The Lawrence House

My unit was disgusting. The staff doesn’t care about you or their job. You quality of life goes down the second you sign this lease. Do not make the same mistake I did.

The Lawrence House is a beautiful space with lots of ammenities in the building. Having a bar and cafe in the building is great gor a social life. Leasing with Flats Life gives you access to the amenities in all the buildings in Chicago, not just the Lawremce House, which is nice, although only one is in walking distance. in-unit washer/dryer is amazing. The only complaint I have is the kitchen size. It's pretty miniscule in most apartments. It's acceptable if you decide to live alone, but anything more than that, you could be strapped for space. If you can get padt that, though, The Lawrenve House is a great place to live.

I've lived here about 7 months and definitely won't be re-upping my 1 year lease. It's alright, and having someone at the door 24/7 makes me feel safe even if it is just the doorman and not also the security guard (who is usually there at night). You need a key fob for the elevators, so really only the lobby (bar, patio, coffee shop) is open to the public which is fine. A studio here is probably the newest/best amenities you can get for living alone in Chicago at this price. However, here is the weird stuff: building is SUPER humid. The A/C units use water and drip, and because there is just one window that opens a crack and no vent in the bathrooms it is STEAMY. I bought a dehumidifier pretty cheap which works well. In-unit washing machine/dryer combo is the worst. Gets SO hot even if you pick low heat on the dryer setting. Can smell funky too since these units dry by sucking water out and not blowing air in (kinda mildew-y). Takes about 6 hours for one load. I had to buy a clothes-drying rack. I do not dry my clothes in this machine anymore. Ruined so many of my clothes. Kitchen is tiny and was ok at first, but it just gets tiring being so cramped with no counter space, and hand-washing in the tiny sink is such a pain. If you like cooking, maybe consider elsewhere. Being super close to the Red line is one of the best perks here. Uptown is Uptown, so you just have to be aware of where you're choosing to live. Property management is hit or miss. Some people are great and friendly in responding and some act put out by tenant requests. They do get fixed eventually (there was mold in my bathroom when I moved in) but it can take some constant communication to get them to follow through. I'd say just get a roommate in a 2 bedroom somewhere else, you'll spend less and have more space.

The reviews here are a bit silly and must be coming from tenants that have never lived outside of a two or three flat in Chicago. You chose a building with full amenities and a coffee shop/bar in the lobby. Everyone and their grandma is going to want repeat visits to use all the outdoor spaces. That is what happens when you have a ton of cool stuff to utilize. If you show up to the concerts and movie nights 30 minutes prior to start, I can guarantee you'll get a good seat and not have to cry about having to put a towel down or god forbid.... stand The staff and everyone involved in keeping the building running have been amazing. Quick response to issues and always friendly door staff. I've never felt unsafe or crowded. You chose an artist residency space with great utilities and price for what you get. Thanks for the great addition to Uptown! My girlfriend and I look forward to the next two years here (or whatever is left on the lease).

At first glance, The Lawrence House is a trendy, art-deco building with cool interior design and great amenities. Very early on into my lease here it became clear that there is absolutely NO soundproofing between apartments, and the residents are almost never held accountable for flagrant disruptions or violations of their tenant's contract. While the lobbies and assorted amenities are great, in theory, FLATS management is too concerned with bringing in business from the surrounding area to care at all about their tenants getting what they pay (A LOT!) for. I spent a year surrounded by inconsiderate, horribly loud neighbors who blast music and TV at all hours of the day and night, have drunken get-togethers which involve talking at absurdly loud levels well past 2 or 3am. The floors (and most walls) are all constructed of concrete, so neighbors in apartments above wearing their high heels and pacing endlessly at 5am echo and all sounds from all directions are loud enough to sound like they're in your apartment. On multiple occasions, there have been complaints about dogs left unattended and barking/howling for hours on end, only for management to maybe send an email but ultimately do nothing until confronted again by other tenants. Dogs are not allowed in the lobbies (unless you're in with the staff, in which case they run around off-leash), you're not able to bring your own drinks to the lobby because they want you to have to purchase the $10 cocktails from their pretentious bar. In the year I was there they increasingly opened the lounges and backyard up to the public for obnoxious events, further impeding on residents' access to the amenities they trick you into thinking are worth the absurdly high rent. Like the review mentioned above, the area is also iffy at best, and at MOST, the building security consists of a part-time security employee who is absent from the lobby for long periods of time. There have been calls to police made on domestic violence that resulted in nothing, I had a drunk and aggressive man screaming and throwing trash cans in my hallway, and at one point there was a suspect of some nearby crime hiding in the building. Don't get tricked into supporting this awful, greedy corporation. They do not care about you.

I am not going to mince my words. On 09/18/17, I accidentally left my keys on a table behind a lamp for a few minutes (no exaggeration). Within that time frame, a BROTHER of a RESIDENT took my keys, went outside and found my car, and stole my car. My car was recovered on 10/01/17 at 41st St/S Calumet and eventually totaled on 10/11/17 after the offender did $16k worth of damages. If you’ve never had your car stolen, the horror of the whole situation is beyond comprehension. If you live at Lawrence House, all you get from management is that the resident has been dealt with “appropriate legal action” and the offender who stole our car (remember: BROTHER of a RESIDENT) has been back since that incident. There is zero security in this building – even after the bar closes and the coffee shop opens. None. I have come downstairs at 8am to find people sleeping in the lobby. I have seen incidents where individuals have been sleeping in the downstairs bike storage room. I have seen incidents of skinny dipping in the pool. When My strong advice to everyone is to rent somewhere cheaper and utilize Lawrence House amenities without the ridiculous rent. The bar, coffee shop, patio, movies, live music, lobby, and all special events are open to the public. In fact, I have seen residents have their friends use the bicycle storage and not be residents. We have visited/lived in/toured many high amenity buildings and none offer their amenities to the general public (with the exception of a few buildings with coffee shops but once the coffee shop closes, so does the lobby to the general public). None. The taco night on Sundays is a disaster. The people who make the taco's have their kids destroying everything in the backyard--jumping on the end tables, throwing firepit rocks, sitting in the firepit, kicking the plants.... When the general public ruin the building amenities (plants, end tables, beds, patio umbrellas, etc), the general public do not care because their rent is not increasing as a result, it is the rent of the residents that increases. Additionally, when the general public uses the supplies of your building (i.e., firewood, gas for grills) and the need to replace it much more often than anticipated... again, the residents will be dealing the rent increases. And for the love of renting -- please keep the firewood refilled and the dog run clean. That place stinks when at the fire pit!