The Elle Apartments

**Update** There were issues surrounding my outstanding balance from my move out a year ago. PIERRE DOWDEN was no help, literally ignoring several attempts by me to get clarity and talk through the balance as I knew it was incorrect. Michael Meyers stepped in and was terrific. It took 20 min to dig into my account and identify several issues due to poor accounting. In the end, he found I owed $120 less than what the balance stated. PIERRE DOWDEN is a joke. He does nothing more than sloppily slosh around wanting to feel important. Imagine being overgrown and absolutely useless. ********** I hated living here. New management is terrible.
Feb 2nd, 2024

Building is great and the location is great. The maintenance and front desk staff are very friendly and always nice talking to them. The leasing office is hot garbage. Styles doesnt seems to know how to do anything. Jolie is as fake as can be. Acts like shes friendly around potential tenants and then completely flips the script any other time. Pierre is ok. He can be helpful when needed. Catalina was amazing but she left and I dont blame her. I recommend the building because what it has and what is around. But the leasing office is terrible.
Feb 2nd, 2024

I am a 5-year resident of The Elle (formerly known as Alta Roosevelt) who moved in pre-COVID under the prior owners and just signed my sixth year lease through 2025. The Printer's Row/South Loop neighborhood is a great place to live for those who work downtown and, based on the recent construction in the area, it would appear other developers have taken note. However, I can honestly say that one of the main reasons for me continuing to call The Elle home is because of my confidence and comfort with the management team, particularly the property manager Pierre Dowden. I had the pleasure of working with Pierre on my lease renewal and was impressed by his thoughtfulness and genuine care for the questions I had. He took the time to better understand my needs while being diligent in providing additional information as needed. It is clear that he takes great pride in his role within the community and strives to provide us with best living environment possible. The professionalism demonstrated by Pierre trickles down to all other staff members including the ever friendly and always smiling front desk staff and engineers who are quick to handle any maintenance requests while thoroughly answering questions. I take tremendous pride in calling the Elle home and enjoy showing off all of the great amenities to guests. Thank you for five great years and I look forward to many more to come!
Feb 22nd, 2024

The building was satisfactory until Michael took the role of Assistant Community Manager. I work as a surgeon and drive an electric car. A rule of the building is that electric car charging spots are reserved for electric vehicles only, with the penalty of towing at the owner's expense for non-compliance. However, there's a recurring issue of gasoline cars occupying these spots, and the management seems indifferent to this problem and the residents' concerns. One evening, I returned home to find all electric car spots occupied by gasoline vehicles. I contacted the front desk for assistance, either to have the car moved or towed, but Michael, the Assistant Community Manager, refused to help or even discuss the matter with me, despite my being a resident. Later, I encountered Michael near the elevator and attempted to discuss my complaint. He behaved extremely rudely, attempting to avoid the conversation, pointing fingers, yelling at me, and expressing blatant disregard for my concerns. He concluded by saying he didn't care about my issues and suggested I could visit his office the next day if I wanted. I advise against moving to this building due to the numerous issues and the management's apparent apathy.
Feb 3rd, 2024

This is what you get to deal with. I paid my bills on time for my 18 months at the Elle and was pro-active to make sure that the bills post-move out got resolved. Here is my story: My lease with The Elle apartments in Chicago, IL ended on 10/19/23. I was aware of the charges that would come after my move out as the Gas/Water/Sewer charges were 2 months in arrears. Trash is charged prospectively. On 10/14/23, I received an invoice for the amount of $98.12. I attempted to pay it through the portal however my account was shut down. I contacted the Elle on 10/26 asking for a final bill to fulfill my obligations under the lease. On 10/27, I was told that I would be receiving a final bill with the outstanding charges which I never received. Because my move-out date was on 10/19/23, the charge for $25 for Trash was not justified since I was not a resident during the month of October. This is the prior months bill. I was able to pay the Rent portion however I was not able to pay the Current Utility Charges. Note once again, I was billed for a full month of Trash for $25.00 however my lease ended on 10/19. I believe the amount I owe on the Trash should have been pro-rated: (19/31) * $25 or $15.32. I believe that I was also overbilled for the utilities. I should not have been billed for service dates beyond the end of my lease On December 19th, I received a text from Resident Advocate. They claim that they were not a collection agency but rather appointment by the Waterton (the Elle) to make a final payment for these outstanding utility items. They stated that the bill was $225.34. I e-mailed Resident Advocate back and asked them for the support behind the bill. I also contacted the Elle and spoke with a gentleman named Pierre and told me that sending the final bill to Resident Advocate was customary for the Waterton properties; I asked him to send me the detail (similar to what is shown above) and he said the detail would be on its way. On 1/6, I received this document showing the detail behind the $225.34. The detail only showed "billing date" and this was not helpful and I e-mail Resident Advocate back asking for time period in which these items occurred: On 1/10/24, I received the following response from the Collection Agency: Our office is in receipt of your email of the request for verification. However, our records indicate we have previously provided you with validation of the debt. Under the FDCPA, there is no duty to provide verification multiple times or to provide verification after the 30-day validation period under 1692g has expired. As we have previously fulfilled our duty to provide you with verification, we do not plan to respond to any additional requests at this time. In effect, they refuse to honor my request. Also on 1/10/24, in order to protect my rights, I requested a formal dispute resolution of the items. I was able to try and reconcile the actual bills from the Elle with the Service Dates) against the information supplied by Resident Advocate. I have copied the Elle, Almedin Kahvedzic, and David Scharfenberg from Waterton numerous times and no one is responding. This place is truly a nightmare. I probably don't need to add additional comments on the safety issues, disorganized delivery room, unruly pool and gym areas, but note that this is what you can expect when you try and move out. It's a small dollar amount but it's the principle. If they are overcharging everyone who moves out an extra $60, that 500 units * $60 = $30K they are making illegally off of residents. Dear Elle Management, I am definitely prepared to go the distance with this. Yes, Elle Management, I'm open to discuss and have sent you a 6th e-mail on 1/13. Are you opening to discussing (outside of court)?
Jan 20th, 2024