South Lake Union is a neighborhood on the rise -- the continual addition of cranes and the notorious planned land use action signs are a testament to this. Construction permeates the neighborhood and Amli is no different; the building is surrounded on three sides with crews working six days a week, starting at 7AM and working consistently through the day until 5, sometimes 6, even 7 or 8PM.
This is the playground of Jeff Bezos and Paul Allen. Amazon and Vulcan dominate the neighborhood culture and not being linked to either of those corporate behemoths may lead you to feel disconnected from the murky and schizophrenic identity of South Lake Union, one that is still in beta. Just remember -- with growth comes growing pains.
If any of the above provokes a sense of reticence about the neighborhood, you should not live in ANY building located within the borders of South Lake Union. If you oppose Seattle's approach to transitional housing and their philosophy that these facilities be located throughout the city and not heavily concentrated in one area, then you may be uncomfortable here. If the homeless occasionally sleeping in a park, asking you for money, or screaming profanities at late hours of the night intimidate you, you should live in the suburbs. If you can accept the above as the nature of the beast of this economically gentrifying neighborhood, then Amli is likely your best choice in terms of value.
My wife and I lived at Amli for three years and, overall, had a very positive experience.
The amenities are some of the best that the neighborhood has to offer. The roofdeck offers unrivaled views of both New Year's and Fourth of July fireworks with ample standing room for friends and coworkers alike. The grill is heavily used Spring through early Fall as are the lounge chairs which provide views of some of the best Space Needle summer sunsets in the city. The gym is fully equipped with anything you would need to stay in shape; a wide range of ellipticals, treadmills, machines, and free weights inhabit this 24-hour space. The recently renovated Java Cafe is also a great space for meetings and get-togethers.
In terms of layout, I can only speak for our floor plan when I say we loved our apartment (more than any other space we have ever lived). The interiors in our space were not the newest (black appliances and not stainless, formica and not quartz or granite countertops, carpet and not hardwood throughout, etc.), but we don't care about those things. The cherry hardwood in the entryway of our space provided a great deal of warmth throughout the apartment. The slate colored carpet (which I anticipate may be replaced as residents move out) provided a level of sophistication to the space when paired with our interior furnishings. The eastern-exposure floor to ceiling window panel and outdoor patio provided ample light in the space. The bedroom was a little smaller than desirable, but that's to be expected with city living. The saving grace of that arrangement was our walk-in closet and our scandalously large living room.
Our experiences with the staff in general were very positive. David, Ron and Stephanie were all very friendly and willing to help with any issue we had. The maintenance team (Ben and Yasha) was always very prompt and efficient in their resolution of all maintenance-related repairs, even working with us with respect to scheduling on the few occasions that warranted it. Mary, the housekeeper, was one of the friendliest people I have ever met and frequently went above and beyond in her duties, making us feel like Amli was our home.
(The question that now begs to be asked is why did we leave if we loved it so much. We relocated back to the East Coast.)
In response to other Yelp reviewers regarding rental increases, did we receive annual rent increases of close to 10%? Yes. Did we like it? No. Did we stay? Yes. Talking to others in various buildings in this neighborhood, such increases were par for the course with the continuing influx of Amazon employees (and Amazon salaries). All ownership groups here have clearly done their due diligence in maximally pricing the apartments to get the best bang for their buck, and, in that regard, I think AMLI is no different. I am a firm believer that they still remain the best value for the money in this neighborhood and would without a doubt rent here again given the same circumstances. Was our time here perfect? No. But it was very good and the few negative issues within the control of the building were remedied relatively quickly. Given the inherent issues of neighborhood growth and culture (or lack thereof) which remain outside of the control of Amli, I have to give a 4 and not a 5 rating. Given a different neighborhood context, it is very possible that I would have given Amli a 5.
If you're debating about whether or not you should move here, I do think you should strongly consider this community. read more