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High-rise Condo
Downtown Evanston, 1720 Maple Ave | Evanston
Overview
Photos
Amenities

Top Amenities

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  •  24-Hour Front Desk
  •  Cat friendly
  •  Dog friendly
  •  Fitness Center
  •  Granite Countertops
  •  Hardwood Floors
  •  Indoor Pool
  •  Parking Garage  
  •  Private Balconies
  •  Stainless Steel Appliances
  •  Walk-in Closets
  •  Washer/Dryer In Unit

User Rating

8.1
Great
113 Reviews

About this Location

Whole Foods Market
7 min via 213 (bus)
UP-N (rail) - 4 min
208/213/250 (bus) - 5 min
The Lakefill
20 min walk
Lots of bars and
restaurants nearby

Pricing 

1 Bedroom, 1 Bath
$2,300+
2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
$3,000+
3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
$4,200+
Schedule Appointment At
(872) 704-8022
  • Bedrooms

    •  Walk-in Closets
  • Building Related

    •  Elevators
  • Included

    •  Heat Included
    •  Water Included
  • Kitchen

    •  Dishwasher
    •  Garbage Disposal
    •  Granite Countertops
    •  Microwave
    •  Refrigerator
    •  Stainless Steel Appliances
    •  Stove & Oven
  • Laundry

    •  Washer/Dryer In Unit
  • Living Room

    •  Air Conditioning  
    •  Hardwood Floors
    •  Large Windows
    •  Lots of Sunlight
  • Parking & Transportation

    •  Bike Storage
    •  Parking Garage  
  • Pet Terms & Amenities

    •  Cat friendly
    •  Dog friendly
  • Security & Maintenance

    •  24-Hour Front Desk
    •  On-site Maintenance
  • Sports & Fitness

    •  Fitness Center
    •  Indoor Pool
  • Storage

    •  Additional Storage Available
  • View

    •  Private Balconies
X

Overall rating 8.1/10, based on 113 renter reviews Write a review

8.9
Location
5.8
Amenities
7.2
Management
8.9
Value
5.5
Social
9.3
Safety
Excellent
48
Great
42
Good
22
Average
1
Terrible
0

Optima Views reviews and highlights

  • Building has heated parking
  • Heat and cable included are huge perks
  • Nice amenities and considerate staff
  • Ample natural light
  • Great amenities
  • Very close to all the bars and nightlife
  • Great building with lots of Kellogg Students
  • Landlord is great
  • Small gym, pool and hot tub
  • Fairly high rent prices
  • Floor to ceiling windows
  • Feels safe and secure
  • Awesome views of Chicago and the Lake
  • Amazing upscale building with good amenities
  • In the heart of downtown Evanston
  • Units are spacious
  • Great location
  • Very comfortable, convenient and clean
  • Most of the doormen are really nice and helpful
Filter reviews for
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Great for Two

This apartment is perfect for two people - very large bathroom, open concept (kitchen looks into living room), and lots of storage space. W/D in unit.

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  • Couple
  • 1 bed / 1 bath
8
Great
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Small but Good

Good value, great building, small unit

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  • Couple
  • 1 bed / 1 bath
7
Good
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Overall a good apartment

It's very quiet but overall a great and spacious apartment

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  • Couple
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Quiet, yet close to everything!

Pros:
- Tons of space
- Door man / easy package pickup
- Beyond quiet - if you want to get away from the Kellogg crazy, this is the place for you! Still many Kellogg students here, but not nearly as many parties as places like E2.
- Amazing lake view (NE facing)
- Covered/heated parking - 1 space came with unit
- Ability to control heat/AC within unit
- Deck and screened door with unit
- Massive walk-in closet
- Steps from Metra and L trains
- Heated/covered bike storage

Cons:
- Some stuffy condo rules
- Pricey (but worth it)
- Gym is lacking, but EAC is very close

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  • Pet owner
  • 1 bed / 1 bath
10
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Great building

Amazing landlady and very nice building

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  • Couple
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
8
Great
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Great amenities and location

The amenities and the location are great. Overall, the management is also great - some things could be better, but overall, they do a good job. The biggest pain is finding an apartment to rent in this building since most are condos. Some of the floorplans are a bit funky too. We found our apartment through a broker and signed a 2-year lease, which sounds like is pretty typical. The gym is very small, but it is there. I also like that the apartment tends to be quieter but still has Kellogg students living there.

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  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Make sure your unit is renovated

Optima Views units are individually owned so there is a lot of variation between how the same units can look. Make sure your unit is recently renovated.

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  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Everything I Hoped For

I've been very happy with the experience at Optima Views, which includes parking, tons of natural light with floor to ceiling windows, and 24/7 door(wo)man. The pool and gym are pretty negligible, so if that's important to you, make sure to check it out when you visit. Pool is nice but inside, and gym is tiny. The rules for the 4th floor deck are a bit ridiculous (no music, pets, food, drinks, etc) and the hours make no sense (deck closes earlier on weekends than weeknights), so I would recommend inquiring about that too if it's important to you. Overall I've been very happy with the building.

