MDA City Apartments

I am a real estate professional and would honestly say this building is in no way a professional establishment. Today, I took my client (a downtown university president) to see 2 bedroom 2 bathrooms. We arrived and met the door person, she took our Ids and told us to «sit down’. Afterwards we proceeded to wait 15…20…then 30+ minutes! I asked the front door person to please contact the leasing office once more, she refused. My client stated he was insulted and we left. Do yourself a favor and skip this place on your next showing.

MDA City Apartments has been nothing but an amazing building since the first day we started housing our executives in it. Many of the AON and BCBS execs stay in Lakeshore East but if you want the true Loop experience you have to get outside of that bubble, where it’s much easier to find dining, cabs and shopping just steps from you! I see all of the review about train noise/​etc, which is pretty easy to fathom since there is a TRAIN OUTSIDE YOUR BUILDING. I mean we are in the heart of Chicago here people, if you didn’t think it was going to be noisy go live in Joliet. The rents are SUBSTANCIALLY less than next door (73 E. Lake) and cheaper than most buildings built/​renovated around the same time. I love MDA for the historic elements they preserved, location to public transit, and walkability factor.
(PS– for the person that wrote the 2x the monthly rent lease breakage fee that’s pretty standard for all managed buildings unless it’s private owner. Rent or buy a condo.)

This is a long overdue post. Life is not a zero sum game and I hope the impact of this review is that the narrow-​sighted building loses far more that the paltry $ 5,490 they extracted from us — when charging us a lease termination fee.
While I am venting — I hope that you will find some objective data here — that’ll help you justify avoiding this building even if they drop rents by 40%…
My advice — Do Not move here or into any Village Green property.
Highlights (Lowlights):
1) Unbearably Loud because of the poor window constructions & the L-​Trains — prompted us to break our lease — but still charged us a 2 month lease termination (even though I think this should be reasonable cause to move!)
(infact, at the very least management should have sent us a huge apology for having mislead us into signing a lease into such a horrible apartment)
Instead — when we went to address the issue — the Building Manager scoffed and said NO ONE else in the building had EVER complained about the noise.
BTW, when we signed our lease (from NYC) we had specifically asked if the apartment was loud — and told that it wasn’t –seems like we were mislead!
2) Brings me to the next point. Building managers — if they are competent and doing a good job should never need to speak to you. However, if they ever do need to address an issue — they should recognize that they are in a client facing role and be willing to go above and beyond to help you out. Instead this was one of the worst experiences I’ve had. The Building Manager has a chip on her shoulder!
3) Heater /​Cooler doesn’t work pretty often
4) Overpriced utility fees which are over and above the rent.
5) Drafty window panes — make the apartment unimaginably uncomfortable
6) Old Dirty looking Appliances
7) False Advertising of Amenities!!! Printer never worked, Elevator doesn’t go all the way up to Rooftop. Business center has a PC which still runs Windows 95 — what a joke!!!
8) Doorman won’t hold Keys for you! Whats the point of having a «Door“man
9) To access the amenities you have to go down to the front desk and grovel in front of them for a key and then return it to them — c’mon improve your processes!
10) Have not invested in a online portal for managing the building in this day and age!
11) Elevators are awful — frequently stop working
12) Finally the price at $ 2,745 for a 2BR — you get an old, rundown apartment in an old rundown building, with 3^rd rate amenities…
Ending notes:
I recommend avoiding this building and the penny-​pinching management. Management that enforces a 2 month penalty ($ 5,000+) when the tenant has been inconvenienced and incurred moving costs, suffered sleepless nights etc. is a residential management that should never be allowed to rent another apartment to a human being…
Further, In this day of online reviews — a reasonable management, would consider the repercussions (such as this online review) of such a harsh enforcement of a lease termination.
It starts and ends with the team the Management Company — Village Green has in this building. I really did not like the attitude of the Building Manager. I found the way she spoke to us to be super condescending. Village Green dropped the ball here both in choosing the Building Manager as well as not intervening and helping resolve the issues we had with the building
Background:
I lived in this building for 2 months from August-​October 2014 in a 2 Bedroom corner apartment C4. In hindsight my evaluation of the property and its comparables in the area suggest that you pay no more $ 1,500 for a 2BR for the awful quality you get in this poorly maintained building.

