North Water Apartments, located at 340 E. North Water in the new Loews Hotel Chicago development, is finally open for business! The apartment side of the Loews Hotel boasts a total of 398 units from studios to large 3 Bedroom units. There are a great number of Convertible and One Bedroom units with varying floor plans and views. The finishes are what you would expect from a higher end rental building in Chicago including SS Appliances, Quartz Counter Tops, Hardwood Floors in the living spaces, Floor to Ceiling Windows and modern bathrooms.

Many new rental buildings in Chicago have tried to lure potential renters with a full list of amenities. Many rental buildings use this to justify their higher rent price than comparable condo buildings. In my opinion there are few buildings that truly offer a full list of amenities, but North Water Apartments definitely offer that and more.

The Amenities available to the renters at the Loews building offers the following:

Outdoor Pool with Sundeck

Outdoor Grills

Lounge area with bar space, fire place and seating

Full Gym and Aerobics Room 

50th Floor Roof Deck

50th Floor Party Room with Full Service Kitchen

24hr Door Staff

Heated Garage Parking and Storage available at extra charge

Residents will also have access to hotel amenities and will be able to take advantage of perks such as Room Service, Maid Service and a Concierge as well as Dry Cleaning on site. The apartment section has its own set of amenities which means the residents will not need to compete with the hotel guests to enjoy their gym or outdoor space.

The Loews Hotel is a 4.5 star hotel which will still aim to compete with the 5 star hotels in Chicago. The building itself houses an Argentinean steakhouse called Rural Society by famed chef Jose Garce. The lobby bar is a great open space serving their own twist on classic cocktails along with a simple, but inventive food menu. Come warmer weather, however, the biggest attraction will be the massive roof deck (on the 3rd floor) which Loews claims will be the largest rooftop bar in the city of Chicago.

Personally, I am slightly biased and must admit that I just leased an apartment at the Loews. I was considering multiple buildings in the area such as The Parkview (505 N. McClurg), 240 E. Illinois, 340 E. Randolph and pure apartment buildings such as 500 Lake Shore and 111 W. Wacker but found the quality and amenities at this building to be a combined, overall win.

I do not want this blog post to sound like a sales pitch for the building, since if you’ve read my blogs you know I try to stay very middle of the road, but I must say I am very excited to move into this building. On Monday March 2nd, the hotel was officially open for business so I stopped by the hotel bar after work and had a couple of drinks. The bar area was mostly full which was great to see. The lobby was large and open, but the bar space had a very nice cozy feel to it. I chatted with our bartender Tracy about the building and it is clear that the staff is just as excited about the building and concept as I am (that is always a great sign)! If you happen to stop by the bar be sure to see Tracy, she makes great drinks and is a pleasure to talk to! My Belvedere Martini and Old Fashioned were $12 each which is normal by Chicago standards but actually a bit cheap in comparison to hotel standards (think about the pricing for The Witt or Trump, etc.). But I must stop reviewing the bar and stick to the building.

At the end of the day, the residents at North Water Apartments will be able to access all bar and restaurant areas of the Loews hotel in addition to a Starbucks without walking outside. The views from every unit are fantastic. We snagged a nice, high floor, large One Bedroom facing west with incredible views of the skyline and the river. Very soon we will be moving in!

Pricing. Pricing is of course subject to change for the building so I do not want to mention it on this blog, but feel free to reach out to me for the most up to date pricing.

If you have any questions about this building or others in the area please let me know. If you’d like to tour units of this building or others I can arrange that for you and help you with your search.

Paul Blackburn is an Illinois Licensed Realtor and Broker with @properties in Chicago. He can be reached anytime via e-mail at Paul@PKBlackburn.com