Harrison Urby — Attraction in Harrison

I lived at Urby for a bit (2 year lease). The following are highlights at best: outdoor and gym amenities are contemporary and revitalizing, staff-- exclusively maintenance management team was helpful (shout out to Rob), and neighbors became family. The cafe and or snug room were social pods—a reminder that life still exists beyond Covid and any personal challenges we face. Yoga/ studio was helpful. The main lesson I extracted from living at Urby...?

Live. Take the good w/ challenges as with anywhere you live or go.

Crash barbecues (respectfully)—joking. But do connect with neighbors. host intimate meet-ups (in consideration of restrictions); go ahead and do it! There are several rockstars: a wealth of creatives, entrepreneurs (therapists, personal trainers, acupuncturists, spiritual/ ministers, web developers, graphic designers, influencers, etc.) to enjoy and engage.

Apartments (especially closets) are quaint, but there is plenty of space in the communal areas, making up for it— stay positive. If needed they have storage in the apartment buildings on roughly every other floor.

When dealing w/ leasing & touring, please don't hesitate to ask deep clarifying questions around pain points such as:

(1). Concierge vs. "Resident Coordinators" (front desk logistics): What does the front desk do? What can I expect or not expect when if I choose to move in? How much aid or guidance will they provide you, guests, delivery guides, etc. Please note that although front desk may present or be perceived as concierge, they're referred to as residential coordinators. Therefore the level of service you may expect from them may clash. The front desk does get busy as sometimes they're forced to aid others, and you're waiting around to get mail, or perhaps and a delivery guy enters and has no idea where to go. Generally speaking the front desk team is kind and helpful, but definitely BUSY. Be gentle w/ them.

(2). Mailroom: I'd focus on asking questions regarding mail handling. Ask how mail is handled and stored if you're home, not home on vacation, and upon moving ( I too lost over $200 worth of mail, as it was later stated to me that my mail was returned, yet the vendor confirms this wasn't the case). Ask about small packages, large packages (furniture size) etc. Confirm text notifications are working and that your email (if added to the system) will also work.

(3). Onboarding and syncing apps: Ensure that every app is working and synced with your apartment (to things like heating and lighting). At the time I was living there, you had an app that controlled access to your apartment, amenities, and also could provide guest keys.

You also have apps that control your heat/ac as well as lighting. Clarify if you're expected to set that up yourself or if the building maintenance team can help. During touring, it was mentioned that building maintenance would help with setting up the app that controlled heating and lighting. I realized, after moving in that maintenance wasn't obligated to do so. Clarify this. The maintenance team does get swamped and although it can be presented by touring/leasing that maintenance is there to provide you support in such ways, it does appear they aren't responsible for doing so.

(4). Autonomy over indoor or outdoor (if you have a patio) personal decor: ask questions around restrictions.

(5). Instagram Ready Living: Yes, the place is beautiful and the spaces scream "creatives-create-in-me." But new management seems to take a more strict approach to video or picture shoots on the premises (confirm the needs for waivers etc). If your livelihood is tied to entrepreneurship and content creation, you want to 100% confirm how truly flexible they are with video and photography on premises— especially if you're trying to get ROI for your living-at-Urby investment.

(6). Protocol for Amenities: pool passes (bringing guests), access to the fire pit, grill areas, communal kitchen (costs associated with any of it).

Good luck & negotiate negotiate negotiate! Get everything in...

