Hawthorne @ Ladd's — Local services in Portland

I signed a lease remotely, without seeing the apartment in person. Here are the things I wish I had known then:

The apartments are reached via a pretty gross carpeted interior hallway, with poor signage and lots of storage and apartment doors. Even after the carpets were cleaned major stains remained... a shabby introduction to the building.

Valet trash is sold as a benefit, but what it amounts to is a series of garbage cans out in the common hallways, every weekday night. You have to dodge cans in the hall on your way in and out, and smell everyone's garbage.

Units have no AC. I found this to be extremely uncomfortable in the summer months. I bought one large standing window AC unit for the main areas but the bedrooms were basically unlivable in June, July and August. Cheap construction!

The LEED status is real, but the building seems to have lost interest in sustainability measures: styrofoam cups in the lobby, seasonal scents pumped into common areas, toxic carpet cleaners, etc. Everyone seems to use window AC units.

The north side is loud, bounding Hawthorne St.

Cheap Cadet heaters in each room are tough to adjust and limit furniture placement. Oh, and that crappy product recently had a huge safety recall.

Some apartments have no overhead lights in bedrooms and living areas. Little fans instead. Cheap!

The standard refrigerator, freezer and ovens are tiny, apartment-size, so be prepared for that.

The finishes just felt really cheap to me. I liked the marmoleum in the bathrooms, but the faux wood vinyl flooring throughout the unit was less nice, and the granite countertops felt downright old school. All of the counters (bathrooms and kitchens) have granite tile, so there are grout seams that are hard to clean. The walls and ceiling have orange peel texture. The whole place feels really dated, even for a building built in 2009, and sort of shabby.

In the bathrooms the fan/light combo is on a motion sensor, so it goes on even when you don't need it, and regardless of whether you want it on. I tried to get that feature turned off and was told it wasn't possible. I found it really disruptive in the middle of the night, and wish there was at least an override switch.

There are huge gaps under the front unit doors leading to the hallways, so you can hear the conversations of everyone passing by.

Security has been a major issue. I had four different Amazon parcels stolen... and these were delivered inside the keyed lobby. There is a package room, which contract USPS and weekend carriers can't access, so that doesn't help. A homeless man spent several weeks living in the garage (people can walk in when cars enter and exit) and last year both a car and a bike were stolen.

Parking is easy to find on the streets in the area, but somewhat laborious in the garage rack (you have to get out of your car to punch in the code, then get back in, wait for the rack to align and the gate to open, then negotiate getting yourself and gear in or out of the car with very little clearance). I started with a monthly garage space but found it easier to park on the street instead.

Big dogs are totally allowed, and there don't seem to be breed restrictions either. There was a Great Dane living in the building, for instance.

Most renters get at least 2 months free rent when they sign a lease, some even more. Ask for it!

There is only one elevator. This one went offline several times, and it was definitely an issue for people with wheelchairs/strollers.

First floor studios face the sidewalk, and if windows are left open overnight anyone could literally just hop through the window into the apartment.

Second floor units on the East side (even numbers) share an outdoor terrace. This is...

The 20 on Hawthorne was the first apartment complex I looked at before moving to Portland in early 2015. I ended up chasing a cheaper option back then but as fate would have it, I ended up living there for more than two years and just moved away. There's some critical reviews but you should take them with a grain of salt (its really hard to please people in PDX despite the embarrassment of natural riches, top shelf restaurants, music and arts etc.).

The first thing I have to say is that the building is incredibly well managed. The current manager, is there during business hours Tues-Saturday and she is incredibly professional, caring and goes above and beyond to make it a comfortable community to live in. I've lived in 9 apartments going back to college, most of them higher end and smaller places like the 20 and she was hands down the best I've seen. Speaks well of the management company that she has been there for an extended amount of time.

Someone mentioned that the carpets in the halways aren't perfect, but the building undergoes a very through cleaning in all common areas every Monday and the crew spends all day there. The units themselves are very well maintained and the euro kitchen appliances and set-up is great if you can handle the smaller refrigerator and freezer. The trash situation was handled and people on floor 3 save for one or two culprits did not leave there trash out.

It's convenient having the storage units on your floor and it only costs $40 a month for a decent sized one. Garage parking is $95 which is more than reasonable for downtown in a large metro. True that there is some homeless on the streets which isn't comfortable for everyone, but if you've lived in and been around downtown Portland it's certainly not the worst area so you should be comfortable with that If you don't want that move to the other side of the river on the SW waterfront or a big high rise in the Pearl district. Or don't live in the city.

Definitely put it on your list if you want to live in SE. The location is nearly unbeatable right on the edge of ladds addition for walks to rose gardens and bike roads so you don't feel too overwhelmed by the city, everything on Hawthorne and Clinton/Division at...

I've lived here for 3 years (2021-2024) and at first with the old owners/management it was a good place to live with minor cons. It was super annoying that they forced you to pay for $18/ month trash services to just leave in the hallway (and still do). You can't opt out and half the days they forget to pick up trash. But ever since the owners/WonderDog Management took over, it has been awful. Emails, calls, and texts are never answered. We went through 5 front desk managers in 1 year, and each one was extremely incompetent. Maintenance Requests don't get addressed unless you find someone and talk to them in person on the rare occasion they are in person. There was a miscommunication with my window AC unit that they allowed 2 summers ago, but then last summer that said it violated the lease. The car garage breaks about every other month. Last year there were also awful problems with vandalism. This place is just not...