St. James Place

nice 1920s building near stadium district

From: -Anonymous-
Date posted: 2/26/2004
Years at this apartment: 2001-01-01 - 2004-01-01
1 response

Studio apartment rent

2001 = $385/mo. w/ free garage parking for single female residents

2004 = $410/mo. and $25/mo. for garage parking space (no free spots)

Deposit is one months rent.

Rent increases approx. every 9 months, no lease, deposit can be applied to 6th month rent.

$200 pet deposit, cats/dogs okay



Amenities

Water and radiant heat included.

Super quiet building

Small stove, fridge w/ freezer (cant keep ice-cream) comes with unit.

No dishwasher.

Optional murphy bed and window blinds included.

Coved ceilings, frescoed walls, picture rails, hardwood floors, original tile/bathroom fixtures, old wall phones, display cabinet in kitchen, tall kitchen shelves, walk-in closet, ice delivery doors, shelving in shower/bath.

Three coin-operated washers/dryers in basement (1 dollar for wash/dry - laundry room is pretty sketchy, most often dirty/dusty)

Soda machine in laundry room = 60 cents per soda

Trash compactor and recycling in basement/garage area

Elevator (sometimes moody and doesnt work every now and then)



Location

Across the street from the Tacoma city jail (regular patrol and good emergency service)

Near Tacoma theatre district and farmers market

Good public transit access - lots of bus stops near apt. building

Three blocks from Wright Park, near Stadium District

Grocery and pharmacy nearby



Facilities/management

Buil is in okay shape. Lovely old 1920s decor. Get in now before they start remodeling and charge more rent!

Manager James Shelby is not customer-service focused. Often not in during stated business hours, hard to get a hold of. Best keep out of his way.

Very quiet building, dont know neighbors by name but hardly see any of them.

Not good for families - 16 one-bedrooms (often w/ waiting list) and the rest studios and efficiency studios.

Sloppy but timely repairs





Security/Parking

front entrance is secured with a pass card, though in the last year my car was broken into in the garage. After notifying management, nothing was done and another car actually got stolen. So Im not sure how much the garage parking is worth. Used to be free to single female residents when I first moved in, now I pay 25 bucks a month.

There is a small parking lot available for residents off the alley, but many park on the street in front of the building. Since Ive moved in weve had only two incidents involving fire trucks, only one was actually a small (kitchen) fire.



Advice



I cant say Ive been impressed with the current building manager, James Shelby. I used to complain about the lack of radiant heat when I first moved in, but ended up getting a small space heater because relations got tense. These days the building is warm enough with radiant heat, so I must not have been the only complaint.



If you enjoy the charm of old architecture (lath and plaster walls, hardwood floors, solid construction) and history (who lived in this apartment 50 years ago I wonder?) and like a hands-off kind of manager, then this is the place for you! Get in before someone does a hideous remodel and modernizes the heck out of it! Good deal esp. with the rising rents in the Stadium District.

Recommended: YES Overall Rating

Parking: Maintenance: Construction: Noise:

Grounds: Safety: Office Staff:

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