Tenant Reviews for 5020 S LAKE SHORE DR

The leasing & management agent MAC leaves a lot to be desired. Avoid giving them business if you can. I negotiated a 9 month lease, but before signing the electronic lease documents sent to me, I challenged a "high risk premium" clause among them. While waiting for a response, the link to these docs ceased working. After getting an explanation of the fee, they sent me a new link, which unfortunately I didn't read carefully - the lease term had been changed to 12 months. (Most likely just a clerical error, reflecting a break down in internal communication - but I was previously quoted a total figure for an alternative lease term that was conspicuously out by $1000, and with this told that a longer term was cheaper overall than a shorter one.) I signed that second lease document in a hurry, in my last day and a half before flying out from Australia to Chicago. I only discovered the problem recently, about a month before my original 9 months was due to end. After showing resident management the email trail that verified what I had originally negotiated plus how the problem arose, I was told that I had forfeited any objection for not raising the matter earlier. That is despite having told resident management of my understanding of the lease term twice within my first 3 months of moving in (once to ask whether I could pay the full 9 months' rent in advance, and the other time when asking if I could extend my lease by a month), and not being corrected on either occasion. I admitted my share of responsibility to them, and asked if they could release me early, or at least slightly reduce the remaining rent on my lease based on a UChicago discount I originally requested but was never given because of the 9 month or less term I negotiated. MAC was unwilling to accept any responsibility. From my experience, I'd say MAC is neither highly competent nor scrupulously ethical. Business is business, but you can't expect customers to recommend you if do things like this. If you're a UChicago grad student, there are decent other alternatives in the area. Don't feel Regents is the only option available.

I spent three years in Regents Park. I'm satisfied with my experience overall. Here are the pros and cons that I came up with. Pros: (1) Super convenient location right off Lake Shore Drive. 15-minute drive or 30-minute bus ride to the Loop. The 6 (to the Loop), 28 (to the financial district and union station), 172 (UChicago), and the evening UChicago shuttle all stop steps away. (2) Safe. You need a keyfob to enter the building. I never had to worry about my place getting broken into. (3) Breathtaking views. Depending on which directions your unit face, you get an amazing city view or lake view at least from some of the windows. (4) Gym. Some people complain about the gym being too small. I personally am a light exerciser. I find the treadmills and weight training equipments more than enough for my needs. There's also a heated pool. It's not big but I rarely find anyone using it unless it's summertime. (5) Front desk and mail room. The concierge calls your unit whenever there's food delivery for you. Packages are stored in the mail room. You don't have to worry about losing your stuff. It's so much better than simply having your package tossed on the ground in front of the building. The mail room also has a dry cleaner. They do a very good job. (6) Terrace Grill and supermarket. Terrance Grill in the building gets food delivered to your unit in 15 minutes for just $1. Supermarket carries most of the everyday items you need from snacks and drinks to paper cups and cleaning supplies. (7) Indoor heated parking lot. Yes, you pay a monthly fee of $200-$250 for that, but it's quite useful especially in winter weathers. (8) Decent Size. Most rooms are spacious, and the living rooms are huge. Units also come with a lot of closet space. Bathrooms are a bit small but not too bad unless you need to have more than one person using it at a time. (9) Quiet. I've visited other buildings where I can hear my neighbors walking around, making phone calls and flushing their toilet. This never happened in Regents Park. If you stand very close to your unit entrance, sometimes you hear people walking by the hallway, but it's pretty quiet otherwise. Cons: (1) Construction. There's construction going on constantly - building maintenance, alterations to comply with city codes, neighbors moving out and their unit needs repairs. The noise can be quite annoying sometimes, especially when they don't let you know in advance. (2) Cost. $1900 for two bedrooms, $2800 for three bedrooms. They also took away discounts for graduate students. Utilities are also expensive. Energy caps at $99 for two bedrooms. You also have to pay for electricity and renter's insurance. Usually utilities and insurance for a two bedroom unit can come close to $200 per month. The upside is we get plenty of heating and cooling, so we never have to worry about the unit being too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. (3) Maintenance. The maintenance team do respond to requests in a timely manner, but they don't always get the problem solved. Sometimes they just do some superficial work to cover up the problem instead of actually fixing it. This building is a few decades old. There are some problems with the building that are not easily solved. For example, the water pipes are really loud sometimes when a neighbor turns the shower on. The squeaking sound of the pipes is so loud that it woke me up from sleep. Fortunately, this didn't happen a lot. The bottom line is, this is not a luxury apartment by the downtown standard. However, it is one by the Hyde Park standard. If you are looking for a nice, safe place with good amenities to live in Hyde Park and you are not on a budget, Regents Park can be a great pick for you.

