I lived in this building for almost a year and have just moved. The building looks very drab on the outside, and the hallways are nothing special, but the apartment itself (mine, anyway..) is quite a nice little studio. The living space is about 12x13 ft and then there's a kitchen with a stove and a refrigerator. Only one drawer, no dishwasher or disposal, but it has a little bar counter that separates the kitchen from the livingroom. In-wall air conditioning unit, great windows (double-pane and seemingly quite new, and very large, though the weather in Chicago prevents much natural light..). My place has carpeting, but many units do not. Radiant heat, full bath, lots of closet space. All-in-all a nice little studio and it's RIGHT by Loyola so it's perfect for students, especially since it is very difficult to find a cheaper studio that is this large (sad, I know, but most studios for this price are real holes-in-the-wall). Parking is $75 a month (covered spots available for same price), but most other places I looked at charged $100 or $150. Reasonably well-located - VERY close to the red line train station, and there's a bus stop right out front. Either will take you straight down to the Loop in about 45 mins to an hour. Laundry's $1.50 per load and the machines are almost never all full, and open 24 hours on the first floor. There are elevators. Tenant pays internet and electricity, which together come to about $40 a month. Heat, water, trash, and cooking gas are included. The building is literally right across the street from the beach!

Aaaand now for the darkside:

1. Noise is HORRIBLE, at least in my unit. The floor above me squeaks and the people that live there play very loud dance music all the time, usually beginning around midnight or 1am. However, I've found that if I bang on the ceiling with my chair, they're good about turning it down (though even then, I sleep with headphones).

2. If you get an apartment at the back of the building, with the window looking into the alleyway, you'll get much more natural light. However, the street lights are insanely bright at night, so you'll need to hang curtains if that bothers you.

3. BEDBUGS and MICE. I have been dealing with bedbugs for some time now, and recently have seen mice in my apartment. This is an ENORMOUS drawback and this is the sole reason that I simply cannot bring myself to recommend this apartment. Radu, the Janitor, is fantastic and a really nice guy, and he will call the exterminator for you with no hassle. However, the exterminator is not very good and has not corrected the problem completely. It has been getting much better, and I do expect that the problem will be completely eradicated soon, but for now I consider it quite likely that you'll find an infestation of some sort. I imagine that 6 months from now (it is currently June 2009), the problems will be gone that by that time it should be safe to move in.

4. The management has a horrible reputation. Radu, the janitor, is excellent and a really nice guy, and in my experience, he fixes problems in a timely fashion. Fortunately, he's the one you'll talk to most of the time about problems. However, the manager is a bit rude and I've never had a problem with him, but only because I've never had any serious problems. Just be aware...

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