Auraria Lofts — Local services in Denver

{Stars do not reflect current satisfaction of resident} [The Cardinal group and building manager has offered to attempt to address these issues. Some things are being addressed but the overall business scheme is still flawed] I do not believe this place is worth how much they are charging for the individual. Especially for the quality of service you receive on a regular basis. My corner apartment, whose window directly faces another building instead of any cool views, costs about $1,200 a month. I have been living here for 3ish years and in that time I have scene my rent slowly rise from just above 980 to where it is now. Despite this, nearly nothing has been done to actually repair or renovate the building. Maintenance usually consists of one or two Highly skilled individuals who get incredibly burned out very quickly as the weight of the entire building that is falling apart is placed on their shoulders. Meanwhile, the front desk staff is almost entirely made up of sales reps, people designed to acquire contracts and make commission off of you. Once you live here for long enough, you no longer make these people money and they begin to see you as a burden because all you come to them with is problems. I experienced the same exact conundrum when I worked at AT&T. The only solution I was able to come up with was leaning heavily into customer service. I understood that people were only walking into my store and talking to me because I was kind to them and was able to show through actions that I wanted to help, Even if it wasn't something I had the power to do. Did it waste some of my time yes, but when most of my time is spent on my phone gossiping with my coworkers, It kind of feels like doing my job. Many apartments in the area, particularly the Milehouse And a few others charge about the same amount for far more square footage than you get here. My usable space that I don't share is comparable to 300sqft here. If I had a car and friends I would probably move, because for the same price I'm paying now, I could get triple that square footage outside of the city. And as a talented individual who's not afraid of hard work, I'd be more than happy to build a home somewhere where the land is practically free. If you are a student, going to Aurora campus do not move here. Yes, you are about 5 minutes from campus if you have a bike, 10 to 15 depending on which building you're trying to get to and you're walking, but the expensiveness of the rent does not directly correspond to the niceness of this building. Other apartments also offer far more services than you get here, The occasional event is what often happens, but if you aren't there for the events which happen when the office hours are (these office hours are 9:00 A.m. To 6:00 p.m. which is not conducive to any student's lifestyle that I've met) then you simply cannot participate. Which means more food and treats for the office people which is probably why they keep doing it. Honestly, if there was a cafeteria that I could enter at any time and purchase stuff like the 7-Eleven downstairs and around the corner, I'd probably spend a lot more time there than I would in any of the commons spaces here. But I digress. In order to pay for this apartment I had to get a job that requires me to commute 1 hour to work. So I have to commute 1 hour to the thing I don't like doing to pay for the thing that is too expensive. A better decision would be to move closer to where you're going to be working and then commute to the campus anyway. Work is going to be the primary thing you're going to be doing anyway due to the cost of rent and school so you might as well enjoy and like the area. Simply put the convenience of Denver has been completely shut down by security, fear, And a digital obsession. The only way that's going to change is with good people moving back into the city and being appreciated for what they do. Right now this place is designed for California's and Texans. So hey you will feel right at home here but I assume if you're moving to Colorado that's not...

I used to live here. The only good part were my roommates. I got lucky there. The staff were very nice when I moved in. Then most of the staff got hired by a different company all at once and things went downhill fast. Elevators started shutting down - from the 3 they had only 1 consistently worked, 1 of them had been permanently shutdown because a tenant kicked the door out while moving, it got caught in one of the floors and destroyed the whole elevator, the third one would work 50 % of the time, the reliable one broke down one day and there was no way to get up for most of the day, keep in mind that student housing starts at the 17th floor, and the stair shaft is locked from the inside and there was no solution on how to get to our apartments. Laundry machines started getting disgusting, while they made it more expensive, plus, half of them were usually out of order. I decide I've had enough and not renew my lease.