I lived in this building from 2000 - 2005, and LOVED it. I couldn't have imagined a better place to live as a medical student at the University of Chicago -- it was beautifully maintained, staffed by incredibly nice and helpful people, and felt like a community. The owners lived here. It showed. So when I moved back to Chicago in 2013, I didn't think twice about moving back to Regents. I even got to live in my same lake and city view apartment. THIS WAS A HUGE MISTAKE. In the interim, Regents was sold to MAC, and they have set about systematically dismantling everything that was good about this place. I've watched it happen over the two years that I've been here -- everything is changing for the worse. The staffed garage is now run by glitchy machines that sometimes lock you in or out for long stretches until one of the few remaining maintenance people can come open the doors manually. The full service health club has been reduced to some treadmills and a few machines. Security has become propped open doors and unmonitored side entrances. The laundry machines have been replaced with credit card driven systems that often lose their internet connection. Trash accumulates in the hallways for weeks on end. And today, my key fob, necessary to enter the building, broke off my keychain. I explained that it had broken off and been lost. I was told it would cost $50 to replace since I couldn't prove that it had broken and not just been misplaced. Of course, the machine to make the fobs is broken, so they can't do it right now...but if I leave my name and number, they'll be happy to nickel and dime me later. This sort of corporate, bureaucratic chill -- imagine an apartment building run by Comcast --combined with constant and consistent degradation of the level of service, cannot justify a $2,000/month rent. Not with the South Loop a few short minutes away and closer to everything else you want in the city. Regents Park was my home for 7 years. I cannot wait to move out. You should definitely not move in.

The quality of residents has deteriorated. I feel as if I am now living in a high priced subsidized housing. It is awful to get in the elevator and it is constantly reeking with the smell of marijuana. Under the previous owners, the first concern was keeping the residents happy and feeling secured. The building has become unsafe with the new side door that any all people exit and allow friends to enter. Also, the previous management from previous owners really interacted with the residents. There is no interaction with this new management at all.

I enjoy living at Regents Park. Everyone is friendly. Also, it is nice living in such a diverse community. The staff is professional and they do a wonderful job with making me feel welcomed at home. I would definitely recommend Regents Park as a community to live in.

Probably two or three times a week I smell pot in the lobby. I take the stair cases and their smell very bad. On the third floor there's red liquid on the floor and sometimes cigarette butts. I really strongly dislike the entrance into the building (getting in and out) that automatic rotating door is extremely irritating. It is very slow and always gets jammed. It should be replaced. Overall the staff are very nice! Elevators are unusually slow. Music in elevators seems a little out of place, sounds more like something we would here at the Ritz. Music does not appeal to crowd at all, jazz or light rock would do more the thing!

I feel that this is a very secure community that offer conviences to its tentants. Some of the staff are very friendly whereas other are not, I think the managerial staff should have empathy for their tenants, and be careful as to how they relay some messages.

the garden is not accessible for people with wheelchair, scooters or other transportation artifacts. this may be according to the law but it is not satisfactory to many people.please consider this.the maintenance people must be better trained to repair everything.

service is getting worth after the company changed. i will never live here again and i will never recommend someone live in Regents Park. It is really convenient access to publick transportation. It is the best location in Hyde park. However, quality is not good at all, just expansive.

I like how friendly the staff is and how helpful they are to make your day comfortable. The community is quite and is safe, also a nice access to public transportation and cabs if you need them. Also the Uuniv of Chicago bus comes by to drop off students.