North Harbor Tower apartments, 175 N Harbor Dr, New East Side

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North Harbor Tower is a 55-story, 600-unit apartment tower in Chicago’s New East Side neighborhood. The building, which opened for occupancy in 1988, is quickly recognizable by its triangular bay windows.

Metropolitan Structures was the developer and general contractor. Fujikawa Johnson and Associates was the architecture firm.

The apartments

North Harbor has 24 different studio, convertible, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom floor plans ranging in size from 465 to 1,785 square feet.

Floor plans and near real-time availability information are accessible online.

North Harbor is one of only five Loop / New East Side buildings to offer 3-bedroom apartments, and the only one to offer a broad selection of them. The building’s 90 3-bedrooms are on floors 26-55, are all corner units, and include in-unit washer / dryers. Master suites in the 3-bedrooms are very spacious and master baths have both a tub and stall shower.

None of the floor plans at North Harbor have private balconies. Closet space is much better than average in all of the apartments.

One of the 5 2-bedroom layouts has the split-bedroom plan preferred by roommates, has both baths en-suite, and has an additional half-bath. Two of the 2-bedroom layouts have stall showers in the second bath, a feature that’s surprisingly scarce in buildings in the area.

North Harbor apartment ceiling heights are 8-feet. Large triangle bay windows make the space feel more expansive. The apartments have wood-look flooring. One, 2- and 3-bedrooms have in-unit washer / dryers.

All-electric kitchens have granite counter tops, ample cabinetry and built-in microwaves.

Short-term furnished apartments at North Harbor are available from Manilow Suites.


Views. Many of North Harbor’s apartments have great views, some of which may be curtailed by new construction at Lakeshore East in the future.

High-floor units have spectacular panoramic views to the west over Lakeshore East Park.

Amenities, services, policies

North Harbor is a full-amenity building with a solid amenities package and free Wi-Fi in the amenities areas.

North Harbor has a heated, skylit indoor pool with an adjacent outdoor terrace with grills.

The building has a fitness center with cardio and weight-training equipment, and a dry sauna. A separate fitness studio hosts free Yoga, Pilates, and Zumba classes.

North Harbor has a business center, a library with a conference table, and a party room with billiards table, shuffleboard and a catering kitchen.

The building also has bike storage, free resident storage lockers (two with 3-bedroom apartments) and furnished suites to accommodate overnight guests and visiting family.

The building sponsors a variety of resident events and offers free coffee at the doorman’s station, and free bagels every Friday.

North Harbor has on-site leasing, management and maintenance staff and 24/7 door staff. There’s an on-site dry cleaners with wash and fold service and package delivery room. Reserved parking is available in the 400-space on-site garage.

Cats and dogs are accepted, subject to restrictions.

The location

North Harbor is the furthest east of the New East Side apartment towers.

The location attracts residents who want to be close to work or school, and it’s very attractive to families.

Shopping. Residents at North Harbor have good access to grocery shopping.

The Bockwinkel’s next door to the building can be reached without going outside.

The nearby Mariano’s Fresh Market at Lakeshore East gets mostly rave reviews on Yelp. There’s a CVS pharmacy across the park.


The Shops at North Bridge, 50 stores and 20 restaurants anchored by Nordstrom, and State Street shops, anchored by Macy’s, are nearly a 20-minute walk from North Harbor.

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.


New East Side restaurants include III Forks, Giordano’s, Tavern at the Park and a number of venues in the neighboring Fairmont, Hyatt, Swissotel and Radisson Blu hotels.

There are far too many bars and restaurants within walking distance of North Harbor to list.

Cultural attractions. North Harbor is near many of Chicago’s most popular cultural attractions.

The Loop’s theatre district begins a few blocks west of North Harbor.

The Art Institute, Lyric Opera and Chicago Symphony are a short walk or cab ride from the building.

Parks, recreation. There’s a 4.6-acre park just west of North Harbor within the Lakeshore East development.

The park, which provides mainly passive recreational opportunities, includes a variety of shaded areas, seating areas, water features, a children’s play area and a dog park with a doggie drinking fountain.

Millennium Park, one of the city’s main attractions, is a short walk southwest of North Harbor.

The north part of Grant Park, east of Millennium Park, has been transformed into the 28-acre Maggie Daley Park. It’s become a major attraction, drawing year-round crowds to near-magical children’s play areas, a climbing area, a skating ribbon, gardens, tennis courts and more.

North Harbor is a short walk from the new Lake Michigan overlook adjacent to the tennis courts at the east end of Maggie Daley Park.

Just north of North Harbor is a stairway to the Riverwalk, which is undergoing an expansion. There are a variety of dining and recreational opportunities along the river, and docks for seasonal tour boats and water taxis.

Schools. We don’t normally include schools as a topic in our reviews, but North Harbor has a number of features that make it unusually attractive to families with children.

Schools are important to families, and the building is within the attendance boundaries of Ogden Elementary School, one of the most highly-rated public schools in the city, and there’s door-to-door bus service from the building to Ogden. The K-8 phase of a new K-12 GEMS World Academy opened in fall of 2014 at Lakeshore East, across the park from North Harbor. Grades 9-12 will open in the fall of 2015. The Chalk Preschool at Lakeshore East serves children ages 2-5.

British Swim School classes in the building’s indoor pool begin with “tadpoles” aged 3 months and up.

North Harbor has immediate proximity to a variety of parks that will engage and delight kids day after day throughout the year, and close proximity to the 18-mile long Lakefront Trail, the Riverwalk, the Cultural Center, the Art Institute, the Museum Campus and downtown Chicago’s array of college and university campuses.

The building has a full suite of amenities, 24/7 door staff, and many of the building’s apartments are unusually spacious, with two-bedrooms ranging up to 1,465 square feet and three-bedrooms spanning nearly 1,800 square feet.

Last, but far from least, a short walk or commute to the office maximizes family time.

Transportation. CTA bus routes along Michigan Ave connect to points west, north and south.

The #60 bus (pdf) stops outside North Harbor and takes residents to Michigan Ave, the Loop, Metra’s Ogilvie Transportation Center, Union Station, the West Loop and Chicago’s Chinatown.

CTA train routes are about a 20-minute walk from North Harbor.

Trains from Metra’s Millennium Station, a few blocks from North Harbor, reach the stop for the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business in under 20 minutes.

Some residents of North Harbor may consider cabs the best form of public transportation, and service is readily available.

A Zipcar car-sharing location is on-site.

North Harbor has good proximity to Lake Shore Drive, but inconvenient access to I-90/94 and the city’s expressway grid.

The competition

You’ll find additional options at YoChicago’s comprehensive Loop / New East Side apartment guide.

Note: North Harbor sponsored this review page, but YoChicago retains editorial control and is solely responsible for its content.

North Harbor Tower

Address 175 N Harbor Dr
City Chicago
# of Units 600
Pets Cats and dogs OK, subject to limits
Parking 400-car reserved parking on-site garage
Completed 1988
Management Waterton
Website North Harbor Tower

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