I spent about 16 months in The Legacy while in grad school. Coming from California, where nice apartments are abundant, it was a bit of a shock shopping for an apartment in Boston, Cambridge, and nearby areas. Most are old, not in particularly great shape, expensive, have little or no parking, and have landlords who seem indifferent about making a good impression due to high demand for rentals in the area. Finding Arlington and The Legacy was like taking a breath of fresh air.

The Legacy's office is well staffed and professional. Kelly conducts most of the tours with prospective tenants and is very sharp, genuinely nice, and professional. I negotiated my lease with Jill Myrak, who runs the complex and is part of the family that owns The Legacy. She is a sharp, professional businesswoman, but definitely less warm than the rest of the staff. Know this, everything is negotiable. Renting an apartment is a business transaction, and The Legacy is definitely a business. You should feel free to test their demand by asking for incentives, free parking, reduced rent, whatever. You won't necessarily get everything you want, but the complex has fairly high turnover and they want to keep units filled. When demand is down, they definitely deal. Check for any deals online before going in to see the place.

Upon signing my lease, my interaction with the office staff was pretty much over until my lease approached expiration. I just never needed them for anything. Regarding lease expiration, be aware that The Legacy has it written into the lease that they have the right to start showing your unit about six weeks before you vacate. This was a first for me, and I was initially nervous about it. However, the staff was careful to call in advance of showing the unit, and came and went very quickly. It really wasn't a bother. Someone I did see much more frequently, however, due to the proximity of his office to the mailboxes, was the building superintendent, Dave Crowley. Dave is The Legacy's number one asset. He is friendly, attentive, and takes wonderful care of the property. Moreover, he is very helpful at both move in and move out time. If you have any problems or requests, he takes care of them ASAP. He is simply a fabulous guy.

The good: The property is spanking clean and modern. Apartments are generous in size and have great appliances, including terrific washers and dryers. The building has restricted access underground parking, two elevators, garbage and recycling on every floor, and a very respectable fitness room, which I used often. Views vary greatly depending on apartment location, but view quality seems to be reflected in the price. The building is located absolutely central in downtown Arlington, which makes it incredibly convenient to restaurants, the town's wonderful library, convenience/drug stores, Starbucks, etc. The bus stop is also right at the curb with very frequent service down Mass Ave (#77) to Harvard Sq. and to Alewife Station (#79). You can also catch the #87 across the street to Davis Square and the T station there. Upon moving out, The Legacy returned my deposit very quickly with no bogus deductions.

The bad: I have only two major issues, the first of which is very controllable by you when you choose your apartment. Issue #1: Stay away from the end units on the west side of building. The highly effective, but massive and incredibly noisy air conditioning units are located there, so you can forget about being able to peacefully enjoy your apartment during summer months. Issue #2: Like many other new complexes these days, the floors and walls between apartments (i.e., your bedroom to your neighbor's bedroom) are very thin. Fortunately for me, I don't think my neighbors used the bedroom next to mine very much, because I rarely heard them. However, when they were in there talking, I could hear every word and laugh quite clearly. Again, it wasn't a major problem for me, but it certainly could have been, especially if the screaming baby who lived down the hall had lived right next door. That reminds me that I should also mention that there are many families with very young children in the building, which can either be good or bad depending on your perspective. So, try to get on the top floor and ask in advance if the apartments next to you have children.

In summary, I had a great experience at The Legacy despite the noisy air conditioning units and the thin walls and floors. It was a relief to be able to find a fairly priced (though certainly not cheap), nice apartment in the Boston area with the convenience of a quaint downtown neighborhood location and excellent availability of public transportation. Good luck to you.

PS: If you want to live in downtown Boston, check out the Devonshire (very near Faneuil Hall). If you want to live within walking distance of MIT, take a look at Worthington Place on Binney in Cambridge. I know multiple parties who lived in one or the other, and all gave these places a big "thumbs up."

User Responses
From: cjdocken	Date: 12/24/2008
Many thanks, very helpful review!

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