The City Apartments — Attraction in Columbus

Avoid This Apartment Complex!

I highly recommend steering clear of this apartment complex. Despite not securing an apartment, they refused to refund the reservation fee, and I suspect there may be discriminatory practices at play.

I was advised by The City staff during my apartment search that there were many available units. They encouraged me to pay a reservation fee with the assurance that it would be refunded if I didn’t end up with an apartment. Unfortunately, I didn’t record this conversation, and I trusted their word. I made the payment in early June.

Since then, I’ve had no communication from them. After emailing twice with no response, I received a group email in late July informing us that none of us had been allocated an apartment. Interestingly, the majority of the recipients appeared to be Asian based on their surnames, though I apologize if this assumption is incorrect.

While some may think this could be due to reserving late, that doesn’t seem to be the case. From conversations with others, it appears that some people who reserved later received apartments, while those who paid early did not.

I went to the office to request a refund of my $250 reservation fee, but they flatly refused, claiming that they never issue refunds. When I mentioned their initial promise, they asked if I had any evidence or a voice recording. I requested to speak with a manager, but was told they weren’t available that day. I provided my contact information and was assured someone would follow up within three days, but nearly two months have passed with no response.

While I’m relieved I didn’t end up renting here, my experience indicates that this complex is unprofessional and unreliable. I’m certain I would have faced significant issues...

Most of the positive reviews are fake or misleading—don’t fall for them.

The early days of the property management were quite nice. But now, things have deteriorated badly. Aside from frequent garbage blockages, they’ve started enforcing terrible and harsh policies. For instance, they can’t wait to tow your car the moment you’re away on a long trip—just to “teach you a lesson” for violating their garage policy—even though you’ve already paid $150 per month for parking. It’s clear they take advantage of the fact that most tenants are students who don’t have the legal knowledge or time to push back against this kind of mistreatment.

Even worse, the apartment layouts are terrible. Many designs lead to poor ventilation, awkward spaces, and an overall uncomfortable living experience.

To make matters worse, someone else’s clogged garbage disposal caused the pipes to back up and flood my unit. Instead of taking responsibility, the management turned around and threatened me, accusing me of damaging the plumbing. Yet, they never conduct proper routine checks or maintenance—until a pipe finally bursts. And when that happens? The fire alarm in every units gets triggered in the middle of the night, leaving everyone sleep-deprived and helpless. This happens every month.

What’s laughable is that while the quality keeps declining, they keep raising the rent. They’ve also started sneaking in extra micro-fees. You’d never see these in the rental listings, but in reality, your monthly expenses end up being over 20% higher than what...

I have been living at the City Apartments since September of 2021. The office staff has been wonderful during my stay so far. No complaints as far as amenities. The yoga and gym areas are nice for all types of workouts. Equipment is also nice that gives you a variety of exercises that you can complete.

During the application process, they were wonderful to work with. It was also nice to have the freight elevator for bigger ticket items to move in. One recommendation that I would give is if you are not using a moving company to have a dolly that can assist in moving items easier.

Move in went very smoothly. No complaints with the process there.

I have not had an issues with noise complaints on my floor, which is one of my biggest worries about staying in an apartment given that I am a professional student and this apartment building is geared toward undergraduate students.

I would love to see the option for professional individuals to have more availability in terms of guest being able to gain access to my specific apartment in times that I am at work given I work mid-shift. But this is a rare occurrence that it is a concern.

When I first moved in the apartment fridge stopped working and was promptly exchanged the same day. This can occur with appliances which is understandable. I have utilize maintenance again for a low priority ticket and it was completed within 2 days which was awesome.

Overall, my experience has been great! And I love the location and the parking garage...