The Boardwalk
- Building
- Built 1975 · 28 stories · 449 units
- Architect
- Stanley Tigerman
- Association
- 4343 Clarendon Condominium Association · FirstService Residential
- Prepared
- September 2026
This report synthesizes public information to provide insights on building condition and potential deferred maintenance relative to peers.
The Boardwalk is a 1975, 449-unit tower with a healthy maintenance profile. It has a facade renovation in progress, a recently completed modernization of elevators and a fire-pump repair that took months to close. The city record shows recurring hot-water and pest complaints, most closed as no cause. It scores D on the city's energy benchmark, a running cost that sits inside the dues.
Compared against 10 north-side lakefront towers of the same age and size, dues are higher and permitted work matches the cohort — this signals an association that does not defer maintenance and manages its reserves prudently.
This building is on the city's prohibited list, which means no short-term rentals are allowed. It is inside the Lakefront Protection District, which puts new construction and exterior changes along the lakefront in front of the Plan Commission. There are no subsidized units on file.
Building condition
Permits since 2006 show $7.9M of association-scale work, about $18k a unit, in line with the comparable buildings in section 3, led by facade, doors and elevators. The city's older permit archive adds elevator work in 1987, 1997 and 2004, boiler or mechanical work in 1993 and 1996, electrical service work in 1993, garage work in 1994 and 2003 and fire-system work in 1994. Listing copy cites a full elevator modernization, a building facade project and a fiber upgrade.
Comparable condos
10 north-side lakefront towers built 1969–1975 with 252–498 units: dues from recent listings beside the capital work the city holds permits for. Dues run 22% above the cohort and permitted work matches it: an association paying for its building as it goes, not deferring it.
One-bedroom dues at The Boardwalk are 22% above the median of 10 peers, and 2 of those peers leave heat out of dues, which narrows the gap. The Boardwalk's dues also cover air conditioning, cable and internet, which not every peer's do, so the gap overstates the difference in running cost. Permitted capital work per unit since 2006 is about the cohort median, with 3 major systems on permit against a median of 4.
Reserves cited on a 2022 listing come to about $6k a unit; peers that disclose theirs show Malibu East $9k, Lake Park Plaza $10k, Sixteen Sixty $29k. The current figure is in the association's Section 22.1 disclosure, the document package a seller must provide.2,3,4,5 Special assessments mentioned in listing copy or resident reviews: 5455 Edgewater Plaza, 2025 listing: "special assessment fee will be paid by seller at closing"; 720 Gordon Terrace, resident reviews: a past special assessment replaced every window; 5445 Edgewater Plaza, resident reviews mention a special assessment for new elevators.6,7 Peers reporting major work done without one: 525 Hawthorne Place, listing copy: floors, elevators and lobby remodelled without special assessments (2025); Sixteen Sixty, listing copy: $14.1M in reserves (Jan 2025), never a special assessment; full riser replacement completed.5
The city's inspection file is the second measure. 2 of 10 peers carry a violation the city opened in the past year, and 1 has been taken to circuit court. The heaviest records are 5455 Edgewater Plaza (43 violations on file, 2 open) and Malibu East (31 violations on file); The Boardwalk has 18 on file and 0 open, more than seven peers and fewer than three.
| Building | Year | Units | Dues | Built for | Permitted work since 2006 / unit | City record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Boardwalkthis building | 1975 | 449 | $813 1-bed5,8,2$1.07 a sq ft · heat included | — | $18k a unitfacade, doors, elevators | none open18 violations |
| 15455 Edgewater PlazaEdgewater | 1969 | 455 | $839 1-bed4,6$0.93 a sq ft · heat included | — | $14k a unitfacade, elevators | 2 open43 violations |
| 2Malibu EastEdgewater | 1970 | 498 | $944 2-bed5$0.64 a sq ft · heat included | — | $23k a unitfacade, mechanical, garage, elevators | none open31 violations |
| 3720 Gordon TerraceUptown | 1970 | 266 | $908 2-bed4$0.81 a sq ft · heat included | $10k2021 | $72k a unitrisers, mechanical, garage, facade, roof, elevators | none open7 violations |
| 45100 Marine DriveUptown | 1970 | 298 | $498 1-bed5heat not included | — | $5k a unitroof, facade, elevators | none open11 violations |
| 5Lake Park PlazaLake View | 1971 | 446 | $767 1-bed4,2$1.04 a sq ft · heat included | — | $21k a unitelevators, garage, facade, electrical, mechanical | none open11 violations |
| 6525 Hawthorne PlaceLake View | 1973 | 382 | $894 2-bed5$0.69 a sq ft · heat included | — | $13k a unitfacade, roof, risers, elevators | none open0 violations |
