All 25 tenant reviews.

“Ive lived at Lake Shore Plaza for 2 years and have loved it. Great care is taken to make sure that all common areas are clean, and maintenance is super responsive. The front desk staff is amazing as well, I feel very safe and cared for! I have outgrown my current unit, but instead of moving out of LSP I am moving into a larger unit within the building since ive had such a great experience. It is clear that management cares about investing in our building, since I’ve been here they have updated the laundry room, updated the package receiving process to use Amazon boxes, and have a ton of common area updates coming next month. Looking forward to more years to come!”

“The living conditions in Lakeshore Plaza have become intolerable. The building has been progressively occupied by shady people who create tremendous problems. The common spaces smell of weed all day. The smell of cigars (at best) or weed gets in my apartment daily and makes it very uncomfortable. I feel dizzy, and I want to puke. The pictures are characteristics of the situation and the complete lack of enforcement of any rules. The neighbors are violent and noisy. They often play loud music at midnight and on random weekdays. The first time I reported this to the building, the staff refused to knock on their door, so I had to do it myself. The person who opened the door was highly intoxicated and dangerous. Since then, I have called the police ~10 times (in less than eight months) to report either loud music or domestic violence. In addition, I heard people fighting in apartments around me and someone suffering from someone else's beating. This is utterly disturbing.. The management does not care. Occasionally they send emails about smoking and loud music, but this has not made a difference. When you call them, they yell at you and threaten to terminate your lease. Of course, they are responsible for the profile of people they have invited to this building, making LakeShore Plaza the black sheep of Streeterville. My advice to interested tenants is to look elsewhere until management changes and the profile of tenants improves.”

“I love my apartment—great views. My only complaint is the MAILROOM. There is just one man working there. I dont see how that is acceptable seeing that this is a high rise building. They need to bring him in help. Half the time I cant get my deliveries on time (that i pay express shipping for) because they mail hasnt been sorted yet..even when it arrived 12 hrs before I came to pick it up. Its not his fault as im sure he has a lot of mail to sort...but MANAGEMENT NEEDS GO HIRE SOMEONE ELSE TO HELP BACK THERE. theres always long wait lines as well. Super frustrating”

“This building has the most ruddiest management office for any building that I have ever lived at. They do not address your issues or attempt to assist you. The residents do not adhere to any rules in the building. Management is inexperienced to deal with customers and speak to them in excessive abusive tones. I would never move here.”

“Simona, one of the leasing managers, has made my experience here terrible. She is not only incompetent and caused us headache with anything lease-related, but also would lie straight in your face to keep her job. 1) She wrongfully sent a direct email to me and my roommate with a lease cancellation contract including our names and apartment number, as well as the move out date and a $4,300 lease cancellation fee. When I confronted her because we never communicated anything about cancelling our lease, she claimed she already apologized even though she never sent the email and blamed it on us for reading her emails "too personally." 2) As our annual contract is up, she sent us an email saying our renewal rent would only have a 3% increase. However, when I was almost done signing the new contract she sent over, she said my new renewal rate went up to 14% (few thousand dollars difference), and that the 3% was just a generic mass email sent to all everyone to remind them of lease renewal. What a massive bait and switch! I'd be more understanding if she's acts even a tidbit accountable toward her mistakes/false communications which has caused us tons of stress and thousands of dollars on rent. However, what frustrates me the most is that not only is she unapologetic, but also blames us for every mistake she ever makes, which is utterly immature and unprofessional. I might as well say: Simona, this is just a generic review, not to be taken too personally!”

“Do not live here. The management company has awful customer service. The building is falling apart, the elevators often don't work, all of them amenities like the pool and fitness center break all the time and they do not fix it. Work orders take 10 days or more to complete if you get them completed at all. The ceilings have bulges and the halls and stairwells smell of cigarette smoke. Management sends emails asking people to stop smoking in the halls because it smells that bad. If I can save you from living here, I will be happy to have helped!”

“Reprehensible living experience at this time due to COCKROACHES crawling into my unit from filthy neighboring units. I can not use the kitchen for fear of what is crawling inside of it. All the pesticides and various sprays have made the air quality poor. There are too many issues to name here. Will leave it at this: I have children. This has taken a massive toll on our quality of life.”

“This place is a hub for smoke. My apartment smells of weed all the time. The management is not taking any action, in fact they suggested me to break the lease rather than finding a solution. The management is poor. Their service is very poor. I would not recommend anyone in this building.”

