Downtown apartment advice (Memphis, Henry: apartments, rent, lofts)

[nostoi]

Hello,

Forgive me for raising what must be a very tired question; I'm finalising my search for an apartment in downtown area, and have come to a short list. Any thoughts on the following places in terms of quality/reputation/experience/management, etc would be much appreciated:

--- Claridge House (seems cheap but nice - what's the catch?)
--- 10 South Main (everything looks super - is it?)
--- Metro 67 (heard mixed things, even though units look good)
--- Pembroke Square (looks great, but windows don't open - dealbreaker?)
--- Court Square, Lincoln Tower (looks good, fancy. But I don't see any reviews)
--- Lofts at South Bluffs (looks super)
--- Cornerstone at Main/Barboro Flats/Main Street Flats (all Henry Turly - look great)
--- Van Vleet (looks good, but backs onto large carpark?)
--- Exchange Building (I take it this is no good?)

Any general impressions of these (perhaps thoughts on which is the "best") would be great to hear.

Thanks!

[CristenS]

I put comments below.

--- Claridge House (seems cheap but nice - what's the catch?) - cheap for a reason. Very low quality compared to some of the others on this list.
--- 10 South Main (everything looks super - is it?) - I thought these were condos? I think they are supposed to be nice.
--- Metro 67 (heard mixed things, even though units look good) - Newer, I think they are supposed to be nice.
--- Pembroke Square (looks great, but windows don't open - dealbreaker?) - Had friends who lived there who liked it. Seemed nice and secure.
--- Court Square, Lincoln Tower (looks good, fancy. But I don't see any reviews) - I think these may have just opened, or maybe aren't even open yet?
--- Lofts at South Bluffs (looks super) - Very nice, been around a while and is well known.
--- Cornerstone at Main/Barboro Flats/Main Street Flats (all Henry Turly - look great) - no clue, I haven't really heard of these although Henry Turley tends to have more modern, nice places.
--- Van Vleet (looks good, but backs onto large carpark?) - I have never heard of this!!
--- Exchange Building (I take it this is no good?) - Maybe I am mixing up Exchange and Claridge, or maybe they are both supposed to be sub par. I think I've heard bad things about both. One is on Main towards the north end, and one is on 2nd?

[jmjordan]

Check out Washburn on Main and Union, I like it so far.

[nostoi]

Thanks for this, folks.

Yes, Claridge and Exchange are both toward the north end. Curious as to what low quality means here - in terms of the building itself or the condo/apartment?

Thanks for the Washburn pointer, I did see that and looks nice. Only carpeted floors, right? Looks like a beautiful building.

[CristenS]

Low rent in Memphis = low safety. Lower quality of occupant. Lower quality of building. I would guess more people on government funds, reduced rent programs, etc. That should be easy to find out though if you Google it.

Claridge is the one on North Main. It was always a low end building, then they tried to turn them into condos and sell them but since it was still low end, no one bought. I guess they are back to being apartments. It's further removed from the "core" of downtown, less activity, more deserted streets.

Exchange is on 2nd and Madison. Same situation as above, only I don't think they ever tried selling the units. Just a cheap building, historically.

[jmjordan]

I looked at Claridge and I wouldn't say that the few units that I saw were low quality - some were very nice. However, they were only about $~200 cheaper than my current location and were studios. For me, a 1BR and a much better location are worth that money. Claridge is just a little outside of the "action area" of downtown - an easy walk, but I like being in the thick of it.

Washburn is carpet only, from what I know. Probably the one negative - but I really enjoy the building. A good value, imo.

[85rx-7gsl-se]

A friend of mine, who is an attorney, lives in Claridge house. I doubt it has many low-end tenants. I have never been in the residential portion, but went to the MALS office many times and it seemed nice enough.

[CristenS]

It may have changed for the better than. I remember 15+ years ago when it was apartments, and then they tried to convert to condos maybe 10 years ago? Hopefully they updated things and made it more appealing during that time. It is still a bit further removed from the more popular and busy areas of downtown, and the city's trolley system just closed indefinitely so I'm not sure how easy it would be to get from the building to restaurants, bars, etc. (I know they replaced the trolleys with hybrid buses, but are the buses actually running along Main on top of the trolley tracks? I haven't seen it.)

[jabogitlu]

Claridge is three blocks from Madison and five blocks from Union. It's not like it's in Uptown for god's sake.

[CristenS]

Correct. Some of the others on his list are literally in the same building and above restaurants and bars. Just saying - if he made his list to be super close to those things, then Claridge is further removed.