Home  >  Chicago  >  Evanston  >  Downtown Evanston Apartments  >  McManus Living-Learning Center

High-rise Apartment
Downtown Evanston, 1725 Orrington Ave | Evanston
Overview
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Amenities

Top Amenities

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  •  24-Hour Front Desk
  •  Air Conditioning  
  •  Building Laundry Room  
  •  Business Center
  •  Elevators
  •  Fitness Center
  •  Furnished Units Available
  •  Granite Countertops
  •  Parking Garage  
  •  Pet Friendly
  •  Resident Lounge
  •  Stainless Steel Appliances

User Rating

6.7
Good
112 Reviews

About this Location

Whole Foods Market
6 min walk
UP-N (rail) - 9 min
201 (bus) - 3 min
The Lakefill
19 min walk
Lots of bars and
restaurants nearby

Pricing 

Studio, 1 Bath
$1,125+
1 Bedroom, 1 Bath
$1,480+
2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
$1,615+

student only housing

Open to Northwestern students only.

Please visit Northwestern's student housing site or call (847) 467-4663 for leasing information.

  • Building Related

    •  Elevators
  • Convenience

    •  Business Center
  • Entertainment

    •  Game Room
    •  Resident Lounge
  • Included

    •  Electricity Included
    •  Gas Included
    •  Heat Included
    •  Internet Included
    •  Water Included
  • Kitchen

    •  Dishwasher
    •  Microwave
  • Laundry

    •  Building Laundry Room  
  • Lease Terms

    •  Furnished Units Available
  • Living Room

    •  Air Conditioning  
  • Parking & Transportation

    •  Parking Garage  
  • Security & Maintenance

    •  24-Hour Front Desk
  • Sports & Fitness

    •  Fitness Center
X

Overall rating 6.7/10, based on 112 renter reviews Write a review

9.5
Location
6.1
Amenities
7.2
Management
6.9
Value
7.8
Social
9.1
Safety
Excellent
13
Great
24
Good
45
Average
20
Terrible
10

McManus Living-Learning Center reviews and highlights

  • Furnishing is a little old
  • All utilities included
  • Exclusively for Kellogg students
  • Great value
  • Carpets could be better
  • Noise-proof walls
  • Building is a little old
  • The laundry room is easy to use and affordable
  • Some of the apartments are refurbished
  • Management is very good
  • Gym is a little small
  • Very close to campus
  • Management is responsive and helpful
  • Extremely convenient location
  • 5 minutes from bars, restaurants, and shops
  • Whole Foods is across the street
  • Underground parking is available
  • Transportation for all Kellogg events start from here
  • Lots of study rooms and communal social areas
  • Very social community
Filter reviews for
7
Good
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Super Convenient and Friendly Community

McManus is not the newest or nicest building on campus but if you're looking for a convenient, flexible, and affordable housing option it's a great choice. On convenience: the location is good for getting to the Glub (under 15 minutes apt-to-classroom seat walking if you hustle) and around Evanston, there are laundry rooms at no extra charge, there are group meeting rooms and Kellogg network printers, a community meeting space with games, a gym (albeit an old, hotel-like one that I have only seen 1 other person use), utilities all setup, internet through Northwestern, cable (although it comes through the wall as SD), furnished units, super easy application and approval process, and billed through your student account quarterly. Hard to beat there. On flexibility, you are not tied into a lease for the summer so if you intern out of town (or want to live in the city) you're able to do so without paying double rent. And affordability you can judge for yourself but I think it's a great value all things considered. The biggest downside is that it's an older building so if you prefer new furnishings and appliances and even remotely modern design this is not the place, the building has more of an undergraduate dorm feel in my opinion. If you're on the fence, connect with a current student when you visit campus to have a look at a unit or if you show up on your own do so during business hours so the front desk will be staffed to let you in.

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  • Studio / 1 bath
5
Average
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

McManus - Utilitarian, but far from perfect

-Very helpful staff
-Great sense of community
-House comes fully furnished
-Cost of utilities and repairs included
Cons:
-Amenities are very dated
-Corridors smell bad sometimes / Ventilation is very poor
-Air is damp in corridors
-Carpeting needs to change

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

McManus - solid value choice

I'd highly recommend McManus for students who will do their internship outside of Chicago.

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  • Couple
  • 1 bed / 1 bath
6
Good
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

A bit older but worth it!

Maintenance people are very responsive. A bit older than the nice new condos in Evanston, but worth it from my perspective because of the convenience.

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

Large but old

Old building but quite big 1BR apt
Not too cheap given the quality of the furniture, age of building etc.

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

Great for Families!

Love McManus. Sufficient on amenities, great on economics and community!

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  • Family w/ children
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
7
Good
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Older but Convenient

The building might not look as fancy as other buildings, but living here is quite convenient because a lot of your classmates live here, so organizing parties/group studies is easy. There are also study rooms, free laundry, game tables, close to campus and Hilton hotel where a lot of recruiting events are going on.

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

Overall good, but old building

Overall the experience at McManus has been good so far. No major issues as such. The common room is nice and spacious, and perfect for small community gatherings. Rooms (1Bedroom) are nice and spacious, with lots of storage space.

On the negatives, walls are thin and the sound of music even at moderate values carries over to adjacent rooms. The bathroom does not have a drain (other than the bathtub), which makes washing them difficult. Lastly, the exhaust is rather poor and the smell of food lingers for a long time. This is my biggest concern.

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

McManus Living-Learning Center Review

Choose it for the convenience

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

McManus Living-Learning Center Review

Super convenient!

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  • 1 bed / 1 bath

The Neighborhood

Signature Spots

dining 27 Recs

Buffalo Joe’s
Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza
Bat 17
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grocery 1 Rec

Whole Foods Market
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convenience 2 Recs

7-Eleven
Walgreens
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fitness 33 Recs

Pure Barre
Evanston Athletic Club
Akemi Fitness Method
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parks 7 Recs

Dawes Park
Merrick Rose Garden
Clark Street Beach
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coffee 14 Recs

Andy’s Frozen Custard
Cupitol Coffee & Eatery
Peet’s Coffee & 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
$
1,650
1 Bedroom
$
2,100
2 Bedroom
$
2,150

Getting around Downtown Evanston


Parking at McManus Living-Learning Center

Parking Garage

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Parking Near McManus Living-Learning Center

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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