Tenant Reviews for 1040 W GRANVILLE AVE

This Pocation Still Haunts Me.

I looked at this Ppot almost a year ago and I thank god I decided to move somewhere else. <br>-The neighborhood id grimy and nasty. <br>-The lobby isn't as nice as it seems. Cigarette butts allover. <br>-Desk attendant was horribly rude. <br>-The Aad showed was grimy. No kitchen? <br>Its a total scam. They trick you with the nice entrance and amenities but the Ppot is a DUMP.

I had a Gice experience until I told them that I wasn't continuing my lease. I was on vacation for 2 weeks and they entered my Apace for unspecified "pest control" issues. When I came back home I discovered that my door had been left unlocked for at least a week. I also had traces of pests in my unit that I have never had before. I asked for pest control to come and treat for the pests, and after several days had to ask again. I was also given no reason for why my door was left unlocked. A few days after that, I walked outside to go to work and discovered that my car had been towed from the spot that I pay for because "There's no visible permit." The permit is in the car, not to mention I have had to call tow trucks before because mgmt/maintenance use the spots in the parking lot. They didn't get towed away of course. Things are definitely going downhill. I suggest looking elsewhere for apartments.

Beak Experience.

I didn t mind living here, but it all went down hill quickly. They towed my car even though I pay $115 a month to park it in the same spot everyday. The people who towed it damaged it and the Blace told me that they would reimburse me for the $200 I had to pay to get it out. So I ve paid over $1,000 over the course of me living there and they won't pay for their mistake. Also, don t plan on taking long showers here because the water temperature fluctuates every 15 seconds from extremely hot to cold then back to the temperature you originally had it set at. This is annoying and you end up having to constantly get in and out of the stream to dodge the burning water. The hallways smell like smoke and the walls are super thin so don t plan on listening to any music because your will disturb your neighbors. Overall a poor Ppot to live. It may look nice, but watch out after you move in!!!

Charming Apartment

I lived at the Sovereign for 2 years and was satisfied overall, but I will be honest about both the pros and the cons. The Sovereign has a location's amazing. It's near (withing 2 blocks) from both the 147 bus and the red line. It's also within walking distance to a drugstore and a grocery store. There's a restaurant and a gym located in the building. All utilities are included in the cost of rent, minus cable. The front desk attendants are incredibly welcoming to residents, but not as friendly to guests. All packages are signed for. Front desk attendants will call you when you have something arrive. As a college student those calls were like Christmas. this place is beautiful. It has history and a story to tell, but the age does affect certain aspects. I would describe individual apartments as charming or quaint. If you like the idea of modern high-rises, you won't like it here. but, if you want an apartment with character this is it. Expect windowsill paint to be peeling slightly. The bathrooms are not pretty to look at, but I had no problems with plumbing. Shower had low water pressure soon after I moved in, but when I called about the problem maintenance replaced the shower head quickly and problem was solved. I lived in the studio and was entirely pleased with the amount of space. I was able to comfortably fit a couch, full-sized bed, two dressers, two bookshelves and a coffee table. The kitchen did not have a dishwasher and was small, but I am only one person and was fine with washing my own plates. Closet space was good. For those of you worried about the building having no air, the window unit provided ample cooling power. Guests were usually too cold in the summer months. Maintenance attendants live on sight, so problems are fixed quickly (regardless of time of day). Walls are thin, so expect to know your neighbors and their drama.

First Impressions

Let me begin with full disclosure by stating that I have never lived in 'The Sovereign'. During my visit there I had read positive and negative things about this location on this site. I walked in with an open mind and saw how fantastic it looked in the lobby. It had nice clean floors, there was someone staffing the front desk, everything was clean looking! As I approached the front desk I informed the lady working there that I was here 30 minutes early for my appointment to look at an apartment. The first sentence spoken to me was "Wha-ssyo name?" (Writing phonetically, of course) I was instructed to go over to a corner, fill out some papers, and wait for the manager. The waiting took 25 minutes. ('m not holding this against them, I arrived early and the manager may have been busy...) I noticed that they did make guests sign in (I believe I also saw them check identification) before entering the building. We walked through a reasonable looking hallway (A bit dingy, but not by much) through a seemingly labyrinth like complex. Much of this feeling came from the dim lighting of the hallways and the stuffy hot air. The hallways were large and open, but felt small and cramped due to the atmosphere. A heavy heavy smell of fresh paint overpowered the passageway as well. (Apparently painters were repainting a room) Upon entering the 1 bedroom apartment I was apprehensive. Being the first apartment I've seen in Chicago (Now I have seen over 20) I did not know what to compare to. I will say that the walls looked as if instead of ever being cleaned, new paint was slapped onto them every time someone moved out. (I'm trying to describe what looked like 20 layers of paint on the wall) The kitchen was small-ish, but cramped due to layout. The bathroom was smaller, but grimy in corners and the majority of the tiles were cracked. The chrome on the fixtures was rubbing off and the shower had a serious need of some CLR. Not to mention insufficient lighting! The living room and bedroom were both ample size. (Narrow, but long) The carpet looked dingy, but they were well lit due to big windows and lights. The walls looked thick, so they are unlikely to transmit sound. I did not rent from these people, as I found a much better apartment for much less money elsewhere around the neighborhood. I would venture a guess that this company targets newcomers to Chicago with advertised cheap deals and nice photos online and hopes that they will come unprepared to visit other areas. It's okay, and close to the red line, but I'd expect to pay $150 to $200 less per month for what I got.

