If you are apartment hunting along West Chicago Street in Detroit's 48228 ZIP code, two names tend to come up within about a half mile of each other: Detroit Luxury Living at 20237 W Chicago, and Chicago Townhomes, which public listings place along the 20500 to 20921 block of W Chicago Street: same street, overlapping price range, two genuinely different ways of living.
This guide compares them the way renters actually decide: layout, total monthly cost, what is included, who handles maintenance, and what you can verify before you sign anything. A note on sourcing, because it matters here. We are the leasing team at Detroit Luxury Living, so our own details are stated plainly and date-stamped. For Chicago Townhomes, we have used publicly available listing information only, and we flag clearly where you need to call their leasing office to confirm. We are not going to tell you which community is better for you. We will show you how to find out.
Why Renters Compare These Two West Chicago Street Apartments
The two properties sit close enough that the neighborhood variables are nearly identical. Same ZIP code, same stretch of road, same access to Rouge Park, the Telegraph Road retail corridor, I-96, and M-39/Southfield Freeway. When location is effectively a tie, the decision moves to the things inside the lease.
In our leasing office, the question we hear most often on tours is not which building looks nicer in photos. It is some version of "what will I actually pay every month, and who answers the phone when the heat goes out?" Those two questions settle most West Detroit apartment comparisons, and they are the ones worth bringing to both leasing offices.
Detroit Luxury Living vs Chicago Townhomes at a Glance
Comparison point | Detroit Luxury Living (confirmed) | Chicago Townhomes (public listings, confirm with their office) |
Address | 20237 W Chicago, Detroit, MI 48228 | 20500 to 20921 W Chicago St, Detroit, MI 48228 |
Property type | Five-building apartment community | Two-story townhome-style units, listed as built in the 1950s |
Bedrooms offered | 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments | Primarily 2-bedroom, 1 bath per listings |
Starting rent | 1 bed from $850; 2 bed from $1,050 | Third-party listings show roughly $850 to $950 for 2 bedrooms |
Utilities included | Water, trash, and sewage included; gas and electric separate | Not consistently published; confirm with leasing |
Laundry | On-site laundry, separate $40 charge | Listings vary between on-site laundry and in-unit hookups; confirm |
Parking | Off-street parking; no assigned or garage parking | Not consistently published; confirm |
Pets | Allowed up to 15 lb; $250 non-refundable deposit plus $25 per month | Listings vary, with some stating no pets; confirm |
Entry and access | Controlled building access | Listings describe private entries; confirm |
Management and maintenance | On-site management with on-call maintenance | Third-party managed; confirm on-site presence and after-hours process |
Application | Floor-plan-specific online application | Confirm process with their leasing office |
Detroit Luxury Living pricing, availability, and policies confirmed October 30, 2026, and subject to change. Chicago Townhomes details reflect third-party listing data reviewed the same day. Listing sites frequently lag behind a property's actual availability and terms, which is exactly why the column is labeled the way it is.
Apartment or Townhome: Which Layout Fits Your Routine
This is the real fork in the road. Both options are on the same street at a similar price, but you live in them very differently.
What a Two-Story Townhome Layout Means Day to Day
Townhome-style units generally stack living space on two levels, with bedrooms upstairs and the main living area below. Listings for Chicago Townhomes describe roughly 1,000 square feet with private entries and basement space. That is more room than a typical one-bedroom apartment, and the separation between floors suits some households well.
The tradeoffs are worth naming. Stairs factor into daily life, from groceries to laundry baskets to moving furniture in on day one. More conditioned square footage and a basement can mean a higher winter heating bill. And a private entry means the exterior door at your unit is yours to manage rather than a shared, controlled entry.
What a Single-Level Apartment Means Day to Day
Our one- and two-bedroom homes are single-level, which keeps the daily routine simple: no interior stairs, everything on one floor, and a smaller footprint to heat through a Michigan winter. Apartments include updated kitchens with storage, hardwood-style flooring, a full-size refrigerator, central heating, and walk-in closets, with controlled building access at the entry and off-street parking.
