"Well funded." That was how Hopkinson House's general manager, Gary van Niekerk, described the building to The Philadelphia Inquirer in October 2024. In that article, the Inquirer reported that the association could plan and finish capital projects without constantly asking owners for extra money, and that this appealed to buyers. Less than two years later, the building's management wrote to owners about "a special assessment in place, numerous large-scale capital projects over the next 5 years, unplanned repairs such as the transformer," and a strategic-planning process meant to improve the building's marketability.
For a buyer looking at Hopkinson House on Washington Square, the vote has already happened. The one unit-level schedule made public spreads the assessment across three years of installments, so a unit's list price no longer shows what it costs. That cost depends on the installments still owed on the unit and on how buyer and seller agree to divide them. Pennsylvania law requires a resale certificate that discloses any special assessment currently due and the capital spending the association has proposed for the next few years.
How the building got from "well funded" to an assessment
The change happened in steps, and owners were told about each one in the association's own newsletter, On the House. In Summer 2025, the newsletter said an assessment was expected but did not yet know the amount. Façade work was underway, and garage and courtyard repairs and waterproofing were next. By Fall 2025, the list of upcoming work had grown. It included plaza and garage waterproofing and concrete repair, pool-deck and roof replacement, and elevator equipment. The Council said it was considering condo-fee increases as well as an assessment. By Summer 2026, the assessment was in place.
The cause is the building's age. The same Inquirer piece quoted van Niekerk saying that "in a building of this age, the infrastructure is kind of what it is." In the Spring 2026 newsletter, management wrote that the elevators and their components date from the 1960s and that an industry professional had advised they "are near the end of their useful life." Reserves can cover a lot, but probably not every original system reaching the end of its life within a few years of the others.
What the money is buying, in the order it is expected to happen
The order matters because it tells a buyer which years of ownership will have scaffolding, a closed amenity, or elevator work. Here is the sequence from the Spring and Summer 2026 newsletters:
- Garage and courtyard/site waterproofing and restoration. This replaces the waterproofing under the plaza, which is also the garage roof. Management wrote that the association would like to begin in 2026 if costs proved feasible. The new courtyard was designed by Studio Sustena, and the Council described the design as based on the geometry of Washington Square.
- Pool deck and sun deck roof replacement, plus pool refurbishment. The pool was closed for the full 2026 season because of a continuing leak. The project scope includes new roofing over both decks and a refurbished pool.
- Elevator modernization. It will be scheduled only after the pool and roof project is finished, and it is estimated to take one and a half to two years.
The professionals are named. Clemens Construction is the construction manager, CosciaMoos Architecture is the architect of record, VDA is the elevator consultant, and JBCI is the engineer. In her Summer 2026 message, Council President LJ Steinig summed up the end result as "two brand new roofs, in fact, since the plaza is the roof of the garage," new elevator machinery, and improved amenities.
Because the elevators come last, whoever owns a unit while installments are due may be paying toward work that has not started.
One unit, worked through
The newsletter does not publish the building-wide total or the formula used to split it among units. Each unit's share is therefore a separate number, and the clearest public example is a real estate ad in the Summer 2026 issue. It offered a high-floor unit at $200,000 and stated plainly that "a special assessment which has been passed" applied to it. The installments were $11,241 due in 2026, $5,621 due in 2027, and $5,621 due in 2028. The seller offered to pay the 2026 installment with an acceptable offer.
Here is how those figures work out:
| Item | Amount | Share of $200,000 list price |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 installment, offered by seller | $11,241 | 5.6% |
| 2027 installment | $5,621 | 2.8% |
| 2028 installment | $5,621 | 2.8% |
| Total assessment on this unit | $22,483 | 11.2% |
| Still owed after the seller's offer | $11,242 | 5.6% |
The seller's offer covers half of the assessment on this unit. The ad does not say who would pay the other half, about 5.6% of the asking price, after a sale. If a buyer took on those two installments, this $200,000 unit would cost about the same as a $205,000 unit whose seller paid every installment. Comparing the two list prices alone would point the wrong way.
The figures above apply to one unit. Other units' shares will differ, and each seller can decide how much of the balance to cover. That is why the remaining balance is now something buyers and sellers negotiate, and why the list price is a starting point.
The monthly fee is under pressure too
The assessment pays for the big projects. The monthly fee pays for running the building, and those costs are also rising. The Summer 2026 newsletter reported that Hopkinson House used 8.6 million gallons of water in 2025 at a cost of $247,000. That was 3.6% of the annual operating budget, and water rates had risen 36% since 2021. The same issue reported a 2025 plumbing review: 61 incidents that started inside units affected 66 other units. Toilets caused 43% of them, and failures in building infrastructure, such as shower or sink drain lines, caused 28%.
The Council said in Fall 2025 that it was weighing a fee increase alongside the assessment. A buyer comparing Hopkinson House with another Society Hill building should ask about both costs: the special assessment balance on the unit and the current monthly fee, including any increase that has been approved.
Where the balance has to appear in writing
Pennsylvania's Uniform Condominium Act sets out what a seller must hand over on a resale. Under 68 Pa.C.S. § 3407, the selling owner provides the declaration, bylaws, rules, and a certificate "before execution of any contract for sale of a unit, or otherwise before conveyance." Several items on that certificate bear directly on a passed assessment:
- The monthly common expense assessment, and any unpaid common expense or special assessment "currently due and payable" from the seller
- Any capital expenditures the association has proposed for the current fiscal year and the next two
- The amount of reserves, and any part of them set aside for a specific project
- The current operating budget and the most recent balance sheet and income statement
The association must provide the certificate within ten days after the owner requests it. The statute also says a purchaser "is not liable for any unpaid assessment or fee greater than the amount set forth in the certificate prepared by the association." The purchase contract can be voided by the buyer until the certificate is delivered and for five days afterward, or until conveyance, whichever comes first.
The statute does not assign installments that come due after a sale to either party. At Hopkinson House, where the one published schedule runs into 2028, that split is part of the sale terms buyer and seller agree on. This post is general information, not legal or financial advice. Buyers and sellers should confirm how these rules apply to their own transaction with a real estate attorney or other qualified professional.
A short calendar for anyone pricing a unit now
- 2026: Assessment in place. The pool was closed for the season. Courtyard and garage-plaza waterproofing was targeted to begin this year if costs proved feasible.
- 2027: The second installment year in the published unit example.
- 2028: The final installment year in that example.
- After the pool and roof work: Elevator modernization begins, with an estimated one and a half to two years of work.
If a unit's schedule matches the published example, listing it in early 2027 leaves one fewer installment to negotiate than listing it today.
If you are thinking about buying or selling at Hopkinson House and want to work out a specific unit's remaining assessment balance and how to handle it in the agreement of sale, Barbara Sontag Feldman can go over the numbers with you. Let's Connect.
