River City Apartments — Local services in Chicago

I have lived here for several years. Over the years, I have learned to hate the building for many reasons.

Security. Some of them are very kind, know me by face and greet me every time. Some do not respond even when I say hello first. There is a high turnover rate, but some of my favorites are loyal to this place and have remained here during my 4-5 years of being here. Management. This is one of the reasons I am happy to be out of this building soon. Getting a response from them is nearly impossible at times, even when the question requires a yes / no answer. When they need something, they expect you to answer right away and will email you and call you. I can hear the clear annoyance and anger at least 90% of the time they answer the phone and are very rude. Before I can even say hello, I feel like I am doing a great disservice to them by even contacting them. This excludes Angela, who is most responsive and actually able to deal with questions and conflicts. Parking: outdoor parking lots are horrible and still too expensive for the quality. Indoor lots are more expensive, packed, and still will not protect you if your car is robbed. Outside free permit parking is difficult to get. Construction: this has been happening in the building almost the entire time I have been living here. Construction is either on the external structures or surrounding buildings which makes it difficult to live peacefully. The elevators are constantly under maintenance for weeks at a time. I've also seen several people stuck on the elevator on separate occasions. And the escalators are often under maintenance as well. Roof deck: favorite part of this place BUT: it is closed majority of the year. Usually in the summer they are doing construction on it and then it's open when the weather gets colder, until it gets too cold and only for limited hours. Walking to this requires endurance due to the excessive heat on the 16th floor and horrible smell of garbage. There are also many leaks here. They have now locked the grills so you have to reserve it to use it. The view is my favorite part of this but it is becoming obstructed by new construction next door. Leaks / rain: as others have stated, there are always huge trash bins and buckets everywhere once there is rain. Individual units: really varies. Difficult to set up your own washer / dryer even with permission. Units are oddly shaped which is interesting but makes furniture placement difficult. You will smell what your neighbor is cooking, which can wake you up in the night. It's never completely dark in your room due to the glass parts of the wall leading to the hallways. Very little closet room. Of course, it will look nicer with a lot of money put into it but that won't change any of the plumbing, electrical, or heating issues. Balconies: pretty spacious if you have one but provide no privacy, have mold on them due to the rain that gets onto them (so be careful of putting any non-waterproof furniture out there). Heat / ac: management controls when this is turned on and off. So be ready to be sweating in a room that's over 80 degrees in the summer with no ac and freezing when they turn off the heat. In the winter I usually never even turn on the heat because a lot of other people must have theirs very high so my room is constantly above 70, which is unpleasant at times and makes me open the balcony. Hallways: dirty. Someone waters the plants but they're not well taken care of and this adds to the unpleasant appearance. Some of the smells are atrocious and show the poor ventilation of the building. Also, I have to hold my breath while taking out the trash due to the horrible smell. Convenience store: very limited options except if you want alcohol, which there is plenty of. They used to make some food items which was a good deal and tasted good, but this stopped. Vast majority of the employees here are extremely friendly, especially the person who would make food. Bed bugs: Never a problem in my unit but has been a problem for...

Okay, it’s so very odd to me that there aren’t a lot of great reviews here. I have pretty much nothing but wonderful things to say about living here. I’ve lived at River City for about 8 months now, I could write a novel about all the things that I love.

First, it’s beautiful. The inside of my apartment, the inside of the building in general, the lobby, the park, the sun deck, it’s all beautiful. The carpet in the main hallways is kinda ugly, but who cares. I love that it has character, it’s such an odd building.

Maintenance! I’ve NEVER lived somewhere where maintenance requests get fulfilled so quickly. No joke sometimes they’re there in under 30 minutes, and always get the job done quickly as well.

The gym!! If you care about a nice gym with a variety of equipment, you will not need to buy a membership elsewhere. I’m in there 4-5 days a week somewhere between the hours of 9am-2pm and it’s rarely busy, I’m often the only person in there (except on Saturdays).

The CONVENIENCE STORE. I am going to be so so sad to leave river city for so many reasons but this has gotta be top 3. Im in there at least 4-5 times a week. The owners are SO NICE and that place has everything a convenience store could ever need. Forgot eggs? Run downstairs. Face wash? Yep. Every drink imaginable, nice selection of wine, just seriously everything. And if they don’t have it, the owner will try and get it for you!! He actually wants to fill in the gaps, they are the absolute best. It’s so nice on cold days to not have to leave the building when I don’t have to.

