The management team has gotten a lot better since they hired a janitor for M/WED/FRI... and they've slowed down on the Airbnb rentals and subleasing process... not so many transit ppl living in the building read more

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I lived here in 2013. Day to day living was good enough. My biggest gripe was they made you either repaint yourself or forfeit whatever portion of the deposit it took to repaint. The management office was up north (I forget where) which made it inconvenient to do things like sign the lease. Now they are owned by a new company that already seems disengaged despite this being a recent change. I recently accidentally shipped a package to the building and I called management to arrange a pickup. The man on the phone said he couldn't buzz me in because the owner is still setting that up or something. He said MAYBE someone could get it then bring it to their Lincoln park office (again, inconvenient). He also claimed that he could tell a maintenance worker but again no guarantee. Then he said I should just go to the building in go in behind some that's coming out. I expressed that I was uncomfortable doing that bc I didn't want to spook the residents. I asked for the building managers email. Emailed and got no response. So I went to the building, walked in behind someone coming out. A maintenance worker happened to come by and reluctantly let me into the second locked entrance. My order came in three separate packages. One was ripped open and stolen. The worker took down my info and said they'd have someone check the cameras. I sent another email explaining what had happened and asked if they could just please respond so I know someone is aware of the issue. No response. So if you decide to live here beware they are encouraging random ppl to go into the building to access packages w/o granting entry on their part. read more

I live here now. there are constant public health and safety issues here. dogs frequently urinate and defecate in common areas including elevators and right outside the apartment. it's not cleaned for days if ever. I've had several things stolen out of the mailroom. I've been threatened in the hallway. the cops are always in and out of this building. the front door is broken often and is propped open creating a huge security risk. I've personally felt this is not a safe or healthy place to live and can not recommend this to anyone especially family with children or pets read more

SAVE YOURSELF! DO NOT LIVE HERE! My boyfriend and I have lived in a 1 bd since July 2018 and are literally counting. down. the. days. until we can move out. Our unit itself is very nice, with the exposed brick and loft style. No issues with our neighbors (aside from heavy weed smell) thankfully. Close to Mariano's and 62 and 29 bus line is right out front. The pros just about end there. I have lost track of the number of packages I have had stolen from this building. Management doesn't give a shit. I've lived here 7 months and have probably had at least 10 packages stolen. Luckily I've purchased from retailers who are willing to help their customers in situations like this, but that is not the point! The "cameras" in the mail room are bullshit, and the thiefs obviously know and take advantage of that. The building recently got an Amazon Hub, which doesn't make a difference because none of my packages are put in there despite signing up the moment it became available. I work from home so don't have an office to send my packages to. Just in the past week I've had 3 packages stolen. I wish I was kidding. Parking. The parking in this building is a joke! We've had multiple people park in our spot because management had it down as available. They do not keep track of who parks where and therefore assign taken spots to new tenants, which creates a mess. I hate this place and cannot wait to leave. read more

DO NOT lease an apartment with Carriage House Lofts. TL;DR - Mail Theft is rampant. Management company has added an addendum to lease agreements stating they are not liable for package theft. - Smoking is prohibited, but building often smells like weed. The smell WILL enter your unit. - The elevator is constantly broken. - The garage door breaks regularly. Hope you don't have to get in or out. - Access to the building through the main door is often unsecure as the latching mechanism breaks regularly. - The exposed brick is cracking. Hope you enjoy brick dust, cleaning chunks of brick, an increased draft, and CENTIPEDES! - Everything is low quality. Units and common areas have been "renovated" but with very low cost materials and poor craftsmanship. - Maintenance WILL enter you unit without your consent. - Terrible communication -- you will not be able to get in touch with maintenance or the management company. Hope your issue is not important. - Lots of turnover with the management company. I'm always directed to a new employee as the person I was previously in contact with no longer works for the company. - There are many vacancies and new renter promotions for a reason! In-depth review: Coming Soon read more