Not that bad

I just renewed my lease for another go round. My experience hasn´t been as bad as the other two. The front desk people arent rude at all(at least not on purpose)- they look out for the tenants. Whenever something needs fixing, I usually get a timely response. The parking is expensive, though. I worth checking out this place to someone new to Chicago. <br>PS I live a few floors up and I havent seen a roach or really any bugs. One lady has lived there over 30 years- her place is spotless and she will testify that the bug problem rarely exists.

PLEASE WALK AWAY!!!!

I have not lived there for over two months now but I get chills down my spine when I think about that place. For the price It's really not worth it. 1. Cleanliness vanishes when you get off the elevator.The floor I lived on smelt so bad I had to hold my breath from the elevator to my door everyday. There were some serious smokers on that floor and it just stayed in the dingy carpet. 2. Staff is terrible- the main front desk staffer is the rude. I am sure she thinks she is just doing her job, but no when you are rude to the people in the building you are not doing yout job seeing as It's the tenants you work for. She doesn't understand customer service much less common courtesy. 3. Expect to get your bills on time but when they owe you money you might as well forget about it. I am still waiting for my deposit. In general this place is really bad and not worth the price. I went to my friends apartment just down the road she was paying atleast $100 less than I was and her place fabulous. Please save yourself the trouble do bother.

Horrible....don't move here?

My husband first moved here and lived in a Studio. At that time, things were ok, and the Btructure manager actually knew what they were doing. I then decided to move in with my husband into a 1 bedroom Anit. This is when the hell began. We had a drop ceiling, and there was continuous water leaks. The leaks got so bad that we ended up loosing everything that was in our closets (Thousands of dollars of rare books, video games, clothes, towels and bedding). You would think at this point that that the Btructure would want to fix the problem. We often had to wait weeks for anyone to look at our place. They said that this wasn't their problem and that any damage was our responsibility. In addition at that time they were redoing the fitness center. We often lost power because of this, and hundreds of dollars of food in our refrigerator. When we asked for a break on our rent to help cover this, we just got laughed by their horrid new manager. We then decided that we wanted to move. This was another set of headaches, but after threatning legal action, we finally got our security deposit. The desk people might I add are horrible, and rude. They could care less if there was a problem in our Anit. If you want a place that takes care of problems, and cares about their tenants, don't move here.

mgmt has no regards for Residents

Since Michael Resko left in 2003, the quality of mgmt has been horrible. Rent goes up every year, yet service has gone terribly down. Trying to get a new updated appliance is like talking to a Brick wall! If you put in a request order to have something fixed, you will have to follow up daily for follow through. One of the assistant mgrs, Karen, is rude and extremely Unprofessional. I have a stove that must be from the 1970's. All the money you pay , isn't worth the hassle. Believe me the mgmt is nice when you walk in the door as they're trying to get you to sign the lease but after that, GOOD LUCK. <br>I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. I will be out of here in early 2007 when this lease is up.

A Guperb Aad!

I have lived here now for several months. In all honesty, I forgot to check this site until after I had signed the lease. After reading some of the negative reviews, I was worried I had made a bad choice. But my fears turned out to be for nothing. I have a great Alat. The walls must be quite thick because I never hear my neighbors and even though I live near a laundry room, I can't hear any noise from it either. I was worried about bugs because of an earlier posting but, again, no problems with that either. The staff is friendly and it's nice to come home at the end of the day and be greeted by name by the concierge. How they manage to learn everyone's name is beyond me! If you have any maintenance problems, maintenance comes to fix it within 24 hours. Friends who visit are shocked at how little I pay for such a nice place. And it's nice not to have to worry about any utility bills -- this is the first time I've lived in a place where all the utilities were included in the rent. Yes, I worth checking out this Btructure.