Good things:
Rent is fairly inexpensive (heat/HW included), complex is close to Hartford, and the building has some unique qualities (tub with feet, higher ceilings, wood floors, two entrances).

The maintenance people are very nice...though, they are usually not "dispatched" with urgency. For the most part, neighbors are nice/polite. The area where this apartment is located is pleasant looking...kind of. There are churches next door, across the street and down the side streets. You can walk to the Mary Cheney Library and the adjacent park from this complex.

Questionable Things:
The building is nearly 100 years old and there are some problems like electrical issues and bugs (bugs are not too bad - I've seen much worse other places). The electricity spontaneously goes 'poof'. You basically can't run more than one appliance at a time (micowave/blender, toaster/hairdryer). You will have to descend into the basement to reboot your electrical and it is pretty dingy down there.

Parking indoors is available for a fee. The fee is worth it, since the outdoor parking lot is tight, not lit and messy in the winter.

The snow removal situation is a very annoying to tenants. Management doesn't have a good plan in place for this. Tenants are threatened with towing if cars aren't moved for plowing, but they do not state their course of action for when to expect plowing (or towing).

There also really is no alternate place to move your car. So, if it snows on a day when you planned to stay in and sleep or work on something that requires uninterrupted concentration, for example, you instead have to hang around listening for a tow truck or plow. The times at which they do decide to show up to plow snow are never logical. Not fun.

It is usually not too loud here, just typical apartment noises. The heat situation is pretty bizarre - you can't control your heat (at least that is what I've been told). There are radiators in every room, but the turn-knobs on them don't elicit an actual change in temperature. I've alerted management on this numerous times and it has never been fixed. In fact, in one instance, it was questioned whether I knew how to turn the knobs or not. I felt fairly insulted, since I mastered knob turning sometime around age 5 or 6.

For the most part, the apartment is comfortable heat-wise, but since heating costs have risen, I've noticed less heat coming from the bathroom and living room radiators and none from the kitchen. Cost cutting' I have no idea - management doesn't communicate anything but their right to add a "heat surcharge" to the rent if they choose to do so. This was communicated sometime in the fall, when it was still warm. This was around the same time storm windows were all required to be put down. Management just helped themselves and walked right in to apartments (without proper notice in my case) to put storm windows down that were still up. It was still 78 degrees out at the time. Hmmm.

To me, it appears as if this rental gig is all about the money for the owners.

I think the worse thing about living here here is the attitude of the landlord(s). They do not want to or even think about saying please and thank you. If they do even communicate something (written), it is done in such a "strongarm" way, it can make you feel like you will get ruffed up if you dont comply or if you have a concern. Because of this gruff and generic approach on the part of the landlord, there is no sense of community here at the complex.

I think it may be a good place for less sensitive renters. It could be a very nice apartment situation if the right people owned it and cared for it or had a little respect for the tenants.
I have never felt respected here as a tenant. The management wishes to have tenants who "jump" when they say "jump" (i.e. the snow plowing situation) yet when something needs attention by a tenant, the attitude in return is "we'll do it when we do it". To me, that shows a great deal of disrespect for tentants. Respect is a two way street.

My final thought: Tenants are customers. Customers may not always be right, but they do deserve respect. If you are looking for a landlord that appreciates timely rental payments, a courteous attitude and quiet tenant, your good intentions will be wasted here, sorry to say. I think I stick around mainly for convenience, pleasant immediate neighbors and relative cheapness of rent.

I hope this helps prospective renters! gkZ41df9CgXQPfm8K2A7

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