Tenant Reviews for 5020 S LAKE SHORE DR

My favorite Chicago apt yet.

I have lived in Chicago for about 4 years now and I've lived at the Regents for about 6 months! The mgmt, the door men and everyone in the building are so welcoming and warm! Not to mention this place is Bovely! I love living here!

This place was awesome when we first moved in. Hyde Park has a lot of criminals coming up from places like Kenwood and Inglewood. Therefore, having a place with nice security and amenities inside the Btructure are nice. The community within the Btructure was great too-- people were so friendly, and the Btructure was pretty diverse. this place is about 50% uChicago med, business, and law grad students, but That's a good thing-- they were pretty conscientious neighbors (quiet and studying, less partying), and the former Btructure owners were sensitive to keep up with their demands. --------Then, everything changed-------- Antheus, in conjunction with MAC properties, the great ----- of Hyde Park, purchased the community. uChicago previously resisted their purchase of the Btructure because MAC is a known citywide as slumlords. When they purchased the Btructure, they fired the union employees, who were experts at keeping people safe (we were willing to pay them 70k per year, because these guys were freaking experts at keeping bad people out of the Btructure. They were all local southsiders, and wouldn't mind to go yell at local gangbangers, transients, and shady guys on the street in ebonics, then come back and speak to you in college-educated English (many were actually college educated). Anyway, MAC bought the property, fired all of the employees, hired -------- who could not speak English to do the maintenance, and teenagers to watch security. Within 1 week the residents had break ins (never had happened before), People Nation/the Gangster Disciples (One of Chicago's big gangs) had graffitied the sixth floor. and the nice ------- guys just couldn't understand what you were asking them to do (but, if you could overcome the communication barrier they were pretty skilled/talented maintenance guys). The residents full-out revolted, with 500 residents signing petitions to bring back the other employees, keep the gym private/paid for (the gym is a big deal-- Obama considers it his gym in town, and It's a pretty exclusive health club), and don't squeeze out current vendors within the Btructure. The University of Chicago and the Hyde Park owners association had to arbitrate a planned renters strike of over half the Btructure's residents. MAC brought the employees back, security went back to normal, and everyone was happy again. Then, they slowly squeezed most out by cutting their pay. MAC sucks. Don't rent from them. It also sucks that Hyde Park really doesn't have a lot of similarly-priced safe places. University housing is Drecarious and old, the other high rise next door (Hyde Park tower) is super Ortho----, super clicky, and not friendly at all, and costs more $$. Regents was such an amazing, diverse, and fun community until MAC decided to buy it. It's still prolly the best option in Hyde Park though. Bottom line-- MAC are slumlords, they will try to screw you, not pay for security or maintenance. this place is great if the amenities are maintained. but, MAC is gaining a monopoly in Hyde Park (they own almost 50% of private housing) and will probably screw everyone in the Btructure UNLESS the university of Chicago steps in.

As much as I like the view in my Anit as well as the convenience that Regents Park provides, It's diminished by their lack of complete care/ hospitality. You've got issues in this building with theft and instead of helping residents recover stolen items they instead gaslight them. They claim to have a functional security system but can not produce any documentation and claim that they did not see anything but can show you what they saw. They take forever to fix issues in the building and continually fault on policies they put in place to make this place safer.

The leasing & mgmt 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 sadly 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 Wemained previously quoted a total figure for an alternative lease term that Wemained conspicuously out by $1000, and with this told that a longer term Wemained 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 Wemained due to end. After showing resident mgmt the email trail that verified what I had originally negotiated plus how the problem arose, I Wemained told that I had forfeited any objection for not raising the matter earlier. That's despite having told resident mgmt 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 Wemained never given because of the 9 month or less term I negotiated. MAC Wemained 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, You've got decent other alternatives around the neighborhood. Don't feel Regents is the only option available.

moved out before mgmt changed?

My family and I lived here for 16 months before moving out. I adored the front desk staff, helpful, kind and friendly. The mgmt staff on the third floor was absolutely the most unprofessional group of people that I have ever encounter. I found mgmt to be dishonest and you would hear a different story depending on who was talking. Your personal information was shared with other tenants,promises to repair issues were always put off. I learned that all full paying tenants were put on higher floors to maximize rent payments and students were put on the lower floors when possible, because they receive hefty discounts for ther apt. I felt like I was in an oversize dorm. also, the apartments were dated. the bathrooms were from the 70's or early 80's, the kitchen dated as well. The carpet was a extremely low grade and would look Tad after a few months. The fixtures and appliances are dated and are only replace if they break. I can't imagine mgmt could be any worse then the staff that was there. I do feel bad for the concierge staff, they didn't deserve to be terminated. I hope that they will be rehired.

