Berkshires on Elliott

Leased here for about a year and a half. Very very noisy all weekend with people in the courtyard/​pool not respecting reasonably noise levels. 2 different neighbors were so drunk they slept in the hallways. Paying the rent online was a nightmare, we were locked out of the system half the time. The fire alarms were broken twice in the middle of the night, so most of the building didn’t sleep that night due to the non stop fire alarm. We paid a cleaning service to clean our apartment thoroughly when we moved out but we’re still charged over $ 500 in cleaning and painting fees. Only good part was that even though the shower, water heater, outlets and closet doors were broken/​stopped working several times, the maintenance people are prompt and polite.

Hands down the worst place to live in Seattle. The residence is filled with partygoers who you can find sleeping in the halls, lobby and stairwells. Past employees can be found smoking and drunk on the rooftop and the overall management of the building is a bit confusing. The pool is rarely open and when it is, it’s filled with the neighborhood teens and not tenants. The party room is real trashy most of the outlets don’t work, none of the iPod docks work & it’s rarely clean. Please note that your rent will not reflect sewage and water and you will be charged to clean the apartment even if you clean it before you move out. While Sara the office manager is helpful, Sheryl is not and will spend so much time talking over you that problems discussed with her will never result in a resolution. Just note that when you move out they will take at least two weeks to do a walk through so I’d recommend not leaving the premises until one is done overall for the price you can do better. Unless you’re desperate I’d pass on this place.

I’ve lived here for the better part of a year. I have thoroughly enjoyed the location and the amenities. The location is secure and at night there is always security. The facility is cleaned often and its always nice to bring friends by. The front office staff is very kind and easy to work with. The Gym is excellent and the equipment is very well kept. The rooftop view is excellent and the pool is a blast.
The build quality of the rooms (sliding doors /​outlets /​etc…) are pretty cheap (–1 star) but that isn’t too big of a deal.
I’d recommend it if you are looking for something affordable but somewhat central to Seattle.

I’ve been living here close to 2 years. The best thing in this community is the staff. Hands down the best, most responsive in 10 years + renting in Seattle. Last night for example my door key broke so I got stuck outside — Sunday, 11pm! — I called maintenance and within the hour, Jeff, the dedicated service representative was there with me helping me solve the problem. It’s not the first time I get this super quick help, there’s been other instances where I quickly get a response. Anyway, community is perfectly located in Belltown, one block from the water, you can run along the waterfront into Sculpture Park. Market is 5 mins walking — as well as all of Belltown dining. Space Needle is a bit more than 7 minute walk. Safe. They have a security person at nights.
Community seems mostly young single, young couple tenants. Lots of tech people of course, Amazon, Microsoft — The gym is nice and bigger than what you normally get. It’s well lit and a fair number of people use it (I hate lonely/​empty gyms) but people seem to like this one. It’s never crowded though. I’m picky with workout spaces but I started working on in this one early this year after gaining 40lb last couple years, did Bodyrock and lost 40lb and all started in this gym. You can’t workout if the gym doesn’t inspire. There are both girls and guys working out so you feel in the ‘gym environment’. I think the thing that helps is that this gym only has «3 walls» — because the wall facing the hallway is all floor to ceiling glass so it feels completely open, something you don’t find in most buildings — gyms are usually tight and enclosed.
Comcast service here has been exceptional — you know how many people complain about it everywhere in Seattle? I think it’s failed once for me. I’m thinking because the building is on Elliott, an important avenue that turns into Alaskan Viaduct later, it’s probably got some of the good and stable cable work. As a techie, it’s important to have good internet. Not saying this is due to Berkshires but they probably got lucky with building location and Comcast network setup. There are a couple small convenience stores here so you can always buy something quick, or for walkers like me QFC and Safeway are a 10−15min walk.

They were freaking HORRIBLE!!! Trying to rent through them was the worst experience ever. Talk about unprofessional!!! Totally put us around in a circle with things we needed to provide, would not call back, always seemed to busy to help, no reply to my emails and for the most part liars!!! Im so glad we didnt get the place because it would’ve been HELL! The people in the office are effin idiots!

Poor management! After I moved out they were still charging me fees for 5 months. When I called to inform them they were wrongly charging me staff named Gia became rude and unhelpful. Later on she found out she was wrong but never apologized. Even while living there staff always got the bill wrong and was never
Helpful but they were always rude except for a few staff members like Darlene who always got her job done!

Most of the reviews are fairly accurate, but problems you’re going to have at any large community anywhere. People moving out always leave excess furniture, it’s an eye sore but doesn’t kill you. The pet area is nice, but it does get used by a lot of dogs and you can tell on a warm day.
In general the sound between apartments is almost non-​existent. The staff get a 5 star, but the problem is what they consider high end remodeling. I really do not like the redecorating job and now that it’s done my rent is going up over 200 dollars.
The new management has worked out the kinks for the most part and if you’re okay with the weird décor in the common areas, I’d suggest it. I’ve enjoyed my year hear and am only moving out due to financial reasons.
So in short, Staff 5 stars. Rest of the building, much less.

