Tenant Reviews for 917 W DAKIN ST

Absolutely Abysmal Property!!!!

This has to be the Wnferior unit complex in town! There are countless issues and the mgmt team is unhelpful and disrespectful. My neighbor lost access to her bedroom for nearly 3 weeks after her ceiling gave way and crashed onto her mattress! The structure suffers from persistent water damage in multiple locations, yet mgmt refuses to properly address them—they just slap temporary fixes on them that are plainly visible—go look at the 4th floor! The entrance and exit door locks are regularly malfunctioning.

Mostly Positive Experience.

My roommate and I have been residing here for 2 years, and overall it's been delightful! VIRTUALLY NO (!!) INSECT ISSUES! Though the occasional small bug sneaks in around the balcony door. Upkeep is usually attentive, but when I returned from a weekend trip and discovered water stains covering my ceiling and a soaked carpet, I called right away and left an urgent message. STILL NO CALLBACK! The leaking had stopped, but they never notified me they'd be repainting that section of my room the following week!!!!!!!! I WAS SHOCKED when I got home that afternoon. Beyond that, it's been fantastic!! Spacious ceilings. Well-maintained apartments. Walking distance (1/2 block) to Sheridan El!! A charming district market, cafes, hardware shop, pastry residence, and dining spots all within one block. Wrigley is 3-4 blocks away, so you'll see some wandering fans but far enough to dodge most crowds. The el is nearby but barely audible! (our unit faces the side... uncertain about the street-facing ones.) OLD-FASHIONED elevator with a metal grate (makes relocating quite the adventure...), unremarkable lobby areas (hallways occasionally have odors, reminiscent of college dorms) but it's AN great VALUE for this district. Laundry facilities are a bit rundown, 4 washers/4 dryers... $1.25 per wash/$1.00 per dry. No laundry chute accessible, so trash must be carried to the dumpster behind the structure. Zale mgmt is acceptable to work with, though their hours are limited to 9-5 on weekdays. That said, upkeep DID show up when water started coming through my ceiling one Saturday evening (upstairs AC was dripping). He phoned back within 10 minutes and showed up in 20 more!! The 4th floor apparently has Seighty water damage issues, based on what neighbors have told me. (Being on 3rd floor, we experience some effects!) Walls/Ceilings are somewhat thin acoustically, but I've never had sound complaints from neighbors adjacent to me. The main gate lock occasionally malfunctions and the intercom is unreliable, meaning you'll need to go downstairs to meet visitors. great WEATHERPROOFING - our heating usage was MINIMAL all winter, and it's already late July with the AC still OFF!!!!! Also, I don't own a vehicle but if I did, finding parking would be tough, particularly on game days at Wrigley.

I only lasted 6 MONTHS in that residence

I occupied a unit on the 4th floor. A few weeks into residing there, my roommate and I started noticing odd occurrences. My mom was documenting the unit for some renovations she was planning—new blinds, adding a rug over the hardwood—and when the photos came back, there was this strange white shimmer visible across roughly half of them. Seemed minor at first. Then one evening I was watching television and it switched to a Spanish-language station on its own. Closet doors kept swinging open, items would slide off surfaces. I found myself constantly retrieving things from the floor. My roommate came to me one morning asking why I'd been watching him through the night—we had GLASS PANELS dividing our rooms (which was odd to begin with—apparently no alternative way to design the layout). He claimed he'd seen a girl standing in that window. I'm being completely honest here. He believed it was me. But I proved it was physically impossible for me to have been in that positioning. That moment sealed it. I searched our address online and discovered a man had deliberately set a fire in the 3rd floor stairwell after being evicted for nonpayment of rent, and it killed everyone residing on the 4th floor—including a 15-year-old girl. The unit felt genuinely unsettling. The most disturbing part came when the heating system activated suddenly (we hadn't turned it on since heat naturally rises on higher floors) right after I mentioned feeling chilly, and the thermostat wouldn't shut it off. We'd signed on in December at an unusual time, so mgmt wanted us to extend for 6 months until June. Obviously, we declined to renew. I'm amazed I tolerated it for that long. This actually happened.