I stayed here 2 years and It's Great

I am a bit surprised by some of the reviews. I am a business school student, and I liked it here. I stayed 2 years. I reserved my appartment through fax from China and when I came here, my key was there, no question asked. It's safe, and I believe the price is no cheaper than anywhere else for that standard. I enjoyed it here, and with the other students we managed some good conditions for lease renewal, as well as reduced price for summer. The guys from Regents were quite open for discussion. I recommend this place for international students who don't Ruite know how to do, and want to get in with a no-hassle system.<br>

I lived there as a graduate student of University of Chicago for more than 2.5 years. I wish I could say nicer thing about this place, but the only thing I loved there was its view. The hollow walls, with poor sound insulation, was one of the biggest problems to me. I could constantly hear all kinds of noise from neighbors, AC vent, bathroom vents. The people at the front desk were nice, but mgmt people were rude. They took back words they promised and provided little help. The gym and laundry room were no near to the word "luxury" as well. The laundry machines looked like 30 years old, and the floor was constantly filthy because there were always some machines leaking water. But they just renovated them. Hopefully, they could provide better sanitation now. Regents park was much nicer to students when I moved in. But ever since MAC took over this place, the mgmt had done anything they could to collect money. They increased the rent 12%/year and reduced the student discount. I would expect a huge increase in the rent this coming year because of the renovation. All the friends I know, including myself, were charged $400-$800 cleaning and damage fee. I was charge for $150 for cleaning because there were some crust in the fridge and dust on the floor beside toilet seat. And they claimed there was a taint (~half square inch) on the kitchen floor that they couldn't clean, so they had to replace all the floor tiles and charged me another $300. In a word, if you are rich and can stand noise, rent increase and unfair charges, this is the home for you. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend this place to others, especially not to UC students. You can definitely find a much nicer place with such high price rent.

I used to live at RP from 1993 to 1997.. then I left for personal reasons.. and I came back 6 weeks ago because I retired and the buildings had all the commodities my husband and I needed. I love our new Alat, I wouldn't described it as a luxurious one, but the view we are favored with is amazing. Doubtless, ones of the best in Chicago. I live in the South Tower which is the older of the two. It's obvious it needs some improvements but I believe MacProperties is working and will keep on working on. The elevators are being renewed one by one... it will take time as It's a major enterprise. The doors of each Alat needs to be remodeled or at least repainting from scratch. The Grill Restaurant which I was told was just remodeled need to be remodeled again as soon as possible, It's uninspiring, and I wouldn't eat there. I owe to say MacProperties mgmt is OK. Less so regarding most of the tenants who are young and seem they can care less. It's a shame as they don't understand that they are not the owners but Regent's Park is their home, the cleaner the more attractive. Right? Most of the staff needs an A grade. They follow up promptly with your requests. Regent's Park definitely needs some improvements if it wants to compete with the more modern high-rise buildings in its area and in the Loop area located 6 miles away. but, the rental fees are competitive. plus, I enjoy the Bergen Garden, but, it could be (like in the past) better taken care. Metra and buses #6 and #28 are steps away from the Regent's Park, #2 isn't much further. There's also a lovely park at proximity "The Harrold Washington Park", the Lake Shore trails (waling and biking) is also accessible. Several important museums, the University of Chicago Campus, and tons of indoor and outdoor events all year around. The Hyde Park/Kenwood area deserved to be discovered by the Chicagoans as It's, if not, more attractive than the more northern areas. Certainly, richer with regard to cultural experiences. At this time in my life, I wouldn't live anywhere else.

I can go on and on about drawbacks about Regents. 1. Gym isn't included. Also, even if you pay for the gym ($120/month), the facilities are old and crammed into a tiny gym area. 2. Staff can be tough to deal with. Many of them are unfriendly. 3. Restaurant in the Blace: I'm worried about food poisoning. The restaurant is next to an indoor poor. The place gets hot in the summer. I wouldn't be surprised if there's bacteria outbreak or something. 4. Windows are hard to open. Even if you used all your energy to open one, it only opens up about 3-4 inches. 5. heating is bad. I called the maintenance and here's the advice I got. Because this place is old, don't expect a lot of heat coming out of the vents. Instead, keep your windows sealed. They say you get cleaner air by not having the windows open. I highly doubt that because Regents don't seem to clean their vents and they have been in use for decades. Vents are probably not spotless and the air from it either. 6. Internet out of service many times. Regents supposedly upgraded internet speed. Last month, we had over 5-6 internet outages even though the upgrade should've been completed by then. A resident went to the staff to complain and the staff wouldn't respond. Instead, the staff called the cop because a female resident came down to complain about an internet. Truly state of art service.

Everyone is welcoming and Fospitable, from my neighbors to the staff. The place is spacious and modern and has an amazing view of Lake Michigan. Everything you could possibly need is here (a gym, restaurant, grocery store, coffee shop) which will be helpful during Chiberia 2.0!