I ran a small software development company in Chicago, and from 2010 – 2012 we operated out of an apartment in this building.
There were some nice aspects of the building. The location is amazing — very central to everything in downtown Chicago. We absolutely loved the rooftop area. We used it monthly to host developer meetups, and everyone who came loved the view and the space. Also, some of the people who worked here were very friendly. Jeanette who worked the front desk, and Josh who did maintenance were such kind, friendly people. Bryan on the maintenance crew was quiet, but kind.
There were too many problems with the place for it to be nice, though.
There were frequently issues with management. Because management changed so frequently, there were always new rules, new people reviewing things and changing the way things worked. For instance, every time you reserve the rooftop area, they make you put down a deposit. It may have been $ 300, I’m not sure if I remember the exact amount. Initially when we moved in here, they just held a check and didn’t cash it. Since we used the space monthly, they just held on to that check for a while. After one change of management, they decided they would cash the check and apply it to your next months rent. Okay, fine. We just had them cash it and said we’d pay $ 300 less on our last months rent (since we used it every month). That worked until the next change of management when they said that we didn’t have a deposit for the space. They didn’t keep their books properly. That led them to leave threatening letters under our door telling us that we needed to pay them this/​that related to rent because they couldn’t keep track of things. We always paid on time.
Oh, and another thing to consider here — since that $ 300 isn’t really being used for rent, I’m pretty sure that they have to hold it in an interest earning escrow account. They’re skirting around the issue by saying they’re applying it to rent, but it’s certainly not what they’re collecting the money for. I think that’s against the Chicago Landlord Tenant Ordinance. I brought this up with one of the friendly people in management (I forget her name now, they changed so often). She wanted to do a good job and said she would bring it up with the higher-​ups. It never changed, but she did try.
Back on the topic of renting out the rooftop — tenants of the building frequently would use that security deposit as a pre-​paid cleaning fee. This is what the cleaning crew and front desk people told us. So basically, even though we left the space spotless after every event we hosted, they treated us as if we were planning on throwing rowdy parties during pre and post inspection. Frequently that was the front door person giving us attitude.
Jeanette who worked the front desk during the first year that we were there was wonderful. She was always cheerful, opened the door for you, just wanted everyone to be happy & that made her happy. She was so good, in fact, that they pulled here out of this building and moved her to the new building that opened up across town.
Norma, on the other hand, was just plain rude. She was rude to tenants, she was rude to guests. So the people who came to our events, who had to sign in at the front desk, frequently got to experience the wrath of Norma. I was yelled at several times by Norma. Once I was just waiting patiently for her to do a pre-​inspection of the rooftop area when she yelled across the room at me, «No. I can’t do the inspection with you. Do you see all the people coming in at this time. I have to be here.» First, there was no one coming in at that very second. It was around 5pm, so people would be coming soon, but it was still comical that she included that in what she said. Second, her job stipulated that she had to do this with us (otherwise we could be liable for damage). I was nothing but patient. But if you bring Norma brownies, she’s the sweetest little lady in the world.
Then there’s the trash room. I’ve lived in a decent number of high rises downtown. I’ve never seen anything like this. Look at the pictures I’ve uploaded to get a feel for the level of overflow. We brought this up with management frequently and nothing ever changed. The trash chute was sometimes backed up 4 floors and more, so nothing would go down. Other times the recycling just overflowed and overtook the small room.
Overall, this place was fine. Management was terrible and they don’t seem to care about their tenants. I’m glad that we used it as an office and not as a place to live. We were still very happy to leave and move to another space. I would never live here. A new building went up next door. I don’t know what the rent difference is, but it should certainly be worth it to not live in MDA.

