Pacific Tower Apartments — Local services in Portland

The people who live here in the building are the reason I chose to move in. The area is shit, and the rent is too high for what the area should cost, but it's the cheapest around. I have a 1 BR for $1039/mo. Rent has gone up 3x in 5 years.

I have to say living here (in the building itself) is fairly quiet (unless you have a particularly noisy wall or ceiling-sharing neighbor or the occasional homeless person screaming nonsense), and majority of the residents are pretty friendly. The time it's noisiest is during the weekend (Fri and Sat) due to nightlife and drunk people yelling.

One of my favorite parts of the building, besides the neighbors, is the rooftop terrace. Sixteen floors up is an unblocked southern and eastern view of the city. It's absolutely gorgeous. There's even raised garden plots to grow your own veggies or flowers, which you can "win" through a building-wide lottery system. The one problem I see with the common patio and kitchen space they provide are amenities to go along with them, such as tables and chairs and more updated furnishings. It's bare minimum, but you find a way to enjoy it anyhow.

There's a cafe connected to the lobby with yummy breakfast and sandwiches and kind employees. Makes getting to work if you're running late and hungry a bit easier.

We constantly have homeless people trying to get in or encampments very close by. I personally have never felt unsafe, but I totally understand most people probably would. However, we do need a key fob to get into the building and up the elevators, which helps deter people from sneaking in, but it still happens. The callbox allows you to buzz someone in, but thy cant get up the elevator. You must get your guests and food deliveries in the lobby. They employ Eschelon Security. You can call them to a crisis, but there is no one actively watching the building. In this neighborhood, there should be. Years ago, someone was stabbed to death in our vestibule.

All in all, it's a central downtown location to live in and pay somewhat reasonable rent if you don't mind the area.

The management however is a different story entirely. BARE MINIMUM all the way. They do absolutely anything to absolve themselves of any and all responsibilities towards their tenants.

The garage door broke and stayed broken and open for over a month, in which time, my bike, and many other bikes, were stolen. No notice it was broken or when it would be fixed, but because the lease says things left in the garage are at your own risk, they refused to take any blame or offer any real help. OH--and in the lease it also says tenants must state when something breaks, so it can be fixed. Why doesn't it go the other way round?? I would have removed my bike had I been notified the garage door would be left open for so long.

Management likes to play favorites and enforce some rules and not others for certain people. They also like to silence "troublemakers" who call them out on their hypocritical inconsistencies.

Property manager turnover has been an issue just in the last 5 years Ive been here, so that should tell you something. They're as bad as a shitty roommate, but worse because they have more of a responsibility to helping the low income community they're SUPPOSED to serve. Nothing but unhelpful...

Moved in there in 2013. The building & management were great! Pluses were: Comfortable, soundproof units with great amenities. Dishwasher, heater, high ceilings with fans, windows that open fully, Roof top terrace is amazing! The location is in the heart of downtown, perfectly centralized to all public transit, & walking distance to so many businesses. Laundry room has it’s issue’s, but it’s nice to be able to do multiple loads all at once, instead of having to do individual loads multiple times a week. And it’s great having the rooftop laundry room. Rob’s bistro connected to the building is amazing! And Rob is the coolest guy you’d ever meet. I don’t know what management is like now? but when I was there, the on-site management was terrific! Diverse group of residents, and almost everyone I met there were polite & friendly. Controlled access & onsite parking. But I don’t drive, so I don’t know how expensive the parking spaces are?

The problems are outside the building, and are pretty much a “city-wide” plague. The neighborhood (like the city) got a little worse each year. The tents get bigger & are always multiplying. Somebody is always outside screaming at themselves. Crime got worse, but in the 7 years I was there, I heard only a couple of gunshots. Old Town isn’t a war zone or crime-ridden ghetto. So if you keep to yourself & have basic common sense, you’ll be able to avoid the sketchy spots. All things considered, you definitely get your money’s worth with the building. And it’ll be that much better, if the city ever cleans up...

Yeah I hate this place. Literally rent from anyone else if you can. I only ended up here because I had nowhere else to go after being in a DV shelter.

Management does not return calls, ever and even though it says they're open until 5 you can guarantee everyone is gone by 3 or 4.

Maintenance when I first moved in was super disrespectful with my place and made a mess as well as trapped my cat's access to litter box. This is where our negative relationship began. I had to arrange it to where I need to be home when he comes by but he only works 4am to 3pm so I have to call out or go home on my lunch for anything.

You can only use a portable AC and you have to install it yourself. If you're higher up you are out of luck because these units hold in heat (only in summer not winter lol) and the heat rises. I'm currently not even able to live in my unit because they have to order a special screen for the window so I can't even put my AC in. I had to leave my apartment due to the heat. I'm looking into moving asap.

Avoid this property and landlord at all costs unless you want to pay so much more in stress and added costs due to incompetence and apathy. I can't even get access to my step mom's building as a caregiver. They won't talk to me or anyone not on the lease. I gave up and she just let's me in. Easier to put more pain on her than to get them to cooperate on a bare minimum level.

Update: finally got my screen in... took 2 weeks and I had to stay at my mom's during the heat wave. I should've just gone to home depot and...