Horrible management. The walls are so very thin and you can hear everything that your neighbors are doing

Just based on people's reviews it is clear that experiences will vary. But the overall theme seems to be that those leaving negative reviews have one central complaint: management. I would concur with those negative reviews. Management is a real problem. Butler Plaza is the ONLY company I have ever filed a complaint against. (They broke the law in their handling of the COVID-19 crisis by closing Capitol Fitness and then claiming they had a right to charge for a membership anyway. And they lost that battle, but man, what a fight.) I think another review also mentioned their elevator. It has real issues. I got stuck on it--between floors--for over an hour. And the management were extremely rude about getting me out. In retrospect, I should have called 911, but I didn't want to be dramatic. I never even got an apology. I thought about leaving 1 star, but the location is very nice. With that being said, if you can afford a place at Butler, you have a lot of options. I'd look elsewhere. read more

Place is okay. Great location, mediocre building. Management is inflexible, even compared to other management I've lived with right around the Square. Also when I was a tenant, management did giveaways for people who left reviews on Yelp or Google. So that may be skewing some of the online reviews. read more

This place rocks! Absolutely great apartment and in such a prime location! Anytime I ever needed something for maintenance Taylor and Seth were always very on top of things! Micki made my lease and move in process so easy and smooth!! If it wasn't for my job relocating me I would stay here forever! read more

Management (Micki in particular) is sooo rude and condescending. You'll be treated horribly if you live here!

I've lived here for 5 years (which alone should tell you what I think), and have had a very positive experience. The building is in a perfect location - close enough to the square and state street to easily allow you to walk to anything you want, but far enough that's it's quiet. It's clean and well-maintained, and they will sign for packages and deliver them to your apartment. The roof has recently been redone to create a nice sitting area that's great to hang out in (and had a nice view). The building also has no pest problems of any kind, from my experience. Underground parking is available and, while not cheap, is hugely convenient (particularly in the winter) and definitely worth it. My apartment itself is well-sized, has hardwood floors, and gets great natural light. Most importantly, it's quiet. I rarely hear neighbors, especially when trying to sleep, which is hugely important to me. I've had very few problems with any appliances/utilities, and those that have come about have been resolved by maintenance quickly. I'd also like to note that I have had nothing but positive interactions with management. They respond to requests and emails quickly (always same day in my experience) and have always been polite and professional. They have also been extremely accommodating in situations when they didn't have to be and have made my life a lot easier as a result. It's only because I'm leaving Madison that I am leaving this building, and I hope to find somewhere I like as much in my next city. I'll miss it. read more

Butler plaza is located downtown Madison, just three blocks away from the Capitol. The staff is friendly and accommodating for any needs you may have. Highly recommend. read more

Yikes.... not really enough bad things to say about management here. They will sneak their way out of every single charge that should be incumbent on them. Really, really bad customer service. They are completely dismissive regardless of when they are at fault. The location is fine. Unites are overpriced though. And the cabinets are pretty cheap :(. Again, the management team is not worth anyone's time in terms of having to deal with. Every other management staff I've rented with has been far more considerate and rational. i wouldn't go this route or Washington Plaza if you're looking for apartments. read more

This review is for one of Butler Plaza's locations - Washington Plaza: I would say this building is good to live in if you're a student, but if you're out in the professional world, you might want to pick somewhere else to live. It's pretty noisy here. I can hear all of my neighbors' conversations when they talk at a normal volume, I can hear them sneeze, I can hear their TV, and so on. I can also hear music playing even if it's not from the unit next to me. So when someone has a party, I can hear everything which is disturbing because it'll go all night. Also, I can hear every time someone drops weights in the gym which is 3 floors below. And the smells in the hallway are sometimes repulsive, they often smell like marijuana. I would give the quality of the apartment 3 stars. The cabinets and drawers are flimsy and loud. The closet doors are also flimsy, loud, and hard to open/close. I can hear my neighbors open/close their closet doors. There are good things about this apartment. There is plenty of natural light. The floors and the kitchen are a good color/style. There is plenty of cabinet space. The balcony is a nice addition. The building is in a great location. Also, management is very responsive and helpful. When I had a maintenance issue, I submitted a request, and maintenance showed up the next day unannounced. They didn't call me to see when I'd be home, they just showed up. They fixed the issue, but showing up unannounced feels unsafe to me. read more

