I've been living here for about 3 years. The attraction should be obvious: a rather nice scene at the Brightleaf area nearby, walking to a lot of places including parks, restaurants, ball games, art galleries, etc. The apartments are dominated by folks who are a bit older who are into the local scene, and there are plenty of Duke students around (even some undergrads). The place is gated, though the parking isn't, so I can understand why folks might be nervous late at night, though for someone who regularly comes home at odd hours, I've never had any real problems. It helps that there is a police substation in the complex. There is also nighttime security/24 on-call assistance at the office. I see the same regular handful of scam artists every six months or so. Panhandlers are quite harmless and are rather rare for a downtown area. They tend to stay closer to Ninth Street. The downtowns in Chapel Hill and Raleigh, frankly, have more of problem this way.

I've found the staff to be very accomodating and fair, if strict. For example, I've knocked on the door of the maintenance person in my building after locking myself out, and he's let me back in, no fees, no unpleasantness. I adopted a large dog that other complexes would not have allowed based on his looks, and the management observed the dog one day, and gave their approval. They also helped me with my dog when I was in a bind one holiday. (There are a lot of dogs in the complex, big and small. We dog owners are careful to be considerate, there are clean-up stations in the courtyards, etc. We do chat and let our dogs say hello -- but not run around unleashed -- in the courtyards. Suffice to say, people who don't like dogs might not be too keen on the place.) There are plenty of cats too.

The services offered are good. You won't find a pool, car wash or other more suburban amenities. There's a concierge service in the complex, fitness center that can be rather busy at peak times, package signing, etc. I think they still have dry cleaning pick-up. (I have my own place near work that I use.) Repairs are prompt when I report them, whether they're big or small. There aren't any washer-dryer hookups in the apartments, at least not right now. That might change with sub-metering the water, but right now each floor has a laundry room that uses a card system for payment.

The old storage warehouses with the small windows still get a surprising amount of light. The ones with large factory windows obviously get tons of light. The floors are in good shape, though being old warehouses, they do "roll" a bit (more noticeable in the hallways than in the apartments). The HVAC and appliances are modern. The finishes and fixtures are good for apartments, but only fair by house standards. The brick construction, though, is great, and I don't have any problems with bugs, bats, rodents, whatever. I love that in some weather you can smell the dried tobacco (not burning tobacco) in the wood. The apartments generally lack closet space though. Be aware that all the interior walls stop about 10' above the floor and are open to the high ceilings. That might make some roommate arrangements, uh, uncomfortable. To me, it's pretty well-built with some inevitable gotchas due to the buildings being older and recycled.

I've rarely had problems with sound from the neighboring apartments, though it's definitely there sometimes. The only real complaints I've had with regard to sound is some students being loud in the hallways on Friday or Saturday nights. It's rare though -- OK, three times in 3 years.

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates