I ve realized that 90% of the reviews on ApartmentRatings are vague Don t move here reviews that are really not helpful at all. So I wanted to write a detailed report on my experiences living at the Colonade for one year. I moved in in July and all seemed to go well at first. The freight elevator wasn t working (rarely is) so moving in was a little more difficult than usual, but all-in-all okay. Air conditioning worked fine and my apartment was on the south side (facing Rt 73) and on the 12th floor of the Estate building giving me a great view of downtown Philadelphia. I was a student at PCO/Salus for the year I lived there and being across the street gives the Colonade a great location for students. Anyway, in Sept/October the apartment s air shuts down entirely for about a month. When I asked at the desk I received a somewhat sarcastic reply that they need to shut it down to prepare the outdated air-conditioning system to provide heat in the winter. The same issue occurs in the late winter/spring when the heat shuts down for a few weeks to boot up the cold air-conditioning. So I definitely purchased some fans and a space heater to maintain some climate control. I signed up for a reserved parking spot (which cost a fee monthly) specifically for compact cars . Owning a Neon I figured this was fine (and they agreed) but a week later I received a call demanding that I move my car because it was too big for the spot. So they gave me a spot right across from the lobby door, which is great, but it really isn t under cover (which I was paying for) and so many people just park in the front spots when they are visiting the businesses on the first floor. So I could only use my paid parking space about half of the days I lived there. In the spring I needed to get my car fixed and I borrowed my parents pickup for several weeks to get me through. Then, I got another call saying that the truck was too big for the spot and that residents were complaining that they couldn t see around the truck when maneuvering through the parking lot. This was a full-sized pickup but not extended cab or anything, just about the length of a normal family car. So parking was somewhat of a rip as I paid for a spot the entire year I lived there but got harassed no matter the situation and had to fight for my own reserved spot most days. I had also heard about rodents/pests in the buildings but had none at all for the first 6 months of my stay. Unfortunately, in the winter the wallpaper was stripped off the corridor walls and new paper was hung, which is great, but the moldings on the bottom of the walls were removed for the project and never reattached. The reason given was that management intended to install new carpeting, but new carpet was still not installed over 8 months later. So, the combination of construction in the hallways and large holes in the wall (formerly covered by molding) allowed the first of several mice into my apartment. I mentioned the mouse at the desk and the reaction was that this was normal and that I would just get my name in the book for the exterminator (which contained 20 or 30 requests for exterminator visits). As a very clean, tidy graduate student I was baffled as there was no food laying about or clutter that would draw any pests, and the exterminator scratched his head about why I would even see mice because of how clean my apartment was. Coming from a rural area I had dealt with mice before and had traps in all the appropriate places so we agreed that that really was the only way to try to deal with any more mice that wandered in. Over the following weeks and months I caught and didn t catch 5 or 6 more mice. The mice problem was causing me to lose sleep (they go ALL over the place at ALL hours of the night) so much so that during one visit from my girlfriend from out-of-town, we got a hotel room up the road just so I could finally get a good night s sleep. In interest of full disclosure, I had new neighbors move in next door and they did a lot of work on their apartment getting it ready for their family, so I m sure some of the mice came across to my place to escape the commotion. I still felt that it was unacceptable to have rodents in my squeaky-clean apartment especially in a $950 apartment. And the exterminator mentioned that his service calls skyrocketed when the moldings were removed and never replaced, leaving holes for mice to freely roam through hallways and apartments.

Rodent issues aside, the elevators are also shaky, working some days and none working on other days, forcing long walks up or down many flights of stairs. The fitness center was actually looking much nicer when I moved out, with a renovation of sorts and mostly new cardio equipment. The indoor pool was still not near working order, having been empty from the day I moved in until I moved out. The parking lot was significantly reduced in size shortly after I moved in for a supposed remodeling that never took place. Part of the upper deck was simply roped off, then dismantled and hauled away, and no new construction ever took place over the 10 months following this start to the project. Front desk staff was generally polite, though sometimes asking for mail (as 12th floor residents must do) garnered some rolled eyes or groans. There is one older gentleman who seemed to work the evening/night shift that was particularly nice and always made a point to say hello to each person walking in the door.

So, in summary, the Colonade is at a great location for PCO/Salus students and can give you a great view depending on the location of your unit. Heating and air conditioning are unreliable and prone to shutdowns when you need them so some fans and space heaters are definitely something worth buying, maybe even a necessity. At the time of my departure, the hallway was still a mess, with holes in the walls where molding should have been. Parking was a negative also, as the parking lot is in poor shape and I was harassed about my own reserved spaces even when I switched spaces and cars several times. And my personal biggest complaint would be the rodents. I was disgusted entering my own apartment on certain occasions as there would be mice in traps or still running around all corners of my apartment. I admit that I did get a cat with about a month left in my stay and had not seen a mouse in that time. So, along with fans and heaters I would say a cat is a great thing to have if you decide to lease at Colonade. (Also as a student, a cat can be a great companion while you are studying.)

I must say I would NOT recommend Colonade to my best friend or anyone really. There were just too many negatives that kept popping up which really soured my opinion of the place. Unfortunately, newer places in the area probably charge exorbitant rent, so students and younger professionals may be limited to places like Colonade. If you are going to rent, just be ready for these surprises and you should be able to tolerate it. If you can manage a more upscale/newer place, I would say go for it and don t think twice about what limited convenience Colonade offers.

Thanks and happy hunting!

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 11/02/2008
Been here about 3months. Same issues- mice in a 5th floor apartment that is clean. Also saw a possum at 6am in a stairwell. Management sys there is no problem. I my be young, but I know that seeing a nocturnal creature in the daylight is never a good thing...it means it has rabies. I'm just gonna finish my year and get the heck out of here. Maybe a good lawyer can get back some of my over-priced rent beause of these ssues.
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/06/2009
Both posters are telling the honest truth. I lived there for 4 years and only had mice twice that I knew of. I moved out a couple months ago and found 2 dead mice on a glue trap behind my couch. So, needless to say that I'm glad that I moved. The Colonnade served its purporse while I was there. It's cheap, convienient, but by no means Luxury. It's unfortunate how deteriorated and run down it has become. They maintain just enough to stay legally open. So, it's sub-par...and a real disgrace. The bad thing about living their is once you're in, you're stuck. Just try and find the energy to get up and get out of there. B/c you will blink and realize that you've been there 4 years! You might as well get what you pay for, and you certainly don't get your money's worth (if you're paying more than $800) at Colonnade. I digress... So, if you're considering Colonnade then look elsewhere. If you're already there, GET OUT!
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/31/2009
I've had all of these problems and more! I don't believe that the Colonnade is legal. Fortunately I have kept records and have photos. When my lawyer gets back at the end of the summer I'm going to have him deal with this. It's not bad enough that everyone has these problems the rental office actually put a lease under my door that was 9.3% higher than they offered the same apt. to a friend.

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