Alden Park

Current Resident 252424

Resident • 2005 - 2010

The Worst Rental Experience Ever!

Don't be deceived by appearances. Alden Park's exteriors as well as its buildings architecture look nice at first glance but if you decide to move in to one of their available units, you may soon find yourself regretting it. The office staff is not very helpful and the new property manager is very difficult to get in touch with, rude and borderline unethical. Their unorganized office management methods resulted in many bookkeeping mistakes to my account and numerous annoying situations in which I had to waste my time dealing with them. Also, before you decide to move in to Alden Park, don t forget to ask management about their annual rent increase policy. My rent was increased 5% every year I lived at Alden. I decided to accept the increase every year because for me, it would ve been more expensive (and difficult) to move out. Looking back, however, it would ve been well worth it. And yes, there is the bugs problem. Hundreds of them (no exaggeration) inside your apartment every time the weather warms up. And the mice. And the noise (mainly created by Philadelphia University students living at Alden, but not exclusively). And the safety issues (ask management about the lady who recently (during the winter of 09- 10) mysteriously died at the fitness center . And the poor condition of the old buildings. And the poor maintenance. And well, I hope you get my point. I have lived in many apartment complexes, all over the country, before and my experience living at Alden Park stands out as the one living situation that I regret the most. It has really left a bad taste in my mouth for paying rent

jphlpa

Resident • 2010

Really Nice

I moved into Alden Park in December, and so far, it is a really nice place! The buildings are a magnificent example of art-deco architecture, and that theme carries on right into the apartments. The buildings are clean and well-maintained. Granted the place is 85 years old, but the apartment interiors were gutted out in 1995 and a lot of the elegant touches remain: Fireplaces in each apartment, fine architectural lines of the art-deco period throught. The hallways have period furnishings and are nice and wide. All of the modern conveniences are there: Totally climate controlled by electric heat pumps, washer and dryer in the unit, microwave oven, new appliances. The staff has been wonderful and helpful in every respect. There is total security, lots of space, a magnificent indoor pool and spa, lots of parking and it is convenient to everything! Don't believe the cry-babies on ths forum, feel free to contact me for the real story. It's a nice place!

Current Resident 723492

Resident • 2007 - 2009

I would LOVE to know what kind of rental incentive this "Andy" is giving potential renters for writing a positive review about Alden Park...

Current Resident 377125

Resident • 2005 - 2009

Pros and Cons

I lived at Alden Park for 4 years, while I was at grad school and found it to be a decent place to live in the East Falls area. Pros: Gated entry and 24-hour doorman Staff is friendly and helpful Maintenance staff always fix problems the day of request Beautiful and peaceful grounds Beautiful swimming pool Outdoor parking is free Larger 3-bedroom units are very spacious and have their own washer/driers Nice views from apartments The place is run like a business, but the staff is friendly, and I got my full security deposit back when I vacated. Cons: Fixtures, appliances, sinks, plumbing are old Window panes are thin and let the cold in. You can have maintenance add weatherstrip, but you'll probably still need to seal the windows with clear plastic Mice are a problem in some units. Pests are a problem at Park Heights across the street as well. Covered parking garage is old, and parking spaces are small A/C units are noisy and they do not have a thermostat that automatically turns the fan on/off There is always some construction going on somewhere Tenents: There are a lot of students from Philadelphia University, Drexel University College of Medicine, and Temple University School of Medicine. Also a lot of families. The buildings seem pretty quiet. I did not have any problems with noise. Alden Park is one of the better places to live in East Falls because of the security and staff. Rent is not inexpensive. You get what you pay for. I think the major con is that the buildings are nice but somewhat old. I would also recommend looking at Hathaway House Apartments, which is nearby at Wissahickon Ave and Chelten Ave.

