Tenant Reviews for 1130 N DEARBORN ST

Beware of this building. Old and weary, paper thin walls, and what they won't tell you is that it is low-income housing. So you pay full market rates to live next to Section 8 residents. Known for drug dealing as well. There are many other better places to live in the area.

I'm sorry to whoever lives in apartment 706 now I should have written this review earlier. I got a job offer in Chicago and moved from New York and researched all the apartments in the area. This seemed like a good fit so I signed a lease. HERES THE BIG RED FLAG: they dont let you see your apartment, only a model apartment. Weird right? I moved in and everything seemed fine for the first few hours. I brought with me 2 duffle bags and a purse. I had a dresser and bed delivered when I got there. Within hours, I was sitting on the carpet trying to set up my internet and I see bugs. Bugs crawling towards me from every direction. BED BUGS. They were coming out of the walls and vents and there were hundreds. They weren't confined tot he living area, they were in the kitchen and bathroom. They were on my new bed and all of my clothes. The manager came in and told me that I probably brought them in with the NEW furniture. I pointed out the bugs coming fromt eh vents and between the walls. I did a little digging and showed them the dead bugs int he back of the closet. This place was infested and they knew about it before I moved in. They let me move into that palce knowing full well it was infested. The doorman even smypathized as I sat in the lobby completely alone 600 miles from home with everthing I owned in the washer and said "I can't believe they did that to you" The black women who was the head of the management staff told me that there was no way to determine how the bed bugs came intot he apartment so they couldn't refund my firsts month rent or security deposit. She then informed that I needed to get out or "deal with it" becasue "people do live with bed bugs, its not that big of a deal." These people are disgusting. They took my money and treated me like ----. I wasted 3,000 dollers, I had to get rid of the new furniture and bed, and I had to spend endless hours cleaning everything I owned. I had to stay in a hotel for a few weeks before I could find a new place. My entire savings was depleated. They took advantage of me and this place should be condemmed. They did nothing to stop the bed bugs, they "sprayed" but if anyone know ANYTHIGN about bed bugs they dont just die, you need to attack from all the apartments surrounding it and fromt he floor below. They live through everything and are almost impossible to compeltely get rid of. Here is the FINAL kicker. As I was moving all my stuff from the apartment I met a girl that lived on the hall. She told me a indian family of 6 was living in that Studio apartment with no furniture before I moved in! A FAMILY OF 6 IN A 500 SQFT APARTMENT! I hate you elm street plaza and I will let everyone know how disgusting you are.

I'm moving out Chicago, but I would encourage anyone to check out these apartments if they're moving into the area. They are very affordable for the area, as long as you don't need a fancy granite/stainless steel kitchen or marble bathroom(though I've heard they're renovating some units so who knows). The office and door staff are great. Common areas are beautifully maintained, they just replaced the hall carpeting. Maintenance guys are friendly and get the job done, though you may need to followup on your request. Units are very clean, with fresh paint and new carpet before move-in. They just replaced the pool furniture with nicer stuff as well. Never a single pest problem, never a problem with noise. As others have pointed out, the kitchen and bathrooms are dated and fairly basic, but very well maintained/cleaned prior to move in and fully functional. Supposedly they're renovating some units now, but I'm not certain. I've not had any problems with smoke smell or nosey neighbors that another reviewer had. The laundry is coin-operated and one or two machines are often out of service, but I've never had a problem getting a working machine. I haven't used the exercise room, but it seems fairly well equipped and is regularly in use. Only heat or AC are active at any given time, so there are a few weeks where you might wish you had AC available, but I think this is common.

There are advantages and disadvantages to living in this building, which I am renting in since 2008. First of all, the term "luxury" in a building's property sign usually is misleading. The amenities in the building are few and unimpressive by current standards as opposed to the 1970s when the property was built, and the overall quality of carpeting, common areas, kitchen appliances, cabinet surfacing, etc. is very low-end. If you move into this building, expect to see a lot of government subsidized renters on the first 10 floors. These tenants, while many are friendly enough, do not add to the "luxury" experience promised on the signage leading into the building. Some of them are also home all day and night and are always looking to make small talk in the elevators and laundry rooms and ask you personal questions--there are some very annoying, nosy people. But, the rents, especially on lower floors with poor views, can be very economical and well worth the cost. Maintenance requests are resolved quickly, door staff are generally OK and friendly, and the guest suite is very useful. The location of the building is about the best you can get in the city as far as convenience is concerned. The building is generally kept safe and well-maintained.

My husband and I first moved to Chicago 4 years ago and we didn't know any better, so we rented a place in Rogers Park, which ended up being way too far up north for us - especially since we did not own a car. Every year since then, we have moved EVERY YEAR and made our way south to downtown. We were so excited to move to the Gold Coast when we lived at 10 W. Elm! However, with the noise and cigarette smoke coming from the HanggUpp and Elm Street Liquor, we knew we would be moving again. Lucky for us, we didn't have to look too far, only 1/2 a block actually! We stumbled upon Elm Street Plaza and fell in love at first sight!! From the friendly doorfolks and maintenance who never cease an opportunity to say hello and give you one of their flashing smiles, to the leasing office who just want to make sure you're happy in your new home. And that, we were. The views through the bay windows in the living and dining area always take our guests' breathes away. There is a trash chute on every floor, as well as a storage unit for every resident. Life is very convenient here at ESP. We are thankful for the gym downstairs, which helped my husband get inspired to train for his first marathon and lose 30 pounds along the way! The laundry room is one of the biggest ones I've seen and we never have a problem, so long as you avoid the weekends (for obvious reasons). But most of all, it's one of the quietest and cutest tree lined streets that we've ever lived on. It's close enough to the Clark/Division redline stop, Treasure Island is across the street, 2 CVS', a Jewel and Walgreens are only 2 blocks away! Entertainment and dining is endless on Rush Street and bars on Division Street. It has been the best of ALL worlds for us. So in June of 2010, when it came around to "that time of year", we had NO desire to leave, and actually renewed our lease for the FIRST TIME ever! It was a happy day for us, because ESP has been so good to us. We are sad that our road must end this year though, with the new purchase of a car for my husband's work, and the need for another bedroom, we have outgrown ESP and ready for the next chapter of our lives. But, we will miss Elm Street Plaza immensely and believe us when we say we wished we could move the building farther up north! Thank you to the staff of Elm Street Plaza, you have taken such good care of us and we will miss you dearly!!

