1) If you have a regular 2-bedroom atp, you have to pay $75 (single spot) -$90(one long spot for 2 cars) EXTRA/month for parking in their underground garage. Otherwise your only option is to park somewhere else where there's free long term parking (mine is across the river at a friend's house). Metered spaces are on the street, but there's a 5 hour limit and it's $1.25/hr. I think townhouses get free parking on the private street.

*NOTE: both ends of Naito Parkway are crossed by railroad tracks, so when there is a long train that takes up both ends (happens a couple times a day for anywhere from 2-10 minutes), NO ONE can drive in or out (the only way out is across the pedestrian bridge). Not a big deal if you don't drive much, but it is something to know.

2) The location is really nice. Contrary to some of the other reviews I've read, it's a nice neighborhood, right next to the Pearl District. I feel pretty safe walking around this area at night, and with the busmall moved, there seems to be less homeless people walking around (though personally I never found them dangerous or really bothersome anyways).
It's in north downtown, just north of the bus mall so catching virtually any bus, the MAX, streetcar, Amtrak, Greyhound is all within 2-7 blocks. As a student going to OHSU daily, it's 35 minutes on public transit to get all the way across downtown and up the hill.

3) Our neighbors are NOT noisy. Most people I ve met are really quite (though if they do make a fair amount of noise it can be heard pretty easily). The biggest noise problem is with the TRAINS. Being right next to Union Station you get Amtrak and freight trains going by probably 10 times a day; usually it's low-frequency rumbling of the big engines and sometimes loud horns; I don't get woken up by it, but if you're a light sleeper, you could have a problem; sometimes a train engine hangs around for a few hours emitting a low squeel that gets annoying, but it's not too bad. If you re facing Naito and don t have a direct view of the trainyard, it s probably not that noticeable, either.

3) The overall building isn't too bad; looks fairly clean, but the entry area and stairs to the North building (street #945) has a funky smell (that s why the grounds gets only 2 stars). It's clear they've tried to mask it or deodorize it, but the cigarette smoke and other odors are still around. Our apartment, however, has no smell.

4) I ve found the staff to be nice and helpful. They were great in getting all of the paperwork for getting the apt (but make sure you ask about ALL of the fees associated with signing deposits, cleaning fees, etc.). Yes, some of the craftsmanship is sortof shotty (our oven door fell off, but in all fairness it was fixed in a day). Our dishwasher isn t great, but mostly works a couple times this year the hot water has gone out, we get false firealarms every other month or so .minor annoying stuff, but not that bad.

5) If you qualify for the income-restricted housing, it s REALLY affordable for downtown. If not, I imagine it s pretty on par with the other housing in the area.

Overall, it s really an ok place if you need temporary 1-2 year housing, though I certainly wouldn t recommend it for the long term.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/11/2007
Very thorough and helpful review, listing the types of "items" that are usually of most interest to a prospective renter; one looking for good, affordable housing in downtown area, with ease of transit around town, nice amenities, and fairly respectful neighbors. This one really helped, thanks.

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