Tenant Reviews for 182 W LAKE ST

Hi. I'm SOOO glad to be writing my final review on this building, for I am moving out next week:) Nothing has improved in this building since my last review, things, yes, have undoubtedly gotten much worse. #1. This building operates on a FOB front door access system (swipe your little card and get in the door). However, the TWISTED minds of management and whoever attended that meeting last week have decided on this: Residents who have a FOB are not to be let in by the doorman. Instead the doormen have been instructed to sit and watch you dig for your keys while you are trying not to drop your three grocery bags. They have further been threatened by management that if they do open the door for a resident that has a FOB, they will be TERMINATED. In what a sick, sad, twisted little world this management operates. However, my boyfriend who moved in a while back had to fill out a sheet to have access to the building and my apartment. Guess what...he has no FOB...therefore he is granted FULL doorman services- that includes a "hello", "can I help you with your bags?", and "let me get the door for you sir." I am utterly sickened that I have to pay for doorman services, and yet receive none!! BAD BUSINESS Century Tower- I love the idea of treating paying residents like utter CRAP! #2. The laundry system just got a whole lot more expensive. The laundry functions on a card system. It used to be that you have to pay $3 for a card- and you could only use a $5 bill to do this, therefore you would have at least $2 on the card to just get a wash going ($1.50). NOW...the cards cost $5-you can only use a $5 bill to purchase a card- and the card has a $0 balance on it-then as a separate transaction you can insert either your $5, $10, or $20 bill to start doing laundry. Still, NO $1 bills or change can be used to put on the card! YOU BETTER NOT LOSE YOUR CARD! It feels like I just throw cold hard cash in the garbage can every time I do laundry. P.S. The clothes usually don't come out as clean as they should, or as clean as they did during the good old days of living with mom and having our own washer and dryer. Yet again the management of this building has found another way to PISS on their tenants. BAD BUSINESS Century Tower. #3. Our new neighbors one unit to the right...WTF?!? Where did you come from, and since when is it ok to scream "Mother F--er" and laugh so hysterically and loud down the hallway at 2am? Really? Our current neighbors one unit to the left: neglect their yappy dog and it barks NONSTOP from 5:30am-midnight-NO JOKE. Also, they have almost set their apartment on fire! Luckily I was awake (1:30am) and heard the steady beep beep beep of their fire alarm. The hallway reeked of smoke and the neighbor didn't respond to our POUNDING on the door. We called the doorman first, who had the bright idea of knocking again...and he, despite the smoke and the fire alarm, refused to grab keys without first contacting MANAGEMENT to see if it was OK- I'm guessing that MANAGEMENT told him this procedure. I'm sorry, but if my place was smoking and my alarm was ringing- BY ALL MEANS LET YOURSELF IN doorman AND SAVE ME!! He finally obtained a key and when he opened the door BLACK smoke barreled out into the hallway and I called 911. Our neighbor...needless to state whether he was drunk or on drugs had no idea what was going on. He even told the fire dept. and a cop when they came that it wasn't his place that was the source of this incident!! He left something cooking on the stove, passed out, and failed to wake up in response to the PUNGENT stench of smoke and the blaring smoke detector in his apartment. Where do my neighbors come from?? The only thing I can blame CENTURY TOWER here for is not providing the doorman with an APPROPRIATE procedure to follow in case of a FIRE emergency. Century Tower throws its residents to the flame. #4. Maintenance used to be 24hours before new management. Now they only operate between, I believe 8am-10pm. So...if, say, your fridge breaks down at 10:45pm, you better run out and buy a cooler- CAUSE YOU ARE SCREWED until the next day! Cutting too many costs Century Tower? I wonder if they are cutting all the important costs because management cant balance their books efficiently. #5. My unit (a studio) was promised a storage unit at no cost, because of the lack of storage in the apartment- I have one small closet. When my boyfriend moved in (we are saving on rent for a bigger place), I decided to exercise my option of having a storage unit. Too bad there is new management, and too bad I was promised things that I can't have. NO STORAGE UNITS ARE TO BE GRANTED TO LESSEES-only to condo owners. I can't even rent one here! We have been forced to get storage at a storage facility which means transportation costs on top of storage rental fees- no to mention all the HASSLE! BAD BUSINESS AGAIN Century Tower of HELL! In conclusion, move here if you absolutely must, if you have no choice. Because, if you do have a choice, make the right one for yourself and for whoever is directly affected by your decision. This place will blacken your heart, will make you shake your head on a daily basis, and will make you want to pray every night that something will happen which will allow you to break your lease at no cost. I have pulled my lease out numerous times-AND HAVE ACTUALLY READ IT-to search for a way out. Good luck to all who move in here, but I know in good time, you will feel just the same as I do now. Goodbye Century Tower, I will soon be free of you nonsense and heartache. I am so THRILLED to be leaving.

I just have to agree with the negative comments. Management loses rent checks and there is one doorman who continues to sleep on the job at night. There are also unrealistic rules for the roofdeck such as no alcoholic beverages.

Great building but horrible management. For some reason they changed the management and now the place is going down hill. The new staff has no idea what they are doing. Doormen sleep on duty and are allowed to smoke in the entryway to the building. I also hope you don't like AC as it turns off at night...go figure. If you do rent here, rent from a private condo owner not the leasing office, you'll be better off.

We moved in here Feb 2007. Not having to pay a security deposit was a big plus for us. Our unit is newly finished and apart from one dog who lives nearby that barks every time it gets left alone too long, and a neighbour down the hall who apparently has no eardrums, we can't hear anything from our neighbours. We also live on the El side and it's one of those things you get used to in the end. As for the apartment, well again it was newly finished, fresh paint, fairly new appliances etc. Our only problem has been with the plumbing but that was taken care of before the end of each day. The laundry room has been our only other problem. There is always at least one broken washing machine and for the last week 4 of the 10 dryers are broken. The fitness room is OK, there is usually no wait for at least one machine, but they could add a bike or something to improve it. The doormen are all friendly and helpful, and having a dry cleaner in the building is great. We've never really had to deal with the management except that they seem to take forever to cash rent checks (which is another problem, only being able to pay by check). The location again, if you work in the Loop then you can walk to work no problems. If you are going to drive to work it might be a different story. This part of the city however seems to be deserted at weekends and the nearest grocery store is a long walk across the river away. All in all it's OK really to live here, we like our apartment but we won't stay here past our lease.

I was one of the first 10 people to move into the building, studio on the 2nd floor at $944 a month. First the good about the place. Everything was new in the place which was nice, the doormen were always nice & helpful, its a nice location, I did get a free months rent once (though nobody from the staff told me in before hand). Now on with the bad. The price, $944 for a small studio is a joke. Very thin walls, people next door had a big dog that would bark 24/7. February 2004 my heater broke (on the coldest day of the year) & there was water/condensation over everything in my apartment. Took them almost 2 weeks to fix & when they did fix it they never told me it was fixed & I was just down the hall (they gave one of the many apartments that was empty to stay in while the repairs were being done). All in all it was a nice place to live if you don't mind noise, overpriced rent, & a staff thats not all there.<br><br>When I first signed the lease the guy (I forget who) said they were getting a Steakhouse restaurant in the building & he was going to live in the building. I never saw either of those things happen in my time there, in fact I only saw the guy once after I moved in.