Run - run as fast as you can away from this place.
Where do I start?
Quality/Construction:From a construction point of view, these buildings are of terrible quality. The windows are joke, and the insulation is practically non-existent. I can hear what my neighbors are watching on TV, along with the dialogue. If you live on the top floor, you can still hear what the construction workers are talking about outside on the ground floor. I spoke with one construction worker regarding the building, and when referencing his dismay in the internal structural support, he said, "this is why buildings collapse." Rest assured, every corner has been cut. The building sways during windstorms, and the windows sound like they're going to bust in. The parking garage constantly has a leak. The breezeway to get into the building from the parking garage tends to leak after a rainstorm, too.
Amenities: Where are they? Upon lease signing there were these wonderful promises of a pool, gym, office/workspace, dog runs, balconies, storage rooms, etc. As of now - no pool, no office workspace, no balconies, and no storage rooms, no outdoor grills, no outdoor activity areas. I think they've just begun construction on the storage areas, but it's literally cinderblock walls thrown down inside the parking garage. Balconies have been scrapped "due to covid supply issues". Hmmm - that's strange, all the other new construction within a mile of us have new balconies. The pool is under construction - but I have no faith this will be up and running this year. The gym is supposed to open this month - months later than promised, but it hasn't opened yet - so, again, little faith that that will be operational anytime soon.
Management: A middle school student council could run this better. The maintenance team has been told "to only focus on the most imperative issues" because they have a backlog of 50 maintenance issues. The rest are ignored. Probably understaffed - but ultimately, poor management. There is significant lack of communication regarding the community from management. Emails go unanswered, and issues go untended. I believe this is a top-down issue (we'll get into Birkla later). There seems to be a general disdain in the tone of emails and notices posted throughout the buildings. While there are SERIOUS issues that need to be addressed in this community, the management tends to focus on emails that encourage tenants to submit photos for the "Pet of the Month" contest. I think resources could be better spent elsewhere.
Safety: This is still very much a project under construction. Expect nails in your tires, huge machinery in the streets needed to access the building, debris in the parking garage, construction materials/trash in the pond, and blocked access and sightlines to both Carmel Drive & Rangeline.
I would highly suggest researching the development group and management company of VER. You may find articles detailing several lawsuits and violations. Or you might not...because they've changed the name so many times, which doesn't bode well for credibility.
https://www.journal-news.com/news/developer-pulls-plug-west-chester-mixed-use-project/dQW3FXmSI5mAImCn6nrsQJ/
My understanding is that this is the first true ground-up endeavor of Birkla, and it shows. Don't let the pretty website fool you - they manage other properties, but they did not build them.
Planning: Speaking of lack of experience...it's so apparent. The general "flow" of tenants, parking, etc. in a public space hasn't been considered. Good luck leaving safely leaving the parking garage onto Veterans Way. Key fob access isn't available to many doors.
Dogs/Pets: Maybe the only redeeming quality is that it's a very pet-friendly building for my dog. The pet fee is very reasonable.
Condos: Many of my neighbors are temporarily in apartments because they are slated to move into the condos. I've been told that they have been delayed by months and months and months. It almost seems as though construction has been slowed down on the condos purposefully so that the buyers will abort their purchase. What would that mean? It means that (conceivably) Birkla gets to relist the condos at a much higher price since values have increased since they were originally "sold".
Management has specifically asked residents and friends to "write good reviews on Yelp" to counteract the negative (but true) reviews. I would be skeptical of any high praise - I haven't met one neighbor that feels this way.
I believe there was a PR company hired to help with the bad press VER/Proscenium/REV was getting. It appears that they've helped bury bad articles when you google them. There have been mis-steps along the way, such as announcing that certain amenities were available when they weren't. This project has been a complete cluster from the beginning.
This review will probably get buried, but click on the 'not recommended' reviews for the truth.
In short, don't rent here. read more