Graduate Pointe

Great amenities (gym, lounge area) and great space and bedroom to bathroom ratio at a great cost

Overall, my partner and I like it enough that we don’t plan to move during my time at Penn!

Pros: big; new; property management responsive; pets allowed; 25 min walk to JMEC; cheaper than comparable apartment buildings further north; ~70% of your classmates will live within a 15 min walk of you

Cons: loud at night (not bc of the train tracks, but bc people race cars and motorcycles on Washington Ave), some but not a ton of restaurants; area is just on the borderline of a bit shadier part of town; ~70% of your classmates will live within a 15 min walk of you…

Details: elevator available (but no automatic door button for wheelchair access); gym in basement with pretty good equipment; bike storage in basement; 2nd floor community room with kitchen, bathroom, sofa, TV, outdoor seating; furnished rooftop; parking spots available on a waitlist basis for extra $250/mo; pets (dogs and cats for sure) allowed for a pet deposit and pet rent; property manager subscribes to Fetch delivery service after we had issues with packages being stolen; we pay ~$50/mo for water and $80-150/ mo for electric depending how much we heat or cool and there is no gas.

My partner and I signed for a year and will probably renew for three more in the spring, so overall it's good!
Pros:
- Shared amenities: incredible common room, gym, bike storage, mail room, trash & recycling collection on every floor, elevators, keypad entry
- In-unit amenities: washer/dryer, quality appliances, central A/C, small balcony
- Fairly close to campus: 25 min walk or 20 mins door-to-door by bike. No direct bus route.
- Management responds very quickly!
Cons:
- Outside alone at night, I am on alert though I have not felt downright unsafe. Washington Ave is kind of considered the border to a potentially more dangerous area (further south). This means the apartment is slightly cheaper than places with similar amenities further north.
- A lot of things needed fixing when we moved in but management responded well.
Neutral:
- If you have a car: free, easy street parking on Washington Ave (no permit needed) and you can join the waitlist to pay $200/mo for a covered spot.
- If you have pets: cats and dogs are allowed with a deposit and pet rent.
- This is a new building in an area that's actively being gentrified.
- A few decent restaurants in walking distance, but not many. For groceries: Giant Heirloom and South Street Market are 12 mins walk; Fresh Grocer (cheaper) and several large Asian stores within 5 mins drive.

Close to the medical school, fairly responsive management, decent sizing of apartment, fair price (but I think going up over time)

Relatively spacious, 1:1 ratio of beds to baths, and a decent price for Grad Hospital

This complex was brand new construction completed in June 2020. The studio comes complete with in unit washer/dryer, dishwasher and full size kitchen appliances. There is a gym, and communal second floor patio as well as a roof deck with games and space for entertaining. Parking can be added for an additional fee. It really has all the amenities you could possibly ask for at a more reasonable price that many of its competitors. It achieves this by being slightly further away. I am admittedly an average sized male but have always felt safe. The walk to HUP isn't bad at all (about 25 min) but VA and PPMC are a little further. Unfortunately there isn't a terribly convenient direct bus route from this location. But if you bike the building has a dedicated bike storage unit in the basement! The energy efficiency is remarkable, barely need to use the HVAC even in the depths of winter. Management is highly responsive and helpful. Walls are a little thin and I can sometimes hear my neighbors but it has been an infrequent concern. In terms of bang for buck I found it hard to find better!

Good facilities but the management comes off as pretty litigious and seems to (needlessly) like issuing threats.