When I was moving out, they charged me for damages, I took very good care of my area, and asked to see the damage. Brianna (leasing manager) showed me a picture of a cabinet under the sink that had water damage. I assured them that that was not my sink. The answer was that they charged even if it was not mine because I had to make sure my roommate was taking care of his own as well, I responded that it would be inappropriate to open my roommates cabinet - still my responsibility. The roommate that had his side of the sink attached to mine was a clean guy and I would be confused if he did that. I asked if they could come up with me so that we could check the damage, as a reply they said I was no longer allowed inside the unit; my saving grace was that one of my roommates was just walking in from their job and invited me up to the unit. NO DAMAGE. We both came down, and told them. They never went to see it by themselves or verified anything, the manager magically remembered that that picture was from a different unit on another floor and proceeded to take the charges out. Aubrey (regional manager) who was sitting besides Brianna, took out her calculator and started to add numbers for delayed exit and loss of my key, and told me that now I owed more. Keep in mind that I did exit late something like 5 days, but I had emailed the property manager, Mark, telling him my situation and he took out the pro rated charge for the days my stuff was there (in the living room, because I had vacated the room properly for them to inspect everything), and charged me only for delivering keys late. Because I had delivered my keys late they were not with all the others and the manager decided that it was enough to declare that I had lost them. We go back and forth about how this is not fair, as If I payed for the wrong charges things would have been cheaper. Brianna turns to me, a broke student in a foreign country, and tells me: "if you don't like it, hire a lawyer". That's when the conversation ended. I go up with my roommate, we are both in disbelief with this story. Then before paying I tell my aunt, who is my co-signer, the story. She goes back and forth with them via email, asking what happened, why did the charges change, asks to see details about all charges, Aubrey scrambles to answer everything, takes out the lost keys charge, tries to blame it all on me saying that I came in yelling and being extra, she then changes the charges FOUR more times. We decide that this was enough and that paying is more productive than arguing with people who have my worst interest at heart. Never heard from them again, and never want to. I believe that what they did to me is actually illegal in the state of colorado (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-509 - Section 38-12-509 - Prohibition on retaliation - section 1b), added fees and rates because I complained and was right as a foreigner. IT IS NOT WORTH LOSING YOUR SELF RESPECT TO LIVE HERE.

This place has good views if you get one of the...

Is this the best apartment building? No. Does it have some minor issues? Yes. However, we must acknowledge that nothing in life is perfect, and these small imperfections are a part of the game. Keeping that in mind, let's assess this building fairly.

The "Auraria Lofts" have recently undergone a change in ownership and are now called "Auraria Student Lofts." Previously owned by Nelson Partners, a company with questionable practices that should be reported to the Better Business Bureau for fraudulent activity, the building is now managed by 5280 Auraria LLC. So far, this new ownership seems to be well-run, which explains the removal of past reviews, including my own. As a former resident from 2019-2020 when I started college, I had left a 4-star review that, along with hundreds of others from the past many years, was deleted with the change in ownership a couple of months ago.

Currently, 2 out of 3 elevators are operational, which is an improvement from just a few weeks ago when only one was functioning. This is a welcome morale boost. The staff are friendly and helpful, making a genuine effort to assist the student residents who are striving to complete their education and become productive members of society. I, for instance, am a 10-year honorably discharged Air Force Aviator, finishing up my Mathematics degree and since this place is highly affordable it is a blessing in disguise.

The views from every floor and room are undeniably breathtaking, and the rooms themselves are of decent size. However, it’s highly evident the previous owners neglected the property, particularly the trash rooms, which resemble something out of a horror movie like Saw or Hostel. My strong recommendation to the maintenance team, building staff, and the new owners is to power wash these rooms immediately from floor to ceiling! This would greatly reduce the unpleasant odors that often linger in the hallways.

As a resident of the 25th floor, I can attest that the carpeting in the hallways is outdated and unsanitary, contributing to a musty odor. By contrast, the 24th floor has been upgraded with a sleek, laminate hardwood-style flooring, which not only reduces odors but also enhances the overall cleanliness, style, and maintenance of the hallway. It would be beneficial for the building to replace the carpeting on other floors with this laminate option.

I’ve included a few pictures of the stunning views, as well as one of my room so that prospective residents and parents can see the potential. My room is a large corner unit, but even the smaller rooms aren’t significantly different in size. The photo of my room is intentionally unfinished for security reasons but gives an example that isn’t one of those deceptive “model rooms”.

As for the gym, while the lighting could be improved, it’s still a good facility. The equipment is leaps and bounds better than what one might expect from a typical hotel gym and even rivals gyms on small military bases! It’s a decent place to work out with adequate lighting overall.

The pool area is more of a lounge pool rather than a traditional swimming pool, which I think works well. There's also a BBQ grill near the pool, which is a great feature for enjoying a summer day by the water with friends and classmates.

In summary, while there are some areas that need attention—most notably the trash rooms—the new management is doing a commendable job. They are open, responsive, and clearly intent on making residents' experiences as smooth and enjoyable...