I lived at 203 Myrtle Avenue from 2014 to 2017, in 2 different apartments. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a cheap but decent place to live. It's way cheaper than anywhere else downtown because it's dorm style, not because there's anything wrong with it. Every floor has a men's room, a ladies' room, and a kitchen. The restrooms have multiple toilets and showers, plus you can always go to another floor. I never couldn't shower when I wanted to and usually had the whole room to myself. The common areas are clean and the appliances work. Washers and dryers stopped working occasionally but always got fixed or replaced soon.
Management were responsive and helpful. They always answered the phone during business hours and had an emergency number you could call 24/7. The bathroom ceiling started leaking at 1 a.m. and was fixed by 5 a.m. That's the only major maintenance issue in 3 years. Pest control sprayed every month, and I never had more than the occasional lone insect. Heating and AC were powerful and never broke. I got my security deposit back even though I didn't clean super thoroughly. Rent increases were modest, around 10 dollars a year. I rented a parking spot in my last year and never had anyone else park in it.
As for safety, I'm a young woman and I walked around outside at all hours. Never had any problems. I didn't even bother locking my door when I was just going to the restroom. As far as I know, nobody was robbed while I lived there. Some of the tenants hung out on the steps to smoke, which I guess could look scary to some people at night, but they were always polite.
I only had a couple of small problems, which are normal in apartment buildings in my experience. The smoke alarms went off every few months, usually in the middle of the night. It usually took around half an hour to get them turned off, since the fire department had to come and confirm there wasn't a fire. The building's heat was set high, so I was sometimes too hot in winter and had to open the window. I also kept my own heater turned off a lot of the time, which saved electricity. When I lived on the first floor, anyone in the parking lot could see right in, so I kept the blinds closed most of the time. The first floor apartment also smelled a bit, though I probably should have aired it out more often. I would recommend living on a higher floor. There was some noise because the building was near the hospital and the train tracks. It didn't bother me but I'm good at tuning things out. read more