I have been living with Butler Plaza for 4 years now and have enjoyed every minute. The buildings are well kept, the management is great, maintenance is timely and everyone who works there has always been very friendly towards me. The gym is attached to the building by the *heated* parking garage which makes going to the gym in the winter great because you don't even need to step outside. There is also something to be said for the tenants who reside in the building as well, as I have never had any noise issues here. All in all a great place to live and no issues or complaints! read more

I have rented from this management company for several years now. After reading some of the reviews posted, I felt I should chime in. So. A star for the nice, modern building & amenities (dish washers, AC/Heat in unit control, modern windows, wi-fi and cable included, laundry on each floor, secure entryways, package acceptance & delivery into my unit, discount gym membership, beautiful summer landscaping, etc) Another star for the friendly staff and quick repairs. Another star for the unbeatable location. 1 zero-stars for the increasingly high price tag, the aggressive 6 months of re-rental showings, and lack of price freeze for long-time renters. I have never, NEVER experienced any disrespect or rudeness from their staff. But then, I have never brought any to them, either. I pay my rent on time, respect their property, and cause no trouble. In fact, the ladies in the office are very nice, and greet me when they see me in the street or in the halls. They are responsive, sweet, and follow through on every contact I have ever made with them. As a great man once said, "Rent is too damn high." It is expensive. It is right off the square, and you pay for that. After many years renting from them, the rent still goes up, as it has every year. It has become nearly prohibitively expensive for me to rent my 1-bedroom apartment, which I share with my gentleman and two kitties, which I also pay rent on. ($10 a month, per cat. Ouch. Those little bastards better start earning their keep, the little freeloaders.) We pay for the convenience of living close to the square, where we both work. Thank goodness we don't own a car, because parking here is also pricey. Though they do have heated underground parking, and that can be huge in Wisconsin winters. But, don't you DARE try to unload a car full of furniture or a load of groceries in their basement parking lot if you don't rent a space, or they will call to have you towed. Seriously. After minutes. They are watching and they do not make exceptions, even for unloading a car for 10 minutes, in the dead of winter. So why have I not moved, you may ask? There are a few reasons. First and foremost, I like it here. My unit isn't huge, but it is nice. They have several buildings, and while I cannot speak for the main building, mine is clean and quiet, mostly young professionals. The office folks are nice. Every time anything is wrong, they are on top of it immediately. The halls get vacuumed regularly, the grounds are well kept and maintained, security is not an issue, and of course, LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. But. Leases here are on the first of the month, and mine doesn't happen to be an August/August lease. Finding somewhere else to move to that doesn't start it's lease on the 15th of August is a huge, huge pain. Consistently the final decision to renew here has been based largely on my inability to find somewhere else that is both acceptable and can accommodate a lease beginning in June. And nice sublets don't tend to pop up until a month or two before my lease runs out. Meanwhile, while looking for a new place.... If you do not re-sign your lease at the 6 month mark, be prepared for them to show your unit aggressively. I am talking damn near all day, damn near every day, until you or someone else signs the lease. I get notices like this a lot: "We will be showing your apartment on Monday from 9am to 4pm. On Tuesday from 11 to 5. On Wednesday from 9:30 to 2, and from 3 til 5. On Thursday..." you get the idea. So for 6 months out of your year, you can expect to feel the need to stage your apartment every morning, and get up extra early to take your shower because otherwise you will be sharing your morning ablutions with the folks looking at your unit. read more