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Reviewed by
 
  • Couple
  • Pet owner
  • 1 bed / 1 bath
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Wonderful Apartment for our Family - Nice Floorplan and Walkable to campus!

Great for families! We have a 2Br/2Ba apartment and live here with our child. The floorplan works very well for our family - plenty of room for our toddler to crawl around, plus there's a pool in the building and attached parking garage. We even have a patio and yard (grass, bushes, etc.) outside of our apartment that is a good size and we only share it with 2 other units. Great for our toddler! I walk to the Kellogg Hub every day, which takes 20 minutes. Also close to many restaurants/bars, and both Metra and the "L" trains. Our unit could use a bit of an update but we like the building and find management to be friendly and helpful.

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  • Family w/ children
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Great place to live!

We bought our place right before Kellogg and remodeled it (turned out amazing, but maybe wouldn't recommend taking this on right before school). Great building and staff, and we've been getting lots of upgrades recently - new garage door, new entry tiles, digital package system, (free cable to come soon I think). It's quieter than OHO, but still a decent number of Kellogg students. Units come with parking and a storage locker, though note that units are all owned so everything can vary by unit. We love living here - a couple blocks from E2, OHO, McManus, Evanston rocks. About 20 min to the Global Hub. We are on the 10th floor, and don't get a lot of outside noise - don't even notice the trains. Pet friendly too (dogs under 40lbs)!

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  • Couple
  • 2 beds / 2 baths

The Neighborhood

Signature Spots

dining 29 Recs

Buffalo Joe’s
Bat 17
Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza
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grocery 2 Recs

Whole Foods Market
Trader Joe’s
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convenience 2 Recs

Walgreens
7-Eleven
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fitness 36 Recs

Pure Barre
Evanston Athletic Club
TITLE Boxing Club
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parks 5 Recs

City of Evanston Recreation Divisi…
Merrick Rose Garden
Dog Beach
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coffee 14 Recs

Andy’s Frozen Custard
Bennison’s Bakery
Dream About Tea
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About Downtown Evanston

Since it's home to Northwestern, Downtown Evanston is the most popular residential area for Kellogg students. Most apartment buildings in Downtown Evanston are a 20 minute walk from the Donald P. Jacobs Center, and several public transport options can cut that commute even further. This safe and hig...
Walkable
Easy Commute
Great Location
Student Friendly
Social Community
Great Accessibility
Proximity To Amenities
Median rents in Downtown Evanston
Studio
$
2,300
1 Bedroom
$
2,600
2 Bedroom
$
3,300

Getting around Downtown Evanston


Parking at Optima Views

Parking Garage

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Parking Near Optima Views

Parking rates are for informational purposes only and may vary — for most up to date pricing, please reach out to the garage directly.

Downtown Evanston Reviews

546 reviews
Lots of apartments and family homes in the area. I always see someone riding their bike or walking throughout the day. It's a block from the police station, and only 2-3 blocks to downtown. Close to intercampus shuttle, 201 bus stop (3 blocks), and Dempster purple line (1.5 blocks). Nice area to live, quiet at night.
Downtown Evanston is a great place to live if you're a NU student. It's super easy to get to campus via either walking or the bus, and has convenient groceries within walking distance. The food scene is not the best, but good enough.
Evanston is the epitome of a college town, everything you need and most of what you want is within a 10 minute walk.
I really enjoy living in downtown Evanston. Everything that I need is within walking distance, and it is a 10-15 minute walk to my classes.
Safe, walkable area, even late at night depending on the streets you take. Great for convenience in terms of getting to campus, no car needed, access to many public transit options. You lose out in terms of cheap food options and fun nightlife - there are only a couple of bars open after 9PM on the weekends and for cheap food you're stuck with Chipotle or at best Tomate. But the lake and beach are within walking distance and you live close to other NU students making it well worth it for me.
Evanston really is a nice town. There's loads of food, both chains and otherwise, and a number of shops and things if you don't mind moving around a little. Driving in the greater Evanston area is not a lot of fun, I will say. I get the sense that the city doesn't much like the University and its constituents, and that the students don't always respect the city. It's not a perfect relationship, but it works. I can easily walk or take transit to class on the Evanston campus, and when I have class in Chicago I take transit, which usually takes more than an hour in the morning and close to an hour coming home.
Downtown Evanston is super cute! There are tons of restaurants and a handful of bars so I find that it offers a good bit of variety for the neighborhood size. There are street festivals, a great farmers market, summer concerts in the square and other community events I've enjoyed. Would highly recommend Evanston anyone who wants access to the city but a self-sufficient "urban burb" type neighborhood.
Pros: Great location near key Kellogg hangouts like World of Beer, Nevins, Five and Dime, Prairie Moon, etc. Also convenient to Bennison's Bakery! Great for late nights- can get home in < 5 minutes without ubering. Also near both Metra and L- ideal if you plan to spend some of your time in downtown Chicago.

Cons: Long walk from the Global hub. Closest grocery store is Whole Foods, a bit of a hike to TJ's and Jewel.

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