Collegetown Terrace

I moved to CTT because it is a convenient place to live, and it is that. Other than that, it is over-priced and mediocre. The wifi is absolute garbage and has been an unresolved issue from day one. Most of the front office staff is friendly.

I warn you this is not the place to live in Ithaca and here's why:

Collegetown Terrace or CTT lures you in with pictures of pretty lofty buildings and its excellent location between the downtown commons and Cornell, but unfortunately the experience of living at CTT otherwise has been completely regrettable for me. Internet connectivity is pathetic with frequent drops in connection and lagging. Residents have been complaining about CTT internet access for years, but now that Covid has forced us all inside it is downright unbearable to work.

Management is frequently unfriendly and transparency of issues in my building and complex have been poor. After the state allowed gyms to reopen, management refused to reopen the gym (as every single other comparable building in the area had opened there's) until residents complaints became unbearable for them and they were forced to reopen. They issued no refund for the money we paid for the rent.

If you're looking to move to Ithaca, consider other comparable apartment complexes or standalone rentals. Don't make the same mistake as me and hate my experience living here everyday.

Overall, CTT management cares little about the people who rent there. They are totally inflexible with requests and force you to resign your lease 10 months before it's set to renew with the threat of renting it out to others before you have a chance to resign. The mail rooms are a disaster, where you have to wade through stacks of packages on the floor to find your own. Elevators in the building are regularly out of order with no notification of when they'll be fixed, irregardless of the fact that without it certain floors of the building are not handicap accessible.

CTT handled the shift to a virtual environment poorly. Before the semester started they were well aware of the situation and that the majority of their tenants would be doing online classes. However, they did not preparation over the summer to ensure that the wifi would be strong enough to support us. From the first day of classes we were faced with daily internet outages, where you would drop out of class or from meetings.

The only two positive aspects of living at CTT are the shuttle bus and the network of graduate students in the building. CTT has a shuttle bus to campus which runs regularly throughout the day, which is not offered by other apartment buildings. Additionally, as an MBA student there are many other people in the program that live here so it's easy to get to friend's apartments and see people.

As a person living alone and paying $1,800 per month for their apartment (not including utilities or parking) I would not recommend CTT. For slightly higher rates City Center in the commons is a much better option, where you can live somewhere that actually cares about their customers.

Prompt management, thin walls

Extremely poor management and very expensive

The buildings are designed like a dorm. Walls are thin, management is not collaborative at all. I stay here just because it is convenient. I am looking forward to graduate and move out.

Given that our school experience has been entirely online, the low functioning internet has been a big problem. I have had to get extra time on exams multiple times due to poor internet, and have even frozen during high-stress recruiting calls.

The gym was also closed until November, and the management company refused to reimburse for the lack of amenity or push to open the gym, despite the fact that other gyms in the area (including those in Maplewood and City Centre) had been open for several weeks.

I do not recommend living here. The price of the apartment for "perceived" convenience is not worth it.

Several issues worth noting:
1) Internet is atrocious, creating significant issues with online class and streaming services. Management's first response was "disable your wireless printers."

2) Management is rude, cheap, and unreliable. Issues are often met with "nothing we can do" or "here's a number you can deal with it directly (i.e. internet). It took over one full year to get my dishwasher fixed.

3) No guest parking, which creates chaos on the narrow streets

4) Little security. My apartment does not have the capability of buzzing people into my building, requiring them to either get buzzed into another building, walk up a set of stairs, across the entire building, then back down (on my ground-level apartment) and no elevator access from the parking garage.

5) Refused to open gym amenity for more than 3 months after NY State allowed post-COVID

6) No socializing space for groups

7) Frequent issues with automatic rent withdrawals

8) Lack of cleaning. On one occasion, food was offered by the apartment on a Friday and was left out until Tuesday, causing mold and smell in the main lobby/mail areas.

9) No secure package area/disorganized to find packages.

10) Included furniture is uncomfortable and many couches are literally disintegrating.

The only upside is the shuttle to Cornell Campus. However, this can also be unreliable and often already filled during peak travel times, resulting in being late to class and waiting outside in the cold.

The apartment is rather new and in good state, moreover, the layout of the apartment is very comfortable with many windows and enough storage space for two.

Having said that, the management office is terrible - super rude, non-responsive, and un-supportive. You will have a great experience at CTT, unless when you have to interact with management.

Management company is nice but unresponsive. Internet has been dropping all the time. Gym goes unused because of Covid and they make excuses about it opening. Fire alarms frequently go off too