We moved into Emigration Court because we love downtown and we desperately needed basic appliances like w/d and dishwashers...plus we couldn't bear another summer without A/C. Emigration Court seemed the best answer.
It is priced the highest per square foot of any apartment complex in SLC, from the research I've done. I attribute this to the fact that it is downtown near Trax and it's brand new.
We were drawn to the added amenities like hot tub and free tanning salon. The apartment is nice, albeit tiny. The bathtub is nice and so is the tile in the kitchen and bathroom. They offer to paint you one accent wall that you are not responsible for painting back at the end of your lease.
Downsides:
The tanning salon is not open. The office keeps promising that it will be done soon but to date, no action has been taken to solve the wiring problem they keep using as an excuse. If they know what the problem is, why haven't they hired the appropriate person, and taken care of it?
The building has no curb appeal. We knew this coming into it, but it is still annoying. The cheap exterior has no trim around the windows and closely resembles a mix between low-quality government subsidized housing and a hospital. It's clear that they cut as many corners as possible to keep building costs down.
The parking is nice because it's underground and highly secured....but it costs you extra. You pay $25 per stall each month. In addition, they had to re-do some construction in the garage as we were moving in...so we weren't allowed to park in our spot. They offered us access to parking space in neighboring businesses' lots. But the first day of the paking displacement, there was an abduction attempt on a woman in the walkway between the complex and the makeshift parking. They did refund us that month's parking fee. I was in the office when the incident was reported to management, but I have seen NO ACTION taken to reinforce safety.
There is no storage space in the apartment. There is one coat closet (just over one foot wide), and then there's the bedroom closet. But that is all. They offer storage units in the underground parking area, but none are available. If one were to open up, it would cost an additional $50 a month. They are chain-link fences--not walls--and about 6 feet by 6 feet.
My husband and I each signed the lease but they only issued us one key card for entry to the building. When we went in to pick up a card for me, they tried to charge us $25 for it. The staff member was nice and gave it to us for free with a warning that if you lose yours, the replacement fee is applied. That makes sense to me...but charging for the first one? That doesn't make sense to me. I feel that if each of us is responsible for paying the rent, that each of us should be allowed access to the building...and not have to buy our way in with extra hidden fees.
This situation is the lowest of the downsides: The office is so disorganized it's frightening. We were promised a certain amount rent on a document signed by the office staff. When we went to sign the lease, the rent amount changed (to a larger amount) and my husband and I signed the lease without noticing it. When I saw that the first month's amount was more than I had been initially told, I called the office to verify that the ORIGINAL rent amount was the accurate one. He affirmed that it was. However, they called us 2 weeks later and told us we "needed" to come down to the office and resign that first document to agree that our rent was indeed the higher amount that had been snuck into our lease. When I challenged the issue, the staff member simply said, "yes, I signed that paper but it was a mistake." When that answer wasn't good enough for me, she put me on hold for the several minutes it obviously took her to explain the problem to her coworkers, then got back on with me to explain that their manager would call me later. I still have not heard back from that manager. I was appalled by the way they handled their own mistake. The difference in amount was only $20. It's mostly the principal of the matter that bugs me.
If you are looking for the amenities offered in their advertising and don't have many belongings, this is a wonderful place to live. Be warned, however, that their office is not organized and you must verify everything with them so they don't end up short-changing you.
In their defense, I believe that the mistake was not someone purposefully trying to suck extra money from us each month. I think it was an honest mistake that someone in their office is just too proud/stubborn to rectify.