I ve lived at a really trendy loft in the heart of Downtown, the scene, really. And I now live at Promenade. So let me compare the two. And to sum it all up before you read, I have no idea why people on this site complain SO much. It all really depends on what you are looking for.

Let s start with parking, since everyone obviously has issues with it: Parking at Promenade is better than what you have available most places downtown. Let s compare price, about $60/month for Promenade and about $150 anywhere else. Now let s compare what you get for the price. At Promenade you get sheltered parking, with quite a few employees monitoring the lot. At most other lots downtown you get one guard who sits at a booth all night, miserably b/c his job is to sit in a DARK, open lot downtown and bums meandering throughout that lot b/c they can. I read my renters insurance agreement at Promenade, and they (insurance co.) will actually reimburse you for anything stolen from your car when it is parked in the attached garage, even though it has never happened personally. Try that parking at any other lot downtown, NOT. When your friends visit, it s free from 5 PM to 8 AM the next day, and when they come or go, all they have to do is go through a hallway, an elevator, and another hallway to the garage. Downtown, they would have to walk through two alleys and sidewalks to get to their cars and turn down 2-3 bum requests for spare change. So people complaining about the parking situation, are complaining about one of the better setups in downtown LA and should move back into their parents house where all they have to do is go into their two car garage. In fact, those people have probably never lived anywhere else downtown to compare to. I do have one complaint though, it is so inexplicably dusty in the garage, and Promenade doesn t provide hoses to wash your cars with.

On to the gym; most places don t offer much of a gym. But this one does suck. If you want to move into Promenade, don t do it b/c of the gym, but you can see it on the tour. It just plain sucks, and I don t know how management isn t embarrassed to show it during a tour. I ve tried to suck it up and use the equipment, but a lot of it is just plain broken and dangerous to use. In high school, my wrestling team worked out in a tiny gym nicknamed the rat s nest (use your imagination), and I liked that one 100x more than this one.

The management: Teresa helped us move in and was so extremely helpful. She gave us tips on getting the most, and gave us more helpful information than any other leasing agent I ve dealt with. And living in a college town, I ve dealt with quite a few leasing agents. She s great.

Repairs: People are right about repairs. They take forever to get addressed. Here are a few ideas for time: Both of my bathroom lights went out, so it was pitch black. It took a week to replace the bulbs (which they have to do, we can not), and I think it s ridiculous to wait that long for a repair like that. The A/C motor blew out so my place was hotter than ----- for a few days. They came quickly but had to order the part, but all in all it took a short time to fix.

Cost: Lets compare cost; my rent at Promenade is 67% of what it was at my loft on 6th street. This 67% includes cable, electricity, and parking. So, I was paying 33% more previously, PLUS electricity, PLUS cable, PLUS $150 parking. So there are no complaints on how old the building seems (which is ridiculous, b/c most residential living downtown is way older, especially the converted lofts which are ages older). The price is great. You could find A LOT cheaper, but you d have to qualify for low income housing. And one of my colleagues doesn t make much money, but he doesn t even qualify. So go have fun and be surprised about what you get downtown for 6 hundred bucks a month besides a disease!

General/Misc: The place does have a few negatives, but they have nothing to do with the management or the building. I d say it has to do with some tenants that make God-knows-what for dinner; it stinks up the hallway to high heaven. But my place is clean smelling because I KEEP IT CLEAN. I ve never met my neighbors, and sometimes I feel like the surrounding apartments are vacant b/c it s so quiet. But I have seen them, so I know they re there. I can see the fire department from my window, and the sound of sirens does not keep me up at night, so I don t know what that complaint s all about. The pool is incredible, it s large, always a nice temperature, always clean looking, and has a big grassy area around it (rare downtown, heh). I do wish they would just put the BBQ grills out there already though. We ll see when that happens (uh, never') I live on a very high floor, and I never have to wait more than a couple minutes for an elevator. But for some reason it always takes longer when I m on the bottom waiting to go up.

Finally, let s talk about plumbing. I get notices ALL, THE, TIME. But it s never affected me b/c I have a life. I don t sit at home from 9 to 5 all day. And I m sure there is a rare case that someone works from home at Promenade, but please, come on. The shower does suck, it takes FOREVER, FOR .EVVV .ERRRR, to heat up. Meaning you are paying part of your water bill (I d say a good part too) waiting for the water to heat up. You are also wasting a good 6-10 minutes every morning letting cold water run, and sometimes it never even gets fully hot, just tolerable. And the shower regularly backs up so you are standing in a puddle of water. It sucks. I put in a maintenance request to unclog it. 10 days later I got a notice saying it was fixed, but it wasn t so I called them back. Then they actually fixed it. But now it s clogging up again, 1.5 months later. And a friend in another unit has the same, exact, problem. So I know it s a suck issue.

Bottom line, if you spend all your time in your apartment or entertain alot, and need it to be extra nice b/c of that, you could spend more money and get more fancy, but if you spend a lot of time out, and just want a cozy place to relax when you get home, the Promenade is more than worth it, especially downtown. It s one of the cleanest, best environments to be downtown. It s clean, convenient, and financially, one of the best deals.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/28/2009
I moved out before 2009, so maybe I'm wrong, but I think this person is incorrect re. the parking. When I lived there, about 2/3 of tenant parking was sheltered, but 1/3 was not. Also, there are many, many different ways into the garage, which was open to the public, including "bums," 24-7. After working hours, it was not monitored, except for the part used to valet cars, which was a small part of the structure. Also, the security cameras didn't work. There were rats in the garage. And, some cars were stolen, mostly kept by the valets. (All property insurance reimburses you for stolen property from your car. That has nothing to do with your parking lot.)
From: Anonymous	Date: 09/04/2009
I live here now, and i havent seen any rats, and its really clean in the parking garage, the parking manager has been replaced recently, so maybe thats why the place looks better. also, there are parking attendants on 3 floors. all the ones where there are entrances. i havent seen any bums in the building,but sometimes the doors are left open by careless tenants. But thats what u have to deal with when you live in an apartment building. i love the place and the pool is really great.

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