Avenir Apartments

I have lived in the for Avenir 5 years for its location and modern units. Sadly this property became an upscale dormitory. If you don’t mind noise and cigarettes all over the place and the smell of smoke in the halls, go for it.
Beware for pranksters, residents truly believe this is a dormitory. For the rental price, not worth the headaches. Management team is very nonchalant to all the activities taking place in the building as well. Beautiful property had a lot of potential but its now just a bit trashy.

Abysmal. I’ve lived here for over 2 years now (my mistake). Avenir has become nothing more than an overpriced dormitory even though they market themselves as a luxury building. Ever since they started allowing undergraduates, there is constantly trash in the hallways (including open bags of dog feces) on a daily basis, cigarettes in the stairwell, and loud music at all hours.
Equity also charges illegal fees, including an «amenity fee», which they refuse to refund even though it is illegal to charge anything beyond a security deposit and first month’s rent in MA and the fact that the judge ruled against Equity in a recent class action lawsuit about this (google «Perry v Equity Residential»)
Despite the responses below from «Jennifer A» (readers should know there is no one by that name who works in the leasing office on-​site), management and Equity do not take these issues seriously. I would have more patience if they actually showed an attempt to address these issues, but between the unlawful business practices and the indifference of management (nothing has changed despite countless emails and complaints), I am counting down the days till my lease is over. It’s unfortunate because the units themselves are pretty nice and the service team works hard and is very responsive.

The positives: The apartments are really nice and it is a convenient location (close to the river, I-​93, airport, T, Whole Foods, CVS, etc.). The building’s management people are really nice and helpful.
The negatives: Unfortunately, the number of undergraduates living in the building is totally out of control. The neighborhood is not the best and cleanest (to say the least): many junkies around Canal St. and it gets crazy (traffic, noise, etc.) when game or concert nights at the TD Garden.
Lived here for over three years because I liked the place, it was convenient, and the number of undergrads in the past was not even comparable to these days…
In a nutshell, if you are bothered by noise, traffic and undergrads partying, then this is definitely not the right place for you.

I am very happy with Avenir. I have lived in Boston for over seven years and this is the fourth downtown apartment I have lived in during that time. This is by far my favorite out of them all.
The entire staff is extremely nice, helpful, and friendly. I have had no issues with noisy neighbors or sounds from outside that is anything more than the usual «city noises» and when the windows are open or it’s a big game night.
The apartment itself is beautiful and completely updated. The building is very well-​maintained, clean, safe, and very accessible to everything– food, shopping, and transportation. It is minutes away from the North End, Beacon Hill, and Faneuil Hall.
I absolutely love living here and would highly recommend it!

I have been living in Avenir for the past 4 years and I have got to say that I’m a fan of the place. After Equity Residential took over, I’ve had a good relationship with the leasing office, especially Jay Arias. He is an honest man and tells you exactly what the situation is. He always looks for your best interests. I’ve also had good experiences with Ashley Nelson. She actively seeks to help you get exactly what you want. Also, the concierges here are always incredible, especially Najib and Dalal. They always greet you with a smile and help you make your stay here as comfortable as possible.
As for the building itself, the finishing is incredible. Furthermore, it has a great location as it is within walking distance to the North End, Quincy Market, and Boston Common. Its also great that North Station is right under the building, which makes travel pretty easy. My only concern in the building is during games at TD Garden. Traffic gets pretty hectic.
All in all, it’s a great building and I thoroughly enjoyed the 4 years I spent here!

The apartments are beautiful and the location is fantastic but there are so so so many issues with this building. I will outline my biggest annoyances below, in hopes they will fix them when I put them forward in a public forum.
By far the most unacceptable issue with the building is hot water and showers. If you have a regular 9−6÷8−5 job you should expect to have a cold shower at least once a week which is atrocious for a luxury apt building. Maybe it would be whatever if it was your college apt or your first studio out of college, but when you’re a grown adult paying over 2500 a month it’s straight up unacceptable. By far the biggest and most despicable problem, I cannot understand how this has been tolerated.
The central air does not equate to the actual temperature set. Ever. It’s always too warm or too cold, and if you tell them this they assure you that you’re using it wrong. Their fixes don’t work Fellow tenants agree.
Doorbells. They’re very underrated. Every apartment building I’ve ever lived in (luxury or otherwise) or had the pleasure of visiting has had one. This is because with central air, television etc it can be incredibly difficult to hear a guest or delivery guy knocking on the door. For some reason this luxury building decided they were too good for this small amenity, which just makes me scratch my head – and is a total annoyance.
During peak hours on the weekend the doormen are MIA so your guests are unable to sign in and you have to go down and get them – again if this was not a luxury building whatever, but it’s an Equity building so, seriously?
It’s really sad that they are unable to make a beautiful building function like it should and like it’s holding company has been able to do elsewhere.

I am very happy to have moved out at the end of my lease. We chose Avenir based on the convenient location and updated amenities. The units are well appointed and the building’s proximity to restaurants, T, and downtown make it worth looking at for sure. Also, the staff is great.
However, bring your earplugs if you move in. Many students have taken up residence and they came to party. Monday, Tuesday, Sunday nights… it doesn’t matter. Thumping bass and the latest electronic music hits crank through the hallways. Our direct neighbors kept us up to date with the latest EDM trends with impunity. The staff will knock on their door to ask them to quite down, but they laugh it off and dial it back up after a 2 min lull.
Granted, the noise and partying wasn’t every night, just often enough for us to count down the days until our lease ended. The front desk staff are very kind and helpful, and they will welcome you in and out of the building with a smile. I actually felt bad writing a similar review a few months back when I ran into one of the building agents. I didn’t want to make her job harder in signing new residents, so I took it down. Why repost? …because I wish someone had told me about the noise before I moved in.
So, if you are in school or want to relive your glory days, Avenir is the perfect private dorm for you. Working professionals, it’s going to be hit or miss depending on your neighbors.
*The fact that another reviewer has mentioned they stayed in the apartments as a VRBO rental is classic. Some people think they own the place.

