Modern Apartment Buildings? (Cleveland: lease, townhomes, gated)

[Cl3v3land]

Originally Posted by LIS123

There is nothing wrong with these apartments; it's just that 668 has a large waiting list, which makes it hard to get in, expensive and gives them major pricing power. I've read mixed-to-negative reviews of the Stonebridge developments, which look nice on the 'net. They also don't have enough covered/garage parking for residents, which makes a difference around this time of year.

My guess is June 2011 would be my move-in data, if I receive an offer (nothing has been finalized yet). It would be a major plus to be walking distance to the Healthline.

Well I guess the Uptown apartments are out of the question then.....just curious what is your price range?

[LIS123]

Originally Posted by Cl3v3land

Well I guess the Uptown apartments are out of the question then.....just curious what is your price range?

Uptown would be out in June, but you can always live somewhere short-term and try to move in somewhere better when the opportunity arises. It's one advantage of not having a lot of stuff!

The price range depends on if I get an offer and what the salary range is. My guess is the salary would be in the $50-65K/annum range. Nothing has been finalized yet; just looking ahead. I was a little surprised that there weren't too many buildings in this category, but it looks like that is changing as there is enough demand for them.

[Cl3v3land]

Originally Posted by LIS123

Uptown would be out in June, but you can always live somewhere short-term and try to move in somewhere better when the opportunity arises. It's one advantage of not having a lot of stuff!

The price range depends on if I get an offer and what the salary range is. My guess is the salary would be in the $50-65K/annum range. Nothing has been finalized yet; just looking ahead. I was a little surprised that there weren't too many buildings in this category, but it looks like that is changing as there is enough demand for them.

So i'll guess about $700 a month and yeah you should really consider Uptown they will be really nice with retail on the ground floor and in a booming neighborhood but they will go FAST and you may just have to reserve apartments that will be built during phase 2 and yeah Cleveland is finally realizing that people are looking for upscale apartment living and are addressing that even with coltman 27 and circle 118 town homes.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by lisa12230

I found one and that is West Tech Lofts 2201 w. 93rd....They look really nice and huge....

I don't have any personal experience with the West Tech Lofts, so keep in mind this is secondhand information, but I've heard that the place is not well managed and there's lots of Section 8 living there, etc. etc. Also, IMHO the surrounding neighborhood is not very good and personally I don't see what's in that vicinity that would be particularly appealing to young professional types. Perhaps someone else on the forum could provide more detailed info.

[CCGal]

West Tech lofts were nice 10 years ago, almost nice enough that I considered moving in... but a lot of Hurricane Katrina victims and section 8 people live there now. That along with bad management make it a place to avoid at all costs. The surrounding neighborhood has nothing to offer anyone.

[Marty711]

Originally Posted by LIS123

There is nothing wrong with these apartments; it's just that 668 has a large waiting list, which makes it hard to get in, expensive and gives them major pricing power. I've read mixed-to-negative reviews of the Stonebridge developments, which look nice on the 'net. They also don't have enough covered/garage parking for residents, which makes a difference around this time of year.

My guess is June 2011 would be my move-in data, if I receive an offer (nothing has been finalized yet). It would be a major plus to be walking distance to the Healthline.

K&D Group is what's wrong with those apartments. They are a terrible management company. Most of their stuff looks nice but is done on the cheap. They use inferior products and their customer service is virtually non-existant. I give K&D props for making a commitment to the city, but as a former tenant of theirs, they were nothing but a headache to deal with. My building had mold in it, which K&D never did fix. Their solution was to paint over the mold. You will find that is the experience of most people who have lived in K&D buildings. I would never recommend moving into a K&D complex. It's not worth it, no matter how pretty it may look to an outsider or what song and dance that their leasing agents might give you.

Quay 55 is a nice private complex on Lake Erie. Not sure how modern they are but they seem to be highly recommended.