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As a neighbor . . I have seen numerous negative comments on the Carriage House Lofts on South Loop social media pages. You can also do a google search for a CBS news article on people moving out because of violence/safety concerns (A bullet was fired into their unit from the unit below theirs). These tenants cannot be evicted because of the pandemic, and the leasing company is not providing a doorman or 24/7 security to protect the other tenants. There have been parties there during Shelter in Place and I have seen the police trying to break them up late at night . . don't take the risk. There are plenty of other places to rent from in the South Loop. read more

The floor plans are great--super spacious and lots of square footage. Also, the maintenance man was amazing. However, everything else about this place is awful. In late 2019, when I first moved in, there was a utility package. It included water, trash, etc. Near the end of my stay in 2020, the price of the package stayed the same, but we were required to pay additional money for trash, recycling and some other bills that were originally included in the utility package. I had to file NUMEROUS noice complaints due to parties lasting until 3am. The music was so loud that I could hear every single word of the songs that were played. Management couldn't do anything about it because it was from an Airbnb property--a steady, reliable income. And they were unwilling to evict the Airbnb owner. I tried to break my lease due to the never ending parties next door and they would not allow me to do so. They told me I would have to pay 2 months rent + additional fees that exceeded $3k. Safety is not a priority here. When I lived there a gun went off in the apartment building and almost struck someone's kid. The gun went off at one of many parties at Carriage House Lofts during the early months of the pandemic. The front door was constantly unlocked. The machine used to unlock the front door was always broken. The list goes on. Also, my mail packages were stolen numerous times. When I asked to see camera footage after they failed to do anything about it, they stated I would have to file a police report and go through CPD. I wouldn't recommended living here. The pros absolutely do not outweigh the cons. read more

Under new management and you haven't visited this amazing building you're really missing out. Nothing quite like this place! The apartments are spacious, have in-unit laundry, and the prices are amazing! I've had the pleasure of working with their property manager Racheal Haywood at two other properties so I know all of my clients are in good hands at this great place! I've put seven clients in this building since! read more

Upon moving in things were fine. I honestly should have known ducks were not in a row with the staff after the parking experience I had. Over a 4 day period of chasing one person to get a parking addendum. It was literally a living hell, and keep in mind I had to pay hourly for parking on the streets until literally having to fetch the person. There was no sense of urgency or empathy for me over paying on street parking and having to chase an individual down. To follow up with that I was told I was going to receive $350 bill credit for the administration fee in between month 3 or 4. Guess what month 4, and drum roll nothing.... Highly displeased with the outcome, surprised though not even close. Explains why that referral offer is in the elevator. Desperation calls here! read more

CONS: - Management rents out units that have no leasers to random people via airbnb like site. So you have random non-residents in the building all the time with no recourse if they bother you since they can just leave. This is really problematic when the mail room and garage are all accessible to these randos since they are not secured in any way. So if you value your mail or your car this place sucks. Management didn't tell residents this was happening and didn't seem to care and they just want to make money at the expense of residents. Makes you wonder why they have so many vacancies they need to be doing this kinda short term rentals that most buildings prohibit. - The noise is bad. I could hear my neighbors clearly just playing music or raising their voices. The train is loud and the red line runs late. Besides the CTA there is another train line that carries cargo and runs 1am-morning. - Gym and "community room" are depressing with no windows and the community room smells weird cause there was a leak for a few weeks in there. - Mail is a mess. I literally found a opened box in the elevator with the stuff still in it, I guess it wasn't worth enough to steal. The room has no security and is visible from the street. This is also in combination with possible the worse USPS service in the city on S State and 21st. They are literally the devil in postman uniforms. I've lived in the area serviced by them before and you're packages will never arrive, be delivered to the wrong building, and they'll give you attitude like it's your fault. PROS: - The apartment itself is note bad, generally in good condition and the exposed brick wall + high ceilings are nice. - Maintenance man for the building is nice and prompt - Heated garage is great in the winter read more

