Tenant Reviews for 3930 N PINE GROVE AVE

This is a typical building built in 1968.

Enjoy your stay. There is a pool and tennis courts.

I have been living here for about a year as a renter. (keep in my mind i pay probably way more than what I should and a take great pride in keeping a nice home, even as a renter). The walls here are so thin that you hear and smell everything!!! People cook food (indian of some kind) that smells up my entire unit for hours and sometimes days. There is construction going on all day long that is so loud, my husband who works from home cannot even take phone calls. We hear the people upstairs or next to us (hard to tell where sound is coming from because it travels so bad) walking, peeing, and having sex (not something nice when you have children that can hear it). Dogs are constantly barking in the hallways. The pool and deck are in need of serious updating. The workout room is a joke!! And the lady that works the management office is RUDE! Most of the maintenance men are fools and have no idea what they are doing, only one man has been helpful. The doormen and parking attendants are very friendly and probably the only positive thing I can say about this building

I could basically make this review for any apartment/condo in the Lakeview neighborhood. LPP is safe, staffed with marginally competent people, and it's not bad for the price. The worst side to life in Lakeview and LPP: The old folks. Yes, those old busy bodies who go around telling everyone how to live. Irritating babushkas with their noses in everyone's businesses. If you snap at them (I've seen the most mild manner nice girls from the suburbs who move to town snap at these people after the umpteenth time racing out of their apartment to complain about a rattling key) they run and tell the management. These old timers run the show (they run Chicago!) so management usually sides with them with rolling eyes. Unsure why they are so authoritarian. Is it their culture? It's a drag. If you live here be prepared to confront really old babushkas with a Lenin complex.

Before moving in I was told this was an "all-utilities included(except for internet)" apartment. After moving in I discovered I was responsible for electric as well. This was not a big deal, but then there is also a $25 fee for an activity key that opens all of the public doors, $10 guest passes for the pool, a $10 laundry card fee( plus the $1.50 per wash and per dry). I paid a move in fee, a deposit AND an elevator fee. I had to pay $360 for VALET parking. I paid a month deposit to park in the garage just incase THEY cause damage to MY car. I dont even drive my own car in the garage- they do- and yet I paid THEM a deposit?? THat doesnt even make sense. Furthermore the garage fee was not prorated. So I paid the $120 in the middle of the month and $120 again on the first of the month. Dog fees are paid EVERY year- not just a one time deposit. ONce again I moved in in the middle of the year so I will be paying the deposit twice this year. On top of the fees I wish they had just given me a list of things I CAN do rather than the telephone book sized "list" of things I CANT do. Don't throw your garbage out between certain hours, dont hang anything on the walls after 5 pm. dont do ANYTHING that makes ANY noise on sundays. Dont walk your dog through the lobby. no alcohol anywhere in the building. no smiling. You get the picture. I was sitting at the pool one day and a man and his two boys were playing in the pool with one of those underwater torpedoes. They werent splashing, they were hardly making any noise. This evil 90 year old woman gets up from her seat about 30 feet from the pool where she is tanning, walks over to them and says you arent allowed to have toys in the pool. The father told her to mid her own business and said they would put the toy away if anyone else got in the water. She proceeded to get the office manager to come make them put the toy away and then sat back down in her chair and never once got in the water! That is the kind of old, evil, fun sucking JERKS that live here. IF you are under 50 dont live here. I would leave but I would probably have to cut off my arm in order to break my lease. Go find an apartment thats cheaper and has less rules. Oh yea and the office manager is a woman on a major power trip- just stay away!

Very affordable for the amenities and the area. I've been living here for several years and feel like it's a real community: staff are friendly and know your name, maintenance staff are prompt and do a good job, and the folks on the 15th floor are great! There are rules about the freight elevator and pets, but those make sense to me, at least. If you aren't into communal living (reserving the freight elevator, saying "hi" to people in the hallways, etc.), then you shouldn't live in a highrise at all.

This is a condo building, and as such there is an association that sets rules. I have heard you may get warnings if you're too loud, but I cannot hear my neighbors unless they are loud in the hallways. Also being a condo each apartment review might vary greatly. In general I find this a great place to live with nice amenities for the amount you pay (at least the price I pay). The building allows dogs, but thank god I am not on one of the floors with loud barking dogs. I have never had dogs wet the carpet on my floor, but I've heard the experience varies by floor. I'm willing to admit there are some weird nuances, such as the parking garage employees (who are not related to the condo association or management, instead these are contractors) do not let you come into the parking garage to unload your groceries unless you pay for the monthly parking; even in the winter. Instead I have to go to the driveway outside in the cold weather, but that's the price you pay for convenience I guess. The fitness room is nice and not too crowded, the laundry room is not perfect but usually has plenty of available machines except for some peak times, and I get along well with my neighbors. I like it here and give this five stars for the price, location, amenities, and comfort combination

I bought a condo at LPP in 2008, so have a few years of recent experience to comment upon. From what I can gather from reading the reviews on this site and from my conversations with building residents, it seems that the current management is committed to making the building a great place to live through frequent personnel evaluations and updates to the common elements of the building (for example, the exercise room remodel in Nov 2008 was a great change). Based on changes in the physical building and management in recent years, I really do disagree with all of the negative comments from 5 years ago. Doormen are friendly, maintenance is quick (and included free for owners!), assessments are fair and cheaper than nearby buildings that provide less amenities, there has never been a special assessment in the history of the building, there is a good mixed demographic of residents (mostly owners rather than renters, so well taken care of), and overall friendly neighbors!

I am a renter, so I have not seen the association fees and assessments, but I do have experience living here. The neighbors are mostly nice, the management, staff, doormen, parking staff are all respectful, decent, and nice. The walls are a bit thin. Depending who your neighbors are, some are a bit quick to report you for noise, even if it's not you. The ventilation system needs to be re-engineered, as it's not very effective, and often times allows other units' exhaust to enter your unit. This results in burnt indian food smoke filling your unit or even cigarette smoke. The A/C sometimes is not as effective as it should be, but the heat certainly works well. Improvements in windows would help with energy management and would be more eco-friendly, too. The common areas are typically very clean and in good condition. Pool deck and outdoor areas are enjoyable. Parking is a good deal, and location cannot be beat. A great view is possible from 15 on up, especially with the north-east facing units. The current management is great, responsive and professional. The board association might need some shaking up, however. Having experience in facility management, I can assert that there are definitely more modern ways to run a facility, and certainly more logical solutions than sometimes are purported to be the proper course of action. A change in the current board of directors will not be possible until a critical mass of younger, more educated and informed residents who are sympathetic to the modernization of this property is reached. I believe this will be feasable in the next few years, however. A good influx of young residents do seem to be moving in, and hopefully good things will come of that change. I suspect in the next 5 years LPP will be a premier property in the up-and-coming Buena Park/North Lakeview neighborhood amongst younger buyers.

I'm assuming the person who wrote the review on 2/10 must just have finished sending it when the fire broke out. It was the second major fire event at the building in six years. There's nothing really to say about this place. This article pretty much sums up life at Lake Park Plaza: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-powerout11feb1