Earlier posts in our series on the best apartment towers in the South Loop concentrated on their location. We spotlighted the South Loop apartment buildings with the best views, the most convenient grocery shopping, the best access to public transit, parks and beaches, retail shoppingthe expressway grid, dining and nightlife, retail shopping, and the shortest walk to the Loop.
We then shifted focus to the buildings themselves, beginning with affordability, the topic that’s top-of-mind with many renters, and moving on to the best building amenities, boutique ambiance and pet-friendliness.
In our final group of posts, we turned our attention to the apartments, beginning with apartment finishes and features.
We’ve seen some great penthouse terraces in the South Loop, but we exclude them from consideration in picking the building with the best private outdoor space. The penthouses are priced out of reach for many renters and are rarely available for rent. We’re limiting our focus to buildings that have typically have units with larger-than-average private balconies actually available at competitive prices.
Four buildings are contenders: Astoria Tower, Burnham Pointe, The LEX and Lofts at Roosevelt Collection. Terrazio also has good-sized balconies, but we’ve ruled it out because of the building’s limited views.
Our favorite is Astoria Tower. The building has a two-bedroom floor plan with a balcony spanning the 30-foot width of the living / dining area, and another two-bedroom with two private balconies.
Chime in with a comment if you disagree with our selections.
You’ll find links to our objective, visually-rich apartment reviews of South Loop buildings, and links to near real-time availability checks for most of the buildings, at our at-a-glance list, and some tips and advice at our Guide to renting in the South Loop.
Next topic: Studio / convertible floor plan.