Living in the heart of downtown Chicago limits your options to high-rise apartments and condos. There are only eleven rental towers in the Loop / New East Side, and we’ve listed them in this guide, with links to their Web sites and reviews, if available.
Renting a home or apartment in Chicago’s Loop / New East Side
There are 1,000s of ads on Craigslist for Loop / New East Side apartments, most of them featuring the eleven (that’s all there are) rental high-rises in the neighborhood. Almost all of those ads are from apartment rental services that would like you to think you need their “services” to find the right apartment. You don’t. Forget Craigslist and check Yo’s list, in the third column of this guide.
Where’s the Loop / New East Side?
The Loop’s boundaries vary depending on who you ask. For purposes of this guide we define the Loop as the area from Jackson Blvd (300 S) north to the Chicago River, from Lake Michigan west to the Chicago River.
New East Side is a sub-neighborhood of the Loop and spans the area from Randolph St (150 N) to the Chicago River, from Lake Shore Dr to Michigan Ave (100 E). The Lakeshore East complex is part of the New East Side.
Adjacent neighborhoods
See our South Loop and Streeterville guides, and look forward to our West Loop, River North and other guides, coming soon.
Renting in the Loop
Living in the heart of downtown Chicago limits your options to high-rise apartments and condos. 
There are only eleven rental towers in the Loop / New East Side, and we’ve listed them in this guide, with links to their Web sites and reviews, if available, at ApartmentRatings and Yelp. Be skeptical, as always, of online reviews: they may have been written by someone with an undisclosed axe to grind, or may not reflect current conditions.
Renting a condo
There are hundreds of condos available for rent in the Loop / New East Side, but you’ll never hear that from most of the locator services. 
Look to reputable broker sites to find what’s listed for rent in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). YoChicago recommends our major clients: select property type Rental and search ZIP code 60601 (New East Side) or (60602, 60603, 60604, 60606 and 60607 (Loop) at Coldwell Banker. Search Chicago/Loop at Koenig & Strey or Rubloff.
Loop condos sometimes offer bargain rents and higher-level finishes and in-unit amenities than some of the competing rentals.
Pedway access
If you’re looking in the Loop odds are you want a walk-to-work location. When the weather’s bad that walk can be a lot more pleasant if your rental and office buildings have direct access to Chicago’s elaborate pedway system, a network of subterranean, ground-level and overhead concourses. Pedway access may tip your rental decision in favor of one building over another.
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