisurely weekend experience.
For today, consider this new offering. It’s wonderful and it’s available and I’m ready to show it this weekend. If you or anyone you know might be interested, please do let me know. Sometimes I list homes that I know require a tremendous amount of creativity to sell. Other times, I list a home that I know will make my job considerably easier and just sell itself.