Lofts on Alabama

Good apartment. Part of the building is a restored warehouse so it has original exposed brick, the rest is a relatively new build. Maintenance is highly responsive, building is relatively quite itself, but behind bridge street so weekends can get a little loud late at night, but nothing that has ever kept me awake. Convenient location with limited (but free) street parking, 1min walk to grocery store, around the corner from restaurants, and 15m walk to Secchia. You can also pay something like $100 for parking if you want to ensure you always have a spot.

So far, my building has been good. The experience of touring & contacting management has been less than ideal - I contacted them every other day for two weeks to schedule a tour, but no one ever responded. Then I finally applied for one of their units that was listed as a move in date of 8/7, but then after they accepted my application & I paid all of the fees, they tried to tell me that I couldn’t move in until 8/30. Eventually, I was able to move in on 8/7, and there were a few minor things that I had to contact maintenance about, but overall, maintenance responded super quick & I have not had any problems since then! The rent is pretty good for the area (lots of restaurants, bars, YMCA, grocery store), but one downside is that there is no gym in the building. Parking is not included in rent, but if you get a Grand Rapids street parking permit, you can park in the street right in front of the building for only $30-50 for the entire year depending on when you purchase the permit. I pay electric and internet (usually like $60-$90 per month for electric and $30-40 per month for internet). The bridge street market is right across the street, so that has been super convenient! The building itself is pretty quiet overall (rarely hear neighbors next door unless they are really blasting music), but since there are a lot of bars & restaurants on Bridge St, it can sometimes get loud outside, but not too bad. There aren’t really any amenities in the building besides one community area in the basement, but I rarely ever use it. I also did have a big fruit fly problem when I first moved in, and no matter what I tried, they would not go away. I think they were coming from the drains, but it has subsided now that it’s colder outside. The apartment itself is pretty nice! My studio is about the same size as a one bedroom in this building. The kitchen is very nice and there is a walk in closet.

Pros: Location, location, location. It is a 2 minute walk from Bridge Street Market, an affordable, Meijer's operated grocery store that is the only one in downtown Grand Rapids. It is a 6 minute walk from YCMA. It is about a 15-18 minute walk to Secchia, less on the way back. It is also on Bridge Street, which has several restaurants and bars. It is definitely one of the cheapest, relatively, one bedroom one baths I have seen around downtown GR.

Cons: There is no on-site management since it is operated by Rockford Properties which operates many other properties too, so it takes a VERY long time to get into contact with a representative. It can take up to several days if you don't pester them. I don't have many other cons to be honest besides there being no amenities, but I wouldn't use them much anyways.

Lofts on Alabama has been a pretty great experience overall! It is a pretty good location to the Secchia center/medical mile (about 15 minute walk) and right next to tons of restaurants, bars, and even a grocery store. Everything is so walkable.

The rent is also pretty reasonable for the location.

There are not a ton of super special amenities, but the apartments are remodeled and the maintenance staff has been a huge help with any of our issues. Parking is not included, but you can either pay for a pass or try and find street parking which isn't too difficult usually.