| 7The WaterfordUptown | 1974 | 252 | $732 1-bed5,2$0.77 a sq ft · heat not included | — | $21k a unitmechanical, roof, elevators, facade | none open7 violations |
| 82650 N LakeviewLincoln Park | 1974 | 398 | $608 1-bed5,2$0.86 a sq ft · heat included | $90k2011 | $34k a unitfacade, risers, elevators, roof | none open12 violations |
| 95445 Edgewater PlazaEdgewater | 1975 | 464 | $649 1-bed5$0.76 a sq ft · heat included | — | $10k a unitfacade, elevators | none open29 violations · 1 court case |
| 10Sixteen SixtyLincoln Park | 1975 | 484 | $669 1-bed4,5,2$0.84 a sq ft · heat included | — | $29k a unitelevators, facade, risers, garage | 1 open7 violations |
| Cohort median | $669 1-bed$0.81 a sq ft | $21k a unit4 major systems | 11 violations |
- 15455 Edgewater Plaza. 2025 listing: "special assessment fee will be paid by seller at closing". Facade $3.0M in 2026, elevators $1.6M in 2019 and facade $811k in 2007. Boiler or mechanical work in 1989, 2000 and 2005, electrical service work in 1990, 1992 and 2002 and masonry or facade work in 1992, 2002, 2003 and 2004, from the city's older archive.4,6
- 2Malibu East. Building-wide mandate: every sliding door replaced by owners before 2029; reserves about $4.3 million. Facade $3.1M in 2019, facade $1.6M in 2017 and elevators $1.5M in 2015. Electrical service work in 1986, 1989 and 1998, garage work in 1986 and 2004 and masonry or facade work in 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, from the city's older archive.5,3
- 3720 Gordon Terrace. Resident reviews: a past special assessment replaced every window. Risers $14M in 2026, garage $2.4M in 2023 and facade $873k in 2020.4,7
- 45100 Marine Drive. Phased exterior-wall repair program, 46,000 sq ft, sealant on every window (contractor page, undated). Roof $426k in 2021, elevators $376k in 2010 and facade $276k in 2017. Masonry or facade work in 1996, 2000, 2003 and 2004, roof work in 1996 and 1999 and elevator work in 1996, from the city's older archive.5,9
- 5Lake Park Plaza. Listing copy: reserves over $4.3 million. Garage $3.0M in 2015, garage $2.2M in 2019 and elevators $1.2M in 2019.4,2
- 6525 Hawthorne Place. Listing copy: floors, elevators and lobby remodelled without special assessments (2025). Facade $1.6M in 2025, risers $1.4M in 2016 and elevators $700k in 2008.5
- 7The Waterford. Riser replacement project completed; hallway remodel due 2025. Mechanical $2.3M in 2025, facade $1.3M in 2014 and roof $511k in 2016.5,2
- 82650 N Lakeview. Risers $8.1M in 2023, facade $1.3M in 2012 and elevators $835k in 2012.5,2
- 95445 Edgewater Plaza. Resident reviews mention a special assessment for new elevators. Facade $2.1M in 2025, facade $891k in 2013 and elevators $738k in 2010. Elevator work in 1984, boiler or mechanical work in 1989 and 2002 and electrical service work in 1992, 1999 and 2001, from the city's older archive.5,7
- 10Sixteen Sixty. Listing copy: $14.1M in reserves (Jan 2025), never a special assessment; full riser replacement completed. Risers $5.0M in 2017, facade $1.9M in 2022 and elevators $1.5M in 2025. Electrical service work in 1991 and 2004, plumbing work in 1996 and garage work in 1996 and 2002, from the city's older archive.4,5,2
Lot & reference
The association put the building on the city's Prohibited Buildings List in Mar 2018, so no unit can be let short-term: this is a home or a long-term rental, never an Airbnb. The lot is zoned RM-6.5, residential multi-unit district, and sits in an Affordable Requirements Ordinance community preservation area, where a redevelopment must include affordable units and inside the Lakefront Protection District, which puts exterior work along the lakefront in front of the Plan Commission. It is a transit-served location, 10 minutes on foot from Wilson (Purple, Red Line), which relaxes parking minimums for any future work. It is outside the FEMA flood hazard area.
Quick questions
Questions to ask your broker or the building’s management (feel free to ).
- Hot water · heat Residents reported no hot water or heat 16 times between May 2022 and Mar 2026: what was the cause each time, and what has been done to the hot-water plant or its risers since?
- Pests · leaks 9 pest complaints were filed between Jan 2023 and Aug 2025, at least one tied to a water leak: is treatment building-wide rather than unit by unit, and has the leak that fed it been repaired?
- Facade A $1.2M facade phase was permitted 3 Sep 2026, on top of about $6.2M since 2010: is it funded from reserves or a special assessment, and what does the reserve study say comes next?
Also worth asking The fire pump was cited out of service on 4 inspections between Nov 2023 and Jun 2024: has the replacement controller passed its acceptance test, and are the annual sprinkler, standpipe and alarm reports now filed?
And A dry cleaner (YHW Clarendon Cleaners) operates on the ground floor: does it clean on site with solvents, and has the association ever tested for vapor intrusion?