The Botanic Apartments — Attraction in Carteret

As some of you may know, I previously posted a review about the building commenting on how the leasing agent made the process easy and delightful. I moved into my residence August 2023 and it’s been an absolute nightmare since. By September 29th I had a leak from my window in the living room and bedroom. Unbeknownst to me, the issue wasn’t resolved properly and it developed into mold. Currently I have been living and breathing in mold spurs for a year. I unfortunately got an upper respiratory infection due to the mold. In addition to living with the mold this building has not lived up to its “luxury” lifestyle it likes to promote. As a contributing member of the AEC industry (Architectural, Engineering & Construction) I have noticed many problems that are unacceptable. There are cracks in ceilings, mold in other tenants windows and apartments & lack of ventilation in the hallways. (A concierge staff has been telling tenants to check for mold due to other residents identifying mold in their units - the situation is BAD) Also, if they state that they will remedy the situation - this is false. Their team does NOT clean the mold, they plaster and paint over it.

In addition to these issues the fire alarm is consistently going off between the lack of security at the bus stop because it’s for “public” use, other tenants smoking in the building (when the lease clearly states to be smoke free), & negligence from other tenants by almost burning down their apartments. There are multiple tenants who have religiously violated the lease clause and are still currently living in this building because the only thing management cares about is their money.

To add insult to injury there was an incident that took place here on October 28, 2023 with a woman who was unfortunately under the influence. The staff of this building took it upon themselves to record the security footage of this woman exposed in the nude while laughing at her and overtly sexualizing her. Unfortunately the video was sent to others and it’s still in circulation.

On Saturday, May 24th there was a massive promoted rooftop party (a paid event I need to add) that resulted in strangers roaming the hallways trying to find access to restrooms with multiple fights occurring outside leading to law enforcement being called.

Myself and other tenants have been followed into this building by complete strangers. Both have managed to get into the building on multiple occasions and one has taken it upon themself to use our amenities.

There are tenants who live here that openly conduct illegal activity and submitted fraudulent documents to secure a dwelling in this building. The elevators are always breaking so if you are a member of the ADA community I want to make mention that this building isn’t ADA friendly in ensuring repairs happen immediately. If you want to feel secure and safe - you won’t. Everyone has access to the building (code or no code because people will either pull the door extremely hard to open it or follow others in) and there is no after hours security once concierge is gone for the day.

Unfortunately, due to this; there was a tenant who had a DV incident because their ex partner was able to reenter the building multiple times (through the stairwell doors that do not lock and close properly) and cause bodily harm to them and the property.

Also, management has been known to issue cease and desist to tenants when they have been speaking their truth. They are also notorious for deliberately ignoring you and turning a blind eye and if you dare speak to them in person you will be belittled, called out your name, & yelled at. They are all accusatory individuals. I would not want to reside (again) in a building where I’m threatened to be silenced due to the pure greed of money instead of facing the truth and dealing with it head on. In the state of NJ it is illegal for your landlord to retaliate against you. Please stay away from this building it is truly a headache.

P.S. any good reviews you see are when they ask for a review after the...

DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE POSITIVE REVIEWS. THEY ARE LITERALLY ASKING THOSE TOURING THE PROPERTY TO GIVE POSITIVE REVIEWS TO FOOL NEW TENANTS. READ THE REVIEWS OF THOSE LIVING HERE LIKE MINE BELOW.

Update September 2025. - they have fired all the concierge, an amenity promised to all residents when I signed the lease and the packages are all over the place, and now they are lost or stolen at an alarming rate. The building manager who was a nice guy has also been fired/transferred. The elevators are also perennially broken. Avoid this building at all costs.

I would ABSOLUTELY NOT recommend this building for reasons below:

1. The parking garage experience is absolutely abysmal. Spaces are super tight, they have installed four nasty speed-breakers, which obviously they will argue is for our safety but it is excessive and in already extremely tight parking garage it ruins the entire experience of living here. I have seen two people scratch their cars on the poles so if you have a nice car do not stay here, you will scratch it sooner or later. The garage is also not secured, anyone can walk in from outside and for this appalling service they are charging 150 dollars a month. Charging stations for electric cars have no system of management so cars will stay put there overnight and you'll be wondering when one is going to open.

