Alright, since I'm first, I'll be very thorough.

Overview: It is a lovely stone building on capital square with a lovely view of the capital... from certain apartments. The bottom floor is lined with shops, including a popcorn confectionery, a "pastry" shop, and... a psychic. The second and third stories are occupied by the 8 apartments - one studio, one two bedroom, and six one-bedrooms. Because of how old the building is, the fact that it's triangular, and the years of renovations, the apartments are all uniquely shaped. A window-mounted air conditioner is provided from April to October, and in the winter months heat comes from ancient hot-water radiators. Don't get me wrong; they work. But sometimes they work too much. The foot of solid stone provides pretty decent insulation, both from noise and climate. But, on the State Street side, there's a bus stop right outside, and there's a restaurant down the street - Frida's - that plays loud techno on the weekends until 2AM, and there's only so much a wall can do against that kind of bass. With the drunken masses being disorderly until around 3AM, and the busses running around 6AM, it makes for some rough nights for the first few weeks. So you'll either learn to drown it out, or hang yourself. There's also weekly concerts during the warmer months RIGHT OUTSIDE, which can get annoying, farmers markets on Saturday mornings, and all the city-wide events go on right under your window (Halloween, block parties, taste of Madison, and so forth) The ceiling also show signs of BAD water damage, and I've seen a bunch of rat poison in various places. Maybe I could say "also" some more' So my advice is get renter's insurance, Nyquil, and earplugs. The building is pretty old, so obviously it needs a little love.

But, on the lighter side of all that, the couple who own the place are very nice. Any complaints, any problems, they hop up to fix it pretty quick. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

Parking: Parking in Madison SUCKS unless you mind going for a walk every time you want to use your car. I had to park a mile and a half away to fine a spot for less than $100 a month. So, not having a car would be a good thing at this particular complex. Remember, Madison parking enforcement officers are really Nazis, and hourly parking is $1.25 at the meter.

Noise: Very, very noisy. All the tenants were pretty quiet, couldn't hear much from all them. But drunk people are loud, and there are many, many drunk people walking down State St. at all hours of the night. The noise was pretty bad.

Grounds: As long as the sidewalk isn't iced over, it's a very pretty area. Upkeep is a little lax, but if there's a problem it gets fixed.

Safety: The building is two doors away from the alley where a serial rapist assaulted several girls in 2006. Since then, the security has gone way up - the neighborhood is much better lit, and State St. itself is safe enough for women to walk down alone even at night. There are a lot of homeless around, but they don't mess with you.

Construction: It's old and unique. It's a neat place to live for a year if you don't mind some noise.

Maintenance: Superb. Whereas upkeep is a little lacking, if there's a problem, it gets fixed most ricky tick.

Staff: Very nice people. Not much more to say than that.

Give it a look. Just remember, it's ALWAYS noisy.

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