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MDA City Club, 63 E Lake St, is a 24-story, 190-unit apartment tower in Chicago’s Loop.
The building was designed by Daniel H. Burnham Jr and completed in 1927. It was originally known as the Medical and Dental Arts Building, thus the “MDA” in MDA City Club.
The building was renovated in 2005 and converted to apartments with ground-floor retail space. Hartshorne Plunkard was the architecture firm and Walsh Construction was the general contractor.
The building’s brick and limestone façade was restored and many of its terrazzo and marble corridors were preserved during the renovation. MDA City Club is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The apartments
MDA City Club offers 33 different studio, convertible, 1- and 2-bedroom floor plans ranging in size from 495 to 1,350 square feet.
Floor plans and near real-time availability information can be accessed online.
The apartments have functional layouts with little wasted space. The apartments have in-unit washer / dryers and good to excellent closet space.
Open-plan kitchens are all-electric and include black appliances, granite counter tops, granite islands, mosaic tile backsplashes, pantries, built-in microwaves and a variety of cabinet finishes.
Apartments have 10- to 12-foot high ceilings, large windows and a mix of hardwood and carpet flooring. A few of the units have recessed balconies or private patios.
Two-bedroom floor plans have either side-by-side bedrooms or the split-bedroom layout popular with roommates and people who work from home. Master baths in the 2-bedrooms have a stall shower. Several of the two-bedroom plans have separate dens. There’s also a one-bedroom plan with a separate den that some might treat as a bedroom.
Amenities, services, policies
MDA City Club has a solid suite of amenities, except for a pool.
MDA City Club has a rooftop “Sky Club” and “Sky Park” sundeck. The sundeck has a hot tub, seating areas and skyline views.
The rooftop also hosts a resident lounge and a theater room. The building has a fitness room, a theater and a business / conference center.
Furnished guest suites are available to accommodate visitors. Individual storage units are available, and the building has bicycle storage.
MDA City Club organizes a number of social events for residents. The building has on-site leasing, management staff and concierge staff. There’s no on-site parking, but spots are available at a number of adjacent lots and parking facilities.
Cats and dogs are accepted, subject to restrictions.
The location
MDA City Club has a convenient location just steps from Michigan Ave.
There’s at-the-corner access to the Chicago Pedway. Many Loop and New East Side destinations can be reached via the Pedway without exposure to winter cold, spring rains or summer heat.
MDA City Club is popular with students t the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. The building is about a 10-minute walk from the Gleacher Center, and a short block from a Metra stop that connects to Hyde Park in about 20 minutes.
Shopping. Residents at MDA City Club have reasonably convenient access to grocery shopping.
A 7-Eleven convenience store is around the corner from the building, and Bockwinkel’s is two short blocks away.
The Mariano’s Fresh Market at Lakeshore East gets mostly rave reviews on Yelp. Target is four blocks southeast of the building.
The Shops at North Bridge, 50 stores and 20 restaurants anchored by Nordstrom, and Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile shops are a short walk north of the building. State Street shops, anchored by Macy’s, are within a few minutes’ walk of MDA City Club.
Dining, nightlife. A lot of the dining and nightlife options in the immediate area, as you’d expect, cater to hotel guests, office workers and tourists.
That said, there are literally 100s of restaurant, dining and nightlife options within walking distance of MDA City Club, starting with Pastoral and Elephant and Castle.
Cultural attractions. MDA City Club is near many of Chicago’s most popular cultural attractions.
The Loop’s theatre district begins a block west of MDA City Club.
The Art Institute, Lyric Opera and Chicago Symphony are a short walk or cab ride from the building.
Parks, recreation. MDA City Club has good access to public parks.
Millennium Park, one of the city’s main downtown attractions, is a block away from MDA City Club.
The Riverwalk is a few short blocks north of the building. There are a variety of dining and recreational opportunities along the river, and docks for seasonal tour boats.
Transportation. MDA City Club has outstandingly convenient access to public transportation.
The CTA Red Line is a block from the building as are the State / Lake and Randolph / Wabash stations serving five of the CTA train lines. The Blue Line to O’Hare is a few minutes from the building.
CTA bus routes steps from the building connect to points east, west, north and south.
Trains from Metra’s Millennium Station, a block southeast of MDA City Club, reach the University of Chicago in about 20 minutes.
Some residents of MDA City Club may consider cabs the best form of public transportation, and service is available 24/7. Zipcar car-sharing locations are nearby.
MDA City Club has good proximity to Lake Shore Drive, but inconvenient access to I-90/94 and the city’s expressway grid.
Chicago Water Taxi offers seasonal commuter service between Michigan Avenue and Madison Street, affording MDA City Club residents a pleasant, low-cost way to reach the Loop and the Willis Tower.
The competition
You’ll find additional options at YoChicago’s comprehensive Loop / New East Side apartment guide.