I lived here during my entire time at Ohio State. I changed apartments once, moving from 42 to 50 during a transition period right after Northsteppe bought the complex, during which they refurbished the insides of all of the apartments; that was back in 2000.

The good: Within walking distance of OSU and Tuttle Park. Short walk to High Street & public transportation. All major utilities included, cheap rent. Laundry room in 50. Central heating & AC. Generally safe neighborhood N of campus. Has ceiling fan in units.

The bad: Advertised as a 1-bedroom, but its really more of a studio in terms of space. Its serviceable for one person, but would be very cramped for two or more. Try to get a corner unit if possible, they're a little bigger w/ 2 windows.

Parking is by permit only, but it still can get difficult to find a space by 7 PM on weeknights, and Ohio State football game days can mean a lot of out-of-towners parking in the lot because its free and within walking distance of the stadium. (Northsteppe was getting wise to this and was getting aggressive about towing on gamedays by the time my lease ended.)

Noise: Tenants on the east side of 42 are within a few feet of the apartment building next door. If they're having a party or are listening to loud music, you're going to hear it. Apartments on the west side of 50 overlook the parking lot. My apartment at 42 had a couple with domestic violence problems as downstairs neighbors for a year, and I definitely could hear the yelling through the floor at night.

Maintenance was OK; not great, not awful. They usually did fix things, but sometimes it took multiple calls. Before Northsteppe took over the property it had a terrible roach problem; they'd gotten it to the point now where they only needed to spray once every few months.

There was usually at least one machine out of service in the laundry room at any one time; with only 2 washers and 2 dryers, that made a big difference. There was also a persistent tendency for the machines to get jimmied for cash, despite the fact that the room was supposed to be locked when not in use. There's fortunately a coin laundry on High Street within walking distance.

Northsteepe did try to keep some of my security deposit when my lease ended, but eventually refunded it in full after I mailed them pictures I took of the apartment during my move-out. Don't know if they try this trick with everyone, but be aware.

In all, this complex is in better shape under Northsteppe than it was before, but its still a rather drab, depressing building with small units. I stayed mainly because the rent was so cheap and I didn't want to have to deal with having roommates again, plus the proximity to OSU.

UPDATE 10-04: Since I last lived there, a security system has been installed on the main entry door to the apartments, so that only residents can enter.

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