2. The sales agent misrepresent the grill on rooftop situation. I was informed that grills will be installed by summer but we have none and that is an amenity that is a must have with so much outdoor space on the rooftop. So the 65 dollar amenity fee is pretty much a useless expense for an average gym and a subpar pool table that no one uses.

3. The crowd in the building is very suspect and low quality. The apartment I am living in, the previous person was evicted for not paying rent on time and apparently that is common occurrence here. So much so that they have a company that splits up your rent in installments for a fee. If you are looking for a gentrified sophisticated feel this building is not it. You will see Carteret crowd including thug type kids biking in the parking garage or the corridor nearby who do not live here - you don't want to pay premium luxury prices for this subpar experience.

4. Cleaning - the single elevator is almost always dirty. The cleaning staff have no manners, no greetings, barely speak any English, the cleaning carts will often be blocking the elevator or the doors by the amenity rooms. I have found dog pee in the elevator.

5. Value - I am paying nearly 2600 for one bedroom including the ridiculous overpriced parking for a subpar experience, amenity fee and am probably subsidizing apartments on default and not paying rent on time. While my rent is 2320 I am nearly paying 300 dollars above that to this building for these additional charges.

6. loud music on the roof - in order to make extra money the management has leased out the roof for party, and the music player will disturb the sixth floor residents including me. The music vibrates through the roof causing a constant woofer sound in the apartment when there is a party.

Management does not care. I have informed about the subpar garage experience but nothing has been done about it. If you are renting here, just refuse to pay parking fees and amenity fee and negotiate hard. I am moving out at the end of my lease - these prices are not worthy of...

Updates: they got rid of the concierge so now there is no one at the building. Packages are thrown all over the lobby and the mail room is a mess. Actual mail is thrown on the floor inside a giant bag and not placed into mailboxes. The elevator has been out for 7 days and they only finally sent an email about it after they received multiple complaints. The elevators go out constantly. you will see some new 5 star reviews happening once again from the leasing agents that only talk about the experience with the agents and the easy of applying and the look of the show room apartment they show you…. This is what they do every few months and they are doing it to drown out the legitimate reviews. Do not move here.

Fire alarms go off constantly for nonsense. Parking garage is expensive and not even secured, anyone can get into it and the barriers are always broken. They charge you $250 a month to park but allow tons of vehicles without permits to park there. If you complain someone is in your paid spot, they refuse to do anything about it. There are signs saying you will be towed but they refuse to actually do it so you pay for a spot and can’t even use it. Elevators are consistently out of order so the building is not ADA compliant. Heating/air units leak water and have cracks all around them bc they weren’t installed properly. Walls aren’t even painted nicely. it is just Sheetrock with cheap flat paint, a piece of tape on the wall pulls the wall off. Doors on bathrooms are cracked from improper handle installment and bubble from the steam. All caulk in showers already peeling. Cracks in countertops poorly attempted to be hidden. No heat in bathrooms. Latch door locks mess up all the time so you can’t even enter the building properly or your apartment sometimes. Work orders go weeks with no response. Then when maintenance finally schedules, they no call no show. Trash left all over the place inside and outside the building. Stairwells with cigarette butts and dog crap. Supposedly tons of cameras in the building yet they don’t use them to penalize tenants who leave a mess all over and who smoke in the stairwells. The elevators and lobbies are always dirty. It reeks like weed everywhere. The carpets in the hallways have dog pee and gross stains and are never cleaned. The garbage rooms smell so disgusting you have to hold your breath before opening the door. Some of the doors don’t even properly lock so anyone can enter. The parking garage Smoke detectors are too close to stovetops and are always going off in tons of apartments and you can’t even open your windows to help, so people open their front door and then fire alarms go off through building. Breathing wrong sets the main building fire alarms off all the time. The staff may be great but the management/leasing company of this building is a mess. They ignore emails and don’t communicate to tenants about serious safety concerns. Don’t pay attention to the reviews talking about the initial aesthetic or about the staff, pay attention to the reviews about the actual issues from people who have been living here for awhile. Do not move here. It is not even close to a “luxury” building and not at all...