This is a review for a condo rental via VRBO only. For our last four days of vacation in New England, we decided to stay in the central Boston area. We wanted a condo that is close to a T station and North End. My wife found a perfect unit in this mid-​rise building. This nearly new condo sits right on top of the T and is a 5 minutes walk to the North End. We can see the North End from our 5^th floor window. A CVS drug store is located on the ground floor for shopping. Many eating places are located on the same street. This 1 bedroom with queen size pull out sofa can sleep 4. It wad very clean and quiet. Washer, dryer, and dishwater are in the unit. Very good security with a 24 hours concierge. The owners and management company were very nice and easy to work with. The cost was extremely reasonable for the location. When we return to Boston, we plan to stay here again.

I am not a resident at this building, but I was concerned about the large number of undergraduates who live in the property. The staff we spoke to stressed that they «have evicted a lot of people» as an indication of how strict they are with noise complaints, but I took this as a very bad sign of the overall living environment in the property. Judging by the overall comments in this property, it seems that a lot of residents have had problems with the building. The staff was helpful, but not very friendly, and the property does not offer as many amenities as, say, The Victor – a property next door that has much better reviews and as as affordable as Avenir. Finally, the leasing agent indicated that, «You definitely hear the noise coming from the street and TD Garden. Definitely.»

I lived here for almost 2 ½ years. I had to move out recently because it has been terrible there. The first year was good, but things changed since equity took over. It has been really bad there and you are not going to get your money’s worth. People smoke, have dogs that annoyingly bark most of the time.

Pros:
— Relatively convenient being 2 minutes from the airport and right on the green and orange line
— New finishings in the apartment, albeit not quite condo quality
— Central A/​C (i.e. no hole in the wall)
— Walking distance to Beacon Hill and North End
— In-​building parking
Cons:
— Neighborhood looks charming during the day, but there isn’t much variety as far as dining options go aside from sports bars
— Canal street is extremely noisy on Friday and Saturday from drunk club-​goers screaming in the night
— Game nights are ridiculous, street is packed, cars honking, streets full of drunk and belligerent Boston sports fans
— Floor plans can be a little awkard
Overall, it’s a decent choice to live in Boston. I’d try to avoid apartments facing canal though if you’re sensitive to noise

We moved into this building about 3 months ago and were a little blind coming in. We didn’t see any Unilocal reviews and assumed this was due to it being a new construction building.
So what you’ll see is a rather exhaustive description below.
As a current resident, I couldn’t recommend it to anyone. While the units themselves are nice, but we live next to loud neighbors, deal with high attrition of the «doorman» staff (you’ll find out why I put «» around doorman in a minute), and pay much more than we should. Okay, the last one is my bad, but the dynamic pricing doesn’t help.
I’ll give you the good, the bad, the ugly:
1)Price /​value
–like the LA Lakers, this place is over-​rated.
–dynamic pricing. Say what? That’s right kids. The price fluctuates depending on the month/​day that you’re looking. We did hear about this, but expected a price swing of 3−4 – 5% a week. Instead we saw fluctuations of 5% a DAY making this a stressful decision. (The management will tell you it’s akin to an airline ticket. Sure, but an airline ticket is $ 500, not $ 3500!)
2)Units
–Units are super nice, plain and simple. Really hard to find apartments this nice in Boston.
–They have washer & dryers as well. Don’t let the Bosch name fool you though, they’re not the best quality. They take FOREVER to dry your clothes.
3)Community
–Building — not the best and unfortunately. In fact I’d put it at anti-​social despite the variety of characters. (A ton of students and a lot of affordable housing folks.) I suspect the management team struck a deal with Suffolk and NE due to high vacancy rates.
— I’ve also got a neighbor who is constantly smoking weed. (2 – 3 times a week.) I’m a moderate guy, so I’ve given up the fight with the building.
–there’s also an unnecessary amenity of a rooftop deck. Aside from the obvious difficulty of being able to work on a tan 6 months of the year, there are no BBQ grills, power outlets, etc up there. So entertaining up there merely consists of bringing your Hawaiian tropic and asking your buddy to massage into your back.
4)Staff
–The «doorman» is more like a sitman. This person actually doesn’t get the door for you. Doesn’t matter if you’re walking in with 20 bags of groceries, an old handicapped lady, or just forgot your keys. Don’t expect the «doorman» to get out of his chair to lend a hand. High variance in the general service level, but the guys who have been around for a while shouldn’t be.
–Nor do they ever provide any information about events, things going on in the city etc. So they’re not really concierge’s either.
–The maintenance guys rock. Paul and Damon are quick, efficient and friendly. They also got stuck with snow duty this year but happily did what they could to keep the building clear of snow and debris. (Don’t ask me why management makes these guys do it. Completely unfair.)
5)Area
–North Station /​Bullfinch triangle — the immediate area is okay. It really comes to life on game days, but it’s dead during the day on weekends. During the week there’s some sketch characters down on Canal. Yesterday some lady was yelling at her ex telling him to get out of her house, etc etc.
–however, we are a couple blocks from the real North End and that’s great. I don’t need to expand on why North End is so great, tons of reviews on that area.
I really wish I could recommend living in this building. We got caught up in the bling. The apartment unit is really nice, but all the other things that make living in a luxury building in the city exciting just aren’t there.