I've lived here 18 months. In no particular order:
1. It is…read morea beautiful old building, with great views from the roof. Other reviews cover this pretty well, so I will skip it.
2. The building is adaptive reuse (which I hugely support), and the refit is mostly thoughtful and well done, but there are some unfortunate compromises:
A. Windows do not open. Awning windows at the top of each opening would make the units far more comfortable, and healthier. Cooking smells really linger (the hood over the stove does not vent to the outside) and frying or pan grilling will often trigger the smoke alarm. (Yes, I did.) You can turn your HVAC to "Fan" and set it on "High," but it doesn't seem to make much difference.
B. No outside ventilation for dryers. The condenser dryer works pretty well and is reputedly energy efficient, but it heats up the apartment and increases humidity. In the summer, I have to run the AC extra, to make up for it. I often hang clothes to dry on a rack instead.
C. Lack of ADA access: I think the building is actually unafe for anyone with mobility issues. There are no automated or power-assisted doors to the outside, or to the mailroom, package room, roof, etc. I have seen a neighbor who uses a cane struggle with the exterior doors and get caught.
3. ELEVATORS. At least one of them is usually down. Sometimes all of them are down, although the reliability has improved. Still, they tend to shudder and shake and lurch. (I got stuck once and the elevator service didn't answer the call box. Fortunately the staff hadn't gone home for the evening, and they heard me ringing the alarm and were able to get me out within about 10 minutes.) The elevator doors are also very quick to close, and I saw a neighbor get caught and drop his groceries and nearly fall.
4. THE SMELL: As a dog owner, I really appreciate the indoor "dog agility" space, especially in bad weather. But it is not well designed: urine leaks from the artificial turf onto the concrete floor in the little lobby, pools there, and is left to dry. Ventilation is poor and the extraction fan is very loud. The dog park is not cleaned anywhere near often enough, and it stinks. You can smell it throughout the basement and ground floor, as well as outside the building. It's a lot worse in the summer. The staff try to cover up the smell with strongly scented diffusers, which are horrible for anyone with allergies or asthma (I have a friend who refuses to visit because of it).
NOISE: Sound from other apartments is pretty reasonable, but of course your neighbors are luck-of-the-draw. I can hear everything that goes on in the hallways, but not much from the adjoining apartments. I hear nothing from the unit above me, ever. Street noise is not really an issue in my courtyard-facing one bedroom. If there's a tornado, I probably won't notice, the building feels that solid.
5. TECH The "smart" thermostat is erratic. It has never worked with the app and sometimes mysteriously turns itself off ("Unoccupied"?). If the internet is down, your smartphone won't open the doors. The Wi-Fi (included, nice) is run by a third-party provider, and when it went down on a Friday night, it stayed down until Monday morning. (This has happened twice since I've been here).
6. TRASH PICKUP: I appreciate that Landmark doesn't charge a separate fee for trash. The pickup service is mostly reliable, and if you do get skipped, the office staff will take care of it, as long as you let them know.
7. STAFF They are fantastic about most things. They are super responsive to repair requests, keep the place clean and tidy, and take security seriously. (Amber is my hero in that regard.) However, there are some building issues that they seem to have given up on (i.e. the smell from the dog park. Don't bring it up. They will get snippy.)
8. RENT INCREASES Lease renewals are weird: the rent for a 12-month lease was $336 a month more than an 11-month lease. The management company, Landmark, uses the RealPage algorithm to set their rates (I was told, and all my renewal documents did come from a RealPage email address). *The Department of Justice and several states' Attorneys General are suing RealPage for alleged price fixing and collusion to violate anti-trust laws. (ProPublica and the NYTimes are both covering the suits if you want to Google it.) That said, my last rent increase was 5.5%. That's higher than inflation or the expected market rate increase, but not as egregious as the 13.5% my previous building tried to charge in 2023.