On tours, we often suggest people picture an ordinary Tuesday evening rather than a moving day. Where do the groceries land, where does the laundry happen, where does the car sit? The layout that wins that Tuesday is usually the right one.
Comparing Real Monthly Cost, Not Advertised Rent
Advertised rent is the least useful number in an apartment search, because it rarely describes what leaves your account each month. Build the same total for both communities and compare those instead.
Utilities and What Is Included in Rent
At Detroit Luxury Living, water, trash, and sewage are included in rent. Gas and electric are billed separately through your own provider accounts, and renter's insurance is required. That split is published on our site, so you can budget around it before you ever tour.
For any townhome you are considering, ask the leasing office to put the utility split in writing, and ask specifically about the basement and second floor. A larger unit with more conditioned space can cost meaningfully more to heat from December through March, which can quietly erase a rent difference of $100 or so.
Laundry, Parking, Pet, and Move-In Costs
Our published charges are straightforward: on-site laundry carries a separate $40 charge, off-street parking is available with no assigned or garage parking offered, and pets up to 15 pounds are welcome with a $250 non-refundable deposit plus $25 per month.
Run the arithmetic the same way for both communities. A two-bedroom here at $1,050, plus the $40 laundry charge and a $25 pet fee, comes to $1,115 before gas, electric, and renter's insurance. Apply that identical formula to any townhome quote, including deposits, application fees, and anything the listing did not mention. We have watched more than one renter discover that the cheaper advertised rent was not the cheaper apartment once laundry, utilities, and deposits were included.
Maintenance, Management, and Building Access
How a community handles repairs is hard to see on a tour and easy to ask about. Our leasing office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with weekend tours by appointment. Management is on site, and maintenance is on call.
Bring the same four questions to both offices:
- How do I submit a maintenance request, and is there a written record of it?
- Who responds to an after-hours issue, and what counts as an emergency?
- Is management physically on site, or is the property managed remotely?
- Who controls entry to the building or unit, and how are keys and access handled?
Write down both answers. The difference between the two communities usually shows up in this section more clearly than anywhere else.
How to Evaluate Detroit Luxury Living Reviews and Chicago Townhomes Reviews
Searches for Detroit Luxury Living reviews and Chicago Townhomes reviews are common at this stage, and reviews are useful if you read them as patterns rather than verdicts.
A practical method:
- Filter to the last 12 months. Ownership, management staff, and maintenance teams change. A review from four years ago describes a property that may no longer exist in that form.
- Sort by category, not sentiment. Group what you read into maintenance response, communication, unit condition, billing and fees, and move-in experience. Compare the two communities category by category.
- Look for repetition. One strong review and one angry review tell you very little. The same specific issue appearing five times tells you something real.
- Note whether management responds. A published response to a complaint shows you how the office communicates when something goes wrong.
- Treat star ratings as a starting point, not proof. Rating averages are shaped by volume and timing, and they do not prove one community is better than another.
There is also a check most renters never make. The City of Detroit requires rental properties to be registered and to hold a Certificate of Compliance, and the city maintains a rental compliance map where you can look up a specific address. Run both addresses through it. It takes two minutes and tells you something no review can.
Location: What Both Addresses Share
Because these two communities sit on the same street, location is rarely the deciding factor between them. For reference, Detroit Luxury Living is within two miles of I-96, Telegraph Road, and M-39/Southfield Freeway, within walking distance of Rouge Park, roughly 1.5 miles from the Telegraph Road retail corridor including Redford Plaza and Tel Joy Shopping Center, and approximately 19 minutes northwest of Downtown Detroit.
A half mile of separation will not change your commute in any meaningful way. What will change it is the hour you actually drive. Before you decide, drive your real route at your real departure time, in both directions, and check whether the parking situation works when you get home at the time you usually get home. Our West Detroit commute guide walks through the route options in more detail.
