Review for King Tower Apartments

The best thing about King Towers must be the neighborhood! A lovely residential area, it's always quiet and feels safe, yet it's only a short walk to Downtown, the Pearl District, and 21st/23rd, and only blocks from the MAX line.

Next best is the friendly, professional staff. They remembered our names from the very beginning, and are super accommodating and helpful.

Some more positives: Building is generally quiet. Building has a large laundry room, a workout room, three elevators(!), a rad rooftop "garden" for hang-outs and barbecues, and a three-floor parking garage so that, for around $80-$90/month, you'll never be tortured by lack of parking. The complex is non-smoking (although several scoundrels still smoke out of their windows...I sure hate the smell). Tenants are allowed to keep up to two cats. No dogs are allowed, and while I love dogs, a lack of dogs keeps things quieter and makes the cats happy, too.

Probably the most frustrating thing we've encountered so far here is that, when King Towers is not quiet, it is LOUD WITH A VENGEANCE. Several days a week, trucks empty the dumpsters at around 7 am, waking us every time. The new property management company is refurbishing every room as old tenants move out, so if you get lucky and they're fixing up an apartment adjacent to yours, you'll have several days of waking up around 7:30 am to scraping, hammering, and sheer joy. Also, try to not move into an apartment under a college kid who (apparently) doesn't sleep at night. Sound, while cut out by the walls/floor/ceiling, carries fabulously through open windows during hot summers: the only air-conditioning is provided by little window units, and most apartments don't have them.

A close second in aggravation is the state of repair of the apartments. The new carpet and oven and refrigerator are great, but the rest of the refurbishing, including painting and any kind of repairs a person might expect, was pretty sloppy. I don't believe this is the fault of the staff at all; I think the highest-ups demand that things are done super quickly to save money, and things done so quickly can't be done well. It's a pity, because the units are otherwise quite charming and the building is so old (1949) and interesting.

One other thing made me pretty sad during the winter: the only heat is radiant heat, so the place gets chilly sometimes.

I feel, overall, like the place is a pretty good value, considering the cost against the neighborhood and vintage building and delightful staff. It's not perfect, but I'd still happily recommend it to friends!