NEMA Chicago — Attraction in Chicago

As of this summer I will have lived in NEMA for 2 years in 2 different units (both studios) and my wife for 4 years.

Pros: The amenities: what really makes this building unique and worth it for a lot of people. NEMA has a really nice gym, study areas which you can reserve on the app, a lot of common areas, pools, sauna/steam room, theatre, golf driving simulation, children’s play area, rentable event space, among other things. Kept quite clean. Newer building and aesthetically nice. The building is reasonably secure and there is always a person at the front desk. We have come to love some of the front desk workers and always enjoy seeing them. Package room: we loved the package room and the employees Location: prime South Loop location, easy to get to the CTA stop or drive onto Michigan Ave or LSD. Close to Jewel and Trader Joe’s!

Cons: Basically completely disregard any reviews which specifically mention people’s names from Fall 2024 onwards. As part of an infuriating review-farming campaign management created a promotion incentivizing employees to get tenants to post 5-star reviews, whoever’s name gets mentioned most gets a bonus or some sort of reward. I cannot overemphasize how frustrated I became when my car got damaged in the garage and I was scrambling to get information only for an employee to basically demand that I take out my phone in front of them and write a 5-star review specifically mentioning their name almost as payment for their help, it really was disgusting. Elevators: by far the most common qualm about NEMA. Constant breaking down and issues with these elevators, and I mean constant. Wait times of 20 minutes+ is a common occurrence and you will sometimes wait that long only for a completely full elevator to come which you can’t fit into. The building itself: NEMA finished construction in 2019 but already has so many issues. Parts of the building are falling apart, constant maintenance issues, floors frequently smell of garbage. Dust accumulates so quickly in the rooms and the hallways. Even on a high floor the noise from the street can be very loud, same goes for the noise from the dog park on 17 or the outdoor common areas on 16. Amenities can be really packed and inaccessible, I cannot recall the last time there was actually a towel available on the 16th floor… The rooms: The walls are super thin. For studio apartments the appliances are TINY. Not all windows have built-in blackout shades which can cause high temps, NEMA will sell you installable blackout shades…for ~$700-800 for each window panel. The garage: parking is now $350 a month for a non-reserved space and keeps going up, even more for a reserved or electric charging spot. You frequently have to park on floors 7-12. There have been multiple accounts of break-ins and vandalism, my car was keyed last October and management was incredibly unhelpful and deferred responsibility. NEMA will tell you time and time again that it is not them but SP+ which manages the garage to not take responsibility but the garage is connected to the building. There used to be a security gate on the 5th floor but a drunk driver ran through it last year and it has still not been fixed. The Internet: WiFi included with monthly fee but atrociously slow, might as well not even have it Management responsiveness: you will instantaneously get an email response if you are interested if renting a storage unit (at least $50/month), upgrading or adding another parking spot, or anything involving them getting paid but any other concerns will be met with weeks to months of unresponsiveness. The property manager Chris Pope likely has to deal with many tenant concerns at once but if you look at other reviews you will see how frequent of an issue this is. Pricing: NEMA uses their luxury apartment status to ask for high prices, they were still increasing rents and advertising it as if it were a good deal while nearby rents were decreasing or stagnant.

In summary, nice amenities and location but overall a very...

We lived at Nema for a little over two years and in a new unit each year. Up until the last two months of us living there, I would have only had positive things to say. We truly vouched for Nema and said it was the best residential apartment in downtown Chicago with the best amenities, specifically the gym, and the best location. You are by the park, by the lake, have a family and pet oriented neighborhood behind you, grocery stores across the street, it couldn’t get any better - but unfortunately the way management treated its residents overrode all of these positives.

My first concern is the dog run. There were 2 dog attacks (both pitbulls, so apparently there are no breed restrictions) and one of them being fatal. Management never sent out any sort of communication to its residents about the incident. If I didn’t personally know the poor family this happened to, I never would have known. As a pet owner myself, I called and emailed regarding the safety of our dog run and asked what was being done. I was told they could not discuss this matter.

My second concern is the air conditioning and lack of response from Chris and upper management. From the beginning of June, through September, our AC was not working in our unit and temperatures were reaching 80°+. We have numerous emails documented, work orders placed, phone calls made, and even went to leasing in person after never hearing back. Management did not care and would never respond to our emails. We would have to follow up 3-5 times before receiving a response. They would send a technician to our unit and the technician would say everything was working fine according to their temperature gun, despite the obvious issue that our unit was 80° on a 73° day. We asked for compensation numerous times, and that our electric bill and additional fans in the unit be covered by management, and received zero response. We could not cook in our own home for the remainder of our lease because of this ongoing issue for two months. It was also rumored that there was a faulty HVAC system installed but management quickly shut that accusation down.

My third concern is the towel drop off. If you do not return a towel (if they actually decide to stock the pool towels that day. Majority of the time there are not towels) they will charge you $75. I have returned every towel I have used and was charged $75 on numerous occasions. I have to call or go to leasing in person and ask that they replay the security footage to prove that I did return the towel. They tried to charge me for a towel as I was moving out and it took a week for them to discover I did not have it after I had already been moved out for two weeks.

I wish my time at Nema did not end this way. This was a great apartment in the beginning and in a great location. If you did not have any issues or need assistance from leasing, you’re fine and won’t have any complaints. Unfortunately, how management treated us the last two months of our lease, I am utterly disgusted and personally feel that the entire leasing office team needs replaced. Also for what it’s worth, management never resolved my AC issue, I never heard back and never received any sort of...

NEMA: Luxury Vibes, DMV Energy

Despite reading some red-flag reviews about mismanagement and odd apartment layouts, we scheduled a tour of the new NEMA building to see two units — a 3-bedroom and a 2-bedroom. The location was perfect: equidistant between a job and law school, and, most importantly, it would put us in the same building as other family members.

So we brought our party of seven — including a toddler and a four-year-old — for what we hoped would be a promising visit.

“Do you have your IDs?” the NEMA tour guide asked as we arrived.

IDs? We weren’t ordering martinis or applying for security clearance, so the answer was: some of us did. Some of us didn’t.

“You can’t take a tour without an ID,” she said flatly, with the emotional range of an actuary reading a spreadsheet aloud.

“Is that listed on your website?” we asked.

“No.”

“Then how were we supposed to know?”

“It’s in the email,” she replied.

“But… you never emailed us,” our realtor said, thumbing through her phone. “We booked by phone.”

“Well,” the guide said, shrugging, “they were supposed to tell you.”

We asked why IDs were necessary for everyone in the group — toddlers included, presumably? The tour guide mumbled something about “Fair Housing,” which didn’t exactly clarify things. When we pressed further, she pivoted: “All buildings require this.”

Our seasoned Chicago realtor blinked. “I’ve literally never heard of that.”

“Well,” the tour guide said again, “we have to treat everyone equally.”

It was lofty language for what amounted to gatekeeping an empty apartment. But we weren’t asking for special treatment — just to see the units we had confirmed, twice, that we’d be seeing.

As we debated whether to fetch IDs, the guide abruptly asked, “What units were you hoping to see again?”

“The 3-bedroom and the 2-bedroom,” we said.

“Oh,” she said. “We don’t have any 3-bedrooms available.”

“But I booked that two days ago,” our realtor said. “And confirmed again this morning.”

Shrug.

So let’s recap:

They booked us for tours of units that didn’t exist.

They failed to send a confirmation email.

They imposed an unmentioned ID requirement.

And then, they offered no apology — just the opportunity to reschedule at the convenience of the visibly annoyed tour guide, who reminded us that she was busy.

Eventually, a few of us with IDs were allowed to see the 2-bedroom — which turned out to have a palatial bathroom and bedrooms so tiny you could change clothes, sleep, and turn out the light all without moving your feet.

In short: it wasn’t going to work for us anyway.

But if you’re considering NEMA and thinking, “Maybe the one-star reviews were just from picky people,” — let this be your friendly reminder: sometimes the one-star reviews...