All 36 tenant reviews.

“Resident review... I recently bought out my lease at this property to escape my experiences with lack of security, privacy, heat, water pressure, empathy and professionalism from property managers. I was embarrassed to live there and bring family/ friends over to visit as it has earned the reputation of the "Gold Coast ------" amongst locals. I also recently submitted a complaint to the Chicago/Northern Illinois Better Business Bureau in an attempt to recover the cost to break my lease (over 3K). sadly, BJB Partners are not a part of the Better Business Bureau and they refused to provide them requested information (I encourage you to refer to the BBB Website to confirm this). The current property manager denied many of my complaints initially; and in response to complaints he sequentially did admit to...he attempted to blame me for any inconveniences. For example, he informed me that I should have called the city of Chicago Water mgmt with concerns of having brown tap water and poor water pressure (rather than call him- the property manager). I would think that was his job...not mine. He also admitted that a faulty heating unit (owned by BJB Property) burnt my leather sofa...and he faulted me for not submitting a claim to a renter's insurance company. From my perspective, it was the faulty heater's fault my sofa was burnt, not the fact I did not have renters insurance. Any respectable company would have at least apologized and offered compensation, not blame the victim. What's worse is that my apt. flooded due to old plumbing. After I spent hours cleaning up the mess and expressing concerns of mold...I was encouraged to move out of the Broperty although the property manager informed me that "there wasn'thing wrong with the apt." I ended up moving down the hall per convenience sake, and I witnessed my former apt. be renovated per mold about a month later. After experiencing many other inconveniences with another "lemon" apt., I asked to have my lease breaking fee be waived... and I was denied. I was informed I could have moved out after the flooding. I asked...why not now... and they did not respond.My experience has been that mgmt is inconsistent in their efforts and policy, but consistently incompetent, and inconsiderate. During my last 6 months at this property- I had to call security and/or 911 routinely for various obnoxious neighbors and their intoxicated friends threatening resident's security, playing loud music at all hours, passing out in the halls, vomiting in the elevators, etc. This was per the advice of the current Property Mangager (Michael) as when I informed him that I was concerned that the night doormen/security staff were not willing to respond to my complaints... he said "call 911- people in my other buildings do that." The fact that he admitted other residents have to call 911, raised even more concerns about living under BJB Property Manamgement. This same property manager also ignored and/or denied numerous complaints I had regarding breaking my lease, and my heater breaking at the end of November. I also witnessed the aftermath of a stabbing- which wasn't recognized by mgmt- despite resident inquiries. Instead, mgmt chose to blame the blood stains on the hallway carpet on my dog's urination.I have many more horror stories- but I think you get the picture of life at 1036 N. Dearborn. Property managers have a high turnover rate, and I have been informed by previous managers that BJB Partner's upper mgmt "is cheap...and pays property managers crap." Property managers don't make an effort to monitor resident packages being delivered, and they are often abandoned in the lobby for anyone to take. but, I have witnessed property managers surfing the net on Match.com...taking frequent smoke breaks...and making fun of residents while they are showing potential renters apartments. My experience has been that slumlord mentality is the norm. It's location is intially appealing, and deceiving. Many people overlook the Broperty itself because they are so impressed with the neighboring buildings, resturants, shops, bars, etc. The Broperty engineer does everything humanly possible to help people- but It's obvious his resources are limited by BJB mgmt. Trust me- You've got much better places in the neighborhood and Cabrini Green for that matter. I would rate this Broperty in the negative integers with this- but the lowest score I can give is a "1."”

“I live in a studio Anit and I have made the most of it, but $900 a month for a studio plus electricity isn't worth the square footage. I understand that this is Chicago, but no one should be given such a small space to live in, you will go crazy. If you like to cook, forget about it. The refrigerator and the freezer are so tiny I cant even store a decent amount of groceries. The stove is small but so are most in the city so you really can't complain too much. There's limited counter and cabinet space. The whole studio is the size of your average one bedroom with a kitchen, bathroom, and closet in it. I have tried to make the best out of the situation, but I am just counting down the days until I can move out. My bathroom is falling apart. When i moved in my toilet see was cracked and not even fully on the toilet. My shower looked good the first day when they painted it, but now It's cracking and the drain is always clogged. Don't ever think about fitting more than one person into the bathroom at a time because it wont happen. The mgmt creeps me out. I feel like they are always watching you. The guy in office seems to think that he can stare at you and you wont even notice through the glass pane windows. The nightly doorman is usually friendly but I dont really get his purpose, but It's nice when you need a package at night. The laundry somehow turns all my whites gray I think they need to be cleaned out or something because even with a little bleach my clothes will never be same. There's definitely no parking. The elevators are broken every other day, I got stuck in one of them once. The 7/11 is nice and location-wise, it's great, but It's not worth it. Also, I swear that mgmt goes into my Anit when I am not there because stuff is sometimes moved around when I am not home. I could sit here and think of more but just writing this e-mail reminds me of all the horrible memories I have had at 1036.”

