aPodment Suites at Strada

Jun 28th, 2019

I would like to advise anyone who is considering living here to look elsewhere. Look into as many places as you can before moving to Strada or Apodments in general. There are a number of Micro studios around Seattle that are designed beautifully and intelligently for smaller living. I lived in the Ballard location for 7 months and I lived in the Udistrict location for a year and half. The spaces aren't updated and look like your typical dorm room. The feeling doubles when you have to share a kitchen space with other people in the building, who might not be as keen as you are to keep the space splatter free. However, my biggest concern with my last "pod" in the udistrict was my manager who lived below me and the way he handled certain situations in the building. Fire alarms frequently go off without warning. Twice, my neighbors and I were left standing outside of the building after the alarms went off. When we tried to contact said manager, he would reply with such responses as: "Well, if there was a problem you would know." The only time we received a notice of an alarm test was after I complained about notification after we were standing outside not knowing when to return. It causes a "Cry Wolf" effect where, overtime, people simply stop coming out of their apartments- thinking that it was just another false alarm. Which is what happened, unfortunately. We weren't given any notices since then. The biggest issue I had was gas coming into my window from the kitchen adjacent to my room. Apparently, when the water heater resets, gas is released as it burns. I was told that it was only a harmless, temporary smell and that I shouldn't worry about it. But, no one should have to experience gas coming into the window while hanging out in their apartment. The smell was incredibly strong and would cause me long lasting, painful headaches. I brought in PSE to take a look, and they only said that it was normal and that there wasn't anything that they could do. I tried to get help from as many different sources as I could, but to no avail. The building managers did nothing to help either. They all just said that it was up to code and there was nothing more that can be done. Even if it is up to code, no individual should pay to live in an apartment that periodically gasses them as they're having dinner. It just isn't right. And I'm here to warn anyone before taking the apartment. Because it is my belief that every individual should have full disclosure of what to expect before making a decision - about anything. I lived in D5. Other major issues were low hanging wires right outside of the gate. I reported it, but apparently it's a century link wire and not a city wire so - it remains. I'm 5'5 and if I put my hand into the air, I could touch it. My "pod" was also right above where the building manager lived and all he ever did was slam the doors so hard that the floors and walls would shake. It made living there fairly uncomfortable. So please, if you take anything away from this, let it be that this place is okay with gas coming in through the window into a tenants apartment without fixing it. I have tried and tried, but it remains. I want people to be warned and understand just what is to be expected when living here. Please take your well earned money elsewhere. Thanks for reading.
Aug 22nd, 2020