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High-rise Condo
Downtown Evanston, 800 Elgin Rd | 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
  •  Oversize or penthouse units
  •  Parking Garage  
  •  Stainless Steel Appliances
  •  Walk-in Closets
  •  Washer/Dryer In Unit

User Rating

8.5
Great
259 Reviews

About this Location

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

Pricing 

1 Bedroom, 1 Bath
$2,495+
2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
$2,850+
3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
$4,600+
Schedule Appointment At
(872) 704-8022
  • Bedrooms

    •  Walk-in Closets
  • Included

    •  Gas 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

    •  Parking Garage  
  • Pet Terms & Amenities

    •  Cat friendly
    •  Dog friendly
  • Security & Maintenance

    •  24-Hour Front Desk
  • Sports & Fitness

    •  Fitness Center
    •  Indoor Pool
  • Storage

    •  Additional Storage Available
  • Unique Unit Types

    •  Oversize or penthouse units
X

Overall rating 8.5/10, based on 259 renter reviews Write a review

9.4
Location
7.4
Amenities
8.0
Management
8.7
Value
7.7
Social
9.2
Safety
Excellent
135
Great
98
Good
26
Average
0
Terrible
0

Optima Horizons reviews and highlights

  • Modern finishings and appliances
  • Gorgeous view of Lake Michigan
  • Indoor parking garage is a big plus in the winter
  • Excellent amenities
  • Expensive for Evanston
  • Great bathrooms
  • Indoor Pool is great for kids
  • Great for retirees and seniors
  • Building is clean and well maintained
  • 5-10 min walk to bars and restaurants
  • Lots of sunlight
  • Condo rules can be strict
  • Allows large dogs
  • Great place to live
  • Tons of Kellogg students
  • Amenities in units vary
  • Building is pretty quiet if you aren't on the side next to train tracks
  • Friendly landlord and management
  • Gym is small, but enough for simple workouts
  • Front desk personnel are extremely nice
  • Floor to ceiling windows
  • Fee required to reserve the elevator
  • Fantastic location
Filter reviews for
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Oho 712 is great!

Landlord is a Kellogg grad and is super accommodating. Oho is a perfect distance from the hub and has a large Kellogg community living here.

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

OHO Review

It's a fantastic location. It's close to campus and pretty central to the rest of the buildings Kellogg students live in.

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

OHO

It’s great! Close to other popular apartment buildings and downtown. Quiet building with a good amount of other Kellogg students. There are a lot of non-Kellogg students (families or older couples) so can’t host large gatherings.

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  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
7
Good
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Good Building for the Value

It's affordable, spacious and has lots of Kellogg students.

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

Good Value

Good price for a two-bedroom, with lots of space in a good location. Wish it was more social and had fancier amenities (e.g., larger roof deck), but otherwise can't complain.

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

Great location, safe, and well-managed!

Management is responsive at this condo, walls are thick, and I haven't had any major issues with my unit. OHO is one of the buildings closer to the Hub and it's conveniently in Downtown and close to other popular buildings for Kellogg students. There's a decent-sized Kellogg community here.

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  • 1 bed / 1 bath
9
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Great value, best location, so so amenities

I love my unit! It's a great location, I have a lot of space, and the rent includes cable/wifi/parking so it's a good value. Lots of Kellogg students in the building which is great, and the energy is a little more chill / couples rather than partying/kellogg dorm which was ideal for me. Units are owned by individual landlords rather than a building, so maintenance requests or other requests for the owner are dependent on who owns your unit. the kitchen is pretty outdated with so-so appliances.

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

Love OHO

OHO is severely underrated. Rooms are big and pretty sound proof, LOTS of sunlight. Bathrooms are abnormally large. Most central location to Downtown Evanston and all of the other popular Kellogg buildings.

