700 Broadway

Location, location, location From: deephouse Date posted: 9/18/2005 Years at this apartment: 2005 - 2005   700 Broadway is a newly-constructed building with commercial tenants at street level and three residential floors containing 60 apartments. It's located at the north end of the Broadway commercial strip in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. The residents are mostly young professionals; when I applied for my apartment, the manager mentioned that most residents are doctors, lawyers, and Microsoft employees. They seem to be quiet (unlike the bars/nightclubs on the next block) and friendly. Contrary to what others have posted, I don't consider the apartments to be "overpriced." To be sure, they are more expensive than most other apartments in Seattle. However, the location is one of the best in the city, with plenty of restaurants, shopping (including a large grocery store), and entertainment within walking distance. 700 Broadway is also one of the few recently-built apartment buildings in the neighborhood. You can find cheaper apartments in older buildings, and older buildings can be charming, but in my experience, they also tend to have problems such as thin walls, utility problems, etc. Also, Seattle is a high-risk area for earthquakes, and 700 Broadway is probably one of the few residential buildings on Capitol Hill that meet current seismic standards. I find that the price of my apartment is offset by the fact that I'm able to live car-free. 700 Broadway is served by two bus routes, including the 49, which runs every 15 minutes to downtown and the University District. If I do want to drive somewhere, the Flexcar car-sharing program has two Honda Civic hybrid sedans parked a block away, as well as other vehicles throughout the neighborhood. And people who don't want to give up their cars should be pleased with the secure underground garage. Before I moved to Seattle, I was an over-protective owner of two nice cars, and I wouldn't think twice about parking them in the garage here. The building is very secure, with electronic keychain tags required to enter the residential areas. An intercom system allows residents to use their telephones to unlock the lobby doors for guests. The elevator looks nice and is quite large. The apartments themselves are attractive and don't have that "white box" look. The corridors are outside and surround a courtyard with a fountain. Also, the units come with new matching Frigidaire appliances, including a microwave and a washer/dryer unit. Some units have balconies--mine has a nice view of Broadway, the downtown skyline, and Mt. Rainier. As for the management changes, since the last review of this building was posted, there has been yet another change. According to a letter distributed to tenants, the previous manager quit without any advance notice. The new managers (a couple) live in the building, and although I've met only one of them, I have found him to be very friendly. Now, as for the negatives.... 1) The construction quality (both materials and workmanship) is a little less than what I would expect from an upscale apartment building. This building may not hold up very well in the long run. However, since the units are rented, I consider this the landlord's problem, not mine. 2) The units have no air conditioning. While this is true of most apartments in Seattle, and the weather doesn't get too hot here, again, I would expect more from a place like this. 3) At least in my studio, there is only one cable television jack, even though there are three phone jacks (two of them are literally five feet apart) and plenty of electrical outlets. 4) While I signed a document that authorizes the management to sign for packages on my behalf, all too often, nobody is in the managers' office, and so UPS, FedEx et al. frequently leave those "sorry we missed you!" notes on the door. For this reason, I usually have packages sent to my work address. Still, on the whole, I am very pleased with 700 Broadway and hope to stay here for at least a few years. I'll end this review with a tip: the Extreme Pizza restaurant on the ground floor has excellent food and gives a 10% discount to building residents.

Recommended: YES Overall Rating

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