Park Tower Apartments

The staff and management are attentive to residents needs. This is a concrete building and sound travels easily from floor to floor, which can be unfortunate when your new neighbors two floors up or three floors below you start to construct furniture at 10 PM because every apartment in between will here the hammering. The carpet is old and damaged in many of the units, and the management is current replacing the carpet with linoleum in some units. Great views, and they will charge you for all extra amenities like storage and parking.

Amazing views and a generally friendly staff. Peggy was super helpful and remembered my name from day one. When I wanted a corner unit on the 10^th floor, she put me in one of their model units until it became available. The rent was very reasonable and I got 100% of my damage deposit back. I honestly did not want to leave but my single life ended and I needed a place closer to Seattle.
The only downsides to living here are paying for laundry machines, taking the elevators everyday, not having a gym and not being able to have pets here. I had a misunderstanding with a staff member on the location of my rent check and she was kinda rude, but I don’t think she is there anymore.
Otherwise, this place is affordable and has amazing views in some units. If you decide to live here, go for the 10^th floor or higher and a corner unit on the Tacoma Ave side.

I wanted to move to downtown Tacoma. I wanted a spacious apartment in a safe area, but also close to fun bars and restaurants (6^th Ave) and the lovely Ruston waterfront. I wanted to be able to step out the door and go for a run. And lastly, I wanted a place that wasn’t astronomically expensive!
Park Tower was the best choice for me. I lived here for 13 months and really enjoyed it. For a very competitive price, I got a very large apartment (750+ sq ft) on a high floor with BEAUTIFUL views (check out my pics — I took them myself from my windows). However I also toured another apartment on a different side of the building, and it wasn’t that much cheaper! — hold out and you can get something amazing here.
All my Seattle friends would come over and marvel at how much space I got for the price.
Moving in, Peggy and the staff were soo friendly and helpful — they coned the parking spots in the front before my moving truck got there so I didn’t have to worry about finding a spot. They were great with receiving my packages (and I receive a lot of shoes, people) and any small maintenance issues I had; these were done within a day. Most impressively, they added extra sturdy closet bars for me, by request, because I had (erm. have) an embarrassing amount of clothes.
Oh and location? This is the PRIME location for downtown Tacoma: it’s an easy, painless exit on and off the freeway (you don’t have to pass or take WA-​16!), no traffic, it’s walking distance to The Hub, Stadium Thriftway (grocery), Subway, the Parkway Tavern, Doyle’s, The Harmon Taproom, etc. It’s also directly in front of Wright Park, so I could go walking or running whenever I wanted. Just throw on my shoes and go — it’s 0.9 miles around, so I always had an easy 3 mile route in place. Lastly it’s within 2 miles of the 6^th Ave strip and the waterfront, with superb restaurants and happy hours! (Try the $ 5 burger w/​truffle fries at Shenanigans…)
Now for the –1 star, or things I think Park Tower should improve: #1 is the décor in the common areas. It is a very old, 1970s seafoam green and it’s splattered everywhere. Doors, trims, furniture, you name it. And honestly it’s an eyesore. I think this apartment building would be the very best in the area if they redid the entrance and hallways. It always bugged me. Literally one of the first questions I asked when I moved in: «Are they planning on redoing this lobby anytime soon?» Hahaha. Guess not.
Second con is that parking here is very expensive. $ 95 for a garage spot, $ 75 for covered, and $ 55 for one out in the boonies on some uneven, crazy pothole cement? I’m sorry but even in Seattle the parking rates are cheaper (usually $ 60 for a garage spot). I signed up for just covered, which I loved — with our mild winters, I’ll tell you not to get a garage spot; save the $ 20/​month.
Lastly the elevators are super slow, have some visible damage and because their walls are made of carpet (???) you can always tell if the person who rode the elevator before you was wearing cologne or took home a pizza.
However: those are the nitpicky things. There are pros and cons to anywhere you live. And at Park Tower, almost all of them are pro’s. As I mentioned, fantastic location, nice, professional managers, and sweet apartment layouts. If you’re considering downtown Tacoma, definitely consider PT.

park tower is NOT the way to go when you’re trying to find a nice place downtown. sure, it’s less expensive than a lot of places in the area, but for a reason.
at first, it seems like a decent place to live. the office staff APPEARS to be nice & seems secure. but that’s not always the case.
firstly, the staff takes blame for NOTHING. proof they signed for & lost your package? your fault, because you obviously forgot you picked it up. maintenance problem didn’t get fixed? excuse after excuse after EXCUSE. there’s a mold problem in most, if not all of the units (i’ve talked to multiple people), & trying to move? good. lord. they will pin everything they can on you, try to screw you out of as much money as they can. horrible, horrible staff & management.

Hands down this is one of the best apartment deals in downtown Tacoma, especially if you are a you adult who does not want to pay the insane prices of The Metropolitan or Court 17 but still want to have decent neighboors.
I grew up in NYC and have spent my entire life living in tons of apartments throughout Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn and yes, I have experienced every sort of landlord and supervisor you can imagine.
I have read so many negative reviews on other websites about this building but they are probably people who have had little to no experience to apartment life. One of the big things is when you decide to live there you sign something called a lease agreement which states the rules while living in the apartment, when rent should be paid, what services are or not provided, how long you are expected to stay in the facility, standards of living you are to keep, respecting of neighbors as well as possible increases in rent.
Many people do not read these leases, sign away and get mad when they find out they broke a rule they didn’t know about because they were too ignorant to read it and keep a copy of the lease. Back in NYC some even have lawyers to review them.
Yes the building is old but solid, unlike some other buildings it is concrete based which means it is fire retardant and handles sound well. The apartment building is located in a good area, safe, has a front office and laundry room and trust me… THE PRICE IS EXCELLENT for what it has.
THE FRONT STAFF IS VERY NICE AND AMAZING! They even sent my wife and I a gift basket for our wedding. People have no idea what a great apartment complex there is. There are people who have lived there for many years, most tend to be from the east coast with apartment experience as well.
I believe the people who complain are probably those who were causing problems to the building whether is smoking, noise, hygiene etc. We do have some young irresponsible renters that move in, have ridiculous parties with tons of people and leave the building a mess., What these people don’t realize is that there are working young adults, families and retirees living here who don’t appreciate that sort of living and Joyce and the front staff simply defend our living standards.
There are new elevators, major room renovations and constant maintenance and repair. Bottom line… READ THE DAMN LEASE AGREEMENT!!!