With many having paid for million dollar views, a mini-revolt is brewing over at Madrone as residents are becoming increasingly frustrated with the state of the building’s windows and appearance over in South Mission Bay.
While the building’s Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R’s) dictate that Madrone’s windows are to be cleaned every May and October, the last cleaning occurred between November and January.
We’ve been told that bids to clean Madrone’s windows have been received but the building’s management team seems to be dragging their feet in getting a contract approved, suggesting that they might just wait until October to act despite the building’s CC&Rs. In the meantime, dirt and dissatisfaction continue to build.
Slow news day?
“Slow news day?”
i appreciate this type of news as it gives prospective buyers more insight into condo ownership and factors to consider before plowing down close to a million bucks, especially with new condo construction being all the rage now.
Well I’d be pissed too…that’s nasty….especially with fireworks soon to be upon us.
That photo was taken under conditions that highlight the grunge on the window. Typical visibility will be much better.
I read this as not that the HOA is slacking off but rather they may be trying to negotiate a more favorable window cleaning contract. Either that or they have cash flow problems and cannot meet their commitments.
Hopefully the HOA openly discusses their finances and maintenance strategy with their members. Maybe the Madrone tipster here can chime in and share what they know.
after reading this post, having spent hours saturday on a ladder spraying and mopping and squeejeeing windows on three levels and a roof, i now feel i have it easy.
contracts for building maintenance, like window cleaning, require board approval at open meetings which are generally scheduled quarterly. likely management has to await board review and approval of multiple bids – always takes longer than expected, and since this is a new HOA scoping and bidding probably took a while too.
That looks like it was taken from the east tower 15 or 16th floor – south facing windows. It is a bad picture as I face south and I wouldn’t say my views are obstructed like that. The area that is most concerning IMO are the west facing as there is a lot of construction dust and typical west to east winds blowing towards the building. Not commenting on the CC&Rs or times for window washing, I will acknowledge that owners will have to tolerate the dust (at least the west facing windows IMO) for awhile. One of the negatives of buying in an up and coming neighborhood. The upside? The appreciation that we’ve already realized.
No one can tell looking up at the building from the street though.
All of our windows at 1 California are that dirty and I’m sure the cost/sq. foot here is much higher. When they do attempt to wash our windows, they spray water all over the sidewalks below. It’s the sloppiest process for cleaning windows I have ever seen. It’s a shame with the boat race and 4th of July coming up.
@Madrone Owner: That’s obviously a north-facing window with the camera pointed northeast toward the Bay Bridge.
ooops sorry my mistake. The picture is North facing and they probably have the same issues with the dust and wind as the west facing windows.
They are building a hugh steel frame Public Safety Building just across the alley from the North side of Madrone. There are also tons of constructions going on a few blocks away, including pilings. It is just a waste of money to wash the windows now.
I don’t know enough about the Madrone CC&R, but I will be very surprised if May and October are “dictated in the CC&R” as window washing months. If it really is, then it is just bad CC&R because weather is so unpredictable. They might have included it in their annual budget to wash windows in May and October. Besides, Management don’t really have the final say on whether to wash windows or not.
Sounded to me a resident disagreeing with the HOA trying to force their hands.
Nope. Madrone is all about the developer, Bosa, taking your money and washing his hands with you as soon as the check clears. Warranty items take MONTHS to resolve, if at all. The warranty office does not pick up its phone nor return e-mails. The warranty office has literally left the building, and there is no physical address where you could walk in to address issues that they ignore through phone calls or e-mails not being returned. After almost a year, warranty/walk-through items have not been resolved. Bosa has another condo project slated to hit the market next spring. BUYERS BEWARE!!!
Instagram just made a boatload of money making all of your views look like this. I see this view as retro, not dirty.
A clear case of rich people problems
I’ve seen buildings with automated window cleaning systems. Why aren’t they used more?