Beekman on Broadway — Local services in Ann Arbor

Having lived in Beekman for 2 years, here’s my full rundown on what it’s been like to live here:

First impressions were promising but Beekman falls short on many many fronts. It brand itself as luxury housing, but it just isn't.

I’ll start off with the positives: 1- Appearance: The building physically looks very nice. The lobby shines and the apartments themselves look quite new.

2- Amenities: The amenities are incredible. 24/7 gym, a pool that’s open in the summer, a secure mailing room, entertainment centre, conference room, 24/7 market, which has come in handy several times.

3-Location: It’s very convenient for if you need to get to the Medical Campus, North Campus, or even Downtown. You’re never more than 10 mins away by car or bicycle. There’s also a decent amount of bus service.

4- Leasing office: The folks at the leasing office have been nothing but helpful and just friendly. When I initially moved in, I ran into several issues (previous tenant stole the unit’s router) and Kaitlyn went out of her way to help me get that fixed.

Now for the negatives: 1- Quality: While the units may look nice, they’ve got some serious quality control issues. Heat insulation is pretty poor and sound insulation does not exist (more on that later).

I have had issues with appliances breaking, like my washing machine door breaking out of the blue, or my dishwasher leaking out of nowhere as well.

There was a brief moment in summer this year where we all had scorching hot water for a month. Took the management a long time to get that sorted. There was also another brief moment where I had lost running water, and when it had come back, the water was brown and filled with particles. I don’t even wanna know where this came from…

2- Reliability: The apartment complex is prone to power outages when it rains excessively or whenever there’s a snow/ice storm. In the winter of 2023, I lost power before a trip, and had to pack my items with a lantern in my hand.

3- Noise!! These units are built so poorly, I don’t even know where to begin. Be prepared to hear a lot of noise, both from the outside and upstairs neighbours. I’m a very light sleeper and have sometimes been kept up by my upstairs neighbours stomping on the floor.

Noise insulation in between units is also very poor. I was lucky to have considerate neighbours who wouldn’t blast music all the time, but whenever either one would have a party, it was almost like that party was in my apartment too.

Exterior noise insulation is quite poor too. In late 2022, when the new building was under construction, I’d hear a lot of noise early into the morning, from Monday through to Friday. The construction’s since wrapped up but when the adjacent vacant lot gets built on, be wary of renting close by.

4- Cleanliness: While the common spaces are kept relatively clean, the hallways and garbage chutes can sometimes get messy. Garbage chutes occasionally back up, causing garbage to just sit there. The hallway carpets can also get pretty dirty and are in serious need of a deep clean.

5- Smell: Be ready to smell a lot of weed, inside, outside, in the corridors, in the parking structure, just all over the place. The lease states that smoking on the property is forbidden but I’ve found that the leasing office has no effective way of enforcing this. This smell literally travels everywhere. You’ll be awoken at 4am thinking a skunk just sprayed your living room.

6- Cost: Beekman isn’t cheap, and for what you pay, you’d expect a much higher-end product. There’s a lot to appreciate here that many other apartment complexes in AA do not have, but encountering issues with running water, electricity and broken appliances are just disappointing for a place that charges upwards of $2,000 a month.

Despite all of this, I can say that I’ve enjoyed my time at Beekman. It’s been cozy. The inconveniences I’ve experienced have been far from ideal, but you just learn to live with them. For the most part, things do work out smoothly. I do feel like this apartment complex just could’ve delivered on...

Great experience living in Beekman on Broadway! This is a relatively new apartment in the Ann Arbor area so the rooms and most of the amenities in the building are in great condition and also up to date. I think for me, the most impressive things about this apartment are:

The community has a covered parking lot and it’s super convenient for residents to access their cars just steps away from their homes (basically the whole building is a combination of a parking lot and rooms, so it provides great convenience without making any noise or problems) The staffs are very friendly and responsive. Lauds to the great ladies in the leasing office as well as the cool guys responsible for maintenance. They might be a little bit busy during the peak times (like August of each year when students are moving in), but still willing to help then. Most of the time, they are always there to help with any questions or problems you may have The neighbors are also great people. Some of the residents are students in the university, but there are also local people working around the city. They are all very friendly and I didn’t have any unpleasant experiences with neighbors. The community holds resident events every month so one has the chance to get to know your neighbor Great location on Broadway Street. Several great restaurants just across the street from the building with different styles. I really like the newly opened Plate. It’s also close to the North Campus of the university so it’s convenient to go to school even by bicycle. Of course, if you have a car, there won’t be any problems at all. The amenities provided are really great. Basically, all you see on the website are actually there for you to use, not like some apartments that just put fake photos and statements

