The Hub on Chestnut

Sure, this place is decent to live in if you’re in the philly/​university city area, but poor management really tries to take advantage of you. A friend spent ~15−20 hours making sure the apartment was spotless when they moved out, and the establishment still kept $ 150 of the security deposit beause the place was «dirty». It wasn’t possible to follow up with them and get a real explanation from them, so clearly they do this to everyone and hope unsuspecting college kids don’t know about it. Absolutely disgusting practice.

The Hub is an all right place to live, location-​wise; however their management style is incredibly poor. They don’t answer their phones or emails in a timely manner, and will look for any tiny reason not to refund a security deposit. My roommate and I spent four days cleaning the apartment from floor to ceiling and it was spotless; however, the Hub took $ 150 from our deposit for «excessive cleaning”– and then wouldn’t tell us what that meant. Finally, almost three months later, they’ve just written to tell us that the appliances weren’t clean, which is patently untrue. The roommate and I both moved into houses in West Philly and we’ve found that these places (which aren’t «specialized» in housing students) are much more professional and easy to deal with. Don’t rent with the Hub, you’ll save yourself money and stress renting elsewhere.

First of all if you have the money to live at this new clean apartment it is a great place to live. However, I can’t speak highly about the customer service (which is nonexistent). They are impossible to contact as they only have office hours for prospect residents by appointment only. There is NEVER anyone to answer your phone calls. Their customer service is merely for their only benefit of renting out more apartments. However, if it is a issue regarding your billing or a mistake they made good luck getting in contact with someone who can help you. Their website markets their apartments very well. However, they did not even have a listed property manager to contact is issues or questions arises. They don’t even tell you who the property manager is. So when they kept billing me the utility bill after I had moved out I had to google and hunt down someone who was capable and willing to even help me fix a mistake they made. The woman on the phone was very unapologetic and kept telling me to call the leasing office which I explained to her never answers the phone and is strictly for people who they will potentially making money off of. If you want good customer service, please be advised not to rent here.

I worked at Penn as a health economist for almost two years, and lived here the whole time. On an upper floor, I felt privileged to enjoy the best view in West Philadelphia (outside of the UPenn high rises, but… seriously? No comparison). The boy chose the apartment before I arrived. When I first saw it, the «industrial» look of bare concrete made me cringe a little, but the floors were smooth, shiny, and nice… it grew on me.
We paid $ 1500 a month for a 2-​bedroom apartment on the 7^th floor, facing East. Huge, floor-​to-​ceiling windows made the corner bedroom drafty in the winter, but it was so worth it. The view was amazing and the sunlight therapy made me happy, streaming in during the morning hours and warming me when I got up.
You also pay for the security: the door security codes are changed fairly regularly, the cameras in and outside of the building are monitored, and there’s almost always an Allied security guard or two wandering around outside on the corner of 40^th and Chestnut. Everything is well-​lit, and the one time I remember seeing that the building was tagged, the offending spray paint was removed within hours. (Of course, since there are cameras aimed at every corner of the building, only a moron would tag it… but whatever.)
The Hub is a bit pricier than living in one of the dilapidated old West Philly houses, but it was worth it. The majority of individuals our floor and nearby were adults – young professionals, families, Penn faculty and staff, etc. Since the Hub is so close to so many college campuses, you pay a premium to live in a building with other adults who don’t blast Kanye loudly on work nights and ralph in the halls. I didn’t think I’d turn into a fuddy-​duddy so soon, but after a run-​in with a set of alcoholic undergrads who objected in very obvious, annoying ways to the fact that my fiancée and I have an interracial relationship, I bit the bullet re: the rent in the hope that I could avoid living in close proximity to fratboys.
That said, the building is new, nice, and well-​maintained. I never saw ants, bugs, or mice/​rats (and those of you in West Philly know how rare that is). One of the benefits of living in a concrete building, I guess.
The location couldn’t be beat – a block from the FreshGrocer, gym, and UPenn, within a few short city blocks of a dozen yummy restaurants, the Aveda Salon, the Science Center, Drexel, and subways to everything not otherwise in the vicinity.
In addition, each apartment had a washer/​dryer unit and dishwasher, which made me SO HAPPY. The management was also good – Rob as the building superintendent, and Nicole in the office – both of them legitimately good people and with whom I’ve kept in touch since I left my beloved apartment (and the state) to start a PhD program in CA. If something malfunctioned, it was fixed ASAP. If there was a concern, it was addressed right away. Rob even offered to take care of my apt when I was away and water my plants.
Overall, a good experience. I was sad to leave and am not nearly as fond of my new apartment in California.