There is little to recommend about this property. The amenities are non-existent, beginning with a poorly equipped, yet surprisingly cramped exercise room, and a ground floor COIN OPERATED laundry room with unreliable washers/dryers. The outdoor pool is open for less than 3 months and gets limited sun. The receiving room has ridiculously limited hours (closed on weekends) which can be a real nuisance if you expect something important. Next to the apartments, with minuscule kitchens and bathrooms that have not been updated since the facility was built in the mid-1970s. All the surfaces are a hideous eggshell yellow laminate, including the bathroom vanity. The leasing office won't tell you this is a Section VIII building, but you'll catch on quick. My apartment smells like an ashtray because I have a 5-6 pack a day smoker across the hall who apparently sits at home all day. The cooridors are dimly lit with well-trodden and waterstained carpets. The doorstaff are wonderful, and while the maintenance and building services staff are friendly, several elderly individuals have been kept on who are truly incapable of doing their jobs. The management personnel are a different story. They're masters of the art of overpromising and underdelivering. If you report a problem, they rarely follow-up to make sure it has been resolved, no matter how urgent. took to sitting in front of the property manager's desk 10 minutes before closing time in order to make sure some rather major problems (including a leak) would be resolved before she went home for the evening. I'm moving out in a few days and will never look back. I think a lot of the people who give this facility rave reviews and are decidedly testy when they read critical ones have lived here a long time and have no basis for comparison. You do.

I have lived in 5 different apartments in Chicago and the Elm Street Plaza is by far the best place I have ever rented from. The staff is soo nice easy to work with and always so helpful. This is one of the few very clean and very well priced places in the Gold Coast. We recently bought a place so we had to sublet our place and the whole staff was so easy to work with and so nice. You don't even hear noise from the other apartments. I am still mad that we have to leave because of how nice everyone has been. I feel very fortunate to have had a chance to live at Elm Street Plaza.

My wife and I relocated to Chicago last June. We were fortunate to find Elm Street. Great management, friendly and responsive staff have made our experience a positive one. The location provides the best of all worlds. Easy access to the magnificent mile as well as Chicago neighborhoods like Old Town. The only reason we left after a year was because we decided to purchase. I highly recommend the building. As far as comments from the previous post, never any problems with the elevators. While it's true one is used for freight the other two function well and I rarely wait more than a few seconds. Thumbs up to Elm Street and their team.

I've lived at 1130 N. Dearborn since 2001, and it s been a great experience. First, the management at this building has always been top-notch. They have always been extremely accommodating and attentive to my needs, and they have always done what they could be make me feel like a valued tenant. As a reflection of the quality management staff, the doorpeople and maintenance staff are fantastic. The doormen/women are friendly, and always greet me by name and engage in conversation with me. The maintenance staff couldn't be more responsive--anytime I've had an issue, it's resolved in a very reasonable amount of time. The building is also clean, updated and taken care of very well. Not only is Elm Street Plaza a comfortable place to live--it's also one of the most conveniently located buildings in the city. I've recommended this building to numerous people over the years--many of them who are still tenants! Thank you, Habitat/Elm Street Plaza, for your continued hospitality and welcoming atmosphere.

My wife and I moved in to this place because of the location and convenience knowing that we would have a small area to work with and understandably so living in the city. however, we were not expecting all the BS to come along with it. ELEVATORS First off, there are three elevators in the building, but I would say 40% of the time one is broke and the freight elevator is often reserved for people moving in or out so good luck getting 33 floors of people moved around with one elevator. PARKING The staff will recommend you use the parking garage behind the building (which we regretfully did the first year). I believe they have some type of connection because they include the parking application with your move in packet. But anyhow, it is an open public lot above Treasure Island Grocery with a floor that is supposed to be for monthly renters but no one monitors. We had our car broken into over the winter and it was left for 9 days without anyone notifying us. We found out when we went to go somewhere and found a busted windows and a police report on our windshield. When asked why we weren't notified, they said they couldn't access our information. We couldn't figure that out because they have it all on file when you sign up. MANAGEMENT STAFF Good luck with these people. You will never hear from them about anything. Questions, complaints, requests, etc. We had spoke to multiple people about different issues (questions about Air Conditioning, Electric, Parking< etc.) and it always took at least 3 visits to get any kind of answer besides "we will have someone get back to you." Another incident we had when moving out was we reserved the elevator for 2 hours and hired movers to help move our items. We didn't get the elevator until 45 minutes after we were assigned causing us to have to pay the movers for an extra hours when all they did is stand in the hallway for 45 minutes and wait for the elevator. We physically went down to management and complained and they said we "needed to put it in writing". So we did that and as odd as it may seem, we never heard from them. I would recommend staying away from this place. MAINTENANCE and DOOR STAFF This was the best part of living there. This staff was very friendly and knew everyone by name. Very caring and easy to talk woth. It's just too bad that everything else ruins it.