Artistry Apartments (Indianapolis, Brooklyn, Brook: sales, leasing, HOA)

[interpol23]

I'm relocating to Indy (27, Male, Finance) in August/September and am looking at Artistry apartments, among others. I haven't been able to locate many reviews on Artistry, so I'm hoping someone here may have some insight. For the record, I'm looking at Artistry, The Maxwell, and Turnverein apartments currently.

Would anyone recommend Artistry from experience? Do you live there (or know anyone who does)? Any insight on the staff/maintenance or the general tenants who live there? Is it too 'artsy' for the normal person?

I saw there was a lending establishment going in on the first floor, but haven't seen anything besides that regarding businesses on the ground floor. Do you know of any plans for other businesses/restaurants/bars to go in below/around it?

Once I get a chance, I'll visit in person, but any thoughts on Artistry in the meantime would be greatly appreciated. I've looked at most places downtown, but believe I have it narrowed to the 3 above. If there are others that I should be considering, please feel free to drop a line.

Some of my criteria:

Modern 1 or 2 BR
Downtown
$1000-$1300/month
Parking onsite (preferably covered)
Laundry in unit
Close to the cultural trail
Pool is a bonus

Thank you!
David

[wh15395]

You'll have trouble finding reviews or advice on Artistry because the complex is basically brand new. My only experience at it is that they were wanting to charge $2800/month for a 1,100 sq ft. two bedroom. I left without even looking at it.

[wetrat0]

I live near Artistry. I don't know that there's anything especially "artsy" about it other than that they have art in the lobbies. I think it is targeted at young professionals such as yourself.

One thing you might want to consider is that they are currently building phase 2 of Artistry, so if you move there you will be right next to a construction zone. There is a lot of construction scheduled to start soon in the neighborhood (market square tower and Cummins building), but if you get the wrong unit, you may be facing *directly* onto a construction site.

[UsernameAlreadyTaken]

Originally Posted by wetrat0

I live near Artistry. I don't know that there's anything especially "artsy" about it other than that they have art in the lobbies. I think it is targeted at young professionals such as yourself.

One thing you might want to consider is that they are currently building phase 2 of Artistry, so if you move there you will be right next to a construction zone. There is a lot of construction scheduled to start soon in the neighborhood (market square tower and Cummins building), but if you get the wrong unit, you may be facing *directly* onto a construction site.

call me weird, but I would actually enjoy being able to watch a building go up. Facing the construction site wouldn't bother me at all.

[interpol23]

It really does look like a nice place, but that's getting awfully expensive for Indy. I've been deciding between living in midtown Manhattan or Indianapolis for the last few months, and have decided on Indy for the cost of living, entrepreneurship opportunities, cleanliness, and to watch the revitalization unfold. You can get a decent space in midtown for $3k, and can buy the world for that a train ride away in Brooklyn. Take the Path to Jersey, and you can score a 2BR for half that. It seems somewhat over reaching to price a 2BR in Indy for $2800 at this stage of city development and considering what it has to offer vs other major metropolises.

I checked in with The Maxwell, and they want $1324 for a 1BR plus additional monthly fees ($80 per car, I believe) for parking. I have two vehicles (summer/winter) so that brings it to $1484 for a 1 BR apartment 6 blocks outside the city center. Again, a bit over reaching for Indy at this point.

I'm looking at renting a condo in the Ohio/New Jersey area, and like what I've seen so far. 1000 sq ft. 1 BR condo with gated parking and all utilities paid for $1300/month. That seems a bit more reasonable to me.

Any thoughts on hidden gems in the city that are modern but offer a great value? Thanks for the comments so far - it is appreciated!

David

[wh15395]

You may want to check City Way. They have 1BR for around $1000, I believe. The Block building is really neat and very centrally located, but they are pretty pricey for the lack of upgrades in the units (A little over $1000 for a 1BR). Canal Overlook is pretty nice and a decent price.

[wetrat0]

Originally Posted by interpol23

It really does look like a nice place, but that's getting awfully expensive for Indy. I've been deciding between living in midtown Manhattan or Indianapolis for the last few months, and have decided on Indy for the cost of living, entrepreneurship opportunities, cleanliness, and to watch the revitalization unfold. You can get a decent space in midtown for $3k, and can buy the world for that a train ride away in Brooklyn. Take the Path to Jersey, and you can score a 2BR for half that. It seems somewhat over reaching to price a 2BR in Indy for $2800 at this stage of city development and considering what it has to offer vs other major metropolises.

I checked in with The Maxwell, and they want $1324 for a 1BR plus additional monthly fees ($80 per car, I believe) for parking. I have two vehicles (summer/winter) so that brings it to $1484 for a 1 BR apartment 6 blocks outside the city center. Again, a bit over reaching for Indy at this point.

I'm looking at renting a condo in the Ohio/New Jersey area, and like what I've seen so far. 1000 sq ft. 1 BR condo with gated parking and all utilities paid for $1300/month. That seems a bit more reasonable to me.

Any thoughts on hidden gems in the city that are modern but offer a great value? Thanks for the comments so far - it is appreciated!

David

I agree that the rents seem high, but it's a supply/demand problem. I remember reading that CityWay was 98% leased. They are putting up new apartments left and right downtown to keep up with the demand. There is a snowball effect as more people move to what was once a dead downtown, it makes it a more desirable place to live, so more people want to move there.

I assume you are looking at 225 N New Jersey since it's the only building in the area with gated parking vs. a garage. If you expect to be in Indy for at least a few years, you should look into buying a condo. You could buy a 1 BR, possibly a 2 BR, in the Hudson, Clevelander, or Packard (all around Ohio/NJ) and pay under $1500/month on a 15 year fixed rate mortgage or well under $1000/mo on a 30 year mortgage. Right now there are not a lot of units on the market but sales have been brisk in the last 6 months (at least in my building).

If you do rent in a condo building, make sure the owner has written permission from the HOA to lease the unit or you could find yourself getting evicted when the HOA finds out. Most of the associations have caps on the number of rentals, because it becomes near impossible to sell your unit if the building is >30% rented.

[interpol23]

I'm coming from a house, and don't think I want to buy again for some time. I'd like to stay fairly mobile for the next several years, and prefer to rent. City Way looks nice, but I believe the train noise issues are a deal breaker for me.

I think I'm going to grab an apartment a few miles outside downtown to get settled in the city, and will do some serious apartment shopping once I'm able to see things in person. At the moment, I'm not seeing many options that offer a good value, but perhaps that will change in the next 6-9 months as new complexes are built and demand becomes a bit more elastic. Having reviewed virtually all options in the downtown area, my greatest realization is that there just aren't that many places to live, and downtown only has a capacity for a few thousand people at the moment in terms of apartment space. This is great for the current leasing companies, and great to see that people actually want to be downtown, however is not conducive to me finding a decent apartment right now.

Thanks again for the insight!

David