I've been living in the Colony Apartments since September, having moved to Illinois from another state. Because I had very little time to move between jobs, I searched for apartments online, reviewed the ratings on this website and finally settled on the Colony, feeling they were the best of the apartments in my price range. All of my paperwork was ready for me when I arrived, so I was able to quickly move all of my belongings into my apartment.

I was warned ahead of time my apartment would be facing a busy road, which I didn't worry about. Turns out it's a REALLY busy road, with fuel tanker trucks constantly running to/from the fuel storage silos down the road. Additionally, the road directly in front of me is full of potholes, so when the heavy trucks run over the, my apartment shakes and vibrates.

The carpeting in the apartment is old and looks to not have been replaced in years. The cabinetry in the kitchen is new and appears to be in good standing. I knew the air conditioning in the apartment was a wall unit; I did not, however, realize the heat was also through the same wall unit. The complex was smart enough to drill a hole into the bedroom to place a vent so that the heat/air would pipe in, but the heat continues to run and run in order to warm the entire apartment, even with the auto setting in use. In addition to the bathroom exhaust fan, there's also a heat fan, so even without heat making it from the wall unit, I'm able to heat the bathroom while I use it.

The office staff has been decently helpful, as I haven't encountered the problems others have recorded here. Office hours are held 7 days per week, so there's always someone available to assist. The one maintenance issue I've had so far (knock on wood) was fixed within 24 hours of calling it in. With all the snow received this year, I've come out in the morning to find the walks already shoveled, including the hallway from my apartment to the stairs (I'm on a 3rd floor), and salt put down. The parking lot, however, is a different story. Usually by the time I return home from the evening the parking lots have been plowed, but not always entirely well. And with the constant change in temperature, the parking lot has acquired an inch-thick layer of ice; not certain there's much the maintenance staff can do about it.

Of all things, probably my biggest complaint is with respect to the laundry facility. For 24 apartments, there are only 4 washers and 4 dryers in the facility. On several occassions I've gone down to complete laundry, only to find one person has taken all washing machines (I've waited in the facility for the person to come remove his/her belongings so that I may complete my laundry). Additionally, the apartment touts a "laundry facility in every building". This statement is only partially true. According to the postal service, my laundry facility is in the next building, as the facility is housed in a building with a different address. In order to get to my facility, I have to head down to the ground level, out into the parking lot and around to the next entrance. The apartment covers this "laundry facility in every building" statement by re-numbering all of the buildings using its own numbering system. With wind chills at -26, I find it inconvenient, frustrating and pretty ridiculous to have to head outside to an icy parking lot with an arm full of dirty clothes to get to my laundry facility. Probably the best thing about the laundry facility is the fact they're located with the storage lockers (so storing laundry soap, etc., makes it so these items don't have to be carried back and forth) and the machines don't actually use money. The complex provides a card with a chip on it. Money can be added to the card using a machine in the leasing office. The card is then slid into the machine and the cost to wash/dry is taken from the balance. The balance is then displayed on the machine in use. I don't have to worry about having correct change when trying to do my laundry.

All in all, the Colony Apartments are not terrible apartments. However, I plan on researching other apartments as I move closer to the end of my first lease. uWDgQKY3Vkv8FKIsB8Ax

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