Tenant Reviews for 869 W BUENA AVE

If you have any self respect for your mental well-being, physical safety, and financial stability... DO NOT RENT AT TIMES SQUARE!!! There are people who stand outside of the entrances at all hours of the day attempting to sneak in the building for shelter or ask you for money. There are signs in the stairwells warning people to stop "using the stairwells as a bathroom" there are puddles of human urine in most common spaces, human feces in the elevator, rats in the garbage room, broken glass that goes 5+ days without being cleaned up, garbage piles in the building entryway, cockroaches in the units. There are tenants who scream loudly at all hours of the day, blare music at 7 am, etc. you can't even come and go into your own apartment without the guarantee of someone in the building asking you for spare change or a ride somewhere. They charge luxury apartment prices to live in a disgusting building with suspicious tenants. The cops are constantly being called, as well as the fire department. I would recommend living absolutely anywhere else before you consider spending $1400+ a month to live in this disgusting building. Complaints have been made to management and they do nothing about it other than assure you it's being handled (yet it just continues to happen). Don't waste your time or money.

I moved into Times Square Apartments with my daughter. This was the unsafest place for me to house my child. The senior property manager Liliana discriminated against me several times entered my unit with out my permission on several occasions destroyed property and rambled through my belongings then magically quit once I started to document her actions. I complained to Robin Vice President of Operations and she started to ignore my complaints she was actually racist as well. They hired an all black staff to try to cover up the fact they are racist and sent another Senior Property manager Paschen to enter my unit without my permission she even left my door unlocked and when I sent an email her response was if I needed maintenance to fix my lock she would put in an order. I’ve never had a problem with my locks. I asked for a reasonable time to have pest control come to my unit they usually left notices with a time frame once I started to complain daily they left a notice with no time frame and when I asked a time frame they ignored and told me this is their building and they can come in my unit when they please. When I first moved in the senior management refused to let me use the freight elevator she told me it was down indefinitely only for me to discover a caucasian and -------- resident using the freight elevator. I had to have mold removed from my heating units and bathroom walls they literally painted over the mold. Management was slow to respond and took 2 months to test and 3 to get the results of the test. Which is why I had it professionally done myself. There is a picture of the water below after one cleaning of one of the vents. The entire building is infested with roaches. Everyday I see roaches in the common area on the elevators and they have started to come in our units. They have gotten so bad I had to throw away my ac unit, beds, dishes, tv’s, shoes and groceries they even got in my couch. They come out of the walls literally. I can’t keep anything they have literally destroyed my family and caused us great mental stress to the point we could not sleep. My girlfriend woke up to a roach crawling on her face at 3am. The living conditions we were subject to literally caused my girlfriend to have a nervous breakdown. There are creepy people through the building I often get on the elevators with people whom talk to them selves. My floor smells like dog urine and feces literally the smell is unbearable. I’ve complained countless times. The carpets are old and wreak of dog urine. There are homeless people who sleep in the hallways and piss in the stairwell. I caught a resident masturbating in our lobby. Found out he was a resident after I called authorities. I’ve found baggies of drugs (heroin) in the elevator brought it to management only for nothing to be done about it. Children walk around this place. The elevators are always broken or pissy, there are drug addicts in and out of the building at night time. I have even spotted Gang graffiti in the building. In the summer time bugs just crowd around the window seals because the water from the ac units attracts them to the windows. Can’t leave windows open. They also locked me out of the resident portal once I started to complain so I could not put in a work order or pay my rent as a normally would do online to have a paper trail. The water in the tub and sink runs brown sometimes. I would not move here at all. The management is racist and the turn over rate for the property manager is ridiculous I’ve had 3 different property managers in 1 year. There is no peace of mind here. Poor quality apartments. Poor management. They are one of if not Chicagoland’s largest residential landlord. There is no excuse for the type of ethics exercised by the management. I will be taking swift legal action against this company, for the mental anguish I was put through, discrimination I was faced with and damaged caused to my property due to the negligence of this company. I WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE ON DOING YOUR RESEARCH.

In a word: roaches this place was absolutely disgusting. If you can avoid it, avoid it like the plague because that, quite literally is what it is. The hallways smell like pee (probably because I've watched me neighbor's dog pee in the hallways). My neighbors were rude and unsanitary, they also let their dogs run wild - peeing and pooping in the halls, and they never clean up after them. The roach problem started when it got warm in May. Luckily, management is super responsive. They had exterminators out 6-7 different instances to spray and do boric acid, and I had roaches beyond the day I moved out. It was absolutely disgusting, living there. Avoid it.

The office staff is amazing. When ever I have a problem, which is rarely the management is on top of it. They are so nice and considerate, they take the time out of their day to make sure you are okay. Any management that takes time out to make sure their residents are fine is a big plus for me. I love my apartment super big, not a fan of carpet but it will do. Location is amazing, takes me about 15 minutes to get to work. Perfect location to bars, restaurants and wrigley field. Looking forward to renew my lease in a few months.

