For starters, we received approximately 4000 feet of snow several days after I moved.  Thanks to my garage, I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t have to dig out my car.  And EH’s inferno-like heat meant I actually wound up leaving my heat off most of the time — even when it was in the single digits outside.

Despite the building having around 200 apartments, I don’t hear my neighbors and they don’t hear me.  When I lived here previously, this place always felt like it was built during the last of the “overbuild it” era and before the “as cheap as possible” era.  The water pressure is so high, taking a shower is like standing in front of a fire hose.  Even way up on my floor, scalding hot water arrives within seconds of opening the faucet.

But despite being awesome, my apartment isn’t flawless.  The biggest problem is that the same HVAC system that keeps my apartment toasty in the winter and chilly in the summer just so happens to be located directly outside my balcony.  It’s barely audible with the sliding door closed.  But if I open it even a crack, the noise drowns out my TV.  It’s a high-pitched turbine-sounding whine that is audible for a few blocks in any direction — you’ve heard it if you’ve ever walked near the hospital or Crowne Plaza.  Fortunately, with all the windows shut it’s quiet enough that I can tune it out (the one time it shut down due to the widespread flooding and power outages a few months ago, the deafening silence actually woke me up).

Last week I spoke with the building manager about the issue.  In reality, they’re not obligated to do anything about the noise.  It is what it is.  Shame on me for not thinking about it when I first checked the place out.  But the staff here has always gone above and beyond on the few occasions I’ve needed them, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

Lo and behold, two more apartments had just opened up.  And coincidentally, one was the exact same floorplan as I had when I first moved in back in ’99.  The other was the same floorplan I had when I upgraded back in ’04.  In other words, the two biggest apartments in the building (save for the two “hidden” custom apartments, but those are out of my price range anyway).  The first apartment, up on the 10th floor, is part of the building’s “historic district”.

This place was built in 1966.  Originally, floors 10-14 were apartments, and floors L-9 were offices and retail space.  Starting in 1989, the building underwent a complete top-to-bottom multi-year renovation (this is why the hallways and lobby look decidedly 80s-corporate).  The apartments were completely remodeled, and the apartment-level floorplan was duplicated all the way down to the 4th floor (floors L-3 are still office space).  The end result is that apartments on the 10th floor and up have very slight cosmetic differences:  Things like lighting fixtures, closet doors, and even the hallways are almost — but not exactly — like there rest of the building.  In some cases the retrofits are obvious (like metal raceways for cable runs), but most are only apparent to those of us who nitpick.  For 99% of the potential tenants, the differences are moot, if they’re even noticed.

The second apartment is one of the “newer” ones and is considerably larger (about 1000 square feet).  With a walkthrough kitchen, a den, a “library”, and about double the storage space of my current apartment, it’s significantly bigger.  Problem is, it’s only one story up from mine and on the same end of the building — not far enough to negate the HVAC noise.

They offered me the first apartment, which has a slight size increase, for the same price as I’m paying now.  The second apartment would run an extra $60 / month.  Well worth it for the improved layout and additional space, but it wouldn’t address the noise issue.

So just as I was going down to the lease office to sign the paperwork for the 10th-floor apartment, the building manager told me that due to unfortunate circumstances, another one of the “den” apartments had opened on a much higher floor.  Would this be high enough to negate the noise?  Could this be my dream apartment?  Would this place, in effect, kick enough ass to be the new floor9 world headquaters?  I took the key, toured the apartment, and arrived at my conclusion:

Yes.

It’s in the “historic district”, making it higher up than anything I’ve ever had before.  It just received (this week) brand-new carpet and light fixtures.  I can still hear the whine of the HVAC below, sure — but it’s volume has been reduced such that it blends into that low, distant roar that is the urban soundtrack that us city-dwellers grow accustomed to.  And although the view I have now is decent enough, the view from my new pad is a massive upgrade.

The only catch is that the apartment is open right now.  I’ll need to move ASAP.  So at some point within the next week, I’ll be making a 200-foot move and vacating my current apartment barely four months after moving in.  The building manager is letting me do this without any penalty or lease shenanigans, so I’d like to help out by getting this — my present apartment — leased out as quickly as possible.  If you know anyone looking for an excellent corner apartment in downtown Harrisburg with parking and all utilities included — and who doesn’t mind a little noise — let me know!

