Ella

Mostly all good so far. Are there issues? Of course, but every building has issues. Take our issues listed below with a grain of salt. They're meant to be descriptive but not turn you off from one of the better rentals we've experienced. Again, show me a perfect rental complex and I'll show you a unicorn. The Good: (to be clear, the positives FAR outweight the negatives for us) 1. We mostly got used to the noise and eventually automatically tuned it out. Years of living in big cities will do that. YMMV 2. Building is in relatively good shape, well maintained, clean 3. Location is solid, you have the beautiful river walkway nearby and if you work at OHSU, you cant get much closer to the tram. Also, there's a train right in front to take you to downtown, etc. 4. There is a gym! Its imperfect but hey, its there! 5. One of the quieter areas of Portland. Feels safe, upscale-ish. 6. Maintenance guys are great. They're pretty quick to respond, very friendly and fixed every issue we've had in good time. Cant ask for more. 7. Leasing office/managers are friendly and responsive. (Only one of them who I wont name, is a bit standoffish at times and not as friendly. Cant win them all I guess) 8. Some units have central air which we consider essential. 9. Lots of big bright windows! 10. Some units have nice large balconies like ours! 11. Spacious apt's 12. Decent rental value for everything you're getting here, all things considered. 13. enclosed garage available (for a fee). You WANT this in PDX At the Ella, nitpicking, these issues currently are: 1. BBQ's never work. They're "under repair" indefinitely. 2. Rooftop is cool but no awnings or umbrellas to protect from constant rain or intense summer sun. So, largely unusable outside of rare perfect days. Also, rooftop sofa's seem to have no cushions which is uncomfortable. 3. Walls & windows transmit noise from the street from beeping parking lots to people's conversations to loud garbage pickup at 330am, neighbors stomping, trains & trucks passing by. We got used to it, no different than any city living imho. 4. Gym is too dark, needs better brighter lighting. Also, somewhat lacking in equipment, ie, no lat pull down machine or lat-bar/bench to attach to the all-in-one either. No row machine or row attachment with bench for all-in-one. Chest & shoulder machine really only fits ppl 5'6" and under, hard to get your arms under the handles. Gym needs bit more equipment. 5. Quieter area of Portland, not much to do and most close quite early. Mostly resident doctors & retirees living here. 6. Fees: $275 for EV Parking or $225 for regular. $300/mo for "building fees". This is in addition to your own electric, internet, etc. Seems a bit excessive to us. 7. No bldg wifi in a neighborhood with poor cell reception. Would be a huge plus if Ella could offer this, esp for music on my phone while at the gym, directions when stepping out, etc. 8. No supermarket in this neighborhood, def a bummer.

My experience with this property was poor throughout the time I lived there but deteriorated significantly during the move-out process last month. I will focus on that for this review. After vacating my apartment, I was charged “standard cleaning” and “standard carpet cleaning” fees that were not included anywhere in my lease. Management told me informally on three separate occasions that these charges were required by “apartment policy,” but they were never provided in writing, never disclosed as a lease term, and not explained at move-out. According to the Portland Housing Bureau, ORS 90.300 and ORS 90.302 limit deductions to actual damage beyond normal wear and tear and do not allow automatic or ‘standard’ cleaning fees. This was especially surprising because both management and the lead maintenance staff told me directly during my final walk-through that the apartment was clean and showed nothing beyond normal wear and tear. I contacted management multiple times by email and phone requesting clarification, including what cleaning was performed, where the charges were authorized in the lease, and any supporting documentation. I received no response, and it has been nearly a month since my first attempt to contact them. I have contacted them over five times via email and phone. I have documentation showing the unit did not have damage beyond normal wear and tear, yet these charges are still being applied. Management also stated that these fees are assessed as a matter of “policy,” meaning they are applied regardless of unit condition to every tenant, which is a direct violation of ORS90.300. The lack of transparency and communication made this a frustrating experience. Prospective tenants should carefully document move-out conditions and review deposit deductions closely, as standard fees may be illegally applied without prior written disclosure and disputes can be difficult to resolve.