Circa 922

I lived in Circa 922 (modern side) for a year, until my lease expired a couple of months ago. Two stars, because for the price it fell below expectations.
Pros
(1) The location is great. Easy walk to grocery stores, butchers, all the restaurants in the West Loop, and downtown as well for those that work there.
(2) On the higher floors, the views both east (facing the skyline) and west (sunset) are nice. But see points two and three below.
Cons
(1) Coming from a construction/​real estate family, it’s clear to me that they skimped on finishes. These are rental units, but the quality of cabinets, carpet/​flooring, countertops, even paint and wiring are low-​end.
(2) Facing west, you’re directly across the street from a drug treatment center. Frequent ambulances, early-​morning and late-​night inmate (?) noise, rickety A/​C/​heating units on the roof there.
(3) Facing east, there’s currently a low building directly across, but there’s a pending application to construct a new condo building there, which will likely obstruct skyline views and be a noise nuisance.
(4) The shared walls are constructed well (minimal noise transfer) but the entrance doors have significant air gaps – I could hear sneezes (among other things) from the apartment across me, which I found very weird. God forbid if you live across a baby or someone with dogs.
(5) Pricing is very high, even for the neighborhood, particularly when you consider the per square foot cost. Expect a significant price increase (at least 5%) when your lease is up for renewal. In light of the cons, I couldn’t justify renewing my lease, given the other buildings in the neighborhood.

This building is terrible and the management is worse.
Management
1) very unresponsive and rude. We had a notice to extend our lease and we requested pricing for short-​term lease options two weeks ago and we are still waiting
2) close the office as they see fit. They say they are open until 6 but the majority of time they are only here if there is a showing. We used to have a doorman and we no longer have that.
The building
1) units have NO storage
2) any west-​facing units look directly into the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. We can not open our blinds on the 5^th floor because people will wave or watch you during their group sessions
3) the noise from the rehab center is ridiculous all through the night.
I would never recommend this building to anyone.

They are a great property! Very clean and they are extremely responsive

Circa 922 is a beautiful, well-​managed property! AND it’s close to so much nightlife (like Girl & the Goat!), quick groceries… not to mention a great nail salon right across the street! What’s not to love?
In spite of some of the other reviews posted, the new management team is consistently making improvements to the building’s appearance and policies. They’ve made several additions to our amenities like a new conference bar right next to unlimited coffee and drinks! There’s even a new, fancy package system! The overall upkeep of the building and communication through emails and elevator signs from the office staff is much appreciated.
I love this place! Great views and plenty of fun to be had at home and right in the neighborhood.

I lived in Circa for a year when it first started leasing out units.
My unit:
–Although it had *gorgeous* views facing east, that could not make up for what it was lacking. I wanted to move out right away but decided to stick it out for the remainder of the lease.
— I hated my studio apartment. There are NO CLOSETS. None. Where do I put my clothes? Where do I hide my broom? The kitchen only had two big cabinets to put my kitchenware and nothing more. Awful. Limited counter space, too.
— The flooring and fixtures were nice, but they used cheap appliances all of which fell apart at one point or another during my stay.
The building:
— They skimped on the amenities. It’s a smaller building and that’s somewhat understandable.
— This is a LEED silver building and that’s great if you’re looking to save the environment. However, this means you can’t ever take a hot shower or bath. Your dishes and clothes will also be washed in cold water.
— Speaking of taking showers, my unit’s individual water tank was so tiny that I had to wait at least an hour after running the washer to take a lukewarm shower. If I had guests over, just forget about them taking anything but a freezing cold shower once you’ve taken one!
— My mail packages were getting lost all the time in the beginning. Later they added a package retrieval system that helped, but I still saw amazon packages thrown about all over the lobby. I didn’t bother having anything mailed to me at Circa after someone picked up my Nordstrom package.
— They don’t have concierge or 24 hour security.
— One positive: the air in the ventilation system goes both ways :)
The neighborhood: It’s West Loop and it was a perfect walk to work. Super convenient walk to Mariano’s as well — love!

Expect HIDDEN costs EVERY month! If you live on the printers row side, you split the gas bill with every tenant. I was gone for 2 weeks in Feb and came home to a $ 173 gas bill for the month, despite not being there. The previous months my gas bill ranged from $ 10-​$ 50. They split the gas bill between every unit, so no matter how conscious you are of not wasting gas, you pay for your potentially careless neighbors.
Living in this building you will pay extra for everything on top of your rent: gas, sewer, water, cable, electric, parking and the ever important administration fee. When I asked mgmt why my bill was so high, I got their favorite line, «it’s in your lease». They don’t disclose important details because it would seriously drive potential tenants away.
I also dealt with a resident smoking in a unit below me from August to March. They did NOTHING about this. I was again given the «it’s in your lease» line that the building is smoke free, but this can’t actually be guaranteed.
Last summer, I wanted to renew my lease for a year, but opted for a 9 month renewal because the 1 year would’ve raised my rent $ 500/​month instead of $ 150 for 9.
Lincoln management runs this building and The Madison, that’s also in West Loop. I would recommend looking elsewhere.

Terrible management company. I have to send multiple emails and then finally stalk them and chase them down for any request. I also live on the first floor and when asked about the street noise, was given a vague answer which lead me to believe that it was not bad. Now I get to listen to the glorious sounds of trash trucks constantly coming and going at any hour of the day. Nothing like a 4:00am wake up call of a dumpster being slammed to the ground… every. single…week. Without notice the management will make changes, such as using our parking garage as a revenue generator, now allowing strangers to park in select spaces in our secure garage.

I am a current resident painfully biding my time here on a street level unit, 102. I soon came to realize why that unit was available (for suckers like me). The street noise is sickening. It does not help to have windows that do NOT bulge (outside of Hercules and management refuse to fix). With the windows «stuck up», you catch EVERY tormenting noise in a lofted bedroom. Worst living experience, hands down.
Prospective tenants, avoid this unit.

We lived in the printers loft side of the building, 7^th floor — which was the top floor on that side. For 1.5 years of living there, it RAINED IN OUR MASTER bedroom directly over our bed. The multiple management teams that have taken over there, continued to make excuses and not only didn’t fix the roof, but we were lucky if they even put a plastic bag over it to keep it from damaging our bedding and dripping on us all night long.
They let us out of our lease early (b/​c they were sick of making concessions on our rent & paying us for damaged duvet covers), and 2 months later, we have yet to receive our security deposit back — though we’ve been ASSURED we’d receive it in full within 2 weeks after move out after all we’d been through.
Now, they’ve switched management again, and I’m sure to be chasing down my security deposit for another X months.
I’d advise you look elsewhere in the West Loop if you’d like an over-​priced, under-​cared for property.