The Matisse Luxury Waterfront Apartments

Let’s see, where to start… First the building manager is a complete dud. She has no clue what customer service is or how to interact with residents. In fact amongst the residents who have been here long enough to know she is the most disliked member of the management team.
Last year I watched while their sidewalk power washer crew sprayed the sidewalk gunk and hard water all over the cars on Moody. I even have a 7 minute video of it and when I went to the office to let Jennifer know she said she would email them… I mean they were outside working as I spoke to her but she must have been too busy to say anything. That little incident cost me $ 300.00 to get the hard water satins and gunk out of the paint on my car and she never even said sorry. I’ve got $ 20.00 that says it happens again this year.
I live in a downstairs apartment with the street facing exterior door. Since the day we moved in people have been trying to walk in our door. They either think it is a store or they think it’s the office. I made a simple request to have a unit number placed on the exterior of my apartment (just like all the other units expect our side of the building have) and I was told it would be done within weeks. I have followed up and even tried calling Jennifer’s boss to get this completed and now over six months later I am being told they are too expensive and I should put a paper sign in my window. I pay $ 2,080.00 a month to live here and I’m sure they will raise the prices like they did last year but apparently that doesn’t get you a unit number so that your family can be safe from random people trying to open your door at all hours of the night. That’s right, I have had to call the police twice after midnight because some random was trying to open my door and then they proceeded to threaten me when I told them to get lost.
Next would be the bad maintenance service. Their old manager actually got stuff done, when he quit everything went downhill. The new (now he has quit as well as every member of their maintenance staff, all at once I might add) manager would take a look at your request and just leave. I have had a moisture problem in my unit for over a year now and still nothing has been done. A few weeks ago our closet rack broke due to cheap welds and the maintenance guy said he would order the right one and install it when it came in but that that never happened. I feel bad for the guy, at the time as he was the only maintenance member for the entire building but wouldn’t you think the building manager would be following up with residents to make sure things were being completed while they are short staffed? So would I, but again, Jenifer can’t be bothered to care for her residents.
Last summer Jenifer had new landscaping installed in the small planters that surround the building. In her exact words to me she hoped that this would keep peoples pets from going pee in the planter areas. What did she have installed you ask, thorn bushes… She had a thorn bush installed so that your pet gets hurt if they try and walk in the planter area. What a great approach to managing you building. Maybe next they can just install a thorn bush in front of my door and that will keep people from opening it.
My last and final gripe, last summer we had a homeless guy who would empty the exterior trash cans and dump everything on the side walk in front of our place. I seriously had to ask four times before they decided they would start emptying the trash can daily. You see they were trying to save on trash bags so they figured pet feces and raw food garbage on our door step every morning was less important than their budget.
Basically, if you are trying to decide whether or not to live here expect little to no service and demising amenities while your rent cost go up and expect Jenifer to not care about your safety or comfort. Just move into one of the many other buildings that are available in the south water front and save yourself the headache that is living here.
PS: to all of those who mentioned the single parking space. That is a lie they tell you, I have two spots and so does my neighbor. Again, Matisse management at its finest.

The best place I’ve ever rented from! The staff is awesome and I’ve never met a rude person who lives here. Very clean, nice location, super pet friendly. Truly the dream apartment complex.

I have now lived at the Matisse for over a year and really enjoy it. The staff is amazing! The apartments themselves are very spacious, modern, and fairly reasonably priced for Portland’s increasingly insane rental market. High ceilings and lots of windows. Carpeted floors and granite finishes. The air conditioning has been a godsend for me this summer! The building is kept clean and the rooftop in the summer is an amazing amenity! The gym is small, but functional, and there is rarely more than 1 person using it every time I’ve gone there. I feel very secure in the building and in the neighborhood in general. Parking is a bit of a pain and still overpriced for garage parking– they also limit you to one space per apartment– but it’s actually cheaper than other buildings in the area. I will say that construction in the area is very annoying and will not be over anytime soon. The one way streets surrounding the building can be a hassle when big trucks are blocking the way. My apartment faces the highway and is probably actually quieter than the other sides of the building– double paned glass on all of the windows keep out the noise! I will say that we can hear the people in the apartment above us fairly frequently, but the apartment building is generally quiet. Many people have dogs though and they bark during the day often.
Randi, Jennifer, and Justin (management team) are rockstars and seriously know everyone by name. They are super flexible and really care about their tenants. Excellent customer service. Our maintenance requests have all been completed in a timely manner and there have been very few because they keep this place in tip top shape! I will be sad the day I have to move away!