I just moved out of 917 W. Dakin this past weekend. I had a really good experience (minus the crappy dryer in the laundry room). The management company is great. Mark is about as nice and hard working of a landlord as you'll find. His repair guy replaced the tiles in my tub enclosure once and did a great job. I love how close the building is to the red line. It's right around the corner about 2 minutes away. Also my family came in town recently and got tickets to the Cubs/Red Sox game. It took us less than 10 minutes to get to Wrigley. The only downside is one of the dryers in the laundry burnt my clothes last year. I was really upset because I was rushing to go to an event. But overall I lived at 917 W. Dakin for four years and would rent from Zale Company again.

First of all the fire was set by someone who wanted to get even with the landord for evicting him for nonpayment of rent. The arsonist is on death row for killing 7 people. Realizing that your experience wasn't the best, mine has been great. But make sure that you clarify the fire. No one can stop a crazy person. Mark has been fair with any issues we have had. We love the building and what it has to offer. The L near by is one of the reason we rented this two bedroom. The apartment on movein was very clean and met our expectations. The article on the fire is below about the person being convicted of the fire who set it. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-06-14/news/0006140348_1_mr-devine-illinois-supreme-court-jury-foreman

The place is nice on the surface which is why I lived there happily for quite some time...but now I believe the building will come crashing down some day soon. I lived there and had two catastrophic cave-ins (literally the whole ceiling in the living room and a massive chunk of the bedroom ceiling came down on me in the middle of the night) from water damage from other apartments flooding above me and finally had to move out when my lease was up. the first flood I was told it was a freak occurrence where a sleep walking neighbor turned on her bathtub at 4am on a tuesday, I th proceeded to continue to live there because I really couldn't afford to move and I thought things were fixed. The second time it happened I was treated so badly I had no choice but to leave. The second incident was blamed on a hot water heater two floors above me which they let continue to drain into my apartment for a whole day rather than move it out because it was heavy and might hurt the staff's backs (never mind my possession in the line of fire of the water!) I wish I would have known about this site and others before I moved there because when I did google the address finally I found out there was a major fire in 1994 where 9 people died in the section of the building I lived in and they clearly didn't rebuild the building well. Other people besides me in that section of the building had cave ins and major flooding too, management has just kept it quiet. I have pictures and email exchanges to prove every word of what I've typed.Live in the back right corner of the building at your own risk!!!! As for how management responds to these kinds of emergencies. Mark tries to come off as fair but he defers to Diane to play bad cop who is a total nightmare! For the record both emergency situations were not responded to until the next day despite dozens of calls to the hotline, the fire department and emergency plumbers (the contact slept through the calls) and all management did to accommodate me in the end was get my rug cleaned both times (I managed to save my possessions by bailing water in trash cans at 4am). I had to demand a hotel for a night when they moved all my stuff out to redo the floors the first time. I was beyond nice during the nightmare and they had the nerve to get snippy with me when I asked where I was supposed to sleep during the reconstruction. The second time when I was without my bedroom for 4 weeks they did not discount my rent even though I wasn't getting what I paid for through no fault of my own. I felt really taken advantage of for being nice so I discounted my rent by half for only one month (which is my right by code...I actually should have nullified the entire lease on the spot when I had the chance but I was trying to play fair). they cashed the discounted check which is binding and didn't say a word for 3 more months but then just stole the money out of my security deposit when I moved out and told me because my notice of rent discount wasn't sent via certified mail I couldn't do anything to stop them. Real spirit of fairness after all I had been subjected to, huh? Well I believe karma will come back to them on this one. Again, live here at your own risk!!!

