Element 42

All you have to do is look up Riverstone Residential group’s BBB rating.
They have an «F.»
Most of their complaints seem to be about billing and problems with service. I would be very careful about renting from them.

I have lived in Element 42 for a year and to be honest I really loved living there.
Let’s start with the location. Super convenient! Safeway and Metropolitan Market are around the corner, so grocery couldn’t have been more easier. I loved having it so close!
Parking… you have two options. You can either pay $ 100 for a garage parking (which is rather small and tight) and there is gated outdoors parking for $ 50. Also, if you chose not to have paid ans secured parking, you can park outside and there’s always free spots (it’s metered during the day, but just off the 42^nd street there is a free street parking so great!).
The building is new, only few years and still in excellent condition. It is always clean and well maintained. The only negative thing could be the fact that there are plenty of dogs and sometimes I noticed unpleasant urine smell just outside of the entrance of the building. Other than that, no issues.
Rooftop is great. It has plenty of space to entertain and is clean and nice looking. There is a nice view of the mountains to the West and of course the city center. I had rented out the space for a private party and it worked great. I cannot remember how much I paid though, maybe $ 50?
You can pay your rent by credit card which there is a fee on the transaction. You can pay by check or online and there is no fees there. Not a biggie!
I had a one bedroom apartment and it was great. For a year, I did not have a single repair done. The apartments are well maintained and look new. Kitchen could have been a little bigger, but then again for 1 person is more than enough. Kitchen and bathroom were new, washer and dryer was much better than in other apartments I saw. Hardwood floor was very good as well, making the apartment look really great. The only thing I would have wished more was closet space. It’s rather limited but I did manage with everything. Big windows, always sunlight coming thru which I enjoyed. The gym was rather small and limited equipment but I think it was enough for basic apartment gym. All new equipment and again, super clean. My apartment was located on the Safeway side, I agree it was a bit loud during rush hour 5PM-​7PM but at night it was quiet and I was never woken up at night by cars and I am a very light sleeper.
The one negative was trash. It is located in the garage and rather inconvenient, but to be honest, not that bad.
Management was amazing. They are always willing to help. During my year there, I did not have any issues. After my lease ended, they suggested me I can go month to month with no price increase which was absolutely amazing because I was moving to another state and was not sure when exactly I was moving. there were no hidden fees. Upon the move out, apartment inspection went very smooth and they did not even charge me for making holes in the wall for art. I did not even have to patch it myself.
If I could, I would totally move back to Element 42 since I am back in WA. Now I work on the east-​side so it would be too long of a commute for me but really, great place to live! Had the best time!

Still great — I thought I would also note, I have been on both sides of the building also. I am on the 4^th floor facing safeway and where my apartment is located, I do not get noise from the parking lot, I can see it, but mainly I can see the mountains and the water… what I do see of the parking lot is masked by plants, and if I want I can stand and people watch. Having the store there (open 24 hours) also makes for great food convenience.

I’ve lived here for 14 months. I moved in during the summer of 2012 when they first opened so I was the first tenant in my unit.
Pros:
Great place. I cannot imagine a better location in West Seattle. Everything you could need on a weekly basis is within a 5 block radius. April is fantastic. I had lots of package deliveries for work and she never got upset with me and was always super helpful. The design and quality of construction in the unit was top notch. Overall it really is a nice place to live.
Cons:
It’s fairly pricey. There are a few young professionals who still occasionally think they’re still in their frat party college days so fairly regular memos are issued regarding late night lounge access and smoking. Overall this is pretty minor.
My biggest complaint is that the building turned into a kennel with all of the dogs. I’m actually a dog person and really like dogs (just not an owner), but we’re not talking about small dogs. Many tenants had really big dogs and many had more than one even in the small little apartments. Just don’t be surprised when pet hair is all over the stairs and hallways and prepare for the smell of wet dog in the elevators every time it rains. The management team do a really great job of trying to keep it in check with regular cleaning but there’s only so much they can do. Again, I actually like dogs but nobody told me upfront the building would turn dog owner central when I moved in so that was a bit unpleasant considering the $ 2.75/sq ft not including garage parking.
All in all, people are fairly friendly, the property management team is excellent, it’s a nice building. If you are fortunate enough to actually work er… rather… make money in West Seattle without having to ever cross that bridge and you own a dog, Element 42 is golden.

