As work continues on new laundry and fitness rooms at Marina City, unit owners will hear pitches this week from prospective suppliers of fitness equipment.

July 28, 2009 – Unit owners at Marina City will hear this week from four prospective suppliers of equipment for the fitness room being constructed in the west residential tower. Marina Towers Condominium Association announced the meeting on Monday. It will be held in the MTCA meeting room on Thursday, July 30 at 7:00 p.m.

Each vendor will “show us the virtues of owning their equipment,” according to an MTCA memo. Although the fitness room will be available to all residents, MTCA says the meeting is for unit owners only “because space will be limited.”

The selected fitness equipment will not include “banging weights,” according to the memo.

MTCA says a City of Chicago plumbing inspector recently approved plumbing work in the laundry room, also under construction in the west tower. Electrical work is currently being done. Workers will then hang drywall, lay flooring, and bring in new washers and dryers.

Laundry equipment for both towers will be leased from Universal Laundry for $4,420 per month. Residents will be able to pay for laundry using a credit, debit, or prepaid card.

There has been no new estimate of when the work will be completed. The west tower laundry room has been closed since June 22.

(Above) West tower laundry room on July 19. A $435,000 plan will add a fitness room to the 20th floor of one residential tower at Marina City and a new condo association meeting room in the other tower. Milan Construction Company of Chicago is the project’s general contractor. (Click on image to view larger version.)

Trump lowers membership fee

Although the monthly dues of $190 is not changing, The Spa at Trump has lowered its enrollment fee from $2,000 to $500. Membership Director Caroline Rawlings calls it a “very limited offer” that is likely to expire on August 31. The spa and health club plans to limit the number of members to 250 or possibly, according to Rawlings, as few as 200.

Rawlings says there are currently 20 members who live at Marina City.

Marina City neighbor Westin Chicago River North is offering residents use of its fitness center. For $60 per month, residents get access to the hotel’s full-service health club. Sam Guiragossian, manager of the “Westin Workout,” says it is a special deal for Marina City residents and there is no initiation fee.

Guiragossian said last week they are still offering the special rate, along with a new rate of $100 for couples. He says they currently have about ten members from Marina City.

And use by Marina City residents of the fitness room at Hotel Sax does not appear to be an option. General Manager Mario Mazzini confirmed last week they have decided not to offer use of the room to residents.

“We [would] love to be able to offer [the fitness room] to the residents,” said Mazzini, “Unfortunately…our space is very small and we are not able to accommodate any additional requests.”

 Related story: Construction starts on west tower laundry renovation

 Web sites:

• The Spa at Trump
• The Westin Chicago River North