My wife and I lived in The Matisse for just under a year. We loved every minute of it. The staff was easy to work with and very friendly. They seem to know everyone by name. Anytime I had a question or maintenance request, they responded immediately. Randi was especially awesome to work with from our first inquiry about living there to our move out date.
They apartments have a nice layout and new stainless steel appliances. No complaints there. You have to pay for parking, which sucks, but that’s apparently the standard at most apartments in Portland.
Location was great. Easy trek for my wife to get to work and easy trek into town since the streetcar runs right by.
Seriously, we have no complaints about the place. We only moved out because we were ready to buy a house. Otherwise, I could see us there for years.

**Just got a very nice call from Jennifer at the Matisse regarding my review. She was very apologetic. Adding a star for her classiness!
Toured this property with Randi in January and we loved it! Randi was cool and the property looked awesome. We exchanged a few emails with her right afterward and she said she’d keep us in mind as we got closer to our June/​July move.
Reached out to her via email in March to touch base about timing and preferences – no response.
Called the office in April to touch base; left a message for her with Josh – no response. I get that it was too soon for her to know about vacancies, but a courtesy response is a just good business practice.
On May 26, to give the place another shot, I emailed from their website for more info on 2×2 units. It was after hours and the person I spoke to at their call center couldn’t answer my questions. No response as of May 28 at Noon.
If they are unresponsive to me as a prospective resident, would hate to see their response time after I move in (e.g., to maintenance requests or other issues).
Another thing that bugs about this property is that they use some type of price setting software for multi-​family properties that makes prices fluctuate on a daily basis based on supply and demand in the area, competitive prices and other factors. Super annoying.
High prices for a not so great location. You’re not downtown and the walkscore is just ‘meh.’ Sorry Matisse, but I don’t consider you a work of art.

I have lived in the Matisse for over a year now and I love it! I have a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom with high ceilings and lots of windows. It is so quiet and safe down on the waterfront that I can safely walk my dog at all hours. The staff is SO awesome and helpful. Great gym and rec rooms as well as a business center for printing. Would highly recommend!

My husband and I moved to the Matisse from out of state, never having seen the property. Naturally this can be scary, but Josh and the Matisse team put our minds at ease from the beginning. After living here (and loving it) for 5 months, we expressed a desire to move into a larger unit in the community. Josh and the management team went FAR above and beyond the call of duty to find us the perfect unit, and worked tirelessly to ensure that we were happy! I’ve moved around a lot and lived in many apartment communitites, but everything about The Matisse (and most importantly, its staff) is HEAD AND SHOULDERS above any of their competitors.
–Darcy S.

I have lived at the Matisse (south building) now for 7 months and for the most part I absolutely love it! The location, the staff, amenities and size of the apartment (2 bdrm 2 bath — 1000+ sqft) absolutely fantastic!
Why am I only giving it 4 stars? Unlike the previous review… I hear noise from the unit above me all the time. The CEILING /​FLOOR between our units is REALLY LACKING as a sound barrier. The builders made a HUGE mistake on this one. I hear just about everything they are doing (walking, stomping, cabinets and doors opening and closing, etc.) It is quite annoying and makes a quiet person such as myself become creative with noise in my own unit to drown them out. (vent fan, earplugs, etc.) INCREDIBLY, I don’t hear anyone on either side of my unit or below me or even outside– only from the tenants above.
I was so bummed to experience this, because I LOVE MY FLOOR PLAN!
With that said… THE STAFF IS AMAZING! The property manager has been very kind in doing what she can to help resolve this issue by offering me an alternative unit when a suitable one becomes available.
Moving is such a pain, but since I will have to move out of this unit, I want to be sure I am moving into something I love (floor plan, location in the building). I am crossing my fingers that this gets resolved and I don’t have to leave the Matisse. So, stay tuned… I hope to be submitting a new review with 5 stars before my lease expires!

