Don't be fooled by the "luxury" branding or the canned management responses. CanalSide Lofts is the definition of "Ghetto Luxury": you pay $1,500+ a month for premium marketing but receive bottom-tier infrastructure, incompetent maintenance, and a management team that treats habitability as an optional courtesy. The "Part-Time Job" of Being a Tenant: From day one, I had to take on a second job just to get basic issues resolved. I dealt with persistent plumbing failures, electrical problems, and pest control issues. When I followed up with the office, the staff attempted to gaslight the situation, minimizing the record to make it seem as if expecting a habitable home was the problem. The Corporate Black Hole (Regional & HQ): The fish truly rots at the head. This property is managed by Willow Bridge Property Company, a firm that has run the reputation of this once-reputable complex into the ground since taking over. When I elevated my 141-day maintenance neglect to the Regional level, I was met with record minimization and bullying. When I took it further to the Willow Bridge Headquarters in Texas, I was met with total silence. One-Sided Contracts: It was only when I exercised my legal right to terminate the lease due to these failures that they suddenly "hurried" to fix 141 days of neglect. Even then, they had the audacity to threaten legal action for leaving early. They believe the contract is one-sided: they demand your rent on the 1st, but they believe they have zero obligation to provide a consistent, habitable environment in return. Final Verdict: This place was once a gem under previous management, but under Willow Bridge, it has become a "cautionary tale" of soulless corporate neglect. If you value your peace of mind and your legal rights, look elsewhere. read more

Still dog shiza everywhere, people always park in the fire lanes, even park in the fire lanes facing the wrong way. It's not enforced, so park wherever you want. Even in the spots that residence pay $60/mo for...again, not enforced and not audited. It cost me $60 to pay rent... took months to have a maintenance request to get handled. Homeless meth heads hang out at the pool on occasion. That's fun! You'll probably get shwacked by someone speeding thought the neighborhood... Again, not enforced. BTW the pools were closed all summer last year, mean while, Sola station pool is pristine...But they refuse to acknowledge it. Why do I still live here? ;shrug emoji; The pics on the website and other outlets are out of date and inaccurate. Also, this will appear as a response to this post... "We are so sorry to hear about your experience while visiting our community. We strive to maintain a clean and welcoming environment for all, and it's clear we fell short during your visit. We take all feedback seriously and will use your comments to improve our community. We invite you to reach out to us at +1 803-461-0465 or canalsidemgr@willowbridgepc.com to discuss your concerns further." It's canned and they don't give a rats ass about anything and don't respond... read more

Canalside Lofts - The pools are filthy, but we have natural springs!! - Apartments Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Rent from anyone else. Lease language structured to pull so much money out of their tenants.

i have been without air conditioning since April 2nd, it is now June 26th and Columbia is in an extreme heat advisory and i still do not have AC. i have emailed, called and requested maintenance on the app so so many times with limited response, zero care and zero resolution. this is by far the worst place i have ever lived. read more

I pay $2100 a month for an apartment that I would not consider clean or safe. My husband and I have been residents for almost 2 years. Our first maintenance request was for our garage door which goes up and down on its own. We put that request in for the first time on the day we moved in. We are still living with a garage door that opens at random and have returned from vacations to find that it has been open for days. Maintenance requests go ignored and mysteriously disappear from the online system. Office staff placates until they're tired of seeing you and then they are downright rude. Currently my smoke detectors are not installed, my water runs yellow, we have mice (so do our neighbors), we still have the garage issue, our upstairs shower has no water pressure and our downstairs toilet overflows. I have put in multiple requests both online and in person for these issues and they have gone unanswered. I am at my wits end in this place and the staff could not care less. I could not recommend this place less. read more

When I first moved there, I thought maybe it would be a good place to live. The maintenance team was great! They worked fast and always came to fix things in a reasonable time. However, the front desk and management are horrible. You could never get through to talk to anyone. They overcharged me for sewage and water at least six times in my 13-month lease. Of course, I didn't pay, but trying to get through to them to have them correct it so I could pay my rent on time was terrible. The breezeway to the apartments is filthy! The trash guy only takes one bag of trash a day, despite not working on Fridays and Saturdays. The water pressure and water temperature were horrible. And the rent is far too high for these apartments. There is no storage room. The closets are not worth having one. The bathroom tub is made of extremely cheap material, hard to get clean, as is the toilet. read more

