Cosmopolitan

Used to be a good deal, but not anymore. This is a review of my specific studio, The Picasso, and my experience living here for 3+ years. When I first moved in, I believed I got super lucky in terms of price, square footage, and location. As I lived in the building, I began to understand why it was a bit cheaper than the average studio in the area — the building is old and was built in 1966. While it has a lot of history, you can also notice it throughout the building and studio. The part of the door with the lock set has a noticeable gap. While not serious, you can take a small peek to see if someone is home or not. The power breaker in my house trips here and there if you are running too many appliances at once. The fridge is old, very loud at times, and used to have a water leaking problem. I had to call the ISP multiple times because of internet problems over six months — it turned out to be due to an old wire in the electrical room. The blinds are old and very inconvenient. I see a lot of my neighbors opt to get their own. The lighting in the studio is terrible. In about a 250-square-foot living/kitchen/bedroom area, there’s only one ceiling lamp on one side of the room near the kitchen, and it’s not even that bright. Those are the issues with the studio. Now, let’s talk about the building: The elevators are pretty old and run slowly. There was a year when one elevator was down for the better part of a year and the elevator went down again for a month or two, wonder how long till it breaks down again. The garage door is old and broke down for about three months, leaving the garage fully open. We had a year when one of the two washing machines on our floor was broken for most of the year, I also think it broke down again. So why did I stay despite all the problems I have noticed? Because the rent was fair and I was willing to overlook some of the problems because of it. That is no longer the case. To be fair, here are the pros of the building: The building gym is nice. There’s a green communal space in the middle of the building. The building staff and maintenance have always been very responsive — huge props to them. Safe area for packages; I’ve never had a package stolen while living here. Why it’s no longer a good deal: Management is trying to squeeze people for more rent money while overlooking the fact that the building is old and has many problems. While nearby rentals are at similar prices with smaller square footage, they offer more modern appliances and facilities — like those nice Samsung washers and dryers — and overall cleaner, newer environments. For better perspective, management tried to bump my rent from $1,258 to $1,371, claiming it was only a 9% increase and under the 10% legal limit. I had to fight to get concessions to bring my effective rent down to $1,300. Meanwhile, they’re trying to rent out the same studios for $1,400, which is way above the area average. They eventually realized that wasn’t working and lowered the same studios for new tenants to $1,300, plus one month of free rent and a $1,000 gift card. Edit: They bumped down units of the same type to 1,285, I will let you be the judge of how I feel about this. Meanwhile, I’m trying to negotiate a more reasonable renewal — I’m fine with a small increase, but I’d like to feel rewarded for being a long-term tenant. I now understand why they offer such big incentives for new tenants, but it does leave a bitter taste that I have to fight to get even the same renewal rate, let alone a slight discount. That’s why I believe the aggressive rent increases, despite the building’s many issues, make it no longer worth the money for new tenants. Unless you see this place renting for $100–200 below the area average, it’s not a good deal anymore. The staff on site are great but management in charge of prices are not afraid to nickel and dime you if given a chance. While the other 5 star reviews are accurate about the on site staff, its comparable to going to a restaurant and saying the waiters are nice, but the food is starting to suck.