[LIS123]

Originally Posted by Marty711

K&D Group is what's wrong with those apartments. They are a terrible management company. Most of their stuff looks nice but is done on the cheap. They use inferior products and their customer service is virtually non-existant. I give K&D props for making a commitment to the city, but as a former tenant of theirs, they were nothing but a headache to deal with. My building had mold in it, which K&D never did fix. Their solution was to paint over the mold. You will find that is the experience of most people who have lived in K&D buildings. I would never recommend moving into a K&D complex. It's not worth it, no matter how pretty it may look to an outsider or what song and dance that their leasing agents might give you.

Quay 55 is a nice private complex on Lake Erie. Not sure how modern they are but they seem to be highly recommended.

If that's the case, how do they maintain such high prices? Do they just take advantage of relatively little competition in the higher end apartment market in Cleveland? The people at 668 Euclid told me they have a huge waiting list with prices up to $1,200/m for a 1-BR and Stonebridge seems close to full as well with rents around $1,000/m for a 1-BR. Of course, that will exclude parking, so their buildings certainly come at a price.

Stonebridge looks beautiful on the Internet, but the reviews are negative>positive.

[Marty711]

Originally Posted by LIS123

If that's the case, how do they maintain such high prices? Do they just take advantage of relatively little competition in the higher end apartment market in Cleveland? The people at 668 Euclid told me they have a huge waiting list with prices up to $1,200/m for a 1-BR and Stonebridge seems close to full as well with rents around $1,000/m for a 1-BR. Of course, that will exclude parking, so their buildings certainly come at a price.

Stonebridge looks beautiful on the Internet, but the reviews are negative>positive.

The leasing agents for K&D are very skilled. They talk a great game, and from appearances most K&D complexes look great. It's not until you live there, that you see some of the issues. Most of these are the quality of their materials and customer service. Neither of which are very good. My complex had a great streetscape, looked quite upscale, but that's what K&D uses to lure people in. They do some cheap renovations and call that a "multi-million dollar renovation" which is usually exaggerated. You don't even realize it until you move in. Granted my building wasn't new construction, but I've heard much of the same complaints from people living in Stonebridge or other K&D "renovated" properties.

I think that K&D has been shrewd in that they do largely control the downtown "new-build" apartment market since there is a lack of competition. As this post shows, there is a lack of new apartment dwellings in the city, so K&D gets some cred from that. I do give them credit for that. They are also terrific marketers compared to their competition. And let's be honest, there's very few downtown complexes that seem to get any good reviews. I believe that the W.T. Grant, Payne, Bridgeview and Water Street are considered some of the better choices out there.

I didn't hate my K&D building, but for their prices, it's not worth it. They claim concierges and such but most of the time, they don't exist or don't help you at all. That's my beef more than anything with them. Many promises are not kept. They promised me certain upgrades to my unit but never came through with them no matter how many times I complained. I had a broken door that was never fixed during the two years of my residency there. We had billing issues, building issues, were promised all kinds of renovations, but most just never occurred. There are constant staff turnovers and that seems to be a problem with all of K&D's complexes.

I'm sure that some people are happy at K&D complexes and maybe my experience wasn't that typical, but from most people that I know who have also lived at one, they have similar stories to tell. I would just say be buyer beware when it comes to anything that K&D is involved in, and if you do go with them take a short lease at first and see how it goes from there. At those prices, you deserve a first class experience and I don't think K&D delivers on that. Now, perhaps, they have improved things and things will be better at 668. I can only hope that is the case, as it's important to downtown's future.

[VMNurse]

Do you guys know anything about CircleEast Townhomes? I am looking to move to Cleveland and I was researching. I liked that CircleEast Townhomes has a similar layout to where I live now (in FL) with the garage on the 1st level, living area and kitchen on the 2nd level and bedrooms on the third level. Also i read that it will be gated. Many of the other places I researched don't include parking, so that is an additional cost. Any advise is welcome!!

[QuirkyCarter]

Unless you're cool with a lot of crime (gunshots and murders, robberies, etc) on your street and within a block or two, avoid West Tech Lofts. There are LOTS of issues with these lofts, but the crime is what pushed us out.