Coast At Lakeshore East

The building amenities are very nice but, the actual apartments are not as represented in the models.
The kitchen sink is so shallow that a large pot or pitcher won’t fit under the faucet.
The medicine cabinet in the bathroom, is placed opposite the toilet. Seriously!
The microwave is not mounted above the stove. This leaves three options; (1) place the microwave next to the stove-​which leaves no counter space, (2) place on top the refrigerator-​which means you can’t see in without a step-​stool and your dangerously pulling hot items over your head, (3) or place on top the combination washer dryer unit.
The stove does not have a thermostat. There’s no way to tell when preheating has reached the needed temperature.
The combination washer-​dryer unit takes forever to dry a load of clothes. A small load of light to medium weight items takes about two hours

I have lived at Coast for 2 years and am deciding on a possible 3^rd year. My biggest gripe is the rent. If you like rental increases of up to 6% every year, then you won’t mind it here, but for most of us that feels like a slap in the face when you’ve been a great tenant and feel there is no loyalty or appreciation on the part of the management. I feel like I am just a $$ amount and they could care less if I stay or find somewhere else to move. So while it’s an ideal place to live, I guess buyer beware of all the hidden fees and price guaging that they do here.

Horrible staff!!! Not recommend!
Now leasing always tries to rip you off. That’s common. This leasing office, however, tries really hard. They blame you for the things you never did and charge you.
For the rent and the horrible management, you get many other options really. Doesn’t have to be coast

My husband and I lived @ Coast for 3 years and loved every minute of it. From the views (are you kidding? Breathtaking!), to the nearby amenities (Mariano’s, Millennium Park, Michigan Ave, Navy Pier, Lakeshore Drive bike path), it’s damn near perfect for city living.
The staff (Maureen, Nita, Phil, Ruben, Mike, Dario, etc.) were all friendly and professional, taking care of all of our requests/​needs in a timely fashion.
We never heard neighbors, never heard much from the 28^th floor, apart from the occasional siren, but that’s not uncommon when living in the city.
The Lakeshore East park is such a treasure to have as well. It’s a hidden gem from the tourists.
The fireworks — especially the New Year’s Eve ones — are fabulous. Those balconies provide ample room for entertaining on those big events (NYE, 4^th of July, Chicago river being dyed green) and anytime, really. I challenge you to find another apartment building in Chicago that has balconies those generous.
Thanks for being our home for three amazing years. We miss Chicago and Coast.

Awful management. I wanted to move to coast from aqua. They are rude and not helpful. I lived in aqua and they called aqua to talk bad about me. Thank god I never ended up there.

Like so many of the other reviews– this is not worth the price because of the management. Door staff is great– They deserve to work somewhere that doesn’t feel like an adult daycare. You aren’t allowed to open your windows for half the year… or your balcony door. Not even sure you’re allowed to pee without making sure it’s okay with management. If you have an issue, it’s probably your fault. You will receive passive-​aggressive new rule notes beneath your door. And detention. Time-​outs. Corner-​sits.
If you live on a dog-​free floor and your neighbor has a dog, you still aren’t able to get one nor is it a valid excuse to move because, although they weren’t previously aware of her having a dog, management will have recently learned that her 2 lb yorkie puppy is a service animal. So that’s prolly legit.
If you are lucky enough to get a hold of one specific woman in management and ask her some questions or for help with anything regarding living there, you will be treated like a really, really dumb child. She’s condescending, rude and I’m pretty sure she feeds off making others feel like garbage.
We had a beautiful view and we loved the location, but we paid $ 3,000 per month total to be treated like crap. I can probably spend $ 2,000 and be treated like crap!

Parking and packages are through another company? This place is ridiculous and full of lies. Can’t get my own freaking packages because it’s through another company they didn’t tell me until after I moved in. Isn’t that what a door man is for? Speaking of doormen, most of them are rude.

