I have lived here for 2 months as a tenant, and am very disappointed in this building so far. I was interested in buying several condos at Riverport when I first saw it, because it is such a cool building. The developer did a great job in restoring this old steel mill, doing such things as keeping some of the old steel-making equipment and incorporating it into the architecture of the courtyards. However, the beauty, as it turns out, is only skin deep.
I was warned by a realtor of problems at Riverport, and she advised me to rent for a year before I bought. It was good advice. There is a popular sports bar, called Starters, which has an open patio that is contiguous with the courtyard which faces my balcony. The noise emanating from Starters, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, is deafening. If you are trying to get to sleep before 2 am on those nights, forget about. What genius decided to incorporate a rowdy sports bar into a residential building?! I know it is a revenue producer, but there are better businesses to rent to. The fitness center next door to Starters probably pays a similar rent, and never generates any noise.
Additionally, the property management at Riverport is virtually non-existent. It is a large building...I estimate there must be about 500-1000 residents here, and a property management representative from the Markward Group is only on-site for 3 hours per week! If you try to call or email them to get an answer to a problem, expect to wait days for a response, if you get any response at all. A leak in the plumbing? Locked out of your unit? Air conditioning or heating not working? Good luck...you're on your own.
If you are a transient college student at Lehigh, who expects to be partying into the wee hours most nights, and wants a cool and convenient place to live, then, by all means, rent at Riverport. If you are a buyer who wants to rent to Lehigh students, by all means, buy at Riverport...but don't expect much appreciation in value. For the rest of you, who, like me, want to live in an upscale (Riverport is not cheap) urban environment, but still want it to be a home, with some measure of peace and tranquility during evening hours, and who want responses when things go wrong, then my advice is:
DO NOT RENT OR BUY AT RIVERPORT! YOU WILL REGRET IT! read more