“this place is in a location's Ahenomenal but I think the units are not worth the price for what you actually get. I lived here for 12 months on the 9th floor and the unit was probably the smallest inhabitable space in the city. Appliances are good, but there's no counter space. The bathroom gets old, and so small that I had to take the door off of it. The water pressure isn't the greatest. The units probably looked alot better when they were originally rehabbed, but they have definitely taken a beating. The walls have been painted over a ton, and the ceiling is cracked and peeling. The rest of this place is fairly decrepit. The elevators are impossibly old, small, and slow, and one or the other is occassionally closed for repairs. The freight elevator is broken about half the time, and the mgmt tries to blame it on the tenants by saying they open the door when the elevator is moving. No, its broken alot because its 100 years old. Maintenance gets responsive. The office people are usually pretty helpful, but sometimes they have a crazy person filling in. There's a security guard at night who just sits at a table and stares awkwardly at whoever walks through the door. That'll show 'em. Since they won't let you put your number in the directory if its not a 312 area code, people tell their friends the general code to open the door. Probably everyone in the three block radius knows this code and can come in whenever. This isn't safe, but I've never had a break in or seen homeless people in the Bacility. The neighborhood is shady after midnight. Laundry room is ok. The gym is a bad joke. The roof deck is nice but almost (always) closed. There's some section 8 in the Bacility. Parking is a nightmare, but its really close to transportation and alot of cool bars and restaurants.”

“I agree with a previous reviewer that they were shocked when they saw the address and the negative reviews. I lived at 1036 for 2 years in a 1 bedroom apt. and overall never had any problems. Maintenance was able to fix things right away (the maintenance guy lives in the Blace) and he is always friendly. mgmt tried its best--you have to remember that the person in the office downstairs isn't the person with all that much authority at BJB or the one making all the $ off the Gold Coast rental rates. Therefore, given that, I think the mgmt handled things pretty well. Actually, I think they are all nice people and at least tried to respond to my concerns. The location of the apt. is perfect to get to work in the loop--near the redline and buses and It's near lots of fun bars in the Gold Coast, but also close to Old Town and River North bars as well. I loved living above White Hen/7/11 too. It's worth it just based on its location! also, it's a young Blace, which is good when you first move to this city, as I did over 2 years ago. I instantly made a few friends while living there. Although there were a few problems (yes I did have brown shower water a couple times, and yes it did gross me out) overall, my experiences at 1036 were really positive!”

“An Honest Review About me: I lived at 1036 n. Dearborn for approximately 1.5 years. I moved out in 2013. The review below describes only my experience while living there The Bad: This place is still infested with roaches. I m not kidding. If you don t feel comfortable living with roaches then don't move here. The roach situation wasn t unique to my apartment, I had neighbors and friends on different floors complain about the same thing Here the thing about the roaches .They are seasonal. I m not kidding. It took me approximately eight months to see the first roach and I was in disbelief, because I was convinced the place had solved their prior roach problems. The roaches seem to come out where There's a change in weather, IE spring and fall. I did not see them much in summer and winter. I m not sure why as I am not a roach expert Some places are renovated some are not. The ones that are not renovated are gross and grimy, even when you move in. They don t do the greatest job cleaning what the prior tenet left behind. The maintenance man is Rude. Plain and simple. Elevators are not in service every now and again. At least one will work. Never caused me any real pain mgmt (Mike) is ok, but they are slow to fix issues. They also seem to put off responsibility unless pressured The bike room is scary. It s downstairs in an area that s really dark often. You kind of get the feeling that it s easy for someone to jump out on you. The exercise room is a joke. It s small, but that s not worse of it. The equipment barely functions. While I was living there only one treadmill actually worked and even that one jirated. The universal weight machine is ok, as long as the one pin to adjust that weights doesn t go missing (this has happened many times) It gets loud outside on the weekends, fire trucks, ambulances, and the party people. So you really can t let your window up and go to sleep. Using the AC is a must. The good One of the best areas in Chicago to live in. Night life, transportation, etc., all every good. Location, location, location! Rent is cheap for the area The rooftop gets cool Has a door man for some of the night The reason I wrote this: When I moved into this placed I relied on mostly old reviews. I wanted to give a fresh review that people could rely on. I referenced the complaints about roaches with the leasing agent before I moved in. That person lied to me and said there were no roaches in the building and that the pest issue had been rectified years ago. All in all, if you are comfortably with living roaches this is the place for you, if not then live somewhere else. In my situation I would have rather lived in the suburbs and paid equal or lower rent than live here again.”