This is the worst run management company I have come across in several years of renting. Not only were they unable to manage the radiator problems I alerted the management about all fall/winter, but they refused to offer any type of credit for the inconvenience it caused. I actually went out and purchased a thermometer to prove that my apartment was unbearable, I was correct at 90 degrees in every room. All of my stuff was melting (think makeup/deodorant etc...) The response? Open the window. Sure thing, in the middle of winter when it is 0 degrees and I am a single female on the first floor. Great solution. In addition, it appeared to be a large inconvenience for Mick to submit the appropriate paperwork for me to sublet the apartment. I dealt with several rude and unprofessional emails constantly over the course of the time I lived here. Would not recommend this company to anyone. Customer service was awful and I felt there was no alternate to work with. read more

Taylor the receptionist needs to work on her Customer Service skills. She's rude, condescending and quick to munch on chips while talking to you on the phone, rather, while being rude to you on the phone. read more

I rarely write reviews on places but this place is the worst. Based on other reviews experiences can vary drastically. Micki, the manager, is rude and was very condescending towards my roommate and I. I don't know if is because we were younger women and students that she thought that it was okay to speak to us that way (through emails) but it was completely unprofessional. This place gave me a lot of additional stress, mainly issues with management. The fellow tenants and the maintenance guy were respectful and nice which were the only positives about this experience. Save yourself the trouble and find somewhere else to move. read more

I've had great experience here. All my complaints (e.g. Broken sink disposal, loose nail) were addresses immediately, most in the same day. When I send them emails or leave voicemails, they get back to me right away. Everyone in the office has been very nice to me! Building is always clean; my favorite part is how well they landscape the street- it is one of the main reasons I choose to renew my lease. The rooftop deck is great too- my favorite place to study. They have always given me warnings far in advance about entering my apartment (e.g. for AC maintenance), and about fire drills etc. I have no experience with future tenants viewing my apartment, but as I recall from viewing the apartments myself they could not show me some apartments because they are legally bound to give tenants 24 hr warning prior to entry. The only reason I don't give them 5 stars is that their indoor bike racks are overcrowded, and the rent is a bit high. PS- you get a small discount on the gym in the building- which comes with unlimited yoga, you can just walk into any class! read more

Building is very nice and complete with needed amenities. Maintenance was quick to respond to any issues we have had occur.

I lived at Butler Plaza in 2000 so when I returned to the Madison area a few years ago, my decision to rent here again was a no-brainer. The entire building has been renovated and I love the modern feel of my wood floors, stainless appliances and new countertops. The caring staff have been great about responding to my concerns - they make sure tenants are aware of building updates and changes that might impact us. With parking at a premium in the downtown Madison area, I appreciate that our heated, underground parking area is monitored and secure. With Lakes Mendota and Monona visible from the rooftop terrace, you can enjoy fireworks, lounging with friends, or just hangin' out with a good book. Great place for anyone who enjoys living where the action is! read more

I've been living at Washington Plaza for 2 years, and have no complaints whatsoever. They've always been friendly, and helpful. When searching for a new apartment to live, they took me on a tour of all that were in my price range, and I didn't feel like I was being sold a crappy used car - but instead I felt like they genuinely wanted me to find what worked best for me. read more

Warning! Management and office staff are extremely rude and disrespectful of all tenants. Way over priced rent because of location, which is really all they have going for themselves. Fights with greedy owner and restaurant tenants in the same building lead to sad and frequent failures of restaurants that rent the space. They will bend over backwards to get you to sign a lease but once you are in they treat you like shit. I am always hearing them literally yell at tenants and have screaming matches when I am in the office. It's pretty disturbing and disappointing. every person who leaves Butler has always felt like its good ridding not any nostalgia. In addition, if you don't renew your lease in october expect about 30-50 people entering your apartment for showings for THE REST OF THE YEAR! It's ridiculous! I wish I was exaggerating but 30-50 is accurate. I have seen them enter apartments when the tenants are taking showers, sleeping in their bed, and they even move and touch the tenants personal property without the tenants knowing. I have personally witnessed this. I think if they hired new staff and treated their current tenants with more respect this would be the most desired place to live in Madison. It's a shame cause the office staff really ruin the experience. See other apartment rating websites to verify this review. read more

