John Alden Apts

I’ve been at the John Alden for about 10 months so far, and will be renewing my lease for another year. The building has everything I was looking for in an apartment. Hardwood floors, attentive management, secured entry, laundry in the building, and great location.
I rarely have to drive, it’s close to downtown, Capitol Hill, great food/​bars, and the freeway.
I can text/​call the property manager and get a response very quickly, she has been so easy and great. Compared to other property managers, I feel very comfortable going to her with anything and know it will be taken care of right away. Haven’t had any issues.
This is my second apartment in the first hill area and the one before I feel like I was always complaining about one thing or another, whether it was management or neighbors. Some of the negative complaints in past reviews about this place are so minuscule compared to what I’ve experienced in other buildings.
The management has been flexible and very accommodating to my lease. I wanted a short term at first and they worked with me on that. Even with me renewing, they offered me a very reasonable rent increase lower than the amount listed in the original lease renewal. That alone saved me the stress of finding and moving into a smaller, more expensive unit that I probably wouldn’t even be able to find in the city these days.
I have the perfect amount of space for a small apartment. With what is available out there nowadays I’m very relieved and happy to stay at the John Alden and will for as long as I can!

Still living here all these years later… still absolutely loving it. The manager is still awesome, they still fix things quickly, and I am still super happy that I get to live in this building. I’m starting to see more BMWs in the garage, which should tell you something about the types of people who live here. Prices are definitely getting higher, but still below average for Capitol Hill/​First Hill at this quality.

First – I don’t live here, but I visited the building and my observations might help some prospective tenants that are looking at renting at this building.
Background: I visited to view an apartment, on a Saturday. The unit I viewed was a studio apartment. I had done my homework and found out that the John Alden Apartments have two floor plans; studios and one bedrooms. The only exceptions are corner units that can be a bit smaller, but still have the same fundamental floor plan. The corner units would only be 10 – 20 sq ft smaller, nothing more.
The manager was running late with earlier viewings and I had to wait outside for half an hour. I used that time to look around the block, at the outside of the building, and the tenants that were coming & going. I had a very favorable impression. Everyone I saw coming & going had a dog. This is a very dog friendly building. The building is old-​school, vintage charming and is next to an equally charming hotel, the Sorento. Despite being a Saturday and only a stone’s throw from a major hospital; I did not hear much noise outside and virtually none inside.
The building has an intercom system and appears to be very secure. On entering the building, I noticed that the interiors are well maintained and I didn’t smell /​see anything that would trigger an alarm bell. :-)
Prior to making the appointment, I specifically asked about the size of the studio apartments. I was told, over the phone and in person, that the studio apartments are 450 sq ft, with huge walk in closets that could fit a queen sized bed. I was intrigued. When I actually saw the apartment, I was hugely disappointed. I had brought a notepad and a tape measure. I wanted to be absolutely certain about the size of the unit, because I planned to scale down (current unit was 650 sq ft). I carefully measured the rooms and found that the apartment was 320 sq ft!!! The manager looked right at me and repeated, «450 sq ft». It isn’t that difficult to figure out square footage. This isn’t rocket science. Furthermore, the huge walk in closet, which is quite big, has no door. Imagine that all of your clothes and bedding acquired the odors emanating from your kitchen. Do you really want your cashmere sweater to smell like garlic? I asked about this and was told that there is a «door cemetery» in the basement, but it was unlikely that anyone had saved that particular door.
The kitchen counters were beautiful, but the cabinets were so-​so and the appliances looked very small and outdated. Many vintage style studio apartments have totally up-​to-​date appliances. The bathroom was good sized, for a studio, but only had a tiny medicine cabinet for storage (no under the sink cabinet). The flooring, throughout the unit, was beautiful.
This is a charming building, but the studio units are quite small. Other studio apartments in the same area are 100 – 150 sq ft larger. The location is super convenient and if you have a furry friend; they will welcome him/​her.

I give the actual apartment 4 stars. Hardwood floors, lots of charm. There were a few quirks but nothing I couldn’t work with. My low rating is due to property management. There were 3 building managers in the time that I was there. The first one was extremely unprofessional and I think was fired the day I moved in. The second was super nice and very helpful. I didn’t interact with the third one until I moved out. She seemed nice enough.
I came home from vacation to a letter in my mailbox saying that I my lease had expired a month ago (ok, my bad should have been prepared) and that I could renew for way more than what I had been paying. I tried to negotiate with the property manager but she said there was no way they could lower the price. I really liked the apartment but didn’t feel it was worth what they were asking.
So, I found a new apartment and moved all my stuff out over the weekend. I returned to the John Alden on Monday to finish cleaning and turn in my key. I arrived to a note taped to the door from the new building manager saying she had heard I was moving out and if I hadn’t found a place yet I could renew for exactly what I had been paying. WHAT? I just spent hundreds of dollars moving and signing a new lease!!! When I talked to the building manager about it she said the property manager had simply «changed her mind.» Terrible management in my opinion.
Overall, I’m happy that I moved even though it was a pain in the ass.

I recently stumbled across a rental property on par with John Alden just a block away renting for less money than what I pay. Yet I still feel good about the choice made to sign on here.
The property manager truly cares about the tenants. Though it may take a reminder or two to get requests filled. I put the slow response time to the large turnover of tenants the building is currently going through. Overall I’m happy with the service provided.
The building itself oozes charm. Lots of built-​ins in the unit, hardwood floors, freight elevator, stained glass windows in the entry way and original phone system in tact (though not working ;)). The floors are somewhat thin as I can hear the upstairs neighbors talking and their dog barking. Nothing a pair of earplugs won’t mask.
And the location can’t be beat. Being nestled between downtown and Capital Hill provides a walking scale of 5 out of 5. If you come by in the early evening be sure to stop next door at Sorrento Hotel for happy hour in the round room.
Check it out for yourself — you won’t be disappointed.

Hannah, the manager, is as excellent as it gets. I enjoy the stained glass windows and antique detailing in this 1924 brick building. The hardwood floors are beautiful, and the windows are wide. Apartment sizes range from studio to 3 bedroom, and are reasonably priced. The location is quiet and walkable. My only complaint is that I wished I had looked closer at the paint, since it is peeling in places in my new apartment.