Current Resident 242831

Resident • 2007 - 2009

Spend your hard earned money elsewhere

I can t wait to move out of Alden Park, I m literally counting the days! From the day my husband and I moved in, we have been disappointed. Management is very hard to get a hold of and last year when I tried to give the required notice (3 months) to NOT renew my lease, my phone calls were never returned until I was told that I was stuck in another full year lease because it wasn t exactly 3 full months. Maybe if they would have returned my call in a timely fashion it would have been. Anyways, on to why we can t wait to move, the location is horrible for what you are paying. The price for a one bedroom is pretty high considering it doesn t include any utilities especially since we don t even run our AC and skimp on the heat because the bills are so outrageous. You would think since we don t run our AC at all and only occasionally our heat that our bills wouldn t be too bad but they are absurd. When we moved In, our carpet was stained and dirty, probably just needs to be replaced but I don t see that happening. Our kitchen cupboards, window sills, and counters had an accumulation of dust on them about 1 inch. The broiler of the oven had caked on food/dust/grime covering it and smelled horrible. The stove had a layer of grease and grime on the top and under the top looked as though it hadn t been cleaned in about a decade, and the fridge had mold. When I complained to management, I was told that the apartment had already been cleaned and carpets shampooed so there wasn t anything they could do. The dryer isn t properly vented and lint flies thru the air and a layer of lint accumulates on the walls every time the dryer is used. The kitchen sink will randomly fill with dirty water, like you go to bed with a clean sink and when you wake up the sink is full of murky water and won t go down for several hours, sometimes days. The bath tub fills with water also and won t drain, have called maintenance about 5 times for this in the past year and was told it was because the water pressure is too high (this is not the case), so I ve just learned to live with a never draining tub. It definitely doesn t help with the mold growth in the bathroom. The bathroom has no window or fan, it does not ventilate at all so we have to shower with the door open and there is mold covering the ceiling that we can not get rid of. The wood above our bay windows is rotted and every time it rains water pours down our windows and all over our window sill causing even more water damage. We have complained about this a few times but to no avail. Also I concur with the frustration from the frequent fire alarms, a few weeks ago it was 3 times in one night. I don t recommend moving in here. You can spend the same amount of money on rent for a place in roxborough (like Summit Park) and have better amenities and even some utilities included. The gym at Alden Park is a joke, the pool however is very pretty. They advertise tennis courts, well if you ve seen them you d laugh.

Current Resident 63618

Resident • 2008 - 2009

My computer was Stolen at Alden Park

Save your money and avoid Alden Park apartments. Last christmas i went to Europe for two weeks and when i came back my computer was stolen. I learned that a cleaning employee named Jerry had entered my apartment during the time i wasn't there. I had not signed any authorization for any person to enter my unit. The management office ignored to investigate about this and told me to relax because other tenants have lost more important stuff than a computer. I tried more than 5 times to speak with the property manager but was always told she is busy all the time. Two months later i contacted the owners of Alden Park , which are Lee National corporation and Eastview Realty in NY city and they promissed to reimburse me for my computer with a condition that i would not share this experience with anyone else. As of today i still have not been reimbursed for my computer. Management stuff is very unproffesional and will lie to you any way they can. I found Alden Park to be a very unsafe place. Also is noisy, and the main thing i didn't like is that there isn't any windows or air ventilation system installed in bathroom. Also maintnance people will walk inside your apartments with their boots on not considering about making the carpet dirty or anything like that.

hoilidayy

Resident • 2007 - 2008

THE WORST PLACE EVER

My experience at Alden Park has been terrible. Starting from loud noises, unprofessional maintenance stuff, and the location is terrible. Try to walk outside around 6 pm , only 50 yard away to the nearest grocery shop and you will be lucky to return home alive or not being robbed. The place is located in west Philly, an area with highest crime rates. No wonder most of the stores close by 6 or 7 pm even on weekdays. Way to expensive for the size of their rooms. there was no window in bathroom and no ventilation system. So you have to deal with the smell. Gross but true... it looks good from the pictures but once you leave there you wished different

Current Resident 844221

Resident • 2005 - 2008

I can't wait to move

I've lived in Alden Park apartments for three years. At first, everything was ok, but it has gotten significantly worse over the past two years. The fire alarms go off frequently and not because of college students because I've talked to management about it. It can be a large number of reasons like heat (yeah that's what they told me). The air conditioning in my apartment hasn't worked in the past three months of summer (nor any other summer month), yet my electric bill is out of control when I'm not even using the apartment half of the week because I travel. I have put in several work orders to fix my AC, leaking sink, and falling tile in the tub, but it's been two months and still no assistance. They told me to shut my blinds to make my apartment cooler because they can't fix the AC! Also, the security is horrible. Security personnel often use the main lines for personal calls (so when you call down to let a guest in or if you needed security, the line is busy) or they let guests in without calling for permission because they are too lazy to write a slip out. I think there's a total of three men in security who actually do their job. To continue with the reasons not to live here, the path to the door slopes down and in the winter, they don't salt it until you fall and complain about it (happened twice this past winter). I can't wait to leave in two weeks.

