The Jeffrey

I have lived at the Metalworks building (right behind Jeffery) for about a year now and I have immensely enjoyed the unique living spaces that that metalworks offers. The ridiculously high ceilings (20 ft or so), exposed I-​Beams, and polished concrete floor, and huge windows give the space an incredibly open and spacious feel to them. This openness makes the apartments really easy to decorate and buy furniture for (I’m a guy so it doesn’t come easily to me). I also had an incredible view of italian village and an old steel mill up until about a month ago when Battery B (another Jeffrey apartment place) started construction. I’ll briefly list the things, I really liked about living here:
1). As mentioned earlier, you will be hard pressed to find a more scenic living space.
2). The shower head is amazing. It comes straight out of the ceiling. I find myself missing it when I’m away.
3). The security of the gated entrance as well as the fob entrance to building make living here very safe
4). The gym here gets a lot of hate but it isn’t that bad. I usually work out somewhere else, but it’s great if you’re just trying to hit a 30 min workout or something. They also have a rowing machine which is great.
5). The other residents here are incredibly friendly and interesting people.
6). Although there are differing opinions below, I have found that management is generally responsive and helpful.
7). The bathroom is gorgeous. Especially the sink and sink counter.
8). Granite countertops in kitchen and beautiful wooden cabinets above the sink
Some things to keep in mind before renting here:
1). Especially since the Jeffrey is pet-​friendly (a RARITY now in apartment), it can get a little noisy. It took me about a month to adjust to the noise levels here while falling asleep. Running the fan on the AC Unit pretty much drowns everything out. I live on the 3^rd floor so it could potentially be worse on second and first floor when you have people above you as well.
2). There is no covered parking and the parking spaces are very narrow. Not really a big deal unless you have a really nice car and don’t want it to be exposed to the snow in the winter.
3). The power bills can get very expensive if you run the AC/​Heat all the time since the ceilings are so high. However, if you only use your heat/​AC when absolutely necessary, it’s not that big of an issue. My power bills ranged from $ 80-​$ 140 during my tenure here.
4). There is very little storage space in most of the units! Luckily, in the 3^rd floor 1 bedrooms, you can put things on top of the bathroom. Also, the bathroom doesn’t have any shelves which can be a problem (especially for females). I would not recommend a one bedroom for 2 people. It’s just not enough space.
5). If you like to cook, there is not a whole lot of counter space. I would definitely buy a kitchen island with some stools (ikea has one that goes great with the cabinets).
The only reason I am leaving is because my fiancée is moving up here this fall after we get married and I need a bigger space. I am sad to be leaving, but excited to start a new chapter of my life. I would highly recommend the jeffrey/​metalworks especially to single young professionals.

Management is unresponsive and impossible to communicate with. SEVERAL areas of the property are disappointing at best, most blaringly the gym hitch is full of rusted out and old equipment. Walls are thin and residents are loud.
Not even close to worth the money.

i moved to the jeffrey in the summer of 2010. i rented a beautiful/​large 1 bedroom on the 2^nd floor in the back corner of the building. little did i know that every night i would be «delighted» to the music from exile vibrating my bed, every morning i would be greeted with the bus announcement picking up outside of my window, & that with no true property manager on site, i would have multiple high-​value packages stolen from my front door with no investigation from the building with so many «cameras» & such touted «security» amenities.
out of convenience, when my boyfriend & i moved in together 2 years later, i thought moving to a larger unit on the other side of the building would help with the noise problems & i wrote the theft off as an anomaly. meanwhile: there are no screens so the apartment is a glorified greenhouse in the summer & in the winter there’s no insulation so ice & frost forms on the panes & frames. the «gated» parking lot is continually broken & open for weeks at a time. and speaking of security, a man was sleeping in our hallway last week & i was told «he was a resident, don’t worry about it.» the neighbors’ dog barks non-​stop all night & day. with new construction taking place from 7am until 8 or 9pm 6 days a week the noise problem has changed & worsened (& there’s no chance of that stopping in the near future with the multitude of projects going up out front). the first time the «property manager» even stepped foot in my unit was to show it to a girl & her mother unannounced after 6pm on a weeknight while i was cooking dinner… and, since giving our 60-​day notice to vacate, there have been THIRTY TWO showings (sometimes up to 5 a day) & 3 instances where we’ve been told «this is the last time — it’s been rented!» only to have more showings booked for the following days.
the jeffrey does not care about their residents, so if you’re looking for a place that puts you first, don’t look here. if you’re looking for a place that has their residents’ best interests at the top of mind, this isn’t the place for you. if, instead, you’re looking for a place that has morphed from a nice, professional home to a community of high-​paying frat boys & party girls… welcome to the jeffrey.

