Used to be such a nice and well managed building, then sold, and now managed by Riverstone Residential. Since this management company took over the building is filthy, the garbage is left to pile up for days, the office suddenly closes with no warning and does not keep their posted hours. Reports of tenants being told their lease terms have been changed with no required notice given, etc... AVOID this very poorly managed building! read more

i moved into Link in August 2011 and have to say it was by far the nicest apartment I had lived in. The construction was good, not great. Granite counter tops, nice faucets. I lived in a unit with floor to ceiling windows, I LOVED IT! The first set of property managers were very nice. They had a lot going on but still took the time to remember who everyone was and where they lived. The downside, I had an F150 and the spots in the garage are TINY! If they had assigned parking the parking situation would have been a little more pleasant. The second set of property managers that took over around March 2012 were not as friendly but tried. It was apparent that they had been taking a beating from many of the tenants and were on the defense. I walked in on two of the tenants yelling at the property manager. She handled it quite well, in my opinion. The location is amazing, views are outstanding, and the amenities are great. read more

My husband and I moved into one of the Link's east facing, 3rd floor, one bedroom apartments as soon as the building opened for residents. We lived there for one year before my husband's job dictated a move out of state. Our time at Link was truly enjoyable. The location is perfect for commuting downtown via the bus and walking to all the shops and grocery stores on California Ave (there is a new Trader Joe's right across the street!). The view from our apartment was inspiring and the big windows meant turning on the lights and heater was a rare occurrence. A lot of thought went into the design and material choices for these apartments. We really appreciated the large granite counter tops in the bathroom and plentiful under sink storage. The kitchen had a deep sink with sink hose and a pantry--features usually very hard to come by in small city apartments. We were unsure of the sliding glass bedroom doors at first but came to really like their aesthetics and the amount of natural light that they allowed to penetrate the bedroom. The apartments also seem to be much quieter than others that we have lived in, though, if you leave the windows open you will hear whatever is going on in the alley quite clearly (i.g. garbage truck, car shop, and kids playing at Bright Horizons Day Care). Overall, the Link feels very homey with lots of local art and community gatherings. There is a bike cage and a million other places to stash your bikes safely and lots of (at the time) free motorcycle parking. As someone who works from home, I most appreciated the Link's ample community spaces as extra office options. The top floor lounge is beautiful and modern with sweeping views of the city, neighborhoods, and mountains (there is also a cosy fireplace, kitchenette, and big screen TV). As we searched for apartments in downtown Seattle and other surrounding neighborhoods, I can honestly say that we did not see anything close to the amazing rooftop deck at the Link. Also, I really enjoyed working in Chaco, the cafe on the first floor, because of their great staff and business design. The negatives: Parking in the garage is unassigned and the spaces are very small so if you have anything bigger than a compact then parking can be frustrating. The apartment we had got full morning sun so it heated up quickly and stayed warm. Like 20 degrees warmer than outside warm, so if you are adverse to an apartment in the 80s when it reaches the high 60s and 70s you may have to purchase an air conditioner. For the most part we were very comfortable year round but I'm sure on the freak 90 degree days these will be very uncomfortable, just as most other apartments and houses in Seattle. Our friends in a west facing, 1st floor, apartment were typically much cooler and kept their heater on most of the time. read more

