They picketed in Chicago over 'promised amenities'

A Palermo resident found this 2008 article on the Internet about owners at another Enterprise development in Chicago claiming they also didn't receive their promised amenities. The article titled "Complaints inspire pickets. Developer says group uninformed" was in the Oct. 22, 2008 issue of the Chicago Journal. It read in part:

- "Owners of condominium units that cost anywhere from $365,000 to $625,000 aren't the most likely candidates to hoist protest signs and take to the streets. But a faction of residents from one Prairie District building did exactly that on Saturday. About a dozen residents of Museum Park Place, 1841 S. Calumet, gathered in front the Enterprise Development Company sales trailer near 13th and Indiana, carrying signs that said 'Buyer Beware' ..."
- "The residents claim Enterprise failed to include promised amenities ..."
- "Ron Shipka Jr., a principal at the firm, said most items on the punch list for individual units had been addressed. He said the firm provided advertised amenities. The picketers were 'just not informed,' he said, and unrepresentative of all the building's unit owners. 'We are working through all the construction issues in the building. We've been working diligently
for quite a bit of time with the association in place,' he said. 'I think if you speak to the association, you'll get a completely different story.' The president of the condo board, Phyllis Leon, did not return calls and e-mail asking for comment. Other board members could not be reached ..."
- "Disputes between condo unit owners and developers about alleged construction issues and turnover problems is an issue state lawmakers might address in a rewrite of the legislation that governs associations and developers. In the meantime, boards, residents and developers negotiate and sometimes fight it out in court ..."
- "Picketers were angry that installation of the pool was delayed. (Shipka said there were delays with the state agency that permits them, and that the pool is now open). Some were exercised about the building's lobby. A brochure advertising the building lists a 'professionally appointed lobby with custom designer interior' as part of the package. The lobby currently has light yellow walls and a gray carpet over gray tiled floor. Two light fixtures made of linked-glass chains dangle from the ceiling. (A picketer) said the lobby didn't reach the level of luxury he was expecting. 'You paid for it,' he said about the lobby. 'You might as well get it.' Shipka said Enterprise delivered what it promised for the lobby."

The best way to find the entire article is to go to Google, and then type in the words "shipka" and "complaints inspire pickets." You can then decide what you think for yourself. We have no idea about the merits of what the Chicago residents are claiming or how it was resolved. But the Chicago experience may be of interest as Palermo residents wonder about the amenities we still may be due, such as tennis courts and dog park. Miss Penny Lane says: Picket signs aren't her kind of accessories and would clash with her Betsey Johnson dresses. So you won't be seeing her carrying any unflattering placards out on Indian Canyon Drive.