225 Centre

I'm currently a resident at 225 Centre Street Apartments and I loved it during the tour. However, there are several drawbacks that I wish I would've really taken into consideration when conducting my research. The GOOD: Building is basically brand new; Heat and hot water included, saves us about $100/mo; Staff is friendly; Garage parking does feel safe, great for a not-so-safe neighborhood like Roxbury (i'll get to that later); garage parking is actually $175, not $125 as advertised here;… Residents are ok, a mix between college kids, hipster professionals, thugs, and senior citizens; Across from Jackson Square T Station; Lots of police in this area (for good reason, last year someone was shot and killed on Centre Street and this building is literally across from the worst project community in JP); Il Panino's is my favorite restaurant in Jamaica Plain and 225 Centre is right across from it! The BAD: Overpriced; Contrary to what's advertised on Apartments.com and 225 Centre's website, 225 Centre Street is NOT in 02130, it's actually in 02119 which is actually in ROXBURY and NOT Jamaica Plain. They won't disclose this to you until you're signing the paperwork; Staff strictly runs on business hours on business days. Very little flexibility for any time convenient for the working professional; They don't sign for packages, they say they don't want to be liable for anything. Every other apartment community offers this as a free service. As a result, I've had a few packages stolen from the mailroom (where they leave your packages). The only upsetting incident happened before Christmas. Amazon reimbursed me all times; Many of the units are designated for affordable housing. My guess is that my packages being stolen are a result of this (no offense intended); Projects located right across from the building. I don't walk around at night here; Cheap floors and high ceilings cause for a lot of noise echo. Can hear college kids partying upstairs and neighbors next door arguing; Really cheap thermostats, impossible to use, tried googling the instruction manuals and just confused me more; Humidity: 0%. The air is very dry, guests that spend the night often complain about runny/bloody noses. I felt this way for the first month, but you get used to it; All payment is handled by physical check. First of every month, write a check and slip it under their door. It's 2015, who doesn't take electronic payments?! CLOSE: I could've paid less for better living. And I should have. Read More