Pencil Factory

Lovely downtown living! Very convenient to my work and cool restaurants. Its so great that I can get my hair and nails done at the local retail shops right downstairs from my home. Bonus! :) My apartment is chic and very spacious compared to other apartments intown. My neighbors are nice. So far after living here for three months, I haven’t had any major issues.
The office staff is friendly and willing to help out in any way that they can. I’d recommend Pencil Factory to anyone in need of a spacious home with awesome city views!

When we moved in four years ago the current property manager waived out pet fee as a bonus. I guess they needed tenants. When Sirad came along (new property manager) three years later she demanded we pay $ 600.00 despite the information we had given her of the waived fee. To make a long story short we had to contact corporate and LUCKILY had an email from
The previous manager showing the fee had been waived. If not we would have been wrongfully (and illegally) charged $ 600.00 during last two months of our living there.
Pencil factory thinks they can solve their irresponsible pet owner problems not by installing cameras, but by sending threatening and insensitive notes to EVERY pet owner in the building. Responsible or not. This was the worst living experience of my life. All for a $ 1200.00 per month rent.

Renter Beware! The Pencil Factory is in a nice part of town for the most part. You are near almost everything, and it looks like a young renter’s dream. The view was amazing from my unit day and night.
What you do not know is that the management company (Perennial) is horrible at doing their job. The elevator broke in our building 3 times. Each of those times it took 3 – 5 days for the elevator to be brought back up to working order. The garbage is in a central location for everyone to share. That means all three buildings and the commercial tenants. I wish I could upload pictures of the overflow of trash. This happened 5 times while I was there. Each time got a bit better as to the cleanup response time. I have seen garbage piled up on the outside for up to three (3) days.
I rented a Loft on the 5^th floor so my experience might be specific to the 5^th floor. For ¹⁰⁄₁₂ months the hallways consistently had dog urine and feces stains in the carpet. This of course brought a certain fragrance to the floor which could be noticed when you steppe off the elevator. Frequently (weekly) the tenants with small and large dogs would not pick up pieces of dog feces; so you would have to side step your way to your unit. Please do not forget the wet puddles of urine you also had to side step. There were many complaints submitted about these issues, and there was always a promise of catching whom ever did it (without cameras), and cleaning the carpet. (mind you that there was only one carpet cleaning the entire time I was there) The stairways were not spared in case you were wondering. There would be the same puddles and feces + stains there as well (both wings on the side). The center stairwell was the cleanest as not that many people used it.
As for the unit itself it is nice. The front door lets in all noise from the hall way (college drunkenness + and conversations). The walls are pretty solid though; as I rarely heard my neighbors. A French door balcony sounds great huh? Not if you want to keep water outside your unit or keep in hot air in the winter-​cool air in during the summer. You will pay a higher utility bill because the French balcony door is not sealed around the edges well. Management stated that it was normal to have some rain come in during a hard rain. (that wasn’t told to me during the initial walk through)
So part of the problem was a fellow tenant problem, but that leads into an inefficiency to managing problem tenants. There was no game plan to correct the pet problem for ¹⁰⁄₁₂ months. There is not a remedy to the garbage problem which persists. Rent at Your Own Risk If you can tolerate «project» living my best to you.

From a current resident, DO NOT MOVE HERE.
My roommate and I, both GSU alum, moved here & thought this was perfect for senior yr. We were wrong. Since move in its been problem after problem. Initially bugs and ants were all over the apartment and had to be sprayed. This stopped for a few but of course the bugs are back. Last summer our air conditioning failed and the maintenance solution (which the manager said to do) was put fans in the window meanwhile temps were in the 90s & took 3 days to fix even though that is considered an emergency. Someone tried to break in, no real assurance for safety from the office. Trash piles up for days and there are week long waits for maintenance. & the noise! OMG it will drive anyone insane. We hear every move neighbors make. EVERY SINGLE STEP. Lastly the manager put a pet fee on our account because «she had heard from others» (her words when i talked to her) that we had a dog. We’d never had a dog or even friends visit with one. Just utterly ridiculous.
The leasing office management changes every 6 months it seems and aren’t helpful AT ALL except for Tavia at the front desk. Sirad, the current manager, is rude, inconsiderate, and unprofessional. Im sure she won’t be there long because thats how much they change. From this horrible experience we’re never renting from Perennial Properties again & running away from here when our lease is up.

