DESIGN: We are in a 2bed/2bath apartment w/ phenomenal viewscapes to the east and north. When the sun shines after a rain and when the buildings on the riverbank are lit at night it’s gorgeous. Also, great views of fireworks all over the city (Guy Fawks, Christmas, New Years). Be aware though that many lower floors only view the buildings next door – views are dependent upon your apartment’s window direction and the flat level. Lower flat views (and less expensive lease) have obstructions to the view. But if you have the wherewithall, the views from higher up are terrific. We splurged on the higher rent for the better view and given our planned time frame – it’s been worth every penny – it’s gorgeous). For dog owners, this is a very dog friendly development. Glasgow Green about 1/2 mile away is the best place to walk the dog, but there are grassy areas along the bikeway and the river for early morning/late night relief (just be sure and bring a baggie to scoop and deposit in the many waste bins along the walkways).
FLATS: We viewed many different flats while shopping, and all are very similar in terms of design and amenities: The main living space is multi-functional: kitchen, eating, tv/living, study. We have a furnished place but still bought dressers, a desk and a coffee cart. Some of the flats have a L-Kitchen, ours is a One Wall Kitchen (which I will never ever choose if given an option). And, since it’s all one big (-ish) room, with tv and cooking it gets noisey) Bedroom is small but big enough for the bed, side tables and a nook for two, side by side Ikea dressers. We love the separation of the washing / dryer combo unit in the entry hall closet. The washer/dryer is good, be sure and reference the manual for settings/operations. The dryer is not efficient, if I use it, I do so for only 30 or 60 minutes just to prime the drying before I hang clothes to finish drying. Two way switches for lighting up the interior from the front door is helpful at night time entry, the bathrooms are well appointed, but the vent fan is often not up to the task and it can get steamy during showers. I despise the bathroom flooring which feels like stone and because it is not sealed, it shows every drop of water/soap and cleaning it is a pain.
BLDG MGT: Ultimately it comes down to people and without exception the people who work in the property management, the complex’s reception desk, the cleaning staff and day to day maintenance the staff are stellar: Sarah, Daniel, Josh, Amy, Kayote, (scared I’m leaving off someone) are the reception folks. They always greet us with a smile and our names when we come home, often they open the remote door for us as we fumble for our key fob. Its nice to stay and chat when they aren’t immediately busy with other tasks. They are the go-to people when we have questions or need help. Always professional, and when they aren’t able to provide an answer right away, they get back to us right away. Many of the people who live here in the development are new to Scotland (like my household) and the reception, housekeeping (Jackie – great advise on cleaning products) and handyman (Paul) staff are like ambassadors and interpretors. When we don’t know something or need a recommendation as to stores to find needed supplies (BonniePack!) they are a treasure trove of information. Really they are the type of people a building development like this needs and needs to keep: friendly, efficient, professional, informative, and they go out of their way to help.
Non-Personnel Issues: This is a rant, more of a complaint about how some people handle disposing of their garbage and recycling. I get the sense that many of the tenants are not accustomed to the responsibility of managing their own household by themselves without other family to carry the load. The management have posted illustrated guidelines about the rubbish and the recycling disposal rooms. Unfortunately for those of us who do follow the guidelines there are more than a handful of residents who do not comply. For a while it was absolutely awful now it is marginally better, but I still see entire Amazon and Ikea boxes tossed onto the recycling room on the floor, not flattened and placed into the bins. And frequently, in the waste room it appears that some tenants simply crack open the door and toss the bag in with no notice of it getting into a dumpster bin. Consequently, there almost always, busted bags on the floor with food spilling out. While the staff’s efforts at signage and emails, and even cleaning it up themselves, has resulted is some small improvement, it is clear that there are too many tenants that still seem to think that their civic duty ends after being polite on the elevator.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
This development is on the south bank of the Clyde, between the big Barclay’s corporate offices and Commerce street as it crosses the river. There are two pedestrian bridges for easy access to City Center:
Central and, Queen Street stations, St Enoch, Buchanan Street etc all a short stroll across the pedestrian bridges. Here on the south side, there are many excellent Mid Eastern, shwarma, and Indian restaurants as well as Bonnie Pac (warehouse like shopping/dollar (pound store prices, and the folks who run it are fun to chat) Also several small grocery stores and a 24/7 Spar market which is just the thing you need when you run out of olive oil in the middle of cooking dinner. (Literally a two minute dash to the next corner!) Glasgow Green is about 1/2 mile away is the best place to walk the dog, but there are grassy areas along the bikeway and the river for early morning/late night relief (just be sure and bring a baggie to scoop and deposit in the many waste bins along the walkways). Some people may find the busy train tracks approaching and departing the Central Station a negative but I find the sound and the sight quite pleasurable…. but that may be because I had the bad luck one year to live under the flight path of a large busy airport for 18months once. Trains are relaxing to watch pass by and the the rhythmic sounds are soothing at night.
There is a building under construction (I believe for commercial and/or office use) very close to the residential towers (there are three linked at the reception) that can be annoying during the day, and don’t know how busy it will be once complete and occupied. It’s taken more time to get used to ignoring those sounds. But unlike the trains, construction will eventually end.
We moved here in late October and on our tour I asked (being used to a different climate) if there was air conditioning (no) and window screens (no). The window don’t open wide (safety) so I wonder if/when the summer comes and the climate change causes extreme heat how awful it will be inside. We have opened the windows lots for fresh air at night but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of effective air circulation.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
The tenants have a shared Whats App group that is accessible through a QR code. It’s been a goldmine of tips and info (some I’ve shared here). Generally we have not had to use much heating – seems that the surrounding apartments and the buildings’ energy rating help with that. I’ve been disappointed that one of the utility providers – “Insite” – has been WOEFULLY inefficient and delayed in getting our first bill to us. (still don’t have it) and we know there will be 3.5 months of use to pay when we get it. This is unacceptable and would never be allowed by public utilities in my home country. The thermostat is not very user friendly.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
This is a brand new building, built only for rental residential and being new, there have been maintenance issues that have popped up as people have been using the apartments and things. Minor tweaks mostly. An elevator had to be shut down for a few weeks due to a problem with a main control panel but the staff were good about providing updates to the residents as to the status of repairs (and supply chain delays and the work around they figured out). Never had to wait more than a minute when the second elevator was out of service.
The onsite management are responsive and work quickly to get issues cleared up. Their biggest challenge has been getting tradespeople scheduled in to do work. There is (are) onsite maintenance staff for the more basic issues, but for some (electrical, elevators, some plumbing) it takes longer to get repairs done. But that is a result of skilled tradesmen shortage it seems.
