Charles Towers Apartments

I've enjoyed my time here From: nicodemus0 Date posted: 4/4/2007 Years at this apartment: 2003 - 2007 2 responses   I have been living in Charles Towers for 3.5 years while attending graduate school at UMaryland-Baltimore. It has been a generally pleasant experience and one that I would recommend to others. I have a Junior One Bedroom, which I enjoy for its placement on the corner of the building and interesting layout. It certainly isn't huge for the price that you pay, but the key benefits are location downtown and all-inclusive utilities. Especially with the skyrocketing utility prices in Maryland, it has been nice to know that those are a fixed cost in my rent and that I can run the heat/AC to my heart's content. As mentioned by others, the windows are somewhat drafty, due to their age and the sheer number of them, but there are ways around this as described by others. Location along Charles St. within walking distance of school, as well as the train to Hopkins and elsewhere, is ideal. Within a few blocks are drug stores, banks, restaurants, and nearly anything else. Materials in the apartment aren't bad for the age of the building. Carpets are the most ragged, and provided appliances are adequate. Walls do an above average job of controlling noice based on previous apartment experiences. Parking is the most difficult thing about this complex. Rate for building residents in the underground garage is currently $145/month. It sure doesn't seem like a garage worth that price, although they are currently working on cosmetic improvements. The best, and most important, thing I can say about the garage is that it is very safe. A fairly unique and welcome entity in Baltimore. Guest parking is a problem, though, as there is very little/no street parking downtown, so your guests will have to pay hourly for the underground garage. As far as the community areas are concerned, they are universally first-class. Over the last few years they have spent tons of cash to upgrade everything; the lobbies, community room, exercise room, laundry facilities, etc. The courtyard contains a food court, dry cleaner, coffee shop, and most-importantly, that full-service Superfresh grocery store. I'm just bitter about having to leave so soon after it was completed. Maintenance requests are incredibly prompt, usually within a few hours. I once asked the maintenance staff to rewire an outlet so that a light switch would operate in a different way, and it was done without complaint the same day. I have never had an encounter with anyone on the staff that was anything but pleasant. In summary, I have enjoyed my time here and recommend it to anyone. It's a trade-off in my mind; costs should be about the same between an apartment outside the city center utilities commuting costs vs. Charles Towers parking. With Charles Towers you get a convenient location, and not having to commute through awful traffic and absorb wear-and-tear on your car. Outside downtown gets you a bigger place, in a more serene setting. It just depends on what you prefer, but I am glad I chose to live in Charles Towers and I'm hoping to find as good a community in the area I'm moving to.

Recommended: YES Overall Rating

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