Sovereign Apartments — Hotel in Lake View Township

It is an okay place to live. It is what you pay for.

Price: In my experience, living there around 2023, even with rent increases, it was an incredibly cheap place to live for being in the Chicago area, Edgewater, close to the lake, and in a college campus. I always recc this place to people in a cheaper price range.

Area: The area feels very safe. It’s right across the street from a Campus Safety building as well. I never experienced any safety issues. I felt mostly safe walking at night. There are great places to eat. It’s right next to a small coffee shop. It’s less than a three minute walk to the CTA Red line and by a bus stop (155, 147, and 151 I believe).

Pests: Roaches, roaches, rat, roaches. We had pest issues for roach infestation. They would get in through the plugs (yes, you heard that right, the electric plugs). When you would throw trash or recycling, there was a good chance a roach would greet you downstairs or at the trash chute. The pest people were very nice, knowledgeable, left some stuff for free with us, and would follow up. Even for living in Chicago and bugs being “typical” in apartments, this was too much of an issue for us and definitely excessive in our experience. The only issue we had with the landlord/staff regarding pests was when our cat caught a mouse, and when we told the front desk, they said them or the staff couldn’t do anything about it. However, it is a landlord’s responsibility to maintain pests. We had to get rid of it ourselves…

Customer service: In my experience, the customer service depended on who was as staffing the front desk. There were very nice, knowledgeable people. Others were rude and would make judgmental comments about how many packages I would receive when I was first moving in. One lady was always on her...

please don’t ignore the reviews about mold. I have been dealing with black mold toxicity after finding mold in my bathroom and AC unit. There is 0 ventilation in the units (except for the lucky ones with bathroom windows) and decades of steamy showers without proper ventilation is bound to do some damage.

Maintenance is quick to fix the simple stuff, but anything that isn’t easily resolved is a pain to get fixed. The radiators make very loud banging sounds when they turn on at 4am, even ear plugs don’t keep the noise out. They stay on full blast, so you have to open your windows in the winter time to not overheat. Laundry machines constantly break down, so it was a toss up if my clothes will get washed/dried most weeks. My shower would randomly change from hot to cold even after maintenance...

Racist lending practices. Myself and numerous POC’s have reached out regarding renting a property here, going as far as filling out an application even before seeing the apartment, and have been ignored on 4 separate occasions and on the fifth being told that we were not welcome. Meanwhile, our white friend was able to secure a tour and a response immediately. The management team here better correct their attitudes before they are faced with a severe lawsuit because the way they conduct business is wholly unethical and...