Great staff (5 stars), building/​Berkshires corporate (3 stars) bring the property down.
I lived here for a while and have friends who live or lived here. The buildings themselves had water intrusion problems (as have other condos downtown) and they were wrapped up in a shroud for a year while those got fixed. This is done now, so the other comments may no longer be applicable.
Some of the comments here are fair, while others are outdated and others simply are not true. I’m more than vocal about things, so my review here is honest and open.
The best thing about the place is the staff. The people who work in the office have been nice to deal with. They’ve been honest and open. There’s a certain amount of negotiation to be done with any large deal such as a year long lease, but they’ve been nothing but trustworthy to me. The comments about the maintenance staff do not currently stand in my opinion. They’re nice and responsive and do great work. I get a hello when I see them around the property.
The renovations have really helped the property. Their security model now seems to work whereas before it had holes. The buildings are pet friendly and they have a big dog run between them. The gym is very nice with good equipment. There’s a party room with a pool table that can be accessed by residents. They also have a nice courtyard area, the leasing office takes your packages and there’s a great rooftop deck.
Contrary to what some opinions might say, neither the elevator nor any parts of the building have vomit or broken bottles. It’s mostly professionals and busy students living here. I had 0 issues with loud noise or parties.
There is a pool which is a positive and a negative. Few people who actually live here get to use it since you have one or two people who invite everyone they know. There needs to be a limit on guests.
The real negative of the property is the noise factor. It borders Elliott and Western. The Western side in particular is REALLY noisy. The owners should have done a better job of noiseproofing when fixing the building. They didn’t. They had a one time opportunity to put in noise proof windows and double balcony doors and fix the issue with their property, but they didn’t. It’s sad, because they’re not going to spend any more money on it.
The other bad part, it’s a wood constructed building, but you pay high rise prices. It’s a bit much for what you get. They also nickle and dime you for everything from a pest fee to utility fee (shouldn’t heating the hallways be covered by my rent) to communal water fees to a $ 10 charge for paying rent online. It’s BS and the local staff really seem to have no say in it.
That said, there are nice units here, things are definitely better and the staff word hard and are nice, reasonable people who will do their best to make you happy.

Just to follow up with everyone else, this place is horrible to live. Poorly Managed, always noisy, rude staff, and always under construction. Save yourself the headache and dont waste time looking here. I have lived here for almost two years and I cannot wait to get out. I wish all of us residents could meet up and try to do somthing about this! Oh and if you work from home, dont live here, apparently in your lease it says you are not allowed to work from home…

I agree with all the other reviewers. Here’s one more thing:
My cat developed horrible asthma a few months after we moved into Berkshires on Elliott (formerly EBP.) Even after the construction was completed on our side of the building, she would still have frequent and severe attacks. Now that we are in a new apartment, she is symptom free! Could there be some sort of allergen/​toxin/​mold floating around over there?
Something to consider if either your or your pets are prone to respiratory distress.

G.G. is totally right, Read their review if you want a good picture of what it’s like to live here.
My husband and I stayed there from July 2010 (when it was still EBP) to July 2012. With EBP it wasn’t so bad. Maintenance was prompt, the leasing office staff was helpful and patient, and the grounds were nice and all amenities were available. You know, the reasons why people pay so much to live here.
Flash forward to July 2011, when we re-​sign our lease. Pet rent goes up, and so does our regular rent. And that summer, we had many utility bills in the $ 150 – 180 range! they are usually about $ 78. Nothing they could do about it, just some a-​hole using too much water they told us (I think it was a building leak that caused some of the water pockets in the walls). That is why they completely stripped the outside of the building, because some idiot thought stucco was a good building material for a wet environment, and because there were pipe leaks. Why else is there always a huge pool of standing water in the Battery side garage in P-​1?
The construction was HORRIBLE. We totally would have moved out if we knew how extensive it was going to be, which is why they didn’t tell anyone until it was too late. We had some worker saw a hole completely through our wall by the ceiling, and it caused a crack all the way around our windows to the floor, while I was gone on Christmas vacation! It took them 3 weeks to fix it. All our amenities are gone due to MORE construction that they just started after a 8 months of working on the outside. Oh, and as a reward for staying through all the mess and noise and people coming and going throughout the day inside and outside your home — you get a giant rent increase! If we had stayed, our rent would have jumped from $ 1425/​mo. to $ 1600! Ridiculous.
The new maintenance staff is terrible, they hardly ever show up. Mike was amazing I don’t know why they got rid of him. The girls in the office are very nice and are great at dealing with disgruntled residents, because the construction and poor management company problems are not really their fault. They were always up front and honest with me and even chatted with me a while, and always were nice to my dog. those girls made this a 2-​star review instead of 1.
However, as of late it’s been really hard to get a hold of anyone in the office. We moved out over a month ago and have not received our deposit back. In the lease it states that they are legally obligated to have it in our hands within 30 days. Well, the time has passed, and no deposit! After leaving numerous messages, no call-​back either. Not helping your case, BOE!
Don’t move here people. The convenience of walking and bussing everywhere is awesome, but look at the hundreds of other metropolitan apartment buildings in the vicinity. You’ll get sick of the cruise ships parking in front of your house, warning you not to go to the Market or anywhere downtown that day, for fear of being surrounded by idiot tourists. Go to Queen Anne or Fremont instead.

