Park Towne Place — Local services in Philadelphia

If you are looking into this complex to live, read below for an in depth, honest review of my time at Park Towne.

Upon arriving, my door battery was dead and I couldn't enter my unit and had to call the emergency maintenance to fix it. The closet door had a large hole where the handle should have been. My washing machine was completely broken. I waited 3 weeks for a new washing machine.

Overall living: Pros: I lived in the south tower which had the leasing office, gym, package room, pool, and Old Nelson market which was incredibly convenient. The pool is in my opinion one of the best in the city; with so many sun bathing chairs and tables. Old Nelson was great, being able to get basic ingredients or made-to-order food on site. I also had a parking spot in a garage which was necessary. I had to pay $300/month for this spot which is pricey but comparable. I had a great view of center city from my unit, even though I was only on the fifth floor. I loved the location. I ran on the Schuylkill river trail frequently, always felt safe, and Whole Foods is about a 5min walk.

Cons: You had to pay $75 annually just to use the package room and the system was very disorganized. (To compare, my current apartment has a similar and more streamline package room and I don’t pay any fee). I often would go to get a package because I got an alert, but the package wouldn’t be in a locker. One time, I went into the "large package" room to look for my package, and due to a glitch, I got locked in that room. I was literally locked inside a tiny room. Luckily I had my phone and it had service, and I was able to call the front desk and they were able to come get me out. I constantly had issues with my AC and my electric/utility bill that were never resolved despite spending a lot of time looking into this. My unit got a ton of natural light to where I only needed to turn on my heat maybe 5-7 times total. My electric bill was on average $110-150 per month each month, getting as high as $155. I am a conservative energy user, and considering the fact that I rarely used the heat or AC, I have no idea how I accrued such a high bill. I lived in a 1BR unit by myself. I am convinced there was something wrong with either my meter or the building in general. I currently live in a new construction building in Philly in a unit about 200 sq ft larger and now live with my partner, and our bill is average $70-80 per month, which actually makes sense. This was so frustrating.

Move-out: I came back after moving out to be present for the inspection which was optional. I caused no damage apart from standard wear and tear. I expected nearly all of my security deposit back, minus the utility bill for the last 2 months and the ridiculous $150 cleaning fee that they force you to pay even though I cleaned the apartment myself. I later found out that out of my $1000 security deposit, I got $32 back. I was furious, and called the number attached to the email. The woman on the phone from a third party told me that I can view the damage on my portal. I screenshot what was on my portal and attached it here. The images shown are so tiny, you can’t see what the unit looks like, let alone any damage, and there was no way to zoom in on the images. The email claimed that because of the “damage” they needed to repaint the entire apartment, which is a claim that is so out of line and false, I’d consider it fraudulent. Based on the stickiness of the walls when I moved in, they clearly repaint every surface between each tenant turn over. This is their way of not having to pay for that.

Overall, the cost of living here did not match my experience at all. For reference, my base rent for a 700 something sq ft 1B1B unit was around $2,300, however what I actually paid each month with parking plus electric and utilities was average $2,800-$2,900 each month. For that amount, I expected an infinitely better experience. I had spoken to a few other residents during and after my time there and they had very similar...

EDIT 08/22/2020: Back to 5 stars! I am so impressed by the leasing office and John Sweeney. They were really helpful and understanding when we had to unexpectedly terminated our lease. I feel the maintenance guys are super prompt and fantastic as usual and the concierge people are very friendly.

EDIT: I have consistently given 5 stars to Park Towne Place Premier but not anymore. I always used to wonder why the low ratings from some of the residents but I understand it now. I think the amenities here are world class and the concierge as well as the maintenance guys do a terrific job. But when it comes to the leasing office, all the positives about these apartments go down the drain. I am still giving them 3 stars hoping this will bring some change in the attitude of the leasing staff.

The negative feedback is specifically for the leasing office and their negligence to provide full details to a current resident prior to having them sign a new lease in the same apartment complex.

