The Civic in Fairmount

I regret spending four months in this place. I suspect there was mold in my apartment, and it already had fleas when I moved in. I didn't realize it until I started using the bathroom or sitting down to eat. The microwave also had a horrible mildew smell underneath. The fleas eventually went away after I kept using RAID, but the other problems stayed. Maintenance was a joke, dragging its feet and leaving things unfinished. Erik, the last property manager, was fired; I found him incompetent and dishonest. Maddy also seemed dishonest and fake. Once she got me in, she ghosted me. I left that hellhole and wouldn't recommend renting there.

Over the two years I lived here, basic services and management were repeatedly lacking. The front door was often broken, and at any given time only one of the two elevators worked. Concierge staff were at the desk only about half the time. There were mice and rats in the stairwell and garbage rooms, along with mice and roaches in the apartment. Management rarely answered calls or emails, except when pursuing disputed security deposit charges or what they call utility fees. My studio's utility bills were around $350, and electricity alone was somehow over $300 for a tiny studio. Other residents have complained about the same bills. That much heating use seems impossible for a studio, more like what a large, maintained house might pay. Meanwhile, residents paying luxury rents are left with a project-like experience and little consideration. Please don't rent here, you'll be scammed.

UPDATE: Management won't share surveillance footage with police investigating my car break-in, or even let me view it myself. They won't work with me or offer compensation, even though there are two vacant lots on the property. My car has been towed three times outside the building, ticketed, and broken into twice, adding costs that have doubled a month's rent. Trash around the property makes it look like a dumpster. My electric bill has been three or four times its usual amount for the past two months, though I'm rarely home and don't use much power when I am. I even had frost inside my apartment. I asked to have the windows sealed because of the cold and electric costs, and they refused. Save your time and money. I wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy. I've only lived here since July and can't wait for my lease to end. My main problems are with the neighborhood more than the building itself. There's no property parking, just street parking, so I often drive around in circles looking. My car was broken into in my second week, then towed about a month later. I'm anxious every day about whether it'll be there or get broken into, and I'm aware of this happening regularly to other people too. When I filed a police report, the cops said they come to this property often for car break-ins. I paid $500 for a replacement window and $230 to get my car out of impound after it was towed because parking is so limited and difficult, while a vacant lot sits unused and unavailable to us. There was a shooting a few blocks away about a month ago. People are often yelling outside, and the nearby fire department means loud sirens wake me almost every night. I feel unsafe in the neighborhood. The building itself has a key fob, a front desk, and no apartments on the first floor, which does make me feel more comfortable, especially since I keep seeing alerts about break-ins nearby. I also have a constant leak in my living room.

Our first year in Philadelphia has been pretty good at The Civic, and the positives outweigh the drawbacks by a lot. The neighbors are kind, the staff are friendly, and you get a decent amount of privacy from other apartments. Management is approachable and willing to talk through questions or problems, and they've helped us as we work on moving to another building they manage. Most days are calm. We rarely share or wait for the elevator. Construction across the street has been loud, though that's understandable in a growing city like Philadelphia. The biggest hassle has been delivery drivers finding the right address, so include delivery instructions. 8/10 overall.