I moved to the Metal Works building in the summer of 2013 after relocating to Columbus from Denver for work. I have lived in a fair share of apartments over the years and must say, this is the WORST property management company. I understand that when you rent, you have to deal with certain inconveniences such as thin walls and barking dogs but those were not my most serious complaints. I’ll gladly list them out for those of you who are considering a move here. If you want to skip the essay below, my honest opinion is, if you like to party and don’t care about having a management company taking care of you or taking pride in their property, don’t care about being inconvenienced by loud neighbors or construction, and have a fairly large budget for rent, then the Metal Works may be a good fit. For me, I want to trust that my property management cares about me and makes an effort to add value.
PRO: Walking distance to Short North.
PRO: Basic cable is included in rent.
PRO: The rooftop patio is a fun place to have drinks as it had a great view of downtown.
CON: I live on the top floor so I have 17 foot ceilings. The windows here are so poorly insulated, I had ice freezing inside the house all winter. I am pretty conservative with my thermostat settings (69 in the winter and 72 – 74 in the summer). My power bills are consistently over $ 200/​month. Not a property management issue, but just a serious thing to consider. Your advertised rent will be several hundred more than you anticipated when you consider all the other expenses.
CON: Our neighbor had a bed bug infestation and a pretty serious one at that. I had a friend from out of town spend the night and she got bit several times. We found one of the bugs had made it into our place from under the wall. The property manager, who is extremely defensive and unresponsive, actually threatened me saying they would pay for an exterminator to come out but if we told anyone, they would hold us financially responsible.
CON: There is one line of communication for residents. Don’t try to call. Your calls will always go to voice mail and your only point of contact won’t return them. I called twice and left messages about getting a W/​D in my unit and when I followed up for the third time with email, I got an excuse that their phones have been down. Interesting, your phones have been down for a month? How do you do business with no phone? I won’t dwell on how late the W/​D unit was actually delivered… Our neighbor downstairs has had some recurring issues with water leaking into his unit. They don’t care about the seriousness of that situation either. Their negligence is grounds for terminating a lease.
CON: The property is advertised as being «pet-​friendly.» They have a couple dog stations where you can dispose of poo bags but they won’t supply the bags for you. I have finished concrete floors so I know the dogs won’t be damaging that. What is my pet rent covering exactly? Since we’re talking about the property, I must say it is always in a state of disrepair. The pedestrian gate has been busted since we moved in. A neighbor brought that to the attention of the property management company and they said that security is «advertised» in the lease, but not guaranteed. I want these loopholes for my personal life! The elevator is broken once a week which isn’t really a huge deal for me since I like taking the stairs but when you are moving heavy furniture, it gets to be an issue. There is a neighbor that lets their dog use the stairwell as a toilet and the property management didn’t seem too concerned about that. Also the BBQ graveyard in the parking lot is a joke. If that’s what they are advertising as the «communal courtyard» on the website, someone should be fired. A couple of shabby picnic tables in a corner of a parking lot with 6 rusty grills does not a courtyard make.
CON: There is minimal storage. Not even a medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Very hard to keep your place looking organized when you don’t have a single closet or pantry with a door and everything is exposed. Probably a good fit for a single guy who doesn’t have a million shoes and make-​up. It’s been a struggle keeping myself organized here.
CON: There is a gym although the equipment is not cared for. The treadmills are rusted out. I workout elsewhere.
PRO: Emergency maintenance requests are addressed expeditiously. I had the heat go out on one of the freezing days we had last winter where the temp was -25 °F with wind chill. I turned on the oven when I got home from work to try heat the place while waiting on maintenance. He came within 1.5 hours.
CON: No covered parking.
CON: No parcel acceptance.
CON: Not all the windows have screens so you if you want some fresh air, opening a window may not be the best idea unless you want the mosquitos to come in for a visit.
That’s the rundown of my year here. I promptly signed a lease elsewhere.

I’ve lived in the Metalworks building for two years now, and the reason I give it 3 stars is that the apartments here have terrible, TERRIBLE SOUNDPROOFING.
This means that, if you don’t want to know everything your neighbors say and do, this is probably not the place for you. It’s no exaggeration: I’ve never lived in a place with such bad soundproofing. While noise from neighbors is an inherent fact of apartment living, this is no ordinary thing here at Metalworks. Basically, when your neighbor listens to music or when their dog barks, it’s as if they were listening to music IN YOUR OWN LIVING ROOM and as if their dog was barking INSIDE YOUR APARTMENT. If you happen to have neighbors that enjoy loud music or that have a loud dog, then I’m sorry for you.
Of course, no one will tell you this before you sign your lease. That’s why I’m leaving this review here as a warning.
Other than that, it’s a pretty cool apartment building.
But beware the freakishly thin and unsealed walls!