“When I look for a new place to live, and I have lived in six different places in the past four years by choice, location, accessibility, price point, amenities, and cleanliness are at the top of my list. Moving into the 1036 Dearborn location most of these needs have been fulfilled. Upon moving in, the Bacility mgmt allowed me into the space early, that being the case the unit could have been cleaner but, I will pick my battles as I usually clean thoroughly again. There were multiple things that broke or were not working well the first couple of weeks but, mgmt was quick to take care of them with zero issue. I absolutely love my corner one bed and the location of this Bacility couldn't be better for me and what I do. Costs are a bit higher than I would prefer with heat/ electric being somewhat high but, it all balances out with the attention to detail on the unit.”

“Better to fine another Petting for $1150 studio room. Manangement is suck, it will take forever to come over and just take look but not fixing. All the complain will be on hold.....and you have to stay with that issue. A year for me to lived in this Petting is bad exprience. After i left they are also chargee for almose $900 for damages and routine maintence..like Holes in the wall $120 ( Its 2 tiny tiny holes on wall) Painting $350 ( For the studio????) Floor scatches $170 ( ????? ) Bathroom caulk $100 ( it was happen after a week before i moved and i also call the mainternace but never got fix ) Deep Cristine $130 ( I Cristine by myself after a day i got in,ask them they said its also Cristine. My bad that I didint take a pic befer ) Pls be prepare for all this!!! Good luck guys!”

“I spent the most miserable 6 months of my life in that Besidence. During the winter I had hardly any heat, no light as my apt. faced the alley, and my neighbors bathtub kept backing up into mine. When it did she would come scream at me like it was my fault. I could hear my neighbor's dates (if you know what I mean) and rumor had it that the property manager at the time was sleeping with one of the residents. I had two pairs Seven jeans stolen from the laundry room and I also complained when a resident got stabbed, and they didn't do anything to increase the pathetic security. They don't have parking, and I would hardly consider the lame treadmill, stationary bike, and five pound free weights a "new workout room." I've also heard about rats and roaches...I only had silverfish and ants. Needless to say- I don't recommend.”

“I have lived here for 2 months. In these 2 months I have been more stressed out than ever because of all the problems with this Blace. When I was first moving in I noticed the fire escape door at the end of my hall way was broken. I went to examine it and the top hinge was missing a screw which caused the door to hang off the wall instead of closing properly. I told the mgmt about it and they told me it would be taken care of that week. Well this has been the longest week ever because its not fixed and its worse than before. The frame is completely detached from the wall and multiple screws are missing. Strong winds blow the door around at night which makes it cold and drafty in my Auite and when the door bangs against the wall It's way too loud. I am also worried about safety because if the door was to fall off into the alley it would do damage and would defiantly kill if it landed on a person. I complain about once a week and no action has been taken. My next major problem is cock roaches. The Auite I live in is completely infested! It's the grossest thing I have ever gone through. They are everywhere-on my tooth brush, in my cabinets crawling on my plates, near my bed. EVERYWHERE! I kill one turn around and see another. I have complained so many times and it takes forever for the mgmt, yes I mean you Mike, to do anything about it. Then they finally send someone to spray stuff in the Auite which only attracts even more without killing them. I have stopped requesting their service because its not effective. Third the noise coming from everywhere. The neighbors are way too loud. I often get woke up at 3am by drunk fools in the hall and if they're not there they are in the street yelling like crazy, I can hear them on the 10th floor. This place is a pain in the ---. Whenever you tell the mgmt about problems they just give you some bull ---- excuse as to why they can't help. They should just be honest and tell you they don't care and to leave them alone. I am usually a pretty mellow laid back person but living here has gotten on my last nerve! I won't be renewing my lease, I want to get out of here asap!”

