The Venue

Very clean and well-appointed. But getting information from management is nearly impossible. Prepare to figure everything out on your own and live with broken things. The studio apartments do not have balconies or closets.

Absolutely do NOT rent here. Management doesn’t care about fixing your problems in a timely fashion, management does not communicate with tenants about on going problems or follow ups , and corporate won’t compensate you for continuously having to do the property managers job. In a brand new building my AC was broken in the peak of summer for 2.5 months. All I got for this was $50 after having to move out, and take 5 hours of vacation to do the managers job of letting in maintenance. The streets are loud and the location is decent. You could definitely find a better place to live. Watch out for their other properties too. I know a tenant in the building they finished 4 months ago and her air conditioning also doesn’t work. Obviously their builders are sloppy and management doesn’t even check all that before you move in. Very unprofessional, uncommunicative, and far from empathetic.

Two things are truly unfortunate about The Venue, as it has otherwise been a really decent place to live. First, the noise! As other reviewers have eluded to, Empower Gym on the first floor produces a level of noise that so severely and negatively impacts the quality of life here I’m unable to adequately quantify it. This cannot be understated. It is not an exaggeration. What’s more, management would NEVER, ever, tolerate a similar level of inconsiderate disruption from a residential tenant. Dispite numerous communications with management, there has been little, if any, genuine consideration of residents complaints. And certainly been no resolution. Otherwise, package delivery can be difficult and inconvenient. Parking free of a monthly nickel and dime-ing can be limited. If other commercial tenants decide to overlook the discourteous noise of the gym, parking will quickly become quite problematic. (In large part I hope this occurs as I think the leverage of another commercial tenant might be the only way the issue is ever addressed). In closing, should you hesitantly decide to live in the building, avoid the second floor all together. Should you decide to live on the east side of the second floor, change your mind.

I agree with the (currently only) other review regarding noise levels. While my neighbors haven't been too loud and street noise is about what you'd expect living down the road from a hospital, the first floor gym is obnoxiously loud. They have a speed bag hanging from the ceiling and you have to hear/feel constant thumping most of the time they're open. Imagine living underneath a stairwell where people run up/down the stairs for hours on end, six days/week. Add some awful Linkin Park remixes or EDM (which makes it sound like someone is beating on a snare drum for hours) and you now have the full experience of what it's like to live here noise-wise. Friday is easily the worst because it starts at 6 AM. Sunday is the only day of respite because it's the only day they don't have boxing classes. I've spoken with tenants all around me and the gym's noise affects at least twelve units, if not more. I've also made multiple complaints regarding the gym's noise levels since they opened over the summer, but it's clear at this point nothing will be done about it. I even went out and bought stupidly expensive earplugs to try and deal with it, but they don't help because you can just feel the thumping through the floor and walls. Because of this, I will not be renewing my lease when it expires in November. Unlike what the description says, the floors are not hardwood. They are a peel-and-stick, water-resistant flooring like Traffic Master Allure. Because there's no carpet to absorb sound, it would not surprise me if tenants are turning up their televisions/music to drown out the gym's noise, which in turn winds up aggravating neighboring tenants. Finally, I wish I had paid $15/mo to park in the gated area because my car has been hit several times by people going to the coffee shop or the gym. It's definitely going to cost more than $180 to get all these scratches and dents fixed.

Zero consideration was given to noise reduction during the design of the building. The hallways echo unbelievably. Doors slam with force enough to be heard across the street. You can easily participate in your neighbors conversations or listen to their movies. Michigan Avenue is loud. The parking lot is loud. The businesses (especially the gym) on the first floor are loud. The Venue will undoubtedly be the noisiest place you’ve ever lived.