Chicago Condos Attract Owners with Car-Sharing Perks

Amenities and perks could be the difference between a condo investment that fills up quickly with paying residents and one that doesn’t. Vista Tower, which will open next year, is erring on the side of perks. They are offering residents access to onsite Tesla vehicles as an amenity that comes with unit ownership. The stated goal of the program is to “help residents reduce their carbon footprint,” but the move may also make a condo purchase much more attractive to owners who do not wish to own and maintain their own vehicle.

Leila Zammatta, senior vice president of sales at the Magellan Development Group, which built Vista Tower, expressed hope that “the car share program [will] provide an alternative for residents to travel beyond the local community without the commitment of leasing or owning a personal vehicle.” The Chicago metro area is considered “very walkable,” “very bikeable,” and to have “good transit” according to Redfin, with scores of 78, 72, and 65, respectively.

According to the sales office, Vista Tower residents will be able to schedule use of the vehicles via a mobile app. The program is similar, albeit more exclusive in nature, to programs recently debuted in New York neighborhoods. New York City officials set aside 309 parking spots for Zipcar and Enterprise car-sharing vehicles in an effort to cut down on congestion.