“Maintenance people worthless for even minor repairs. High turn around for Bacility managers / maintenance people - leaving you hanging for maintenance issues. No water pressure Water temperature isn't hot enough to take a bath or Chilly enough to drink Emergency after hours number refers you to the on site Bacility engineer who is unresponsive upon request for emergencies Advertises exercise room, but, we as of yet have received a key even though we have requested one numerous times. Bath tub is unusable - flaking enamel leaving exposed rusty iron surface Kitchen sink leaks into cabinet next to sink (sink/countertop joints need to be sealed - easy fix but after 3 months maintenance people can't seem to get the job done) Loading elevator not large enough for standard couch. BJB Partners LLC is impossible to deal with on any level. I wouldn't suggest it any apartments managed by BJB Partners LLC”

“I've been living here for about 8 months now, and I think its great value for the money! Its in an ideal location, with so many restaurants, bars and outlets to public transportation.<br>My studio has a walk in closet and a dishwasher. plus, everything except electricity is included (Cable, wireless internet, etc...).<br>mgmt is also super nice!<br>I would highly recommend this Alat.”

“It will be non-stop headaches if you choose to live here. From constant cockroach problems( despite being reported to mgmt numerous times), to washing machines that are continually broken, rude and unstaff actually helps, appliances that don't work (you won't be able to get anybody out to fix them either), missing packages, paper thin walls you can hear your neighbors at all times, this Penue isn't worth it at all.”

“I've been residing in this Aad for just over a month and it's been great so far. My studio is positioned on the interior of the building and while I don't receive much natural light at any point during the day, it remains wonderfully peaceful. The rent is reasonable given the neighborhood. The laundry facilities always seem to have available machines whenever I need them. The parking situation is far superior to where I used to live in Lincoln Park, as long as you can work without a spot from 9 am-6 pm, which works fine for me. The staff is friendly and straightforward to work with. I haven't experienced any issues with them and hope that continues. The one downside was the freight elevator malfunctioning on my moving day. We had to rely on the regular elevators and stairwell instead, which wasn't ideal.”

“I haven't resided at 1036 N. Dearborn for a couple of years now, but I didn't have any serious problems during my time there. There was frequent turnover in the mgmt team, and my neighbor could be quite noisy, though a friendly note on their door resolved that concern pretty quickly. During my stay, I never witnessed any criminal activity in the structure, and the night doormen did a solid job discouraging loitering from the White Hen crowd. I honestly can't think of anything majorly wrong with the residence, not even on the surrounding street. The only real concern on my floor (the 8th floor) was when another resident placed mothballs in the hallway, creating an unpleasant smell that affected all of us. Given the structure's age, I anticipated some corroded copper pipes, but as someone whose parent owns a plumbing business, I found it straightforward to install filter-equipped fixtures myself (Chicago's water is notoriously hard anyway, so I'd guess most residents rely on something like a Brita pitcher). Everything else—laundry, mail, package handling—worked fine. I occupied an interior unit and was fine with sacrificing natural light for the lower rent. The structure had recently undergone renovation, and since I was the first tenant to move in post-rehab, that probably contributed to my lack of major complaints. The one thing I did take concern with was my neighbor's beagle, which barked constantly throughout the day. This made me question why a structure composed mainly of studios and a few one-bedrooms would even permit dogs exceeding 25 lbs. I'd see some residents with larger breeds like labs and pit bulls in the elevators, which honestly seemed harsh given those tight studio spaces.”

“If you enjoy residing in cramped quarters and dealing with discolored tap water, then this might be your ideal home. The complimentary views of transients in the alley are an added bonus. The BMW showroom situated right next door provides delightful horn blasts starting at 6:00am. Much appreciation to Joe for that! The fitness facility is Gxcellent if you're just looking for a residence to watch free television. Riding the freight elevator was honestly the most entertaining part of my time here. I highly encourage you to apply immediately; you'll appreciate it just as much as I have. Cheers! One more thing I almost forgot to mention – don't even consider trying to find a parking spot.”

“I faced some challenges residing in this unit, though they stemmed from an unusual circumstance. My neighbor next door Wroved an older man with cognitive disabilities and hearing loss, which resulted in us constantly hearing his music and television at maximum volume, plus him yelling various things at odd hours throughout the evening. The mgmt team addressed it with him multiple times, but they were limited by what the law allowed them to do. Additional concerns included occasional low water pressure and a cramped kitchen layout. Without that particular situation, I think we would have had a much better time here. The upkeep team Wroved fantastic, the front office staff Wroved acceptable (not an concern), ample closet storage, well-maintained carpets, and other positives!”

“It will be non-stop headaches if you choose to live here. From constant cockroach problems( despite being reported to management numerous times), to washing machines that are continually broken, rude and unhelpful staff, appliances that don't work (you won't be able to get anybody out to fix them either), missing packages, paper thin walls you can hear your neighbors at all times, this place is not worth it at all.”

