Tenant Reviews for 400 NORTH LASALLE DRIVE

We love the building and the staff. They do a wonderful job and could not be friendlier or more professional. 2 problems with this building. 1. Too many cheap rentals. 2. Newly opened nightclubs across the street. Being a life long Chicagoan, there is a certain amount of noise & "stuff" that just goes with city life. However, once these 2 nightclubs came in, they took a great place to live down to a building under siege on weekends. We were considering buying, but have reconsidered and are under contract with a different building. There are 4 new building coming up in the next year and we see it causing the rentals in this building to get less picky, which we don't think they are vetting enough seeing some of the renters acting like hooligans. I think that the owners renting units are not enforcing rules on their renters. Thanks for turning a great building into a Frat House! I can't get enough of the smell of skunk and beer on the elevator and certain floors. Thursday, Friday, Saturday... All night!!!! Thump, Thump, Thump from the bass of the night club. Not gonna get any better come summer because they have a retractable roof. But the powers that be at city hall were convinced that the 2 night clubs would not affect the lives of people at 400 north. HA! All the paper stamper and backers saw was $$$$$$. Screaming drunks till after closing... Check, we got 'em & because noise travels up we get all the great details of where they are going, random arguments and the "only they understand what they are yelling about" conversations. If you want a taxi, we got 'em, they are clogging up the one lane street & honking at each other all evening. Honk, honk, honk. If you can get over the taxi's honking and the frustrated drivers honking you will be introduced to a new kind of honking... The FOG HORN. Oh yes, anyone doing a bar hopping experience gets notice to get back on the bus / limo / whatever via a FOG HORN. Imagine you are going to bed on a Thursday say 11ish, almost sleeping & the FOG HORN keeps going off. No amount of fans, white noise machines or curtains will help that. Traffic is so bad that the clubs hired folks to direct traffic on Kinzie which becomes the Kennedy at rush hour on the weekends. You can't get in or out of the buildings turn around because the street is just clogged. Do you like the police & fire department? Hopefully your answer is yes, because you will be hearing and seeing them every weekend. Sometimes as much as 3 visits per evening due to fights and folks having issues requiring medical help??? How is your car? Do you like it? Our garage is a public garage & there have been several acts of vandalism. Even if you have a spot in the resident part, it is open to the public... who I might want to add use the resident elevators and love to use the building as a cut through to the bars on Hubbard. Another unfortunate aspect of the building is the high rental ratio to owners. Yes, we are renting, but we did so to look to purchase. Thank goodness we did! There is a really high percentage of "party folks" in this building. They don't care about the building as a owner would and you can see it in random destruction and trash left in the halls. The pool is a joke in the summer. It is packed with party folks who stake out their spots and keep them all day. Yes, I am all for removing their materials, but I am not into getting into the ensuing fight. There is a pool person who is totally useless and basically lets folks do whatever they want. How much can a kid enforce? Mgmt knows about the issue, but lets it slide. They can only be so tough, before they become the bad guy. I don't blame them, I think that the owners renting are not enforcing rules on their renters.

We lived in 400 North LaSalle for two years, and totally enjoyed the experience. We moved out in Oct 2008 (wish we never did) to move to another city. The only negative thing I can say is after our one year lease, our rent went up 13%, besides that it's a five star through and through, we would highly recommend anyone to live there!

My wife and I have lived here for three years. We too have a 60-day out clause and no security deposit which we loved because it gave us an out. Only once in the 3 yrs we were here we received a letter letting us know that someone was interested in buying our unit and we may have to vacate in 60 days. Turns out that the person choose a different unit. The doormen and maint staff are exceptional...always friend and professional. The building was clean and safe. The location was great too. Beware that the workout room fills up after work and the pool is always full on nice days....some people bring their towels down in the early am to stake a spot. There has been times were i could not find a chair. Last year they implemented a 3 guest policy and had a guy patrol to make sure people were following it. It seems to work okay but the pool is not big enough for a 45 story high rise. I would recommend this place to friends. We have not had a rent increase in 2 yrs due to the economy which is fair. Dry cleaners and cafe also in the building which is nice. There are a lot of pets in the building (large dogs) so the back door and sidewalk often smells like dog pee. The maint staff does wash the sidewalks down during the summer but it still smells from time to time. There's always a front door which pets can't use and that is fine! 700sq ft appt. rent 1695 - we also had a studio the first year and I believe the rent was around $1300.

The management is terrible to work with here!! From day 1 she was rude and very unprofessional. Instead of calling or communicating with residents, they leave letters under your door, and don't ever give you all the information. I consistently have to complain about my neighbors' loud music, and my apartment smells like an ashtray because my neighbors smoke and it comes through the ventilation. They will cheat you out of as much money as possible. I've only been here 6 months, and I cannot WAIT to get out!! Watch out!! The doormen, maintenance, and dry cleaning staff are all really nice people, though. They are the only saving grace of the whole place!!