“My motive for reviewing is to address some belittling comments less enlightened reviewers made about lower income neighbors in subsidized units. My comments are at end of this review. My infant son and I lived in a 2 bedroom corner unit when it first opened in 1986. My experience was Very positive. I *think* the doorman's name was Leroy who may still be there. I saw the name in a review and it struck a memory bell. If so he'd be near retirement. The doorman was so kind, friendly, and helpful I took a photo of him before I moved (which I still have). I LOVED the location- so much within walking distance. I walked to Treasure Island for groceries, Olive Park for my son to play in the grass, and ran to North Western Memorial Hospital's E.R. when my son had an accident. The L was easy access and my car was kept safely in the parking structure. The library (and my librarian friend) was in the nearby Wrigley Building and Giordano's was only minutes away. I left Chicago and Lake Shore Plaza to attend graduate school out of state. Some reviewers criticize the tenant selection process and compare the appearance of some neighbors to that of the homeless. Shame on you. Some of your neighbors live in HUD subsidized units, an arrangement which helped finance your building. Those tenants have incomes near or below the poverty line. Some of them might struggle with mental illness or be a war veteran who had been homeless. Without these tenants you think beneath yourself your apartment would not be available to you.”

“I love this place , we are living in this building since 2017 and everything here is so perfect. The staff , the management , doormen (Leroy) are so welcoming and nice .. Most of the time i interact with Simona Tomuletiu , Assistant community manager for all types of issues. She has been awesome person always . she listens to the issues and try to resolve them as quickly as she can. She finds time to talk to the residents and listen to their problem inspite of having busy schedule. She makes sure that every resident is living happily in the building. She replies to all emails instantly and answer all phone calls. She makes sure not even a single issue goes unaddressed. I really appreciate her for the incredible hard work and effort she is doing. This place is close to beaches , restaurants , Grocery stores ,shopping malls , Hospitals . I highly recommend this place to everyone.”

“We are living at 17 floor. Every day ( 6 times per day and at midnight too) we have to smell WEED of our neighbors...It is terrible and unrespectable! We have called our maintenance of the building and they said : There is nothing we can do... We will call the police maybe they will be able for to do something. It's is impossible to live in this build if you have a baby. We are tired! As a suggestion you can send a letter for all residents and especially 17 floor.”

“Please improve the selection process for prospective tenants. There is nothing wrong with being selective.. absolutely no reason why some of the tenants rival the homeless population. Also improve upon the facilities after all it's 2017. Air quality not good either. Love the doormen”

“They now have finally fired the infamous Sharise Carter! Which was long over due. They have a new property manager named Jose. Who is he and where did they find him at? He is no better than sharise. They let anyone live here. It looks like I live next to bums that beg on the street. If you don't wanna be embarrassed do not bring your friends here. The pool attendant Patty always is drunk and treats the black residents like they are harming or harassing someone. They are newly renovating the elevators so I guess that's a plus. I still do not like sharing the elevators with people that look like they stand on the side of the road begging for change.”

“The Asst. Prop. Manager, Simona Tomuletiu was super helpful when she toured me all around Lake Shore Plaza. Still have not make a decision, but appreciated of Simona and her efforts. Looks like an outstanding place to rent.”

“The location is great, price is the lowest in the area and almost every apartment got nice view. but we have some problems when we moved in: 1. We were not able to apply RCN online because the previous people didn't cancel their account after they move out. But it got resolved when we contact RCN. 2. the TV port is in the closet of a bedroom. Rather than reconstruction(which may take another week), the only thing we can do is to stick the cable on ceiling to make the TV signal available in living room. 3. we have called management office about the above issues, but no reply. 4. Several days ago, when we come back and park our car, there is another car parked in our parking lot. Called leasing office and management office, but no one come to resolve it for us. We just parked on a temperately parking lot that day.”

“It is time for this management company/Habitat to step down. The elevators have been broken for way too long! There is absolutely no urgency to get them fixed correctly. Band aids no longer work.”

“Great location along with the great school district for my 4 year old child. Building is clean and well kept along with a helpful and friendly staff. Moving in was a painless process and although we do have a larger vehicle the property manager was very helpful in relocating our position to a larger space providing easier access for myself and child.”

“My personal experience has been one of horror. Unit was in terrible condition and outdated. No sense of urgency to fix things and the staff was terrible and slow at communicating with me. I am completely frustrated and feel taken advantage of.”

“Actually I just had one week in the building. But I see it's a good building. Also there are a perfect door staff. And good office. But I think you have to bring more clothes machine, because there are not enough.And just it . Thanks... Name : Ammar alhubaishi”

“I didnt receive the apt that i was expecting. I got an apt dirty and we a lot of damaged details. I had to clean by myself more than I had. You showed me a beautiful apt model, I wasnt expecting the furniture neither the paint that you showed me in the model apt, but the same quality and conditions, kitchen renovated and bathrooms, i didnt like the unit and I dont recommend this building”

“warm staff?rooms are clean and tidy. The two-bedroom design is great with two separate washrooms. The apartment also boasts a good location.Ten minutes walk from the Chicago avenue and located right beside the beach. Highly recommended.”

