Tenant Reviews for 555 W MADISON ST

Service desk workers are rude, and will literally laugh in your face if you ask them to enforce the mask mandate in public spaces. One worker did so in front of their manager, and their manager jumped to defend them gaslight me about doing everything they can - while allowing 7 different residents to pass by without masks on. If you plan on not interacting with anybody when you live here, then you'll have a decent experience. If you want to reach out for any type of help or support from staff and managers, Presidential Towers is not the place for you.

I have lived at Presidential Towers on-and-off for more than 20 years, the "off" being when my or my husband's job required us to leave Chicago several times. Each time we returned, we returned to Presidential Towers because of the ease of moving in/out. On the plus side, Presidential Towers has an excellent location in terms of walkability, access to public transportation, access to major universities and hospitals, access to expressways, and convenient shopping. The units have excellent floor plans and you will never find the closet space these units have in any other rental unit in Chicago for any price. In my experience, maintenance staff are reliable and experienced and fix problems on time and with no hassle. But there are some downsides. When the building first opened, Presidential Towers was a community where residents and staff knew each other, there was little turnover in property management staff, and there was a great sense of pride expressed by the people who worked here. The building had a full-service grocery store, real restaurants and fast-food establishments, dry cleaners, and business services. You literally didn't have to leave the building unless you had to go to work. In the past 5+ years, the grocery store is gone, the restaurants have gone, there is no dry cleaners, there are some fast-food places. When the building was built, the number of elevators was considered adequate. Today, building codes would require more elevators. Management staff turnover is frequent and nobody knows anybody. FWIW, the current tenant demographic skews younger, meaning tenants really don't know how to live with other people: they're noisy, they don't respect others (especially when it comes to wearing masks during Covid), they litter or leave trash for others to clean up. Tenants have always reflected a cross section of wealth and income, and they still do, but my sense is that relatively speaking, the demographic is less wealthy. The tenant population has always been racially and ethnically diverse and continues to be so. in 2022, if you're looking to move into Presidential Towers, my advice is to consider it if you work downtown or require easy access to the Loop, Metra, or the expressways. If you don't need a "community" or a lot of in-building conveniences or '5-star' customer service, you will be just fine. The prices are reasonable and competitive.

The management here at PT has done the bare minimum to protect its residents from the spread of the coronavirus. While Illinois still requires the wearing of masks, barefaced residents can be seen in any common area at any time of day. I have been bullied and verbally accosted each time I've asked someone if they could wear a mask. The staff turned the other way when I got shouted and cursed at. The service desks had no masks available for residents. The general manager rolled his eyes while giving me the typical customer service script. 'There's nothing more we can do, unfortunately...I agree these are hard times...' I have even seen managers in the building not wearing their masks while in their office, in full view of the main entrance. It seems as if PT fosters an environment of apathy and zero consideration for the safety of others. And they claim to be a safe home for families. If you're looking for a place to just go in and out of, this building is fine. If you're concerned about the spread of coronavirus, do not live here. Your health and safety is not a priority.

This place is becoming a hole. 1. A lot of people smoking weed here. I have complained several times. But all they can do is to spray some scent. Ironically, they still call themselves smoke free buildings. 2.The security is a total joke. People can follow you into the building, no one will check. Actually, one of the tenants was robbed this way. After that, they ask the staff to stand at the door. But after a week, no one will check again. It is very dangerous to live here. 3. Manager is very slow. Once I have an issue with my lease. I emailed him, called him and even dropped by the office. Several weeks later, I got a reply .It was very frustrating. 4. It is vey noisy. There is always a project going on. Once, they were remodeling a unit on Saturday in the early morning. I called them to do it later. They said they cannot. I live here for a long time, and I am disappointed what PT have become. There are tons of apartment in west loop. Do not come here.

Management is terrible. They will throw your food and grocery delivery away if you're not in the lobby to pick it up immediately (yes, they're that insane). STAY AWAY. Rent somewhere else. There are much better options out there.

My AC hasn't been working and when I complained about it to the maintenance and tower manager they came over to check, and then he says AC is a "bonus" and they're not required to supply us with AC - they won't let us fix a window AC or a split AC. So it's either deal with it or move out basically.. Also the AC and heat are OLD !!!! The maintenance guys said so themselves. It takes them 2 days to convert the temperature from hot to cold or vice versa. They use old motors and have no throw of air, it's cold inside the vent but not outside it. They come over with a temperature gun point into the vent and say "oh its less than 60', I don't live inside the vent...I pay for the whole apartment. So I'm paying for AC electricity + extra for the fans ! They will not fix this until people stop moving in. Rent at your own risk! This is just one of many complaints, I am waiting to move out asap. Very non responsive management !

Presidential Towers is not what it is advertised to be. For starters, this is not a 100% smoke-free community. Anytime that you report that you are smelling smoke whether it is cigarettes or drugs, the building managers will not do anything about it. It feels like you are sharing a unit with your neighbors since you can hear and smell everything from their unit. The leasing office is terrible at getting back to you or setting appointment times with you. Honestly, once you sign a lease it feels as if you are forgotten as no one will get back to you with your questions or concerns. I would highly suggest other apartment communities if you think about moving to this area since this community is not a community at all. Take your money and run.

PT used to be a nice place to live at.. The only good things left in this building as of right now are Kenny and Domingo, and some of the maintenance people. Management is sub-par. They’re only good to you before and right after you sign your lease. Stole was a good tower manager, Gillian and Kevin were also good. After they left it all went downhill. I’m not surprised they left.. It’s a shame that they don’t make residents feel welcomed anymore, I guess they don’t care who lives there as long as they’re at 80% occupancy. There’s always construction going on, it’s not a quiet environment anymore. I wish they’d invest that money in the elevators. Safety wise, I would say they’re still doing Ok.

I have lived in Presidential Towers for a year and this is by far one of the worst living experiences I have had in my life. The management is terrible, they appear to be very nice and helpful when they want your money and want you to rent with them and then just disappear. No one responds to my email and follow ups and no one is willing to answer any questions I may have. The security is abysmal and lacking, I font understand the point of having so many people standing around in the lobby if anyone can just enter the building and walk into Tower 1. People have been robbed in this way and no changes have been implemented. Rents are most definitely not worth the apartments, there are better places to live in the West Loop. And to cap all of this off - the management has decided to initiate a minimum 6 month project to 'repair' the facade of the buildings. This is absolute horseshit and unnecessary. The pandemic is just about dying down and people are still working from home. The noise from this project is endless and there are people creeping up and down outside your windows staring at you all the time. Yes I can keep my blinds closed and I do but what about the noise. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to go into office for work and people have to work from home and attend meetings and talk to clients. And then there's also the fact people have kids to take care of... Extremely disappointed with the management and garbage they keep spewing. This work could have easily been pushed to next year when things are more back to normal. Where are we residents supposed to go 5 days of the week. RIDICULOUS AND TERRIBLE. DO NOT EVER LIVE HERE.

Kenny, Domingo, and other couple of staff members make you feel you are at home. Common areas need some improvement. Elevators don't work properly very often and/or it is needed a better system e.g. dedicated elevators for floors 4-23, 24-48 The last couple of years there were some safety incidents within the community which were not communicated the best way. In general I enjoyed living there for 6 years, I would recommend it specially if you are new in town.