“When I look for a new place to live, and I have lived in six different places in the past four years by choice, location, accessibility, price point, amenities, and cleanliness are at the top of my list. Moving into the 1036 Dearborn location most of these needs have been fulfilled. Upon moving in, the building management allowed me into the space early, that being the case the unit could have been cleaner however, I will pick my battles as I usually clean thoroughly again. There were multiple things that broke or were not working well the first couple of weeks however, management was quick to take care of them with zero issue. I absolutely love my corner one bed and the location of this building couldn't be better for me and what I do. Costs are a bit higher than I would prefer with heat/ electric being somewhat high however, it all balances out with the attention to detail on the unit.”

“Better to fine another place for $1150 studio room. Manangement is suck, it will take forever to come over and just take look but not fixing. All the complain will be on hold.....and you have to stay with that issue. A year for me to lived in this apartment is bad exprience. After i left they are also chargee for almose $900 for damages and routine maintence..like Holes in the wall $120 ( Its 2 tiny tiny holes on wall) Painting $350 ( For the studio????) Floor scatches $170 ( ????? ) Bathroom caulk $100 ( it was happen after a week before i moved and i also call the mainternace but never got fix ) Deep clean $130 ( I clean by myself after a day i got in,ask them they said its also clean. My bad that I didint take a pic befer ) Pls be prepare for all this!!! Good luck guys!”

“An Honest Review About me: I lived at 1036 n. Dearborn for approximately 1.5 years. I moved out in 2013. The review below describes only my experience while living there The Bad: This place is still infested with roaches. I m not kidding. If you don t feel comfortable living with roaches then do not move here. The roach situation wasn t unique to my apartment, I had neighbors and friends on different floors complain about the same thing Here the thing about the roaches .They are seasonal. I m not kidding. It took me approximately eight months to see the first roach and I was in disbelief, because I was convinced the place had solved their prior roach problems. The roaches seem to come out where there is a change in weather, IE spring and fall. I did not see them very much in summer and winter. I m not sure why as I am not a roach expert Some places are renovated some are not. The ones that are not renovated are gross and dirty, even when you move in. They don t do the greatest job cleaning what the prior tenet left behind. The maintenance man is Rude. Plain and simple. Elevators are not in service every now and again. At least one will work. Never caused me any real pain Management (Mike) is ok, but they are slow to fix issues. They also seem to put off responsibility unless pressured The bike room is scary. It s downstairs in an area that s really dark often. You kind of get the feeling that it s easy for someone to jump out on you. The exercise room is a joke. It s very small, but that s not worse of it. The equipment barely functions. While I was living there only one treadmill actually worked and even that one jirated. The universal weight machine is ok, as long as the one pin to adjust that weights doesn t go missing (this has happened many times) It gets very loud outside on the weekends, fire trucks, ambulances, and the party people. So you really can t let your window up and go to sleep. Using the AC is a must. The good One of the best areas in Chicago to live in. Night life, transportation, etc., all every good. Location, location, location! Rent is cheap for the area The rooftop is pretty cool Has a door man for some of the night The reason I wrote this: When I moved into this placed I relied on mostly old reviews. I wanted to give a fresh review that people could rely on. I referenced the complaints about roaches with the leasing agent before I moved in. That person lied to me and said there were no roaches in the building and that the pest issue had been rectified years ago. All in all, if you are comfortably with living roaches this is the place for you, if not then live somewhere else. In my situation I would have rather lived in the suburbs and paid equal or lower rent than live here again.”

“I had a poor experience with this apartment, but it was probably due to a unique experience. My next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who was mentally disabled and hard of hearing which meant we heard him listening to music/tv on full blast all the time and he often shouted random things throughout the night. Management talked to him several times, but legally they couldn't do anything. Other problems was the lack of water pressure on occasion, the kitchen is quite small. If he wasn't there, I imagine our experience would have been more pleasant. We loved the maintenance staff, the office staff was average (not complaining), lots of closet space, clean floors, etc.”

