Collegetown Terrace

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.

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.

The location to campus is awesome, and I have been very happy with maintenance's responsiveness. They have also worked very hard to improve their wifi, and it has gotten a lot better. My room/desk are really large, and this has been hugely beneficial given the current environment we live in.

Great location. No pets allowed. Poor internet connection that drops you regularly. Units are reasonably quiet. Office staff can be kind of rude. Maintenance is worse. Not terrible overall but there are better options so I'm moving next semester.

Experience so far has been both good and bad. The walls are thin and the air vent is the same across all three bedrooms so sound does carry quite a bit within the apartment. You aren't able to put anything up on the walls which makes it a little difficult to really personalize your room but the bedrooms are much more spacious than other comparable apartment options. The wifi has been pretty bad for the past few months but is something that they have been fixing so should hopefully not continue to be a problem. The amenities are amazing. The study rooms are great and the gym is very convenient . In terms of location, it doesnt get any better than CTT.

Expensive and management/maintenance can be unresponsive. No rent concessions during COVID even though no longer had same amenities throughout the property (gym closed) and already charge rental prices that you would expect to find closer to NYC.

Also only do 12 month instead of 10 month leases forcing you to pay for summer months when you likely wont be there.

We have recurrent internet issues. Management does not reply emails and they do not solve the issue.

Not a good place to live

I didn't spend too much time looking for an apartment so I relied on the reviews of others and the quantity of students already at this location. I enjoy the proximity to campus but the apartment management is not responsive nor do they take initiative to fix headaches such as the gym's 2-month delay in reopening or the wifi upgrade.

The Good

- Great location between College Town and Downtown.

- Study areas and gym are pretty new and clean.

- The staff in 106 are nice.

The (Really) Bad

- The management office is awful. They know they have a new class of students every year and have little incentive to fix things in an timely manor or treat tenants well.

- The internet never works, I have to reconnect my devices (phone, tablet, & TV) every time I use them. The internet drops consistently and the management blames it on Spectrum, rather than just getting it fixed.

-The walls are paper thin, you will hear your neighbors like you are in the same room.

- The fire alarms are super sensitive and go off nearly once a week, sometimes at 3:00pm, sometimes at 3:00am in the winter.