The Foundry

It is a perfect place for students in SB! It’s a bit on the pricey side, but it is well worth it. Both the school and a number of restaurants are at most a 5 min walk away.

Living here it all depends on where one is at in the building. Above Brothers on the 4th floor we still hear music late at night at times. There is street noise as well but at least there is a view and great sunlight facing south. If we were on the north side facing campus, it might be less noisy from people but more noise from the cars on Angela.

Foundry South is brand new and a great spot for graduate students. It’s quiet and convenient to campus, and there are units available at more affordable rent rates than Foundry North. Foundry South is also pet-friendly which is a huge plus as well! Would highly recommend to future MBA students - apartments can be furnished, which was a necessity in my case, and the furniture is in great shape too!

The apartment is fantastic. Staff is great and maintenance will fix any issues within a day. There is a gym, tanning bed and covered parking. Parking is free for one car, but $90 per car after that to park in the garage. The rent is absurd for South Bend, but you pay for the location. The apartments above the bookstore are nice, but they are the oldest. They have this valet trash thing where you leave your trash outside your door and people will come and pick it up. The building is really secure, all access points are key only to get in, then you have your own key to your apartment. The garage is not secure and I had 2 bikes stolen out of there (yes, they were both locked up). There are security cameras everywhere too, which my wife loved. You're paying for the location and safety, which to me was worth it.

Rent is high for South Bend, IN. Management group takes advantage of its proximity to campus and markets to upperclassmen and graduate students to charge such rates for what it offers. Property is managed well although there are the occasional hiccups.

Location is very convenient - 10 minute walk to Mendoza. However, the quality of the apartment is actually very poor despite its nice appearances. Examples: cheap paint — it scuffs and gets marked up every time your accidentally brush against it; cheap grout in the shower — it washes off while taking a shower. The elevator has stopped working numerous times.

Only one water pump was installed for the entire building apparently, and the water pressure is weak throughout the apartment. Additionally, the water in the building is very hard — water deposits end up on everything.

I also had a major issue with a window leaking every time it rained and it took weeks for them to come out and fix it despite repeated emails and calls; I was on the verge of taking legal action to have them fix it.

There has been a recurring issue for everyone in the building with the online payment system. The system is supposed to be designed for automatic payments, but the system doesn’t actually charge your credit card, and then it tacks on a $50 late fee without warning you that your payment didn’t go through. Lots of people have complained about this, and I’m not sure if that has been resolved — I stopped using the automatic payments as soon as this happened a second time.

You have no choice but to deal with Comcast for Internet, which is a nightmare in and of itself — you are forced to rent their equipment because the building was designed for fiber, and supposedly only their equipment works in that case (they gouge you on prices because they’re the only ones servicing the building; by the time the rental and miscellaneous fees and taxes are all added up, you could easily be looking at $100+/mo, which is insane). I had 5x the Internet speeds and far superior service with a local Chicago company for less than half the price I’m paying now. My advice: cut cable and just get a decent speed internet.

My hope is that the issues that can be fixed will be fixed with time. The convenience for purposes of going to class is unbeatable. Having a guaranteed parking spot in a covered garage is also nice. The fact is, however, that I lived in buildings built in the 1800’s in Chicago with better construction quality and reliability than this location.

Convenient, quality place

The apartment is located near campus and good restaurants

The foundry is easily one of the most expensive places in the area but the convenience can’t be beat. The ability to walk to campus is very appealing and its proximity to the stores and eateries on Eddy street is great.