The Banc Hammond

I lived at The Banc for 8 months and ultimately broke my lease because the experience was so poor.

Train Noise:
This is the biggest issue by far. The building sits at the intersection of two major freight rail lines. Trains blow their horns every time they pass, most often at night. You will not notice this during a short tour. I slept with earplugs every night, and even then I was frequently woken up by train horns.

Washing Machine Issues:
On my first load of laundry, the in unit Miele washer... threw an error and permanently locked with my clothes inside. Management repeatedly told me it would be fixed, but I kept coming home to wet, moldy clothes trapped in the machine. After more than a month and losing about $150 worth of clothing, I learned the entire 100 unit building had a single part time maintenance worker who could not service washers.

I suggested swapping in a working washer from a vacant unit. Management initially refused because they said he could not lift it himself, but eventually agreed, and I personally helped the maintenance worker move the washer. You would think that would end the issue, but it did not.

The replacement washer leaked, and the floor does not slope toward the drain. When it leaked, my hallway flooded. Despite multiple attempts to fix it, the washer continued leaking until I moved out. I ended up stuffing towels underneath it just to keep water out of the rest of my apartment.

Fire Alarms:
Fire alarms went off so often that I stopped evacuating and just put in earplugs. It was roughly a bi monthly occurrence, including one weekend where it went off three times.

Other Issues:
Cold, uneven concrete floors required me to buy my own rugs. The garbage room frequently overflowed. The parking gate often failed to detect cars, and people regularly blocked the loading zone.

I would not recommend living here. Read More

Unprofessional management! Good location if you work in Hammond, would love to go to a beach near by and have easy access to Chicago. Appliances are brand new. Floor plans are not efficient. Floor is concrete coated w/ epoxy which is not convenient. Thermostat is central and you have minimum control over the room temp. Cheaply built apartments so you should lower down your standards from many perspectives. Requests are mostly disregarded by the management and Cagan HQ is not responsive too after... sending multiple emails. Building manager is indifferent to tenants issues and mostly finds a way to hastily dismiss issues brought to her attention. They even ended up denying posting my messages on the community portal. The main problem is the there is not much of options if you would prefer renting new apartments in Hammond area. Train noise is very disturbing at nights. Apartment ceiling is "industrial style" which is essentially visible concrete and cables at its finest. But you will get used to sleeping under concrete slabs after a few months. During your tour pay attention to the floor, ceiling, quality of wall paint, no exhaust fan in bathroom, storage/closet capacity, and wait until a train passes by before you sign your contract. Read More