345 Harrison — Local services in Boston

Are you considering living at 345 Harrison? I give it one star for a good location and for the most part, nice front desk and maintenance staff. Reasons for NOT living there: Front door was never locked and all sorts of random people wandered in - a lot of homeless people came in to use the lobby bathroom. Everything breaks, and the building can never manage to fix it. Elevators were down all the time or weren't fixed properly, the building WiFi was horrible, the garage door entrance would never work, and in the dog run, the lights had been broken for a year but the time we moved out. In fact, it was so bad that after we moved out (but our lease had not ended) the building actually sent out an email directing residents to YouTube videos on how to fix things themselves instead of waiting for maintenance. Um, that is NOT a luxury building. Rent is absurd. By the time we left we were paying close to $4100 a month. I hear now that tent is lower due to the pandemic but trust me, they'll jack up your rent as soon as your lease is close to expiring. Multiple people we knew moved out when it came to renew because their rent went up $500 a month. The management sucks. It's poorly run building where they rarely held any events - and if they did, they were short staffed and short on food and drink. They will literally nickel and dime you. The dog treats at the front desk? The front desk staff buys them. The building is THAT cheap. (Once I realized this, I gave the front desk treats). More key fobs? That's $50 bucks each. You don't get that money back either when you return them. You have to pay a monthly fee to use the package services. They charged us two months rent when we moved out - even though my husband provided a doctor's note stating that he is in recovery from cancer, has had complications, and the doctor recommended we move from the building. Seriously, evil. Oh and the hotel! When I first moved in, I realized there was another front desk at the entrance and then I realized that the leasing office failed to inform me that they were running a hotel out of the building. They claimed it was corporate housing after I asked, but no, they were listed on TripAdvisor, Hotels.com, Hotel Tonight, and Booking.com. There were always tons of people in the lobby waiting to check in or hot, they had access to the amenities, and they would all go to the building's front desk for help because the hotel front desk was there for a limited time. It was horrific to think about how the building would allow all these random people into a place that people considered their home. I can keep going but long story short: DO...

After more than one year living here, I think I have to write something for the readers to have a fair view about this building.

Pros: Location and brand new building. The front desk and office are very nice and professional. Sound reduction is good. Heat and AC are efficient.

Cons: They have pool and sky deck and other amenities but most of them you have to pay each hour to be able to use. Literally, everything here is money. The pool is free but with the with its small size and thousand of people in the building, it will not be able to fit that amount of people in a sunny day. You will be watched through the CCTV, if you do something wrong, they will email you. Ex, if you go to the gym and forgot to clean the treadmill after using it, you'll get an email. No freedom, it looks like you live in a jail. Ton of fire alarm testing (this is really annoying. They've been renting out spaces for Chase, Tatte...) and they were testing the fire alarm system whenever they've almost finished them, make it uncomfortable for residents because of the noise. If there were a fire (even a small fire) the sprinkle system works very well, and it will spray water until the floor get flood, the water will run down to below floor and the elevator, make it damaged and you will responsible for the bill and they'll ask their lawyers to kick you out or a warning... Traffic: Every weekend, the traffic go to Whole Foods market and C mart always making traffic for local people, they horn each other like crazy. With the upcoming 2 new luxury buildings (1000 Washington and The Quinn,) I wonder how worst traffic and noisy it will be. If you cause a damage to the property, they will repair it and charge you without asking or telling you a word (very professional!) When you move out, they expect you to return the apartment in the conditions when you move in??? Where is the physical law of wear and tear ? Did they forget? It just like you're on an Uber and when the trip finish, if your shoes have a dirt or hair on car's seat or floor, you will get a charge. Do you guys think this is a common sense ? Similar, they will charge you for any wears and tears without asking or telling you a word, even if you're a customer and the person who is paying that's is you. They just charge and ask you to pay. If you have kids or pets, expecting to have wears and tears' charge when you move out. They're the boss and you are NOTHING. Your job is just paying what...

“It Wasn’t About the Rules—It Was About Our Skin”

It was a hot summer day at 345 Harrison Ave in Boston. The pool was packed kids laughing, water splashing, Caucasian families lounging under the sun. I went with my family to my friend’s complex, excited to relax, cool off, and enjoy the day like everyone else.

Not even 10 minutes in, I noticed the lifeguard watching us. Not just glancing watching. Every move we made, every step we took in the water, her eyes followed.

We watched her let a white father and son walk right in no wristbands. Other white families, some with more than four people, were clearly there without wristbands too. No one said a word to them.

Then she came over to us. She told my friend she wasn’t allowed to bring more than two guests. That all of us needed wristbands.

But this wasn’t our first time here. It was just a different lifeguard. My friend explained that she had gone to the office earlier, but no one was there. She also let her know we’d already been at the pool for hours and we weren’t leaving.

The lifeguard gave us a long, uncomfortable stare. Then she started texting while still staring. A few minutes later, she came back with yellow wristbands. Not the usual white ones. But we put them on. We tried to shake it off and enjoy the rest of our time.

Then people began to leave. Soon, it was just us and one white man left by the pool. As we were getting ready to leave, we saw a tall man walk in. We knew she had called someone on us.

The man spoke to her first, then walked straight over to us. “You can’t be here without a wristband,” he said.

We explained: “We’ve been here for hours. She gave us these. And we’ve seen multiple families white families here today without wristbands. She let them in.”

Even the one white man still by the pool stepped in. “They’re right,” he said. “They’re being mistreated.”

But it didn’t matter. Because it was never about the wristbands.

It was about us. Our skin. Our presence. Our joy in a space they had already decided we didn’t belong in.

That moment ruined the day for all of us. The way they handled it made my mother cry.

It reminded us that even in places meant for laughter and joy, people carry quiet forms of racism disguised as “policy” and “safety.”

But we see it. We feel it. And we won’t be...