The Breakers at Edgewater Beach — Local services in Lake View Township

My mom recently sold her long-time home in New York and moved into a small apartment at The Breakers at Edgewater Beach to be closer to me in Chicago. Long story short, her realtor convinced her to hire a certain moving company that turned out to be a disaster. I'll refer to them as the movers from hell.

The Breakers is a senior community located within a high rise building on the Chicago lakefront. There are people moving in and out of the building frequently. Elevators need to be reserved in advance during designated times (either 10am-2pm or 6pm-10pm) that do not interfere with the residents' dining room schedule.

Unfortunately the movers from hell were incapable of sticking to the promised delivery dates of her belongings. From day one there was complete chaos. After several days of delays they finally told us they would arrive in Chicago on December 17th.

I worked closely with George Vosnos, a move-in coordinator at The Breakers to try to schedule mom's move into the building. The 10am-2pm time slot for that day was already booked, and the mover from hell was unwilling to work the evening time slot.

But George came to the rescue! He contacted the movers who had reserved the morning time slot and learned that they really only needed the elevator from noon to 2pm so that freed up the first half of that time slot for my mom's movers. Thankfully they showed up on time (shocker!) and George supervised the move to make sure they unloaded and left the loading dock on time for the next move to begin.

George was also very helpful in delivering a very heavy storage cabinet I had ordered online to my mom's apartment. There was no way either she or I could have managed it. Thanks again, George

If you or your parents are moving into The Breakers you will receive great customer service from...

Please be careful leaving your loved ones here. There is a group of unqualified, uncertified, and unprofessional caregivers who operate in the building with no oversight from The Breakers. My grandfather died alone in the hospital yesterday and when we called to get information about him we were told that his caregiver had legal guardianship and health power of attorney over him and that we were not allowed to get information on his condition. The Breakers is aware that this group of caregivers operates in the building but told me (as my grandfather lay dying in the hospital) that the residents are independent and can do as they please. PLEASE DO NOT RELY ON THE BREAKERS TO LOOK OUT FOR YOUR LOVED ONES. I would hate for anyone else to have to go through this shock. This was not the only instance of lack of liability and proper care that this group of caregivers has displayed towards my grandparents while they lived at The Breakers. I also had to file with Adult Protective Services over a wound my grandmother incurred in their care that had become infected and had not been treated appropriately. She almost lost her foot due to their incompetent care. They will accept gifts from your loved ones and carry on inappropriate, unprofessional relationships with your loved ones because they are not licensed or certified by the State of Illinois. These are kind loving people BUT THEY ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO CARE FOR THE ELDERLY AND THE BREAKERS WILL DENY ALL...

I knew it was going to be a good move when I sold my house the day it went on the market. I used Dawson Relocation services for help with downsizing, packing and unpacking. They were wonderful. Bradtke Movers had the truck loaded in 2 hours and unloaded in about 1.5 hours. By the end of the day, I only had 6 boxes to unpack. The staff at The Breakers were exceptional. Kristin Milton worked very hard to make sure the apartment was ready for me with the requested modifications. She was quite attentive to my every need. Penny Cato checked in frequently on moving day to make sure all was going well and has followed up on requests. The maintenance guys came on a Sunday(!) to fix some problems. The staff at the Concierge Desk have been very helpful in answering my questions and are quite friendly. I could not be more pleased with my move to The Breakers.

Update: I have now lived here for a year and have no regrets. I have met so many interesting people and can't begin to participate in all of the activities offered. The food is tasty with a large number of choices. There are some building issues which are being corrected if possible. The elevators are slow at times. Even though the kitchens are small, I have managed to fix meals for 6 people and bake my usual batches of Christmas cookies. And best of all, I have a 6x6 garden...