Concord house is the newest member of the Qumbya family. It is situated in the middle of the key commercial strip in Hyde Park but on a quiet residential block.
Our building is a repartitioned 3-flat built in 1895. There are three residential floors with two bathrooms and a kitchen on each. In addition to the residential floors, there is a large basement with a (free) laundry room, a ping-pong table, a secure bike room and lots of storage space. There is a spacious back deck and a garden where we grow our own vegetables (and a few vines of concord grape).
We are within walking distance of about four grocery stores and a dozen restraunts. Radio Shack, Baskin-Robbins, Osco Drugs and a 24-hour Dunkin' Donuts are within a block. There is a bookstore down the street, and if you crave the drink of corporate hegemony, Starbucks is 1.5 blocks away.
The building is wired for high-speed internet, and we all share a DSL line fast enough for all your browsing needs. We have a commercial fridge where you can keep your own personal munchies, and a commercial freezer that'll keep those spare body parts or secret embryonic stem cell lines plenty cold. Our kitchen is equiped with a brand new commercial range, with six humoungous burners that each boil a gallon of water in 5 minutes flat and a cavernous oven that fits four cookie sheets side-by-side. We also have a pantry stuffed full of any bulk staple food you could possibly want, from garbanzo beans to kidney beans and even *gasp* black beans. The shoppers refresh our supplies of dairy, fruits and vegetables bi-weekly, keeping us well=stocked so that you need not ever enter a grocery store again.
If you're a smoker, you may smoke in your room or join the poor sods huddling on our front stoop or one of our 3 outdoor deck lounges. If you're feeling adventurous, you may even smoke up on the roof while gazing longingly at the distant lights of the Sears Tower. If you're a pet owner, you may bring pretty much any pet you want. Dogs, however, must be approved by the house to ensure they're not too loud or slobbery. Hate pets and everyone associated with them? Don't worry, the pets and their owners are confined to the second floor, so you can sit on the first floor and taunt them as they haul sacks of pet food up two flights of stairs.
When you're itching to leave the warm, UofC-PD-policed confines of Hyde Park, you will be glad to hear of the range of transportation options available to you. You can hop on the #6 Express just two blocks away and be downtown in 15 minutes, or you can take the Metra (also 2 blocks away) and save 5 minutes the overpriced way. If you wish to ride the 'EL, hop on the 15 Local and you can take the Green line at 51st or the Red at 47th. And when you're coming home on a late and wintry night, your heart will be warmed at the sight of the 15 waiting at its 47th street terminal stop, ready to keep you warm until it leaves to drop you off a block and a half away from home.
If, on the other hand, you wish to bring your friend to Hyde Park, so that you may showcase its vaunted glories, they can stay with you for free! We often have an empty room available for your guests, and if they so desire, they can grow fat on house food for just $3 a day.
If you just don't feel like going outside, and if you are a UofC student and hence have no friends (only rivals, damn them, messing up the curve...) to invite over, you need not fear. You can hang out in our spacious dinning room, around our huge table, reading the house copy of the New York Times and chatting idly with your fellow housemates over a cup of herbal tea. Or, if that does not sound appealing, you can hang out in the living room watching TV or entertaining yourself with one of our 5 gaming consoles (Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis & Sega CD, Playstation, Nintendo 64). You can watch movies on the house DVD player or the house VCR. And if you're all about action, I'm sure there's something that needs doing around the house. How about organizing the spice racks? Or you could just try to take me on in a game of ping pong...
In short, Concord House is paradise on earth. It is conveniently located next to everything and chock full of good clean fun. If you're still not convinced, check out our photo galleries. If, on the other hand, my gentle crooning has made you swoon over Concord house, go contact the MC to schedule your house dinner. And don't forget to fill out the application. I'll see you soon!