Location!! An 8-12 min walk to every color line. Stairs to Roosevelt collection are literally across the street. I’m always going there to get coffee at chicago french press (the best) and run errands at target and ulta. On the river. I love printers row! It’s the cutest little neighborhood and it feels safe along the main street (Polk). I’ve found a great hairdresser (Paulo at touse), casual pub (kaseys tavern), the best pizza (paisans), and so many more gems all within a 10 minute walk. There’s also the cutest farmers market right by the building every Saturday in the summer! You really cannot beat the price for the location on certain units here.

A quick little list of random other things I love: in-unit washer & dryer, the colors of the cabinets & counter tops, a trash chute & recycling room on every floor, the windows, all of the staff I’ve interacted with is so nice, the building is made of concrete I believe so we rarely have noise issues with our neighbors, the few times we have had noise issues with our neighbors we called the concierge and it literally STOPPED like 10 minutes later (I was floored), the 24 hr concierge & security, the restricted access, and I’m sure I’m missing stuff. Seriously, so much to love.

If I’m being super picky, a couple things I’m not crazy about is that there’s no pantry, so we had to make the coat closet a pantry. They’ve been building a pool in the gym for god knows how long and I just see it through the windows taunting me (not sure if they’re planning on continuing construction). Lastly, I wish there was cheaper guest parking. Overnight parking here can get pretty pricy. That’s all I can come up with.

I love and adore it here and I am genuinely so sad to be leaving. I’m only relocating because I currently share a 2x2 with my roommate but we are going to live separately when our lease is up and I cannot afford a studio or 1 bedroom.

I know this all sounded like a sponsored ad but I’ve truly just never loved where I live so much, my quality of life has really improved since moving here. It’s unfortunate that other residents/reviewers have had various issues, but I’d really encourage anyone to not let those reviews deter you. They almost deterred me, and I am so so glad I gave this...

I have been a resident of River City for more than a decade and wouldn’t want live in any other South Loop building. I find it interesting that new residents or even ones that has been here for a while have complaints about the Revitalization Construction and the time line its’ taking to complete the work. Unless you are in the construction business. Upon the sale of the building we were informed there would be some inconveniences as it lends to rehabbing each unit in our 449-unit building. As a potential new tenant, the leasing agent talks about the expected improvements and future amenities as he gives the tour. No one enjoys the sounds of hammering and drilling especially with those working from home, however to get the projects done there is an expected short-term inconvenience to be tolerated none of which should be a surprise. In some of the concerns about the amenities if you are an older resident you know there has not been a fitness center since 2010, as for the dog run, etc. it is forthcoming as part of the “new building plans” All buildings have things that break that’s why we have a maintenance team and the ability to submit a work order through Rise app. Lots of complaints of what’s broken but none about what is fixed. The current management team has been great!! Not only as the building is being reconverted but with the unexpected flood. Keep in mind this building was built in 1986 the numerous times that water had to be shut-off makes sense as the pipes were probably never replaced. I am not sure if there were any capital improvements other than new elevators throughout the time it was Condo from 2001-2018. During those latter years the Property manager on staff was unprofessional and unapproachable and residents avoided the office. Currently, I don’t think we could have a better management team or door staff today. They have had to step up to the plate with the unexpected and again I give them “Kudos”. What I have found from this team is that they understand the importance of communication. As the re-conversion is ongoing there are weekly updates announced on the Rise App of what tiers will be effected, initially during water shutoffs there were flyers put under each door so you could prepare, sometimes it was short notice due to 'unforeseen emergencies but usually, you got a notification and the flyer indicated what hours you would be affected As this is turning into a novel, let me address “The Flood” yes it was awful, scary and very disheartening to be asked to leave your home at 9:51pm on a Sunday night wondering where you should go…. remember that decision was made for “your safety”. First let us remember that this flood was an “Act of God” (that’s what my insurance agent told me) and second those in management that live here were evacuated too…. So, what did management do? They took on the task always humble and apologetic they updated us on the progress via the Rise app and email sometimes twice a day, they found temporary housing for those in need and covered the cost, as the work progressed they sent updates with photos, and committed to twice a week update in which they did Tuesday and Friday, they put together a very fair rent abatement no rent was collected until August 1st, they even issued a $200 gift card to the River City Convenience store to replace your perishables or staples. Based on that alone River City cares, you can’t rush construction nor control torrential rain storms I moved from my old unit to a newly rehabbed one and when something is wrong, I ask them to fix it and they do. I find it to be a GREAT property to call home sometimes you just have to be patient and watch things unfold. ...