Nearing the end of my stay here, but in general really enjoyed it. Here are some pros and cons... Pros: -In the past year or so Jen has taken over tenant relations... Guys, she is nicer to me than any Landlord has ever been. My family included. The people before her were awful, but she is THE BEST! -I made a career switch and lost salary in the process. In the past half year I've had issues making rent on time, at times. They are FABULOUS to me in this regard. -Maintenance fixes things immediately. Report toilet issues once, they'll come by and fix it. Report it twice, there's a new toilet when you get home from work. -They've been revamping the common areas. Super nice! -The building is super gorgeous. -My view is amazing! Cons: -There are some douchebag rich kid neighbors. None on our floor... And they evict them, when they go too far. We've had a few raging parties that the police have had to breAk up. -The douchebags smoke all sorts of shit, and it smells like weed and ciggies and alcohol... Mind you, they have no concept of other people. There are less and less of these people as time goes by. -This is a loud building... Like, LOUD! And there's nothing that the Landlord can do. So just be forewarned. I'm so sad to leave, but I just can't afford to live here being a social worker. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it! read more

As mentioned in the previous posts, the space and design of this building are great. The hallways themselves are only kind of nice (so don't get alarmed if you visit), but the units themselves are clean and have good appliances. I think the negative reviews based on the whole DirecTV issue is a little exaggerated. A lot of apartment buildings operate this way, where they require you to use one service provider. That, by the way, is the reason that the rent can be so cheap. Also, I use DirecTV HD, Netflix, Hulu, PSN, torrents - all of it, and it works okay to me. I've been here for 2 years and would stay even longer. And as far as the negative reviews about Tiffany, its easy to bypass her and talk to Dave, who is very nice. read more

DO NOT RENT HERE! Please do yourself a favor and read these reviews, especially within the past 2 years when Laramar took over. Type "carriage house lofts CBS Chicago" into your browser's search bar and see for yourself exactly why all of these negative reviews are warranted. Even outside of the news coverage, I've talked to multiple residents who have even worse stories to tell. It's apparent this management company doesn't care for its residents or this beautiful building. Despite myself not being a current or former resident, I was a recent potential leasee and I'm so thankful all these other negative reviews saved me from entering a legally binding contract with this company. Despite the numerous negative reviews, I also had quite an interesting experience with the leasing agent who showed me the property. During the tour, she was great. Immediately after the tour, the agent was quick to follow-up and everything seemed great until I did my research. After reading all the negative reviews, watching the news segments, and reaching out to current residents, I swiftly reached out to the leasing agent to see if she could speak on behalf of the management company to what has been done/is being done to rectify these seemingly on-going issues. The agent quickly responded and mentioned that she would be happy to outline what the company has done to rectify the issues but unfortunately it stopped there. This agent NEVER followed up (it's now been a week) and never responded with the information she seemed so eager to share. When I took to the survey sent to my email after the tour to express my personal experience, someone from the company reached out to me basically accusing me that I was the one who didn't follow-up with the leasing agent. After taking in all the information from the internet and not getting a response from the leasing agent, I couldn't warrant reaching back out to this agent for more information yet again. This precise situation was enough to show me that the company and its leasing agents don't care for its residents at this property and solidified my answer - a big fat NO for me! Additionally, when I recently toured this building, the building now has a "doorman" who instead of wearing a suit wears a security uniform. Yes, you read that correctly, a SECURITY UNIFORM. That should have been the first clue regarding what goes on at this property. I pray for all current residents who want out of their current lease, future residents who don't do their research before moving in, and that this management company is able to make the necessary changes to save this property. read more

Now that I have moved out and spent a year there, I can tell you more of the downsides. They are amazing apartments but with some problems. -There was an ant problem just in my room at the end of summer -When the maintenance came to fix some of the brick issues in my bedroom, it was pouring outside and they left the windows wide open, getting my desk, laptop and speakers soaking wet and sitting in a pool of water all day until I got home from work. That really pissed me off. I guess you get what you pay for. It was an amazing apartment with amazing views, but the repair people and maintenance suck. read more

UNSAFE , filthy building and Management does not care about the safety of it's tenants. Front door to street does not lock , lobby has been vandalized . When I first viewed the apartment there was a security man and I they haven't seen once since November when I moved in. There are no safety precautions when pulling into parking garage and have vagrants and VERY suspicious men trying doors to cars and have approached tenants when seen. The door to garage door breaks frequently and recently had to find somewhere to sleep other than my apartment Then when notified, they say they are sorry for the inconvenience ! Also, don't move in if you don't like walking stairs because the elevators are constantly broken! read more

