1819 Lofts

I lived here for 3 years and had a good experience, but there is definitely room for improvement and potential to make it even better.

Pros:
Good location, dog friendly, washer and dryer in unit, dishwasher, responsive maintenance, rooftop

Cons:
Only one elevator which is challenging when someone's moving or it's broken, no garbage disposals, limited community space, few events, tiny gym, can be noisy (door slams, parties, people gathering at elevator late at night), trash and dog poop on west… side of building, no poop bags or bins, no package security, drafty windows, aggressive dog incidents

Suggestions for management:
- Don't increase the rent for existing tenants by ~$400+ per month. They proposed a hefty increase for me and some of my neighbors when it came time to renew in the past few months. It's more expensive to find new customers than keep existing ones, and some units remained vacant for several months after they raised rates.

If you're increasing the rent, instead of resting on your laurels (location), give people a reason to stay by making improvements to the property and/or units. I proposed some of the ideas below to the property manager while I lived there.
- Open up the area behind the gym for community events vs. only using it for occasional staff meetings. The rooftop is great, but you can only use it a few months out of the year. Also, more events would have been nice versus just once or twice a year.
- Install package lockers in the lobby for security and to keep that area tidy. I got frustrated having to sift through a sea of (sometimes heavy) packages to find mine, and it is all out in the open.
- Install better lighting in the hallways for security reasons and to make the place feel more cheerful. Current lighting is very dim.
- Regularly clean up the trash, dog poop, and broken glass in the grassy areas on the west side of the building off N Honore. While that's technically not part of the property (per management), it's right next to it, so it is a reflection on the property. I cleaned things up a few times because I didn't want my dog to step in it, but I shouldn't have had to. If it's the city's responsibility, management should call the city to take care of it.

All in all, though, not a bad place to call home if you're new to Chicago. Read More