Chicago’s best Loop / New East Side apartments – public transit access

Chicago’s Loop includes the area known as the New East Side, which in turn includes the Lakeshore East development. You’ll find all of your major apartment options in the Loop and New East Side on our at-a-glance list of downtown apartments.

Our goal is to help you find the apartment that best fits your needs. Renters simply have so many differing priorities – and budget constraints – that singling out an overall best building would be a pointless exercise. We’ll identify the Loop / New East Side buildings that rank highest on each of eighteen different criteria in three main groups:

Location. Views; Grocery shopping convenience; Public transit access; Close to parks, beach; Proximity to the expressway grid; Walking distance to the Loop; Most dining, nightlife nearby; Shopping

Building features. Affordability; Amenities package; Boutique ambiance; Pet-friendliness

Apartment features. Apartment finishes; Private outdoor space; Studio / convertible floor plan; One-bedroom floor plan; Two-bedroom floor plan; Three-bedroom floor plan

Public transit access is a surprisingly high priority for many Loop / New East Side residents who undertake a daily commute out of the neighborhood or travel from one point in the Loop to another.

Millennium Park Plaza, at the corner of Michigan and Randolph, has a variety of CTA bus routes stopping at its front door. The building is a block from the CTA’s Randolph / Wabash train stop and two blocks from the Red Line trains, which can be reached via the all-weather underground Pedway.

Metra Electric District trains at Millennium Station, adjacent to the building, take Booth School of Business students to the University of Chicago stop in under 20 minutes.

Residents at 215 West have the Washington / Wells L stop a few steps away and can reverse-commute to the suburbs from Metra’s nearby Ogilvie Transportation Center.

Chime in with a comment if you disagree with our selections.

You’ll find links to our objective, visually-rich apartment reviews of Loop buildings, and links to near real-time availability checks for most of the buildings, at our downtown apartments at-a-glance list, and some tips and advice at our Guide to renting in Chicago’s Loop / New East Side.

We’ve also spotlighted the best apartments in River North, Streeterville, the South Loop and the West Loop / Near West neighborhoods.

Next topic: Close to parks, beach.

(Visited 323 times, 1 visits today)