Current Resident 576844

Resident • 2007 - 2008

Despite what they tell you, the construction is a little more than "exterior." And yes, it's an 80 year old building, so not everything will work 100% of the time. But I have had to call maintenance on at least 5 occasions over the last year, and they always have been very prompt, usually on the same or next day. Alden Park is not perfect, but I get what I pay for. At least there is a lot of parking for being in the city.

Current Resident 891042

Resident • 2008

Most of the time I loved living there....

I lived in Alden Park for 4 years while my husband went to medical school. In the beginning it was great! Beautiful apartment, quick maintenece, friendly front desk staff, and I loved the pool and sun deck. My last year however they began renting out mass apartments to Philadelphia University and it became like a dorm (the Manor building). Drunk college kids....it got dirtier, fire alarms pulled in the middle of the night, etc... There are three buildings, I would definately rent there again if I could get an apartment in one of the other buildings.

Current Resident 370442

Resident • 2003 - 2007

Good place to live!....NOT (Beware Management writing their own reviews.

Drunk college kids (PhilaUniv is up the block) being drunk. Drunk college kids littering and noone picking it up. Drunk college kids letting their friends in while drunk. Filthy locker room in the gym....<br>Take a look at that "Good place to LIve!" review.....sounds like what a leasing agent pretending to be a med student would write....Professionals beware, this a dorm. I am out.

geewiz3

Resident • 2004 - 2006

Good place to live!

Alden Park is comprised of 3 buildings. I lived in the Cambridge building on the 4th floor while a 1-2yr med student at PCOM. My unit had an nice kitchen, large bathroom, a huge bedroom, and lots of windows throughout. The common areas in the building were always very clean and the staff was always very pleasant and prompt when called for any issues. I felt very safe in the building and walking to and from my car at night since the parking lot is gated and there is a parking attendent on duty 24/7 monitoring who comes in an out. My unit was about 900sqft and I paid $1045/month since I signed on during a manager's special. I felt it was worth the price for the saftey, space, and quiet no worries atmosphere I needed for studying. The grounds are very nice, there are 2 train stations close by to access downtown, it's about a 10 min drive to PCOM, walking distance to drexel med, walking distance to a grocery store, rite aid, and cleaners. Close to kelly drive, the wissahickon creek, and manayaunk. They do have a pool which is nice, and a fittness center but it's small and may not be able to serve as your gym, unless you only run on the treadmill and use light wieghts. My apartment had a dishwasher, washer, and drier in the unit as well and central heat and A/C which I controlled. I only moved out because I got married.

Current Resident 710343

Resident • 2002 - 2004

Okay place to live - best I found in East Falls

I lived here as a medical student at Drexel for my first two years. It was the best place I saw when I looked at the apartmetn complexes along Wissahickon Ave. I snagged a small studio for $550/month in the Manor building and it was fine. <br><br>It was so small the the bathroom door hit the toilet when you opened it and the kitchen was tiny. I also had a problem with mice at my place. <br><br>The pool and fitness center were decent and I felt safe with the gated community. However, some of my classmates did much better renting out apartments that weren't part of complexes. Others lived in Manayunk or in Center City, but the rent is much higher.

k516

Resident • 2004 - 2005

Not recommended. Has some godd qualities by the problems outweigh the good.

We've been almost 10 days with out AC and the windows aren't configured for AC units or screens, so you can't even leave the windows open in the excruciating heat. The buildings are old and there are constant problems and matinence. The door has been broken for months and they fix it and you still can't get in. The leasing people do nothing to conpensate you. The fitness center and pool is nice and so is the security.