BJB Evanston, LLC

1575 Oak Review

Clean, with every appliances working, warm during winters although central heating has to be complemented with additional heating in the peak of the winter. No pests. Responsive maintenance. I like the location because it's a good distance to walk in good weather and close to various bus stations including one that connects to the NU campus. Coin laundry is additional cost. Elevator is slow but better than not having one.

I have lived in this building for four years and love living here. The management company is incredible - they are always kind and timely. My building is incredibly quiet and safe, and it seems most of the other residents are either grad students or older adults. I’m right next to the L and the Metra, there are two grocery stores in walking distance, and a few shops. My only complaints are that my studio is pretty small, you need to purchase your own window-unit AC, we don’t have in-unit laundry, and our exercise room is minimal.

Overall I love this apartment. The building itself is old but the units are newly renovated. Management is great- very responsive and work orders are completed promptly. A bit far from Kellogg, but the value is better than most other buildings.

In-unit parking is expensive and hard to use but those are my only real complaints. The location is the biggest plus and my unit itself is nice.

Good location, old building

I am very pleased with 1575 Oak, great downtown location and near Davis metra and el stops.

Pros: maintenance is responsive, close to metra & subway, tons of light in unit, lots of restaurants close by, cost, quiet building, parking available, pets allowed

Cons: older building, laundry in basement, internet occasionally has issues

The building, managed by BJB Evanston, is a bit farther from Kellogg than other apartment buildings, but it is a lovely building and unit. My one bedroom, one bath is ~850 sq ft and has a dining room attached to the kitchen, as well as a large living room and bedroom. It is a great property for dog owners. Cable & internet are included in the rent so you just have to cover gas & electric. Extremely well-managed building - typically they fix issues same day or at least within 24 hrs.

This apartment is better than it seems at first. The lobby/hallway is a bit shabby and the elevators are super small, but once getting into your apartment it's decent and can be made very cozy. I wish they did a better job of cleaning/maintaining those common areas, but at least my apartment is clean and comfortable. It's an older building but in decent shape and all maintenance requests are responded to within 1-2 days. The gym is small but gets the job done with basic machines, ellipticals, and treadmills. Laundry room has 4 washers and 4 dryers, and takes credit card for payment so it's super easy to use. Air conditioner is a wall unit so it's loud during the summer (and we had to turn on/off regularly). Heat has been fine but you can only select a setting 1-5, not a certain temperature. It's not a huge apartment but definitely spacious enough for 2 people. Decent closet space, not a ton (3 closets total).

Pros:
A much cheaper studio apartment than those in downtown Evanston, so it's more no-frills. Worth it to me because my focus was to save money while living alone. Also, I LOVE the location of this apartment because Trader Joe's and Jewel-Osco (aka cheaper groceries) are so closeby. You'll appreciate that in winter when you don't want to walk more than 5 minutes! Train station is right behind the apartment building as well.

I like the size of the apartment since it's cozy, but doesn't feel claustrophobic. There's lots of closet/storage space. It's been getting colder, and the apartment has been very warm, which I really appreciate as I'm having to do less on my own (i.e. heated mattress pad, weighted blanket, etc.) to make the Chicago winter bearable at home! There's a small gym with some treadmills and weight machines and a laundry room with 4 washing machines and 4 dryers.

Cons:
The apartment wasn't very clean upon arrival. Do a deep clean! It's not a very aesthetically appealing building. There is a package room, but it's not really used well, so the packages kind of just lie around near the front door of the building. I wouldn't ship anything expensive here just in case. There are maintenance issues around things like the shower drain or dishwasher, which can be frustrating. The maintenance staff is very kind though.

Value property

The apartment overall is comparable in size and location to Kellogg vis-a-vis some of the pricier buildings. The cost is unbeatable. The building though is not as nice as the pricier buildings and management has not devoted enough resources to keeping the apartments up to date (old appliances, need for many maintenance requests). It's livable but I'm not sure whether we'd do it again.

Low cost but outdated apartment

Good and price is fair. However, the gym in the basement really needs some upgrade, improvement, or maintenance.