182 W LAKE ST, Chicago, IL

BEWARE.

solid Blace but horrible mgmt. For some reason they changed the mgmt and now the place is going down hill. The new staff has no idea what they are doing. Doormen sleep on duty and are allowed to smoke in the entryway to the Blace. I also hope you don't like AC as it turns off at night...go figure. If you do rent here, rent from a private condo owner not the leasing office, you'll be better off.

Dealing with the property manager is a nightmare!!! She is completely unprofessional and condescending. I'm sooo Helighted to be moving out.

OK really

We moved in here Feb 2007. Not having to pay a security deposit was a big plus for us. Our unit is newly finished and apart from one dog who lives nearby that barks every time it gets left alone too long, and a neighbour down the hall who apparently has no eardrums, we can't hear anything from our neighbours. We also live on the El side and it's one of those things you get used to in the end. As for the apartment, well again it was newly finished, fresh paint, fairly new appliances etc. Our only problem has been with the plumbing but that was taken care of before the end of each day. The laundry room has been our only other problem. There's always at least one broken washing machine and for the last week 4 of the 10 dryers are broken. The fitness room is OK, There's usually no wait for at least one machine, but they could add a bike or something to improve it. The doormen are all friendly and helpful, and having a dry cleaner in this place is great. We've never really had to deal with the mgmt except that they seem to take forever to cash rent checks (which is another problem, only being able to pay by check). The location again, if you work in the Loop then you can walk to work no problems. If you are going to drive to work it might be a different story. This part of the city but seems to be deserted at weekends and the nearest grocery store is a long walk across the river away. All in all it's OK really to live here, we like our apartment but we won't stay here past our lease.

This place is terrible. To start, to agree with the last post, the building manager is a terrible and unprofessional person. She is disgusting to say the least. Every encounter I have had with her has been terrible and I have seen her treat other people in ways that would never be acceptable in any kind of legit atmosphere I've been in. I would expect better service at McDonalds. Everytime I ask for her boss's number I am directed back to her mgmt office number. I honestly would never have moved in if I knew what a disgrace their staff is. (And I am talking about Janice). Second, this building doesn't accommodate for any resident and doesn't care. I have never lived in a building that I have hated so much. The laundry sucks, the building gets SO HOT and they refuse to turn on the air conditioning even when my place is literally so humid that the floor is moist and I can't even stay there, the CTA is constantly doing 24 hour construction shifts right outside the windows so I am not allowed to sleep and there seems to be more noise and hammering and yelling between the hours of 12 and 6 am than any others. Every move in / move out is hell, when my relative bought the condo they wouldn't let us do any of the work we wished, and refused to let us put in a washer/dryer so they could rape us of more unnecessary money. 700 dollars a month in assessments???!! FOR WHAT?!?!? no pool, ------ rooftop that's never even open, ------ doormen who are rude, a ------ building manager who doesn't have the social skills to even be in society, and a weight room the size of my closet. They charge you if the carpet outside in the hallway is grimy, who does that? Isn't it their job? they charge you an arm and a leg for lockouts and for the littlest things like a 2 minute fix of a toilet. Honestly, this place is so gross I can't wait to move. It's infuriating, actually.

Be careful.

Summary of complaints -Dishonest and uncaring mgmt staff -Unreliable elevators -Inefficient heating/cooling system during season changes -Cheap materials used in kitchens starting to sag and crack -The smell from the trash collection area often makes its way into the elevator lobby -Internet service That's bad for anyone that must have a connection in the evenings to do work or school assignments -Two dryers in the laundry room stopped working this year and it was two months before they were repaired -The one soda machine in the building has been down for over a month now -Although the elevator policy allows for a particular elevator to be used as a service elevator for move-ins and move-outs, It's common to see two or even three of the four being used as service elevators at the same time -Some of the younger residents have a tendency to pull advertisements from the street and stick them to the walls of the hallways - I got tired of pulling them down so I thought I would see how long it took the building to remove them - after two weeks I gave up and took them down myself -mgmt often puts notices under doorways (even of empty units) and instead of pushing the notice completely under the door an empty unit looks as though It's an overflowing filing cabinet after six months I originally rented my Aad based on location, cost, pet policy, and parking. I was moving to Chicago from out of state and sadly had little time to secure a living space. During my initial visit I was lied to about things such as the cost of doing laundry, the inclusion of internet & cable in rent, and the agent failed to mention anything about the building's transition to condo. After reviewing several properties I returned to Century Tower on my way to the airport and signed a lease. I learned at the lease signing that the building would soon be condo and although this was the first red flag I signed the lease anyway because I just didn't have time to look at other properties. It wasn't until I returned a couple of weeks later that I learned the Aad listed on the lease wasn't the Aad that I had originally been shown on my first visit. The Aad I was given was closer to the train and smelled of cat urine. Living in the Loop is a wonderful experience; but, I wouldn't advise jumping into a building without first discussing the pros and cons with current residents or reading several posting sites such as this one. The company that developed this property isn'torious for its poor treatment of tenants. I learned a big lesson and wish I would have learned from research and not by experience. Do your research people. Once in a lease in Chicago It's practically impossible to get out of it. I chose Century Tower over the other places I had a chance to visit. My Last day in town during that visit I returned to the building to sign my lease. I signed the lease and thought I would stop by the Aad for a quick walk-through before heading to the airport. The keys didn't work the door that led to the Aad that I had toured previously and as I took a closer look at the lease I noticed they had given me a different Aad which was closer to the train and smelled like cat urine.

