Quality Hill

[Mhudson]

I'm planning on moving downtown in the coming months so have been doing some intense research on places in the downtown KC loop.  Not surprisingly, there is a huge lack of rental units in this area, but I've been surprised at what Quality Hill has to offer.  I do not live in KC so I haven't had time to check out these apartments, but is there anyone in the forum that knows anything?  Are the apartments too good to be true?  Also, the two buildings are called Case and Roux.  Info?  Any suggestions, opinions, feedback etc will be appreciated!  Thanks.

[FangKC]

MHudson, what does your budget allow?

[910penn]

910 penn is a good central building in the area, I haven't live there for 2 years but I hear they are still improving it pretty well.  The management was always pretty good about sorting out the bad seeds as well.  There is a pretty eclectic group of people in the building from all over so you will never find a boring day.  I had a 2 bedroom on the 3rd floor and it was about $560 a month and the electricity is always around $20 a month.  There is a decent laundry facility in the basement however the units did not have dishwashers when I lived there not sure if that is of importance.  Hope that helps a bit.

[Mhudson]

Thanks 910Penn.  I'll be living with a roommate, so we are planning on a 2 bedroom at around $1200.  It'd be nice to go lower.  The 2 bed, 2.5 baths that I had heard about in Quality Hill were $1150.

[AllThingsKC]

I happily live in the Quality Hill Towers.  You can get a 2 bedroom, dishwasher, laundry unit on the top floor for $1200/mo.  And, it's cheaper than that on the lower floors.  There's also free off-street parking, or you can pay extra for a reserved spot.

I'm not sure if that would be 1 or 2 baths, though.

[acepiloto]

I live in a 2 bed, 2 bath in Quality Hill, and I think that it's about $860 a month.  Huge living room too.

[bahua]

I live in a 2 bed, 2 bath in Quality Hill, and I think that it's about $860 a month.  Huge living room too.

That's the same deal I had. It was easily my favorite rental ever. The location is second to none. It's uphill from everything, hehe. The buildings(the newer ones) are pretty cheaply built, so they kind of fall apart. The maintenance crew can be a little sluggish getting around to your maintenance concerns. The staff is used to dealing with poor people(of which there are plenty), so if you're a day late on rent, you'll hear about it. They have their fingers poised over the speed dial to their legal department so they can assess you fees for dealing with them, if you slip up with rent. Some of the units(especially the older, nicer buildings close to Broadway) have some issues with drunken noise from Tanner's and the Quaff, though the townhouses are whisper-quiet.

All that said, the walkability, the nearby amenities, and the low rent make Quality Hill a really great place to live, and I'd recommend it to anyone.

[KCPowercat]

with the new qh management, hopefully those concerns have went away.

one warning, most of the units ran by cref (mccormack baron previously ) are going condo..like 80% eventually.  prices aren't  supposed to be too terrible, and they are renovating the inside and outside.

[acepiloto]

That's the same deal I had. It was easily my favorite rental ever. The location is second to none. It's uphill from everything, hehe. The buildings(the newer ones) are pretty cheaply built, so they kind of fall apart. The maintenance crew can be a little sluggish getting around to your maintenance concerns. The staff is used to dealing with poor people(of which there are plenty), so if you're a day late on rent, you'll hear about it. They have their fingers poised over the speed dial to their legal department so they can assess you fees for dealing with them, if you slip up with rent. Some of the units(especially the older, nicer buildings close to Broadway) have some issues with drunken noise from Tanner's and the Quaff, though the townhouses are whisper-quiet.

All that said, the walkability, the nearby amenities, and the low rent make Quality Hill a really great place to live, and I'd recommend it to anyone.

I live in a building built in 1900, so I'm good there.  No noise as we live on Penn. We haven't had any problems with the management, except with this change they don't do auto withdrawal anymore, so that's a bit annoying.  The only problem we ever had with the paying rent on time issue was when we had a bat in our apartment.  It was at 1 in the morning so we had to call a third party animal control guy.  Management said that they'd just take it off of our rent, so we filled out a new ACH form for that amount, but then on about the 10th of the month we get a nasty letter under our door saying that we didn't pay our rent in full, and that if it wasn't paid by the 15th that they'd begin eviction proceedings. Luckily we got everything fixed up.  If my wife and I weren't looking to move farther south (Westport/West Plaza) we'd consider buying one of the condos.

[Mhudson]

with the new qh management, hopefully those concerns have went away.

one warning, most of the units ran by cref (mccormack baron previously ) are going condo..like 80% eventually.  prices aren't  supposed to be too terrible, and they are renovating the inside and outside.

Yeah, that was about the only thing I'm not too keen on, is at the moment 6 month leases are the longest you can sign.  This is because they aren't sure which apartments are going condo yet.  So after six months I could be a lucky one or could be booted.  After living in college, I've gotten pretty use to moving though, so its not a big deal to me.

[Gretz]

I too live in QH, in one of the buildings that is going condo in the first round.  It really is dirt cheap, $890/month, and a great place.  It's half the third floor of a historic building, 1150 sq feet 2 bed 2 bath with huge windows covering more than half the wall space of the apt.  But I don't think I'll buy.  I'd recommend the area/development as a nice cheap alternative to many other properties, but it's luck of the draw with what will go condo at any time.  It sounds from your quotes like they've substantially increased the rent, though it's still cheap.  Finishes are pretty standard lower end apartment fare; formica and carpet... 

[FangKC]

Quality Hill Apartments, a revitalization catalyst, get new owners


http://tinyurl.com/mrp8x35

[loftguy]

Quality Hill Apartments, a revitalization catalyst, get new owners


http://tinyurl.com/mrp8x35

This is pretty remarkable. CRES paid a strong market value when they acquired these apartments and the economy tanked immediately after.

CRES did a very good job of operating these properties and increasing rental value.

The sale price must have been really significant for them to let loose at this point in the rent rise curve. (someone bet big on the come)

[flyingember]

good riddance. they had issues with something as simple as snow removal.

[FangKC]

As per KMBC News, Quality Hill Towers is about to go on a rent strike.

Tenants vote to authorize rent strikes at two KC-area apartment buildings troubled by maintenance problems

...
The Quality Hill tenants union includes 63% of the 234 occupied units. Sentinel Real Estate Corporation is responsible for that building.

Sentinel and Quality Hill responded to a KMBC 9 Investigates request for a statement Friday saying management has been working with the union "in good faith" for more than a year.

The statement goes on to say that the work being demanded by the union has either been completed, or is already underway, and adds that a rent strike will only impede the property's ability to complete necessary repairs.

The tenant unions at both complexes are demanding rent caps, new ownership, and collectively bargained leases, among other items.

The strikes would start Oct. 1.
...

https://www.kmbc.com/article/tenants-vo ... s/62414429

[moderne]

Who wants to eat at the River Club when this is next door? How do they keep the vermin out of the kitchen?

[FangKC]

More on the tenant strike here.

viewtopic.php?p=681541#p681541