Tenant Reviews for 233 E Wacker Dr

My partner and I have leased from Habitat company for 10 years. We've lived at Columbus Plaza for 6 years. Our new lease was just presented to us to find that the market price on all of their 2 bedroom apartments had decreased and were being offered to new residents for $500.00 a month less than what we were expected to pay. This was not a "special". The management, however, denied our very reasonable and justified request to renew our lease at the new, lower market price. We've been left feeling extremely unwelcome. The property manager is pious and elusive and won't take phone calls. The management office is staffed by aloof, unfriendly, uninterested, apathetic condescending people that look at you like your an alien when you walk in. Never a "hi, how are you today", just a blank stare that says "what do you want". They are equally as unfriendly when you call. The maintenance staff, on the other hand, are exceptional, professional and very friendly. Maintenance issues are handled immediately and resolved. The door and security staff are also very friendly and helpful.The water in the building is constantly being shut off every other week. When they turn it back on the pressure is low which requires the weekly maintenance call. The hot water always runs a brown color in all sinks and tubs.

Staff was not helpful and friendly during the move in process. Staff had a very by-the-book mentality, did not care about renter's needs, did not think a step further to help renters solve problems, was not friendly, did not follow up after the transaction was done. For a luxury condo building, this level of service is a huge disappointment.

Good location; convenient Pedway link to Metra station - great thing in the winter; Nice view of the river; close to Millennium Park; good community of Chicago Booth MBA students; Easy to walk to River North for food options; Close to Mariano's and Whole Foods

Columbus Plaza is a great apartment to stay at. I stayed at Manilow Suites and then decided to move in full time. One of the safest, most hygienic and best-maintained apartments in the Loop, with great community Management, I highly recommend CP! Access to Pedway is a huge advantage, particularly during the rains and winter months.

I have been living at Columbus Plaza for a little less than a year. My experience here has been great. Pros: Great location - Very safe and convenient to everything. Walking distance to Michigan ave, Millennium Park, Lake shore, etc. Extremely helpful staff - All I needed to do if I have anything to fix in my room is to make a call or request a maintenance online. In 1 or 2 days the job would be done perfectly when I came back from work. Nice property manager - I enjoyed dealing with the property manager in this building. Being very considerate, they are able to respond my requests promptly, and prorate my lease for a couple of days after the original date in my contract. The convertible unit I rent is priced similarly to the studio units in the market, but is much more spacious as far as I'm concerned. The 48th floor is lovely. Gym, sun room, and you can always use the printer and coffee machine for free in the computer room. Cons: Occasionally I could hear the sound from the fire station across the street at night, but I didn't find that too big of a problem. If I weren't have to relocate due to job change, I would certainly continue my rent at Columbus Plaza. I would recommend it to anyone who's looking for an apartment in downtown Chicago area.

My wife and I moved out of Columbus Plaza last week, and we miss it already. The features that attracted us to the building initially were its central location, (including Pedway access), modern facilities (gym, sun room, laundry) and generous square footage. Upon moving into the building, we found that the friendly staff and thoughtful neighbors made Columbus Plaza an even more pleasant home than we expected. I strongly recommend that anyone seeking a luxury high-rise apartment in the Loop take a close look at Columbus Plaza.

If you want your rent to increase by 12% every year, this is the place for you. If you want the management to start charging for the new fees almost every year - bike storage, lock out fees, increase laundry fees - this is the place for you. If you want monopolized Cable/Internet Service - this is the place for you. If you want valet parking with the busiest hotel in the town - this is the place for you. If you want to experience very unprofessional Property Manager - this is the place for you. Try expressing your concerns for the policy and rent changes - Good Luck. Never....Never... What do they offer in Amenities? - Small Gym, decent size Sun Room, Small Business Center... What they don't offer - Pool, Party Room, Laundry in the unit, Efficient Elevator System Stop promoting this place as Luxury Apartments - Fact is - These are not.....

The noisiest neighborhood I've ever lived in. Which came first--the apartment building or the big fire station across the street? No matter which way you'll face, you'll hear three to four fire engines every 20 minutes at night with sirens blaring. It's annoying and frustrating. WHY is this station so darn active and noisy??? The apartments themselves are barely modern. I think the building was built in 1970. Old chip wood kitchen cabinets and 40 year-old Formica counter tops in the "non-renovated" units. Half of the building is a dormitory. No water sprinklers in case there's a fire. You pay to play here--few real amenities. The "gym" on the top floor is always busy during peak times, and they don't really keep up the machines except to clean them once every few days. Electric range oven, AC & heat. 1-bedroom=$175/month extra for electric if you use your heaters & AC all the time. It works out to be about $4 to 6/day for electric. Parking is $300/month through the Hyatt's valet service.

I have never written a apartment review before but this place is that good... I have been working the past few summers with my company in different cities around the USA. In Boston, NYC, DC, San Francisco and now Chicago, they always find a upscale downtown high-rise for me. This is one of the best! Location, Location, Location! just off Michigan av. on the river (don't need a car). Great views of the city, especially at night. Solid walls, you don't hear your neighbors. Friendly and helpful staff, from the doormen to the manager. Two great grocery stores within 3 blocks, not to mention all the top restaurants and bars nearby. Yes there is better, but at twice the price.

Generally, my experience here was fine. If I weren't moving for other reasons, I'd probably stay. Pros: 1. Moving in was super easy. They let you reserve the loading dock and an elevator, so you can just pull up the moving van to their dock and go. 2. Rent seems reasonable to me. (I moved from NYC, so that might not be saying much.) 3. The view is pretty nice. I have a Northwest view, which overlooks the river and the roof of the Hyatt. 4. The air conditioning and heat work well, although they're very loud. 5. The laundry room and exercise room are never too busy to use. Cons: 1. Some of the apartments were recently renovated (mine wasn't one). The older-style apartments have pretty old appliances and badly-designed kitchens (there is exactly one drawer, which is not big enough to fit a utensils tray; the kitchen door hits the fridge door; there is no vent over the oven, etc. 2. The management is a little flaky. When I was first talking with them about my lease, we agreed on a start date and a price, but another agent called me back the next day saying that I'd have to move in a month earlier. I ended up taking it, because I'd already gone through the trouble of applying and had stopped looking elsewhere, but that's an additional $1400 over what I'd actually agreed to. The door-people don't actually help you with the door, but they're very nice. Went in another time to reserve the visitors' apt in the building, and confirmed my reservation with one of the agents, who later realized she'd been looking at the wrong month and the apt wasn't available. Besides not being the best at calendar reading, they also forgot to mention that a women on our floor had died in her apartment and gone for a while without being noticed. They just taped up her door with painters' tape. People on the floor put towels at their front door to keep out the smell. But they've still never actually told any of us what's going on. It's been weeks, and the painters' tape is still there, as well as the towels. Seems like a rather odd thing to do. 3. I get woken up every day by the jackhammering outside. I live on the 15th floor, and it's still really loud. Sounds like there's been construction in/around the building for a while now, and although I'm sure it will look nice, but it's not my favorite way to wake up. 4. The is NO parking, except some very expensive garages. There's no lot owned by the building, and the lot next door is $54/day. So when you move it, it's easy for the two hours you're at the dock, but there's no where to park the truck if you can't immediately return it. Also, if you own a car, I don't think there'd be anywhere to put it that's mildly convenient. 5. Pretty sure that management wrote several of these reviews. They seem to respond very quickly to any mediocre review with a glowing one. Hint: if they give parking 3 stars, they don't live here!