Does ANYONE know why the for sale in condos in Hyde Park have such HOA fees?

[ChiGuy2.5]

I think this ridiculous HOA fee is also likely related to the Life Safety Evaluation Ordinance which Chicago foolishly passed not too long ago. The Life Safety Ordinance requires certain standards to be met in order to "protect" citizens living in high rises from fires. However, it's rarely printed that proportionally very very few deaths due to fire occur every year in high rises. Most actually affect older single family homes. In fact, only 2 deaths occurred by fire in a high rise for all of 2015.

The ordinance really screws over buildings from certain eras that don't already have a majority of the fire safe materials or layouts. Things like making stairwells wider, adding sprinkler systems, or using fire retardant materials to separate units are sometimes impossible and/or incredibly expensive. This means some buildings got hit really hard with the new laws and are struggling to pay for all of the updates.

My building for example was built in 1973. We had to do quite a few renovations in order to meet the demands of the ordinance. The renovations include, two way communication systems for every floor to the front desk (this required us to drop the ceilings in all hallways and access every unit to install wiring). We also had to stuff every single pipe with fire retardant material and close off any gaps between the pipe/wall. We had to order something like 58 doors for common areas that would protect said two way communication system. There was A LOT more than just that and it cost over $750K. It's ridiculous that we need to do all of this when I live in a building that is made out of solid concrete...

Meanwhile single family homes can be made entirely of wood, no emergency exit signs, and not even be inspected for something as small as a working fire alarm. I'm sure someone has made quite a pretty penny on ensuring this "Life Safety" Ordinance is passed.

[JTE1969]

Sometimes I think very high HOA is another BS way to grab more money from owners. I was looking at condos on some complex in Lincolnwood but no go due to high HOA.