«Location, location, location» is what drew me to MDA City Apartments in 2009. It was the first building I saw on my apartment search and the only building I saw in my apartment search. I fell in love with the building and moved into a large «studio style loft». The studio I lived in was relatively large and «worked» for someone who was in college/​grad school: I took convenience and luxury over square footage.
The unit itself was on the second floor and on the south side of the building. The downside to this was my unit had no view at all and it overlooked the dumpster. In addition, I experienced my unit shaking on a daily basis during the demolition of the parking structure/​closed restaurant at 73 E. Lake and had to deal with the ongoing construction of 73 E. Lake street for at least two years. This meant not only constant noise from the elevated trains and garbage trucks, but also all the noises from construction. My unit also was never completely dark at night because of all the various lights shining through.
The interior of my unit was absolutely amazing. The layout made the space feel a lot larger than it actually was and allowed me to partition off a separate bedroom area with bookcases. I loved the bamboo floors, top of the line appliances, and washer/​dryer in my unit. My bathroom was really exquisite — it was probably the size of my dorm room — and had a funky sink that sat on top of the vanity. There was also plenty of storage in the bathroom, which I really liked. To be honest, the hardest part about moving was realizing not all bathrooms in the City of Chicago are this big and spacious — this really exceeded the norm.
One of the biggest complaints I have about the building is how poorly insulated the walls are. I hadn’t had any noise issues or complaints until a different neighbor moved into the unit next to mine two years ago. Her TV was always extremely loud and I could hear it in my unit. This led to many sleepless nights and cranky mornings. It also led to lacking the ability to have a sense of peace and quiet in my apartment. It took a almost two full years of complaining before management actually listened: five months before I was going to move they offered to remedy the situation by putting additional insulation in the wall. Unfortunately, this never materialized and was executed. I think what upset me the most was when I called a certain concierge with a noise complaint, she gave me SIGNIFICANT attitude and placed all the blame on me. She even went so far as to suggest I «just wait to go to bed until your neighbor turns off her TV» (which some nights was never, other nights was around 1AM). Overall, the noise issue was one of the precipitating factors that led me to leave the building. It was intolerable and absolutely decreased my quality of life.
The amenities in the building were pretty solid. One of the things I really liked was having a concierge on the clock ²⁴⁄₇. Sadly, there was one specific concierge that I found myself avoiding often because of her demeanor. If she was having a bad day, you certainly knew it based on her deportment. There were days where picking up a package or needing her to hold the door open for you were acts of torture to you. Her body language and shrill tone of spoken language often made me feel unwelcome and as though I was bothering her. What really changed my perspective about her was when my bathroom flooded in Feb 2014. She acted like it was my problem and had to interest in helping me. She reprimanded me for being panicked and told me to simply wait upstairs until maintenance could come and assist me. She had absolutely no empathy or compassion for me during this situation.
The trash room, which is located on every floor, is a pretty significant mess itself. I cannot count the number of times in which it was overflowing or a careless neighbor simply opened the door and threw a bunch of boxes or other objects in it and blocked the trash chute. I have no doubt the maintenance team did what they could to clean it on a regular basis, but I think the problem was with the residents that just didn’t care about others and the integrity of the trash room. I never knew taking trash out could be such an unpleasant experience, but it was on more occasions than I could count.
The overall demographics of the building have significantly changed since I moved in during late August of 2009. I think the hardest thing for me was that it transitioned into a building that began to feel very much like a dormitory.
In sum, I have mixed feelings about my five years at MDA. I think what kept me living there was the close proximity to everything that was important in my life, but also some of the amenities. I have mixed feelings about my experiences in this building, but know I do have some fond memories of living there.

I’ve lived here for a year and love it. The building has great décor and they do a great job keeping it clean and updated. The staff is always helpful and attentive and the location is great!

