I signed a lease remotely, without seeing the apartment in person. Here are the things I wish I had known then:
- The apartments are reached via a pretty gross carpeted interior hallway, with poor signage and lots of storage and apartment doors. Even after the carpets were cleaned major stains remained... a shabby introduction to the building.
- Valet trash is sold as a benefit, but what it amounts to is a series of garbage cans out in the common hallways, every weekday night. You have to
...dodge cans in the hall on your way in and out, and smell everyone's garbage.
- Units have no AC. I found this to be extremely uncomfortable in the summer months. I bought one large standing window AC unit for the main areas but the bedrooms were basically unlivable in June, July and August. Cheap construction!
- The LEED status is real, but the building seems to have lost interest in sustainability measures: styrofoam cups in the lobby, seasonal scents pumped into common areas, toxic carpet cleaners, etc. Everyone seems to use window AC units.
- The north side is loud, bounding Hawthorne St.
- Cheap Cadet heaters in each room are tough to adjust and limit furniture placement. Oh, and that crappy product recently had a huge safety recall.
- Some apartments have no overhead lights in bedrooms and living areas. Little fans instead. Cheap!
- The standard refrigerator, freezer and ovens are tiny, apartment-size, so be prepared for that.
- The finishes just felt really cheap to me. I liked the marmoleum in the bathrooms, but the faux wood vinyl flooring throughout the unit was less nice, and the granite countertops felt downright old school. All of the counters (bathrooms and kitchens) have granite tile, so there are grout seams that are hard to clean. The walls and ceiling have orange peel texture. The whole place feels really dated, even for a building built in 2009, and sort of shabby.
- In the bathrooms the fan/light combo is on a motion sensor, so it goes on even when you don't need it, and regardless of whether you want it on. I tried to get that feature turned off and was told it wasn't possible. I found it really disruptive in the middle of the night, and wish there was at least an override switch.
- There are huge gaps under the front unit doors leading to the hallways, so you can hear the conversations of everyone passing by.
- Security has been a major issue. I had four different Amazon parcels stolen... and these were delivered inside the keyed lobby.
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