Charles River Park Apartments

We lived in 10 Emerson for 2 years. First the positives: The location is great and the apartments are spacious. Maintenance is responsive.
The downside is that the cost is very high for what you get. Unless you live in one of the new buildings there is nothing luxury about the units. They are old and poorly maintained. The laundry rooms are busy, the elevators are always broken, they will not turn off the heat until there is something like 1 week of days over 65 degrees in a row even if it is 80 degrees like it was a couple of years ago.
The worst part of living there is the management. They are unpleasant, impersonal, and care only about getting as much of your money out of you as possible. The leasing office is comprised mainly of a bunch of 20 year olds who do not have experience they need. It is difficult to get in touch with anyone in the leasing office to speak to when they try to jack up your rent every year. But most offensive to me was how impersonal they are. I paid rent by autopay, and one month their system for some reason dropped our autopay and we got an eviction notice on the door and in the mail. No phone call or anything. After finally reaching the manager Kory Lavelle who said «he’d look into it» and that it did show the autopay existed he assured me the problem was fixed. Next month another eviction notice etc. These people are there 9 – 5 to make money and really could care less about your satisfaction.
Also know that your rent will increase by at least 10% every year. They basically don’t negotiate that at all, especially if your lease starts in June or July which is the peak time because of the MGH residency cycle. To break your lease you need to fork out 1.5 months rent

No rented place is perfect, but I have to tell you honestly this place is pretty reasonable. Rents are pricey, but that’s because you pay for a downtown location, concierge service, and park maintenance. Incidentally because you are not in the immediate downtown, it is significantly cheaper than buildings like the Devonshire.
I lived in 10 Emerson for 3 years. Our rent increased each year only by about $ 100 which was pretty fair. When we called with problems (e.g., clogged disposal) they were fixed in a timely manner. Our front desk people were overall (one exception) really friendly and helpful. Also, I found the neighbors to generally be really great. In fact, I ended up marrying one of them! And he and I have numerous friends from the building.
Given its proximity to the red line, Whole Foods, CVS, Zipcars, the Charles River, etc. and the safety I always felt there, I would definitely recommend this building for someone working or in grad school in downtown Boston or bordering Cambridge.

I lived here for 2 years. At first my husband and I were in love with the place because of the views, all the amenities and location but all of that quickly changed the longer we lived there. Read below and be warned!
1.) HEAT — First of all heat is not included and we all know Boston is cold. When we were shown the apt I asked the leasing agent what the average heating bill was during the winter months. She told me — «Oh not bad at all — Very reasonable around $ 150 — $ 200 a month». I guess she meant if you turn on your heat for 2 hours a day!!! To conserve energy my husband I and ran our heat the 1^st cold month we had in the morning for about 1.5 hours before work, turned it off when we left, turned it back on when we got home at 6pm and ran it until 11pm and then turned it off when we went to bed. We also ran it whenever we were home on the weekends, turning it off when we left and at night when sleeping. First electric bill $ 430 and that was not the highest we had. At one point it reached almost $ 600 for ONE month!!! Our apt is about 1000 sq ft. and a 1 bedroom. Are you kidding me???
2.) AMENITIES: When we moved in we were under the impression that besides the small gym facility, which is $ 25 per month, that all other amenities were free. At least that is how it has worked at EVERY OTHER apt. complex I have rented from in the last 12 years! Not here. The pool was $ 100 to use for 3 months in the summer the 1^st year we were here. This year it went up to $ 150. We tried to use the tennis courts this summer to find it locked. We asked why. You need to reserve it and it cost $ 80 to use for the few months they are opened. 24-​hour concierge security. Yeah right, half the time they are sleep if it is after 11pm and only a handful of times have they asked our guests to stop and check in. Anyone can walk right in the building. This place nickels and dimes you for everything!
3.) RENT: The rent for 1 and 4 Longfellow place is outrageous for what you get. And if you renew, most of the time you can expect a large rental increase.
Do not be tricked. This place is not what it seems!!!

Not being terribly familiar with Boston, my boyfriend and I decided that we wanted to live in a high-​rise building. We had heard too many horror stories about people who thought they found a great brownstone… to find out there was a fraternity next door. We figured that we could learn the area, and then move if we needed to.
We must have looked at every high-​rise, doorman building in the greater Boston area. Our criteria: convenient location, reasonably priced, 1 – 2 bedrooms, doorman, gym in the building, lots of closet space. That doesn’t sound that difficult, right? Wrong! We saw so many over priced, small apartments with old kitchens and no light– or places just too far away from everything.
Then, we stumbled into Charles River Park, right in the West End (between Beacon Hill and the North End). They didn’t have an opening at the time, but we asked to be put on their list. When one opened up, we were overjoyed! We have over 1,000 square feet, a completely re-​done kitchen, hardwood floors, a balcony, tons of light… and tons of closet space! Not to mention the gym ($ 20!) and the pool during the summer!
So what are the drawbacks? Even on the high floors, it can sometimes get noisy at night. The washers/​dryers are in the basement. And, for whatever reason, our place gets dusty really fast!
All of our interactions with the staff/​leasing office have been really positive, and although they are in the process of fixing the elevators (long wait in the morning), any issues we have had, have been addressed quickly.