Butler Plaza and our landlady Micki have gone above and beyond to be accommodating. My partner and I had to exit our lease early after buying a home, and they had no problem working with our closing date. Micki has always been prompt and helpful in the two years we've lived in her building, and she's a great person to chat with too :) In the past we've had difficulty finding an apartment that allows pets, has parking, and is affordable and nice to live in, but Micki's building on E Gorham fits that bill. read more

(1) Overpriced. Similar places in slightly less central settings, but for substantially less and with more amenities. (2) The garage is a nightmare. Small spots, non-allocated spots leading to random wandering through the garage to find an open spots. In my entire time there, they refused to enforce the parking sticker requirement. This would not be a problem, if it wasn't the case that routinely all spots would be filled - with cars that did not have parking permits. There is a longer story here, but the parking is terrible. (3) 6 months before leases expire they aggressively show apartments throughout weekdays. While they are required to provide 24 hours, more than once I received notifications that they were showing the apartment that same day. (4) When I was initially signing a lease and asked for the inclusion of language that the apartment would be cleaned up as they continually promised, they repeatedly told me "it doesn't need to be in the contract" and would not add it, instead preferring that I trust them. Not only did they do this, but it was done in an incredibly rude manner. (5) The elevators have an auto-open feature that means you can dumbly stand in them for awhile while the doors open and close repeatedly (6) Rather than require residents to ask for garage code, provide it to paying residents via e-mail. (7) About 80% of the outlets in my apartment did not work after they "repaired" them. (8) No lighting on rooftop, limited hours. Good: (1) Reliable package delivery to my door. (2) Great location. (3) Repairs completed very quickly. (4) Access to gym is convenient. Overall: While it is generally a nice building/location, substantial points detracted for the management being so rude, terrible parking, and meh value. read more

I rented a studio apartment from this management company for about a year. I have nothing but great things to say about the entire experience. The staff is incredibly amazing, and took care of anything that I needed within an hour or two of my contacting them. I loved my apartment. I would have stayed, but I relocated to another city! If I ever move back to Madison, they would be the only company I would trust to rent from. Renting in Madison is hard, sometimes dirty, and incredibly overpriced, but this was NEVER the case at Butler Plaza!! read more

I've heard multiple tenants complain about the poor management at Butler Plaza. I considered living here given the young population close to many downtown attractions. However, management is inflexible, rude, overly harsh, and have a low tolerance for fun. People break into the building and there is a history of crime. The fire alarm frequently goes off. Overall, I am extremely unimpressed. read more

I'd avoid it. Took a sublet there, being close to the capitol, your Friday and Saturday nights are going to be loud. Additionally, the guy living on the 1st floor northeast corner likes to bump some loud music routinely, I think he's with maintenance or something so management won't do anything. The entry doors are also very loud which makes living on the 1st floor or 2nd floor street-facing apartments crappy. I got a decent deal on the sublet and only had to stay a couple months, and my roommate was gone most of the time, so it was ultimately tolerable. There are many better options for the cash. Management is as responsive as they anticipate the probability of your resigning. I was in Odessa. read more

