Garden Court Plaza Apartments

Elena Mary

During my entire time at GCP there was never more than one passenger elevator functioning. Frequently, no passenger elevators functioned. Since last year around this time (6/2021), all elevators have been down (at least) 11 times, approximately once per month. Water is turned off about once a week, usually for about 8hours there doesn’t seem to be rhyme or reason to when or for how long. Frequently, when water is turned back on, it can take a few hours to a day for hot water to return. They were openly selling the courtyard (and dog run) to prospective tenants a day after telling current residents it was permanently off limits. The community washer was filled with stagnant water for six months

. Water leaks from the apartments above to lower apartments. Fire alarms frequent and irregular. You'll get to know the firefighters when they come out. Mice—so many mice. ADA violations regarding service animals and when tenant attempted to discuss was threatened that maintenance would no longer be provided. Tenants have frequently tried to organize. Heat is controlled building wide and not per apartment, expect to be too hot and/or too cold. Expect to be gaslit by management when you bring-up any issue.

Charles Sekel

My wife and I have lived here for the past 5 years. While the apartments are spacious and the staff are friendly and competent (especially the front desk workers), the quality of life in this building has plummeted drastically in the past …Hi Charles, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and complimenting our team and spacious floorplans! We appreciate it. I think you'd agree, Garden Court Plaza Apartments is a beautiful building in need of some major TLC. Balancing the needs of the building, sometimes temperamental 100 year old systems, and the needs of our residents and development partners is challenging Sometimes something gets miscommunicated or missed. Most of the time, things like construction noise and shut offs are part of the improvement process that cannot be avoided. I'm sorry that this has caused you frustration. If you would like to set aside some time to discuss what's going on with the restoration and your experience in more detail, please reach out to schedule a time to chat. You can reach me directly at [email protected]. We have stringent COVID-19 policies in place for vendors, staff, and residents. We have found that, for the most part, folks are in compliance. We do have measures in place for those who do not follow procedure. For vendors that varies from fines to removal from the building. Please reach out to the Front Desk at 267.491.7355 if you find that someone is not in compliance. We will respond immediately. We are committed to doing our part to keep our community healthy and safe. Stay Safe & Well, Domonique

Arius

Beware of 5 star reviews. Management offers a chance to win rewards for 5 star reviews from residents. Positives include a nice lobby and high ceiling units that are quiet due to the concrete and plaster construction. Unfortunately all of …Hi There! Thank you for taking time to leave a review. I would like to address the concerns you've laid out here. Please feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions you might have at [email protected]. We absolutely do not offer a chance to win rewards for reviews. The previous management may have engaged in that practice, but we don't. Garden Court Plaza Apartments is a beautiful historic building, but at almost 100 years old there are a lot of updates that are needed. You've mentioned some of them in your review. Our extensive restoration plan includes not only the building's systems but updating the roomy apartment homes to meet modern spatial and living needs. For instance, we currently have a studio that is over 800 square feet. The average 2 bedroom in Philadelphia County is 850 square feet. That is definitely a floor plan that can be improved to better serve our future residents! We understand that the current pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty and angst. We strongly believe that housing insecurity should not be added to that burden. We have offered payment plans, charged late fees on the 16th instead of the 6th, and kept our increases at or below 3% during this pandemic. Previously laundry, water, and gas were separate charges. Those charges are no longer in addition to your rental rate, but part of your rent. If you include them in your calculation, you will see that your increase is nowhere near 8%. Please contact me directly if you want to review this. Again, thank you for leaving a review. We welcome the opportunity to answer questions and find out where we can do better. Garden Court Plaza is a special place and we at Spruce Street Commons are working very hard to ensure that GCP lives up to the expectation you expressed: being a wonderful place to live today, during construction, and long into the future! All the best, Domonique

Mahyar Fazlyab

I was a resident in this building since 2015 and it was an OK place to live in until the “sprucestreetcommons” took over. I would have gone with negative stars if I could. Why? …Hi Mahyar, Thank you for taking the time to post a review. There is a restoration program in place for GCP. The building has great bones, but is in need of a lot of updates after standing for 100 years. I'm sorry to hear that you've had some issues during your time at the community and would be happy to address these and any errors you believe to be on your account, please contact us directly at [email protected]. All the best, Domonique