My son is a graduate student at GA State. This was the perfect location. He and 2 friends applied for a 3 bedroom. They were told the apartment would be held for them for a set amount of time to get their paperwork/​financials submitted. Long story short– the manager erroneously reviewed someone’s else’s financials instead of theirs and then rented the apartment to another person on the same day they told us it was still being held. All we got was an apology– no solutions. Be careful if you want to rent here, you might have the apartment rented out from under you.

My fiancé and I moved into Pencil in February of 2014 and just recently moved out two weeks before our lease was up. In July of 2014 (five months after we moved in) we started counting down the days until we could move out. He is a real estate agent. I am a waitress. We lived our busy lives in a studio apartment (585 sq ft) on the fourth floor with our ten pound pup.
One month after we moved in, my car got broken into. It had happened the night before I found it. Someone had seen it. The cops had been there. No one decided to inform me until I stumbled upon it the next morning while taking my dog out. The office did very little to reassure me that my family was safe there after this happened.
In June while we were at my in-​laws, someone had broken into our apartment. They had taken the peep hole off of our door to check and see if anyone was home. When they noticed we weren’t, they pried our door open with what we assume was a crowbar. The office called to inform us that our apartment had been broken into and allegedly they filed a report with the police. They fixed our door and that was it. Again, no reassurance. When I brought the topic of security up to Gary (whom no longer works in the office) he seemed as if my family’s security was not a concern. They apparently «didn’t have the money to invest in more security». And trust me, security is one of the main problems at Pencil.
Moving on, maintenance requests took weeks and I mean weeks to be addressed. Our disposal broke at one point causing several other things to be effected. The dishwasher could not be run. Anytime the sink ran, the dishwasher flooded with dirty water. It took two weeks and multiple emails to get someone to come and fix it. (I do not put this on the maintenance guys who seem to be one of the very few positive things I can say about this place.) We put in a request to have someone come and fix our light in the kitchen 4 months before we moved out and moved out with it still broken.
Next we have the issue of noise. Pencil is right next to GSU which is convenient for students. However, it has more of a dorm feel than anything else. Parties were thrown what seemed like daily. The parties didn’t also stay confined to the apartment which it was being thrown at. People would file into the hallways and some would run down the halls banging on other’s doors. (Not to mention that the place smelt like weed constantly.) As far as neighbor noise goes, I could hear every single step that the people above me would make. I could hear them playing the piano and vacuuming at four in the morning. It’s bad enough to make anyone go crazy.
Now, for the positive. The convenience of Pencil’s location is nice. It’s close to 75 and 20. It’s just a few blocks from Edgewood Ave (within walking distance). It’s across the street from Marta and just around the corner from Oakland Cemetery, Tin Lizzy’s, and Augustine’s. The retail on the ground level is nice for a bite at Bada Bing’s or Friday night improv at the Village Theater. The Intown Market is right on the corner of the building and is good for a quick beer or ice cream run.
The only other nice thing I can write about this place is the office staff that was there when we moved (the third rotation since us moving in) was accommodating in our eagerness to get out. They rented out our apartment very quickly so we didn’t have to pay too much when we left.
All in all, I do not recommend the Pencil Factory Lofts. The only reason I even gave this place two stars is because my fiancé said it’d be mean of me to give it anything less.

My roommate and I have lived at Pencil Factory for a little over a year now. We love our apartment. I am a GSU grad student and a full time working professional. I love being in walking distance to campus and a quick drive to ⁷⁵⁄₈₅. I am also a runner and love the route options. I often run downtown and towards the beltline. When I first moved here I was a little concerned about the area but haven’t had any issues. I think that as long as you are city savvy, you are good here. I love the courtyard view and the little dog parks. I also LOVE Intown Market and am a frequent visitor.
The only issue I have ever had was a noise complaint late on a Friday night but that’s it. The prices a reasonable and the staff has been nothing but helpful.

