Met Tower — Local services in Seattle

UPDATE for August 15, 2017: I literally am listening to loud jackhammering right now. It's 4pm. Don't live here.

AS OF MARCH 31, 2017, WARNING: DO NOT LIVE HERE! I have been in this building since summer 2015, and at first, I loved it. It felt so homey. Loved the amenities, the staff, the apartments, the location, etc. I would have given this building 5 stars during my first year (see other reviews, but be wary of the time they were written).

At some point in 2016, Greystar bought this building and took ownership. If you didn't know, they have an F rating on the BBB.

First of all, renovations began in February and they are SO NOISY. There are no concessions or rent credits, which I wasn't even expecting to begin with, nor would I have asked for. The problem is that the construction has begun multiple times at 7AM in the morning. It ruins our sleep. I tried to use my heavy-duty wax earplugs to block it out, but it was no use. I've woken up to their jackhammering multiple times with headaches. This happens all day, throughout the day. I cannot wait for it to end.

Second, they've decided to replace our package room (which I loved, because the 24/7 concierge would handle our packages and store them without us having to worry -- like if we were on vacation, if we received an unexpected package, etc). Now, they're using Luxer One. Luxer One is a service that tries to mimic Amazon Lockers, but with a very stringent time limit on picking up packages. After 2 days, you get charged a fee of $1 per day for them having to store it. After 7 days, they return the package to the sender. None of this was in our lease. Also, the package lockers CAUGHT ON FIRE TODAY (3/31/2017). I repeat, the LUXER ONE LOCKERS CAUGHT ON FIRE IN THE MAILROOM ON THE 27TH FLOOR (relocated because of the renovations). The USPS guy, who was trying to deliver mail, even scolded our concierge/security/management saying 'You knew these were a smoke hazard, but you installed them anyway'. Ironically, I received an email today notifying me that I was signed up for this, but I am opting out (if possible) for obvious reasons.

And that leads my to my third complaint, the fire alarms don't work. I'm working from home today, and my boyfriend (who I live with) came home early. He texted me to tell me there was a fire in the mailroom, and that the firefighters were asking 'Why aren't the alarms turned on?' and then flipped a switch to turn them on. Even after that happened, I still couldn't hear them from our XXth floor apartment. What the hell?! This has happened multiple times now in the past few months. We had no idea there was a fire, or that the alarms had been triggered, until we'd go downstairs to the lobby for whatever reason and realize that the fire trucks were outside and that we weren't allowed to go upstairs. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Fourth, when I was renewing my lease with Greystar, I noticed they snuck in random fees ($9 for "Metropolitan Improvement", and $5 "Common Area Electricity"). Granted, these fees are super small, but are you kidding me? Common area electricity? What, are you planning to turn the hallway lights off if we don't pay? Too expensive for you, Greystar? It's just a matter of principle. Ugh. We decided to sign anyway, given that we couldn't renew our lease until it had been completely fixed (it was fixed 5 or so days before it ended). We would have had to pay a $500 "early move out" fee for not notifying them 20 days before the lease ended. We may not have resigned had we been given ample time to read the new lease & decide.

There are some staff members who are truly awesome and deserve an extra star (shoutout to Phil, Kelly, and Carlita at the leasing office, and Sandy downstairs), but Grey Star and upper level management clearly DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE RESIDENTS OR OUR WELL-BEING, SAFETY, OR OUR LEGAL RIGHT TO QUIET ENJOYMENT. Clearly, all they care about is our money.

Please do not live here, but if you aren't convinced, just wait until AFTER the renovations are done. Maybe then they'll have their...

Don’t wait to learn this until after you move out.

My initial review was kind, but things took a sharp turn fast. Here’s the rub:

6 months prior to moving out, we received a certified letter from Avenue5 stating that our renewal cost would rise. A minor amount, but it got to me. About 3 months prior to our lease’s end, I spoke to the assistant manager (didn’t know he wasn’t the manager), and he said they aren’t willing to negotiate. I follow the market and knew the cost would be less than what we were paying, even. He argued, saying things were on the upswing and we were basically getting a deal. Skeptical, I still dropped it and started looking at other options.