Terrible terrible terrible terrible management. In a desperate situation I tried renting here, only to find complete waste of time!!! Gotten to the point of submitting all of the requested move in fees which I paid. And when the ordeal blew over it was yet another ordeal to get money back, I had to contact bank! I would NoT recommend this company to anyone! Too, they're ridiculously overpriced!! read more

I'm currently a resident here and our experience has been awful. When we first came to view the place they showed us a model apartment which looked nice but no one told us that the trains run literally right next to our window and are very loud in the unit that we were going to get. Our key cards were not working when we were moving in on a Saturday, so we couldn't get into the apartment. We had to wait for over 2 hours outside of our door on move in for someone to reprogram our keys. The washer and dryer were broken and the furnace was also not working! Moved in at the start of winter and no urgency in fixing heat when we have a 1 year old cold at night. We recently had a whole dining set stolen out of our storage locker and emailed/called the manager but we still have not received a response. And contractors are constantly parking in your spot that you pay for and you have to wait around for them to move their cars which typically takes 40min. I live on the second floor and it constantly smells like marijuana in the elevator and on my floor. On top of this the management is either clueless or just rude! I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS BUILDING TO ANYONE! read more

The term "management company" is loosely used by EDC Property Management. I would consider them a "rent collecting company". I am a current resident and am very disgusted with my experience here. From the outside looking in, this is a wonderful place. Huge, lofted apartments. Exposed brick. Raised ceilings. Affordable for the proximity to downtown. A shoe-in, right' That is until you move here. The building is filled with many students from Columbia that play music and smoke marijuana all times of the day & night. I had to report my neighbor for excessive noise not more than a week after I moved into my loft. You would think that not only the management company handle the problem but that the neighbor would be considerate. I was wrong in both occasions. After several more complaints, they simply told me "there's nothing more they can do". Are you serious'!'!'! So when I work from home, I have to subject myself to my neighbor listening to "Mambo No. 5" throughout the day on repeat' So I have to consistently be awaken from my sleep to loud music at 8 in the morning and not be able to sleep until 2 in the morning because they are partying several days out of the week' So you would rather have a household that easily makes six figures a year leave as oppose to some irresponsible college stoners' I guess so. Not only that but recently there was an attempted break-in in one of the lofts at 12:30 in the afternoon!!! The lack of safety & lack of control of their residents makes this a hell hole for anyone that works a 9-5. read more

If I could leave a negative star review, I would. The good reviews below are suspiciously similar in structure and look like management put fake accounts up to try and boost their ratings. That is exactly the way they behave. They fake everything, act like things are good, lock elevators to put down floors with no notice, make promises and claims that are completely false and don't come through on them. The odors here are awful, the management is worse. The single worst place I've ever lived. Look for some fake positive reviews to be posted above this. Furthermore: Brianna, their leasing agent, promised our apartment would be fixed before moving in. Don't listen to anything she says. She will lease you a place she knows is bad just for the commission. She should lose her real estate license for this. If you currently live here, or were a past resident, email LARAMARLAWSUIT@GMAIL.COM with your complaints and see what kind of compensation you might be entitled to. I'm not an attorney, just a very disgruntled tenant with a ton of issues they refuse to resolve and harass me continually about. read more

