Apartments are nice for the most part. The Orpheum building had really bad issues with the windows however. Really bad drafts. Bad enough to the point that people were reporting frost on their drywall forming in the dead of winter. In our case our heating bills during our first winter at the Beacon were between 350 and 450 dollars. Management denied this was a problem for a year and a half until they silently sent in a crew to fix it under the guise of a "window inspection" which amounted to nothing more than shoving screws into the part of the window frames corner that was not making a good connection with the actual window pane. The repair crew left these screws all over the floor after the repair and we even found one in our 1 year old daughters mouth. Amenities that were on our lease were slowly taken away one by one and there has been constant bad feelings between the renters and the owners of the various buildings. The elevators in our building rarely work and don't work well when they are working. It is common for one or both elevators to be not functioning once or twice a month. Carrying a baby and a stroller up 16 flights of stairs is something we have had to do on multiple occasions. The elevators used to regularly shake violently when they were a half floor away from the desired floor. They make horrible noises that sound like a large loose piece of metal is slamming on the side of the elevator car. I am legitimately horrified to ride our elevators as people have been stuck in them multiple times now. The management in this building are the reason it has not reached a higher review. The rooms are indeed nice in ways. However, I cannot remember a single time management has done something that didn't make me angry enough to write a harshly worded email. Our floor is mostly empty and our rent is still being raised this year even though we have lost a doorman and other amenities. I would recommend staying away from the Beacon at all costs.

First, let me say that my partner and I lived at the Beacon for a year. Yes, the apartments are fairly nice; yes, the overall apartment complex is nice; yes, is there is a nice gym (although it does get packed and there is a weird dynamic with renters and owners that plays out with the amenities some times). And yes, they are so nice, friendly, responsive, and helpful when you're trying to find an apartment. However, once you move in, all of that customer service and responsiveness gets thrown out the window. It's like jekyll and hyde. They are a completely different company once you sign that lease and get your keys. They are extremely unprofessional, unresponsive and they nickel and dime you to death (they literally try to bleed their tenants dry). Here a just a few examples: - you have to pay for valet to park your car. the valet guys got my car into an accident. literally, two valet guys got into an accident parking cars and got my car into an accident. While the valet is a different company, it still relates to the beacon and they were all collectively terrible to work with when trying to get my car fixed (which was completely their fault!). the valet company was terrible and told me that i was trying to swindle them for extra cash (even though all of the mechanics i took my car to said i needed the bumper replaced, the valet company said the damage wasn't that bad). and when i called the beacon management office to complain, they were non responsive, until i called and wrote them emails every day (and basically threatened to tell perspective tenants about this). - you are required to give them 60 day notice in the lease to move out. yes, it is in the lease. yes, i should have read the lease more closely. however, they rush you through signing the lease, let you scroll through it without highlighting any of the important parts. i would also expect them to give tenants a courtesy notice. Instead, they email me 30 days prior to the end of my lease to tell me 60 days was required. WHY tell me with only 30 days. I had wrongfully assumed 30 days was sufficient (which I assume responsibility for), but I would also expect the building management to be more transparent about this (especially when they know the turnover is so high). This means that I have to know pay an additional months rent (who can afford that in the NYC area?!). And there response was simply "well its in the lease." I think to email tenants with a reminder about the 60 day policy with only 30 days to go is straight up predatory. - after i moved out and i thought i had heard the last of the beacon, i get an email almost 4 weeks after i move out with an additional ~$500 in fees (apartment cleaning, carpet cleaning, and a replacement of the floors). and this is on top of the extra months rent we had to pay them. and let me be clear about something, my partner and I are two of the cleanest people you will ever meet. a carpet cleaning makes sense for the new tenant, but that shouldn't be my responsibility. and if it is, they should have made that clear to me (but of course, again, that expectation was NEVER made clear). same with the apartment cleaning, if you wanted it in pristine condition, tell me. instead, we handed it over with very light wear from a years living there. and as for the floors, they still couldn't tell us exactly where the floors were damaged. all in all, they'll try to woo you with their amenities and cheap rent and great customer service. trust me, ITS NOT WORTH IT. you can find way nicer places to live closer to downtown JC. And they'll treat you terribly once you get in. They'll find a thousand ways to bleed you dry and they won't blink twice about it. If you move in, make sure you're on top of them about every detail, give them 90 days notice, get them to tell you in writing you won't be charged any additional fees. If not, you'll end up list us, out an additional $2500 and for what?

Extremely affordable, apartments are mad clean (pretty much new), management is nice, in unit laundry. THE ONLY CATCH, is that the neighborhood is not walkable at all. You rely purely on the shuttle, which can get annoying over the weekends since it runs much less frequently. It does take you down to Grove and Exchange over the weekdays though, so take what you will from it. Go for it if you prioritize: - Economy - Cleanness - In Unit laundry - Gym - Other amenities - Quiet Do not go for it if your priority lies in: - Neighborhood - Food options - Often go out in weekends - Return home late (2200 or later)

Absolute miserable experience.

I'm fascinated by this development and have been following it for years, I even looked seriously at buying 3 years back. I did a practice run commute and found the shuttle lacking back then, had to wait 45 minutes for it after my train got in, scratch that, also the neighborhood around the complex lacking but it appears to be improving. The valet parking is bizarre and is just a byproduct of the fact that they don't have a parking garage, all the money is going into the spaces and parking lots are too distant and probably too dangerous to be going back and forth from all times of day and night. That being said apartments are really nice and amenities galore, art deco heaven if you are into architecture and history this place has just gorgeous stunning spaces and it's cavernous and really works to maintain original details. I expect in about 10 years this place will have it's stuff together, probably a garage by then and neighborhood will be good.