So I sold it.

I tried to sell this place once before using one of the better-known local real estate companies.  I was flexible on pricing, willing to offer closing assistance, and made sure the place was presentable.  But after six months on the market and only a few bites, I gave up.  For the next few years I put up with a house that offered little more than shelter and equity.  A house that I was ultimately unhappy with in a location I was ultimately unhappy with.

About a month ago, I decided to try again, but without the hassle and expense of a realtor.  Within a week of putting my house on the market at an absurdly fair price, I had a buyer.  We closed in record time.  As you read this, I am packing boxes and discovering exactly how gigantic the cargo space of a Honda Fit really is.

I’ve spent the last week picking through the apartment offerings in downtown / midtown Harrisburg.  Here’s a quick recap:

• The Grayco is easily the classiest building of the bunch.  Art-deco fixtures and trim, very-well-kept hardwood floors, and extremely attentive management make it a top contender in my book.  I have known and heard from numerous residents who have nothing but praise for the place.  Unfortunately the building lacks dishwashers, parking, and air conditioning (sorta).
• Pennsylvania Place refused to disclose their rent, show an apartment, or even try to hide how much they loathed talking to a lowly potential tenant like myself.  Needless to say, this laughably-bad behavior knocked them out of the running.
• Towne House had an amazing corner apartment on the 18th floor.  The roomy, pass-through kitchen and semi-sheltered balcony are perfect for company, and the location isn’t bad at all.  Unfortunately, their rent doesn’t include electric and indoor parking is not available.
• Executive House has everything I want: location, square footage, tile bathroom, dishwashers, air conditioning, balconies, indoor parking, and extremely attentive staff.  The fact that my only qualms are cosmetic (the lobby and hallways could use — but do not urgently need — a refresh) ties this place with Grayco.
• Old City Hall is far and away the most unique building — and the most expensive.  For the character and location, I could live with higher rent and even uncovered parking, but two important factors made me turn the place down:  having to heat huge spaces with heat pumps & baseboards, and not having electric included in the rent.

Pennsylvania Place was ruled out off the bat.  Old City Hall, while worth every penny, was ultimately too far out of my budget.  Towne House had a very attractive deal, but due to electric not being included in the rent, was ruled out as third place.  So that leaves The Grayco vs Executive House.

The Grayco drips character.  You can not walk into that building without feeling it.  It’s just not possible.  The present owners have worked miracles to turn that building around and make it a highly desirable place to live.  They could have easily gutted the place, thrown up some drywall and recessed lighting, and rented for a sky-high premium.  Instead, they did things the hard way by choosing to preserve as much of the building’s character as possible, replacing only the mandatory (fuseboxes) and obvious (the elevator from hell is long-gone).

Pointing out that Executive House doesn’t have the same character is ridiculous.  Executive House is 30 years younger than The Grayco and as such is considerably more modern.  Executive House has this 1960s jet-set thing going for it (again, you’ll have to excuse the lobby).  The building must have been pretty damn impressive when it was built in 1966, and if you look at it with just the right kind of eyes, it still is.

If “character” is the one word that describes The Grayco, then “awesome” would be the one word that describes Executive House.  The floorplans are built to accomodate social gatherings, the apartments are loaded with outlets for us tech-savvy crowd, and their layouts present a huge living space.  And having spent five years living there previously, I can attest to the building’s thick walls (quiet neighbors) and demographic (mostly single 20/30-something professionals).

Where The Grayco has flawless parquet floors, Executive House has fresh carpeting.  The Grayco has built-in bookshelves, Executive House has an obscene amount of closet space.  The Grayco has steam heat, but so does Executive House.  Executive House has air conditioning, while The Grayco sort of does.  Both buildings have management that is proud of their respective buildings, that have been in the building for over ten years, and — this is critically important — bent over backwards to accommodate my schedule and relentless questioning.

That last part is important.  I don’t know why some landlords can’t be bothered to return calls or even quote rates, especially now.

In a side-by-side comparison, it’s hard to imagine going wrong with either Executive House or The Grayco.  Both buildings have strong points, and each building’s strong points are extremely strong.  But there are a few issues that I can’t get over.  Executive House has dishwashers; The Grayco does not.  Executive House has much more counter space in the kitchens.  Executive House has attached, reserved, indoor parking.  And … air conditioning.

