2 East 8th Student Housing

Disaster! New management has ruined a once desirable building. My student had a new roommate march through the door without any notice at all. We were told she would be living alone, and then one evening another student shows up. Not so much as a warning as she passes the office. Very unprofessional and unreasonable.

I rented at 2 E 8^th St primarily because of its proximity to my school (Columbia College). The building was formerly an official Columbia dorm, and it shows. Although some units have been «upgraded» with newer appliances and finishes (available for a much higher monthly rent), very little seems to have changed since 2 E 8^th’s dorm days.
All units are furnished, but the furniture is cheap, rundown, and seems to have been around for at least a decade. Our dishwasher broke halfway through our lease and had to be completely replaced. There are no microwaves or ice-​makers, and the beds are twins (this is pretty standard for dorms, but just so you know).
It should be noted that the rent you pay is «per bed,» meaning that unless you pay approximately $ 200 extra a month, you’ll most likely end up sharing a room and a bathroom.
The elevators are a constant source of frustration for tenants. I don’t think I ever went a week without at least one breaking down. It’s no good being so close to school if you’re waiting 15 minutes for the elevator. There was even a time when all 3 elevators broke down at the same time. Walking up 20+ flights of stairs may be great exercise, but this kind of thing wasn’t exactly mentioned in the leasing agreement. To make matters worse, instead of apologizing for the incident, building management blamed the tenants! After finally being fixed, the elevators displayed signs that threatened $ 50 fines for those who broke the elevators’ capacity limit of 8 people.
Speaking of the management, the property manager during my time at 2 E 8^th was incredibly unhelpful and downright disrespectful to my roommate and I during the majority of our interactions.
Noise was also an issue, although I’m sure it depends on who lives on your floor. To give you an idea, I could hear (and feel) my neighbor’s stereo’s bass even though there was a stairwell and trash closet separating us.
As far as safety, I didn’t personally have any problems, but there were several well-​documented muggings outside of the Polk St entrance to the Harrison Red Line station (less than 1 block away). Obviously, the responsibility for these doesn’t lie with the building, but future tenants should be aware that there have been these kinds of issues nearby.
All utilities are included in the rent, but it’s also worth pointing out that 2 E 8^th’s HVAC system is one in which there cannot be both heat and A/​C at the same time. This means that after the heat is turned on for the year, A/​C cannot be used until June 1^st of the next year. The A/​C itself broke down several times during some of the hottest days I’ve experienced in Chicago.
Requests for maintenance can be submitted online and in person at the office. I often had to re-​submit requests to get any kind of work done. To give you an idea of the condition of the building, I submitted no fewer than 20 maintenance requests during my 11-​month lease.
TVs, DirecTV, and high-​speed internet are also included. All of which can be nice, but are also clearly the cheapest the building could possibly afford.
I didn’t have any experience with parking because I don’t own a car.
Students may not be as picky as normal apartment dwellers, but that doesn’t change the fact that 2 E 8^th provides an incredibly sub-​par living experience that should be avoided at all costs.