Preface: I spent a decade in West Philly. I left in 1993, during a periodic area downturn. Things are *much* improved since then.

I lived in Garden Court South, directly across from the Garden Court Plaza in this property's header. It was part of the general complex.

The management, Alan Klein, is the second largest -- and unquestionably the best -- in University City. The properties are mostly large, sunny, well-maintained Victorians or polished, low-to-highrise 1920s-era garden apartments. During a decade under his leases, all my tenant concerns were addressed quickly and completely.

My only minor complaints were with other tenants' stupidity (unsupervised crotch fruit, noisy pets, putting sneakers in the dryers), but hey ... that's life in the Big City.

Seriously, there are certain caveats a potential tenant must understand about Klein?s neighborhood:

*This is the quieter, more expensive, and more civilized half of Univ City -- 44th to 48th below Spruce, further away from the Penn campus. However, it does border some major inner-city "reality." It's most definitely not Fraternity Row. If you want that, you go east of 44th, where the offerings are more drab and dorm-like, and show the scars of the annual undergraduate pillage.

*Your neighbors will be mostly grad/prof'l students and academics in the 25-50 range. Everyone works; few party; and no one moves more than twice a decade -- or lives more than one to a bedroom.

*although the immediate area around Klein properties is one of clean, tree-lined streets with beautiful Victorians that can make you think you're in San Francisco on a good day, it?s still the inner city. This means you are surrounded by city pathologies: noise, trash, graffiti, homelessness, drugs and, yes, violence. You will encounter them.

As a young man, I felt never felt truly unsafe -- certainly no more so than anywhere else in Philadelphia. But some prospective tenants might.

*there is a lack of quality grocery stores and other staple businesses within easy walking distance. Klein runs a free weekly van to a nice suburban supermarket (and daily, rush-hour campus shuttles), but if they don't fit your schedule, you?re out of luck.

*the only real shopping/nightlife/social/prof'l opportunities are on the Penn campus -- a mile away. A major hike, especially during inclement weather, and sometimes dicey at night. There's public transit at every corner, but the wait can be interminable. And if you're in this area, you already work or study at Penn, so there's a real feeling of missing out on the rest of the city.

*other nearby landlords aren?t anywhere near as conscientious as Klein about their tenants or their properties. Thus you may have neighbors who live like animals.

That being said, I?d still recommend Klein?s properties to grad/prof?l students and mature undergrads. I spent many happy years there. You could do a hell of a lot worse. Beyond the Penn campus itself, Klein's properties are the very best in West Philly.

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