A Short Checklist Before You Sign Either Lease
Take this to both leasing offices and fill it in twice:
- Current rent for the specific unit, not the advertised starting rate
- Exactly which utilities are included and which are yours
- Laundry location and cost
- Parking type, cost, and availability
- Pet policy, weight limits, deposits, and monthly pet rent
- Security deposit, application fee, and any move-in charges in writing
- Lease length and renewal notice requirements
- Maintenance request process and after-hours coverage
- What condition the unit will be in at move-in, documented before you sign
Our Detroit apartment tour checklist expands this into 25 questions, and our guide to Michigan renter rights covers deposits, repairs, and lease terms under state law. If you are comparing more than these two properties, our 48228 renter's comparison guide gives you a broader framework.
Choosing Between Two West Chicago Street Apartments
Detroit Luxury Living and Chicago Townhomes are close neighbors with overlapping rents, so the choice comes down to format and total cost rather than location. A townhome offers more square footage across two levels with a private entry and basement space. A single-level apartment at Detroit Luxury Living offers one-bedroom and two-bedroom layouts starting at $850 and $1,050, with water, trash, and sewage included, controlled building access, off-street parking, on-site management, and on-call maintenance.
Do three things before you commit. Build the full monthly number for both, including utilities, laundry, parking, and pet costs. Ask both offices the same maintenance and access questions. Then read the written lease, not the listing, because the lease is the only document that binds anyone. Whichever community you choose, you should be choosing it with the real numbers in front of you.
See a West Chicago Street Apartment for Yourself
Comparisons only go so far. Walking a floor plan tells you more in ten minutes than a listing does in an hour.
Detroit Luxury Living serves renters along West Chicago Street in 48228, the Rouge Park area, and the Telegraph Road and I-96 corridor on Detroit's west side. We are happy to talk through current pricing, what is included, and what is available right now, even if you are still comparing us against other communities.
Contact our leasing team
- Address: 20237 W Chicago, Detroit, MI 48228
- Phone: +1 313-654-6341
- Email: dll@waldorfmgmt.com
- Office hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Saturday and Sunday by appointment.
Schedule a tour · View floor plans · See the gallery · Review amenities
Pricing, availability, fees, and policies stated here were accurate as of October 30, 2026, and are subject to change. Detroit Luxury Living is an equal housing opportunity community.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Detroit Luxury Living and Chicago Townhomes?
Detroit Luxury Living is a five-building apartment community at 20237 W Chicago offering single-level one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments with controlled building access, on-site management, and water, trash, and sewage included in rent. Chicago Townhomes, listed along the 20500 to 20921 block of W Chicago Street, is advertised publicly as two-story, two-bedroom townhome-style housing with private entries. The main difference is format: single-level apartment living versus multi-level townhome living. Confirm all current details directly with each leasing office.
How much is rent on West Chicago Street in Detroit?
As of October 30, 2026, Detroit Luxury Living lists one-bedroom homes from $850 and two-bedroom homes from $1,050, with water, trash, and sewage included and gas and electric billed separately. Public listings for Chicago Townhomes show two-bedroom units in roughly the $850 to $950 range, though those figures come from third-party sites and should be confirmed with their leasing office. All pricing and availability are subject to change, so ask for a current quote on the specific unit you want.
Are there pet-friendly apartments on West Chicago Street in Detroit?
Yes. Detroit Luxury Living welcomes pets up to 15 pounds with a $250 non-refundable deposit and $25 per month in pet rent. Pet policies differ by property and change over time, and some listings for nearby communities state different rules, so ask every leasing office for the current policy in writing, including weight limits, breed restrictions, deposits, and monthly fees, before you apply.
SOURCES:
- https://www.michigan.gov/ag/consumer-protection/renters-rights
- https://michiganlegalhelp.org/self-help-tools/housing/whats-lease
- https://detroitmi.gov/departments/buildings-safety-engineering-and-environmental-department-bseed/bseed-divisions/property-maintenance/tenant-rental-property/certificate-compliance
- https://detroitmi.gov/node/113976
- https://www.hud.gov/
- https://www.dte.com/