If it weren’t for those last four factors, it would have been a coin toss.  And even with those factors, the decision was difficult.  Both buildings are, put simply, great.  But I’m moving this weekend, and — let’s face it — those four factors are important.

So today I signed a lease at Executive House.  My new mattress and sectional are on the way, I’ve got a carload of stuff ready to roll, and I’m going to do my best to make it to the tweetup in one piece.

Old City Hall is unique in that it is one of only two Harrisburg apartment buildings to be dominated by split-level loft apartments (the other being Simon Cameron School on Green).  Schoolhouse Apartments in Mechanicsburg has the same overall feel, but only has a handful of split-level units.  This is currently a niche market that Harrisburg desperately needs more of.  I’ll take a hardwood floor, exposed brickwork and structure, and an otherwise well-hidden exterior over any of the apartments I’ve looked at so far.  The Grayco may be the current frontrunner in class and character, but nothing screams living history like a 30′ ceiling 12-foot windows.

I can not remember the leasing agent’s name, but she was happy to give me a tour of the available apartments.  I looked at three one-bedroom units that fell within my price range, all of which had an elevated bedroom and bathroom.

Old City Hall’s lobby is, without qualification, the best out of everything I’ve looked at so far.  I would move into it if I could.  It’s easily the best part of the building.  And it’s a small part of the ambiance that is the reason for Old City Hall’s prices.  The building is definitely premium-priced.  And without any similar competition, it’s easy to see why.  The first midtown or downtown developer to axe up an old run-down warehouse and carve it into split-level lofts will make an effing fortune overnight on rent.

The apartments are, of course, unique.  They’re starting to look a little dated, but that’s hard to notice when you look up and see your bedroom … then keep looking up and see the ceiling 25 or 30 feet above you.

One-bedroom rent at Old City Hall starts just shy of $900 / month, which includes water, sewer, and trash.  Tenants pay electric.  By itself this is a downer, but considering that each apartment has an electric heat pump with additional electric baseboards, heating two stories’ worth of ceiling space will only compound the issue.  In other words, Old City Hall ain’t cheap.

But you already knew that.

The smallest apartment I viewed was also the best.  It would comfortably hold a sectional and a wall-mounted TV, and the bedroom looked like you could just barely squeeze a king size mattress inside.  Since the pass-through kitchen had a breakfast bar on the living room side, the only walls you really have are exterior.  Coupled with the massive windows flooding the room with sunlight and a second-story view, this has the effect of making the apartment feel massive.

Uncovered parking is available on-site for $80 / month, which is starting to get awfully close to just paying to park in a city garage.

I ran the numbers and figured it would cost me about $1040 / month (plus whatever heating adds to my electric bill) to live there.  This is slightly over my maximum upper limit of $1000 / month.

Old City Hall is unconditionally a nice place.  And until Harrisburg gets some real competition in loft living, it will remain an expensive place.  Although I’m sure it’s worth the cost, Old City Hall has become the only building that I am ruling out right off the bat based on cost.

Tomorrow I get to make my decision and sign a lease.  I’m moving this weekend and I must unconditionally have everything out by the first.  My schedule is tight, but honestly … this is fun.

Executive House is a 14-story hi-rise located at the corner of Second & Chestnut in downtown Harrisburg.  It was built in 1966 by Berger & Company out of Philadelphia.  Initially, the first nine floors were office space and floors 10 through 14 were residential apartments.  When the Rachael Carlson building opened, Executive House was heavily renovated.  The first three floors remain in use as commercial space, but floors four through 14 are residential studio & one-bedroom apartments.  Up until 2000, the building was decked out in 1960s institutional-white brick cladding.  In 2000 the building received an exterior “facelift”, during which they mercifully painted over that.

Executive House is a well-hidden gem of downtown living.  Honestly, from the outside, it’s not much to look at.  I blame the brushed-aluminum railings on the balconies (brushed aluminum doesn’t age well).  You’ve probably driven past it thousands of times and never noticed, or tuned it out as just another anonymous downtown hi-rise.  The lobby and hallways — with their dark carpeting, dark-stained birch trim, and brass fixtures — make it clear that the common areas were last renovated in 1980-something.  They aren’t exactly ugly, just somewhat dated.  I suspect this makes a lot of people ignore the building, which makes it all that more of a secret.