About 2 months before our lease was up, we found a building that suits our family much better. Met Tower still wouldn’t budge on simply not increasing our rent when an identical unit on a higher floor was going for $800 less than what our renewal would cost monthly. So, we signed a lease with our current place and sent the official letter stating that we would not be renewing with Met Tower. Mind you, Met Tower is and was (2023-2024) remodeling the 8th floor amenities and terrace. No tenant had access to any of the spaces we all were paying for. I can’t tell you how many people complained about the smells and the sounds, “health issues” spawning from mold in apartments and the construction that weren’t being addressed by Met Tower. But that’s all hearsay from other tenants, although it paints a picture of how little they care about tenants in any way, shape, or form. Then, there's the absolute disorganized mess that is management…. We moved a month early. I shouldn’t have even stated what day we’d be moved out on (I was trying to be courteous) to Met Tower, because that seemed to throw them for a loop. They pestered us about turning in our keys... weeks earlier than our lease-end date. We paid the (initial) “final bill” with the prorated half-month of our last month. Well, that wasn’t the last…. One of our kids' top bunk tent left some black transfer marks on the ceiling. We couldn't see these marks until the movers were gone, and the furniture we'd use to climb up and Magic Eraser them on were too. Then, we just forgot about it with the moving. Because of this and “fingerprints on the walls” (I can’t make this stuff up), Met Tower is trying to charge us $2,300 ($1,800 + keeping our security deposit) to repaint the unit. Mind you, we lived in Met Tower for 4 years total, in 3 different units: 2 years in the last unit, and shifted units twice because it was less expensive to shift (with “6 to 8 weeks free” for new tenants, but jack-diggity for existing tenants) than to renew a lease that wasn’t being increased, even (during the pandemic). We take care of every space we’ve ever lived in as if we own the space and want the highest resale value for it. On both units in Met Tower prior, we received our security deposits back in full. What’s the difference now? Some transfer we forgot to tackle in the whirlwind of finding a new home and moving with a family? Some “fingerprints,” maybe in the dust from holes we spackled and thoughtfully sanded smooth on eggshell paint? There’s so much more, but I think this says more than enough.

If you want to get jerked around and “nickeled and dimed” by an apartment building, rent from Avenue5/Met Tower. Congratulations, Met Tower and Avenue5, we absolutely won’t be back now, and I hope anyone who values their time, health, money, and energy steers clear of your malarkey. (Leaving the photos up as they attracted over 5,000 eyeballs prior to me writing this negative review. Hopefully it helps 5,000+ more people avoid this place now.) Oh, and our old unit rented for $250 less (with 6 weeks free) than what they were going to raise our rent to. I don’t understand you, Avenue5. Not one bit. Or, is the losses of us moving really what you’re trying to get us to pay for..? It’s just about the exact amount they lost on us not...

There are several reasons why my husband and I decided to leave Metropolitan tower: the foremost reason relating to interactions with management, with security a very close second. Despite repeated attempts to engage management in these issues, no action was taken and, ultimately, our concerns as tenants were ignored. Below I’ve included a list of concerns I discussed with management, as well as photographic evidence to corroborate. I hope management can solve some of these concerns, as it has been an overall disappointing experience to live here. Shortly after extending our lease, construction and renovations began on the building. At no point did administration inform the tenants of the impending construction (although they still raised rent by ~20%), nor was there an open forum for residents to discuss their concerns openly with management. Such actions created vast distrust in an already shaky environment. Since we have moved into Metropolitan tower, there have been security concerns. For much of our time here, the door to the elevator lobby never properly closed (see Exhibit A). This was an ongoing issue for months and was only recently resolved. However, this was not the largest security issue. The door from the lobby was propped open to anyone that enters the lobby (see Exhibits B, C, D) during construction. This would have been less of an issue if there had been 24/7 security or concierge engaging those entering the building; however, that was also rare (see Exhibit E). When we selected Metropolitan tower, it was in part due to the amenities available. After living here for a year in a half, it is apparent these amenities are not kept up with or managed well. As you can see in Exhibit F, the 8th floor outside space turned into a mud pit over the rainy and became an overall unappealing space. However, the main amenity issue is the dog run. As evident in Exhibit G (1 & 2), when it is dark there is no lighting in this section of the building, leading to many dog-owners not picking up after their pets. According to our apartment-networking site, this has been an issue since before we moved in. Packages is the most recent of the concerns, as it has only been an issue since the construction/new management began. We had several occurrences of not getting notifications of packages, losing packages, or receiving damaged/spoiled packages. Additionally, when they installed the new package system – it caught on fire. Typically, we had a meal service delivered. This box is typically delivered in the lockers with a notification email sent. However, several times we got no notification, and after so many instances with packages we went in to the system to track if it had been delivered. It had been delivered in the morning. There was no notification. Once again, it spoiled like some previous deliveries. We asked why there wasn’t a notification concerning the package and the response provided was “there is no room in the lockers.” The management team spent all this money updating the package system, and there is not enough room to accommodate the tenants of the building. This is not the first-time this has occurred, and it is unacceptable. Not everything about Metropolitan tower was negative; in fact most of our early experiences were pretty good. However, overall it is clear to me that current management (Greystar) does not act on resident feedback. I will not put my money where I do not have a voice. I would not recommend anyone to live here longer than a hotel stay. That said, if you are living here – also expect many temporary vacationers and those in temporary housing situations as the building is used for those purposes as well. I hope this feedback will create change, as I truly hope nobody else will have to go through...