Address: 818 N. Dearborn St.
Size: Two bedrooms, two bathrooms; about 900 square feet.
Rent: $950 a month.
Security deposit: One month`s rent.
Floor: Garden level.
Age of building: About 100 years old.
Utilities: Not included in rent.
Parking: On street.
Special features: Security system; laundry room in building.
Garden apartments are often shunned by security-conscious apartment shoppers who fear the basement flats are easy targets for burglars.
The rear garden apartment at 818 N. Dearborn St. may prove the exception. It has a security system, decorative burglar bars and three locks on the front door.
A little excessive, perhaps? Not according to building owner Alan Segal.
”There haven`t been any problems-no break-ins, no burglaries, no complaints like that from the tenants who live there,” said Segal. ”I just feel you can never be too careful.”
The theme of security begins even before visitors get near the actual apartment. After walking down five stairs to the garden level, you come to a decorative wrought-iron gate that remains locked until the resident you`re visiting buzzes you in.
The gate leads to a cavelike corridor that opens into the building`s courtyard, which the two-bedroom apartment we visited faces.
While it`s called a garden apartment, this basic L-shape design would fit any floor of this three-story Victorian building. Only the windows and limited natural light reveal you`re on the bottom floor.
What natural light does shines in comes through the bedroom windows, which face the courtyard. The living room window, unfortunately, provides only a view of another building.
Center entry
Upon entering, you`re smack dab in the middle of this apartment, which has its living and dining space in the front and sleeping quarters in the back.
You can see the living room and kitchen when you enter, but the first room that gets your attention is the main bathroom. It`s just off the hall and steps away from the apartment`s door.
The bathroom is all white and includes a toilet, sink, bathtub/shower and linen closet. The room is large enough for two people to add finishing touches to their grooming before they leave for work in the morning.
The galley-style kitchen, which is just off the hall, has a refrigerator and stove on one side and a double sink and dishwasher on the other. The major appliances are tan and the kitchen has ample counter space for preparing meals and storing small appliances.
Just off the kitchen is the living/dining area, which works better as a living room than a combination of two rooms. There is room for a sofa, a chair and either bookcases or an entertainment center-and, if you`re lucky, a small table for two for dining. Like most of the main rooms, it has brown wall-to-wall carpeting.
In the rear half of the apartment are the sleeping quarters. The first bedroom you come to is small; a double bed and a small nightstand are about all that will comfortably fit. For storage, the room has a wall-length closet with mirrored sliding doors.
A short hall leads to the second bedroom, which is large enough to accommodate a king- or queen-sized bed, two nightstands and a dresser. It also has a wall-length closet with mirrored sliding doors.
Courtyard vista
The window in this room gives the best view of the building`s courtyard. And its deep windowsills provide a perfect perch for felines, which are allowed here.
The second bathroom is just off this room and is much smaller than the first; it has only a toilet, a sink and a shower.
Overall, the apartment has its ups and its downs.
If you like a lot of natural light, you`ll probably feel too enclosed here. Also, if you own a car, you`ll have to depend on on-street parking (and have lots of quarters on hand to feed the meters) or pay to park in one of the high-rise apartment buildings in the area that offer monthly parking.
The apartment`s big plus is its location. If you work in the city, you can probably walk or just hop a nearby bus or ”L.” There are also a lot of restaurants, dry cleaners, cafes, boutiques and movie theaters nearby.
For rental information, call Segal at 649-9808.
