Scully Company

The St. James is a newer high rise building and is extremely well maintained with a friendly staff. Our unit has floor to ceiling windows with stunning views of center city, and a balcony that lets us enjoy amazing sunsets every evening. The building includes an indoor pool and gym and allows pets. The location is perfect, right off Washington Square and walking distance to all the city has to offer. We've lived here for 5 years and wouldn't want to live anywhere else!

Very busy area - all the noise from 15th and chestnut comes right into the apartment because the walls are paper thin (I was also on the 5th floor). The area can get shady at night. There are frequent power outages. Also, for Wharton students, the location is quite far from where most students live and is not within walking distance of Huntsman Hall.

My wife and I have really enjoyed the Fairmount @ Brewerytown. This is the only reasonably affordable place in Philly to my knowledge that can accommodate 3 pets and has a parking garage at the unit.
The units themselves are stylish and spacious and the common areas/gym/amenities are excellent (especially the rooftop deck with a pool!).
The only possible downside is that it isn't really within walking distance of PCAM or any of the Penn hospitals. That said, it's an easy 15 minute bike ride down the Schuylkill trail to JMEC.

This is an excellent commute to the law school if you want to live in Center City. My building is about a block from the 15th Street Market Frankfort Line stop at City Hall, and it runs right to 34th and Market. I usually leave my apartment at 8:30am and am at school no later than 8:45am with plenty of time to print things and get organized before 9am class.
Note, friends who live in Uni City may be less willing to travel over to Center City, but there is way more to do in the Center City area, so introduce people to the MFL and that will help the social aspect.

The leasing office was a little disorganized, but the unit is beautiful and I've had no issues with electric, water, heat/AC or anything. There is a nice gym and some silent study spaces in the penthouse if you don't want to study in your apartment. No noise from neighbors, and there are definitely some Wharton folks in the building. Building is wired for Comcast and Verizon Fios.
There is some construction across the street and we're on the corner of 15th and Chestnut, so there can be some noise, even a few floors up. It's not the end of the world to me because I am a heavy sleeper and cityscape sounds don't bug me in general. But, nonetheless, make sure you pay attention to the noise level when you visit to see if you are ok with it. Leasing was very upfront and honest about noise and construction, too, so ask questions.
If you have an apartment on the Chestnut St side (south facing) there is a bunch of sunlight! All around a good place to be. Close to Rittenhouse, a quick walk to the Sansom St bars and the cool 13th St neighborhood. I'll likely stay all 3 years of law school.

Outstanding place to live and really convenient to get around the city. Nice amenities, friendly doormen, and a new Stephen Starr coffeeshop (Parliament) right downstairs.

Great building with lots of Wharton students. Building has amenity space (great for small group gatherings), gym and roof deck with stunning views of Philadelphia.

Overall, I've enjoyed living at the Avenir. The gym, lounge areas, study rooms, etc are always clean and well-managed. The front desk employees are great and someone is always there 24/7. Only con is that it is slightly outside of Rittenhouse, but the trolley is very convenient, a ~2 minute walk from the building

I really love the management here! The screening room, community space, free printing, gym, and conference rooms are a great addition to the building. The building is right in the heart of Philadelphia and a few short blocks from Rittenhouse Square. All appliances are up to date and most after school/night time activities happen within a few blocks of this location.

If you're looking to live in a high rise apt, Icon is a great option. Updated units, friendly/responsive staff/service, nice amenities, and great location

Amazing apartment building, great staff, quick to respond to issues, centrally located, a lot of young people in building (Wharton and professionals). THE BEST ROOF IN PHILLY.

Love the finishings, amenities, location, doormen, pretty much everything about it! Am so happy I decided to live here.

Great building with lots of Wharton students. Building has amenity space (great for small group gatherings), gym and roof deck with stunning views of Philadelphia.

Very solid apartment. Finishes are updated and modern. Decent sized apartment, but not the best layout. Many of the apartments have a large column in the middle of the space, which isn't great. I've seen other apartments with much better layouts. There's a lot of storage space, there is in-unit washer/dryer, dishwasher, a large updated bathroom, and windows in both the main room and bedroom. This apartment building is a converted office building from a few years ago, so everything is still pretty new. Good amenities. Sometimes there are issues with the water pressure and sometimes the elevators run slowly. Otherwise, it's a great building.

Lets start with the good: Fairly new building, awesome building amenities, great location with lots of great restaurants and bars nearby, and well laidout floorplans. I knew about the negatives going into the apartment, so they aren't necessarily unexpected, but they can still get annoying over the course of a year. As a starting point, the units are really small for the price. The prices are still better than some of the other options in Center City, but I've had to be ultra organized in order to fit all my furniture in and to make sure I have sufficient closet space. There is also a lot of street noise/construction noise. The construction noise has become better over time, but given all of the new construction in Center City I'm not sure it's really avoidable anywhere in the city.

Pros
Free printing is huge plus for students
Management is quick to respond with repair requests
Security folks are very amicable
Package pickup is very convenient
Location is close to the trolley (stops on 37th and Spruce)
2BD2BA are spacious & high-ceilinged (1000+ sqft)
Close to 13th st shops and restaurants (but further from campus)
Remote temperature control

Cons
Noise due to single-pane windows (I can hear conversations on the street, the drummers!!, Chestnut st. honking at 2AM, drilling at 1AM, constructions etc.)