“I don't frequently post on such websites however things have deteriorated to the point I felt compelled to create an account and that such a post necessary. I have lived at Lake Shore Plaza (operated by the Habitat Company) and managed by Charise Carter-Harris for almost 3 years. I will be terminating my lease at expiration after thoughtful consideration. Lastly, opinions expressed are solely my own and may not be representative of your experience should you decide to roll the dice and gamble on residing here. Pros: - Neighborhood and doormen are fantastic - Rent is cheaper than everywhere else in Streeterville be several hundred $ - Building has some nice features and if ever fully operational could be a gem (computer lounge, gym, sauna, pool, grill area) Cons: - Management office staff can be a challenge to communicate with - Seldom paper in the printer in the Computer lounge - Walls are paper thin - Elevators are frequently out of order or being services - Air conditioners in my unit (after multiple replacements) have all been old - No air conditioner in living room - Management company (in my opinion) isn't transparent with communication - Roof deck/ pool area with grills has been out of service for months (closed early in 2014 and isn't open as of this post) - Garage repairs are performed with little to no advance communication (challenging to move my car for construction if traveling for work and needs to be moved in 1 weeks notice; poor planning on your part shouldn't constitute an emergency on my part) - Bicycle storage removed (good luck finding space in your apartment) - No feedback box, access to Habitat Company senior management, or other town hall type format for airing grievances for hundreds of residents In summary: Don't be fooled by the Sauna or Gym when you first visit. The Men's room Sauna was in a state of disrepair with splintered wood railings for months within the past year. Gym equipment, cardio specifically, occasionally has one or more machine 'out of order'. Seems like keeping replacement belts, power cords, etc. on-site might solve the problem. While on the topic of the Gym, Lake Shore Plaza failed to provide cable service to Televisions in the same gym, for more than 3 consecutive months in 2014. No communication about the epic failure to deliver on simple expectations of residents was provided. It is absurd that while collecting hundreds of thousands in rent each month this management company was either too cheap to fix the issue or too arrogant to communicate their failure to residents. No one is perfect but forgive my lack of sympathy for Lake Shore Plaza either; not stepping-up and paying their cable bill, or figuring out an alternate solution to provide media content to TVs in the gym. (This building is over 20 years old... figure it out people) Working-out in a building gym is a challenge to begin with but take away any possible distraction one might enjoy with a TV, and replace it with a view of a roof deck and pool which hash't been available to residents since late 2014, and a realistic view of how I think Lake Shore Plaza fails to deliver starts to come into focus. Be careful before signing a lease and getting trapped in a place like this. You could get stuck in this antiquated building longer than you ever thought possible, like I did. - Sincerely disappointed, soon to be former resident”

“As I looked over the past reviews I saw that most of the complaints were common and the same. Yes the Habitat management staff is rude and offensive they have poor customer renter service skills. The management team (C,C) are the worst of them all they seem to think being resident management does not consist being 1.Good natured to the residents 2. listening to the problems and coming up with a solution 3. having a positive attitude that does not come across rude and insensitive 4. keeping residents in the know as to the goings on of the building i.e. transparency 5. being proactive and aware with the buildings issues and how to alleviate them. As a resident here I must say this building is so ancient they have yet to update anything they don't even have light fixtures in the living room dinning room areas. although they found it a need to remodel the management office, the label on what use to be the party room is labeled as such but in now a computer lab, hours of operation are not posted on anything except the laundry room and the management office, you have no clue until you try the door and can not gain entry. This is suppose to be a family sensitive building and atmosphere and I am embarrassed when on the elevators and through out the halls as well as walking up to the building the things I see and my children witness. My child has been called a ------ on the elevator. The members of the maintenance staff are completely incompetent and I wouldn't trust them to change a light bulb better off fix my non working electrical outlet. The Door men are the best now they are all pleasant and seem to do the job to the best of their ability since now they aren't allowed to open the door for the residents anymore (hence the title "Doorman"). As of 2015 this building needs to be brought up to code throughout. Its an embarrassment and let down the events and actions that transpire at Lakeshore Plaza. Do better. That's why monthly people move in and out before you get to know your neighbors and they inquire about lease breaking and subleasing before moving in.”

“I still live at this building and it has its good and bad points..I don't like the management and some of the tenents are rude and very racist...I am one of the people that live here that have section 8 and I don't do drugs or make all kind of noise in the building...I read some of these reviews and it amazes me how people say that it's the section 8 tenents that make the building a living hell...not saying that some of them don't but how do you know who has section 8 or not in the building? Just curious to really know the answer to that one...but anyway, the building needs a lot of work and updating...needs new management....needs thicker walls...I do like the area and scenery...not the best apartment I've been in but I guess you have to take some bad with the good..FYI, every person on section 8 aren't living off the government, lazy with a lot of kids, on drugs, loud and ignorant, racist bastards....”

“DISCLAIMER: this is the first review or post of any kind I have ever made on the Internet - some guy on my floor that groans to the decibel level that can somehow traverse through a hallway and 4 doors - no AC to living room - slow elevators - paper thin walls - management: I don't even know...just terrible - most egregious fees for lockout($40??!,at my old building in streeterville it was $5 and they would make a copy of the key for you) or late fees out of any building in the neighborhood Basically, the worse building in streeterville in almost every aspect. If you end up living here the only justification is a significant($250 or more per month) discount so please do your due diligence(especially you bright eyed incoming northwestern students who salivate at living in streeterville high rise)”