let me preface my review by saying that I’m a pretty laid back person and it’s really hard to get me riled up one way or the other.
That being said, I love my 2br/​2ba apartment here. I’m sharing the one with the office with 2 other friends and it is just great. It’s big, well lit, and has really nice appliances, storage, counterspace, etc. The closet is huge. I even put a desk in there to use it as an office. I’m not kidding.
The office staff is always friendly and accommodating. We get a TON of packages and they’re always really nice and remember who we are.
the maintenance staff is super nice and helpful and are always in and out of our place. we’re kind of high maintenance, haha.
my dog loves it here too! tons of other puppies to meet and play with in the dog park and theres some green space (well, its mostly sand now.) behind the parking garage for him to pee in really quick before bed.
It’s super close to GSU campus (just 3 blocks down decatur st!) and also really close to the edgewood shopping center so you can drive maybe 3 miles to get to target, kroger, bed bath and beyond, barnes and noble, home depot, best buy, game stop… on and on really. couldn’t be a better location.
That being said, I wish it was a better location. downtown is a rough area and has a serious homelessness/​crime problem. i’ve never had any issues with strangers wandering around, but my car was stolen from inside the gate. that was not okay. the staff was at least helpful, but it shouldn’t have happened. since then, i have a difficult time feeling safe here.
the only other major issue that my roommates and i face is NOISE. oh my gosh. my upstairs neighbor sounded like a t-​rex stomping around up there. I have no clue if it was him, or the ceilings but jeez did it get irritating. the walls are pretty thin too and i can hear my neighbor playing guitar or listening to music. thankfully he has pretty good taste. also, lots of train/​marta noise so keep that in mind. none of these issues was enough to wake me up at night (except when he/​she/​it decided to vacuum at 3am or when my neighbors had a party that one time) but its just something to consider. not a deal breaker for me personally.
the only bugs we’ve ever had were fruit flies in my bathroom. the issue was my neighbors garbage disposal, but they went away pretty quickly.
all in all its a really great place. i love it here. if i wasn’t done with school and needed to have a shorter commute to work, i would totally stay. my roommates are keeping the lease for another year and i feel totally comfortable letting my friend move into my room.
…maybe just get a car alarm.
tl;dr… great for roommates, really comfortable and pretty. friendly everyone. BUT it is downtown and my car got stolen.

So many negative reviews I thought it’s time they get a positive one.
I’ve lived here since August 2013 and love this place (for the most part — I’ll get to the negatives at the end).
First off, the 2BR/​1BA I share with a friend is very spacious and we have a great view of the city’s skyline from our Juliet Balcony.
Gated parking is a plus as there are an abundance of spots for Residents, and the fact that there is Guest Parking available ²⁴⁄₇ inside the Visitor’s section of the Parking Deck is a huge benefit when you have friends over.
I have yet to see a single cockroach, spider, or bug inside our apartment other than if we leave the balcony door open to enjoy the breeze/​view then a fly might come in. Big deal.
The management and staff here are very kind and keep the place running smoothly. As far as maintenance, we’ve only had one problem with our fridge light bulb going out but that was fixed within one business day.
Rent is at a very good price considering the location, shops/​restaurants underneath, view of the city, and proximity to the 85 Off + On ramps.
Now, I would have given them 5 stars but there is one thing that bothers me about the place: The hardwood (laminate) floors are either very thin or poorly insulated for noise and I can hear the folks upstairs stomping around, walking in their heels, and when their dog (presumably) starts clawing at the ground.
Sometimes it can be a bit noisy from traffic outside in the street and/​or shops underneath, but something you’ll most likely have to deal with when you’re living in the city.
Other than that, I think this is a great place as far as living situation, ease of access, gated parking deck + visitor parking, and the management staff.

What could have been a great location for working professionals has turned into a glorified Georgia State dorm. Check out my photos of the place for a better idea of what to expect, dog urine, trash in halls, dog feces, liquor splashed on walls — this place has it all!
While past office staff had gone out of their way to affect change, the current staff has either given up or simply doesn’t care.
— Dog feces in the hall? Check
— Dog urine in the elevator? Check
— Maintenance staff unable to do their job, e.g. painting over a crack running completely through a wall to the outside rather than repairing? Check
— Residents throwing bottles off the roof at cars? Check
— Parties (complete with loudspeaker and PA) running to 4am+? Check
It’s not uncommon for weekday parties to run to 2am-​3am with students congregating in the halls to talk because they can’t talk over the music at the party. A great example is listening to a sorority rush event for 3hrs+ or having residents on the roof throwing bottles at passing cars because the after hours «security» is completely lacking.
In short, what once looked to be an up and coming location in Atlanta has turned into little more than the standard, run of the mill «lowest common denominator» student housing.
If you can tolerate the noise or are heading to college it could be a perfect fit — even you neither of those apply to you, pickings for downtown living in Atlanta are thin and sometimes it’s the lesser of evils.

Don’t be fooled by front office. The common areas are dirty. The tennants are loud. There is crime. The secruity guard is mainly concerned with telling people where not to park instead of walking the property or keeping the noise down. Soem people let their dogs poo in common areas like hallways and stairs and don’t clean it up.