So I've waited about 6 months to finally write this review so I could give an honest perspective of the place. First off, the management and the concierge team have been incredibly helpful in literally everything that we've ever needed. The customer service of this place is unreal, and it's the only place I've ever lived where you can find help for whatever you need at pretty much any hour, and I've lived in about 10 different apartment complexes. I will have to give a shout out to Rosa, Kevin, Eve, and JC who are the most pleasant people to come home to. Jenny, Will, and Eugene who helped us set up our lease and answer any questions we have regarding our apartment. Alex, who did the initial walk in with us & talked us through living at Urby. Michael, in packages, who even helped us send back a package we didn't want anymore. But enough about the incredible people here, let me tell you about the actual apartment. The amenities are incredible, you always have access to a gym, a coffee shop to study/work in, a social event space, a community kitchen, a pool, and a wonderfully beautiful outdoor space that is great for the summer's where you can barbeque/have friends over. The apartment itself is also really beautiful, and comes with pre-set storage spaces so that you don't even have to bring cabinets if you don't want to. Also, this place is super dog friendly. It's really hard to find a complex that accepts dogs who are over 25 lbs in this region, and we have a 60 lb retriever. There's a big dog park for your furry friend to run around. There's a Washer, Dryer, and Dishwasher which was a very welcome change from our NYC apartment, and a full size fridge which we have come to appreciate heavily. The only appliance in the apartment that I am not the most fond of is the oven, since it doesn't fit a full size pan, but we've been able to make it work for pretty much everything. Really not a big deal at all, but I figured it was worth mentioning so you know. Other than that, Harrison itself is an up and coming city. It doesn't have the most thrilling things to do, but it's a nice quiet place to come home to and if you ever want to check out a game at Red Bull Stadium, it's just down the street. Which brings me to one point of contention with this place. On game days, the traffic can get really congested, but it's easily avoidable if you just plan your schedule around it & avoid driving in/out right before the game starts & ends. They usually put signs up on the local streets a few days before game day so you know when the games are. That's not really something Harrison Urby can change in any way, just a warning to avoid the traffic. Besides red bull stadium, there are a few bars in the area & a few up and coming places to eat. Urby also has a really great event coordinator, Marisa, who puts on events throughout the month in Harrison & in the city/neighboring cities. There's also a daily gym schedule in case you want to go to classes & interact with people there. In addition to all of that, the PATH train is literally a 3 minute walk away so you can get to the city really easily. My husband commutes daily, and it's actually been quicker for him to get to work than when we lived in the city, so the convenience is incredible. It also goes to Newark Airport which is only about 10 minutes away if you are someone that travels frequently! Just to cover every base, the only other negative thing I've had to deal with at Urby, is the phone signal for AT&T. I ended up switching networks halfway through living here, so Xfinity/Verizon has been great, but when I was on an AT&T plan, I had a really tough time getting a clear call through. I'm not sure if that'll change anytime soon, and once again not something Harrison Urby can change, but just something to keep in mind when you're looking at places to live. All of those negativities aside, this place is definitely worth it. The management is incredible, the spaces are beautiful and functional, and it's...

Speaking as someone who has rented for the last nine years and has had a wide range of experiences, I can easily express that Urby is by far my favorite place of residence thus far. I should note that I’ve only been here three months, but I don't see my opinion changing anytime soon. There are quite of lot of things that set Urby apart from your standard apartment complex, rented townhouse or even seemingly similar options in the area.

Starting from their extraordinary in-complex amenities, to the copious amount of on complex events, Urby is keen on building a friendly and lively community. In 2018, this is certainly welcoming because I believe it can be harder for young and middle aged adults to make new friends. Each month there are a wide range of activities you can elect to participate in, such as circuit training classes at the (beautiful) gym, yoga for beginners, outdoor movie screenings on a giant screen, cooking lessons with extremely talented chefs and even open BBQs with live DJs, to name a few. Outdoors include rent-able fire pits, grills and cookie areas, a dog park (yup!), lots of beach furniture to lounge on and of course the coffeeshop - Coperaco. The 'treehouse' inside, which provides a large two story lounge is open 24/7, making it an easy workspace for when you need a change of scenery.

The staff also play a large role in why I would recommend Urby so highly. The concierge team is exceptionally friendly, and I often find myself stopping to have a long conversation in order to get to know each other better. The super and his team have also been exceedingly helpful, and quickly jump on any challenges that might arise within your unit. I had a small appliance issue and the team rapidly assessed and amended the issue, while being flexible with my work schedule. Additionally, the management staff is just as wonderful to interact with. From the application process, to finalizing the lease, they have made each step of moving in as painless as possible. Even now, months later, they are exceptionally helpful and accessible whenever you need assistance.

The rooms themselves are what may sell most people on what makes living here so wonderful. While I've lived in range of large and small spaces, there's nothing more impressive than what the architects have done with each layout. Every ounce of the floor plan is used purposefully and carefully. Thus despite smaller square footage figures than some may be used to, no matter which layout you choose, you'll feel spacious. I personally debated between a 1 bedroom layout and a studio for quite sometime and had chosen the studio in the end. Once settled in, I was surprised by how comfortable and roomy I felt. The large windows, built-in shelves, massive standing class shower, gorgeous countertops and overall minimalist aesthetic are easy reasons why I enjoy my home so much.

Urby provides a habitat that you quickly become attached to; I look forward to coming home, and that's saying a lot. I think if you're debating this space in the slightest, definitely go on a tour, meet the staff and see the rooms in person. You'll most likely be filling an application the next day. Oh. Did I mention there's heated...