by John S.

I'm amending this entry. I said before that The Mayfair was a reasonably-priced place to live, but that's changed. After 4 years of living here, they decided to raise my rent by $115 a month.The building has gone through a succession of site managers lately. One new guy, (who lived on premises) kept regular daily office hours. Unfortunately, he was transferred to another property pretty quickly. The latest replacement seems okay too.Rent has increased steadily by about $20 a year over the last few years, until this year when it went up $115. Gas, heating and water are included in your rent, which is nice. Parking in the lot is very limited, costs additional each month, and you'll probably be on a waiting list for a long time before space opens up. Street parking is usually not a problem.Maintenance guy (who also lives on site) is a nice guy and does a good job keeping this very old, former hotel up and running.The location is great, with the lake just a couple blocks east, the Museum of Science and Industry/Jackson Park a couple blocks south, a hookah lounge, multitudes of restaurants, and a couple bars either right outside the door or a block or two away. Minuses: the elevators have issues from time to time. There have been problems in the past with people propping the back door open so their friends can get inside without getting buzzed up, but this also can allow unsavoury people in, and for a short time, there was an issue with bikes being stolen from the bike room. The place has also become quite overpriced for what it is. Lately, there have been problems with low-class people urinating in and writing graffiti on the walls of the elevator. When I moved out, I found a dead MOUSE behind the dresser that I think one of my cats caught and killed.Two years ago, I would have recommended Mayfair, but I can't anymore.