451 W. Wrightwood

This place is a slum. They will take your money and let you move into an uncleaned, mold-infested apartment. Then they will tell you they cleaned it in a day, when really they just covered all of the disgusting stains and mold with paint (they actually told me this, and expected me to be happy). Do not rent here.

This is a BJB Properties managed building, and my unit is a studio. It's the nicest studio I've ever lived in. Kitchen is its own area, through an arched doorway, quite out of sight from the living area. It's on the small side, but they managed to squeeze in a dishwasher, and there's plenty of cabinet space. The walk-in closet (you walk through it to get to the bathroom) is very nearly big enough to sleep in as an extra bedroom. And it has a door. The living area is standard, with hardwood... floors, radiator heat, and window a/c units provided gratis by the building. Hallways are carpeted, which helps a lot with noise. And the walls and cielings must be pretty thick, cause I rarely hear anything other than a chair scraping or someone vacuuming. But then, faintly. There's a rooftop deck that's open sunrise to sunset that they just refurbished. It could comfortably fit 10-15 sunbathers, and features a great view of the lake and Lincoln Park, as well as the skyline. No big buildings obstructing the view pretty much all around the panorama. Laundry in basement, in a workout room. Lobby is almost luxurious, and has a doorman till around midnight. And the location? Well, it's a shady street that spills out onto the park. The whole thing smells like trees and flowers. Several bus lines at one end of the street, several at the other. Two Starbux within sprinting distance, Clark street shopping and dining a stagger away. Trader Joes a five minute walk. Hospital around the corner. So what's the knock on the place? I'd kill for an extra foot or two of counterspace in the kitchen. And if you're on the courtyard side, any noise from the street echoes a bit. But it's a pretty quiet neighboorhood sidestreet, so it's quite tolerable. Oh. And there's free internet and cable (wall tether, plug in your own router -- no sharing of bandwith). Friends of mine come over and are impressed, but they don't know the half of this place's charm. Highly recommend. Read More