Thoroughly enjoyed my time at Coast, some of these reviews are preposterous. Recent college grads cannot afford to live in this building, minus a few summer interns who are put up there for a couple months by their employer. I rarely came across any unruly recent grads. More so, a mix of families here from oversea’s and professional’s of varying ages. As well as a fair amount of people in the medical profession who work at Northwestern, UIC and Rush hospitals. The pool area is fantastic and very well maintained, unlike a few buildings I have lived in where the pool becomes a Vegas style party on the weekends in the summer. The sauna/​steam room is great and the equipment in the gym is second to none. The gym also is big enough that it never feels crowded. I never had any issue’s with the door staff or anyone one of the women in the office. If you don’t like noise, then don’t live in a building in Chicago that is next to two of the busiest streets in the city (Lake Shore & Wacker). Being able to walk out your door and have so many things within walking distance was a huge plus: grocery store, various restaurants, lake access, CVS and public transportation. Again, great place to live.

I had a mixed experience living at Coast during Summer 2015.
All of my dealings with management were positive and not at all similar to some of the stories recounted below. There was one incident where I was given less than 24 hours notice for an apartment entry and management apologized for it. No big deal.
I had a mixed experience with the front desk. Despite being relatively friendly with the staff, I was asked on several occasions if I lived at Coast. Being 20 years old for most of my stay, I did not appreciate being discriminated against due to my youth. That was embarrassing.
I lived in a mid-​level studio overlooking the park. The walk-​in closet was extra spacious with room for a dresser. The bathroom was bare-​minimum. The water pressure was worse than it is in Hong Kong. I can’t imagine worse washer and driers. They sounded like engines that were about to explode.
The appliances in the kitchen struck me as low grade. One time, I was reheating some Chicago-​style pizza in the oven when a dripping piece of cheese caught fire. I was disappointed to learn at that time that the microwave doesn’t function as a vent hood at all, it just makes a loud noise as it blows air through a small slit. The fridge howled and shrieked at regular intervals which, along with the W/​D, made me realize why there were earplugs left for me in the apartment.
The «wood» flooring dimpled rather easily. The floor to ceiling windows are fantastic, but the blinds are the most inexpensive blinds you could find at Home Depot. The blinds bend and the string knots even with infrequent use. Cutting corners on what should be a focal point of an «urban beach house» is baffling.
The balcony was amazing and I loved waking up to the view each morning. There is nothing blocking your view of your neighbor’s balcony due to the linear layout with glass panels. So, if you like privacy, it sucks, but you do gain some serious peripheral view.
Another weird thing about the rooms is the weight of the front doors and the massive gap under them. Not only will all sounds be amplified as they enter your room, but your neighbor slamming her door at 6:20 every morning will wake you up so regularly to the point you learn her schedule.
The lobby, elevators, and all other common areas are beautiful. However, once you get into the purely-​residential floors, the hallways are sterile with cheap carpeting and no decorations.
The amenities are overall quite nice and underutilized. The weight room is laughable for a 51-​floor building and is poorly laid out. The free weight rack consists of one pair of weights in five pound increments from 5lb to something ridiculous like 100lbs. There was no thought put into the fact that weights from 5lb — 25lb are getting used heavily while I’ve never in my life seen someone pick up 70+lb dumbbells. There’s also only one Smith machine, which makes no sense considering it’s the most heavily used, versatile machine.
The spa area wasn’t planned very well. The rules posted around the area ask you to shower before and after using the facilities. Unfortunately, there’s only one shower and it offers no privacy whatsoever. The men’s bathroom has such a weird assortment of different tiles and patterns that it had me thinking that they used whatever materials were leftover to finish it off. It only has a hand drier, no paper towels, which is silly. Also, the «soothing-​music» channel is just a free Pandora station that plays ads. The hot tub, steam room, and sauna were all great and were rarely used by other residents.
The pool area is everything I expected and I have no complaints about it aside from that it isn’t a true 3-​lane pool, one lane has stairs all the way along the side. There’s no way you could swim laps in that lane. Due to the neighboring skyscrapers around the deck, you’ll be fighting for sunlight especially in the afternoon.
The location of Coast is great for older professionals or people who want to take advantage of leisure activities on the lake or river. I ran along the lake every day, and it took me 5 minutes to get from my room to the river trail. Proximity to Mariano’s is one of the best perks. However, you’re not super-​close to much else. Most of the hot spots in River North require twenty minutes of walking and plenty of tourist dodging. Anywhere in The Loop is walkable but don’t forget that the neighborhood shuts down completely at night.
Lakeshore East is a futuristic, masterfully planned neighborhood. Filled with dogs. I cannot begin to tell you how many dogs there are. The cleaning crews are out early in the morning just to clean up after the dogs. One day, on my way to work, I passed by four puddles of dog urine by the time I got to Columbus by the Radisson. My opinion of the residents (and their dogs) is too subjective to share.
Overall, Coast is a nice place with a few flaws. It isn’t overpriced and it most certainly isn’t «horrible». I would consider living here again.

