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Convienient in many ways, but not the Best for VCU
From:
-Anonymous-
Date posted:
3/27/2008
Years at this apartment:
2006
-
2008
1 photo
Now, first things first; if you are a college student and you don't have a car or prefer to walk to class, this apartment complex is a very viable option especially if you plan to room with someone else.
OVERALL: It beats the dorms in many ways, I stayed in Johnson, Rhoads, and Gladding Residence and I can say it has them all beat, however, this does not make this the best apartment complex available by far.
CULTURE/NEIGHBORHOOD: In many ways this place shares the same issues as a college dorm as the tenants are largely college students; for example, pulling the fire alarm late at night, your neighbors having the band over for practice, or playing loud music, frequent drug busts, and of course the scintillating sounds of ladies fiendishly giggling and shrieking in the middle of the night as they are pursued through the halls by drunken suitors, which penetrate the wall of most apartments. In essence it s a party house: the indulgences of the few disrupting the lives of the many. Obviously if you are a wild child, this place might suit your needs perfectly. But unlike the dormitories at VCU the neighbors tend to be unfriendly and suspicious despite their young age.
FACILITIES: Investing in an apartment can be quite a big deal, especially if you don't make boatloads of money, e.g. you work part time and go to school, what you pay for rent is often a large portion of what you are bringing in that month. Coliseum's apartments are unimpressive, and rent hikes are the norm. Before moving here I toured several types of units, a triple, and several doubles and they were spacious in the sense that they had high ceilings and the features of the loft were cool because they were untraditional, but often the loft features were impractical such as ledges of space that were unreachable and generally worthless to the tenant, which the management counts as precious square feet. Don't be decived by the floor plans, if you truly want an accurate sense of this place, tour it. Now speaking from my own time here I lived in a Studio apartment, the rent began at 625 and has since spiked to 675, the studio apartment may seem like an economical solution but be aware that all studio apartments are converted triple to doubles and the only thing that separates you from your former triple occupant neighbor is a thin sheet of plywood. Also the efficiency/studio apartments have no windows whatsoever so expect your skin to whiten and your sleep cycle to get disrupted here. Aside from that there is the issue of low water pressure, especially at higher floors, for the most part, it isn t a big deal however if you are a must have high pressure shower die hard, this place is by no means for you. Climate control is provided and it s a welcome amenity however it seems maddening when you live in a Studio and the outside temperature is < 30 deg F and the hallway is > 80 deg F and you can't seem to get the temperature down to 75 because you are recycling the air in your apartment and there is no windows to let some air in. All units in Coliseum supposedly come with dishwashers, however because the Studio's are triples that have been split up, none of them do because there isn't enough counter space or cabinetry for them to be installed, which I find rather disappointing although even if I had one, I doubt the water pressure would be enough to clean dishes effectively. The interior of most apartments have been recently repainted and re-carpeted, the cabinetry is only several years old and for the most part the general appearance of the apartments is rather welcoming. The only concern you may have is that some of the doubles, singles and studios are rather small in terms of actual "stand up and walk around space" and as such seem overpriced.
SECURITY/PARKING: Coliseum is located at the corner of Lombardy and Broad and is in a rather rough corner in town, the ally and streets are almost always frequented by grubbing bums who love to grovel to lucrative college students for money. At first this concept might seem rather endearing but I can tell you that when every time you leave the building your steps are stalked by the drifting sounds of C mon, Man, you got some change' it becomes a hostile and annoying series of events. Because the streets are filled with the strange dichotomy of fashionably dressed college kids and beggars alike in near equal measure, this is seen as everyday business. But I can tell you that being haggled for change is never pleasant or normal under any circumstance and serves to create a rather unfriendly atmosphere in the general proximity outside the complex of coliseum lofts itself. Every tenant is issued an electronic keycard to enter and exit the building. There are three entrances, the front entrance and the two back alley garage entrances. The garage is very welcome as it allows you to park your car off the crowded Fan streets and protect it against weather and criminals. Parking in the garage is not free however and costs $60/month extra for one car and $80 for a double space. A concern that is often voiced is that anyone who wants to can get in the building as the tenants often let people in who seem to be without their keycard. I have observed this to be true but I have never encountered any shady characters in the building or heard of any thing that might have occurred as a result besides a perhaps a rowdy party and a pulled fire alarm.
HIGH SPEED INTERNET/CABLE TV: Fully included in the rent, this one is a mixed bag. Basic digital cable is offered with hbo for all tenants, and it s quite a nice package. I love it personally. Internet is a bit more complicated however. Coliseum uses a internet networking company to provide internet, this is nice on one hand because in every room there is a drop down Ethernet port and no cable modem or independent contract is required, its all provided by Coliseum. Also Coliseum offers wireless internet throughout the building, which is on a separate network than the wired, so you have a backup ISP if your wired connection fails assuming you have a wireless receiver. The only bad thing I have to say about the internet setup is that when everyone gets on at prime time, the speeds crawl, there isn t enough network backbone here for the wired connection at least. And if you need that extra bandwidth you can try the wireless which is very fast most of the time but sometimes drops out, which is terrible if you are playing a game over the internet. The internet has gotten worse over the last several months and I m not sure why but generally I get around 60 kbps downloads on the wired connection and the wireless is so inconsistent that I can t say.
EXTRAS: I haven t had many dealings with the staff the two years I ve been here and haven t had any appliances that needed fixing, its worth noting that the laundry rooms are coin laundry, not free, 75 cents to first wash and dry. I ll leave the other reviewers to fill you in on those things I didn t elaborate on. I hope this review helps you with a decision.
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