I’ve lived in the Metalworks building at the Jeffrey for 4 ½ years now, and I have nothing but great things to say about my experience here. The unique design elements (especially the exposed I-​beams and duct work and concrete floors) make this building one of a kind, and its location simply can’t be beat.
The building is close enough that it’s an easy walk to the bars, restaurants, and shopping that make the Short North a such great place to live, while being set back far enough from High Street that residents here can also escape from the hustle and bustle, and don’t have to contend with many of the drawbacks and that often come along with living in such a desirable location (excessive noise and parking issues, for example).
The complex is pet-​friendly, of course, but The Jeffrey/​Metalworks stands out as one of the few apartment complexes in the Short North that’s completely surrounded by a grassy area that’s large enough for residents and their pets to play on.
As a female living alone, one of the features I’ve enjoyed the most has been peace of mind, as the gated parking and the key fob entry system give a sense of security. While I haven’t had many issues while living here, property management and maintenance have been very responsive and friendly when I have had occasion to interact with them.
I’m a bit sad to be leaving, and I would stay here longer if I could, but it’s time for me to move on and open a new chapter in my life. I’m certain that I will always fondly remember the time I spent living here at Metalworks.

I’ve lived @ «The Jeff» for over two years now and will admit, it’s a great place to live. The office and maintenance crew are always on top of requests, especially Priscilla and Tina, and make living here great. It’s only a 10 minute walk to all the restaurants, shops, and bars in the Short North.
The rooftop view is incredible and gated secure parking lot is a major perk. There are organized amazing happy hours, resident appreciation weeks, and free coffee, pool table, tanning bed, and gym.
I’d highly recommend checking a unit out with Rebecca, leasing agent, who’s awesome, and making this your next home.

I’ve lived at the Jeffrey for almost 2 and ½ years. It’s been a very positive experience overall. I have a top floor unit, so it’s a loft: the ceilings are vaulted and there’s elements of industrial character, which I like. The location, close to Short North, is fantastic. I’ve had several maintenance issues through the years, and management has generally been very responsive. I have had more than one neighbor who likes to play music loud, sometimes quite late – the walls are by no means soundproof, but then it’s apartment living, after all.
But all in all, no regrets. It’s been a good first home in Columbus!

I have been a pretty happy resident at the Jeffrey for a little over a year and a half. The building offers many great amenities, has responsive management, and a location that will prove to be very close to the heart of development in IV and the Short North. I’ve encountered many positives and a few negatives since move-​in day.
The positives:
— The lobby area and rooftop deck are great amenities for guests. There are a few negatives about them, however. I’ll share those later.
— The true «raindrop» shower head in the bathroom. I miss it whenever I travel away and it’s one of the first things I like about coming home.
— An excellent massage therapist (Gina) who has a space set up in the basement for massages. There’s nothing like walking from your apartment to a massage and coming back again to relax.
— Management that is responsive ~97% of the time for repairs and other issues. Maintenance requests have been typically handled within 1 business day with an exception where a refrigerator required a part to be shipped. Issues with disruptive residents seem to be handled discretely and in a timely manner (with a few exceptions… see below).
— In the past, Cityspace has had regular events (happy hours and mimosas once a month) for residents. There hasn’t been a happy hour in over a year and Mimosa Sundays were recently ended due to «cost.»
The Negatives:
— The punch list for my apartment at move-​in was much longer and contained several major items that I would’ve expected to have been addressed prior to move-​in for a location of this stature. Carpets were not cleaned, touch-​up painting, cleaning and caulking was not done, and the dishwasher was not actually secured to the floor. The latter issue was immediately resolved and the others have been resolved as they come up or will be resolved at move out. The company was also in-​between property managers when I moved in, which might have been an issue.
— The ~3% of the time that management is not responsive. It sometimes takes several e-​mails to get an issue addressed. There is a tenant with a loud barking, yapping dog in a very conspicuous apartment that has received numerous complaints from several different residents with no action on the part of management.
— On long weekends the garbage chute tends to back up.
— The rooftop deck was designed with built up cushions on most of the surface for residents to «lay out» instead of furniture. This makes hosting smaller get-​togethers very awkward for seating. If I were the boss, I would tear them out and replace them with nice, heavy furniture.
— See note above about drawing down of community events. This was billed as an amenity when I moved in and was a great way to get to know our neighbors. It is disappointing that such a small monetary investment in the resident experience should go away.
Overall, I was glad I moved in and was not disappointed. The negatives mentioned above prevent a full 5 star rating and experience.