We’ve lived at Coast for two years and loved every minute, we only left because we’ve moved from Chicago.
The amenities are are well kept and the gym is well equipped and maintained with enough equipment for everyone. Unlike some other reviewers we were never charged for small fixes in the apartment. Management and maintenance respond quickly to requests and hands down it has the best front desk team among all the buildings in the neighborhood!
We lived in a corner unit and you get amazing views in all directions thanks to the floor to ceiling windows all around which is unique to the building and really makes the sunny yet crazy cold Chicago winter much nicer indoors. We also liked the fact that only the bedroom is carpeted (the living room and kitchen have cushioned vinyl flooring). I also think that the ceiling in Coast’s apts is slightly higher than in the surrounding buildings.
4-​starts because the construction and the finishes of the units could be better, especially the kitchen cabinets and kitchen island that are prone to small damages due to normal use, but remember that maintenance will gladly fix every issue in the apartments. The balcony’s floor is bare concrete, which makes it nearly impossible to clean without specialized equipment.
Overall, this is a great building in a great location with very nice staff and great neighbors (and the cutest dogs). In my opinion it’s well worth the price.

COAST is by the far the best building I have ever lived in! I love it here so much and will stay forever (as long as rent doesn’t continue to raise at an insane rate). The door staff is absolutely the BEST group of people! The building maintance crew is OUTSTANDING always going beyond!
This building has everything you could possibly want gym, pool, steam room, hot tub, sauna, parking, reserved parking, connected to pedway, UNBEATABLE VIEWS, AMAZING gym in the pedway. Lakeshore East is the most amazing neighborhood! (Just don’t use the drycleaner in Coast, people say the one in Aqua has a different owner and doesn’t ruin anything they touch, I haven’t tried Aquas yet, Aqua is connected to Coast)
Something this building cant advertise that has kept me here since the building first opened is the PEOPLE! We have met the closest friends in this building, people are so kind, it’s our own little neighborhood in here and people are so sweet and willing to assist each other.
The building is incredibly sound proof! We never hear our neighbors.
If you can afford to live here for a while you will NOT regret it!
See you at the pool

My wife and I have lived here for two years in a one-​bedroom corner unit. Overall, we have loved our time here and would prefer not to move, but rent is becoming a bit much.
The door and maintenance staff are fantastic. The amenities are second-​to-​none. Balconies are huge. Views and location are great. The entire building is smoke-​free, which is a huge plus for me.
My only complaint is the construction quality. The cabinets are cheap, as are most of the fixtures.
Overall, I highly recommend Coast.

The one star is for the front desk staff although I feel very sorry for them at times as they get caught in the middle often between management and tenants.
The property manager sends all bad news through either the «nice» staff or letters under the door. I wish I could say it is simply the on site property manager but it would seem the attitude starts with Magellan.
The general attitude if there is a problem is that it is caused by tenants. They expect upwards of 50% turnover so there is no desire or incentive for them to keep «good» tenants.
Otherwise it is pretty much like living in a dormitory. The management («Adults») believe their job is to keep unruly tenants («students») in line. Because most real adults won’t put up with this they generally move out quickly. That leaves the 4 or 5 young new professional sharing small apartments.
There is no way this is a «no smoking» building and complaining about it does nothing.
It is true that if there is a problem in your apartment you are told by management (generally after the 3^rd or 4^th time you’ve asked for something to be fixed) that you are causing the problem.
Yes the views are great but the noise from drag racing on Wacker as well as from other balconies is a problem. There is also about a ¼ inch gap at the bottom of almost every front door making it one of the noisiest buildings I have EVER lived in. Hard to be upset with your neighbor because they open and close their door loudly but believe me we can hear it all the way in the back of our larger apartment.
Of course now there will be construction for the next several years beginning to block our views, removing all of the (very little) sunlight from the pool/​deck which is run fairly like the playground at a primary school any way.
Bottom line, if you are looking to extend your college experience (lots of kids in a small apartment at a good address with a bothersome landlord) this is the place for you

