537 S DEARBORN ST, Chicago, IL

Old Bacility, location is solid

I rented a one-bedroom Auite for one year to be closer to my school for my senior year. It's a little pricey, but has a location is solid -- within walking distance to many restaurants, both high-class and fast food. Big plusses are the Potbelly across the street, the Starbucks on the corner, as well as Orange about a block away. There's also Edwardo's, Taco Bell, and Subway on the same block. You'll never go hungry! Also useful is that You've got both Red and Blue line stations within about a five minute walk; the Jewel is about one Red line stop South. There's also a 7-11 across the street. It can get a little loud at night, particularly on the weekends. it's right between two busy streets -- Plymouth and Dearborn. So There's traffic at all hours of the night, and since it's near a lot of colleges, Friday and Saturday nights can be particularly loud. If you're not used to living in the city, it might take awhile to get used to the traffic/noise. Also, because of the busy streets, There's a lot of dust and air debris -- I recommend purchasing an air purifier, especially in the bedroom; mine is carpeted, and therefore tends to collect dirt really well, not sure about the other units. The heater/AC is also loud. Like most buildings in Printers Row, the Terminals Building used to be a publishing house in the early 20th century, so It's quite old. It's really nice aesthetically (hardwood floors, BIG windows, loft ceilings), but some of the fixtures are a little outdated. The stove is electric, the fridge is old, the paint on the bathtub is worn, the pipes have the tendency to rust. On the up side, if anything breaks (and it will!), the maintenance staff is punctual, and will without fail come the same or next day to fix it for you. For those of you who are technologically inclined, the building doesn't support cable internet, so you'll have to do with DSL. Fortunately, the AT&T building is right around the block, so the connection isn't too awful. Just don't plan on doing lots of gaming dependent on a consistent, high-speed connection. The neighbors are friendly, and I've never had any problems with them. There's a laundry room on the ground floor, and I have left my things in there for hours and have never had anything stolen. To enter the building, There'sn't a keypad system, nor a buzzer (sadly) -- just a simple key-in-lock. You've got two doors to enter the building, two elevators, and two stairwells. My unit's got a deadbolt and a chain lock, but I'm not sure if this is standard on every unit. It's safe, I've never had any problems. There's no parking garage or lot. You've got meters on the street, but those tend to fill up rather quickly, and There's also a day lot about a block away. If you intend to bring a car with you, plan on paying a LOT for parking.

Basic apartments for students

Basic apartments for students.

Good price for the area, but You've got reasons It's priced lower than comparable locations. First, the elevators are forever breaking, out of service and/or not working properly. Second, the cable and internet availability sucks, only one choice for each (a rip off company that you are forced to go through that charges $10/month to get you DirectTV services that you then have to pay for) and the only internet option is AT&T DSL which isn't as fast as cable internet but just as expensive. Maintenance is quick to address problems in your Auite, but the elevator situation is ridiculous and annoying.