Berkshire Communities

Love the amenities and finishings at the apartment. Convenient location and I have always felt very safe. Maintenance responds to requests in a very timely manner.

Management took advantage of Fuqua students in the midst of a pandemic and did not honor the grad student addendum in the lease (half off rent for summer months if doing an internship >50miles away and not living in Durham). Students had to send offer letters to show proof of internship to receive discounted rent and management proceeded to call employers to see if the internship was moved to online. Fuqua administration told them to stop contacting employers and they proceeded to contact anyway. The management team breached the terms of the contract to try and get more money out of Fuqua students by taking advantage of the pandemic.

Management also tries to extort tenants by improperly assessing trash fees when you leave your trash can out for too long for it to be collected by valet trash then they proceed to say that if you don't pay the fee they will lock you out of your account so that you cant pay rent. They also have taken large sums of money out of students security deposit when moving out claiming damages when they use the cheapest materials possible in the units. The walls and windows are not soundproof, and the floors, door handles and appliances are the cheapest things you can get; yet they call themselves a luxury building. Berkshire ninth street should not be allowed to have access to Fuqua students or broader Duke students to market their building during admitted students weekend.

I chose this location because of its convenience -- I wanted to be close to other Fuqua students; however, it's not worth the price or hassle of dealing with management. Save your money and go with another apartment complex that's a short drive away and even closer to school. Also, over the past year, this has become a location for undergrad students to live which makes it feel like you're paying to live in an elevated frat house (e.g., frequent parties, throw up in the elevators and hallways, trash left outside for days on end etc.)

The Berkshire is located in a great location - walking distance to CAVA, Trader Joe's, Starbucks, and a number of fitness studios. There are walking trails for walking and running all which are located in safe Chapel Hill neighborhoods.

The apartments are very nice, including have huge windows, new appliances, and can be "broken up" to feel as though you have multiple living spaces. Only complaint is that the floors are relatively thin, so you can easily hear upstairs neighbors walking around.

Great $ value for the apartment space. Really good location centrally located to great shopping and food but tucked away in a residential neighborhood so it is quiet. Quick access to Lovers, DNT and University. Parking is great there are always spots. Valet trash picks up trash outside of apartment door (M-Thr).

Great place to live. Tons of amenities available for residents including gym, pool, study lounge with printer, coffee machine in the lobby and places to hangout in the lobby (socially distanced). The complex also sets up a lot of good events for residents such as free food trucks and breakfast a few times a month. I can definitely tell they want it to be a community when we aren’t in a pandemic.

Really good complex. Not too far from downtown Chapel Hill, about a 7 minutes drive to school and walking distance to Whole Foods, Trader Joes and many other restaurants and stores.

This apartment knows that they have business from students and therefore charges more than rent should be in Durham, NC. The management never wants to take responsibility for anything that happens in the apartment. The apartments are spacious and there is light depending on which side of the building you are on, but it is also right next to an active train and has pest control problems. Its not a terrible apartment but I would recommend living elsewhere.

Good spot to be

Above Average

Overall, I like living in Bmain. I have not had any bugs (roaches) in my apartment, which is on the 2nd floor; I would suggest not living on the ground level, as that seems to be worse wrt roaches. The common spaces are lovely. Printing is somewhat frustrating, as they use an outside vendor and if there is no paper on a weekend, you have to wait until the next week to hopefully have paper. Walls are thin, as is the case in any newer building in my experience. Packages easy to pick up and food delivery never an issue. DO NOT live on the side facing the train. I live in the original building, parallel to the train tracks, not facing the train, and I think it's generally brighter/nicer than the other, larger building. I seem to have taller ceilings than than units in the other building as well.

Poor management, cockroach issue than management poorly handles, amenities are not always working

Over priced

Right by the train, which is very disturbing and too loud for anyone to get used to it. The train runs all day and throughout the night. This was a point that the management lied about when I signed my lease.

Pro:

Overall BMain is great. Huge clubhouse area, with a conference room. The pool and nearby area are also great. The gym is decent. rooms have a lot of space. Package delivery is arranged perfectly. the residence is super quiet, so you can focus on your study, work, or just sleep.

Con:

Food delivery cant get into the building, and it's hard for a courier to find your apt, it's better to go down for pick-up.

There is an active Railroad near the building, so sometimes you can hear Train sirens. the sound can be quite loud, so pay attention to the location of the apt before choosing.

Neutral: there are many duke students in this building facility, but not many MBAs.

We like living here. Building management is very responsive and friendly. The apartments are spacious and modern looking. I can walk to Fuqua in about 30 minutes. The apartment life team does a great job organizing social events about 2x per month. I think Berkshire Main has one of the better common spaces compared to other buildings in the 9th street area. There are some things to be aware of: the surrounding grounds of the building appear to be a breeding area for cockroaches that enter your apartment from time to time, the train is very loud so you will not want to live near the intersection of Main and 15th street, and there has been a recent influx of undergrad students that occasionally are loud late at night.

The management can be slow to respond to requests, which can be frustrating. If you are a student, it is a good place to live because a lot of other students live nearby.