I recently moved from one apartment to another in the same building (South Tower) and without having me removed from my old apartment’s lease, I was made to sign the new lease. In my head, I thought because I am in the same community, my old lease would automatically break and a new would start at the new place and that I could not be on two leases at the same time. But after about 10 days of moving to my new apartment, my roommates were sent the addendum to remove me from the lease (which by the way only happened because luckily I asked the leasing office if I am still expected to pay the rent at my old apartment in addition to the new apartment).

They blamed me that I should've spoken to my roommates to have me removed but how would have I known about it? At the end of the day it was the leasing office’s responsibility to be on top of my move, right from giving me the full information about how the old lease will have to end and the new will start as well as making sure that they sent the addendum to my roommates BEFORE I signed the new lease. None of this happened and their oversight cost me a month's rent for an apartment I am not even staying at anymore. In fact the leasing office had the audacity to accept that it was in fact their job to send out an addendum before I signed the new lease but they forgot! That's all - ultimately I had to pay the rent and not them.

The leasing staff is extremely slow in responding to your questions. When they do respond, there is always some information missing so make sure you ask the same questions at least 3 times and 3 different people because you will find out something new each time. They don't respect your time and hard earned money at all.

This is my old 5-star review until I had the unpleasant interaction with the leasing staff:

I have been living in Park towne for 3+ years.

The location is great: about 5-10 mins from center city, 15-20 mins from the airport and university city. It is also a super safe neighborhood to walk in and out even at 3 am. The rent is slightly higher but still unbeatable for the amenities: free shuttle to center and university city, free gym, pool, market, dry cleaners and salon.

The apartments are in the middle of the city but also slightly separated from the main traffic which I love. Whole foods, Trader joe's, Target, Starbucks are a 10 min walk from here.

Maintenance is super prompt and helpful and whatever issues I have had, have been resolved pretty much...

I would never recommend this apartment complex to anyone. Although the apartments are aesthetically appealing and seemingly come with wonderful amenities, I have found that what is advertised does not match the true experience of living here. As you can see below, the cons of living here significantly outweigh the pros.

Pros: Location, near the river and quick access to major highways Availability of assigned parking spots (but at a significant cost) Grocery store located in the common building (super friendly staff) The pool (when it is actually open) and outdoor spaces Newly renovated apartments, nice kitchens

Cons: The apartments are unable to simultaneously have both A/C and heat running. They switched the HVAC unit to heat early in the fall. There was a stretch of about a week where the weather was 70 degrees. This left many resident's apartments, including my own, reaching temperatures over 85 degrees for an entire week. No explanation or apology was sent to residents. Those who reached out to management were simply told to "open our windows" and deal with it. The windows only open a few inches. I was unable to comfortably function or sleep in my own home. I cannot imagine working from home at this time. PTP canceled the commuter shuttle in the middle of a pandemic. This left many residents who are healthcare workers without a means to get to work. Management stated it is because there are not enough people using the shuttle for the cost of the shuttle. However, they have not offered any reimbursement on our rent. You can hear EVERYTHING through the walls and vents. I can hear chatter from multiple surrounding apartments through vents in my wall. I am not referring to muffled noises. I can make out entire conversations of multiple neighbors, including my neighbors upstairs who think it is appropriate to be having parties throughout the pandemic. I hear at least 3 different dogs barking throughout the day. It is difficult to sit in the apartment and do anything productive without having headphones in the entire time. Prior to many of these issues coming to light, I renewed my lease. Management attempted to significantly increase my monthly rent and parking (a $75 increase in monthly parking). This was during the height of the pandemic when 0 of their amenities they advertise were open. This was while they were simultaneously sending out emails attempting to show their "concern" for residents who were unable to pay their rent for the month. I have lost hot water multiple times for multiple days since moving here less than a year ago. Many people, including staff, do not wear masks around the buildings. Capacity limits are not enforced in common areas which means even though amenities are now open, those of us who want to safely use them cannot do so (I.e. fitness center). You are required to pay a $50 dollar fee each year for a locker service for packages. This package service became overwhelmed during the holidays to the point where all of the residents' packages were just put into a large room to sort through ourselves. No consolation or rent reimbursement has been offered throughout the last 10 months of amenities being intermittently closed. I know many individuals, including myself, moved to this complex for...