I've been living here for over a year, and when I moved in, I really loved it. The apartments are pretty well maintained, and I think all the credit for that can go to the jack-of-all-trades Mike (he seems to oversee all maintenance). Mike is wonderful.
Unfortunately, the good stops there. The rest of the management team is difficult to deal with. I'll preface by saying I am not a problem tenant--I live alone, pay my rent on time, and don't make noise (I don't even have a TV). I don't have any pets and I think I've called maintenance once for a faulty air conditioner.
I'll describe two incidents to explain my frustration with the management's unprofessionalism:
1) When lease renewal time rolled around, I expressed interest in seeing a larger apartment. I stopped by the office and said I wasn't ready to sign the lease because I wanted to see different apartments in other buildings. I spoke with an intern (I didn't know he was an intern), and the building manager, Carole. She let me know to wait on the renewal and that she would be contacting me to show me some units. A few weeks go by with no call, but I waited, expecting that there were move-outs, other people deciding on their leases, etc. No. I get a VERY rude phone call from one of the reps, Andy, who yelled at me for not submitting my renewal (really--he kept cutting me off in the middle of sentences and raised his voice) and let me know that if I did not make it in by the end of the same day, they'd begin showing my apartment to prospective tenants. When I expressed that I might not be able to make it in time (it's a crapshoot with making it home before 6:00 p.m., I work in the South Loop), he told me that was too bad, they needed it that day because it was overdue. I had to stop what I was doing at work to scan it over to them. When I tried to explain the situation, he said, "you don't have to re-sign here, you know, you can move elsewhere". Very nice. I complained to the office about his behavior when I submitted my renewal (and I honestly did not want to submit a renewal at this point, but it was too late for me to find a new apartment), and there was zero apology. I was irritated to the point that I told their other rep, Brett (who is a nice guy), that I did not ever want to deal with Andy regarding my apartment again. I also never heard back about seeing larger apartments.
2) They offer parking spots for an additional fee. When I was visiting my family in Florida, I ended up buying a car (unplanned) and had to drive it up to Chicago. I called early on Monday morning and spoke with Brett about parking (I knew there were spots open, because they were advertising them). I had a problem--I was doing a two-day drive and was not sure I would make it into Chicago before the office closed the following day. Would they be able to do me the favor of leaving me the garage key/opener so that I could park it overnight, and the following day I could come and pay them for the spot? Brett says he doesn't see a problem with it, but that Carole would have to call me back. So I start driving, and hear nothing back on Monday. I call at the crack of dawn on Tuesday and leave a message. Hear nothing back again, and so I call around 2pm and finally speak with Carole. She says she left me a message the previous day on my cell phone (it turns out she called my work phone and left me a message there). My first question was, wouldn't you realize I didn't get the message, and follow up with me, when I called back asking the same question the following day? Guess not. She started off defensive about the fact that I said I hadn't received a message (I never accused her of not leaving one, I simply said I hadn't gotten it, so could she please let me know what she said in it?). Secondly, she said they couldn't leave me the key because I had to sign a form and pay for the spot. I said I wasn't sure I'd make, it, could they leave it for me? They know what apartment I am in, and I could have given her all my car information. If I don't show up, you can tow it at my expense and inconvenience! No. Nothing doing. I said, "so if I don't make it before 6pm, I'm stuck?" and she says, "I honestly don't know what to say, the office closes at 6. You'll have to park on the street or something." I just bought the car, I don't have any of the stickers I need to park on the street, but thanks.
I ended up making it in time, but it was absolutely a much more stressful drive (potty breaks were done like sprints). I understand I was asking for a small favor, but really? I am trying to pay you monthly for a spot. Couldn't you have helped me out when I was in a bind?
I realize I am the lone non-glowing review, but that's my experience. The apartments are expensive for size, and I don't need to be treated poorly. Brett is nice, but there's only so much he can do, and Andy and Carole are unhelpful and rude. I won't be renewing come summer. read more