Elm Street Plaza

Reviews

• TE

  Talia Emch

  Sep 22, 2026
  1.0
  I want to share some issues I've had while at Elm Street Plaza that have left me frustrated as a resident. 1. I had a bad cockroach problem in my first one bedroom unit, and when I moved into another one bedroom in the spring, I had a living cockroach running around my kitchen for two days, and also found a couple small dead cockroaches. 2. This summer an elevator was out of service for 2 months, so when people were moving out on the weekends, it left us with one elevator for 33 floors. When this was the case, it either took over 10 minutes to fit into a crammed elevator, or I was left to take the stairs up 15 flights (which was most commonly the case). This left residents extremely frustrated, especially those who are elderly, had pets, and were on the highest floors who weren't able to take the stairs. 3. Last summer, laundry increased from $1.50 (washer) and $1.25 (dryer) to $2.50. They replaced the laundry machines with the same dated machines that continue to break, with sometimes half of the dryers being broken at a time. 4. When I forgot my key in my unit, they charged me $35 for a lockout fee which took all of 2 minutes for the janitor to help me with and which he was very happy to do so. This is only charged "after hours", although it takes the same amount of effort and time compared to if it was during office hours, which is free of charge. The front desk staff, maintenance, and janitors are all very friendly and helpful -- I can't say anything better about these people, and they truly go above and beyond each and every day to make the residents happy and feel at home. But if you are looking to move here, please know that management will do what they can to squeeze money out of their residents without making their best effort to provide top-tier accommodations for their residents.
• DS

  Dave Schrader

  Sep 7, 2026
  5.0
  We’ve had a great experience at Elm Street Plaza so far. Kailani has been incredibly helpful throughout our move-in and has always been kind, responsive & quick to help with anything that comes up. She has made the transition into our new home feel easy and welcoming, and we really appreciate everything she has done!
• MT

  Mark Thatcher

  Jun 26, 2026
  1.0
  Paid $5,500 to exit the lease and not live here anymore. Wouldn’t recommend. It’s mainly due to the age of the building and how it’s kept up. 3 elevators that break constantly. Property owner not willing to replace so long waits (greedy) Washing machines and dryers always eatting money and not working. Has roaches on lower floors. 30% of the building is section 8 low income housing. You don’t control AC vs heat. 80+ degree apartment year round. Slept with windows open to try and get some air flow. Loud area so sirens all night (gunshots once). Shared vents and tons of smoking in the building that management can’t control. Our unit was one of the most expensive on the top floor and it smelt like pot or blunt smoke 50% of the time. Roof maintenance with loud noises for 6 months unannounced. Also a massive water explosion from the old piping that lead to 5+ floors of water damage to units. Sorry to the person that reads these and has to respond politely. The management did the best they could and I didn’t have much problems with them… overall pretty terrible living experience. Maintenance guys are super helpful and nice. Give them a raise.
• FF

  Flower216

  May 22, 2026
  5.0
  Based on my application process, Sade has been amazing! She keeps you informed and in communication from start to finish. She really cares about the residents.
• KB

  Kimberly Bernstein

  May 18, 2026
  3.0
  Have lived here for the last 6 years since 2020 and have a lot of mixed feelings about this place. On one hand, the front desk staff and maintenance crew are exceptionally friendly, chatty, and super helpful. They are very reliable if an issue arises. The pool is maintained very well and the location is unbeatable. Close to red line and several buses, makes getting around Chicago very easy. Laundry is fine. You learn which machines work best, even after they replaced the laundry machines in the last 3-6 months. On the other hands, the only reoccurring issue that residents complain about EVERY year is that management only turns on AC ONCE a year around Memorial Day (they could turn on AC more than 1 time or prior to Memorial Day but choose not to). You can guarantee that every year between March and May you will have unbearable days in your apartment when outside temp is above 75 degrees. As I type this, the weather is 71 and my apartment thermometer reads 81.5 (and climbing). Despite this, my thermostat is off because heat (yes, HEAT) is flowing through the air vents. My apartment has reached over 90 degrees when temp outside is in the low 80s. Management will tell you to close blinds and open windows for relief, but my blinds haven’t been opened for days and it’s still 80+ degrees. Plus, when windows are open the spiders come from the building exterior come into my apartment. They’re small and easy to spot, but I kill between 2-5 spiders a day when windows are open in Spring/Summer. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t want to sacrifice a slight breeze for spiders in my bed or on my desk. Management is usually good with communication except when it comes to turning on the AC, that’s the only topic where I see a noticeable shift in response time and tone. It’s a real shame, because most months of the year I love living here and would recommend to anyone. But why am I paying tens of thousands of dollars a year to live here and be so uncomfortable for 30-45 days a year?

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