The Lofts at Waterfront Place: Truth in Advertising on the Peoria.com Forums

Here's a little truth in advertising for those prospective renters out there who are considering The Lofts at Waterfront Place. Don't believe what you read on their website. The amenities they advertise there do not justify the extortionist amount that they charge for rent. I got out after my year-long lease and am spreading the word in hopes of sparing other renters the year-long disappointment I had. For instance, here are some quotes from their website. Bear in mind these are defined as "standard" features.

"Elegant arrival lobby with plantings and dramatic high ceilings" There is nothing "elegant" about it. The carpeting is perpetually dirty and I would go so far as to say filthy. The stairs look like stairs at the Civic Center Arena on which soda and food had been spilled, dried, and discolored. The 'plantings' consist of three potted room plants that look like they were purchased from Lowes. The artistic mock up of the arrival lobby which is featured on the website looks NOTHING like the reality. If it did, it might be the start of a justification for the sky-high rents they are charging.

"Common roof deck with lawn chairs, tables and grills" In fact, not only are grills not available, they are not allowed.

"Private residential entrance with camera and coded entry system". The coded entry system functionality is sporadic, and the entrance camera does not work at all.

"Sound deadening construction". This is one of the biggest jokes of all. Granted, side to side sound deadening is OK, but top to bottom and bottom to top is non-existent. You can actually hear the phone conversation of the tenant directly above or below you, in addition to many, many other things that one might not want to be forced to listen to. Floorboards are INCREDIBLY squeaky and you will hear every footstep of those above you (if you are on the third floor) or outside your apartment (if you are on the 3rd OR 4th floor)

"Exposed brick walls". But only if it is on the outside perimeter of the building.

"TV outlets (2)" Although one of mine didn't work because I was told by Comcast that with the wiring which was in place, the signal wasn't strong enough to use the outlet.

"Spacious 6' tub with shower" It sounds good, but trust me, there was nothing 'spacious' about this. Most hotels boast a more 'spacious' tub. Oh, and don't forget you even need to provide your own shower bar.... and shower head if you want to replace the lime-scaled one that your previous tenant left you.

"Towel closet" There was not one in my place, nor in my neighbors' bathrooms......Unless this meant the closet located by the front door.

"Convenient retail and restaurants located near by the building" The only 'retail' is the antique mall itself. Forget it if you need a gallon of milk, bread or a bottle of wine.

"Common laundry facilities" Very common, indeed. The hot water setting on all machines is lukewarm, at best. And the washers are Roper brand....the cheapest available on the market. Cost per load: $1.25. Same for drying. Be prepared for your clothes to take a serious beating with the hard water.... see below.

"All new plumbing, electrical, HVAC systems". The plumbing may be new, but it still banged and popped as loud as any old New York brownstone front. However, I do give kudos to the HVAC system. It was good.

"Passenger elevator". True, there is one, but it's about as dirty as the 'elegant' arrival lobby. Stainless steel interior that is completely smudge marked with crap and finger prints. The floor; always filthy. There are holes in the wall next to the well worn security pad. They have a 'freight' elevator too, which is just plain frightening. Nothing some decent housekeeping couldn't handle, so you have to ask "why?"

"Deluxe flooring throughout". It may have been deluxe when it was new, but it's now and worn and in need of cleaning and/or replacing. Especially in the public corridors and the arrival lobby. Really needs a good steam clean or replacement.

"Common gym with bikes and treadmills" Drop the 's'. Only one bike and one treadmill. And when I was there the treadmill was on its VERY last leg. I wouldn't even use it out of respect for the tenants who lived above the gym because it made so much noise and racket. Apologies if it has been replaced, but I really, really doubt it.

"Large islands with full height breakfast bar". Me, nor my neighbors, had "large islands". And this is listed as standard.

That pretty much covers the inaccuracies on their website. Now here are a few of the things that prospective tenants should know about BEFORE they sign on the dotted line for the outrageous sum of money they are being charged for rent each month. These are the things you don't realize till you're there awhile...

*The water in the building is included in your rent, but it is HARD. VERY hard. And pumped full of so much chlorine that after getting out of the shower or bath, you will feel like you have been in the pool all day. Lime scale will deposit EVERYWHERE if you don't keep on top of it. The dishwasher will leave your dishes spotty and not clean at all unless you wash them before you put them in. That is if the dishwasher even works at all (which mine did not upon move in) from lime scale buildup.

*In the year I was there, my outside windows were not cleaned once. They were grimy and spotty, with cobwebs in the outside corners, year round. I would have been glad to do them myself, but it would have been impossible.

*The garbage collection from the garbage room, located on the third floor (and next to the laundry), is sporadic. Thus, the room usually REEKS of rotten food. There have been times when garbage is piled so high, that you literally had to put your bags on the floor. The smell was so bad that even after they had collected garbage it lingered and was never really eradicated.

*The walls are dingy and smudged in the public areas/corridors. Doors are just as bad. In one section on the third floor, there were cobwebs hanging off the light fixture just as you went outside to the roof deck. I'd be willing to bet they are still hanging there.

Listed above are the multitude of reasons why the outrageous sums charged for rent is totally out of proportion for what you get. If the owners want to feel justified in charging the amount they do for rent, they need to consult with the management at 401 Water, for example, about upscale public areas, corridors, and elevators.

Didn't you see that the apartment didn't have a towel closet, breakfast bar, had dirty windows and that the tub wasn't spacious? Did you see that the lobby was filthy, that grills weren't allowed on the roof and that the exercise room had one bike and one treadmill before you moved in?

My thoughts exactly, Leslie. Obviously tried to get out of his lease, they held him to his contract and now he is bad-mouthing the place to try to gain leverage. Gosh, no one has ever done THAT on here before!

Read the very first line of my post... that was the point in posting it.

Incorrect. I stayed throughout my lease, paid my rent in full every month, and am persuing nothing. I have nothing to gain from this other than getting it off my chest and saving someone else from beleiving what they see on the website.

http://www.apartmentratings.com/ <-- a far better place to post than here. Everyone already has a place to live here. I used that site for every place I was going to visit before I settled on the one Im at now.

Not everyone is going to be satisfied. We all have things we dont like about or place.

Anyone who rents an apartment before actually seeing it in person is a moron. I havent found one listing on apartments.com or rent.com that hasnt tried to talk its property up. We looked at at least 15 places before we decided to settle. All said good things about their place but none looked like what they said.

Thanks for that link. You're right, that's probably a better forum for my message.

I'm sure someone thinking about moving there will consider your message, TheLofts. But you can't blame people. A bit of skepticism about anonymous online reviews is only healthy.

I was the very first person to move into the Lofts at Waterfront I lived there for 4 years, finally moving out in October of last year. I obviously did not encounter the problems you did, or, more accurately, the issues didn't really bother me. I always considered the high rent the result of the amazing view and the downtown location. I never thought too much about the amenities.

Interesting post, Lofts. I currently live here and have since late summer, so I can sort of see the validity of some of your points. But I have to agree with Radar though, it's all what's really important to ya. You sound like someone who wanted amenities instead of location. To each their own.

I live on the third floor as well, and have to admit I had to go check out the aforementioned cobweb near the sunporch door. LOL... your old buddy is still there!

I would never ever let anyone in my home if they were going to inspect for cobwebs!

I see both sides here. Obviously there is no retail and you can't buy a gallon of milk, but there are restaurants nearby. If the website says you can grill out on the roof but it's actually off limits, among other things, then yes, this is a problem and the website and needs be to updated.