This place deserves no stars in regards management staff. The manager is unprofessional and promotes a very hostile environment towards tenants. The lady thinks it is o.k. to attack and accuse people without any grounds and false information. As other reviewers commented she likes to «report» and treats tenants like children. Additionally the maintenance people doesn’t clean very often the hallways and tenants are blamed for something they are supposed to do.

We have lived at Coast since spring 2013. I really regret resigning the lease in 2014. Seriously, save yourself the money and rent a condo from a condo owner somewhere downtown. Lord knows there are plenty of them. You will get a better place with a lower rent. We pay a ton in rent — $ 3700 for a 2 bedroom, plus $ 250 in parking — and the place is a piece of crap.
Pros
–Great doormen and women
–Very friendly and handy building engineers
–Nice gym
Cons
–Shoddiest construction I’ve ever seen — and I’m in the industry. Go ahead, I dare you to take a tour. Appliances are about the lowest grade available. Cabinets aren’t even wood. Baseboards and floors are literally plastic. Cheap, cheap, cheap.
— Management is insufferable. They treat you like you are a child. There are always new rules and boy to they love enforcing them. For instance — you can only have 2 guests per tenant in the common area. And since you can’t have a grill on your balcony and the only grills are in the common area, well you can’t ever have a grill out. Even though there is a giant common room, you can’t have a party. So if you live in a small studio or one bedroom, you just are not allowed to entertain.
— If you have a dog, stay away. Despite the fact that this is a «dog friendly» building you cannot walk your dog behind the building on the giant grassy area. There is a small dog run that is used by dog owners in three buildings. It is always smelly and extremely dirty, as in, there is dog feces everywhere. Disgusting. They expect you to walk ten minutes to a dog park down several flights of stairs by the Marianos.
— No gas grills allowed on balconies. Didn’t think this would be a huge issue when we moved here, but given the rules regarding guests (see above) it really is.
We are very excited to move. If you are considering moving here, seriously read the Unilocal reviews and take them to heart. Then go take a look at the models, check out the finishes, and ask yourself if this is worth some of the highest rents in the city.

I’m writing this review about the management and especially the door staff at the coast. Nita and frank in particular get an A+++ rating from me for being outstanding (helpful, upbeat, fun friendly etc.)
The apartments themselves are a bit on the small side (and a bit pricey, to put it mildly) but the location, amenities, and ESPECIALLY the quality of the staff do compensate for this!
Janet

Lived here for a year, and absolutely loved it. We were one of first couples in building and it was exciting seeing it all come together and people to move in. The amenities were defiantly worth the $ 2500 rent for a 800 sqft apartment. The gym is nice and huge. Everything brand new! The pool, cabanas, and grill deck was awesome. Steam room, sauna, jacuzzi 24 hours a day– awesome. the unit itself wasnt perfect, they seemed like corners were cut maybe for cost, but come on it was brand new! Our balcony was unbelievable, wide-​long-​glass with the best view in the entire city. Nothing beats the north eastern view the coast offers– nothing. We have dogs, and the options for pet owners were also worth every penny. Green space, a dog wash, and an indoor dog run. Parking is offered through another company for $ 300 a month which brought our total rent to $ 2700, again for a 800 sqft apartment… but again, it was worth it.
So now to the most important part. The people and vibe. Demographics of the building is young, childless, work hard play hard, professional people from all over the place. We made so many friends and majority of everyone knew everyone. The doormen were awesome, I miss seeing them everyday & our new guys lack what they have. Phil and Frank, all the maintenance guys were like friends. the building hosts all welcome events for people to socialize, and o does Lakeshore East. Awesome. The neighborhood unbeatable– meticulously maintained, clean, no homeless people, and easy grocery shopping.
I freaking loved the Coast, the other reviews shock me because anytime I had an issue and we did have a few– blamed yippy dogs (was not mine), a few maintenance issues I dealt with professional and thorough people.
We needed to invest in property, otherwise we would of stayed despite the high rent cuz it was worth it.

