The Audubon New Haven

"This place is overrated. The management/leasing office is so understaffed and people working here are disorganized; always fail to track progress; tend to start multiple email threads for a same matter. They reply to your email after 4~5:00pm just so you can expect none of your follow-up inquiries could be handled the same day. No idea what they're working on during morning hours."

"Update — a gate has finally been added to the garage! Weekly car break ins. If you move in, you will have your car broken into, even though you pay exorbitant money to park your car."

"I spent a year living here and have come away with a largely positive impression, despite some substantial areas for improvement: Pros: Attractive Amenities Modern Design: The apartments are clean and contemporary with high ceilings and spacious windows. Excellent Staff: Always friendly and willing to help, both the office and maintenance teams. Reliable Package Management Maintenance Team: Quick and thorough with any repairs needed. Cons: Pricing Issues: At $4.5K for a 1000sqft apartment in New Haven, the costs are continually rising and don't align with the market. Unreliable Wifi: The common area's connection is sporadic and often drops out. Sound Insulation: The build quality leaves much to be desired; noises from upstairs neighbors are all too clear. Parking Concerns: Maintenance is lacking, with large vehicles blocking views especially at the corners where only compact cars should be allowed, and creating hazards. Important: The overall experience could also be dampened by some residents' behavior. There are often trash bags on the ground in trash rooms and it looks very dirty (which is not expected for a luxury apartment), the trolleys are often missing, people take them and don't return them, and there is no one dealing with loud neighbors at 1am. While you can't easily fix the building insulation problems, such issues this are easily addressable."

"Former resident here. I really loved living here and felt like I immediately had a community. You quickly learn the names of everyone who works here and, if you have a pet, the names of everyone’s furry friends. The building seems to be expanding in services and opportunities, which is always great for residents. I’ll say, though, that when I lived here, the contract with Laz Parking and infrastructure of the garage needs improvement because it’s just too easy for nonresidents to enter into that building space. Now that I’m paying NY prices again, I definitely wish I could still be laying poolside at the Audubon."

"Cons currently outweigh the pros, but could be fixed by better management. My boyfriend and I have lived in the Audubon for 8 months, and had very high expectations for this new building. Unfortunately, this building just doesn't live up to its promise and I can't say I'd recommend it to prospective renters at this early stage, particularly at the price point. The building has tons of potential, though, and better management would go a long way in improving the resident experience. I'll start with the pros, as there are some worth pointing out: 1) Fabulous gym and ground floor amenities when they're open for use. The equipment in the gym is top-notch. 2) The maintenance guy is incredibly kind and responsive. 3) Generous closet space. It's hard to find buildings with ample closet space in New Haven and the Audubon gets high marks on this front. 4) We love the big windows in our 1BR with den. 5) There have been some great resident events. For example, the Audubon brought Crepes Choupette in on a weekend morning to provide free crepes to residents. And now for the drawbacks. 1) Lack of attention to detail in the apartments that is undoubtedly due to them trying to finish units quickly. When we moved in, there was paint splatter in our shower, paint on miscellaneous fixtures (see photo), and dirty carpets (see photo) even though we were the first to live in the unit. 2) Consistently poor communication from staff. Emails sent to management office staff are rarely returned, and information provided is often incorrect or inconsistent. Examples of this problem abound. For example, our initial lease documents included incorrect dates. We were told that the pool would open in September 2019 (see email). We're in April 2020 and the pool remains far from completion. We similarly received confusing information about the costs of going month-to-month on our lease in the event we had to extend due to COVID. Information about when trash chutes will be completed has similarly been inconsistent. 3) The parking situation isn't great. The Audubon rents spaces in its lot to Frontier employees, who occupy the vast majority of spots on weekdays. Because there is no designated resident parking, you'll be hard pressed to find a spot on floors 1 through 4. The spots are also incredibly tight. While my boyfriend and I have been fortunate to avoid car damage, other residents haven't been so lucky. We've heard from countless residents about their cars being hit. 4) The security issues need to be redressed. We know two residents who have had bikes stolen from the bike rack in the garage. The Audubon also hasn't activated the FOB system in the garage because of the need to provide construction workers with floor access, meaning that there is unsecured entry from the garage to the floors. 5) The trash / recycling situation is a huge minus. Because the Audubon has no trash chutes, the building contracts with Valet Living. You will pay $20 per month for trash collection through this service. It's worth emphasizing that pick-up is only done Sunday through Thursday, and you are only permitted to leave one bin worth of trash and a small number of recyclables out each evening. Items have to be placed out only from 6 PM onwards. If you don't bring your bin inside first thing the following morning you will be fined. 6) Recurring fire alarms. In the last three weeks (during the midst of the COVID outbreak), we have had 3 false fire alarms. I'd estimate we've had false alarms / tests 3x a month since I've lived here. I'm not sure what the issue is, but this is a problem that the Audubon needs to deal with. It's hugely disruptive to residents, makes it unlikely that there would be a prompt evacuation in the event of an actual emergency, and is a huge waste of emergency personnel time. Drawbacks list continued in a Yelp review."