Pros: Your back yard is literally the beach. You can't get any closer. There is a closed-gate back patio where you can store your grill and throw parties. Both rooms have A/C units that work well, and the bedroom has a ceiling fan. The bathroom has a regular sized bathtub, great water pressure, and a full storage closet. Loop pile carpeting in main rooms provides a firm, easy-to-clean surface that even hardwood enthusiasts can live with. Our bedroom very comfortably fits a queen sized bed, a dresser, and a desk. Our living room fits an entertainment system, a full-wall bookshelf, a couch, and a small coffee table, though the fit is quite tight. However, it's worth it for the massive breakfast bar, which seats eight people front and back on game night and provides a generous work surface for cooking, sewing, or other hobbies. There is a coat-closet by the entrance and a standard closet in the bedroom. Yes, the building participates in recycling. My personal favorite: there is a trash chute on every floor. Of course, the biggest pro is that the price for this amount of space and this beach-side location is incomparable.

Pros with cons: While the front office will intercept and store your packages in a locked room, office hours are inconvenient and it sometimes takes me a few days to intercept someone who can unlock the room. While laundry is available on the 12th floor (at reasonable prices), management locks the room at 10pm sharp, whether or not machines are still running. While there is an exercise room, it is exceedingly cramped, dirty, and spider-ridden. While there is a small storage unit made available, it complies with the same access hours as the laundry room, and the space is filthy. Many storage units directly face windows, meaning items can be sun-bleached.

Cons: The elevators are not properly maintained. None of the elevators have had valid inspection certificates since late 2014 and constantly break down. Many conditional certificates were issued before the certificates quietly disappeared altogether. Be prepared to occasionally take the stairs. The other major con is that the building is very, very old and the windows provide zero insulation. Traditional vacuum-seal plastic covers are insufficient, because so much wind passes through the windows that it will literally rip the plastic away. During the winter we had to insert thick insulation panels that blocked our view. The free heat is relatively non-existent and a radiator/electric heaters will be required to get through the winter. The last major con is that there is only a half-sized electric stove in the unit. The oven portion is unusable and the electric coils are crooked.

Important note: This review describes our unit only. Every condo in the building is different. We have seen five different units so far and each one was radically different in every way: size, layout, floors, tiles, cabinets, bathroom, kitchen, etc. No two are alike in any meaningful way. However, things like the windows, the heating, the patio, the amenities, recycling bins, etc. are universal.

Locations (approx):
10 minute walk to Redline
15 minute walk to Whole Foods
15 minute walk to Walgreens
15 minute walk to Chase Bank
15 minute walk to Starbucks
147 Outer Drive Express stops directly in front of building
151 Stops directly outside of building
5 minute walk to 36 Broadway bus
15 minute walk to Dice Dojo: Chicagoland Games (literally one of the funnest places in all of Chicago, especially on Wednesday nights)
Very close to sushi, Thai, diner, Indian, Italian, and other foods. A high-density restaurant area.