Lightbox

Worst apartment complex to live in. Always have stolen packages, sketchy people making their way into the building, and very noisy neighbors. I sent in countless noise complaints and nothing was done about it. Definitely would NOT recommend living here. Waste of money. If I could give a 0 start rating, I would.
Mar 3rd, 2023

Worst place I have ever lived. Packages consistently stolen, my car broken into THREE times and management doesnt care, had a leak in our apartment and they came into our apartment without notice and no one home and came home to our stuff thrown everywhere and multiple things broken from my closet. The doors are sliders with no windows, but they charge them as bedrooms when the law says you cant charge as a bedroom if it doesnt have a window. Management super rude and they just overcharge excessively while having cheap materials and things that constantly break. Horrible place and will not live here again.
Jan 24th, 2023

My roommate and I have lived here 2 years and these are my takeaways. Overall I enjoy living here but there are some hard cons. Pros: -The gym is small but functional and rarely packed with many people. -Fantastic rooftop views and rooftop area. Really one of the best in the area given Lightboxs positioning on top of the hill which slopes down toward lake union. -The people in the leasing office are nice people who do want to help I just think they are limited by being owned by a massive corporation (UDR) which owns many properties and their hands are tied in many situations. -10 minute walk to the LINK station on 45th will get you almost anywhere in the greater Seattle area/airport. -As a UW student, 15-20 minute walk to classes is not terrible. -Its a newish apartment (built 2010-2015) so the units are in pretty good condition. Definitely not an upscale apartment and there are cheap materials used everywhere in all the units, but you can make your unit look very nice depending on how you decorate. -Great restaurants along University Ave. and 45th. -If I ever need groceries I can be at the nearby Trader Joes in literally a matter of seconds if I run. Its very close and the employees are great. I do all my grocery shopping here. Cons: -Getting things fixed/dealing with maintenance is almost always a headache. There is a single mechanic who does the maintenance on the two buildings owned by UDR in the area (Lightbox and Kennedy). This means a single person has to do the work on about 200-300 units. We once had our sink disposal broken/leaking for 2 weeks while the mechanic was out sick which they failed to communicate with us. There is no communication system in place to tell you when your maintenance issue will be fixed/where you are in the queue. You just have to wait it out which is extremely frustrating. -Low apartments (levels 1-5ish) on the WEST side experience loud noise in the early morning due to garbage trucks in the alley which will wake you up. My roommate and I wake up at 4:59am 4 days out of the week and have to put in noise cancelling headphones. One of the most annoying things I have ever experienced. As with most of these cons, I've learned to adapt but I cant imagine what I would do without noise cancellation technology. -Pretty disappointing lounge area with little to no area for studying/table space. -Expensive parking (~$150 per month) -Located in a generally unsafe area leads to packages being stolen in the lobby, intimidating homeless people/drug addicts in the area, broken glass doors/windows, cars FREQUENTLY being broken into in the Lightbox garage. -As of 2022 many of the in-unit laundry machines are faulty and do not drain well at all. Your clothes will come out sopping wet and need to dry for 2+ hours. Makes doing laundry an absolute headache. They are slowly replacing these, but not ours. -Cheap flooring -Depending on your unit, very small kitchen area with very little counter space makes cooking a bit tricky but you can get around this. -No in-unit AC means it can get absolutely sweltering in the Summers, becomes very uncomfortable without buying a portable AC unit. Especially on higher floors (4th-7th floors). Apartment temperature reached 85 degrees almost daily in July and August. -Units on the North, South, and West facing sides will be in the direct and close view of the nearby apartments and you will you need to lower your blinds if you want privacy to change/etc. -You have the option of either paying $5/month for Parcel pending OR having your packages sent to the mail hall where they sit on the counter and are open to the public. Parcel pending is service with a little locker in the garage which package carriers have to put your package into and you enter a code to claim your package. Its definitely unfortunate to have to pay to safely receive packages and I think its a design flaw that there is no secure mail room for the apartment, only a mail-hall.
Dec 7th, 2022

Jul 30th, 2022

Jul 11th, 2022