The Empire Building

Great landlord, cool rooftop deck, decent rent…that’s about it. I knew this wouldn’t be the perfect apartment but it definitely had its flaws lol. This building has a major ant and drain fly problem as well as cockroaches. The drains also had many issues towards the end of the lease, wasn’t sure if this was just my own problem but even my neighbor said calling the plumber began to be pointless for them. Many of the neighbors also had little to no decency, the noise made it seem like I was living in a brothel which was kinda driving me insane. Never received the right maintenance even after asking the property management office. Also wouldn’t be too uncommon for at least one elevator to break down. Again decent rent compared to the rest of the market these days but for what you actually get, I don’t think it’s worth it. Really wanted to enjoy this place more :/

This review is the only one that matters. I lived here for 11 months because I found a way better apartment. Pros: 1. The rooftop. It has such a great view of the city. 2. Location. 1/2 mile away from Water, Brady, and the lake. 3. Close to the grocery stores. Cons: 1. They never fully fix any issue. They just paint it, cover it was dry wall, or put a thing of ply wood. 2. Packages have been stolen and they never do anything about it. 3. The people living on this street are interesting. EMTs are normally called almost every night. 4. When complaining about the smell in the hallway, all they do it clean the carpet. And that just masks the smell 5. There are ants all the time in the summer. And when making a maintenance request, they do nothing. 6. The basement floods so you know the structure of the building is not good. 7. You can always smell cigarette smoke in your apartment through the vents. 8. They do not enforce no smoking in this building. 9. Some security cameras do not even work. 10. The entry ways and stairwells are always so dirty and they barely do anything to clean it. 11. Lastly, it’s owned by Katz Properties. They don’t care about there residents. All they care about is money. And making sure they can cheaply fix something. Do not move here. I know it’s cheap for a good location. But not in anyway, worth it for the quality of living.

This building has really become a great place to live. The past year a new manager(Stacy) was hired and along with her, a new maintenance guy(Ryan). These are some of the most important things you need to look at when getting an apartment. Maintenance is timely and FREE, and management is the nicest and most helpful. Stacy has helped me from things as large as moving out to small things like teaching me how to send a money order. People are wonderful here and its I'm the middle of the best part of the East side. My favorite bar is 2 doors down. And the rooftop is spectacular. 5 stars.

Just a warning to anyone looking to move into here. DO NOT! This place is infested with bed bugs. I am a current resident battling this issue now for the 2nd time. I had them dealt with and what seemed to be eradicated but low and behold 2.5 months later they're back... katz will not take the proper and necessary steps to solve the problem effectively and efficiently. They have a exterminator (if we can call him that) come in and do the one apartment that has the complaint at a time. Which we know will never solve the issue. Many others in this building that I know of have or had the same problem you can always smell the harsh and toxic fumes seeping through doors of apartments. Side note: in December they had an issue with the heat which left many residents without sufficient heat for up to 4 days! I was stuck living in my bedroom with a space heater and 3 blankets to stay warm during that period. But hey they have a great rooftop deck with views...

A laundry list of problems with this place. A previous reviewer mentioned bed bugs and I can second that. We have ants (on the 5th floor) in every room, not just the kitchen. We haven't had much problems with the building manager but she does seem to be a heavy smoker which can be smelled in the lobby. I'm not a fan of the Katz employees who also smoke on the property and at times reek of alcohol. In the winter there only ever seems to be salt by the manager's spots, not the entire lot which makes entering driving through the lot difficult at times. The intercom is broken and will probably never be fixed. The front door and especially the elevators have problems monthly. I could go on. For us it is just not worth the rent and parking fee, but perhaps for you, it will be. It is close to the lake, grocery stores, and downtown. =

There are bedbugs in the building, and it was never communicated to tenants. Also, the hallways always reek, as people are allowed to smoke inside.

This is my first apartment and it is perfect for me. Was able to get one of the newly remodeled 1 bedroom units and I love it. I have garage parking which is nice but parking area is somewhat hard to maneuver in. The rooftop deck is nice and the location is great for walking to nearby attractions. Overall I am satisfied for the few months I have lived here. Have not had to request maintenance as of yet, but it doesn't seem like it would be an issue.