Editing to add a couple things as of August 2014. Still love the building, and the new leasing manager, Terra is just a good as April — super friendly and really trying to do resident events. My main thing now is just a notice on choosing an apartment. We moved units in the middle of our lease, from a studio to a one bedroom. Previously we faced 42^nd and it was SUPER quiet. Road traffic from time to time, but it never woke me up or bothered me having the windows open. Now we live at the end, overlooking the Safeway parking lot and two floors above the docking bay. And it is LOUD. Car alarms go off at least once every few hours (Seriously people… how do you forget that you turned it on?), employees rounding up carts, bros on the weekends thinking it’s really awesome to rev engines in the lot (fyi — it’s not), and also all the delivery vehicles/​semis going into the bays. Last but not least is the garbage truck for the docking bay between 5−6am every Friday. Who doesn’t love being woken up by incredibly loud banging for 10 minutes once a week? No? You don’t? Neither do I. This is obviously not the fault of the staff here, and I knew moving to this side would produce more noise, but holy crap. Just a fair warning to potential renters when they have one of these units on the end available (and I would also imagine the backside that faces the upper parking lot and the lot ramp). Try and get a unit that faces 42^nd if you want quiet!
I’ve lived here for 6 months now, and have nothing but positive things to say. I moved here from a really large building just about a mile south of this one, and it’s far and away better. I prefer smaller buildings, and this one fit the bill for me. They only have studios and one bedroom units, which means virtually no children (which is a plus for me!). There are LOTS of dogs here though — which my dog certainly does not mind. I’ve never heard my neighbors, and I’m right under the rooftop patio so I don’t ever hear anything above me.
They have two parking options — in the garage underneath the building (which seems really compact), or upstairs in the gated portion of the Safeway lot, which is where I park. I wouldn’t really call it secure, as there’s a door that’s always open at the end of the garage to go to Safeway, but there’s never been an issue.
The rooftop and lounge are very nice, and the gym is actually quite nice. I saw a review earlier complaining about how if one person complains the entire building gets a memo, and apparently that’s annoying? Uh. well, I’d rather get a memo and know that they’re actually listening to the tenants than have it be ignored.
And there are only positive things I can say about April. She’s always in the office, and anytime I have a question, it’s usually answered within the hour. As I said, I’m only 6 months into my 12 month lease, and my living arrangement is changing to where I need a one bedroom rather than the tiny unit I have now. I figured I’d be stuck with no options, but I’m able to transfer to a bigger unit without a problem. She was able to get it all figured out for me in less than a day. And she doesn’t mind my dogs constant air licking when we walk by the office to go outside.
Location is AWESOME — above a Safeway (eh. it works in a pinch), across the street from Met Market (even more helpful that they’re 24 hours) and half a block away from PCC, and a really good coffee shop — Freshy’s — for those that don’t want Starbucks. Hiawatha park is next door, and is a great place to walk your dog or let them run around off leash at night when it’s empty.
So overall. um. I really can’t think of anything I don’t like about this place. Ok, I guess if I HAVE to complain about something, it’d be the door to the dryer automatically shutting as fast as possible. That’s annoying… Otherwise. I have nothing bad to say.

Obviously the person who wrote the review below this has some kind of chip on his soldier… my husband and I have lived in Element 42 for about 9 months now and we absolutely love it here. The location cannot be beat; the bus stop’s practically at the front door, walking distance to numerous bars and restaurants, and 3 grocery stores within one block (heck, we’re attached to Safeway). Top top it off we have two dogs and there is a nice big park right behind the building.
As far as customer service, I definitely feel like I matter. April is in the office every day it’s open and she is wonderful. If you have a problem, she will always listen and make sure that it’s taken care of as fast as possible. She genuinely wants everyone to be happy here, and she does a great job.
If you’re not a dog person, this might not be the place for you. There are a lot of dogs in this building, but as a dog owner myself that’s one of the reasons I love it here! It’s not easy to find a nice apartment that will allow large dogs without an insane deposit.
This is just my experience, but it has been nothing but positive. I am certainly planning on signing on for another year when my lease is up.
P. S. I pay my rent online, and I don’t have to pay any convenience fee… that only applies if you try to pay with a credit card (since they are charged their own fees for running through the network). Pay with an electronic check and it’s free!