We moved into the "A" side of the complex in early 2003 based on recommendations from our friends and their good experiences with the place. We knew it would be somewhat expensive going in, but every year that we renew our lease, management gives us a nice incentive to stay, like 1 month free rent for each annual renewal. We specifically requested one of the bigger apartments which has a study/library room, vaulted ceilings, and a nice dining room area off the kitchen. Price per square foot is still pretty steep, though.

1. Parking - always can find an empty space, if not right in front of the apartment, then somewhere closeby. Lighting isn't perfect, with many of the lights flickering and going out every few months, sometimes I worry about the safety of the parking lots. Management hesitates to repair/replace lights in the parking lot, probably because they're 30 feet in the air and I'm sure the bulbs are expensive. One of the lights was out for about a year and it took me speaking directly with the maintenance manager to get it fixed.

2. Noise level - it's amazing how little we hear our neighbors through the walls. I think in the 2 years we've lived here, we maybe hear our next door/across the hall/downstair neighbors not more than a handful of times. The exceptions are: when the college kids have parties out on their balconies, they make a ton of noise. Or there's an occasional leaf blower guy down in the parking lot around 2 AM some mornings (don't ask, I have absolutely no idea why). Sometimes July 4th can be really tough on our pets because of the fireworks noise, our dog goes nuts.

3. Grounds - The grounds are really well kept. Every morning I see cleaning crews scouring the grounds for trash and cleaning up any messes. They cut the grass, water the bushes and trees, and everything generally looks pretty good. Sometimes the dog poop can get a bit overwhelming, but I don't want to throw any stones since I'm not always perfect about cleaning up after mine. :-X

4. Safety - We have heard that the Blockbuster Video across the street from us (actually WITHIN the Marks complex) has been robbed multiple times. It's hard to believe, but if it's true, then it would seem to be a really unusual occurance for this area. Everything here seems pretty safe to me, we don't see any crime or "bad elements" walking around. Occasionally we get door-to-door salesmen or those terribly pushy magazine-selling teenagers (NO I will NOT "help you win a trip to Ireland" but if you don't leave me alone, I'll consider giving you a trip to the Swedish Hospital Trauma Center). The police are generally pretty close to where we live, there's a night patrol done by Marks staff and the lighting around the apartments and in the hallways/stairwells was recently redone entirely with brand new compact flourescent or halogen bulbs. They're bright as the dickens at night, but it makes it so there's no dark corners in which to hide or ambush someone.

5. Construction - The complex is well contructed to reduce noise transfer between apartments. The walls are thick and relatively sound dampening and we like our vaulted ceilings. The staircases are generally solid and the balconies are fairly well done as well. They recently repainted the complex and it looks pretty good. Can't say I'm a huge fan of the way that cigarette smoke and noise travel up from lower balconies and pervade our apartment, even if the doors and windows are closed, but that's part of apartment living.

6. Maintenance - This is one area where The Marks truly and absolutely shines. Every maintenance request, emergency or not, is handled within 24-48 hours. Usually someone will come out right away to assess the problem, then go get the necessary tools/parts/etc. and come back the same day or next day. Every maintenance request has been completed to our satisfaction. They even refinished our cabinets, even the ones in the bathroom, just because we mentioned it off-hand when the maintenance man was there. This is what makes apartment living worthwhile vs. home ownership.

7. Management - Never had a problem with management. Sometimes I wish they could accept post-dated rent checks or credit card payments, but that's not their problem. They usually give nice breaks for lease renewals, like 1 free month rent or something. They let us have a dog and a cat, which is great because there's not too many apartment complexes that do. They are polite, understanding, prompt, and very professional. Any previous complaints about the quality of the management staff probably applied to a previous group of people who are gone now. The current group are great.

8. Overall - This place is a great place to live, even though it's a bit expensive. It has everything we're looking for in an apartment complex, and it's missing everything that we DON'T want in an apartment complex. For comparison's sake, refer to the review of Buchtel Plaza here on this website (our old place of residence). Pretty much opposite on every aspect.

9. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! :D

User Responses
From: AltoidsAddict	Date: 09/30/2005
It is NOT 'spensive! Vaulted ceilings! C'mon! (heehee) One of the criteria I had for evaluating our apartment prior to signing the lease was the strength of the floors. The Marks is somewhat known for having very sturdy construction, at least on the A side - and when you have as many books as we do, that's very important. I'd recommend the A side for musicians and booklovers because of the sound and floor strength.

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