I met with Ann-Marie, Executive House’s building manager, and got a tour of the available apartments.  She knew the entire building and its history forwards and backwards, and made a point of making sure all my questions were answered.  I’m really big on customer service, so seeing attentive building management goes a long way towards compensating for any shortcomings a building may have.

Once you get past the hallways, the apartments are bright and open with tile bathrooms and a near-obscene quantity of electric outlets (this is a major deal in apartment living).  Like Towne House, Executive House has multiple floorplans for each style of apartment.  And also like Towne House, some of the apartments are pretty impressive when you first open the door.  Again, layout is everything.

The building shares a lot of characteristics with the other downtown / midtown properties I looked at.  Like The Grayco and Pennsylvania Place, Executive House is within easy walking distance of everything downtown and barely a half mile from midtown.  It’s two blocks from Privado, the Gingerbread Man, and Molly’s, and ABC is practically right around the corner.  Like The Grayco, Executive House includes all utilities — including electric — with their rent.  And like every other building I’ve toured, the view can range from great (watching fireworks over the river) to meh (looking at the boarded-up windows atop Crowne Plaza).

It does not, however, have the rooftop decks of The Grayco or Towne House.  Nor does it have The Grayco’s “Log Cabin” room (you just have to see that thing).

But that’s where the similarities end.  The building also has an attached four-level garage, with indoor reserved parking available for $60 / month.  All of the units have air conditioning by way of a closed-loop pressurized liquid (glycol?) system from a boiler / chiller the adjacent building.  It’s a unique but highly energy-efficient system.  And every apartment has its own semi-private balcony (as private as a balcony can be).

While I was touring the building, I didn’t hear any sound from the neighboring apartments on any floor.  This is a huge deal; the bane of apartment buildings is paper-thin walls.  I’m not sure, but either the interior walls at Executive House are insulated or the residents are just quiet.

What makes Executive House especially appealing, aside from the location and design, is the rent.  Executive House is currently the least-expensive hi-rise in Harrisburg, especially after adding in parking costs.

It’s hard to find anything to complain about.  I wouldn’t mind seeing the lobby redone or washer/dryer combos in every apartment, but then again, I wouldn’t really want to see the rent go up to cover the associated costs.  The best I can do is gripe about how the building looks from the outside (the aforementioned railings).  Short of replacing them all, I really can’t imagine what could be done to improve the look.  But if I had to find something to gripe about, that would be it.

My last remaining apartment building to check out is Old City Hall, which I will do tomorrow.  Then it’s crunch time – I need to make a decision, sign a lease, order new furniture, and be moved in by the 25th.

I spent the day dismantling the proceeds from my home sale.  Those of you who saw my home know that it was never anything special, so it should be no surprise that we’re not exactly talking about a seven-figure sale here.  Today I dumped most of the proceeds from the sale into paying off old debt.  I have a tiny sliver of student loans left over from my degree, and a whole lot of my flight training loan left over.  I would love to put a little into the stock market, but even earning a 15% return isn’t that great when I’ve got student loans at 6.9%.

Whatever is left over is going to more immediate needs, like a bed.  I’m not kidding when I say I’ve donated or thrown out just about everything I own.  Clothes on my back, baby — that’s the deal.

Oh, and a laptop.  I kept that.  It’s grown on me.  In fact, it’s very likely that my new apartment will be completely desktop-free.

Thanks to everyone who has sent in commentary via comments, email, and Twitter about the apartment hunting.  I’ve heard from people with similar experiences at PA Place as well as Grayco.  What I’d really like to hear is any feedback on Towne House.  That’s the only building that nobody I know seems to have signed a lease in.  Anyone have anything to share?

The plan so far is to sign a lease early this week and begin moving ASAP.  I expect to be 99% moved by the end of the day next Monday (the 25th), so this Monday is going to be a final whirlwind of touring and contemplating over many cups of coffee.  With one exception, every place I’ve visited so far has been a viable option, so I’m really not sure how I’m going to choose.

There are two points I want to make about the “Harrisburg Apartments” series:

First, I’m really big on customer service.  A nice view or a bargain-basement rent is helpful, but I’m a lot more concerned about having a building management team that’s engaged with the tenants.  A noisy elevator or so-so view can be made up for by a leasing agent or building manager who actually gives a damn about the property.  Harrisburg renters have a plethora of choices of available living space right now, and with similar buildings charging similar rent, how knowledgeable and attentive the leasing agent is can go a long, long way.  I’m not saying I’d rent just because she had a big smile and friendly personality; rather, if she can’t get excited about the building, how can I?

