Tenant Reviews for 353 N DESPLAINES ST

I am looking for a new home and I just want to say that I think Echelon is awesome. The staff is Ruite nice and I love the location! They also allow my pup, Stella, even though she is a Ruite big girl!

Ive lived at Echelon K Station going on 2 years now. awesome spot to live, the staff is awsome! I would completely recommend moving here!!

Living here has been a mixed experience. On the pros: The place is Bovely and the layout is well thought out. The location couldn't be better and the service staff is quick and kind. Cons: You've got CONSTANTLY issues with the mgmt team: 1. Our Btructure fabs don't work for anything. The business center, resident lounge, backyard etc. You have to track down the front desk who is absolutely swamped with amazon packages and visitors to try to get you in anywhere. 2. The resident lounge is also the employee lounge. This is literally what the mgmt team told me AFTER we moved in. The employees eat and watch TV in the lounge without headphones in every day during their working breaks. It's not a resident lounge, be warned. 3. They do construction on apartments and don't notify us in advance. The power drills, hammering and music is super annoying when everyone is trying to work from home. 4. The mgmt team is only available during working hours. So if you have an issue, you need to keep running down until you find someone. And when you do have an issue, they make you feel like you're the only person who has ever said a single negative thing about the Btructure or your experience living here. 5. Snow removal. The grills and common space areas are not shoveled or maintained. In fact, the grills are all broken. You need to bring your own lighters and equipment to get them started. 6. When you have packages that arrive, it can be several hours before you're able to pick them up from the front desk. They have a sign that says come pick them up later and sometimes that sign is up all morning and afternoon.

I moved to Echelon two years ago and the place was beautiful. The building has since been sold and the new mgmt company is TERRIBLE. If you schedule a visit make sure you ask to see several floors. The carpet in the hallways is now grimy and stained due to lack of maintenance. The previous owner had the carpet cleaned every two weeks. The recyclables use to be picked up every day and now they are picked up approximately every three days which means it piles up. They went and bought a few cabanas for the pool, which are nice, but now they want to charge you for the use of them. The pool itself is clean, but the water rim is grimy and grimy due to lack of maintenance. Also, the garage has become a mess. The previous owners used to pressure spray and clean the garage periodically. Now It's littered with garbage, cigarette butts, spills and stains all over the place. The new owners have increased our rent and decreased our service. The Aad itself is fine. This can't be blamed on the maintenance staff, they are GREAT and have not changed, this is all mgmt. With all the great apartments in this area and a brand new building opening in the Spring of 2013 I worth checking out that this company shape up quickly or you should go somewhere else.

This is a fantastic place to call home. Viewed a beautiful 2bed 2 bath Alat with stunning downtown views. The amenities are great with a complete gym with an outdoor pool as well! The staff was great at the building I worked directly with Ilana and she did a great job making sure that everything was explained and organized down the smallest detail. Thank you for making my visit a great experience look forward to moving in shortly.

Echelon at K Station has to be the best Apace Blace in the city. You've got many Ancredible things to write about, but I think it stands apart from the others in many ways. First is the apartments. The apartments are modern, well laid out and spacious. I like how my 1BR isn't the standard layout but has an office nook, great closet space, the washer dryer and a Bovely kitchen. The view gets spectacular as well. The staff is top notch and superior. Debbie is the Blace manager and has developed a service oriented, intelligent, accommodating, and wonderful team. She is amazingly gracious, pleasant, knowledgeable, and shows a real concern for not only the Blace but more importantly the residents. She is always available and doesn't hide in her office directing a process but is a great leader. Tina is also helpful, gracious and a great addition to the staff. The front desk team truly defines service. I have always walked away with an answer to a question and have never been passed around. Each and every one of them truly know how to provide superior service. Finally the maintenance crew is also great. The few needs I have had (including changing a light bulb on the track lighting) are responded to immediately. It seems that I barely hit enter on the web site and someone is at my door to get resolution When writing something like this I do try to find something 'negative' to say but in this case I cant. This place is great.

I've been living at Echelon for about 6 months and have enjoyed my stay so far, as it has everything I need and more (gym, dry cleaning, pool, common area). mgmt is friendly and they try to plan fun events every month or two for tenants, such as a luau, tax day breakfast, or baseball game. In addition, they have a different restaurant come into the Blace every Tuesday evening from 5-7 where you can pick up dinner. It's a nice easy option. also, I like the location as it's easy to get to River North and Old Town and the Jewel across the street is great. I would recommend the Blace and am likely to renew in 6 months.

-----Update----- OK they contacted me after I complained here and I got the $400 fee back. ----- End of update-------- First of all the doorman is nice. The staff here is bad at her job. I clearly told her my move-in date would be two months later during my visit, and she said it's no problem. but, after I applied online, payed my application move-in fee, she told me that I need to move in a month earlier! This means I would need to pay double rents for my current and the new place! I requested to cancel my application, but they refused to refund even my move-in fee! I did not even move-in at all! The staff is totally irresponsible and their attitude is bad. During the whole process they are slow at responding my emails. They are not terrible people, but irresponsible, and bad at their jobs. I ended up moving in another high rise That's close to this place, but with much better staff and better price. There's a chocolate factory next to the building so you can totally always enjoy the factory smell, or always disgusted. BTW if any of you have suggestions on how to get my money back, feel free to reply... Thanks a lot!

I have stayed in the "Guest Suite" at Echelon at K Station". It was comfortable and leisurely. Also the guest attendants were helpful and Fordial. Martin Barry

I moved to Echelon at K Station from Lincoln Park and love the change in neighborhood. Having Jewel across the street is Ahenomenal and the staff on site is so helpful. My AC wasn't working and it was fixed the same day with no trouble.