Home  >  Chicago  >  Evanston  >  Downtown Evanston Apartments  >  Optima Horizons

High-rise Condo
Downtown Evanston, 800 Elgin Rd | Evanston
Overview
Photos
Amenities

Top Amenities

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  •  24-Hour Front Desk
  •  Cat friendly
  •  Dog friendly
  •  Fitness Center
  •  Granite Countertops
  •  Hardwood Floors
  •  Indoor Pool
  •  Oversize or penthouse units
  •  Parking Garage  
  •  Stainless Steel Appliances
  •  Walk-in Closets
  •  Washer/Dryer In Unit

User Rating

8.5
Great
259 Reviews

About this Location

Whole Foods Market
10 min walk
UP-N (rail) - 5 min
208/250 (bus) - 4 min
The Lakefill
18 min walk
Lots of bars and
restaurants nearby

Pricing 

1 Bedroom, 1 Bath
$2,495+
2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
$2,850+
3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
$4,600+
Schedule Appointment At
(872) 704-8022

  • Bedrooms

    •  Walk-in Closets

  • Included

    •  Gas Included
    •  Heat Included
    •  Water Included

  • Kitchen

    •  Dishwasher
    •  Garbage Disposal
    •  Granite Countertops
    •  Microwave
    •  Refrigerator
    •  Stainless Steel Appliances
    •  Stove & Oven

  • Laundry

    •  Washer/Dryer In Unit

  • Living Room

    •  Air Conditioning
    •  Hardwood Floors
    •  Large Windows
    •  Lots of Sunlight

  • Parking & Transportation

    •  Parking Garage  

  • Pet Terms & Amenities

    •  Cat friendly
    •  Dog friendly

  • Security & Maintenance

    •  24-Hour Front Desk

  • Sports & Fitness

    •  Fitness Center
    •  Indoor Pool

  • Storage

    •  Additional Storage Available

  • Unique Unit Types

    •  Oversize or penthouse units
X

Overall rating 8.5/10, based on 259 renter reviews Write a review

9.4
Location
7.4
Amenities
8.0
Management
8.7
Value
7.7
Social
9.2
Safety
Excellent
135
Great
98
Good
26
Average
0
Terrible
0

Optima Horizons reviews and highlights

  • Modern finishings and appliances
  • Gorgeous view of Lake Michigan
  • Indoor parking garage is a big plus in the winter
  • Excellent amenities
  • Expensive for Evanston
  • Great bathrooms
  • Indoor Pool is great for kids
  • Great for retirees and seniors
  • Building is clean and well maintained
  • 5-10 min walk to bars and restaurants
  • Lots of sunlight
  • Condo rules can be strict
  • Allows large dogs
  • Great place to live
  • Tons of Kellogg students
  • Amenities in units vary
  • Building is pretty quiet if you aren't on the side next to train tracks
  • Friendly landlord and management
  • Gym is small, but enough for simple workouts
  • Front desk personnel are extremely nice
  • Floor to ceiling windows
  • Fee required to reserve the elevator
  • Fantastic location
Filter reviews for
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Great building, awesome location, and good value

Optima Horizons - or “OHo” as many residents call it - has 10 floors of condos including one bedrooms, one bed plus dens, two bedrooms and more that Kellogg students often take advantage of. It’s a great mix of everything and is the closest to Kellogg of the “popular” buildings. Great pool and hot tub yearround too!

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Reviewed by
 
  • Couple
  • 1 bed / 1 bath
8
Great
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

OHO Review

Optima Horizons is the way to go - but note, each unit is really different

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  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
8
Great
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Great building, lots of variability in unit quality

The location can't be beat--15 mins walk to the hub and easy access to downtown Evanston. Great door staff and easy package/mail pickup. Decent fitness center and *bonus* hot tub. My 2 bedroom layout has rather thin walls between bedrooms and the unit hasn't been refurbished in a long time--this likely varies a bit.

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  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Affordable

Affordable place. Lots of Kellogg students. Great location!

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Reviewed by
 
  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
8
Great
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Very Positive Experience!

Closest condo building to the Global Hub

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Reviewed by
 
  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 3 baths
8
Great
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Great option

Great location with lots of Kellogg students without being like a party dorm

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Reviewed by
 
  • Couple
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Evanston Dreamhome

I could not be happier at Foster Street. I knew I'd gotten lucky getting into this building, but I didn't realize how much. Location aside, which cannot be beat, it just feels more like a home. People always want to come here because of the large layouts, balcony...and just how nice the units are. My JV commutes to downtown and there is immediate access to both the EL and the Metra. Having 2 included parking spots (1 covered) is huge, and you don't have to pay anything extra. Ditto for pets. Compare that to a combined ~$200/month at most other places for those two things (and that's assuming you only have 1 car). Every bar and restaurant is easily walkable within 5-15 minutes, and the hub is a 3 minute bike ride or 10 minute walk. I honestly couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

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Reviewed by
 
  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
8
Great
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Relatively quiet, lots of Kellogg students

Apartments are clean and nice, great views. We face the train but I don’t think the noise is bad. Definitely recommend finding a good landlord within the building, since you’ll need to deal with them for any maintenance.