Second, this is an excellent start to the new year!  More on this later, but suffice to say I’m excited to be moving back into the city.  Whether I’m downtown or midtown remains to be seen, of course.  As long as I’m no longer out in East Nowhere Township, I’m happy.

Happy Saturday.

• Anywhere downtown or midtown, within a half mile of Restaurant Row, Riverfront Park, and the train station
• Mid-rise, hi-rise, or townhome
• Less than $1,000 / month after parking, utilities, and rent

So far I’ve looked at The Grayco and Pennsylvania Place.  Today I’m heading to the opposite side of downtown to visit Towne House.

At 20 stories, Towne House is the second-tallest residential hirise in Harrisburg.  It was built in 1961 and was formerly a mixture of hotel rooms and apartments.  Today the hotel rooms have been converted into studios and the building is entirely residential.

Towne House is located at Sixth and Boas.  If you’ve ever been to Jackson House and looked across the street at those god-awful yellow balconies, you’ve seen Towne House.  It’s in a weird flux of being somewhere between midtown and uptown, without really being in either.  But being only .4 mile from Restaurant Row, a quick stroll across the capitol complex from the train station, and a few blocks from everything in midtown, it’s still within my target geographic area.

One of the interesting things about Towne House is that they have multiple floorplans for each type of apartment.  I’m not just talking about moving the closet across the hallway or flipping the layout; there are no less than three studio layouts, four one-bedroom layouts, and three two-bedroom layouts.  And their odd “T” shape means that there are plenty of corner apartments to be had.

I met with Marsha, their leasing agent, after work.  Her day was supposed to be finished at 5:45, but she was happy to stick around well past 6 helping me out.  Although she wasn’t as well-versed on the building’s history as Ann from Grayco, she was able to answer all of the important questions and most of the dumb ones.

The first thing that struck me about Towne House was the number of people loitering in the lobby.  I don’t know if they were waiting for rides or had nowhere else to go, but it struck me as unusual.

Our first stop was a corner unit up on the 18th floor.  I was floored the second I walked through the door — THIS is the apartment I’m getting!  Being a corner unit, the apartment had double exposure with one set of windows facing north and the balcony facing east.  A modest kitchen had a pass-through / breakfast bar to the living room, making the already-big room look even bigger and more open.  The bedroom was adequate, with enough room for my king bed and some very basic shelving.  The bathroom was an odd shade of 1960s pale blue tile.

As if the dramatically-large room wasn’t enough on its own, the balcony seemed almost perfect.  Because of the odd shape of the building, it was sheltered on three sides, permitting usage on windy or rainy days.  For added bonus points, there had to be at least 200 square feet of closet space in there.

I took a cursory look at a smaller one-bedroom, but the layout and square footage seemed too small for what I was after.  Surprisingly, even their two-bedroom units — at over 1100 square feet — felt smaller than the 850-square-foot corner unit.

Layout is everything.

The hallways of the building looked hit or miss.  On one hand, they were relatively bright compared to the other residential hi-rises, thanks to plenty of window exposure near the elevator landings.  On the other hand, I noticed a significant amount of damage to the walls.  Nothing structural, but it looks like the drywall had been repeatedly broken by dollies and moving carts over the years, and that they had just given up on trying to fix them.

No building is perfect, of course.  But being the most expensive unit I’ve visited thus far, I was hoping for a little more polish.

Outdoor on-site parking is available for $40 / month.

The corner unit goes for $795 / month and includes everything but electric.  Although very few complexes include electricity with your rent, it’s a convenience I’d like to have.  Taking an educated guess about my electric usage, I’m estimating that my total cost with parking and electric would be around $915 / month.  Still within my budget, but fast approaching the absolute upper limit.

I’m taking a break over the weekend, but Monday I’ll try and catch both Executive House and Old City Hall in one swoop.  I’m signing a lease this coming week and moving in by the 25th, so it’s going to be a rush.  Unfortunately for decision-making purposes, both Grayco and Towne House have their strong points.  If Grayco had a dishwasher the issue would be done … but they don’t … and it isn’t.