This review comes after living for one year in the Washington Plaza location, and electing to move elsewhere at the end of our lease. Pros: - Location can't really be beat for accessibility to State St. and the Capitol. Nearby food options are also great. - Underground garage requires some tight turns, but stays warm in the winter - Having the gym in the building eliminates a lot of excuses to not work out. - The building is pretty new and the facility is still in great shape. - Management is quick to respond to complaints and service requests. Cons: - Noise. NOISE. The noise in the unit is ultimately the reason we decided not to renew the lease. My roommate and I lived on the third floor right above the gym. From 5AM when the gym opened to 11PM when it closes you could hear people dropping weights and running on treadmills. I am told this is not a problem for other floors in the building, but it certainly was for us. The noise from the gym would wake us up in the morning and keep us up at night. Additionally, nearly everything our neighbors above did was audible in the unit. I blame thin walls. I don't think our upstairs neighbors were exceptionally loud but every footstep, closed drawer, and song played during dinner was able to be heard in our apartment. For the amount we paid to live in Washington Plaza this was unacceptable and the main reason we moved out. - Laundry is $3.50 per load for a washer and dryer which is pretty expensive and really adds up. 3 loads of laundry on a Sunday and that's $10.50 right there. - Once we did hit the deadline for renewing our lease, our unit was being showed for probably 4 hours weekly. While this is fair, it became a huge nuisance having to be on regular notice that people were coming to view the apartment. I was ready to give Butler Plaza 3 stars, with my major complaint being the noise in the units, but during move-out they did something which really pissed me off. Our unit was spotless when we moved out and my roommate and I spent hours cleaning the place. Proof of this is the fact that Butler Plaza did not take anything out of our deposit for cleaning costs. However, they did charge us $8 for a single light bulb that was broken. $8 for a light bulb. After the great condition we left the place in this really pissed me off. I'm not even positive that a light bulb was missing. Butler Plaza management is fine and Washington Plaza is a good place to live, but make sure your unit is not too loud. I lived in a frat in college and have had some shitty neighbors so it's not like I'm too sensitive to this stuff. We paid way too much to be waken up constantly by dropped weights from below and footsteps from above. read more

The walls are paper thin. I could hear a neighbor puking once. They charge too much for laundry. The hours to use the machines are too short. I had issues with silverfish. The maintenance guy fixed things at 7 am. Even if you don't want cable, for example when you are moving in a month, they still charge you for it. The fire alarm went off eight times one night. It has a hair trigger. The windows are cheap, so prepare to have a high heating bill in the winter. The location is great and is the reason it has 2 stars. read more

I've lived and rented in Madison for over a decade, and Butler Plaza is by far the best management company I have rented from. I have lived in my apartment in the main building for three years, and have signed again for next year. The unit is beautiful with gorgeous views of downtown and the lakes. The roof offers beautiful outdoor space, as well as rooftop yoga with Capitol Fitness. Management is respectful of your privacy and rarely enters the unit; when they do need to enter, they provide at least 24 hour written notice. My unit has needed two repairs in the time I've lived here, and maintenance was fast and courteous, completing quality repairs within 24 hours. The fact that Capital Fitness and Elevation Spa are attached is a huge bonus. Residents have the option of signing up for a discounted membership at Capitol Fitness, which is a great value for the gym and includes all yoga and fitness classes. Finally, living downtown is expensive and Madison has a competitive rental market, but while looking for a place to live downtown I toured every building around or near the Capitol looking for a reasonable one bedroom. Butler Plaza has the least expensive rents if you're looking for an apartment downtown in a large-ish building with option for garage parking, especially now that multiple new expensive buildings are going up. Furthermore, they raise rent a minimal amount for residents re-signing leases (I'm talking in the $10-15 range) which is BY FAR the lowest yearly rent increase I've had while renting with multiple places in Madison. The two reasons why I did not give them five stars are the disorganized parking garage and no in-unit washer/dryer. The heated garage is a lifesaver in cold Wisconsin winters, but there are no assigned spaces and occasionally all the spaces are filled. There is overflow parking for residents one level up, but for what parking costs here I don't want to have to drive around late at night trying to park my car after a long day at work. To be fair, however, Micki did warn me about this before I signed my lease and it has only happened about five times in three years. Also, while there is no washer/dryer in my unit, I do know that they have plenty of units with this amenity. Overall, I've had a great experience renting with Butler Plaza and would definitely recommend checking them out. read more

Apartments themselves are nice enough. Expect to get nickel and dimed. I was charged for several things that I would consider routine maintenance that an apartment complex would pay for themselves. I steam cleaned the apartment when I was moving out and they charged me for it anyway because they said I didn't do a good enough job. They charged me $100 because my cheap, plastic microwave door handle broke off and they claimed it was my fault. read more