Where to start... I have lived here for two years. They advertise a rooftop deck, but it hasn't been open since I moved here. They advertise a gym. It's small, smells horrible, and equipment never gets replaced. It's June and we still don't have our AC units installed. No reason was provided for not having them installed yet and when some tenants installed the ACs on their own, management put letters out warning them to take the AC units down. Also, office management changes every other week so make sure if someone tells you something, you get it in writing because it won't make it to the next manager.

Had a terrible experience here. I made an initial appointment to view an apartment here on a weekday at 5:30. Being new to Chicago, I didn't realize how difficult it is to get on the redline during this time of day so I called the office to let them know I would be late. The woman in the office answered the phone very unprofessionally and was a bit rude and not at all accommodating to the idea of moving my appointment to a later time. She pretty much told me that the office closes at six and if i couldn't make it - too bad. She did mention however, that on Wednesdays they have late office hours and are open until 7pm. With this is mind, I made a second appointment for the following Wednesday at 6:30. My boyfriend made a 45 minute journey in from the burbs and I left work early specifically to see these apartments. We showed up at 6:30 on the dot and found that the office was closed and everyone had gone home. A tenant who was coming into the building said that the office staff usually leaves right at 6pm and he seemed surprised when I said I had been told they had office hours until 7pm on Wednesdays. Overall, I was extremely upset that the office staff were so unprofessional and inconsiderate of our time and interest. Obviously, this experience may have been a blessing in disguise because I can't imagine how they treat their tenants if this is how a prospective renter is treated.

Came to look for apartments from MI and experienced sticker-shock. Wanted a safe, clean roomy apartment and finally found it when I came here. Very large bedroom with large windows. Apartment was freshly painted and clean as if I was the first tenant. Parking was a bit of a problem but was able to purchase a spot right across the street in a secured lot for a reasonable amount. Location couldn't be better. New Target store within two blocks and a grocery store is a block and a half. Friendly, neighborhood bar is right across the street, (great burgers), and a 7-11 is in the building downstairs. Clean workout room and laundry right downstairs in building. Building is very secure and management staff is on site and very responsive as well as friendly. The previous negative reviews are not at all representative of the present complex.

This two bedroom unit is very spacious with an exceptionally large living/dining room and has more than adequate closet space. Air conditioning is available for rental and the electric bill is reasonable for this large a space even with the air conditioners running almost constantly during the summer. The management and maintenance are excellent and generally available with on-site management. The building is attractive with a cheerful well maintained interior. The elevators are almost always in working order. I think I had to walk up to my apartment once in two years. The location is very convenient to public trans and the neighborhood is safe to walk in at night and the sidewalks are salted early and often during the winter. The apartments do however have thin walls and I have had at least one neighbor whose night-time activities were way too audible at very late hours. Also although I am at a corner the hot water can be an issue at peak times like the early morning.

I just moved in and so far I like it. My boyfriend and I are new to Chicago and really like the neighborhood feel when you walk down the side streets. The apartment is small, no doubt about it, but the layout really works well (I live in the unit with the walk through kitchen). It takes some getting used to but you'll realize quickly you don't need much space to be comfortable. Everything is freshly painted and updated, with the only exception being the bathroom which I kind of like because it keeps some of the original charm of the building. The storage space is very limited, they have a large closet which takes up an entire wall, but its the only storage in the whole unit so pack light when you move here. I am in a west facing unit with tons of sunlight and a view of Wrigley field and the St. Mary church bell tower. I hate noise and the first night I was a little worried but I can't believe how quickly I got used to the street noise, which after 6pm isn't really that bad; a lot of sirens, we must be near a fire station and it's a reality of city life. As far as neighbor noise, I haven't heard a thing so far, you can hear dogs barking when walking down the hallways but as soon as you enter your apartment you can't hear them anymore. The hallways do need a major upgrade but its mostly aesthetic stuff, there isn't anything wrong with the hallways but I have noticed the smell of cigarette smoke but not cat urine like some people suggested. I haven't had much interaction with the staff but they've been great so far, no complaints. I'm from the suburbs and I feel safe here. I haven't had any maintenance issues yet but I'll be sure to post if I ever have any. Parking is what you would expect from the neighborhood, it's all about what time you try to park. Laundry facilities are adequate, people complain of the cost but if you go right across the street it's even more expensive. So far, I like it, it's perfect for what my boyfriend and I need. If you want the lap of luxury you should live downtown in a high rise but if you like neighborhood charm and are willing to sacrifice somethings then you'll love it here.

disgrace. Smell of urine at side entrace doorway and nothing is ever done about it. Elevators break down and dryers in laundry room take your money but dont dry.,