My wife and I lived in an apartment at the Matisse for one year, we eventually moved out because we wanted to be closer to my family. We lived in an 850sqft 1 bedroom apartment with a balcony on the third floor facing the inside of the building.
The apartment and building are both very new and are built very well. We never once heard our neighbors which is pretty rare when it comes to apartments, it could be we had really quite neighbors but I feel like the walls were built really well. We never once had a noise complaint either. All the appliances were new and worked really well. Once we had a problem with the ice machine in the fridge and the staff had it fixed immediately.
Moving in/​out is super easy, there is a large service elevator that leads to a loading section. You can reserve the elevator too.
There are several amenities which we ended up using. There’s the gym, which has enough to make it worthwhile. There’s the roof with 2 barbecues which we used every month. A fire pit on the roof, very chill area. There’s also a large common room that has a kitchen which we used for thanksgiving, the oscars, and other times. It’s really great because you can reserve it and then invite all your friends (where as our apartment would have been to small to host parties). You can make all the reservations online too through a web interface, you don’t have to do it in person. There’s a game room with a large tv, but we never used it.
The garage for your is car subterranean and super secure (two remotely locked garage doors). In fact the whole building is secured and you need to use fobs to access the doors and elevators. I love that, but it can be annoying when friends come over (because they can’t access the elevators) but I prefer the additional security.
The amount we paid for our place was so ridiculously inexpensive that it made me cry to leave. We just moved to Stamford, CT and are paying double for pretty much the same thing. Portland is awesome like that.
Last but not least, I have to comment on the staff. Throughout the whole year the staff at the Matisse were absolutely incredible. I’ve never met such a nice group of people that managed a building. They always have a big smile and are very polite and accommodating. A big thank you to Jess, Jordan, and Josh, you three made living at the Matisse an absolute pleasure!

I’ve been living at the Matisse for one and a half years. So far, it’s been smooth. From a building perspective, everything is great. The staff is responsive. The building is clean and well kept (by that, I mean if there is a mess, it it not there very long — more on this later). Having someone to sign for my packages and laundry is very nice. I don’t feel scared for myself or girlfriend when in the building (I have lived in some scary places). So what I am saying is… it’s a great building.
Now…the problem with any community is the community itself. Some people in the community have trouble cleaning up after themselves. Sometimes the public area in the elevator is messy. But again, the area is quickly cleaned up. If you live in a courtyard apt. you will hear some yelling on the weekends. It happens… so is youth.
I have not had any issues with out-​of-​control rent increases. It’s been a pleasurable living experience.

Got invited to have dinner at the rooftops by a friend of a fried who was actually moving out of that place in a month because they are raising their rent $ 200 more. Public transport looks easy, and it’s definitely high end.
It was nice. Okay view, had a grill, several tables but you make sure you reserve a table first with the management. I’m taking out 1 star for the view. It was just okay, and not a «must-​see».

We have been residents for close to a year now. Yes, its new, modern, clean and secure but quality, NO. Poor insulation, (noisy) and ventilation, (can smell anything anyone cooks). The appliances are ok, accept the washer and dryer, which are old– fashion and cheap, and yes, hot water is barley luke warm for the hot cycle. Also getting really tired of the buttercream walls that we are not aloud to paint. Biggest disappointment to date is that they raised rent 20% after one year and doubled parking, which is often difficult to find and a tight squeeze. I do have to say as a plus is that they have a friendly and helpful staff. Overall I feel that after the rent raise it’s not worth the money compared to the surrounding buildings which have much nicer amenities and views.

To put things in context, working at OHSU, in my mid-30’s. Moved into a one bedroom in late June 2011, top floor, south building.
Pros:
– if you’re working at OHSU, you can’t beat the 5 minute walk to the tram. You can be door to door in 10 minutes. Also, talked with quite a few people that work at Intel and they enjoy the easy access to the freeway.
– office/​complex staff: highest regards. Always professional, friendly, efficient at handling any maintenance requests. There was some turnover one to two months after I moved in and the transition was seamless. I feel that they take pride in their job, which is not always the case in some other places I have lived. They take care of packages/​dry cleaning which makes life easy as well.
– community: overall, very pleased. Average age seems to be mid 20’s to late 30’s with some people on both sides of the age curve. People are generally very respectful of each other and friendly. Even made some friends after a few months. The office scheduled some social events and everyone I met was very friendly and not overtly weird.
– security: may as well be a vault. You need a FOB to get in to the building/​parking garage. In addition, you need one to get to any other floor via the elevator with the exception of the main floor. This can be a bit of a pain as you have to come downstairs to let anyone in.
– facilities/​physical structure: overall, the apartments are well constructed and energy efficient. Average cost of power/​water combined is about $ 40/​month with moderate use. Fixtures are modern and clean. Water pressure is good. Nothing broke while I was there. The rooftop deck is choice with a firepit and gas grills. Also, the courtyard is nice. I have never used the game room. The buisiness center is nice and allowed me to not set up my printer. The lounge is pretty nice for studying/​reading. They offer free wireless there as well.
– cost: I think reasonable for what you get. If you work at OHSU, you can get a $ 500 discount that can be prorated into your rent.
– noise level: overall, very quiet. I never heard my neighbors while in my apartment.
– the building is just adjacent to the Greenway, allowing you to run and bike either North or South without issue.
– streetcar access is nice. Good to know, however, that there is a 10 – 15 minute layover at the Center for Health and Healing. So plan on adding that amount of time onto your trip. From the stop outside of the Matisse, the time, including layover, to the Pearl is about 30 minutes, to NW 23^rd about 40 min.
Cons:
– neighborhood: this is the primary drawback to living here, which is no fault of the property managers/​building. If there is a dead neighborhood in Portland, the South Waterfront would lead the pack. The area is devoid of more than a handful of restaurants, one bar, a coffee house that isn’t open past 4 PM, and no grocery store (small market for very basic needs). Plan on driving everywhere on the East Side and a good streetcar ride/​bike ride anywhere on the West Side.
– noise from the freeway: if you like to sleep with your windows open, this could be an issue, as there is good bit of engine brake noise coming from I-​5. And I’m not a light sleeper.
Overall, I was very pleased with my time there as the pros outweigh the cons. However, I’m moving out today, primarily because I want to be a in a neighborhood with a bit more happening. I will miss the commute.
I think living in the S. Waterfront/​Matisse is a very nice option for transitioning to Portland as the black hole of nightlife/​restaurants forces you to explore more of the city. I think if I lived in a more happeining area off the back, I wouldn’t have explored as much of the city as I did when I first moved, espeically SE/​NE.