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Reviewed by
 
  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
8
Great
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Overall great value and great location

If you're looking for value and location when comparing distance from the Hub, this is tough to beat. It doesn't have the amenities of E2 or Centrum but is also (for the most part) much cheaper. I would put OHo at the top of value and am very pleased with the decision to live here. Management is eh, but within reason for the price and other buildings have the same problems.

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Reviewed by
 
  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Good Value

Very nice for the money

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  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths

The Neighborhood

Signature Spots

dining 29 Recs

Buffalo Joe’s
Bat 17
Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza
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grocery 2 Recs

Whole Foods Market
Trader Joe’s
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convenience 2 Recs

Walgreens
7-Eleven
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fitness 34 Recs

Pure Barre
Evanston Athletic Club
TITLE Boxing Club
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parks 7 Recs

Dawes Park
City of Evanston Recreation Divisi…
Merrick Rose Garden
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coffee 14 Recs

Andy’s Frozen Custard
Bennison’s Bakery
Unicorn Cafe
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Back

About Downtown Evanston

Since it's home to Northwestern, Downtown Evanston is the most popular residential area for Kellogg students. Most apartment buildings in Downtown Evanston are a 20 minute walk from the Donald P. Jacobs Center, and several public transport options can cut that commute even further. This safe and hig...
Walkable
Easy Commute
Great Location
Student Friendly
Social Community
Great Accessibility
Proximity To Amenities
Median rents in Downtown Evanston
Studio
$
1,650
1 Bedroom
$
2,100
2 Bedroom
$
2,150

Getting around Downtown Evanston

UP-N (rail)

5 min

Purple

5 min

208/250 (bus)

4 min

93 (bus)

3 min

213 (bus)

4 min

201 (bus)

4 min

Parking at Optima Horizons

Parking Garage

, , , ,

Parking Near Optima Horizons

City of Evans 1800 Maple Self Park Garage

5 min
$110 / month

City of Evans Sherman Plaza Self Park

5 min
$95 / month

E2 Apartments

8 min
$145 / month
Parking rates are for informational purposes only and may vary — for most up to date pricing, please reach out to the garage directly.

Downtown Evanston Reviews

506 reviews
Reviewed by Kellogg MBA Student living at E2 Apartments
Downtown Evanston has everything you need. E2 is walkable to campus, a Target, and plenty of restaurants, as well as Metra and L stations to get to Chicago. Right across the street is a Subway, a Thai restaurant, and a pizza place, plus there’s a 7-Eleven about a block away, so you’re very close to options if you need food in a pinch.
Reviewed by Kellogg MBA Student living at John Evans Building
Close to downtown Evanston but a bit far from E2/the reserve. One of closest apartments to Trader Joes/Whole Foods/Jewel Osco while also being close to campus. Very close to the lake!
Reviewed by Kellogg MBA Student living at Optima Horizons
Downtown Evanston has everything you need from a downtown including grocery stores, restaurants, and convenience stores.
Reviewed by Kellogg MBA Student living at Centrum Evanston
Downtown Evanston is great - plenty of great food within walking distance, Metra and El trains right nearby, a really nice place to be. Only downside is it's far from school and the only truly walkable grocery store is a Whole Foods, which can get expensive. Overall, wouldn't want to live elsewhere though.
Reviewed by Kellogg MBA Student living at Evanston Place
Close to grocery stores and restaurants. Very easy access to Lake Michigan as well!
Reviewed by Kellogg MBA Student living at Albion Evanston
There isn't much to do here, but that's true pretty much everywhere in Evanston. We're in walking distance to all of "downtown" Evanston, so restaurants / fast food / subway, etc. It's a slightly longer walk than desired to Kellogg, but that's fine.
Reviewed by Kellogg MBA Student living at Optima Horizons
The apartment is central to downtown and is walking distance to most bars, restaurants, shops, beach, etc. Evanston is a bit of a sleepy town (especially during the pandemic...I've been told it was much more vibrant pre-pandemic).
Reviewed by Kellogg MBA Student living at 1454 Oak Ave
I live just south of the main downtown area, and it's the perfect intersection of being close to the action but also a bit removed when you want some quiet. I like being a in a more residential pocket, so there is slightly less foot traffic and really nice areas to walk around with a dog, etc.

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