A place where you will spend the entire month of July without A/C in temps well over 87 degrees inside. And despite countless maintenance request, follow-ups, office contacts, emergency maintenance request you are ignored. No competence, no remorse. The previous maintenance man told us before leaving to another apartment complex "Get out as soon as you can. The people running this place don't know their mouth from their asshole, there's way better management and prices else where." He could not have been more right. Literally DO NOT LIVE HERE!!! Now resulting to court to try to get help for live able conditions. read more

Thanks for finally taking care of the issue Mary. It was actually pleasant to come home this evening to a landing free of debris. It should not have to come to negative reviews to compel action and adherence/enforcement of community rules. Have management actually do their job all the time. Huge bonus. read more

Canalside Lofts - After months, a clean landing. - Apartments Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Hello. I debated making this review but I need to tell the public how horrible their leasing office is. I am currently on the market for an apartment so I decided to call them last week to schedule an appointment after seeing availability on their website. We scheduled a tour for today at 4pm. I arrived, and quickly understood this place was a dumpster fire of disorganization. She asked me what I was looking for (?!?!?!) and I told her I spoke with her last week about exactly that. I told her I wanted a 2bed(with included personal preferences) and she told me they had no availability and have no clue when they would. The lady at the desk was as helpful as she could be, but I do not understand why I was offered a tour when they have zero available units. read more

Weeks trying to get any reply from management to return security deposit has been unsuccessful. Multiple calls and emails/DM's have provided nothing. Our student lived here with 2 roommates who left a month early. Our student cleaned the apt and has pictures to prove it was clean. I asked her to do this not knowing mgmt would be totally disrespectful to her and the other students. Do not trust this management team. Linda Kiser Thanks for the prompt reply. Please check your voicemail and email as I have made multiple attempts to contact with no answers. Leave a current correct phone or answer when I call if you refuse to reply to my voicemails. The disrespectful canned reply does not work. read more

The community seems to be really cool. This is true until you meet the leadership team in the leasing office. Starting with the assistant manager who will ignore the protocol of first come, first served, the leasing agent who will tell you about how short they are and she is the only person working the weekend as she explains why she cannot process your application for four days. I really loved the tenant who came to tell the assistant manager her air conditioner wasn't working, and she was unable to get anyone to answer her maintenance request or the phone in the office. She tells the asst. manager that she is going to have to stay elsewhere and asks him that they pay for the hotel fee. He states that it is up to the manager, and that he doubts she will authorize it. When they show you who they are, you need to believe it! When you ask to speak to the manager, she is either not in or her door is closed. That seems to equate to she does not want to bother, and she could care less if you lease there or not. They truly demonstrate "what not to as a leasing agent". Save your self time and aggravation, stay FAR AWAY from this place. Finally, it is my opinion that the entire management team and most of the employees need a different line of work that doesn't involve any customer service. It has been a long time since I actually have witnessed this level of apathy from a sales team. read more

Hey Mary. I am the unit who has not had A/C for over a month. You told my family member to email you or come visit you at the office. Well I have attempted to visit the office multiple times and I emailed you giving you all the info and offered to provide you with all the records of the countless maintenance request, phone calls and emails to the office since you were "unaware of the unit without A/C for over a month." Still not getting a response. Is Yelp your preferred method of contact? Because no emails, portal request, phone calls seem to be working to get a response. Really sucks that your concern is with proving this issue and the many attempts at contacting for help with this issue rather than actually finding a solution. To me, finding a solution for the paying residents who have been without properly working A/C for majority of the summer would be the most important thing. Anyways if you read these reviews, do not live here unless you want to have to write a public review anytime you want a response. If you refer to the last review you'll see the previous maintenance man had a nice and seemingly accurate view of the office staff. read more

Not really worth the price of rent . They will not fix your things until weeks later but ask for rents days before it's due . Also lacks communication. read more

If you are a young professional looking for somewhere to live in Columbia, Canalside Lofts is definitely the place for you! After paying significantly more money for a one bedroom apartment in a sketchy area of Columbia, I moved into these apartments with two of my friends. I could not be any happier with the apartment amenities and location. The complex has two pools, a fitness center, a "lounge" area with a large TV and pool table, a dog park, and it is located right next to the beautiful Riverwalk Park. Additionally, it is a close drive to the Vista, West Columbia, and USC's campus. The apartments are all in great condition and very spacious for the price. My roommates and I just renewed our lease for another year, AND the complex was just named the Best Apartment Complex in Columbia by the Free Times! Definitely a wonderful place to live! read more