(INTERESTING FACTOID:  Anyone who knows me personally knows that I am an obsessive perfectionist when it comes to writing.  As such these posts are several days behind reality.  I wanted to point this out because Towne House’s leasing office closes at sundown on Friday.  Since sundown on Friday was after 6, I didn’t want to get the leasing agent in any trouble.  I actually viewed Towne House earlier this week.)

According to their entry on SkyscraperPage, Pennsylvania Place was built in 1973.  At 25 stories, it is Harrisburg’s second-tallest skyscraper (333 Market is higher) and tallest residential hi-rise.  Formerly known as “City Towers”, the building suffered a major blow in 1994 when a water main burst and forced 600 residents out.  Oft-repeated local lore — whose accuracy I can not verify — adds that the building’s heat and power had failed, causing one or more stairwell(s) to ice over, trapping residents inside a freezing building.  In 1995 the building was sold to new owners, who dumped $10 million into renovations in time for its 1999 opening as Pennsylvania Place.  The building received more bad press in 2004 (explosion and electrical fire) and 2006 (drunken tenant dropped his girlfriend out the window).

Unfortunately, I have very little additional information on Pennsylvania Place.  They would not discuss rent or even show an apartment.  The leasing agent made it perfectly clear by way of body language and tone that she felt I was wasting her time.

This past summer, when I thought I would be selling my place quickly (realtors – ugh), I dropped by Pennsylvania Place for a tour after work.  I told the leasing agent that I’m in the market for a two-bedroom or large one-bedroom apartment and will be signing a lease within a week.

She responded by telling me to leave, make an appointment, and come back.

I asked about rates.  Her response was another first:  “We change our rates every day.  I could tell you the rates today but they’ll be different tomorrow.  Unless you’re serious and ready to sign a lease there would be no point.”

I paraphrased her statement back to her — “I’m sorry, I must have misunderstood; are you saying I won’t find out the rent amount until after I sign the lease?”

Fortunately, she quickly clarified:  “No, it’s printed on the lease; you’ll see it right there before you sign anything.”

Pennsylvania Place has a reputation for being a little on the arrogant, inattentive side, and after my first-hand experiences, I believe it’s well-earned.  What kind of apartment management turns away prospective renters, then brags about their “flexible” pricing?

Is this even legal? I began reading through the Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Act, but stopped when I realized that they were not my landlord and I was not their tenant.  I’d have to fire up the ol’ LexisNexis account and start digging through court cases.  Frankly, since I won’t be renting from them, the satisfaction isn’t worth the hassle … for now.

At the very least, it’s certainly a questionable business practice.  And it exposes Pennsylvania Place — and its employees — to considerable risk of litigation.

The funny thing is that for all the attitude, Pennsylvania Place is not a great place.  It’s not bad, mind you; there’s nothing technically wrong with it (aside from a leasing staff that apparently feels “leasing” is not in their job description).  But having been there on numerous occasions to visit friends over the last decade, I can confidently say that their apartments are best described as “satisfactory”.  I clearly remember awkward room layouts, average construction quality, and noisy air conditioners inside the units.

I also remember that the building had absolutely no character.  If you were to imagine what a “100% average in every conceivable way” hi-rise apartment looks like, then you’d have Pennsylvania Place.  The carpet is adequate, but nothing special.  The colors are sufficient, but not memorable.  The cabinets hold things, but aren’t much to look at.  The appliances serve their most utilitarian function, but do nothing else.

The building is not bad; it’s just not remarkable.  “Adequate” is the word I would use.  Some people will point out that “adequate” is all you need, and I can respect that opinion.

But I refuse to pay sky-high prices for an “adequate” apartment.

(The last time I was able to get a rent figure out of their leasing department was many years ago.  At the time, I vaguely recall a one-bedroom being around $950 / month.  I could be wrong on this figure; it’s been a long time.  Unfortunately, since their leasing office has chosen not to disclose rent to prospective tenants, I’ll have to stick with this number — and imagine it’s gone up quite a bit since then.)

Tomorrow I’m checking out Towne House.  Old City Hall and Executive House are on deck.

