Bell Jackson Street Apartments — Attraction in Seattle

After spending my first full year in Seattle living here, I feel like I can give an honest review/warning to those who may be considering this place. A few months into living here I left a positive review at the request of a lovely building manager, who has since been replaced with more rude and incompetent employees. Many of the positive reviews you see are unfortunately farmed from people who just toured or moved in, like my original review was, to skew the results positively. Overall, this is a poorly operated apartment complex in a less-than-ideal part of town that tries to market itself as a luxury building. In brief, I wouldn’t suggest living here if you have any other reasonable options. The turnover rate is high for a reason.

My partner and I picked this place before we moved to Seattle because of the pet friendly policy for our two pups and the easy commute to work at Harborview Medical Center, but living here was in no way worth the few minutes shaved off the commute. The surrounding neighborhood is not nice, and just down the hill on Jackson St. or at Pratt Park across the street, you’ll start running into an unsavory/unsafe part of town with tons of open drug use. There is not much happening in terms of restaurants in the immediate area except for two wonderful Ethiopian spots in close proximity. The apartment layouts are odd with much of the space being lost to long hallways and bedrooms without any windows or ventilation. While the maintenance staff are great, they cannot keep this place clean with how some of the residents treat it. I have seen uncleaned dog poop in the elevator, garbage bags and recycling strewn all over the garbage rooms when the chutes are full (which is unfortunately a weekly occurrence), and the dog area on the roof unusable with how messy it’s left.

The icing on top was the move out process. On multiple occasions we asked management for instruction on how the process works and how our security deposit would be returned. After the walkthrough that we did with the maintenance staff, we were assured that there were no major issues. I asked if I could be present for the second “official” walkthrough and was told that this typically isn't allowed, which seemed puzzling at the time but I understand now was part of their practice to cheat people out of their deposits. We spent hours cleaning our place, sweeping and scrubbing countertops, but were hit with a “$250 Deep Cleaning” fee because we forgot to wipe down the oven and they were able to sweep up some dog hair. When I asked why were charged this high fee, management told us they would provide a receipt from the cleaning company, which of course never manifested despite multiple emails asking for it. This is a well-oiled scamming machine, and I should have expected it considering how much this place tries to nickel and dime you for everything they can. Make sure to document your cleaning well and have everything in WRITING, as the new management has demonstrated that they will go back on what they say in person. If you’re still reading this I hope you find a much better place to live in Seattle!

TLDR: Pros: Nice rooftop, reasonable base rent before fees, nice appliances, nice gym, great Ethiopian restaurant on the ground floor

Cons: Safety concerns in immediate surroundings (windows broken in ground floor shop constantly, cars in garage broken into, packages sometimes broken into and strewn across back exit), human poop found outside back door on multiple occasions, tiny area of turf for dogs that is often smeared with uncleaned dog poop, garbage pickup is often delayed and residents just pile garbage in the rooms when chutes are full, smell of garbage permeates through some apartments during summer, rooftop lounge often closed or reserved for events, management is rarely available, unplanned fire alarms go off regularly, moving out is a headache and they will find any reason to not return your security deposit and then ghost you when you ask for a...

I was originally going to write a bad review but that isn't really fair. Overall this has been a great place to live. The people that work here are GREAT. They are quick to fix issues that can be fixed and very kind, even when you are losing your brain a bit. Amenities are great. It is very clean. The gym is open 24/7. If you like security, this is the place to be. EVERYTHING has a lock on it at this point. I have to use my key 4 times to get into my apartment. I'm not a fan but this would be a selling point for a lot of people and I understand safety matters. The neighborhood is low key but relatively safe for a dense neighborhood in Seattle. It has all your basics but it isn't the place for night life. I love it. The only reason I'm moving out is because while they say it is pet friendly, it isn't really. You aren't allowed to have a pet sitter and there is no way to let one into the building now anyway due to the locks. So as long as you either don't plan on having pets or don't need a sitter/dog walker this is a GREAT place to live (as long as you don't mind a little security theater). Also you can not get anything delivered to your door so if you have mobility issues pr are just really really lazy and need insta cart or something similar delivered directly to you, that isn't an option, there is however an elevator and they are reliable (they have never all been broken and the one time they did break I can remember they were fixed in hours). It can get a little loud at night, but I also live right by the elevator. I don't hear my neighbors if they aren't in the hallway and I never hear anyone walking around upstairs.

edit: I lived here for 2 years, the people that have worked here have always been great, I'm not a fresh move in with rose colored glasses. This is honestly the best place I ever lived until I found out I couldn't live here if I want to go home...

I was scheduled for an apartment tour Monday, Jan 15, and was super excited about it, however, I couldn’t tour any apartments as no one was there at the leasing office to assist me. I called the number provided by the leasing assistant multiple times and the lady on the other line kept telling me to wait 5-10 minutes as they may have been finishing up another tour, then said to wait 10-15 minutes more, and I ultimately ended up leaving after waiting for an hour past our scheduled meeting time. I totally understand that things happen, things change, and that tours can last longer than anticipated, but sitting around waiting for something that never happened was really upsetting, frustrating, and a waste of time. I did book the tour the day of, but I would’ve appreciated a heads up if no one was able to make it, especially since it was already confirmed. 02/08/24: The review above was my first initial experience with Bell Jackson and since then my experience here has changed. Kimberly has shown professionalism by making a tremendous effort in making things right and apologized for the mishap that happened. I did get the chance to take a tour with her and she was super friendly, inviting, and transparent when it came to answering questions or just giving overall information on the property and amenities. She's been a great help throughout the whole process by communicating very clearly, making sure all information is understood, and making any adjustments to...