Chicago’s best West Loop / Near West apartments – Expressway access

We define Chicago’s “near west” neighborhoods to include the West Loop, Fulton River District and River West. You’ll find all of your major apartment options in these neighborhoods 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.

Our first posts in this series spotlighted the buildings with the best views, most convenient grocery shopping, and the best access to public transit and parks.

One of the near west neighborhoods’ major advantages over other neighborhoods is convenient access to the city’s expressway grid.

If you commute by car, and not always to same location, 180 North Jefferson has the most flexible access to the city’s expressway grid via Randolph St outbound and Lake St when homeward bound. Navigating the connection to I-290 from Randolph St can be tricky in heavy traffic. If your commute always takes you either north or south, Presidential Towers is a bit closer to I-90/94.

If your commute always starts out to the west via I-290, Mod has the best access.

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

You’ll find links to our objective, visually-rich apartment reviews of near west 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 near west neighborhoods.

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

Next topic: Walking distance to Loop.

(Visited 341 times, 1 visits today)