Grand Meridia

I lived here when this building was brand new (Meridia Grand) and was the first occupant of my unit. It was sold, the name was swapped, and they switched management companies fairly early on and it went downhill from there. The new company and the original company obviously had little communication and it made things extremely difficult. Although it looks cosmetically nice, this building has more cons than pros. I honestly believe the original owner knew they were going to sell it from the onset. I think they are just buying up Rahway and building apt buildings just to sell them. They just built a new building behind the police station and are now building another building on Main Street.
Pros
1. Super lives on site
2. Covered parking (not all units… just some). Make sure you go check which spot you will get before you move in if that is a deal breaker for you.
3. Pet friendly
4. Close to train station
5. Modern
6. On site gym. Don’t get too excited, it is very small and the equipment is cheap.
Cons
1. Only 1 parking spot is designated in the garage. You have to park the other car (if applicable) on the street. The town will not allow you to get a permit so you are forced to either succumb to the parking tickets or move your car around to avoid them. Also, people used to park in spots that did not belong to them and the Management did not firmly enforce the «1 spot rule».
2. AC unit is based on temps outside not in the apt. So if you live on an upper floor in summer and heat rises, your apt will be HOT. Your unit will not cut on because it thinks it is cool outside. People complained about these units constantly when I lived there and the new owner blamed the original owner claiming they were suing them about the AC units but they never did anything about it.
3. No back up power. I lived here during Hurricane Sandy and the hallways were BLACK, the electronic doors didn’t work, the emergency lights didn’t work, nor did the elevators. There was a poor tenant on oxygen who had to take the stairs every day. People who didn’t even live there were just hanging out in the hallways and on the lobby furniture. Major safety issue!
4. Rent was being raised tremendously at renewal. Made no sense to me considering they hadn’t made any notable improvements.
5. Office staff was useless. I’ve heard the gentleman who used to «run» the office was fired but I cannot confirm that. He made countless mistakes and was just plain rude at times.
6. No washer and dryer in unit. For those prices I think that should be included. To top it off they only had laundry rooms on every other floor so all of those units shared like 8 washers and dryers.
7. Walls are thin. You knew when people were coming down the hallway, and when your neighbor had a knock on the door.
You want my opinion, you can find something a lot nicer for the price. I was caught up in the glitz and glam of living in a new building with so called amenities but it wasn’t worth it.