FOLLOWUP:  Friday morning, I decided to give them another chance and do things their way.  I called to set up an appointment, but was told that no one was available to help me.  I left my name and number and was told that someone would call me back “within 15 minutes”.  Nobody called me back.  This leaves only one question unanswered:  If this is how little they care about a prospective tenant, how will they act when I’m locked into a lease?

FOLLOWUP FOLLOWUP:  Three days later, they finally called me back.  This is a shame, because I’ve already signed my lease elsewhere.

The first place I checked out has the most checkered past out of all of Harrisburg’s complexes.  If you’ve had the pleasure of visiting Grayco Associates sometime prior to the early- to mid-2000s, you already know exactly what I’m talking about.  If not, well … put simply, the previous owners let an otherwise-beautiful 1930s-era art-deco midrise decay into a dump.

This week I took a tour of the place just to see if anything had actually, you know, fallen in on itself.  I invited my friend Jamie along for the ride.  “If it’s such a dump, why are you even going to see it?” she asked.  “Same reason you test drive a Hyundai,” I replied.  There was an awkward silence when we were both expecting a clever second part to my reasoning that never came.  The best I could manage was “Look, there’s Firehouse.  We’re here.”

It turns out that back in 2000, a new owner bought the property as a distressed building.  They’ve spent the past ten years fighting to reverse the building’s decay, and they’ve made amazing progress.  I never thought I’d say this, but aside from a few shortcomings, Grayco may actually be the best midrise in downtown Harrisburg.

I know.  Read it again; I said what you thought I said.  I’ll wait while you ponder that.

Grayco is located on North Street between Front & Second, more or less across from the Y.  It was built in 1938 and at one point was owned by Ollie Rosenberg (yes, that Ollie).  The building is a deco-style 7-story midrise with a U-shaped footprint and miniature terraces flanking the setback.  The signage is minimal, but the building is impossible to miss.

I buzzed the office and met with Ann, the building manager.  Ann was very well versed on the building’s history, as well as its reputation, and did not hesitate to explain all the improvements they had made.  Ann was extremely friendly and helpful, and even stayed well past her normal closing time to put up with our barrage of questions.

Grayco is one of two downtown apartment complexes that includes ALL utilities — even electric — with your rent.

What makes Grayco unique is that it’s now the oldest surviving large apartment complex in the city.  Riverview was actually older by about ten years, but it’s been pimped out as condos.  River Plaza hails from the 1950s, and both Executive House and Towne House are from the 1960s.  Pennsylvania Place is from the 1970s, and although Old City Hall outlives them all, it was only converted to apartments in the 1980s.  Ditto for Simon-Cameron School.

Ann told us about all the improvements the new owners had made in the last ten years.  Regular exterminators have wiped out the persistent pests (downtown living in ANY city requires CONSTANT pest control).  Lease-free tenants were put back under lease or evicted.  The lobby was refreshed, leaks were fixed, the rooftop deck was re-opened, and it appears they’ve done everything they could to favor renovation over demolition.

Buried under decades of neglect are shiny parquet floors, vintage 1930s fixtures, and art-deco accents out the wazoo.  The hallways have been restored to an almost-original cream-and-navy-blue scheme.  The windows and refrigerators have all been replaced with modern high-efficiency units.  The elevators have been modernized, though the original hall buttons remain.  And as far as I can tell, the original tile bathrooms have been polished up but left fully in-tact.

But the retro character of the building didn’t fully hit us until we walked into the apartments.  Take the doors, for example.  Art-deco backplates on the doorknobs and one-inch-wide peep holes (without lenses) let you know that the building is from a completely different era. And in addition to the main door, each apartment has a second “screen door” leading to the hallway.  Only they’re angled wooden slats instead of a screen.  This allows some degree of privacy (and pet control) while improving ventilation.  The building has large fans on the roof that draw air through the hallways — state of the art climate control for 1938, and considerably less power-hungry than air conditioning.

Craftsman-style built-in bookcases line the exterior walls in the main room and some dining rooms.  Walk into the bathrooms, and you’ll see period tilework and mirrors (the sinks and toilets are all being replaced as the apartments vacate).  Steam heat completes the draw back to the pre-war era.  Dark parquet floors are a far cry from today’s neutral-everything take-no-chances color palettes.

