For nearly six weeks, residents at a South Loop apartment building have been climbing as many as eight flights of stairs to get home. Both elevators at The Regal Apartments stopped working, turning groceries, laundry and strollers into stair-climbing assignments and leaving some tenants feeling trapped in their own building.
Management has hired an elevator attendant to manually operate one elevator during limited hours, according to CBS News Chicago. The arrangement offers a narrow window of relief, but residents say it is only a temporary patch after repeated repair dates came and went with little progress.
Residents described the daily climb as more than an inconvenience. Kelsey Feeney told CBS she has had to ration going out, while also saying a mother carrying a 2-year-old and a stroller fell on the stairs and that the child suffered a split lip; Alicia Cooper described the situation as emotionally and physically taxing.
City Complaints Turned Into Code Violations
The Chicago Department of Buildings inspected the property after multiple 311 complaints and issued code violations, CBS reported. City records also show multiple administrative cases tied to elevator-related violations between 2020 and 2024, with thousands of dollars in fines assessed.
Ownership told city inspectors that it had expedited delivery of the parts needed to finish the repairs. But residents said they have continued receiving new projected repair dates without a working permanent solution, and TLC Management did not respond to CBS requests for comment by publication time.
Chicago Code Sets A Minimum Elevator Standard
Chicago’s municipal code says that in an occupied building equipped with passenger elevators, at least one passenger elevator must be maintained in operation at all times, according to the Chicago Municipal Code. The stated exception applies to buildings with only one passenger elevator when that elevator is temporarily out for testing or servicing, though inspectors would determine how the rule applies to a specific outage.
Illinois Legal Aid Online notes that elevator service falls under Chicago’s building-code enforcement system and that residents can report building concerns through 311. If inspectors find violations, the city may pursue administrative or civil enforcement against a property owner.
A South Loop Problem With A Familiar Shape
The Regal dispute echoes a separate tenant fight at Astoria Tower, where residents have alleged recurring elevator failures alongside other building problems. Another South Loop tenant revolt shows how a basic building amenity can become a broader habitability issue when repairs stretch on for months or years.
The two cases are separate, but the frustration is familiar: residents are being asked to absorb the physical cost of maintenance delays while waiting for property managers and contractors to finish the job.
Residents Are Still Waiting For The Real Fix
The limited-hours attendant appeared only after CBS began asking questions last week, giving residents some access while permanent repairs remain unfinished. No confirmed completion date was reported, and tenants continue to rely on stairs whenever the temporary service is unavailable.
For residents carrying children, using mobility devices or simply hauling a week’s worth of groceries, the difference between one elevator working for a few hours and both elevators operating normally is enormous. Until the repairs are completed, The Regal’s elevator problem remains a daily test of how long tenants can be expected to wait.