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

OHO Review

Apartments are overall great - very spacious for the money spent. For the 2 bedrooms, there is usually one large master bedroom, and one significantly smaller bedroom. The master bedroom has an attached bathroom, and the second bathroom is in the hallway. Both bathrooms are similar, though the hallway bathroom may have the washer/dryer inside (if not elsewhere in the hallway). Odd number units get great morning/sunrise light, even number units get more afternoon/sunset light. Odd number units also have a gorgeous view of downtown/lakefront. Most utilities except for electricity are provided. Building switches heat on in late oct/early nov, so it can get pretty toasty if the warm weather holds until that point in the year, but manageable with fans and by cracking windows. Overall a great budget location with great downtown Evanston access, and great building management. Small - moderate weight dogs (<45 points, I believe) are allowed and the building is quite friendly to this (many pet owners).

COVID note: Most amenities (Pool, lounge, gym) are closed. The building has a lot of family/older tenants. As a tenant, do NOT expect to have any insight into the timing or nature of decisions made by the buildings board. Meetings are quarterly and you will mostly have to live with the decisions of the board. That would be my only real frustration as a tenant here. If the gym isn't that important to you, this isn't a big deal - and hopefully it will be open for future years' tenants anyway.

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  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
7
Good
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Gets the job done but YMMV

OHO is solid overall. Nice community for people who want to be around Kellogg students but don't want the "party dorm" atmosphere of E2. Some apartments here are more updated than others. This is a condo building, not an apartment building so you'll be renting from an individual landlord. This has pros and cons.

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  • Couple
  • Pet owner
  • 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 34 Recs

Pure Barre
Evanston Athletic Club
TITLE Boxing Club
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parks 7 Recs

Dawes Park
City of Evanston Recreation Divisi…
Merrick Rose Garden
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coffee 14 Recs

Andy’s Frozen Custard
Bennison’s Bakery
Unicorn Cafe
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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
$
1,650
1 Bedroom
$
2,100
2 Bedroom
$
2,150

Getting around Downtown Evanston


Parking at Optima Horizons

Parking Garage

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Parking Near Optima Horizons

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
Downtown Evanston has everything you need. E2 is walkable to campus, a Target, and plenty of restaurants, as well as Metra and L stations to get to Chicago. Right across the street is a Subway, a Thai restaurant, and a pizza place, plus there’s a 7-Eleven about a block away, so you’re very close to options if you need food in a pinch.
Perfect for grad school at Northwestern, but otherwise feels a bit suburban without a booming downtown. There are some good food/bar options, but also a handful of abandoned/empty retail locations -- I'm hoping that means new coffee shops/food venues are coming, but it doesn't look like it just yet.
All in all ideal downtown Evanston location. Very convenient for public transportation to Chicago, next door to local favorite Bennison's (love the late night smell of donuts baking), and walking distance to plenty of bars, restaurants, and stores. Once the Target goes up by Sherman Plaza and we have an alternative to Whole Foods close by this will be perfect.
McManus is located right next to Evanston downtown, so everything (restaurants, bars, groceries) is very close by. It's also right next to Northwestern campus (~15-18 minutes to Kellogg Global Hub by foot), which helps quite a lot, esp. in the winter when you'd want to keep your commute as short as possible.
There's plenty to do, but it still takes some effort to get downtown. If you want the quickest ride (metra), then you have to plan ahead and deal with the (infrequent) train schedule. The purple line only runs express during rush hour. Depending on the time of day, your commute can run 20 minutes to an hour and a half.
I would 100% live in Evanston when choosing where to live for my time at Kellogg. There are plenty of amenities of all sorts - everything from two (!) Whole Foods and a Trader Joe's to amazing restaurants (Stained Glass, Boltwood, Found) and quick joints (Freshii, Cozy, Blaze, Cheesie's, etc.) to good bars ranging from dive-y (Bat 17) to more upscale (Bangers & Lace) to great retail, workout options (barre, boxing, and regular gyms), salons, and handy storefronts like hardware, cleaners, etc. Feels like home very quickly!
I live just south of the main downtown area, and it's the perfect intersection of being close to the action but also a bit removed when you want some quiet. I like being a in a more residential pocket, so there is slightly less foot traffic and really nice areas to walk around with a dog, etc.
We're one block from the centre of downtown Evanston. Clearly Evanston isn't going to win any awards for nightlife, culture or dynamism. But, you're not going to get than anywhere near campus. Good news is you're 2 blocks from Davis, which gets you to downtown Chicago in 30 mins.

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