Canalside Lofts - 3 story townhouses at Canalside Lofts - Apartments Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

This is what the inside of my bedroom looks like and has looked like for a month now. Management cannot be bothered to fix this. Will be getting out as soon as there lease allows. Getting lots of promises but no actual repairs for 3-4 weeks. read more

Canalside Lofts - Apartments Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Both pools are closed due to maintenance issues. Still no new lounge chairs apparently they will take 12-15 weeks to come in. Went to office to speak with Mary and she doesn't work at this location so not sure how she was going to solve the issues read more

Ever since being bought out by a new company they've been horrible about communication, will not come and fix anything, paying rent is impossible, and lastly they scammed my roommate and I into paying rent for two month after we moved out! read more

Management isn't helpful at all. All they are concerned with is charging fees and collecting rent. Increasing problem with undergraduate students moving in that tend to be loud and forget they have neighbors. Noise complaints were never properly handled. They never provided any help to potentially move. Kitchen fan never worked asked to fix multiple times. Overcharging for sheer location. Do not live here. It's a nightmare and getting out of your lease is costly. read more

The best place to live in Columbia if your renting. Affordable, clean, nice neighborhood and good location. It's a nice mix of college, after college and some families. read more

Awesome place to live!! Can't beat the location being right next to the river walk with super easy access to highway 26. The staff is world class with really great events for the residents like sushi nights, free tickets to sporting events, wine and design etc. Never had any problems with bugs or things not working, very pet friendly and you never have to worry about people being noisy. If you're looking for a great home then don't look any further than Canalside!! read more

Perfect location for young professionals in Columbia. Pet-friendly, easy access to the wonderful Riverfront Park, and cool neighbors to boot. There are two pools, a fitness center, and a game room - perfect for playing a game of pool with friends or watching the big football game. Highly recommend. read more

I moved here for the location, the greenspace and the open floorpan, but have stayed long enough to regret it. Management changes hands so frequently that there's rarely any carryover in staff between my visits. By my count, none of the services they claim to provide are still being offered free of charge: Trash Valet was marketed as a new way for us to be able to recycle (!!), then became a mandatory $20 a month service that rarely picked up according to its own schedule. Now we have a new company and new fines if we aren't home to put the trashcan in and out at odd hours. We used to have a nice recreation space that you could sign up to use, but then some jackasses ransacked it, so now it's off limits after 5/6 pm (depending on the day) and you have to fill out paperwork, put a credit card on file and pay a non-refundable $75 usage fee. Now to receive your mail, you need to pay $6 a month plus tax, plus fees for every day it waits for you to come pick it up and fees to put it on "vacation status." If you don't sign up for it (mandatorily) during a certain window, then you also have to pay an exorbitant fee to sign up after the fact. What was once nice lots for my dogs to run in is now being developed into more buildings, bringing with it a lot of noise, filth and unwanted construction traffic. Dogs have to give a DNA sample and be logged in an electronic system, and if a piece of dog shit is found on the property that corresponds to your dog's breed, you are fined. If you don't sign up for this violation of rights within a certain window of time, you guessed it, you have to pay another asinine hidden fee. The list goes on and on. The good news is that Columbia has several options for luxury apartments these days, so the need to live here to score a nice property is no longer necessary. Unless you want to be micromanaged by overbearing rule czars who will nickel and dime you to death, KEEP LOOKING. read more

I wanted to love Canalside. The neighbors are generally very nice, there is a lot of space for my dog, and the access to the walking path along the canal is fantastic. That said, I had a terrible experience here. When I first moved in, I had an awful bug problem (German cockroaches) that persisted until I had several visits from an exterminator and finally got maintenance to fix the weather stripping around my door. The washer and dryer also weren't installed in my unit when I moved in like they were supposed to be. But by far the worst problem has been the lack of security. I have had someone try to get in through my door in the middle of the night on two separate occasions, ending with me calling the police both times. The second time it happened twice in one night. I actually ended up moving apartments to the second floor due to security concerns, which was a huge expense and headache. My car was also broken into while I lived here, and I heard that a car was actually stolen here last year. For the amount you are paying in rent here, you should be able to sleep soundly and not worry that someone is going to try to break into your car or, worse, your apartment. Management needs to seriously reevaluate the security system if they expect to continue to charge the current rates. read more