If you're reading reviews, pay attention to the recent ones. Management changed about a year and a half ago, and our experience got significantly worse after that.
The most serious issue was an incident involving the assistant property manager, Michael, and my father-in-law.
My father-in-law is a visible minority and was visiting us with a valid guest pass. According to what he told my husband, he was quietly sitting in the lounge waiting for us when Michael approached him, accused him of breaking into the building and messing with the coffee machine, and repeatedly told him to leave because Michael "didn't know him." Michael kicked him out without even attempting to notify us!
My FIL was an invited guest sitting in a common area and is genuinely one of the friendliest people you could meet. Based on what was reported to us, I believe he was racially profiled. I have a very hard time imagining a white guest sitting there minding his own business being treated like a suspected criminal in the same way. I am honestly appalled and embarrassed that I lived somewhere where a guest of mine could be treated like this by management. Michael had also been quite rude to my husband on other occasions.
My husband reported the incident to management in writing. Their response was essentially that they weren't there, couldn't determine anyone's intent, and would review it internally. That did very little to make us feel better about how this property is being managed.
And unfortunately, this was not our only issue here.
Management now allows only one hour to reserve the elevator for a move, regardless of whether you live in a studio or a nearly 1,200 sq. ft. two-bedroom. This policy was introduced after we moved in, and we genuinely would not have chosen this building if it had existed at the time. Multiple established Chicago moving companies refused our job once they heard they would only have an hour with the elevator.
only have an hour with the elevator. They said they did this to give better access to people with mobility issues, but ignored me when I pointed out the bigger issue is that they do not consistently provide residents with warning of elevators locked so people with mobility issues can work with the staff to ensure it is unlocked when they need it, and also when they do put a sign up saying elevator is in use do not also post a hotline for residents to call if they need it unlocked urgently.
Management also tried to prevent our moving truck from using the courtyard until we pushed back, has restricted residents from accessing other buildings without clearly communicating when that policy does or doesn't apply, and routinely sends emails threatening residents over supposed "lease violations" that aren't actually in the lease. One email claimed residents couldn't set their thermostat below 69 degrees because it violated the lease. It doesn't.
The building itself also has structural issues. The walls and floors are extremely thin and it often feels more like student housing than a normal apartment building. We had downstairs neighbors complain about us walking around and even our cat jumping off furniture. Maintenance once left a loud hallway alarm beeping overnight after we reported it while the office was still open. Packages are frequently delivered to the wrong building. And after about two years, parts of our apartment started literally coming apart, including a laundry room door that fell off its hinges, was repaired, and then fell off again, and a towel rail that came off the wall.
The apartments have decent layouts and good space. That's about the nicest thing I can say at this point.
Between the management policies, poor communication, maintenance problems, questionable lease claims, and especially the way my father-in-law was treated by a member of management, I would not recommend living here. read more
