Ascend Apartments: New Micro Studios and L...

Talk about a ridiculous upcharge. When a place lists itself as "pet friendly", that shouldn't mean there's a $50 add on to the rent every month for your pet. That's not pet friendly. It's ridiculous.

I’ve never been so displeased with an apartment complex before, considering I’ve been renting all my 20s and 30s.
I should’ve not been so focused on the location because there were red flags I failed to consider when picking this place.

Here are some red flags:

1) It was a hassel to even sign up for a lease/unit since the links on the main website didn’t work for me. I had to google search for the units to apply for even after making calls that I was interested but either got no response or... management wasn’t accurate on their end. They kept sending me a link that didn’t work.

2) I can’t say what they do for background checks on tenants here. I had 3 people living on my floor whom were doing drugs and stealing our packages back in November 2022.

3) The garage has been an ongoing issue. I like how they make you pay $200 for a parking spot in their limited twelve space garage with the main door not even closed, so securty for your vehicle is non-existant. Park in the alleywall for free if you don’t mind the first come first serve basis.

4) Sometimes the garbage shoot isn’t active, for days at a time. Walk your garbage down or let it sit there by the shoot.

5) Because the garage door is always open/not fixed, the bike storage rooms got broken into and bikes were stolen, including mine, and damage to a motor scooter.

6) Key fobs to access other floors through the stairway don’t work. You can just open the door. Plus, because the garage door is open, anyone can walk in and take the stairs to your floor.

7) Management is practically non-existant. I’ve called them the ghost staff because I’ve hardly heard back from them or no reply at all. Whenever I came to them with an issue face to face, they said they would work on it or send it to a higher person, and then I don’t hear anything.

8) They forgot to apply their move-in special to my rent when I’ve asked about multuple tiomes.

As you can see, I have may reasons why I dislike the property. There are a few good aspects to it such as location to a few good spots, and the loft style (with poor design). If you don’t mind all the points I’ve put across, then at least get GOOD renters insurance.

Good luck…

From an unhappy tenant..
Lee mas

I lived here from late 2021 to late 2022 in one of the lofted studios. I loved the way it was set up, it was perfect for one person, and I loved having the big window. As someone without a car, i love how close it is to bus lines, restaurants, groceries... that said, by far the most frustrating thing was the lack of A/C. In the winter it held heat so well; the hallways were heated and I rarely had to use my own heati because of how naturally warm the space kept itself.
In the summer? It was... horrendous. The hallways/lobby are cold, but the units were baking. I had 2 cooling fans that the heat just sucked the air right out of! Many neighbors and i would leave our front doors open to invite in some of the hallway air. As a disabled person, I physically can't withstand that kind of heat and most of June, July, and August I spent at a friend's house. It got so unbearable at one point that a neighbor of mine told me she'd actually saved up so she could buy out the rest of her lease and leave sooner! Global warming is not new and a place this new should 100% have AC. I stepped into my bathroom at one point and all my bar soaps had melted down the side of my shower! Showering was impossible, adding moisture into the air would then make the space incredibly humid as well

To add to this, the turnover rate in the front office made me uncomfortable. In the year I lived there, the front desk staffed changed a good 6 times, the service declining, it seemed, with every new person. I'm not by any means picky but it was irritating.
I noticed a pattern of after the first 2 or 3 office people, the newer people stopped caring about the tenants as people (or were so stressed and over worked, they didn't have time). I emailed one person for a month with no answer until I finally was able to go to the office only to find she didn't even work there anymore and no one said anything. The office hours seemed sporadic and inconsistent. The newer people made it clear that having to stop and talk to tenants was not a priority and in fact started putting things in front of the office window so we couldn't see whether or not someone was inside! My partner went to ask them a question and said when she knocked, she literally saw the lights turn off and there was complete silence behind the door (during service hours, btw, not anywhere near closing time).
I was disappointed because I'd been so excited about this place, and again in the winter months and less warm days, it was lovely. Lee mas

Wonderful unit, location, price and management! The best location in PDX.