4200 Ludlow St

Great spacious place with lots of sunlight (because we luckily got a corner apartment). There's a gym and parking in the basement and washers and dryers on each floor. Sometimes packages get stolen though and the people upstairs can be noisy.

My experience with 4200 Ludlow has been a complicated one. First, the bad. The management isn't the best at responding. The first couple of times I tried getting maintenance, they didn't respond at all, and I had to call up University Realty to get it addressed. I also had a horrible experience with one of their maintenance guys, who was really rude to me and actually damaged some of my stuff and made a mess in my room. When I reported it, they said that they would "fix the issue" but then continued to send that same guy any time anything went wrong? Made me afraid to call maintenance. Huge package stealing problems, too. Literally, you can't order anything to here, it will get stolen. One of the biggest issues while I was here was natural light. I was in a 3 bed, 3 bath, and our living room area/kitchen had literally no windows and no natural light. It would just be pitch black in the middle of the day. At first, this was fine, since my room had an outward facing window. But then a massive building was built right outside my window completely blocking any view I may have had. So, my room became super depressing with no natural light in the entire apartment. They said that they didn't know that this was gonna happen, but also refused to offer any sort of discounted rent for it (I was genuinely considering just leaving the apartment at that point and breaking lease because of how depressed it was making me). This is where I would give them credit though -- when I reached out a few times about how this was negatively impacting my mental health, they did actually put in effort to try getting me a new apartment (although their solutions weren't feasible since I had two roommates, but hey, they tried). Two other negatives: the area and the false advertising. The building is not located in the best area. It's surrounded by boarded-up shops and construction. It looks quite ugly. If you are planning on renting here, please just visit first to see if you're comfortable being in the area. It's not really unsafe, though, just creepy sometimes. Second negative is false advertising because they have signs saying it's "luxury apartments" and listing a bunch of amenities even though some of them aren't true. For example, they say they can offer parking, but it's an extra 150 per month and when I signed my lease they said they couldn't offer me parking since their garage was full (so they don't actually have parking, since it's always filled). It's also far from luxury. Very much the corporate, bunch of identical apartments made to make a bunch of money deal. Little to no character in the apartments. But it does the job?

Pros: Like I said, management tried finding a solution for me with the construction issue, and they are responsive if you know how to reach them (by calling). Having your own bathroom for a cheap-ish price is amazing. Love it and gonna miss it. It's a very new building so little to no bugs (I never saw a cockroach once during my entire time here). And it also has a very modern feel which is nice. Very clean and well-kept. But in general, it's not like mind-blowingly amazing, and I think part of why I have a more positive view on it is because after journeying through the rental market for a new place to live, many of these other companies are so bad that it makes this one look okay.

Summary: Renting in Philly sucks. Take what you can get. If you want something that is a safe "okay" bet then this might be a good idea. But ask for discounts and see if they have any deals (it can make a HUGE difference -- our neighbors were paying $500 less a month than us because we didn't ask). Lastly, visit the apartment in person first. Please.

This place is great. The apartment is spacious with private en-suite bedrooms. We have a corner apartment so there's a lot of sunlight in the living space. The two downsides are that 1) walls are thin and I can hear my upstairs neighbors all the time (they're quite loud) and 2) there's construction in the area so it can get dusty and not really great for someone who's allergic to dust/ has hay fever. The building also has a gym and an elevator, but the trash system is a little confusing.

Nice apartment units, Bad Building & Area

The building is very close to the school and is an easy walk, making it a great spot for a first year to stay. It’s got everything you need (close to grocery store, optional parking garage, safety features, private bathrooms, etc). The only downside is it’s not very glamorous living but it’s very nice and newly built so I have no complaints!

The management is pretty poor at responding to issues. Not a very safe area. Close to the edge of campus. New appliances but air vents often very dirty so many people get sick. Expensive for what it is. Gym is terrible.

I've lived here for 2 years now, and it's alright - nothing exceptional but not the absolute worst either. I like that every bedroom has its own bathroom and the building is brand new so the finishes are nice. There's a small cardio room in the basement, laundry on every floor, and parking available for an additional fee. However, in the apartment itself, the rooms are unevenly distributed (my room is huge with a large window with tons of sunlight, but my roommate has a small room with a window facing the air shaft). There are many undergraduate students who live in the building and are sometimes noisy on weekends, which could be distracting to a studying dental student. On the flip side, there are a decent amount of dental students who live in the building, so there is always someone to walk to class with or even just to say hi to in the hallway. Management is okay. I have never met the property manager, but maintenance is pretty responsive, which matters most.

My unit is a bit small and the kitchen window get absolutely no sunlight, so there is no natural light in the living space. However, both of our bedrooms are south facing and get fantastic natural light. We’ve been seeing a few bug pop out of crevices here and there, but only once or twice a month. It is a super convenient walk to school. The intersection is a bit noisy from car traffic and populated by homeless people, but they do not bother anyone and keep to themselves.