In summary: Neighbors are really excellent. Management is hit & miss. Units have quirks that may or…read moremay not be something you can live with. Working from home is OK if you have a unit that isn't a greenhouse, but you won't want to invite most clientele over to your space. The neighborhood has issues with illegal dumping and drug users. The trains are comically loud and will definitely be noticed by people on the other end of your phone convos. Great for pet owners, if you don't have a unit that gets unhealthily hot (like most facing 47th).
I lived here for a few years until the pandemic brought big changes to all our lives. I wanted to make sure to review because I recall seeing so many red flags when I first looked at this place -- a URL on email addresses "fdcollins" with no website to match, a company named "Proper Management" that had little to no online presence... I had to do a ton of research to assure myself it wasn't a scam. It is not a scam, everything was fine. Francis D Collins is the property owner and Proper Management is the company created to manage properties owned by Collins, I believe.
Svend, the offsite manager that sent our bills and answered the office phone, was excellent -- always replied to our emails quickly and was attentive. Resolved issues quickly & efficiently.
Jay, the onsite manager (but not a resident), was not that great, but he wasn't the worst. He would fix things, but not necessarily quickly. We were having such a big problem with the sun in our unit, we bought materials that we could install ourselves but needed permission to do it...Jay didn't give permission and did eventually install it, but he took our materials and did not use them all nor did he return them, so we just lost money on that. (He promised to return the unused stuff, he just never did).
Jay also did kind of lame things to blight the street in front of the property like tear out the plants and just leave piles of dirt instead. That was especially disappointing because when we moved in Jay and Nolan said that they were working to improve the greenery and had just planted trees. I thought the flower gardens near our unit was their work, but it turns out it was various neighbors that were later told to rip them out, but the management did not do anything with them afterwards...just let them grow weeds and attract garbage. At least the gardens kept some of the street crazy away.
He also left an old car parked out front, taking up parking space close to the units so that we had to walk farther to get in, which was occasionally uncomfortable. It attracted criminals and was eventually stolen. I'd say that the exterior attractiveness of the property went markedly down while we were living there, as a direct result of their decisions, and because of that, more street wanderers would come around. Originally I thought I might have clients over, but it became too embarrassing & uncomfortable for guests.
The units at Dutchboy are all unique. Ours had its pros and cons. The totally open layout was a dream, as was having the tall ceilings. The water and power were always reliable. The bathroom was surprisingly small. I (5'7" 150lbs) often showered standing sideways (facing the curtain or wall), because the shower was so narrow. The sink was so close to the toilet that my knees were under it when sitting and I could rest my chin on the sink. But the worst by far was that there was only one small ground-level window that opened, but two large clerestory windows that face the sun all summer long baking in the heat. With no vents, the heat would get trapped and it was 90 degrees in our unit until 10pm. It's too dangerous to leave your door open and walk away, but even sitting next to the door with it open for hours, it couldn't circulate very well because the unit was 50' deep and the window was 2 feet from the door. When wildfire season strikes, it's really unlivable. We had to move out partially because of this.
The unit wasn't that clean when we moved in, even after we asked and they agreed to do the floors...for example the bedroom area had beams that were coated in dust. They cleaned the carpet, but not the concrete. I did a thorough cleaning myself before moving in and found a thick layer of dog hair in the broiler drawer under the oven.
There was some trouble with drug users camping and cooking on 47th...fires, explosions, pests/rats, endless garbage, hit & runs, crazy behavior on the street, fights, etc. To their credit, the management worked really hard to stop the whole thing, as did a lot of the tenants, and eventually it did mostly go away before we moved out.
Best thing was the neighbors. They all had a great attitude and liked to help each other out. The neighbors aesthetic touches on the outside of the units were what make the place really special. Large metal sculptures, potted plants, unique patio furniture, adorable pets...all really take the edge off the stress of city life.