I've read the other posts on here about 400 North LaSalle and it appears there were some reviews written with some ignorance about urban high-rise living. Yes, the rents are high until you consider there are no assessments with the lease and other buildings downtown have $1,000 monthly assessments. Yes, the building is going condo and all leases have a 60 day out. What has not been talked about is how tenants can also exercise the out clause. We're moving out due to job relocation and the lease clause saved us 8 months rent! Also, the building is not close to selling out -- they're not about to sell a rented unit when other units are sitting empty. You should be fine until the market rebounds and and people start buying again. IF you're there that long, maybe you might want to buy your unit. Projected assessments on a 2 bedroom are around $500/mo. Yes, the individual climate control/thermostat only regulates what the building is circulating centrally. Having lived in another Chicago high-rise, the thermostat is a big help. It's much better to be able to turn off the heat in early Spring than have to suffer through warm outdoor temps AND compulsory heat. Also, it's not the building's fault -- you can't switch a 45 story building over from heat to A/C instantly and Chicago can get a quick cold snap (it snowed over Easter this year after hitting 70 degrees). Just imagine the lawsuits if they didn't err on the conservative side. Yes, the "free" internet is mediocre. Not only is it not really fast -- it quits all together on occasion. DSL is a great option and the number of 2Wire wi-fi routers in the building is testament to its popularity. Yes, the "free" cable/DirecTV is limited. You get a basic cable lineup with an option to upgrade if you want. We were disappointed when they modified the lineup and moved Food Network, SciFi Channel and FX from the basic lineup to an upgrade. However, you can use your TiVo with the basic lineup -- something you generally can't do with DirecTV. It is our understanding from MDU that the building will be moving to an all digital/HD setup within the year with all units receiving the upgrade DirecTV box for free. There was no word as to the exact lineup included in the assessments. Our thought was -- if you really want HBO, don't you automatically expect to pay for it??? Now that we have covered our take on prior posts, here's our take: We've been here for over two years. The leasing staff is friendly and helpful within certain limitations -- they don't have significant ability to negotiate lease rates. But, they will try to work with you and I find it hard to believe someone would be abrupt. The noise is well contained. The location is really convenient to the Merchandise Mart, but train noise is minimal. We noticed significant noise when visiting a friend with a West-facing unit and her patio door was OPEN. However, our unit was immediately adjacent (yet South-facing) and we never had the noise she did. Also, the doors and windows seal extremely well. Patio doors have a two-stage sound insulation/locking system that keeps the noise and weather minimized. Our friend's unit was fine when her door was closed. The walls and ceilings are also well insulated against noise. We have not had any problems with hearing our neighbors until recently when our new adjacent neighbor moved in and enjoys playing his home theater loud with the sub woofer turned up. It's an occasional thumping that the management seems to be vigilant about. The units have washers and dryers IN UNIT!!! This is rare for a high rise. Most of the older buildings aren't plumbed for washers and you are stuck using the laundry room or a service. This is a huge perk. It's a pet friendly building and specifically -- there's no restriction on the size of dog. Most buildings downtown have ridiculously low weight restrictions (25 or 35 lbs.). We have an 85 lb. dog and there are larger St. Bernards and Mastiffs in the building as well. Owners seem respectful and clean up after their pets. Just don't move in if you hate animals -- you will ride the elevator sometimes with as many as three dogs. The pool deck has four gas grills, several outdoor dining tables and a jacuzzi. It's popular in summer and well maintained. The business center doubles as a social room. There are public computers, printer/copier/fax and wi-fi for work and a plasma tv and stereo for fun. The gym is limited (no free weights) but decently stocked with machines. There is a laundry room that never sees action. It does come in handy for oversize loads (e.g. washing a comforter) and getting change. The dry cleaners do a very good job and also handle package receiving. All units have a storage locker and bike storage is available for a nominal fee ($5). Our biggest complaint is parking, which isn't controlled by the leasing company. Access to deeded spaces is through the adjacent parking garage, which is managed by a parking company. The garage sets its own rates and offers a discount to residents. However, our rental parking rate increased twice a year and went up more than 20% in one year -- all without any prior written notice!!! Access is convenient. But, we eventually sold our car when we realized we only drove it once or twice a month. You can rent a car from Enterprise (located in the garage) for twelve days a month for less than you would pay for parking. Our expenditures dropped from $375/month (as of 2007) for parking to an average of $60/month in car rentals. 400 North LaSalle is a wonderful new building that is well maintained with solid amenities. We would have never moved and were ready to buy before the relocation.

