Tenant Reviews for 3130 N LAKE SHORE DR

Staff is hit or miss. One person I talked to in the office was horribly rude, name is Meeka maybe? Small white lady. It was like I was profoundly inconveniencing her for asking small questions about move-in On another note the building is not secure even in the slightest. I have forgotten my keys several times and all the times I have been able to get into the building with very little effort. Basically just walk right in. I’ve had packages addressed to me stolen out of the mail room. The walls are so thin I can hear my neighbor on the phone with his daughter calling her... well... horrible things that no man should ever say to a woman. I am afraid of my neighbor and every time I go into the hallway my anxiety and heart rate go through the roof out of fear of running into him because I can hear every conversation he has on the phone. I guess this building also allows birds because I wake up to the sound of chirping which might sound nice at first but when it wakes me up at 5 am and keeps me up til 1 or 2 is honestly awful. And this bird is across the hall and a few doors down from me and I can STILL hear it! If you care about the environment AT ALL this is not the place for you. Horrible insulation, building controls heat (can get very hot during the winter) toilets flush a TON of water. Location gets 10/10 though.

This is a great apartment for the location and the price. Maintenance staff is top notch. Any issue I had was resolved immediately. The onsite staff keep the grounds absolutely immaculate. There's someone out there every day clearing the sidewalks, picking up trash, mopping the lobby, cleaning the elevators, etc. They're the real backbone of the building; onsite property manager is useless. The mini-mart downstairs is a lifesaver in the winter. They have everything you'd ever need. It's basically a mini Walgreens. The family that runs it is also very nice and I enjoy supporting their business. However, this is not a high-end building, amenities are mediocre. The gym is really only good for elliptical and treadmill. Business center has good WiFi and a printer (although many times it was out of ink or paper). The walls are paper thin, and sounds/smells from other apartments will waft in through the vents. During the polar vortex my apartment absolutely stank of cigarette and weed smoke. I can hear my neighbor singing in the shower and smell the cologne he puts on every day, as well as the more unpleasant smells that emanate from a bathroom... Despite the thin walls, I never had noise complaints and I never complained either. I deserved many complaints over the year that I have lived here, so I'd say residents are pretty chill, which is nice. All that said, it's excellent for the price and location. It really can't be beat and if I wasn't moving in with my partner, I would continue to live here.

Pros: Good neighborhood. Close to express buses for downtown morning commuters. Across the street from waterfront and running paths. Cons: Poor insulation - add 100$ to your rent estimates just for climate control electricity costs. Too hot in the summer - old window AC is always running. Cold in the winter, space heater is always running to get temps above 60F. Water temperatures like that Katie Perry song. You have to inch it to get juuuuust right - then all of a sudden, nope HOT HOT HOT, be prepared for lots of that. No control over the other utilities. Rates fluctuate from $70 to $120+ a month. Old everything: Appliances Gym equipment - 3/6 machines in disrepair. Laundry $1.50 wash / $1.50 - but you have to know what driers to use and hope it's not being used because some driers eat your quarters more than others. Driers exhaust vents bring in cold air, fumes, sometimes dog urine. From outside and leaves clothes wet and occasionally smelling like dog urine. When you call maintenance they just put up a sticky note and nothing gets fixed. Paint is caked on so thick the closet door don't open / close properly. Paint splatters all over floor, mirrors, anything that can be painted over is painted over and overall repairs just seems half-@ssed. No proper kitchen venting: the stove exhaust fan exhausts …up into the air and onto the cabinet doors and onto you.. Conclusion: Simple. It's an old building in great neighborhood. You're paying for the neighborhood, the LSD address, and possibly an OK view. If you want proper plumbing, HVAC, insulation appliances and any other modern amenities move away from the lakefront or step up to luxury rental. *I tried to list the day-to-day nuances I run into that I didn't necessarily think would be issues when I picked this place.

