The apartments themselves are nice enough, very unique feel to them with very high ceilings and they've been nicely converted from tobacco warehouses. The lofts were great for entertaining with a large living room area with bedroom up a couple of steps and secluded. Our only problem with the apartment itself was lack of storage space. Enough for one person but after I moved in with my girlfriend (now wife) but with two it was a problem. We did experience noise issues with the trains that run day and night, the main line out of Richmond to the east is elevated and a couple of blocks away with nothing to dissipate the sounds. After a few weeks I was quite used to it and the sound almost put me to sleep!

The gym was superb, plenty of machines and weights and the pool area was equally good. The pool wasn't heated which meant very cold even in the height of summer, any other time of year and you'd be borderline crazy to think about getting in. The hot tub was great though and we used it several times a week.

The location was our real issue with the place. The neighbourhood is going through a period of regeneration and at the time we were there the Edgeworth building next door was delapidated, as were several other buildings close by. At night it did feel unsafe, we had numerous reports of residents being robbed at gunpoint, or mugged and did feel rather uneasy in the dark. With the gradual makeover of the area hopefully this kind of behaviour will peter out but I suspect not.

From a convenience standpoint there is a large grocery store and a CVS just across the street which were very handy for odds and ends. You could certainly do all your shopping there but it'd probably cost about 20% more than just going to Kroger. Also within a couple of blocks are some pretty good restaurants; Sensi (a contemporary restaurant in the same block), Settee (a pizza restaurant across Main St) and Millie's Diner just a couple of blocks away. A few blocks further and you have Bottoms Up Pizza. If you work in the middle of Richmond this might seem a tempting place to work, you are about a dozen blocks away from the middle of town. The walk isn't through the most pleasant of parts and I'd feel a bit uneasy about tackling it late at night. There was a security guy who'd do the rounds but as others have said they can't be everywhere all time!

Unlike some we found the management to be quite helpful, I'd often go over in person and things would get done. Plus the communal TV room had a coffee machine and fresh Otis Spunkmeyer cookies each morning!

I'd say in summary the River Lofts are great if you are just out of college. Not too expensive, a short walk from the entertainment in the middle of Richmond but for those past that phase it might not appeal so much. For us the prospect of finding somewhere to park, often several blocks away, every time we came home got old very fast.

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