At The Kimball Towers Open House
by Bill Dusty
While visiting the Mattoon Street Arts Festival this past Saturday, I took the opportunity to swing by the nearby Kimball Towers Condominiums, where an open house for selected condo units was being held on that same weekend.
Sponsored by the Kimball Towers Condominium Association, the “Downtown Living Open House” featured four units currently up for sale. Altogether, Kimball Towers has 132 units, with 68 owner-occupied.
I stopped by the ornate lobby of the building to take a few photos before moving on to the units. There, condo owner Bob Holbrook sang the praises of manager Linda Caron. “She really saved this place,” he said. Kimball Towers, built in 1910, had fallen on hard times in its later years, and Holbrook credited Caron’s arrival as a turning point in the historic building’s fortunes. “She’s just wonderful,” Holbrook said.
The first stop on my tour was condo unit 102, which is actually owned by the above mentioned Holbrook. In fact, Holbrook owns both condo units 102 and 103, and he said he will only sell them as a combined unit due to the fact that the units have a shared “common area” which Holbrook spent years of time and labor remodeling. “I put too much work into this,” Holbrook said of the common area. (For information on this condo combination contact Kimball Towers here.)
Common hallway adjoining units 102 and 103.
Enclosed patio in the common area.
The next stop on my visit was a quick trip up to the sixth floor, where a small (510 sq. ft.), single-bedroom unit was open to visitors. The asking price for this condo – unit 616 – was $33,900 or best offer.
Besides the purchase price of the condominiums at Kimball Towers, there is also a condo association fee for each unit. This fee varies depending on the unit, based on square-footage. The fee for unit 616 is listed at $306 per month. This fee covers the following for all units at Kimball Towers: Heat, hot water, water & sewer, master insurance, security, trash pickup, laundry facilities, elevator, exterior maintenance, and snow removal.
Venturing down to the fifth floor, my next stop was condo unit 504. This condo unit is a larger (830 sq. ft.) single-bedroom unit, currently listed at $45,000. The condo association fee is listed at $415 per month.
The view from unit 504.
Finally we came to condo unit 501, which is a corner unit with two bedrooms, two baths. This unit was priced at $72,000, with a monthly condo association fee of $474.
Finally, what building tour would be complete without a trip to the roof for a few photos of the surrounding city?
PDF 14 Responses for “At The Kimball Towers Open House”
Leave a Reply
ADVERTISE AT THE SI
 |
 |
Great pictures, Bill! However, I am not an inner city lady. Hope it does well though. Good article..
Wow! Brings back memories…my grandmother lived in Unit #502 when we were kids…we saw the exact view you show from Unit #504 onto Apremont Triangle back in the 70′s. We used to love to visit her, because we got to eat at The Oaks Inn right downstairs and then walk over to the Quad. I spent some time as a resident there in 1993, but it just wasn’t the same.
Thanks for the memories!
I agree with Beth – nice job reporting on the “Open House”.
To Beth – and others who think the same: I was born and raised in Westfield, after college I bought a home in Longmeadow and after several years decided to give “City Life” a try.
It’s Wonderful! I really enjoy being within walking distance of the Symphony Hall, Mass Mutual Center, The Quadrangle & Library and all of the musical events and farmer’s markets downtown as well as the fact that I can walk to work in the professional offices downtown!
Did the folks at Kimball mention the assessments when you purchase a condo?? They can go through the roof!!!
Thanks for the article. I have lived at the Kimball for 6 years, through all of the assessments and believe they were worth every penny. It is still much less expensive here than owning a house. We have a new elevator, a new roof, new energy effiencient heating and air conditioning, new paint and more. It’s a great community with everyone getting along.
Thank you, Bob Holbrook for the comments and your faith in me as a manager. I also have to give credit to the superior on-site management staff of the Association, Yessenia, Sal, Ismael, and Geno, as well as the on-site security staff. In addition to the on-site staff, Samuel D. Plotkin and Associates, (my employer) takes pride in our management of the building and we sing the praises of the active and committed Board of Trustees, they are the back bone of this community.
To Bill – your article is amazing and your presentation of the community is right on. It truly is a great place to live.
I also would like to take the time to thank Linda for her on-site management and truly turning this building around and also the staff; we are truly a great team. I have worked here for 8 years and have seen a complete turn around. I also live in the building and truly love it!
Great Pictures – Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!!!
Dear Bill,
Thank you for taking such beautiful pictures of Kimball Towers during the Open House. You have captured the grandeur of the lobby, the charm of the residents, and the individual decor of some of the units.
It’s also a great blog you have here–and I’m glad to hear a little Kimball History from former residents.
Many people like you walked on over from the festival to see this lovely building for themselves. The Condo Association Board is to be thanked for doing such a great job welcoming visitors, serving refreshments, taking visitors on tours, and inviting folks to view their own condos. I hope they will come back for another visit–and consider making Kimball Towers their home.
Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in seeing all of the units you highlighted, and any others for sale.
Thank you for recording this historic event in this historic building in the heart of Springfield!
Is this a site about news or is it a site about photography and architecture, especially architecture for low income housing? How many times can the same story be ran? Also, how many times will people read it?
Actually, it’s a site about anything and everything Springfield and Pioneer Valley.
Also, Kimball Towers is a condominium complex, not low income housing.
I live in KImball I find that the building is very nince comfortable and safe I like knowing that I live here and theres alot of history in th building.
I was just there today in the community room for my cousins birthday party!
Its so beautiful inside! I’ll definaetely consider living there..
I am interested in purchasing a real nice 2 bedroom with two car garage parking at the Kimball or another qual;ity downtown condo. Thanks for your help. Eamon T. O’Sullivan P.S. You might give my name to the best realtor who is an expert with the best frame of reference on the Kimball Hotel condo building. Thank You.