2828 N. Pine Grove

Most of the reviews here are so old. Here's what you need to know. I recently renewed my lease here. The location is fantastic. Quick access to CTA bus and train with 76, 151, 77 within a 5 minute walk of the apartment. Plenty of good food around too. Building is nothing special, but there is a package room and I have never had a problem with the laundry room. They respond quickly to work calls and have fixed any problems I have had in unit promptly. However, you need to know the crowd that lives in this building. It is mostly college students and if you are a light sleeper who sometimes cannot handle college kids being college kids (loud noises, smell of weed) this is not the place for you. I have not had many problems with noise other than Halloween and New Years, but I am a heavy sleeper so it did not bother me. Some of the reviews say stuff about cockroaches which if you are living in Chicago and you are staying at a place that is not a luxury apartment you are either going to have centipedes, cockroaches, or rats. Pick your poison. I have seen one cockroach the entire time I've lived here. They have a pest guy come in to spray for them. Overall BJB is a tolerable management company that minds their business. No one bothers me and I am allowed to do pretty much whatever I want. Rent is a STEAL for this location. Especially with all utilities included except for electric. If you can deal with the young people that live here and do not mind the occasional pest it is a pretty okay place to live.

I was very interested in renting this property. I called numerous times over the period of a month and left 3 voicemails and no one ever called me back. The last time I called, I mentioned to the front desk that no one had called me back but it didn't make a difference. If their lack of attention translates to current residents, I would never want to live here anyways.

The building itself is a 1920s/1930s renovated hotel, and comes with a small gym and laundry facilities on site. The rent is very low for the area, and transportation down to the loop is easy (you can take the 134 / 143, or the brown line). However, the building does harbor a very young crowd (a combination of college students / recent graduates) so it can get noisy at times. Also, the trash room (located off the lobby on the first floor) overflows almost every Sunday (which can be gross for the faint of heart). Overall, though, the apartments are fine, the staff have been very nice, and if you are okay with living with the <=25 it is a good building to consider.