Re: Park Harvey Apartments
Back when I had my first full-time post-graduation grown-up job in OKC I somewhat haphazardly moved into the Park Harvey (it was ~$200 cheaper then). I was satisfied with my time there, but I wasn't romantically attached to the building. After having lived in big cities like Boston and DC, I moved back to OKC for a job and started looking around for a place to live, but this time with experience as a renter and apartment hunter. I wanted a place like what I found in the larger cities I have lived in, a pay just one check a month, secured building, fast and reliable maintenance, well maintained type place. I wanted something downtownish near where I work and socialize. I wanted something affordable but was willing to pay more for a nicer setting. Low and behold, after extensive research (there were interactive spreadsheets) I ended up back at the Park Harvey.
In terms of niceness v. price it's the best deal. The other complexes downtown either have similar or only slightly less when you add utilities rent but are way less nice, e.g. The Regency and Deep Deuce, or are super expensive but not much nicer, e.g. The Legacy. A Slightly nicer slightly more expensive alternative is The Montgomery, owned by the same people, but it's really awkwardly placed downtown. PH is on the tram route 30 min max walking distance to everything fun and 10 min driving time max. How much you pay in rent is prorated based on your view. You look smack dab at the side of leadership square? You pay $200 less than my gorgeous western view for the same apartment. $200 is a lot.
The building is totally secure. The surrounding area feels slightly sketchy . . . until you realize that the downtown police officer parking is across the street and all the guys you see at 2:30 am are cops, in addition to the 24 hour a day security office for Leadership Square that is ground level and looks out on the little grassy area next to PH. After a Thunder game when I got home from a party and was walking to the building, two drunk guys leaving the game started harassing me (I'm a tiny 26 yo woman), a man in plain clothes jogged over showed his badge and asked the drunks to leave, and the security guard from LS stuck his head out too. The building is covered in security cameras.
Have I mentioned I love paying just one check a month? Rent, utilities, and parking all in one. Having lived in big cities, I don't mind having to park around the corner from my building. My car is totally Tornado safe,unlike at other complexes *cough cough Lincoln cough* and it actually takes me less time to get to my unit door from my car in OKC than from my assigned spot in the attached underground garage in DC. No attached parking is really NBD.
Since the new management came on in April 2012, all maintenance issues have been resolved permanently in under 36 hours, and my air filters get changed quarterly. The employees are all at least polite, some are even really nice and friendly (and really, they only need to be polite and efficient.) The higher up employees and property manager actually live in the building. I don't trust any building where the people who run it don't even live there.The staff is just great. One couple on my floor kept smoking despite the rules (both cigarettes and pot). First, the staff put up a letter on the door hook of every tenant on the floor politely reminding everyone that smoking was not allowed and was accompanied by fines and forfeiting your security deposit, then when the smokers started up again a month later, the smack came down and they were fined. I really like the attitude. They didn't single anyone out at first, but made their position clear and showed they had listened to tenant complaints. They gave a warning. Then, when the smokers kept stinking up the floor, the management followed through and made the problem stop. I think that's a great example of their attitude. They are flexible and forgiving, but not to a fault.
The Athletic Club is overrated, but the downtown YMCA is just down the street, really nice, has free yoga classes, and is cheaper. I jog there, work out, jog back. Perfect. The sushi restaurant is slightly over priced, but reliable and a great place to meet people or get food if you're feeling too lazy to cook.
Lastly, I totally admit, the outside of the building is ugly. Like, really ugly. That said, the apartments are nice. They aren't super luxurious, but they are super-well maintained, thoroughly cleaned and painted between tenants, and definitely cute. They have preserved all the nice interior luxury touches from when it was an Oil business office building with Deco Elevators, marble and wood paneling in the halls, a cool old mail chute, and more. Some of the tenants deface the stuff, the new management has been fixing all of that as soon as it happens and slamming the fines down on the vandals until they stop or move-out.
Over all, the Park Harvey is not luxury living, nor is it a rat-hole. It's a nice building that I really like living in. It's one of the few apartment buildings I've found that are like Big City options yet still manages to be affordable. I'd unreservedly recommend it to anyone who's budget it fits (remember to calculate renter's insurance, utilities, parking fees, W/D costs, etc when apartment shopping). If it had a balcony or roof access, it'd be perfect. Oh, and the studio unit water heaters are a little small. You can't run the dishwasher and simultaneously have a hot shower lasting longer than 10 minutes. That's the building's biggest flaw, which really, doesn't that say everything?
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Originally Posted by Pete
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