I moved into this building when it first opened and lived there for two years. I had moved into the largest 1-bedroom and felt the apartment was large, attractive, new, and in a decent location of Center City for the amount of rent I was paying. It was this "value" that kept there for a 2nd year. In my first year, the building was still "new" and under construction, so I allowed a lot of things to slide, but after year 2 - things never improved. Here are the "bad" which alot has to do with poor management:

1)Mice. the space b/w your entry door and the floor is large enough for a mouse to squeeze through, which I witnessed with my own eyes. Manager's response was to send up mouse box (sticky) traps, ONE WEEK after the initial notice of the problem.

2)Thin walls: I was fortunate to have a neighbor only one one side (laundry room /elevator shaft was on the other), because walls are so thin, you can hear your neighbor's conversation on the telephone.

3)Inadequate Building Maintenance: There is no garbage chute but rather ONE closet on each floor by main elevator that contains 2 garbage cans. This is meant to accomodate all tenants' garbage on the floor -- which it was never able to do. Garbage was left to pile up daily within the closet and would then begin to pile up outside the closet in the main hallway for all tenants /visitors to see, and would remain there (all weekend). Hence the reason there are mice in this building, probably.

4)Incompetent Doorman: They will never get up to help a tenant open the security door, and will sit there at the desk and stare at you or into space as they often tend to do during their shifts. If the intercom is not working, they fail to call to announce guests or food delivery. If you ask for the main office number, they do not even know it! One good thing- they are competent when it comes to holding your delivery packages and make you sign for them.

5)Faulty Fire Alarm system: the fire alarm would go off often, and usually around 3:00AM at least once a week if not more.

6)Shady Neighborhood - you might be right on Market Street and a quick walk to Rittenhouse Sq, but be warned that after 10PM, the local streets are vacant except for the local street people and other unmentionables. It doesn't help the matter that there is a porn shop right across the street. If you venture out after 10, take a cab, even if you are just going to Rittenhouse Sq. It's only $3, and gives you peace of mind.

Lastly - management was horrible. I had notified them of my intention not to renew my lease and to move out 2 mo early. Within three months prior to moving out, I attempted on a weekly basis to schedule a "walk through" upon moving out. No one would return my calls or letters (sent via certified). Then upon moving out, I sent my keys and another letter via certified mail along with a check, and a month later, received a late rent notification. Three months after moving out, the landlord was still under the impression that I was living there and attepted to bill me for late rent and utilties (which they are in control of). 7 months later, they still denied I sent keys and a check to them - needless to say, a copy of the correspondence and mail receipts convinced them otherwise. Bottom line, if you decide to rent here, keep very good records when dealing with the landlord, put it all in writing, send all correspondence/requests via certified mail and make sure you invest in some mouse traps or a cat. The building and apartments may look nice -- but I'd rather live in an older building to avoid dealing with such a negligent landlord. (And I have yet to get my security deposit back, YET...they just have a way of forgetting about it).

User Responses
From: mo71976	Date: 04/16/2007
I couldn't have said it better myself. While I've never witnessed a mouse crawl through my door, I have my own share of woe. I've been living here for almost 3 years. I was attracted by the high ceilings, the light, and the reasonable price. It turns out that the roof is a sieve that allows any and all rain water to leak into the apartment, the walls are PAPER thin, the insulation is a complete joke and heating bills are through the roof, the washing machine facilities are completely inadequate for the number of residents (and the hot water often runs out), the garbage cans that serve to collect the garbage for the floor are definitely inadequate, management is incompetent and the doormen change every 3 days. I couldn't have WORSE things to say about this apartment. Do NOT move here! It'll probably be condemned soon anyway.
From: Anonymous	Date: 06/03/2007
If they won't fix the leaks or other health hazards, put your rent in an escrow account and let them know it is being held there until the problem is fixed and fixed correctly. If they do not fix the leak (or whatever problem) you can move out at the end of your lease (maybe BEFORE) and take all your money held in escrow with you. Slumlords hate this and hope you don't know about it! Contact Tenants Action Group for more information. Also, if your deposit is not returned within 30 days and you have not received any explaination why, you are BY LAW entitled to your full deposit back. If they still don't give it to you, file in small claims court. If they don't show up for the hearing, you are intitled to DOUBLE your deposit. Get them where it hurts-their PURSE. They will not respond to anger or hurt feelings or anything else. MONEY is their game so play it on their terms and get them good. They deserve to be put out of business, but this won't happen, so look out after yourselves. ANd don't be afraid. It's tenants that are uninformed of their rights or who are too afraid to stand up for themselves that allow these slumlords to stay in business.

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