As a new tenant, I know nothing of the building’s past management, but Justin and Jessica are great. They were very knowledgeable for any questions I had over the phone and in person.
Being a new resident to Chicago, MDA made for a very smooth transition. I had difficulty with other buildings cancelling appointments before I was able to even see rooms, some simply did not return any phone calls, and at least one other insisted that they ‘did not house students’.
Justin opened his doors to me, assured me I wasn’t alone as a newcomer there, and graciously laid forth everything the building had to offer. The amenities look wonderful, ranging from a sunny garden and grassy area on the roof, to an indoor community pool table, movie theater, fitness center, grills for tenant use, and both indoor and outdoor fireplaces for guests. He also seems willing to listen to the tenants about how they feel about the community areas if someone would like to suggest room for improvement.
The building is in very close proximity to everything you could need such as bus routes, the loop, shopping, plenty of colleges and general areas of interest in Chicago. I was concerned about moving to Chicago and having to find a new (and preferably local) bank, not wanting to sign up for a Chase or Bank of America account. Lo and behold, there across the street is a branch of the Chicago Community Bank!
There were a few hitches when signing my lease, partially due to my preference in size/​availability/​income, but no matter what happened I could tell Justin had my back. I feel he went out of his way to make sure that I wasn’t stranded and homeless, even if it meant helping me to find another building with an available room. Luckily things worked out to where I was able to reside here, which is fortunate because I had my heart set on it once I saw the place.
Taking into account the location, size, extra amenities, hospitality, friendliness of the staff, and beauty of the joint, the price is definitely fair, especially considering some other apartments in the area lease for much higher with either similar amenities or fewer.
Don’t forget, common courtesy goes a long way in both directions.

This has become the absolute worst run, worst managed building in the city of Chicago. And Village Green, the leasing company, is the worst landlord I have ever had to deal with. The building is falling apart, and management doesn’t seem much interested in actually fixing it. Elevators were constantly breaking. The air conditioning/​heating system often didn’t work. The building management is unhelpful, don’t return phone calls, and are generally unavailable to address issues in the building. When I had moved in the building was better run, but apparently all of the good people left. Now they are generally just apathetic and incompetent. I couldn’t move out of that place fast enough.

I stayed with my friend who lived in MDA for a week while visiting Chicago. The location was perfect for accessing all of the L lines and walking on Michigan Avenue and State Street. I especially appreciated the historic architecture mixed with modern décor… it had a very unique feel! We spent one evening on the building’s top floor which was perfect for entertaining and had great views. Her actual apartment was spacious and had a very nice kitchen and bath.

If 0 stars was an option, I’d give them a 0.
The management company, Village Green, is the WORST company I’ve ever done business with. They are unorganized, rude, don’t know how to communicate, and do not understand basic customer service. I could write a short novel on the issues we experienced over our 2-​year tenure living here. To sum it up, just stay away.

I have lived here for a couple of years and there are several major issues with the building and the way it is managed. The reason I’ve been here so long is that the location is great for me. By now most of the remodeling that was done is getting tired and requires a ton of care. The air conditioning gave out last summer and it was unbearable for nearly week. One of the elevators stops working fairly regularly and it will take a few days to fix. The billing for the utilities company is terrible and has never sent me a correct bill plus there is no paperless billing option. There are too many other options nearby that are better value for money. I won’t stay here when my lease is up.

Not really for my taste but i think it’s very modern if that’s what you’re looking for. I didn’t get the chance to see an actual unit but went to a party up on the roof top.
3 stars for the rooftop!

If you would like to live in Animal House, or if you are nostalgic for a dormitory, you will be at home at MDA City Apartments. If you would like to have the guests of other tenants let themselves into your apartment in the middle of the night, or even be robbed by the guests of your fellow residents, then this is the address of choice. When an employee delivers your rent check to the leasing office and it is lost, you can expect threatening telephone calls and messages left under your door, as if you or the concierge who took the check did something wrong. In this building, you the tenant, are always wrong. Ask about utilities before signing a lease. Ask for shelves in the cabinets in the kitchen. I bought shelving from the Container Store.
If you have an aversion to drug dealers and users, then you might like to consider another address. If you have an aversion to orgies being hosted in a «Leading Apartment» in the building, finding guests urinating from the roof top onto the sidewalk below, and walking through dog feces every morning, then this is not the address for you.

