Blakeley Commons

Well, maybe the condos are nice and everything according to the previous reviews, but the manager is super rude when I tried to call. Probably the rudest response I’ve got out of the million calls I’ve made today to find a place.

This place is amazing. I’ve lived here for just over two years now and have no complaints. First off, it is the quietest building I’ve ever stayed in. I NEVER hear my neighbors. I’ve tried cranking up my sound system up high and going outside my apartment and barely hear a thing. Second, the people living here are great. Nobody is in your face but people say «hi» when they pass you in the hallway and are generally courteous and friendly. Third, there are awesome shared spaces in the building. The club room, that is gratis to rent, is a great place to host larger gatherings, dinners, and wine tastings. There is a nice exercise room complete with spa and even a guest room that you can also rent for a certain number of days per yer, gratis. Fourth, the building manager is fantastic, signs for packages and will deliver them to your apartment pending your permission. Fifth, Zoka is right downstairs. This is a great place to go to meet friends, work or study outside of your apartment. If you want something else, there are five other coffee shops within a five minute walk. Sixth, the apartments are nice, many having balconies overlooking the UVillage. Finally, this place has an idea location. It is in close proximity to pretty much everything I need. I can walk to everything in the U Village in about 5 minutes and bike to the University along the Burke in about 10. All in all, this is a great place to live if you’re looking for an apartment in the city close to the University.

I lived at Blakeley Commons for a little over a year, and adored my stay there.
First of all, they are condos to buy, not rent; thus, if you end up renting like I did, it will be to a private owner who is renting the unit. If you are wanting to buy, the «for sale» signs I’ve seen are a minimum of 400−425k, and that’s just for the tiny one bedroom units like mine (600ish square feet).
These are high class condos that were built in 2001 – 2002, so they have absolutely gorgeous amenities in the units: granite counters, flat stoves, stainless steel appliances, really expensive tile in the bathroom, floor to ceiling cupboards for linens in the bathroom, huge walk in closets, and more. Some units have air conditioning, but that is dependent on unit (it was purchasable when the building was built).
Amenities of the building include security entrances, a (secure) parking garage with the world’s most narrow/​difficult parking spaces ever (one was included with my rent, and I have nice scratches on my car from hitting the cement column), a gym, a guest room that relatives/​guests can reserve for a small fee (i think 40 – 50 a night), a pool, HUGE elevators, garbage chute on each floor (SO USEFUL), recycling, and a very friendly/​helpful staff. The staff will bring packages to your door or put them inside the door, deliveries are also left in front of the mailboxes, which are secure (people are very friendly and I never felt like things would be stolen).
The walls are basically the most quiet EVER. The woman who rented the unit before me joked that she thought everyone around was dead, because she never heard anything. The street is on one side of the units, which can sometimes be loud, but the windows are thick. Otherwise, I literally never heard anything EVER on any side of me or above/​below. The neighbors next door had a baby soon after I moved in and I was worried about the noise. NEVER. HEARD. A. THING.
Not only did I love the condo but I loved what was nearby even more. It’s a 5 minute walk to U Village where there is (there or nearby): a UPS store, a blockbuster (good for blockbuster online visits), a liquor store, a HUGE HUGE HUGE QFC (and safeway), a drug store, an office supply store, a barnes and noble (complete with DVDs), restaurants, a kinkos, an optometrist, and other stores. Now that I live in a house in the middle of a residential area, I can’t express enough how much I miss having these things close by. I could plan out a dinner, walk to get the ingredients, and come home.
In summary, Blakeley Commons is a great, great, great place to live. The rent was kind of steep ($ 1200 for a 1 bedroom) but I’m telling you, it was 100% worth the price. Easy access to 520, wedgwood, I5, the UW, right on the bus lines for 74/​75, close to U Village, and damn fine amenities. I love my house that I bought, but man, I wish I could go back to this place sometimes.