Apartment Reviews for The Preston - Baltimore

Lived here since 2009 with my husband and from the beginning it felt like a fit. The Building Manager is, hands down, the sweetest lady. If you're responsible, kind and a generally good citizen you will get along just fine with her. I've noticed a few residents take advantage of her kindness. One guy painted the lobby without getting permission from the BM or the management company. So of course, the finger gets pointed at the BM and not the person who painted the lobby cobalt blue.

We are comfortable and feel safe. The bordering neighborhood isn't really one I would walk around in, but everywhere else is just fine. Our car was broken into three times - the window was smashed twice. I want to say we had no fault in it, but we know exactly where we should and should not park. (Don't park on any of the bridges!) The residents are friendly for the most part. A few Cranky Frankies, but hey, what can you do? Whenever a maintenance issue needed to be fixed, we noticed it was addressed by the time we got home from work. The apartments are beautiful - high ceilings, hardwood floors and most of the original architechture is still in tact. There is lots of storage and if you're lucky you'll get a clawfoot tub in your bathroom.

The only thing I would warn people about is that there are only 3 washers and 2 dryers. Do your laundry at the "off" times or really early Sunday mornings and you'll be fine. Oh, and I've only seen 2 roaches in almost 2 years. One wasn't even in my apartment.

The BM is great about keeping tenants informed about fun events in the neighborhood, resident accomplishments (one guy writes plays for the local theater and a neighbor, who has lived in The Preston for 50+ years, turns 92 recently), and any other issues.

If you're looking for a convenient location (close to Circulator stop, bus stop, Penn Station, MICA, UB, food/drink) then this building is for you. If you can deal with an older building not having the luxury amenities, you will do just fine. Highly recommend it.

One more thing - the building has a wonderful handful of tenants who take part in the recycling program, holiday parties and just looking out for each other in general. There's one guy who tends the plants and flowers on the sidewalk and he does a great job. If you do some research on the building you'll find it has a lot of history - it once housed a candy shop, police station and was apparently THE place to live back in the day. Still is, though.