Lincoln Common — Local services in Chicago

Hi Everyone- I have lived in Lincoln Commons since Feb 2021. The building offered COVID deals at the time, so we were able to rent a one bedroom for less than typical listed price (keep this in mind). However, living here has been the most incredible and comfortable experience I have ever had living in an apartment complex in Chicago. At first, my fiance and I were nervous to transition to a high rise because they can be noisy and it can be hard to use amenity space. With that being said, we have not encountered these issues at Lincoln Commons. Our Concord unit is in the corner and designed with a hallway (a lot of units are this way), which is great because it situates your apartment away from the hallway aka out of the range of noise. Additionally, we never hear neighbors above us, aside from a random noise, which I assume is from cleaning or something of the sorts. I have been beyond thrilled by this given we lived in a new and modern apartment previously and had issues with hallway neighbors and noise from above. I will list more pros of our experience below:

-Most accommodating building management and front desk management ever. Oscar, who runs many duties at the front desk and around the building, is the most friendly, understanding, accommodating, and best problem solver. It is always a pleasure interacting with him and other building staff individuals -Building has set great COVID safety measures for residents and has been flexible with amenities (sent out a survey asking residents about extending gym hours and creating work at home stations, which they did end up taking considerations from residents on; aka gym was extended to 24 hrs and work spaces were created) -Amenity spaces (deck, gym, and rooftop workspace) have been open and available every time I have went upstairs to use them; again, building requires masks in these areas to align with COVID safety measures -Building takes great safety measures to ensure only authorized guests and residents are keyed into elevator area -When you move in, building has you use the loading zone in underground garage, supplies carts, and has an industrial elevator. These are AMAZING features, as it allows you to pull up your moving truck, unload to a large cart, and wheel it to the industrial elevator (mattress, bedframe, etc. fits). I kid you not it took us under an hour to move in -Maintenance is prompt; we have put in 1 maintenance request for our shower and they came the same day -We've called about 1 noise complaint regarding a dog barking excessively and the front desk contacted the resident promptly to ensure everything was good -The owners of the building host events in the round about every month from charity events, partnering with local businesses (flower shops, restaurants, etc), and kids events to offer fun and easy activities to attend -The building offers 10%-20% discounts for businesses near by and partnered with Verve Wine during COVID for an exclusive dinner and wine package -The building now offers residents free Art Institute passes to reserve as an additional amenity

All in all, I feel the building has incredible pro's that will outweigh the con's, if you happen to experience any. Again, the unit I am in and my rent price may affect or provide bias to my experiences. However, with that being said, I feel even the market price of the apartments have rationale given you are treated with respect, made a priority at all times, and have access to so many incredible amenities and services. I can tell you that the owners and employees of the building put immense work into making sure it remains top notch and that its residents are happy. This is very hard to find, in my opinion!! So, I would implore you to take advantage of renting here if it suits your price range and you are looking for an oasis here in a busy city.

Best of luck on...

Review is for the apartments at Lincoln Common:

Pretty ridiculous that a high end building (one bedroom apartments for over $3000/mo) only has free coffee from 7-9am and no tea. Otherwise they charge you $1 per cup! They even charge for hot water! Other comparable apartment buildings have free coffee all day (and free tea), and some I’ve toured even have free snacks or Lagunitas beer. Now that would be nice.

I toured the building in late August and was told they would have the pool open later in the season then most other apartment buildings and that it would stay open until it snowed. It was closed in September despite still getting days in the 70s/80s. Pretty deceptive to try to get people to move in. Was also told they were at 90% occupancy to force me to make a decision ASAP. I would be surprised if it was even at 25% at that time.

It would be really nice if they could heat the rooftop pool, it’s not that big where it would be cost prohibitive, especially considering what the rent is. And contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take that much energy to keep a pool heated. I know a couple other spots in the city that have heated outdoor pools so it’s definitely possible. Also the hot tubs are closed in the winter as well and won’t be open until the pools open again. It sure would be nice to use the hot tubs in the winter, but if not then at least in the spring! I don’t really want to wait until June to use the pool let alone the hot tubs, I mean those are really great for colder weather anyway.

But hey, it’s Lincoln Park and it’s the first new apartment building of this size in decades so they have no incentive to have that high level of amenities that you would find in Near North or West Loop. There are just no other comparable buildings in the immediate vicinity so they get by with out going the extra mile. If you want a new high rise apartment in Lincoln Park you don’t really have any...

Not worth the money. I lived in Lincoln Common for a year and would not recommend it.

First, you will be sold on the amenities, but that's a mirage. You will never be able to use them. Pre-covid when the pool was open, it was not possible to use it. The pool would typically have one resident and 50 non-residents packed in there, so no other residents could use it. It was like a frat party everyday. The amenity spaces are too small for the size of the building. There are never any seats available in the rooftop area or in the work from home space. If you want to use the gym, expect to wait 30 minutes for every piece of equipment. The gym is way too small for the number of residents.

Second, management is terrible. Management routinely ignored our questions. They also accused us of charges we did not incur (such as a late fee after LC's own payment system malfunctioned) and then were rude.

Third, LC nickle and dimed us when we moved out. We moved out early due to Covid and family issues. We understood we owed our lease payments for the remaining month but asked if we could have parking and utility expenses removed for the remaining time, as every other building we have lived in has been flexible about such expenses. But LC simply did not care, made us pay every last penny, and then even charged us for utility charges we could not have possibly incurred after ending our electric service.

Fourth, there is no enforcement of covid restrictions. Most people in LC do not use masks or socially distance.

One highlight is that the front desk staff is fantastic.

The apartments themselves are pretty, but it's not worth the money in light of the poor management. Save yourself a headache and live...