By far the worst living experience due to poor management that I have ever experienced in my 14 years of renting in Chicago. We moved into Carriage House Lofts in June 2017 and have experienced nothing but pure hell since the very first day. When we viewed the apartments with leasing agent Andy (who is a complete CROOK- I should have listened when my spidey sense was tingling), he told us that all of the floor plans vary, which is completely understandable. However, we were going through a high risk pregnancy at the time, and were planning on using the lofted room for our nursery since the walk-in closet was the size of a small bedroom and we could fit everything in there for a nice, quiet nursery. Plus, the walk-in utility closet where the washer and dryer was is big enough to fit a vacuum, stroller, cleaning supplies, etc. Lastly, the master bedroom was big enough to fit our furniture. We told Andy that we loved the apartment, and would only apply/sign a lease if we are guaranteed that we can get this exact apartment/floor plan, which he guaranteed us. Fast forward to moving day. I walk into the new apartment to find it is the COMPLETELY wrong floor plan, with a significant difference in square footage. The lofted room/walk-in closet was SIGNIFICANTLY smaller, as well as the master bedroom, and the utility closet literally did not exist in this floor plan. Upon calling Andy to rectify the situation (in tears mind you), he played dumb and acted like he had no clue what we were talking about and said that we should have known that all the floor plans are different. Treated me like a complete idiot. Long story short, it took about 2 weeks for someone in management to get back to us to rectify the situation. They ended up having to give us a storage locker to put all of the things that would not fit due to lack of space (meaning my fiance had to lug everything to the second floor when we're on the 5th. I could not help him due to being pregnant), and they also had to comp our parking for the year. Which brings me to the next issue... Parking. Apparently it is a free-for-all in this building even if you pay for an assigned spot. We had to call a tow truck FIVE TIMES due to someone parking in our spot, and nothing being done about it after complaining. This also happened one night when I was 8 months pregnant, and we were stuck downstairs in the garage for FOUR HOURS waiting for the tow truck. The building ended up having to do a parking audit because they clearly do not know who has which spots. The issue still continues as I saw a tow truck in the garage last weekend. A few weeks ago, I went downstairs to go into our storage locker to retrieve a few things, only to find that the door to the storage room is now locked (it had never been in the past), with no instructions from management as to how I can access it. After emailing the building, I never heard a response, and forgot about it because the things I needed weren't urgent. Fast forward to last week. I get an email from the building saying that all storage lockers on the second floor must be vacated by the following weekend or else all contents will be destroyed as they are demolishing the second floor storage room. WHAT?! No warning whatsoever. So now, we are responsible for moving all of our things into our already cramped apartment and have to live this way until we move out. Last little tidbit that I'll leave you with: I have had four packages stolen throughout my time at Carriage House. They boast security cameras and a secure mail room, which is just complete and utter bullshit. They attempted to re-key the building, but the problem still exists, and had zero response when I told them I have had to file several claims with FedEx and UPS. So apparently those security cameras are fake. Lovely. These are just the tip of the iceberg. The lack of professionalism (and general lack of knowing what the hell is going on) at Local by Laramar Chicago/Carriage House Lofts is disgusting. The management team has changed so many times in the span of one year that I can't even tell you who manages the building now. We are counting down the days to move out! Do not be fooled by how cute the apartments are- the renovations are extremely cheap and I guarantee you will be appalled by the management. Also, I hope you are happy with slow AT&T internet ($41/month) and DirecTV (about $80/month for a basic package) THAT NEVER WORKS. Error 775 will haunt your dreams. As a former real estate professional, I can tell you with 100% confidence that these are not the good guys. read more

OK so I am nearing the end of stay here at Carriage House Lofts 1545 S. State St. and moving to Detroit...its for work and I have to get $$$ I have kids to feed. Any way I actually loved my stay. Let me break it down for you so you can get my reasons why. My lease is up 9/30/2013. Pros - huge apartments/ I mean massive and the rent is very reasonable 1595 2 br 1400 sq ft. - Very nice loft style, brick walls through out, huge windows ( needed 120 ft curtains good grief), nice view of the city on the top floors facing the lake. i was on the 7th floor (bawllinnnnn) - Maintenance was pretty good. I emailed usually they were there same day for big stuff and next day for small stuff. Big stuff to me leaking faucet under the sink (yuck my tampons are wet) Small stuff there was a fine dust falling from the ceiling when they did work up there. They came and stapled plastic bags to the ceiling until they were done. made me happy although it looked like we needed a hazmat suit. Cons ( oh now its gonna get good) - whatever people smoked outside travels into your apartment (week, crack cigs...smelled horrific in the halls) - the parking is a nightmare...cars were scraped on each side.. I have a new car so I never pay to park and I don't play that mess.. If you scrap the mini i will come find you...and it's on. - when we arrived the apartment was a total mess...my girl Jen fixed it fast but not the best first impression in the world. - the trains are really, really loud at night and so are the young neighbors...try to get a unit away from the trains and near some old people if you like quiet. If you are loud move by the trains, make it fair. - Mail thieves...watch your ISH...that is a general rule with anything concerning Chicago an overall watch your ish and your back...you might get jacked. - Don't expect state of the art appliances or new anything in this place...its all old and out dated..probably why the rent is so cheap. - Bring microwave...again nothing is new if you have a new fridge toss that in too... With all that I still enjoyed myself here, I have good report with Jen she is great. Once you fix the place up its beautiful...the brick the windows...you get great light for plans just a beauty. If I were not moving I would renew and move on the other-side away from trains. and the door to the roof. OK hope this helps someone and you really consider this place...if you can deal with the cons. i meet more people who have been there for years than folks who hate every second they are there. Good luck! read more

