Tenant Reviews for 21 E CHESTNUT ST.

I've lived here for 15 months and it has not lived up to expectations. I'll write the review I wish I read before enduring the misery of living here. The location is amazing (I chose to move a few blocks away) there are many similarly priced units within blocks that don’t suffer from the same issues The positives: - The location is wonderful with lots of great shops and amenities, easy access to the beach and dog parks. - The rooms are large and they used to offer competitive rental rates for the square footage - The building is very dog friendly, the roof and the views are spectacular The things I'd wished I'd known before moving in: - There is long-term, persistent noisy intrusive construction, my leasing agent flat out lied about this. The two small elevators are not able to accommodate the high traffic. I've met very few tenants who stay longer than a year so elevators are frequently crammed with a mix of tenants, construction crews and movers. - It's cold in the winter frequently as low as 60 degrees in the morning. I had to constantly run 2 space heaters all winter and was told the electric bill would be paid for as compensation (it was not) - Management is atrocious, I lived thru 2 separate managers in 15 months and I've had the displeasure of dealing with the current management Peak - who is every bit as terrible. - Management has frequently entered my unit without permission for non-emergency repairs, on the flip side when there was smoke in a unit down the hall they would not open the door for firefighters. When police have been called for actual emergencies same situation. They’ve also left my unit unlocked after entering without permission which is especially concerning regarding the temporary rental situation… On multiple occasions I’ve been on the way to answer the door from bed at 8am only to find it being opened up already by maintenance for an issue I had not called for as well my dog is barking her head off so they know someone is home. - Probably the worst issue of all is the temporary rentals. Depending on the floor as many as half of the rooms are either Air bnbs or some other temporary rental - management goes out of their way to hide this and it a nightmare for the actual tenants, lots of noisy parties, trash in the hallways, grills common area pool etc. - The water is awful. I had an external plumber say “I would not drink this water” (I try not to). There are constant water shut-offs, the pressure is dialed up insanely high, turn on any bathtub and it will fill brown for the first few seconds. The water also has a distinctive taste. - The in-unit washer dryer doesn’t really work (I figured that’d be the case by looking), but in case it’s not obvious the two-in-one in-unit washer/dryer are extremely noisy and things come out musty and damp. I would exclusively use the paid ones in the basement, another miserable experience given the horrible elevators and short-term rentals. Things are frequently stolen and management is of no help - As you can imagine packages are stolen here frequently. There's video cameras an amazon hub etc. doesn't matter packages are stolen all the time and management is completely useless A few weeks after I'd moved in a bunch of reviews popped up here that had been hidden. Someone actively manages and tries to hide the bad reviews.

My experience living here was great and I cannot recommend this place enough. Units were recently renovated and the appliances are brand new. The living room and kitchen are large, especially for 1 bedrooms. Charlotte, the property manager is awesome and will always answer any questions you have or ever need help with anything. Maintenance responds quickly (usually same day or the next day). The gym, business center, and rooftop pool are great and the community is clean. It’s an absolutely fantastic location. You are a 2-minute walk to Michigan Ave and in the heart of the Gold Coast next to all the shops. You are able to walk to just about anywhere you need to (grocery store, shops, fitness classes, etc).

As you can see from the photo, large rooftop parties with loud noise on weeknights. During dinner time, large groups that are obviously not residents are taking up all the seating and all the grills. Lots of kids running around unattended.

This use to be a nice community. The people living there now are young, loud, disrespectful, and thieves. I've had at least 4 packages stolen since they got rid of the doorman. I no longer feel safe living here as there is zero security. Residents smoke cigarettes, pot, do drugs and hang out in large groups on the roof and in front of the building. Dogs defecate everywhere and there are gangster looking types entering the building all the time. For the price of the upgraded units - it's not worth it - I found better deals in nicer, upgraded buildings with respectable residents living there. Glad I got out when I did. Unless something has been done about security, I would not recommend.

I lived here for 2 years (Oct 2004-Oct 2006) and really loved it. Rent was very reasonable, especially considering I walked to work, so had no transportation or car expenses (if you need to rent, there is a car rental 1/2 block away). Also cable was included, heat was $15-20 in winter and air conditioning was up to $60 in hot summer months. My unit was almost completely refurbished prior to moving in (new carpet, appliances, counters, cupboards, light fixtures, etc)...but units definitely DO vary - I had friend with same floor plan and paid same rent, but unit was in DESPERATE need of UPDATING...so, be careful. Location was wonderful...so close to everything. You could walk anywhere downtown, from the lakefront/North Avenue Beach to Millenium Park OR walk 2 blocks to the buses of Michigan Avenue or 1 block to the Red Line train...so getting anywhere was so easy. The heated rooftop pool and grill, laundry room, bike room, workout room, doormen were really nice amenities. I would have stayed there if I didn't move out of the state. If I move back to Chicago, I will look into buying a unit there myself.

Pros:<br>- Great view of the city, even from a floor on the lower half of the building, BEFORE that side of the building (south-facing side) was blocked by the new Loyola highrise (luckily I moved out before the main construction got underway). Awesome rooftop views.<br><br>- Absolutely incredible location. Redline subway station 1 block away. Michigan Avenue shopping and restaurants a couple blocks away. Nightlife, beach, parks, grocery, everything... just outside your door, but just far enough from the crazy hustle and bustle of the "Magnificent Mile" auto & human traffic / noise.<br><br>- One of the cable channels was actually a video feed that switched between the lobby, laundry room and exercise room. Very convenient!<br><br>- Low rent rate compared to other buildings in the area. [Rented from a wonderful private owner who did a great renovation on the unit]<br><br>Cons:<br>- No parking. Very limited "standing" zone in front of the building. If you have a car, you have to park it in a nearby monthly garage or lot. You don't really need a car in this area, though, since the subway and several bus stops are so close.<br><br><br>I would have stayed there longer, but I had to move to LA for work!

21 East Chestnut is being gutted inside and is supposed to look pretty nice onc work is done. Decent size units--awesome pool

This building is great. There's a rooftop pool and deck looking out over the great John Hancock building. You can't beat the location. The apartments are small, but when you live down in that area, how much time are you honestly going to spend at home?<br><br>HOWEVER... I had bad experiences with the doormen. Because it's a condo with an association, they can make all sorts of crazy rules regarding moving in and out. So you can only move in/out between the hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you work, you're out of luck and have to take a day off or face stiff fines. Ostensibly, this is because they need to "protect" the elevators from damage from large items like beds. I am skeptical, needless to say.<br><br>That leads into my second comment about the doormen. A few of them were AWESOME, just wonderful people. However, when I was moving out, I couldn't do it in their allotted time frame so I decided to try to move out with as little disruption as possible on a Saturday. I was then BLACKMAILED by the really awful doorman. He subtly threatened me that he would tell the association on me if I didn't slip him some cash! I was renting the place from a private owner, so I didn't want him to get hit with a $500 fine. I gave him $50 and haven't heard anything since, but it's still ridiculous.<br><br>Aside from that, it was a great place to stay once you were moved in. The pool with a view was phenomenal. You couldn't ask for a better location. Also, for the place I was renting, it was relatively cheap (again, renting from a private and very nice owner). But I didn't like the association policies.