Lived there for almost 3 years in a 2bd/1ba unit (huuuuuuuge bathroom!), they changed management about a year into my lease. Great location -- C Line, Trader Joe's, and YMCA is across the street. Current management hosts various events to bring the community closer, which is great. They are friendly and take the time to know the majority of the tenants in the building, if not all. I lived on a quiet floor, and I couldn't hear my neighbor from the walls. So either they were quiet too, or good insulation. The community is friendly and nice. Bad: My apartment faced the city/alley, sooo I'd hear the garbage truck in the mornings even with the windows closed (if you're a light sleeper you wouldn't be able to sleep in). If the windows were open, you can clearly hear conversations from the veterinarians when they took out their trash at night. You can hear the beat from the cars waiting for the garage door to open, and of course the motorcycles. I think my upstairs neighbor must've been a weight lifter because he would drop the weights and my stuff would shake from the impact. You could definitely hear upstairs kids pitter-pattering around and adults with elephant feet. FYI for people who are used to a/c, there is none but that's standard for Seattle. It does get hot. Parking: I was always able to find a spot in the garage, only a few times I'd have to park in the street (free after 6PM) by the VFW. Parking spaces are small, though, but I had my 5 favorite spots to park. But you couldn't beat the view, the rooftop community room and BBQ's (always used in the summer), and firepit. I could watch the Blue Angels fly and the New Years fireworks from my living room. The maintenance was responsive and super friendly. I reserved the kayaks once and it was easy. Gym is spacious and well maintained with 2 tv's. It's one of the nicest and best places I've lived, and being in the military I've lived in several areas. It's the only place where I was sad to leave. read more

So, this place has some good things about it, and of course some bad things. For the good - they offer a lot of different floorplans to choose from. And it's a very large building so there's usually quite a few options to choose from. We never heard our neighbors, but we could here the elephants who lived above us at all hours of the day/night. We garage parked one car, and street parked another. The stalls, as everyone else has said, are TINY. I always took the car that needed to be street parked just to avoid the garage. All around the black is timed parking which is annoying, but there was always a spot to park either by the fire station or going across from Trader Joe's where the residential neighborhood started. There are also A LOT of dogs that live here. If you don't care for them, this may not be the place for you. We have a dog so it didn't bother us, but I've seen a few people freak out. Never had an issue smelling dog pee in the elevators though, which always seems to be a complaint. When we moved in, we had some really awesome guys in the office to help. They've all gone now, and they seem to have rotated through about 4 or 5 other people in there. I can't really say anything about them or maintenance since we've never had an issue with the apartment we were in. As for the annoyances/cons? If you're on the side of the fire station (as we were - on the 3rd floor) - it's not quiet. We tend to keep our windows open year round, and it gets NOISY. Don't listen to them when they say the fire trucks or ambulance only turn their sirens on if they absolutely have to. No... they turn them on EVERYTIME, regardless if it's in the middle of the night. And Alaska gets quite busy in the morning hours with commuters and busses passing by. The apartments can also be very dark if you don't get the light finishes. We had dark brown carlet, dark brown wood floors, dark brown cabinets - it was basically like living in a cave. The finishes were nice though, so it had that going for it. Walkability was ok. You have Trader Joes across the street - if you like playing chicken with cars to get out of having to walk almost around the entire block to get to the crosswalks. Alaska Junction is just up a road, which is quite nice as well. The biggest concern was really the apparent theft going on from people in the building. The flat screen was stolen out of the penthouse suite, and there was a pretty big bike theft thing going on in the bike storage lockers in the garage - my husbands bike included. When he went to the office to tell them about it, they never made an effort to follow up on it - and didn't really seem like they cared to be honest. Overall, it's an ok place to live. It's mostly a younger crowd here, which isn't a bad thing, but quite a few kids. There are better places to live in West Seattle with a smaller community, and better pricing. read more

I am not a tenant, but did tour a couple of rooms today and saw the rooftop deck etc. This is, for a large apartment building, really nice! Check it out if you want to live in a great location. read more

Had a pleasant and trouble-free time here all the way from move-in to move-out. Great management team, convenient location, and lovely neighborhood. Special thanks to Mike and Lindsey, the leasing office managers, who are friendly, professional and honest. read more

