Innovation Square

"As a student that has lived in this residence for about one year now, I wanted to help provide a holistic overview of my experience and exposure to Innovation Square as a residential community which has been largely more positive than negative by far. To begin, I attend University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music, and my commute is about a two-minute walking distance away from college campus. I work at Geva and Hochstein and have similar commutes. As such, I recognize that some people have expressed concern with crime and unfortunately crime is a communal disturbance as Downtown, Rochester streets interconnect with a variety of neighboring communities and we are continually facing a homelessness crisis throughout widespread metropolitan communities because of chance and proximity. With regards to security, much like the public and private sectors of security and University police/security, their primary job is to observe and report. While that can be troubling for some people to hear, New York State has strict laws with the regulation of official police officers and security guards taking part in public interactions. These concerns should be addressed with the overall legislation of The New York State Police Department and are completely separate from residential communities having to partake in public affairs. While private residences often enforce strict rules about public access, criminals can remain in any of their prescribed locations until official police arrive as any action may escalate to further concern given how most security at residential properties are not armed and are mandated by law to simply "observe and report". With regards to the timeline of communication with staff, oftentimes, as a student, I understand that our sense of time means that we feel like our concerns should be addressed minutes after we have written to staff. Unfortunately, in a building housing hundreds of residential students, housing commercial and professional properties, this request by nature is impossible. While I am not disregarding anyone's concerns, it is important to seek clarity with the measurement of some of the concerns that have been addressed in abstract form. Danielle has been incredibly responsive and supportive throughout many of my concerns and I have never personally witnessed ill communication. With any business establishment, it can often take 24-48 hours but that does not mean concerns are not heard, not valued, and aren't addressed in a timely manner. As a close, Innovation Square has transitioned from a full scale business establishment to an integration of a full-time residential community, as well as, a community that houses commercial and professional properties. Considering Innovation Square is less than 3-years old, of course they are navigating a transition of strategic planning and the implementation of innovative practices that are continuously in motion. There is no such thing as a perfect property, nor a perfect residential community. Living in Downtown, Rochester can inherently appear to be a less than glamorous experience -- pending who you ask-- because it is prone to the traffic of communities the outskirts of surrounding populous demographics, campus culture, professional establishments, and families who have helped raise Rochester to be what it is. Innovation Square is a wonderful initiative providing housing for college students in one of the most affluent and progressive sectors of Rochester. While it is far from perfect, upon a cross analysis benefit, many of the concerns that are being raised in abstract form are the nature of any business and aren't entirely specific to Innovation Square. If you are reading this, know that I recommend this establishment with high regard. I hope that you will feel encouraged to know that you will inevitably become apart of what makes a residential community great. And, more importantly, you will become apart of what helps raise a residential community that we can all call home throughout various stages of its development and growth."

"I spent a year residing in this building and, frankly, my experience was less than satisfactory. Despite a few redeeming qualities like the convenience of a school shuttle bus and the impressive views from the upper floors, the negatives overshadowed these benefits. During my time there, the absence of an in-house gym was a notable drawback. Noise pollution was a constant issue, particularly the early morning commotion caused by ongoing renovations and furniture installations on various floors. Moreover, the lack of soundproofing meant that music from adjacent rooms and floors was a perpetual disturbance. The building's package and food delivery system left much to be desired. My concerns centered around the lackadaisical security of the parcel holding area, where delivered items were haphazardly left in an easily accessible spot, making them vulnerable to theft by any passerby. Another gripe was the painfully slow response to emails. This lack of prompt communication further dampened my overall experience of living in this building. I feel compelled to address the issue of safety, particularly for my fellow students from the University of Rochester (UoR). Compared to the campus or College Town, the neighborhood surrounding this building leaves much to be desired in terms of security. If you are returning home via the Red Line, be prepared to walk a considerable distance, an inconvenience further marred by the questionable safety of the area. Alternatively, if you choose the Orange Line for your commute, you'll need to brace yourself for a lengthy 30 to 40-minute bus ride. Therefore, I strongly recommend all UoR students without a car to carefully weigh the trade-offs before choosing to live here."

"Don’t live here! 1. Water problem always occur, either no hot water or no water, while they claim that it’s due to city hall and it happens to the downtown apartments, tower280 or Spectra never has had water problems. 2. Heating problem: it’s now December, the room temperature is below 65F even though I have set it to the highest temperature possible 3. The apartment never cares about whether you lost packages or deliveries even though they have the video footage and can track people down to figure out the thief. 4. If you have any friend who ever wants to visit you, DONT LIVE HERE! No one is allowed to park on the platform and friends are not allowed to park in the garage even I have bought a parking permit and they only want to park there for a couple hours. Street parking space is limited where there isn’t enough availability. 5. The female security guard who sits in the front desk with very curly hair is extremely rude, one question asked feels like I’m wasting her time to play on cell phone. Very disrespectful while I’m being polite. The only good thing is maintenance comes in very fast if there’s anything needs to be fixed, and the maintenance guy is responsible and polite."

"This place is very cold during the winter. The temperature within the room is about 60 when the outside is snowing. The package always get lost due to the fact that delivers put the package in front of your door and anyone can take them as there is no camera. The UPS won't deliver their package, they would place the package at their place where it's need 30 minutes walk to get there. You really need to reconsider if you want to live here."

"DON’T LIVE HERE. This place is not worth it at all. $875 for rent plus $85 for parking space that is the size of a shoe box. Paying full rent for amenities not available. Don’t be fooled by the “ luxury student apartment” and being downtown is a great selling point. Scammers and very money hungry. First student apartment I ever lived in that don’t have computers or printers available for students. Let’s not talk about the gym that even smaller . Don’t signed the lease, you won’t get out of easily and they do have any intentions of doing that. They are very money hungry and don’t have any intentions of accommodating students. Who ever renovate this place did patch work. You can see the patch they painted over. Also your room door don’t even have locks on the outside, anyone can come into your room. Honestly do yourself the favor and keep shopping around you can get a way cheaper student apartment. They too busy trying to invest in “ cheap appearance” and not delivering what they are selling."