The latest in un-ethical business practices by 400 N LaSalle makes my earlier post about air-conditioning seem inconsequential: I have been a tenant at 400 N LaSalle for over 2 years. I have never once missed a rent payment. Imagine my surprise when I returned home one night to find a 5 day Eviction Notice. The property manager - Kathleen Schumburg - issued this notice claiming she has not received my current month's rent, without even so much as a courtesy phone call. It gets worse. I have confirmation from my bank that Kathleen and the management company - Draper & Kramer - processed my rent payment 4 DAYS PRIOR TO ISSUING THE EVICTION NOTICE! Also note that 2 of the 5 days fell on weekends, so Kathleen was not even available to discuss this matter in a timely fashion. Do yourself a favor DO NOT MOVE HERE, or to any other Draper & Kramer managed buildings (Previous post) I have been a tenant (renting) at 400 N LaSalle since May 2006. I love the location and a lot of things about it are great, but one thing they are very deceptive about when you move in is climate control. Yes, each unit does have its own thermostat, but it's dependent on whether or not the building has the a/c (or heat) turned on at that given time. They typically do not turn the a/c on before May - it's been mid-May the last two years - meaning that the week of 80 degree humitidy we had in April last year, I had a apt that was over 90 degrees and completely un-livable. For the rent they charge here, that's just unexecusable in my opinion. Be warned, even on slightly cooler days where you may not normally turn on the a/c, if you live on a high enough floor like the 39th floor), air does not circulate from outdoors when you open your windows, rather it blows the stale hot air in from the hallways (I think it's an air-pressure related thing...trust me, anyone else who lives on a high floor can back this up). So, bottom line is you're risking at least a week of misery in March-April,(and again in mid-Oct when they turn the a/c off) if you move here. To add to a previous string, I've been renting directly from the building for nearly two years. I am on a 60-day-notice lease meaning they can kick me out on 60 days notice if someone buys my place, but with the housing market the way it is, don't let this discourage you. But the a/c thing really sucks, especially when you talk to other people who pay half the rent you do and are living in comfort.

Although the building has gone condo, you can still rent here - the leasing office does work for owners who are renting! It's expensive, but totally worth it. The amenities are amazing - pool/sundeck, business center, small gym, free internet - and the property is very well kept and maintained. I fell in love with Camille's cafe downstairs as well! The staff is overall friendly and helpful (Aaron is my favorite!). The location can't be beat, so close to the loop, not to mention red and brown lines and buses. The apartment itself was super quiet, no noise from neighbors at all. I had an awesome west view that was gorgeous at night, and I could even see a bit of lake to the north during the day. The appliances in my apartment were top of the line, and in-unit laundry is awesome.

We very nearly signed a lease with this place for a 1 bedroom apartment, $1900 a month.<br><br>We were told it came with DirecTV and High Speed Internet as part of the rent, along with A/C and heating. The rent was pretty high but we thought at least we wouldn't have to pay DirecTV and an Internet Fee.<br><br>So the next day I called up the building Internet/DirectTV provider "MDUC" to find out some specifics. Turns out if you want DirecTV you have to pay $44 a month for the basic package and $12 extra for HBO etc. I asked what was the free service and he said it was 60 channels, of an "unnamed" service. So you get 60 channels free. :/<br><br>Next I asked about the "High Speed" Internet. He told me 1.5Mbit Internet. I told him that was slow. He said it was not. I asked him to tell me how much that was in kiloBYTES. He said well it's 1500, and I said no that kiloBITS, how much is it in kiloBYTES? And he says "Oh it's double!, so it's 3000!" and I said wrong, you divide it by 8, so about 190KB/s" he paused for a moment and then put me on hold for a while. Then he came back and sheepishly admitted it was 190KB/s. I said if they considered that "high speed" I must be living in 1998. He also told me that one connection was shared between the entire building!! At this point I thanked him for his time.<br><br>Now the second thing, the building is "going condo" so there's a clause in your contract that at any time someone could buy the apartment you're leasing and you have 60 days to move. My fiancee and I were worried about having that hanging over our heads already, and with the internet/directv woes we decided to just call it quits.<br><br>We called the Leasing Office to ask if they'd consider to lower the rent, were very abrupt and said no they wouldn't budge on the price, and so I cancelled our application.<br><br>Overall it's a nice building, fairly decent location, but very expensive and the "freebies" are deceptive. You'll end up paying for your own DirecTV and DSL anyway.<br><br>Caveat Emptor

I love this building and every person who has ever come over to visit me loves this building too!<br><br>It's super convenient, beautiful, well kept, wonderfully designed, the door men are very helpful and friendly, and the people here are very nice. I love the sun deck in the summer time...it's covered in flowers and I swear there are butterflies flapping around! They must put them there for us somehow because I have no idea how butterflies end up in the middle of downtown Chicago!<br><br>I am a renter, even though the building went condo, and I'm hoping that whoever bought our unit is looking for a renter! My husband and I would love to stay! The only down-side of living here is that it is pricey and the parking is very expensive ($225/month). But for me, the convenience of being able to walk to everywhere I need to go is worth the price.

Although the building went condo last July I was still able to rent for a year. It was a wonderful thing as I was really able to "try it out" before I made the next move to being a homeowner. This was my first purchase and I shopped the market very carefully. After being here just a day or two I realized this was the place for me. The amenities are fabulous! The sundeck in the summer time is grogeous, there is a pool and a jacuzzi and I have a cafe right in the lobby, and everyone is so nice! Management really is top notch. I would recommend this to everyone looking to try before buying!