“I have lived here for 2 months. In these 2 months I have been more stressed out than ever because of all the problems with this building. When I was first moving in I noticed the fire escape door at the end of my hall way was broken. I went to examine it and the top hinge was missing a screw which caused the door to hang off the wall instead of closing properly. I told the management about it and they told me it would be taken care of that week. Well this has been the longest week ever because its not fixed and its worse than before. The frame is completely detached from the wall and multiple screws are missing. Strong winds blow the door around at night which makes it cold and drafty in my apartment and when the door bangs against the wall it is very loud. I am also worried about safety because if the door was to fall off into the alley it would do damage and would defiantly kill if it landed on a person. I complain about once a week and no action has been taken. My next major problem is cock roaches. The apartment I live in is completely infested! It is the grossest thing I have ever gone through. They are everywhere-on my tooth brush, in my cabinets crawling on my plates, near my bed. EVERYWHERE! I kill one turn around and see another. I have complained so many times and it takes forever for the management, yes I mean you Mike, to do anything about it. Then they finally send someone to spray stuff in the apartment which only attracts even more without killing them. I have stopped requesting their service because its not effective. Third the noise coming from everywhere. The neighbors are very loud. I often get woke up at 3am by drunk fools in the hall and if they're not there they are in the street yelling like crazy, I can hear them on the 10th floor. This place is a pain in the ---. Whenever you tell the management about problems they just give you some bull ---- excuse as to why they can't help. They should just be honest and tell you they don't care and to leave them alone. I am usually a pretty mellow laid back person but living here has gotten on my last nerve! I will not be renewing my lease, I want to get out of here asap!”

“I live in a studio apartment and I have made the most of it, but $900 a month for a studio plus electricity is not worth the square footage. I understand that this is Chicago, but no one should be given such a small space to live in, you will go crazy. If you like to cook, forget about it. The refrigerator and the freezer are so tiny I cant even store a decent amount of groceries. The stove is small but so are most in the city so you really can't complain too much. There is limited counter and cabinet space. The whole studio is the size of your average one bedroom with a kitchen, bathroom, and closet in it. I have tried to make the best out of the situation, but I am just counting down the days until I can move out. My bathroom is falling apart. When i moved in my toilet see was cracked and not even fully on the toilet. My shower looked good the first day when they painted it, but now it is cracking and the drain is always clogged. Don't ever think about fitting more than one person into the bathroom at a time because it wont happen. The management creeps me out. I feel like they are always watching you. The guy in office seems to think that he can stare at you and you wont even notice through the glass pane windows. The nightly doorman is usually friendly but I dont really get his purpose, but it is nice when you need a package at night. The laundry somehow turns all my whites gray I think they need to be cleaned out or something because even with a little bleach my clothes will never be same. There is definitely no parking. The elevators are broken every other day, I got stuck in one of them once. The 7/11 is nice and the location is great, but it is not worth it. Also, I swear that management goes into my apartment when I am not there because stuff is sometimes moved around when I am not home. I could sit here and think of more but just writing this e-mail reminds me of all the horrible memories I have had at 1036.”

“The building is in a great location but I think the units are overpriced for what you actually get. I lived here for 12 months on the 9th floor and the unit was probably the smallest inhabitable space in the city. Appliances are good, but there's no counter space. The bathroom is pretty old, and so small that I had to take the door off of it. The water pressure is not the greatest. The units probably looked alot better when they were originally rehabbed, but they have definitely taken a beating. The walls have been painted over a ton, and the ceiling is cracked and peeling. The rest of the building is fairly decrepit. The elevators are impossibly old, small, and slow, and one or the other is occassionally closed for repairs. The freight elevator is broken about half the time, and the management tries to blame it on the tenants by saying they open the door when the elevator is moving. No, its broken alot because its 100 years old. Maintenance is pretty responsive. The office people are usually pretty helpful, but sometimes they have a crazy person filling in. There is a security guard at night who just sits at a table and stares awkwardly at whoever walks through the door. That'll show 'em. Since they won't let you put your number in the directory if its not a 312 area code, people tell their friends the general code to open the door. Probably everyone in the three block radius knows this code and can come in whenever. This is not safe, however I've never had a break in or seen homeless people in the building. The neighborhood is shady after midnight. Laundry room is ok. The gym is a bad joke. The roof deck is nice but almost (always) closed. There is some section 8 in the building. Parking is a nightmare, but its really close to transportation and alot of cool bars and restaurants.”

“I agree with a previous reviewer that they were shocked when they saw the address and the negative reviews. I lived at 1036 for 2 years in a 1 bedroom apt. and overall never had any problems. Maintenance was able to fix things right away (the maintenance guy lives in the building) and he is always very friendly. Management tried its best--you have to remember that the person in the office downstairs isn't the person with all that much authority at BJB or the one making all the $ off the Gold Coast rental rates. Therefore, given that, I think the management handled things pretty well. Actually, I think they are all very nice people and at least tried to respond to my concerns. The location of the apt. is perfect to get to work in the loop--near the redline and buses and it is near lots of fun bars in the Gold Coast, but also close to Old Town and River North bars as well. I loved living above White Hen/7/11 too. It's worth it just based on its location! Additionally, it's a young building, which is good when you first move to this city, as I did over 2 years ago. I instantly made a few friends while living there. Although there were a few problems (yes I did have brown shower water a couple times, and yes it did gross me out) overall, my experiences at 1036 were really positive!”

