Optima Horizons has a terrific community of Kellogg students. It's in a fantastic location, both close to downtown Evanston and the Jacobs Center. The building is nice, the door staff is very friendly and the individual units are generally very nice with modern finishings and appliances though differ a bit as they're individually owned). The downside is that the property management can be unnecessarily strict and difficult at times, but the pain there is mostly reserved for move in/move out.

Very Positive Experience!

I have enjoyed my time at Optima Horizons so far.

The pros: gorgeous view of Lake Michigan, washer/dryer in unit, parking & utilities (except internet) was included in monthly rent, packages/mail are easy to retrieve from the front desk, entrance is manned for most of the day, and it's a short 7 minute walk to Kellogg.

The cons: the building management can be very difficult to work with (moving any items larger than a box must be coordinated beforehand and require a fee to "reserve the elevator" and it was a pain to schedule a time block to move-in), amenities will vary based on the unit and to what extent the owner upgraded options - our unit had somewhat dated appliances/features, and some owners require a 2-year lease which can be limiting if you plan to study abroad and for summer internships.

Convenient location and a lot of Kellogg students live in the building however management can be nitpicky about rules.

Great building

There are so many Kellogg students that live here, which is great because you can run into classmates in the elevator, halls, etc. Management is pretty helpful, although they are pretty particular with some of their rules. Overall, its a great apartment, in a great location!

It's been an overall great experience living at Optima Horizons. The building is relatively new and provides all basic amenities. Rooms are also well insulated and the building is right in the middle of the downtown area with easy access to grocery shops and pharmacies. For people going to Northwestern, this is a great place to be if you are ready to shell out a little bit of extra money, but the amenities (especially the heated pool) are worth it.

However, as it is a condo, you will need to abide by some very strict rules.

Awesome unit with a fantastic landlord - very responsive, helpful, etc. Great building with full amenities, <10 min walk to campus.

Optima Horizons is a great condo building that's just a short walk to Kellogg and also well positioned to everything in Downtown Evanston. About half of the building is occupied by Kellogg students, which means that there's always someone around if you need help with classwork, need to borrow a screwdriver, or just want to find friends to hang out with. The rent is a little on the higher side, especially if you are living alone, but the units are generally very nice, clean, and up-to-date. It probably makes more financial sense to get a 2BR unit and split the rent with a friend, but no matter what, you won't go wrong living in OH.

Optima Horizons is a great place for students to live while attending Kellogg. We were fortunate to find a building and unit that permitted large dogs. It was a reasonable distance from Kellogg, had great amenities including a gym (though the gym has limited equipment), and is within walking distance to everything in Downtown Evanston. The building is pretty quiet and incredible comfortable. We have very much enjoyed our time here.