I stayed at the Matisse during my transition from Austin, Texas in a Corporate Apartment and was very much impressed by the overall look and feel of the place. The room was a corner ²⁄₂ and was very quite and the location was great to get downtown/​Pearl or to Hillsboro where I work. Having the train stop right in front was great and allowed for easy exploring of downtown.
The place is always clean and well supported by a great staff, specifically Jordan who was very helpful and accomadating. I never had any issues with the staff and were always there to answer questions for a newbie. I was very tempted to take on an apartment there however, we wanted a yard for our 2 medium size dogs. We may still move there in the Fall!

Still five stars for us. Been living here almost since the complex opened up. There have been some changes in the staff since then, but everyone is great. Love the maintenance staff, they are very helpful and responsive to repair requests and keeping the place looking great.
Some of the reviews have commented on poor cell phone reception, but it must be their carrier, as I’ve always had excellent cell reception. Also true there isn’t any «free» visitor parking, but most apartments in or near downtown don’t. However, there is ample paid parking on the street for visitors, which most downtown complexes can’t offer.
Love being here and hope to be here beyond 2012!

Just moved into the Matisse. I must admit this has been the easiest transition ever! The leasing staff is very professional, friendly, and genuine in nature. We had the pleasure of working with Josh and he is a large part of why I am writing this review.
The building is new, very clean, and in a very up and coming location. While there are no retail shops in the area yet you can see how amazing it will be once it fills up. Our 1 bedroom apartment was in excellent condition and all of the finishings are top notch. This is definitely better than any other building I came across at our price point which was right around $ 1200.
PROS: New building, lots of amenities, close park, streetcar, low move in costs, pets allowed, and great staff.
CONS: Location is a little hard to get to, no visitor parking, no close grocery store, and cell phone reception isnt great!

I’ve been here for a few months so I thought it was about time to write my review up. So here is my take:
We live on the second floor in the north building. It’s pretty quiet. We can at times hear some thumping and moving around up above us, but it hasn’t been consistent. So while I agree that sound transmission is there, it’s not been quite the issue for me as it has been with Ted T. Ted one-​starred it based on that, and since he’s only got one review his account of the Matisse will eventually drop off. So I thought I’d mention that. What I find most odd about the build quality is that they went the quality route on everything BUT the flooring. Carpet? Seriously? That was almost the stumbling block for us renting this place, but my wife really wanted it so I caved in. I hate carpet, and it’s pretty lame that there are not all hardwood units. They put hardwood in the kitchen, but nowhere else. Makes no sense to me considering the premium they are charging here.
I don’t really have too many dealings with the residents aside from the elevators. The negatives are that a lot of the people living here absolutely stank of cologne or perfume. Luckily the elevators move fast and I’m only on the second floor… I can easily hold my breath. Also the dog owners here are obnoxious.
One reason why I can’t go higher than 3 stars is how unfriendly this place is to having guests. No guest parking. You need a FOB to go up the elevator. I’m all for security but that means you must go down and meet any guest on the first floor even if you were to buzz them in. I have the biggest deck in the history of decks, and a summer BBQ would be perfect, but getting people over here would be a hassle.
Cellular reception seems to be a major issue here. If you have AT&T and rely on your cellphone for communication be forewarned.
The smoke detectors also go off nearly every time we use the oven, regardless of anything is actually burnt. We don’t cook much so this isn’t a huge issue, but it’s worth mentioning.
Overall it’s a clean modern design, quiet, decent place to rent from with a few quirks.

A great Place to live a great Staff very very nice apartments