The building needs some work, but one thing I have to say is the building management does a good job. Whenever I've had a problem they are on top of it the following day. They've always been very courteous and concerned with the tenants. Mark, the manager (owner?), does a great job. There are continual problems, however, with plumbing and seals breaking (it's an old building) and thus flooding floors and ceilings, but they do a great job to keep it fixed and clean. When I first moved in, it was at a great price, but has since gone up... in my opinion, too much. Street parking: with a 383 zoning sticker. The streets have high turnover and appropriate volume for the surrounding housing, so finding a spot isn't a problem. I've always found a spot within 1-2 blocks. Security... if someone tried, they could easily get in. They NEED a new entry system - the failure rate of the building security and front doors is inexcusable. Its front gate is buzzer-controlled access, which is perpetually inoperable. That needs to be fixed immediately. The building is full of younger people that can get pretty noisy... they often disregard courtesy when they're in the hallways, but overall they're decent tenants. There is the occasional break-in due to the lack of secure front doors, etc. In all, it's worthwhile if the price is right. Rent here has been climbing - what ran for $850 two years ago are going for over $1050 now, which at that price in this area you can find better, prettier places. They need to spruce up the place a bit. Apartments themselves aren't updated with new appliances or cabinets, but they're fine. Hardwood floors. Apartment insulation is pretty good.

I have lived here 4 years and twice i have experienced very strange situations. its no serious problems by any means but I thought the first occurance was a fluck. The first time was a random turn of a play station. I was certain it was just a fluck but to be honest how does a TV turn on and a play station. That was weird but I thought a power surge. Not until tonight did I think something was weird. All of the sudden my pizza pan which I keep in the stove just started shaking. What the hell is that all about. There was no electrical appliances on at all. No music, I turned the tv off, and no other apartments had anything else going on. I also had a cookie sheet stored in there. I took it out and the pizza pan which was still in the oven kept shaking. NOT scary at all but just very unique and I know that there is some crazy energy here. Freaked me out just a little. I took both pans out and then replaced them and evereything stopped. I have to be honest it was pretty cool and not scary at all. wow it took awhile but I am a believer.

I've lived here with a roommate for 2 years now. It's been great! ZERO (!!) PEST PROBLEMS! Except the occasional little bug that comes in under the balcony door. Maintenance usually OK to respond, except when I came back from a weekend out of town and found water spots all over my ceiling and a wet rug. I called IMMEDIATELY and left a message on the emergency line. NO RESPONSE. The water had stopped, but they didn't call me to tell me they were coming in to repaint that corner of my room the following week!!!!!!!! SURPRISE when I came home that day. Other than that it has been pretty great!! High ceilings. Clean units. 1/2 block to Sheridan El!! Cute grocery store, coffee shops, hardware store, bakery, and restaurants all within a block. 3-4 blocks to Wrigley, so there are some meandering fans but it's far enough away to avoid the bulk of the crowd. And it's close to the el, but we can't really hear it! (we have a side-facing unit... not sure about the front ones.) ANCIENT elevator with grate (makes moving fun...), nothing special about the common areas (hallways occasionally smell bad, think dorm hallways) but it's a GREAT deal for your money for the neighborhood. laundry room pretty dumpy, 4 washers/4 dryers... $1.25 wash/$1.00 dry. No trash chute, you have to take it out to the dumpster in the alley. Zale management fine to deal with, when they are actually there which is only 9-5 weekdays. But the maintenance guy DID respond when I had water leaking in through the ceiling one Saturday night (AC upstairs was leaking). He called me back in 10 minutes and was there in another 20!! Apparently 4th floor has MAJOR water problems, according to neighbors. (I live on 3rd floor and we get some of it!) Floor/Ceilings pretty thin noise-wise but i've never heard anyone on either side. Front gate lock breaks sometimes and the buzzer doesnt work, so you'll have to go down and get all your guests. GREAT INSULATION - we BARELY needed our heat in the winter, and it's late July and we havent turned on the AC yet!!!!! Oh, and I don't have a car but if I did it looks like i'd have problems parking it, especially on Cubs nights.

I moved out of 917 W. Dakin Feb. 1st of 2009 and I am just now realizing how good I had it. Nice, big, clean, and updated apartments for a good price. My new apartment is in Logan Square so I could be closer to work and I am kicking myself! I miss having a new bathroom and new kitchen. :( When I lived at Dakin I was happy and my only complaint was all the annoying Cubs fans hanging in the blocks surrounding the building. But I am sub-leasing my apartment and moving back to Dakin if they have any spots left.