The Ely Walker Lofts

I am writing this review with utter disappointment with my experience at Ely Walker. Where do I even begin with the countless issues and nuisances that made my stay here a never-ending nightmare? The condition of the apartments is nothing short of deplorable. My unit remained a repository of broken fixtures and issues, and a breeding ground for mold and pests. Some of the tenants made living here very uneasy, often using firearms indoors or immediately outside as a means of common communication. The property manager lacks any form of competence or concern for the residents. Any attempt to address the numerous issues fell on deaf ears, with maintenance requests being either ignored or inadequately addressed. The unprofessionalism displayed by the staff was utterly shocking, turning even the simplest inquiries into aggravating ordeals. Let's not forget about the noise pollution that seems to be a constant feature here. It seems as though the walls are paper-thin, allowing you to hear every argument, every late-night party, every blaring television from neighboring units. It felt like I was living in the middle of a chaotic symphony that played 24/7 without any breaks. Safety seems to be a foreign concept in this complex. The supposedly secure entrances were often broken, offering easy access to anyone and everyone. The parking area was no different, always feeling like a risk with poor lighting, the homeless population raiding storage units, all with an apparent lack of security presence. Moreover, the amenities advertised are either non-existent or in a constant state of disrepair. The gym resembles more of a junkyard than a fitness facility, and the rooftop? I wouldn't even bother going up there, as tenants let their dogs use the bathroom up there with no regard to clean up. Even the elevators were a breeding ground for diseases rather than a means to navigate through the building. In all, living at Ely Walker felt less like having a home and more like serving a sentence. A word of advice - save yourself the trouble and look elsewhere, unless you enjoy paying premium prices for substandard living conditions, non-existent customer service, and an utter lack of peace or comfort. I implore prospective tenants to take their business elsewhere and not to fall for the facade that is considered to be luxury living run by City Wide. Staying in any of their properties downtown is nothing short of a living nightmare.

Roaches, leaks, shootings, a murder, homeless people camping in storage units, package thefts, non-working cameras, issues with the fire suppression system, animal waste, no voting power or real HOA. The city has deemed Ely Walker Lofts a Public Nuisance more than once. City Wide are the worst owners and “managers”. Ever since they’ve have taken ownership in 2007 the building has been drastically declining. The tenants and owners have begged for more security and cleaning-even offering to pay more in Condo fees to no avail.

Avoid this building and the PM company. I feel so strongly you should run away from this company that I'm posting this review more than 6 months after I've moved out. I moved into Ely Walker in November of 2018, and knew nothing about the St. Louis rental market at that time. Unfortunately, I had no idea how bad Asprient/STLCityWide/Centralpmstl was as a property management company. The first thing that stands out, knowing what I know now is that they go under several different names - I'm told this was part of a re-branding strategy after bad press and litigation. Really - don't do it. I thought hard about departing early and finding someone to take over the lease/sublet. But honestly, I just couldn't bring myself to do that to another person. They lied about everything. I was told I was going to have underground parking, but upon move-in, I was given a card to the parking structure out back, feet from where someone was shot dead just days after I moved in. Other lies I was told included:That the apartment would be cleaned upon my arrival. Couldn't have been farther from the case. That the apartment would be freshly painted when I moved in. This was also not anywhere near the case. More information below.That packages are distributed through the Luxe machine they have near the mailroom. Near the end of my time in the building, they started using it more, but packages were just scattered in front of the mailboxes for the majority of my time there. That the frosted windows in my bedroom that were 10ft+ high and overlooked both my bedroom and the elevator lobby would be covered (causing there to be very little darkness in the room) - no. I could go on and on, and even have an 11pt list of other issues (mainly facilities things that were never properly addressed, over and over again, such as not having AC most of last summer), but there's a character limit. Many of these things would be minor and unremarkable if they were just one-off situations. For me, it was the cumulative impact of all of them. I've lived in a lot of different apartments, and haven't been anywhere perfect so far. But usually, there's a property manager or someone who cares and addresses issues. Here, they just simply don't care. But there's life on the other side! I moved out 6 months ago, and haven't missed the place one second.

Do NOT rent a loft here. I honestly wish I could rate this establishment less than one star. When I moved in, I found out that the showers were not working. I contacted maintenance and they sent a tech to fix them. The tech took one look at the apartment, sighed, and told us that the apartment was not move-in ready as the place had not been cleaned, the dryer had not been fixed, the blinds had not been installed, and the showers had not been fixed. I have spent a WEEK trying to get someone to address the broken dryer and blinds. I was finally able to convince management to hire a cleaner after I found a SYRINGE AND NEEDLE in one of the uncleaned cupboards. Frankly, it seems this company will do whatever they can to take your rent without addressing ANY of the problems you experience. Rent at your own risk.