But what impresses me the most is the quality of the restoration.  It’s obvious that a lot of time and care went into turning the place around. And having seen the building before the new owners were in charge, I can confidently say that the differences are  noticeable.  Back in 1998 I took a tour of the building as a prospective tenant.  What I remember most — aside from the garbage piled in the leasing office and used-car-dealer attitude of the leasing agent — is the way the elevators would shake violently when they abruptly stopped at a floor (“What the hell was that all about?” I asked the leasing agent.  He just shrugged and said “springs”).

“Springs”.

Although the elevators are much better now, the building still falls short in a few areas that are important to me.  There is no on-site parking, there are no dishwashers, and there is no air conditioning.  They will provide you with a window AC unit (which they will install) for $40 / month, but you only get one.  If you have a one- or two-bedroom unit, that’s a problem.  And since these are major disadvantages when compared against the rest of Harrisburg’s apartment complexes, I think the price of $750 for the one-bedroom is a little high.

My decision is going to be harder than I thought.  I initially assumed I would just be moving back into Executive House, but after seeing Grayco I’m not so sure.

Tomorrow I’ll check out Pennsylvania Place.  This week I’ll also be checking out Towne House, Old City Hall, and Executive House, as well as a few private downtown & midtown rentals.  If you have an apartment or townhome for rent in the downtown / midtown area, drop me a line and let me know.

Suck on THAT, Re/Max.

Way back when in 1997, I was the first among my circle of friends to leave my hometown and dive headfirst into a new, unknown city with no safety net.  In 1999, I was the first among my new circle of friends to get a Cool Downtown Apartment (very important when you’re 23).  In 2004, I was the first among my circle of friends to do The Responsible Adult Thing and buy a house.  And now, in 2010, I am the first among my circle of friends to be, technically speaking, without a home.

The buyer and I agreed that I would maintain occupancy through January, thus giving me time to search for a new place to live (another post on this is coming up).  It’s just that, legally, I no longer own this house.  And my interests are not represented in any rental lease anywhere.

So in all but the most lenient use of the phrase, I currently do not have a home.

It’s great because it’s forcing me to do what I’ve been putting off since moving out of Pennswood back in the fall of ’99:  Go through my stuff.

I have boxes I haven’t opened since I moved out of Pennswood.  During my stay in Executive House I added some more boxes.  And in the last five years here, I’ve added even more stuff (unfortunately, not in boxes).  As I’m going through all this stuff, I can’t believe a lot of what I’m finding.  I don’t know why I ever thought saving, for example, a 2002 receipt for an oil change at Jiffy Lube would be a good idea.  Some choices are more difficult; exactly how much sentimental value do I need to attach to 1998?  How about 2008?

My VM/SP credential card (mainframe logon) from Mansfield circa 1993?  Yeah, that’s gone.

My paystub from my college years when I worked at a Pilot travel center, showing a takehome pay of $197 after taxes for 42 hours’ worth of work?  Yeah, that’s actually getting framed.

The black bonded leather sofa & loveseat that I thought looked AWESOME when I was 24?  Already gone by way of the “free” section on Craigslist.

I thought I would make one, maybe two trips to Goodwill.  Thus far I’ve gone to Goodwill three times and Salvation Army twice, and I have another bin ready to go.  My shredder has cranked out three lawn-sized trash bags of confetti.  My vintage computer collection — the Atari 800, the Commodore 64 & 128, the Coleco Adam, and all their brethren in 80s technology — is heading off to climate-controlled storage.  Every book comes along for the ride, but every DVD is getting dumped to my personal fileserver.

I’m making exactly three moving trips with my car.  Anything left over goes to the curb.

I even considered parting ways with my DCM KX-12 speakers.  They’re old-school heavy-duty full-cabinet full-throttle full-rock monsters that weigh approximately 4000 pounds each.  The cabinets are indestructible and they stand about four feet off the floor.  These speakers are equally at home powering through a college house party as they are quietly playing late-night downtempo.  They sound great no matter what you play or how you drive them.  And despite all the changes these past ten years have brought, they’ve been there for me without failure.

I decided good speakers deserve trip #3 all to themselves.

There’s nothing currently in the sub-$125k market in midtown condos that appeals to me right now, so I’m spending this week going apartment hunting.  A lot has changed since I last looked eleven years ago.  I’m signing a lease this weekend and, with luck, being completely moved by the 25th. If you have an apartment in downtown or midtown Harrisburg that you’re looking rent out, drop me a line.