Warning! If you enjoy sleeping at night this is not the place for you. Loud trains on both sides of the building will shake your apartment all night long. The Managers are also worthless a-holes. Can't wait for my lease to end!!! read more

This review was partially written when i used to live there partially few months after i moved out) I used to live here. I read the previous review about the internet. And you are out of luck if you want Comcast yes, BUT att dsl here is 4.0mb download and 1.0 upload. We tried CLEAR before and it was the worst thing I EVER had for internet provider so DO NOT GET THEM. As far as tv goes we have direct TV and I'm rather happy with it. Good things about the building: Spacious lofts, unique layouts, interesting characteristics in the units (metal carriage slide gates) , large community rooftop with 2 grills. Laundry in the building (so far I have noticed they don't service the broken units too fast ) Small fitness room. Storage lockers outside your apartments are cool add-on. There is 2 level parking in this building (basement and first floor) for additional $150 a month which is not a bad deal I think - We are waiting for next winter to get one, for now we park on the 16th and Dearborn (free) which in most cases is no problem to find a spot. Cons: Noise complaints, noise complaints, noise complaints - I can hear my neighbors downstairs and upstairs watching movies. Ceilings in these lofts are exposed wood so you will hear your neighbors. The management office is responsive but rather doesn't care about anything. Train next to the building - I didn't mind actually sometimes i really like to listen to the night train passing by....It can be loud but window soundproofing is pretty good here. The only one person who really cares about this building is Joe the maintenance guy - make sure to treat him right because he is a good people! Would I recommend to live here? I believe if you rent 2 bedroom corner unit you wont have too much of the noise issue but if you are in one of x08 units - forget it - everyone will hear you you will hear everyone. read more

Apartment is fine but new management isnt very accommodating. Pipe broke in the basement and dripped rust all over my car. Ate through all the paint on the hood. Managements response: "Call your insurance company." They also came in and increased rent/parking. Said it was due to making the building more Green. Thanks Obama! read more

Pluses: -Responsive about fixing things. A leak, problems with heat, etc. and they will be there that day usually to resolve it. -Neighbors are cool - friendly in elevators and generally no one is shady -High ceilings and a lot of space -No disturbances from other residences Minuses: -Parking is really tight -Dryers aren't very good if you have a big load To be determined: -How cool they are about returning lease deposits -Insect problems in the summer (we moved in last October) read more

The apartments are very nice with a lot of unique architectural features, very bricky... and given the location this place is cheap! However, the building is not serviced by any of Chicago's local cable companies but instead relies upon DirectTV. This isn't bad as long as you just want to watch TV but if you want high-speed internet you are sh*t out of luck. The only option is ATT's DSL service which maxs out at 1.0Mbps for the building (the building is too far from the CO for anything faster). What this means is no Hulu, no Netflix, no iTunes video downloads and certainly no BitTorrent. However, if all you care about is email and don't mind waiting 45 minutes for a single MP3 to download this building is pretty cool. To recap: 1) Interesting apts, 2) cheap rent, and 3) internet so slow you'd think it was dial-up. PS - can't say anything about the staff, good or bad, since I've never had to deal with them but if they ditched DirectTV for RCN (or any other cable company) I'd be a happy man read more