Note: This is a bad review. If you are even «considering» living here, run for your life!
If I could select Zero stars, I would. Lived there about 4 years ago. Worst decision ever. People are rude, self-​centered and full of them selves. The building claims to be a «green/​eco-​friendly» building, but then you get a $ 300+ bill for electricity on a small 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment that isn’t more than 600 square feet.
Since each unit doesn’t have their own meters, you end up paying for the utilities used by EVERYONE in the building and you end up paying for more than you actually use. Big surprise when we got our first bill. They should have told us that when we moved in, but whatever…
So we moved out, now 4 years later, they sent me to collections saying that I never paid my last utility bill! Apparently I have a charge of $ 344 still on my account. I paid everything up to date 1 month before we moved out. $ 344 for 1 month of service!!!
So, I’ve had the same phone number and they claim that they sent me letters, made phone calls to me and to my girlfriend but we never recieved any calls or mail. So then they say that we didn’t setup a forwarding address. BULL SHIT! I got all of my mail… My phone has been working just fine… so now they sent me to collections and I have to pay a $ 344 bill from 4 years ago that they say I never paid.
Today I tried to called the property management company and ask them for a copy of the bill they claim I owe, but they wouldn’t send it to me. They’re «not suppsoed to discuss matters of collections.» I was willing to take them money and pay it off, but they wouldn’t even help. I had to call them 5 times to get anywhere and have anything resolved. Just to find out that I can’t even talk to them.
Worst decision ever to move there. I would be very wary of signing a lease to this place. I would have of course paid any bills that I received, but they never sent it and then go to collections.
Be careful with these people.

As an update to this review, I have had multiple conversations with the newest property manager at MDA. Her name is Lindsay and she is making an effort to make amends for all that has gone wrong with my living there.
I like to give credit where credit is due and there seems to be a reason she was brought to this building which is to clean up the lack of professionalism that existed.
More to come as time passes. The wound was deep, but there is effort to improve.
I am not ready to recomend this building fully but will update upon my exit for those that care. It still has its issues but the fact that they recognize their failings, are trying to fix what is wrong and recover from these shows immense progress in the right direction.
Thank you Lindsay for these efforts.

WOW. That’s all I can really say to describe this place.
It started when we loved the location and the lobby décor. My fiancé and I decided we would totes put this little gem at the top of our list when we were ready to move.
Bad idea.
Stopped by to visit on a spring Thursday afternoon. The old hag receptionist was beyond rude when we attempted to inquire about speaking with a leasing professional (and I use the word *professional* lightly). She couldn’t even give us a phone number or a name; but just cut us off and say no one was available and an appointment was absolutely required. Who knew this place was so elite?! Additionally, how does one go about even scheduling an appointment if you don’t have a phone number or a name of whom to schedule with?!
SOOOOOOO…shame on us, we looked up the number ourselves and scheduled an appointment for two days later. Upon returning, it was a different receptionist who was absolutely no more friendly (shocker) than the first. She simply took our ID’s and said «Ok, go up.» Um, where exactly are we going??? Keep in mind, this is our first time visiting your residences!
Once upstairs, the leasing agent gave us the lamest pitch ever – didn’t even give us a tour or tell us why we should lease with MDA. She did, however, take us into a dirty unit which someone had just vacated. Talk about appealing! Yes! I’ll take it! HAH!!!
For the prices they are charging, they are nothing more than a pretty bimbo with absolutely nothing upstairs.
Furthermore, from the review that was posted before me… had anyone read that… I can’t imagine they would have ANY appointments on their books. Stay away!