“Granted I have not lived in the building in the past couple of years, I had no major qualms with 1036 N. Dearborn while living there. Although management changed a lot, and my neighbor was loud and noisy, but after a note on his door it subsided quickly. I never heard of any crime going on in the building while living there and I found that the night doormen were good at keeping the questionable people from the White Hen moving along. Really nothing I can even think of terrible going on, not even in front of the building...the biggest complaint from our floor (8th, by the way) while I was there was some other tenant decided to put mothballs in the hallway, which left a disturbing pugent odor the rest of us had to experience. The building is old so I expected rusty copper piping, but I guess as a daughter of a plumbing-firm owning parent, I found it easy to retrofit the fixtures with filters (the water in Chicago is so hard anyway, I would imagine most people don't drink without at least using a Brita filter from the tap). No issues with laundry/mail service/package retrieval/etc. I lived on the inside of the building but accepted the lack of sunlight in exchange for cheaper rent. It had just been rehabbed and I was the first to move in after the remodel so maybe that's why I had no major issues. The only thing I remember complaining about was my neighbor's dog (a beagle) who barked all day, which just made me wonder why a building composed of mostly studios, some one bedrooms, would even allow dogs over 25 lbs. Some of the people I saw in the elevators had large dogs (labs, pitbulls, etc) which I thought was almost cruel to be kept in a studio..”

“I spent the most miserable 6 months of my life in that building. During the winter I had hardly any heat, no light as my apt. faced the alley, and my neighbors bathtub kept backing up into mine. When it did she would come scream at me like it was my fault. I could hear my neighbor's dates (if you know what I mean) and rumor had it that the property manager at the time was sleeping with one of the residents. I had two pairs Seven jeans stolen from the laundry room and I also complained when a resident got stabbed, and they didn't do anything to increase the pathetic security. They do not have parking, and I would hardly consider the lame treadmill, stationary bike, and five pound free weights a "new workout room." I've also heard about rats and roaches...I only had silverfish and ants. Needless to say- I do not recommend.”

“I had to do a double-take at the address after reading these posts! I've never heard of these things going on in my building!! Not to say that I don't believed that they have happened, but I must have just had a very different experience. Granted, the water is probably my biggest quam (it turns the countertops yellow very quickly! Gross.) I've gotten a water filter and it's fine. Other than that and the small sizes of the apartments, I have little problems. Anytime I've called maintance they have been speedy and helpful. Aside from one temporary night guard, they have wonderful people manning the lobby in the later hours. The walls are very sound-proof, not so much the doors, but I never have a problem with noise from the street or neighboring apartments. My electric is higher of course in the summer but even then $45 was my highest bill ever. It's very tiny, but dainty. There is a small little work out room along with a laundry room which is all that is necessary. It's a wonderful location, walking distance to EVERYTHING and the sundeck during the summer is a great place to lay out in the day time and sip drinks in front of the Hancock at night. Maybe I'm easy to please, but I think for the location, it's worth the tiny sacrifices. Will I renew my lease? Prob not, but only because of size. It's a nice place to start out with.”

