Chowning Square Apartments

I drove by Chowning Square towards work this morning and cringed as I saw signs out stating they are now leasing. I lived in Chowning for one year (lease recently ended) and moved out as soon as possible. When I first moved to Nashville, I was in a hurry to find an apartment and, of course, fell for the advertising of a great location with cheap rent. It is cheap rent for the area, indeed, but you definitely get what you pay for here. The apartments are incredibly outdated — kitchen appliances break often and are very old, there is carpet in the bathrooms, tiles in the shower are just moldy beyond ability to clean, windows barely open. I could go on and on. The carpet in our unit was very old, stained, and they had even painted over old wallpaper, so the seams could be seen through the paint of the wallpaper peeling. The apartment building we were in smelled terribly, like animal urine. We complained often but then it just began smelling like oranges mixed with animal urine, as they tried to cover the smell. Since the apartments are very old, with no energy efficient appliances and minimal insulation, our average electric bill was around $ 400 for a small three bedroom unit. At times during the winter, we would just turn our heat off and suffer through the cold because our electric bill was upwards of $ 600 for a few months. During our lease at Chowning, we were also notified that they were changing the lease terms for all the residents and began making us pay a portion of water/​garbage/​utilities. So, even though we had signed a contract for a specific amount of rent, they changed this amount during the middle of our lease! If you do decide to lease here, read the contract very, very closely (I would even suggest looking it over with someone who is well experienced in this field) because there are some very shady and unusual addendums through out the contract. For example — if you do happen to pay rent late, you are charged a percentage of the TOTAL lease, not just your individual lease (i.e. for a three bedroom, a late fee would be the total rent plus an additional $ 267 late fee). While I did not experience any drunken parties or college kids in my building, I have seen this happening at other buildings. There is very limited outdoor space, the trees are very large and beautiful, although end up shading the entire complex so the apartments are very dim and also shade the entire pool area. If I could go back, I would spend the extra $ 200 or so on an energy-​efficient, newer, updated apartment versus spending absurd amounts of money on rent and utilities for a very outdated unit with shady management. Hope this helps someone avoid falling for the advertisements and getting stuck in a terrible lease!

Awful place. They had a bad fire in one of the apartment buildings caused by not properly taking care of their building systems. And the fire alarm didn’t go off in individual units because the smoke unit detecters where duds! My friend was woken up only because he’s started coughing so badly due to all the smoke. They also allow people to park in the middle of drive lanes which cuts off egress during an emergency AND doesn’t allow fire trucks to get to fires in emergencies. As an architect, I know that this is all EXTREMELY illegal. Management is also very unkind. If you raise a complaint, they just mention how they have a wait list of people willing to take your place.

I’ve lived in Chowning for awhile now and I have no idea what these other reviews are talking about. I’ve never had a noise issue or «vomit and trash» in the parking lot. There are few college kids here but I’ve never hear these «parties» or seen them taking over the pool. They for the most part keep to themselves. While the apartments aren’t the newest they are fine. My walls are beautiful and I was told I could hang and hammer things as long as I repair the damage when I leave. The maintenance is quick as the others have said and the management is a bit spacey but it’s nothing awful. The only major downside to this complex is the parking but I have yet to not find myself a spot. The apartments are huge and I have wood flooring not carpeted. My apartment heats and cool so easily and I have very low utilities bills because of it, like 90 dollars low. Overall this place is great to live in! I literally have no idea what the other reviews are even talking about.