For the amount of money we spend here, this is definitely not a luxury apartment or anything I would consider home.
Pros
–the door staff is the best! Frank and Phil and the friendliest people!
–the views are phenomenal and is likely what you’re paying for
–close to most major transportation modalities (pedway, the L, buses)
–cvs pharmacy and Mariano’s around the corner, which are within walking distance. Great nail salon, Cuticle, in the park.
Cons
–noisy, noisy, noisy! Whoever set up these apartments was not thinking. Although your balcony space is large compared to other chicago apartments, it comes with a set off with thin walls and many of your neighbors balcony space being directly next to your bedroom. Although it’s a shared living space, I don’t know how many times I’ve had to ask my neighbors to quiet down on a Monday night bc they were on their balcony till 2 am.
–I agree with other Unilocal reviewers speaking about management treating us like children. We had a door mat in the hallway which one of the maintainence workers decided to bang on our door at 7 PM at night to tell us to remove it.
–the apartment looks and feels cheap despite the rent. The baseboards were plastic, literally. The faucets in the bathrooms reminded me of a public restroom’s. We had to replace the shower heads ourselves due to the flow of water.
Loved the neighborhood! Disliked most of our experiences with the Coast.

I am writing a review because I want to emphasize many positive things about Coast. I moved in last August and it’s time to renew my rent. I definitely recommend Coast because it has wonderful view and it’s very clean (amenities, hallways, unit etc).
It is true that I sometimes felt upset due to management /​staff, but it’s not too bad not to renew for next 12 months. I’ve seen other reviews below, but I personally think Coast should deserve at least four stars. I live in a two bed room unit. Me and my wife are very satisfied with the apartment. Let me summarize some of points.
Good things
— View… top to bottom windows make better view.
— very close to Lake shore drive — I commute via LSD
— close to a supermarket (Mariano’s), park,
— Magellan reward (discount card for restaurants shops near apt) is good.
— close to N Michigan, S Michigan ave
— Lobby and lounges, and elevators are extremely clean. Even if weather is bad, they maintain very well.
— good study place, sofas, and sauna, hot tub.
— convenient, friendly dry cleaners. They are not open on Sunday, but it’s not a big deal
— units are very new since the apartment is newly built recently.
— AC/​Heater for each room and living room
— very quite and never experienced smoking or weed in my balcony.
Not very good things
— water pressure is not strong enough even if I changed the shower head. I guess (not a fact just guess) this is because they put some pressure limit since they pay water.
— lock out after business hours or Sundays, I have to pay $ 40. I don’t know if it’s same at other apartments as well. But I don’t know why they charge. Maintenance team is always in the building. anyway
Conclusion
They are some pros and cons. Personally, I think Coast management/​staff can improve things that tenants did not like like other reviews. However, I think good things are a lot more than negative things. They are many apartments in Chicago, but as I lived in Coast for 10 months, I certainly recommend this apartment.

Hi Coast management,
I ask that you stop treating people like children in your adult condo building. I was told that my window was open last night. Yeah, no shit Sherlock. I left it cracked to get fresh air. I woke up to a call at 7:20 AM and a voicemail from the front desk. An hour later I was called again. Why? Because my window was open.
Apparently when you’re paying top dollar for a luxury high rise building you aren’t allowed to open your windows. This is outrageous and embarrassing you would bother tenants repeatedly on a Saturday morning.
And as a side note, if you pay for a high rise unit on a high floor with it comes responsibilities like not leaving stuff on the balcony during high winds etc. That I get. But not opening the windows because it’s «cold»? You ABSOLUTELY NEED TO TELL NEW TENANTS «just as a side note you aren’t allowed to open your window or balcony door for, oh, half the year». Please sign here.
I write this as a challenge to management to respond and give me one good reason not to be upset for being woken up at 7:20 AM on my off day for having my window open. Thanks.