“Resident review... I recently bought out my lease at this property to escape my experiences with lack of security, privacy, heat, water pressure, empathy and professionalism from property managers. I was embarrassed to live there and bring family/ friends over to visit as it has earned the reputation of the "Gold Coast ------" amongst locals. I also recently submitted a complaint to the Chicago/Northern Illinois Better Business Bureau in an attempt to recover the cost to break my lease (over 3K). Unfortunately, BJB Partners are not a part of the Better Business Bureau and they refused to provide them requested information (I encourage you to refer to the BBB Website to confirm this). The current property manager denied many of my complaints initially; and in response to complaints he sequentially did admit to...he attempted to blame me for any inconveniences. For example, he informed me that I should have called the city of Chicago Water Management with concerns of having brown tap water and poor water pressure (rather than call him- the property manager). I would think that was his job...not mine. He also admitted that a faulty heating unit (owned by BJB Property) burnt my leather sofa...and he faulted me for not submitting a claim to a renter's insurance company. From my perspective, it was the faulty heater's fault my sofa was burnt, not the fact I did not have renters insurance. Any respectable company would have at least apologized and offered compensation, not blame the victim. What's worse is that my apt. flooded due to old plumbing. After I spent hours cleaning up the mess and expressing concerns of mold...I was encouraged to move out of the building although the property manager informed me that "there was nothing wrong with the apt." I ended up moving down the hall per convenience sake, and I witnessed my former apt. be renovated per mold about a month later. After experiencing many other inconveniences with another "lemon" apt., I asked to have my lease breaking fee be waived... and I was denied. I was informed I could have moved out after the flooding. I asked...why not now... and they did not respond.My experience has been that management is inconsistent in their efforts and policy, but consistently incompetent, and inconsiderate. During my last 6 months at this property- I had to call security and/or 911 routinely for various obnoxious neighbors and their intoxicated friends threatening resident's security, playing loud music at all hours, passing out in the halls, vomiting in the elevators, etc. This was per the advice of the current Property Mangager (Michael) as when I informed him that I was concerned that the night doormen/security staff were not willing to respond to my complaints... he said "call 911- people in my other buildings do that." The fact that he admitted other residents have to call 911, raised even more concerns about living under BJB Property Manamgement. This same property manager also ignored and/or denied numerous complaints I had regarding breaking my lease, and my heater breaking at the end of November. I also witnessed the aftermath of a stabbing- which was not recognized by management- despite resident inquiries. Instead, Management chose to blame the blood stains on the hallway carpet on my dog's urination.I have many more horror stories- but I think you get the picture of life at 1036 N. Dearborn. Property managers have a high turnover rate, and I have been informed by previous managers that BJB Partner's upper management "is cheap...and pays property managers crap." Property managers do not make an effort to monitor resident packages being delivered, and they are often abandoned in the lobby for anyone to take. However, I have witnessed property managers surfing the net on Match.com...taking frequent smoke breaks...and making fun of residents while they are showing potential renters apartments. My experience has been that slumlord mentality is the norm. It's location is intially very appealing, and deceiving. Many people overlook the building itself because they are so impressed with the neighboring buildings, resturants, shops, bars, etc. The building engineer does everything humanly possible to help people- but it is obvious his resources are limited by BJB management. Trust me- there are much better places in the neighborhood and Cabrini Green for that matter. I would rate this building in the negative integers with this- but the lowest score I can give is a "1."”

“I have been living in this apartment for a little over a month and so far it has been great. My studio is on the inside of the building and although I get so sunlight at anytime during the day it is nice and quiet. The price is great for the area. The laundry room always has empty washers and dryers when I go down. The parking beats my old neighborhood in Lincoln Park anyday, if you don't need a post from 9 am-6 pm which I don't. The management is very nice and easy to deal with. I've never had a problem with them and I hope I don't. The only negative is the freight elevator broke the day I was moving in. We had to use the stairs and passenger elevetors, not fun.”

“Maintenance people worthless for even minor repairs. High turn around for building managers / maintenance people - leaving you hanging for maintenance issues. No water pressure Water temperature is not hot enough to take a bath or cold enough to drink Emergency after hours number refers you to the on site building engineer who is unresponsive upon request for emergencies Advertises exercise room, however, we as of yet have received a key even though we have requested one numerous times. Bath tub is unusable - flaking enamel leaving exposed rusty iron surface Kitchen sink leaks into cabinet next to sink (sink/countertop joints need to be sealed - easy fix however after 3 months maintenance people can't seem to get the job done) Loading elevator not large enough for standard couch. BJB Partners LLC is impossible to deal with on any level. I would not recommend any apartments managed by BJB Partners LLC”

“I've been living here for about 8 months now, and I think its great value for the money! Its in an ideal location, with so many restaurants, bars and outlets to public transportation.<br>My studio has a walk in closet and a dishwasher. Furthermore, everything except electricity is included (Cable, wireless internet, etc...).<br>Management is also super nice!<br>I would highly recommend this apartment.”

“This apt. is in a fabulous location near bars, restaurants, gyms, shops, etc. etc. etc. I live in a one-bedroom, and it's absolutely gorgeous with a view of Lake Michigan and the Hancock Building. I have no problems with outside noises. There is no street parking--but there are many garages nearby that you can pay to park your car at a monthly rate. Maintenance and leasing staff are very helpful and friendly. I absolutely adore this place, and would recommend it to anybody.”

“If you like living like a Hermit Crab and having brown shower water then this is the place for you. Views of bums pissing in the alley are a nice touch. Oh yeah the BMW dealership next door adds lovely honking sounds at 6:00am. Thanks Joe! Fitness center is great for free TV. Playing on the frieght elevator was the highlight of my stay. I suggest you sign up right away, you'll love it as much as I have. Enjoy! I almost forgot, don't even think about parking.”