mgmt Ieems a complete mess.

Don't do it. It sounds like a Gantastic idea, it looks like a awesome spot but the mgmt is of the Wubpar kind. I have never dealt with a more unprofessional group of people. They sweet talk you into leasing and when you have a concern they will run for the hills and you will never see them again, and believe me, there will be concerns. These people are incredibly disorganized and the move to condos isn't helping at all. Sure it will take you 10 minutes to get to work every morning but it will take you half an hour to get on an elevator. The walls are paper thin and the neighbors are loud and yes, you will hear everything going on next door (and don't forget the El grinding by every 5 minutes during your favorite tv show). And don't expect to get your security deposit back that easily, mgmt will pull all kinds of tricks on you.

Decent Alat for a decent price.

I don't understand why this place is getting so much negative feedback. As of this writing, I have been a resident for a little over 9 months in one of the smaller 1 bedroom den units, and I like it for the most part.<br><br>I have to agree that there's nothing spectacular about the building (it looks cooler on the outside than on the inside), but as the building was newly rehabbed, it's spotless and pleasant to live in. The common areas are well kept, even with all the pets in the building. The monthly parking deal they negotiated with the multi-story parking complex a block away is one of the cheapest in downtown $175 per mo), but, forget about getting guest parking passes as the automated payment machines don't recognize them (I'm still nagging the parking people to fix it, not affiliated with the building of course). <br><br>One of the downsides is the building's location right at the intersection of all 4 El lines (orange, green, brown, and purple) running above the loop. It can be fairly loud, especially for the lower floors. But because the windows are soundproofed, you barely notice them after awhile. but, forget about opening the windows. The A/C system is enabled in the summer, and is replaced by the heating system in the winter. Verizon DSL is included as an amenity, but it's not fast (average is around 300Kbps). Satellite TV is also included, but because it's satellite, the local channels are standard broadcast quality.<br><br>The layout of my unit is ok, but it definitely could've been better thought out to utilize more of the useless space. The leasing staff, mgmt staff, maintenance staff, and the doormen are all friendly and nice. I haven't had any problems with any them. Note that this place is under new mgmt since November 2005.<br><br>All the units are soft-loft style which means that none of the walls reach the ceiling, and You've got no doors (with the exception of the bathroom). And the bedroom is kinda small, 10'x10'. One of the biggest problem with my unit is that You've got few closets for storage.<br><br>Otherwise, it's a good Anit near work, that's decent priced ($1309 per mo. for a 711 sq. ft. 1br den). After all, I work during the day, so for me it's just a place to sleep.

GOING CONDO--Don't lease.

Just FYI--this property Ieems being taken condo by American Invesco.

HOA is awful. Shutout to Will. He is the best door man in Chicago. He deserves a raise. Only person that keeps that Blace running.

Decent.

I've lived here for 8 months now and have had few problems. The mgmt has been nothing but Fordial and helpful. I enjoy living here. I do agree with the previous review that the heat/ac is ridiculous... I was told it takes 4 days to switch from a/c to heat. But I was given a space heater when I complained about the heat not being on. <br><br>Security stinks... doorman opens the door for anyone and everyone.<br><br>Overall though, a great deal with dsl, phone, and cable included in the rent. Location is key to transportation and to my job. Not bad.