I haven't lived here but about three months, but here's what I know so far:

Moving in was great. My apartment wasn't spotless, but it wasn't gross, either. Definitely plan on spending a few hours scrubbing and vacuuming corners before you move in your things. The manager (Becky) is wonderful, and made some suggestions that made it obvious that she puts thought into actually living in the apartments.

My friends agreed that moving in was much easier than we thought it would be -- there is a dock on the back that you can back your U-Haul up to and then roll your things right into the freight elevator. The dock is on the second floor and has a big ramp that you lift into the back of your truck, so moving stuff out of a regular pick up truck might be harder than moving from a bigger U-Haul truck due to the height difference.

So far it feels like a very welcome, safe place to live. The folks in the elevator are generally friendly, and there are always some people sitting in the lobby reading or playing cards. It just feels good. If you're a party animal, I've heard that the top floors are mostly younger people and are a little louder than the lower floors. I don't know if it is true - I live half way up the building and it has been incredibly quiet.

The magnetic locking doors in the lobby are nice, and I haven't seen anyone letting in random people. The concierge won't let anyone in - they just make people use the phone box to get buzzed in or they have to leave. So far the doors have always been locked, unlike many apartments that only sometimes use the security gates. You certainly won't have any drop-by visitors coming in without you wanting them to!

The biggest surprise so far is how quiet it is. My apt is right by the elevators, and I was worried that I would hear them all night. I also didn't know how loud it would be in a highrise -- I'm happy to report that both elevators and neighbors are hardly heard at all. Occasionally I'll hear someone talking on their phone in the hall as they walk by, but that has been it. No noise AT ALL from my upstairs or next door neighbors. The only noise I hear is the passing train blowing its horn and an occasional ambulance. Neither are terrible. Compared to my last apartment, this is a dream.

I was also worried about smells because I could always smell cigarettes and whatever anyone was cooking in my old place. I will say that the lobby sometimes smells funny, like food or something, and the hallways can vary from smelling like eggs and bacon in the morning (ugh, makes me so hungry as I rush out on the way to work!) to stale-ness, but never gross. The good news is that regardless of what the hall or lobby smell like, I haven't caught a whiff of anything in my apartment itself. Whoever built this place did a good job of keeping the apartments from sharing noise or smells.

Parking is NOT as bad as I thought it would be based on other people's reviews. It isn't something you'll go screaming around corners in, but the lot is just fine. I drive a wide 4-dr standard transmission car and have been able to park and get around just fine. Parking inside the building itself is very nice - you can grab your groceries and walk right to the elevator ... no parking your car in front of the apartment, unloading, then moving your car when you're done.

MAINTENANCE IS AMAZING! When I checked into my apartment at around 10am, I noticed three minor problems and told the office about it. Then, I went to grab a load of stuff - when I got back at noon all three problems had been fixed already! I couldn't believe it. When I moved out of my last apartment I still had open work requests that they never came to see about - so this was a great change. A few days later my dishwasher quit working properly and I called it in as I walked to work... they replaced it with a new one the same day before I got home! Needless to say I'm thrilled with the maintenance crew.

Well, not sure what else to say. I like the balcony and view, but I wish I'd chosen the downtown side of the building. I'm in a unit facing north and you really can't see much of the city because of all the huge trees in the heritage hills neighborhood. I'm sure you would have a great view if you were higher up on the building than I am. People watching from up here is a good source of entertainment...

The A/C and heater are on a master control - you don't get to decide if it is cold or hot air, you just get to decide what temperature the unit will kick on or off. I was worried that this might not be comfy, but so far it has been just fine. With Oklahoma weather changing like it does, I've noticed that they will switch between heater and A/C even just for a day or two. I moved in right at the end of winter, and the heater worked great. Lately, it has been warming up outside and the A/C has worked very well. I like that in the 1 bedroom, you have a thermostat both in the bedroom and in the living area.

The hot water is also supplied by the building -- you don't have your own little water heater. I was nervous about this (didn't know how well it would work) but so far it has been perfect. It is incredibly nice to have immediate hot water -- as soon as you turn on the tap or shower it is hot, no waiting. Also, you can take as long a shower or bath as you'd like and not run out!

I love that all bills are paid! No electric and no water, sewer, or trash is wonderful. I actually saved money by moving downtown since I work downtown and no longer have to buy a parking spot and gas to drive downtown everyday. Not to mention never getting stuck in traffic anymore. No more dreading opening the electric bill, either...

Overall, I really recommend giving this place a look.

If you have pets or kids, I don't know if this would be my #1 recommendation because there isn't really a park or play area nearby... the pool will be nice in the summer, but I think kids and pets might miss out on some nice play areas if they lived here. Also, give some thought to how you feel about living downtown. It is about 10 minutes to the closest Wal-Mart, and you have to drive a bit to get to most restaurants. Just things to think about.

The laundry room is great. I love that you don't even have to leave the building, and that you get to do all your laundry at once. I've never wanted a washer in my apartment, because I'd rather just do it all at once and get it over with, but at the same time I hated having to lug all your clothes outside and to the laundry room. Here you get the best of both worlds because you can use a rolling sorter cart, push your dirty laundry into the elevator, go down to the laundry room, and come back with clean clothes. No lifting, no going outside in the cold -- its great. The washers and dryers look new and use a card system rather than coins, which is nice.

I would say the biggest drawback to my 1 bedroom is that there isn't much extra storage, and the kitchen doesn't have a lot of space.

As far as "luxury living" goes, I'm not sure these really classify. This is more like "nice living." The elevators and hallways could use a makeover, but the apartments themselves are nice. The elevators are really my main complaint -- not that they don't work, they work fine and seem mechanically sound -- they just LOOK dirty and old. I wish the owners would spend some money on the inside of the elevators, since every single resident and guest use them on a daily basis.

Anyway, if things keep going the way that they have so far, I'll probably be living here for quite some time. Good luck finding an apartment!

User Responses
From: homeiswhereyourheartis	Date: 04/19/2008
This was a great review!! Thanks!
From: macaddiict	Date: 08/31/2008
6 month update: I just resigned my lease for a year. I re-read my review and still agree with what I wrote. This is a great place to live - give it a look.

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