-Excellent location close to the lake, parks, and everything on the Broadway & Belmont corridors. About a 15 minute walk to the Belmont CTA station and a block from 151, 146, and 77 busses. -Apartments offer nice views- lake views if you're in a one-bedroom, and skyline views if in an upper level studio -NOISE - like most apartments, the walls are paper thin. This building seems to attract a lot of dogs and young people, which means BARKING, loud MUSIC, and TV's late at night. They've also been doing some kind of work in the basement for the last few months, which is LOUD and can be heard throughout the ENTIRE building, all day everyday, even up to the 21st floor. If you work from home or work 3rd shift and need to sleep during the day, this may drive you insane. -Management is satisfactory. The property manager is responsive. Maintenance gets an A+ for friendliness and promptness. -Layouts for studios are very efficient with the space. You'll have a walk-in closet and enough room for a queen bed and medium sized living room. Fixtures seem to have been updated fairly recently. -Laundry room is big enough that you can almost always find an unused machine, with the exception of some peak times on Sunday afternoons. Fitness and business centers are bare bones, but sufficient for occasional use. -Overall I'd recommend if you can put up with dealing with loud neighbors and barking dogs on a consistent basis.

This is the only place that has been SO awful that i felt obligated to write a review. If you have a dog DO NOT LIVE here. The buidling staff are constantly changing rules and regulation that were never in the lease and threaten any "rule breaking' with immediate eviction. It's pathetic that this building considers itself dog friendly, so far from the truth. They also have staff and maintenance enter into apts. without any warning. There's been multiple break-ins this year and they refuse to address or let residents know. They also make you pay an AUM bill (monthly bill for water, trash, gas, etc.) yes, they charge you for water...This bill is claimed to be between 50-75 a month but only one month has it been less than 100. please figure this into your monthly rent before you move in as it is easily an extra $100 every month. Absolutely dismal experinece overall.

Well, what I like is the area, the green space for dogs to run around across the street, the mini market, and the dry cleaning facilities. Living right across the street from the lake is really incredible. I never thought that was a possibility and now we're living the high life at 3130 N Lake Shore Drive. It is also only a short to the businesses of Lakeview where there are lots of great restaurants and bars. I walk two short blocks and I'm at Intelligentsia, enjoying delicious coffee. It is also as easy as can be to get around the city with all the amazing public transportation close by. The lobby & the renovation of the elevator is very pretty & classy. It is a welcomed sight when we come home at night. I enjoy the size our apartment too. Both the living room and the dining room are big and we have lots of closet space. Whenever we have an issue, the maintenance man fixes it right away, which is a big help. And then of course, there's the view of the lake outside out window. Wow! It is spectacular.

The reason I chose 3130 N. Lake Shore is because of its location. It is right on the beautiful lake as well as by many eating, shopping areas and hospitals. There are all these sailboats right outside my door which is always a pleasant sight when I leave in the morning. I really like the fact that it is dog friendly and that the management staff is very friendly. Another thing I noticed while living here is that if there is ever a problem in my apartment, the maintenance man comes very quickly to fix things. I know other residents have had similar experiences and that we are very pleased with the turnaround time for repairs. It feels like a luxury building but at an affordable price. The building itself is very striking from the outside and includes a gorgeous lobby. I love coming home to this lobby in the evening. We also have a fitness facility in the building. I prefer to walk along the lake but this is really great when it's just too cold outside. My apartment is a really good size with a beautiful view. I really appreciate all the recent upgrades done. It makes a huge difference. I really enjoy living in this building!

I've lived here for about a year and just love it. You can't beat the view, the building is incredibly dog friendly, and there are express buses at my door. It's so easy to get around! The management is always quick to respond with any of my needs. You can tell that they really care about the people who live here.

TL;DR: This is an old building that was never designed to have any semblance of luxury to it. Despite some efforts by a good management company to spruce up the place, the reality is you can easily find a cheaper, higher quality apartment in the same area with minimal effort. There are also some glaring problems that are deal-breakers at this price point. Noise: In general, noise through walls is medium. You will hear the bass of your neighbor's TV, but it is quiet for the most part. The real problem is the vents. I had an upstairs neighbor that played music all day long in her kitchen, and the noise traveled uninterrupted into my apartment. It was extremely annoying. You will not hear your upstairs or downstairs neighbors through the floor and ceiling, though. General Building Stuff: There is a bike storage area with some first-come first-serve storage areas. The laundry room is big and the machines are decent. There is a small workout room, if treadmills are your thing. Smoking is still allowed in the building, although they are phasing it out. Depending on what floor you are on, this could be an issue. I had to put a towel under my door because the smoke smell would waft into my apartment occasionally, but it was only occasionally. Parking is $210 a month for some very, very cramped spots in a garage that has a flaking ceiling. The parking price here is essentially highway robbery. That's supply and demand for you, though. I guess I did become a pro at parking while I was here, but not by choice. Actual Apartment: None of the studios are updated. Management paints everything over after every move out and the work is cut-rate. Expect globs of paint on doorknobs, appliances, and woodwork. There is also no sealant, so the walls turn black if you accidentally rub against them, which you will, especially at the entrance. Kitchen cabinets are in very poor shape. They work though, I guess. Appliances are old but sturdy, I actually had no complaints about them. The bathroom toilets are amazing, they flush with a lot of power. You can throw your plunger away. My bathtub had no working stopper, but I never took baths. For my first few months, my hot water pressure was absolutely nothing. Showers in the morning were abysmal. They have since fixed this issue after upgrading the utilities in the basement. HEAT. Unbearably hot in the summer, unbearably hot in the winter. There is an A/C unit, but it is very expensive (and loud) to run and it has to be on all the time to cool the place. Heating is done through steam and it is not controllable. I was rocking an uncomfortable 82F when it was 32F outside if I didn't open a window. My blankets were left in the closet, totally neglected. Poor blankets. Utilities are not included. You pay for heat, trash, water, and electricity. RCN was awesome though and I had great internet. Safety: Two words: Fire safety. After a woman was killed by unknowingly riding an elevator to a burning floor, management was forced to install fire protection upgrades. However, these did not include sprinklers. Instead, they just upgraded the interlock systems and alarms. You also have heavy, heavy fire doors on each unit. This actually makes getting in and out of your front door a chore (you can not prop the door open and it shuts with the power of a thousand men). I'm a fire protection engineer by trade, and I can tell you that in the event of a large fire this building is essentially a death trap. There are only hose streams to put out the fire and these are manually operated (and not by untrained people). If you are on the top floor, the amount of time it takes for the FD to get there could mean you asphyxiate from smoke. Chicago passed an ordinance that forces all high rises since 1978 to have sprinklers in them. This building, due to idiocy of Chicago politicians, is unfortunately exempt from this. I always felt ironic living here. Management: Overall, not bad at all. Maintenance is superb. They will respond to your requests online very promptly. PPM throws community appreciation events around the year so don't miss those. Pay your rent on time and you will never have an issue with management. They responded to my emails in a fast and professional manner. Price: In the end, you are paying almost $1300 for a studio in Lakeview when you can get a 1 bedroom for that price. If you have to park, then you are paying $1510 for an un-updated, 450 sq. ft. studio. Yikes. Location: A redeeming factor. The location is five stars. You are close to the lake and right next to a major bus stop (even if the 135 bus commute is a nightmare).

My dog and I lived at 3130 N Lake Shore dr for 3 years, We have moved on to buy a condo or we would still be there. I thought it was a GREAT and SAFE building and the staff was very friendly and helpful...Simona in the office had answers and suggestions to help me - I was new to the hood and was needing guidance.Its the 2nd Planned Property building Ive lived at and I give it 2 thumbs up : )