I took a tour of The Shoreham today and was underwhelmed by the sense of isolation from the rest of the city, poor availability of good views, higher than average prices and bland architectural detailing of the building.

In all fairness, The Shoreham is still months away from being complete--the top 15 floors are still being fitted for interior fixtures and drywall--but the contractors don't seem to be in any hurry to complete heavily traffic'd common areas like the lobby or the front areas of the sidewalk and driveway. As a staging area for contractors and with a machinery lift nearby, rusty nails and broken planks are scattered just feet from the front door. The lobby was unfinished, but the minimal design touches and cool, stark white walls did not appeal to me at all. Perhaps the cheap knick-knacks from Ikea and simple padded chairs would look better in a suburban apartment complex's leasing office rather than in a downtown Chicago residential highrise's lobby. A building with charm The Shoreham is not, and it will never be.

As with most recent highrises, The Shoreham is all about economics and not about exterior design or graciously appointed interior spaces. I viewed three units: a 670 sq, ft. 1-bedroom Plan 6, a 665 sq. ft. 1-bedroom Plan 7, and a 1170 sq. ft. 2-bedroom Plan 1. In all three plans, the living room areas felt small, the bedrooms even smaller, and the bathrooms lacked design details I've seen in other new residential highrises with comparable space and rents--no soaking tubs, plain countertops, standard plumbing fixtures, and bare-bulb vanity lighting which seems to be in vogue with apartment buildings that don't want to spend a dime on real lighting fixtures. The units I toured had basic kitchen appliances: gas stoves, microwaves, GE refrigerators with ice makers and dishwashers. Nothing too fancy. Missing were the new items most new residential highrises have: fully-vented exhaust hoods over the cook top, garbage disposal and ample counter space.

The units I toured did not have track lighting, and the building's HVAC system is 2-pipe, meaning you are locked into whatever the engineers want to run--air conditioning or heat. You can only adjust the blower level. Strange that the building isn't a 4-pipe system given the building's newness and rental prices. Also strange is that building signage advertises a unique opportunity to pick your own finish packages of kitchen countertops and cabinetry, yet I was never told about the packages during the tour.

As for amenities, there really isn't anything new at The Shoreham compared to other new residential buildings: a fitness center, a computer/business center (which wasn't available for use yet), party suite and a large open room with furniture and a TV whose purpose I never did get an answer as to what it was for. What should've been a building highlight was a complete let down: the pool. It was the smallest pool and deck area I have ever seen for a building the size of The Shoreham. Barely 14 ft. x 20 ft., trying to enjoy the pool will be a hassle once the building reaches full capacity. I have seen larger suburban backyard swimming pools; The Shoreham's pool is a joke.

The Shoreham is part of a unique development called Lakeshore East--a huge urban scheme of over a dozen planned buildings surrounding a large, well-designed park. Units on the south facade facing the park will have unobstructed views of the park, if that's what you want to look at all day. Eventually, there will be buildings built to surround the park, but that is years off. The north and east views will be total disappointments, however. To the north, a lot of the units will face directly into the The Regatta--a 45-floor residential tower blocking The Shoreham's best views of the Streeterville neighborhood to the north of the Chicago River, Navy Pier in the distance and the Chicago Yacht Club's harbor. Why live downtown and pay so much just to have all your windows 40 feet away from another condo tower' Eventually, The Shoreham's east views will be blocked by at least one more tall development built 150 feet away.

User Responses
From: Savbux2	Date: 07/05/2005
Another Loop disappointment. It "Sounded" good in the advertisements. But as I have experienced, you truly do not "know" a building until it is at the very least Finished, and even better if it has been running a year or two. For that is when you can be certain of the way things are & what you are truly getting for the BIG BUCKS!
From: rsnchicago	Date: 08/13/2005
Sounds to me like you are the resentful one. The more thorough the review, the more desperate your negative attacks on the other reviewers become. It's pathetic how leasing agents get on here and falsify reviews. When they feel threatened, they then throw mud on other reviewers who are honest. Normal readers and reviewers like us aren't stupid--we know who you are with your overly happy reviews and suspicious claims. Shame on you 1965anonymous.
From: 1965anonymous	Date: 08/15/2005
RSN, I'm not a leasing agent, and you are both misinformed and classless. Shame on your vile, baseless attack.

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