I wanted to start this new Unilocal listing just in case someone who is looking at this building for the first time isn’t aware that this property up until recently was know as Elliott Bay Plaza or «EBP.» You can read countless other negative reviews by searching Elliott Bay Plaza here on Unilocal,and I encourage you to do so prior to renting an apartment at Berkshire…
I’ve been a renter for 25 years and this is without question the most disappointing experience I’ve ever had with a landlord. I wouldn’t normally write such a long or scathing review of a business, but since this may be read by potential renters who will be signing a year or longer lease I think a detailed disclosure of my year living at this property is warranted.
Here goes:
The sales pitch last summer went great. My girlfriend and I were really excited about the location and the amenities (hot tub, pool, sauna, gyms, community center, rooftop, etc.). The leasing agents were friendly and helpful, and to this day I’ve never had an issue with any of them, they seem to be doing their best working for a horrific parent company headquartered back east. It must really suck coming to work everyday knowing you are making empty promises and signing someone up to live in a sub par environment. Shame.
Not long after moving in announcements started circulating that a major renovation was scheduled to begin and that it would take the better part of a YEAR! We were never told this and we would NOT have rented the apartment if we had been. And when I say major renovation I mean stripping the building down to its bones, covering it in a mesh «cocoon» all winter, scaffolding everywhere, and the loss of access to amenity after amenity. The package and «lifestyle» we signed on for was unavailable and we found ourselves instead living on a construction site.
Picture waking up to half a dozen construction workers staring through your 3^rd floor windows at you as they banged and hacked and drilled away ALL DAY. And that went on for many months. Horrible, messy, and dirty. The air quality was/​is severely compromised. We bought a $ 400 indoor air cleaning machine and have run it on high ²⁴⁄₇ for months now trying to combat the air that is always filled with something: mold, particulate, dust, chemicals, paint, etc.
In addition to the undisclosed construction, the level of service in general has declined steeply. There are bodily fluids and broken bottles left uncleaned in the stairwells and hallways. There is apparently no cleaning being done in the common areas. The building and parking garages REEK of rotting trash. The brand new paint and flooring surfaces are very light in color which would be fine if they cleaned but instead it all just looks disgusting. I’ve had to repeatedly ask the management to remove trash and debris from the common area just outside my apartments front door.
Our screens were torn by the construction workers when they ripped out our windows and haven’t been replaced. Our drains back up almost weekly in both the shower and the bathroom sink. The scaffolding has finally been removed on our half of the building – but ZERO cleanup of the exterior was done and our windows and balcony are filthy.
HERE COMES THE BEST PART… we just got a notice from the property that we have one month to decide if we are staying or not (our lease is up in 2 months). If we immediately agree to sign another year lease (can you imagine?) they will «only» raise our rent $ 200 per month (roughly a 20%) increase. But, if we want to just go month to month (which is typical after being a good tenant for the first year’s lease, always paying on time, etc.) then our rent will go up $ 700 PER MONTH! That’s a 60% plus increase! BTW, during the construction I asked two different leasing agents if they were going to raise our rents – both assured me that wouldn’t happen and that they would «make things right» by rewarding the people who had stuck out this whole mess with reasonable increases if any, and not to worry, there would be no surprises. Now I’m curious what they think a «surprising» increase would be. Double? Triple the rent?
And let me make one more thing clear… it’s not like the building is renovated and beautiful now. It’s not even close to finished. It’s gross. Why would anyone who’d been through this sign ANY kind of lease until trust had been reestablished? Why chase away tenants?
If you are looking at this property, do not believe anything you are told by the well meaning leasing staff. They simply cannot and will not deliver. And as I said at the beginning of this review, please take the time to read the reviews under Elliott Bay Plaza so that you can see I’m not just some bitter weirdo making stuff up because I have nothing else to do. I really wanted this to work, and even up until that notice they delivered, would have been open to trying, but instead we get to start all over and move again.