This place is neither the worst or greatest apartment ever...
First off, I was manipulated into moving in here. They were the first company I looked at and they could tell that I really liked the layout of the apartment. They told me they were going to give me a really good deal (no security deposit and a $600 credit towards my rent). The agent then spit out the old standby of "I can't hold the apartment" and "someone else was looking at it just yesterday." I ended up renting a studio for $1095 a month on the eight floor.
The layout is really charming. I have a gorgeous view of the hancock building. The building is two blocks for Jewel, CVS and the red line and is about four blocks from the "viagra triangle" club scene. They do a good job of keeping the hallways clean. The other residents are really friendly. The door people are fantastic for the most part. Tiffany and Orlando are the best! I only really had one maintenence issue and Tibi took care of it right away.
Okay, onto the bad. The bottom of my medicine cabinet is rusting over and their solution was to put a piece of white plastic over it. The tub has rust spots on it and is starting to yellow near the faucet. The wood underneath both the bathroom and kitchen sinks is rotting. The shelfing is bowing in many places. I think the door on my linen closet broke prior to my moving in so instead of replacing it, they just removed it and left the track there (I removed the track myself). The color scheme is hideous (hope you like everything white). The stairwells, unlike the hallways, are disgusting...cigarette butts and beer cans are littered throughout. The elevators SUCK!!! One elevator is pretty much always being used by maintence or someone moving in or out. About once a month, one of the elevators breaks. I finally started taking the stairs down everyday but no matter what, you are stuck taking the elevator up. The washing machines (circa 1985) are horrible. The dryers are atrocious (don't ever use dryer #6...it is no coincidence that it is the devil's number). And if you have a car, just don't bring it with you. There is almost no street parking in the area and the cheapest you'll find parking is about $175 a month. With the exception of Chuck, Tiffany and Orlando, the door people will pretty much let anyone in the bulding. At 2:00 am they let in a girl who had been stalking me. She spent half an hour banging on my door before I called the front desk to come get her out of the building. The manager (I think her name is Liliana or something) is just an unpleasant person. I saw her outside the building one day and waved to her and she acted like she didn't even know who I was. Plus they are going to sell you this as a "safe apartment" in a "safe neighborhood." If you are not familiar with Chicago neighborhoods, please note that this building is about two blocks away from Cabrini Green which has not been "cleaned up" as they say it has been.
I have liked living here. People who come to visit always love the look of my apartment and think the location is great. In the end, I will be moving out when my lease is up in March 2009. The things that are bad about this apartment and building are honestly pretty standard in a Chicago apartment. The difference is, if I am paying $1095 a month for a STUDIO, I expect better. I can put up with this stuff somewhere else for much cheaper.

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