Several potential downsides of the apartment (I don’t want to use the word “cons” because personally I don’t think these things below are problems, or at least don’t bother me much)

I heard some people are experiencing noise problems due to the nearby construction site. I can’t speak for other people but at my unit, I didn’t experience any noise at all. Maybe with the progress on the site, the problem shouldn’t last long (at least it should be alleviated) The price is indeed kind of high compared to other communities around the area. I would say it’s overall worth it, but it’s understandable that some people feel this might not be a good match for them Most of the units are unfurnished, so this might cause some problems for those who just arrived in the city (or the country). But as long as you manage to get some furniture later, you can create your own sweet home. I heard the apartment also has some furnished floor plans, but not many. Yeah, there are small problems with the apartment operations occasionally (like false fire alarms etc), but I can see that the management teams are trying their best to solve these problems and create a good living environment for everyone here

Anyway, I would say this is a great place to live. As a new international student who just arrive at the U.S. last year, Beekman on Broadway really provides a good home for me. I’m not affiliated with the apartment in any way and I guarantee this is my true experience. Just pay a visit to see everything for yourself if you are still...

Nice from the outside, but terrible noise insulation and trash disposal issues:

Having lived here for a little more than a year, while the apartments and amenities do look nice and chique from the outside, the living experience gets overshadowed by two main issues: terrible noise insulation and trash disposal issues.

1.) Noise issues

You will be barraged to a cacophony of annoying noises throughout the week like construction, lawn mowers, garbage truck disposals, fake fire alarms, and of course, very obnoxious & loud neighbors. These walls, like most apartments, are SUPER thin. Personally, I had to constantly complain to management about marbles rolling across the floor, thumps, and loud bass music that shook and reverberated my walls, especially at later hours of the night. It took a whole ~6 months before my upstairs neighbor finally got the message to stop making obscene noises, and even then, it still happens on occasion. In the contract clause you sign, it’s one of the things that’s glossed over. Be sure to understand where your room is situated relative to the ruckus (i.e. my room is right near the lawn and construction site, so good luck trying to sleep in some days). Management has tried to alleviate and taper off the scheduling for these noises, but it’s unavoidable. The whole spiel about “concrete walls” used to help with noise insulation is an absolute joke.

2.) Trash disposal issues

The trash chutes and disposal room become full and overflowing really quick. Come July-September, the trash chutes and hallways are ESPECIALLY filthy. I’m assuming this is caused by the influx of neighbors who don’t know better (hopefully). A lot of inconsiderate neighbors who have no regard for keeping the public complex sanitary. People are not meant to clean after your trash.

LEARN HOW TO BREAK A BOX DOWN AND TAKE IT TO THE TRASH ROOM OR DUMPSTERS OUTSIDE. DON’T JUST DUMP YOUR OVERFLOWING TRASH IN FRONT OF SOMEONE’S DOOR. This is one of the things management should really enforce and better orient people who first move-in.

Final thoughts:

Overall, for rent that is ~$1900-2k+ per month and DOES NOT include any amenities, Beekman charges high rent prices that rival some parts of NYC and California. Yes, the management are kind and empathetic and the amenities are nice (i.e. gated parking, gym, package room, pool). However, I wouldn’t recommend living here unless you are absolutely dead set on it and choose a good room that’s oriented away from the noise hub. There’s definitely better and more cheaper options unless you need to live near the Medical campus or have wealth to flaunt. Plus, the rent only gets more expensive each year without any special added benefits (classic Ann Arbor housing market and zoning ordinances at play). I had to haggle to negotiate my inevitable rent price increase.

Misc. Comment Also, as a side note, this place also attracted the crowd who feel the need to overcompensate for their "lack of personality" with flashy sport cars. Even though it’s a small sliver of residents, I feel it’s important to note that the garages are not meant for you to speed and use as a Thruxton race track circuit. People and families live here, please do not...