This building has changed... The owner has sold to Riverstone and the new management has turned this place upside down. So many of my wonderful neighbors and I have felt the change. Just recently the management sent me a letter telling me that I had a credit for my next months rent and to subtract it from my next payment. I thought great credit is good.... Read on... But it turns out the management doesnt know how to read my lease, my concession adendum, and my utility addendum. Long story short my rent is supposed to amortorized over a 12 month period because my first months rent was free and I requested it be amortized over the 12 months. My 12 months is up at the end of July and (its only may 2012) and they are choosing to deny my amortized first months rent... If you like dealing with this kind of crap by all means the LINK is the place for you. It is nicely desiged but dont let that fool you if you a choose to check it out. My rent for their smallest apt (urban 1 bedroom) over $1500.00 a month. Yes you read that correctly. I was really excited after seeing the pictures online to check the LINK out. At first it seemed alright. I looked at a couple of different apartments and they were really nice. Then I met the manager and immediatly my mind changed. There was a resident in the office trying to talk to her and I saw the way she treated them. Ive lived in places like this before and there is no way I would do that again. Hope my experience helps. I realize most people wont have the benifit of seeing this there on their first visit. This lady is absolutely crazy and disrespectful. Happy House hunitng and have a wonderful day. I used to live in the link before the new management took over... By the way there were several more reviews on here a month ago (and they werent positive)... check it out for yourself all of this posts are recent... Riverstone who owns the LINK was able to get YELP to remove the posts... The new management is horrible... You may not see it at first but go ahead and move in and find out for yourself... I am so glad to be out of that place... The old management was awesome, before Riverstone purchased the LINK and a whole new crew came in.... I new some of the old management (since they are in the industry) they basically told me that the Riverstone was an awful place to work for and none of them would stay... And as soon as the new management came in I had the pleasure of seeing that for myself... DO YOURSELF A FAVOR GO LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE!! This week I helped my daughter escape the LINK apartment jail. She called me in tears after being mis treated by the apartment manager. I was reading through all the posts its so hard to believe what is going on there. Friends please do not waste your time at the LINK apartments. The child manager here is dangerous. Hello everyone hope your enjoying the beautiful weekend. It is so nice to live in West Seattle. But be warned if you are looking for a new place to live stay away from the Link Apartments near Trader Joes. It looks nice on the outside but thats not good enough. The building was bought out recently and the new owners/apartments managers are crazy. I was out walking my dog today and I ran across a group of Residents. They all had different horrific stories about the new management. I havent had anything too bad happen to me but I can say that this place has changed. And the people here are not as happy as they used to be under the old management. So many new rules here. As far as the new management I stay clear of them. But one day I did catch them in a lie. They placed our packages at our door way instead of making us sign them out. I called and asked about this and they insisted they didnt do it. Really? Im supposed to believe that UPS and the mail man got in the elvator and brought packages to our door and left them out in the hal... I saw this at least 5 other doors :( Its ok Im moving out soon There are so many negatives to this place that I don't even know where to start. The noise here is awful! The windows are not efficient at blocking out the constant traffic noise at all and there is a Fire Station directly across the street. Sirens are blazing multiple times daily and in the middle of the night. We've been here a year and since the day we moved in there has been construction going on every single day. Also, the Trader Joe's that opened across the street stocks and loads after hours meaning you get woken up all night long due to the trucks beeping as they park and all the banging as they are unloading. The temperature is another issue. It is so hot in these apartments that even non summer months can be unbearable. It gets hot even when it's raining outside! We got an air conditioning unit that we had to run 24/7 in the summer and that only brought the temp down to as low as 75 degrees if we were lucky and a huge electric bill. The parking here is horrible. You have to pay for parking ($65) read more

There are better places to live in West Seattle. This place is overpriced to begin and you get nickeled and dimed to death on your way in and out with a bunch of silly fees. The people managing the building aren't the ones who own the building. Clearly, the people managing the building make their money in part through these feels. I bet it was $600-700 above and beyond the rent for a year's lease. That's an extra $50+ per month just so they can "administer" you and your rent check. Lame. So how was it to live here? The places are nice and the people in the front office and maintenance staff are all great. The roof deck is awesome on a nice day. The neighbors are mostly cool. However, there are flaws with the building, location, and the people who live here that they can't fix... There are a lot of things you have to get "used to" that in my opinion, you shouldn't have to in this price range. Here are the highlights: The elevators are always a joke on the weekend, the entire building is always down to one elevator all day on Saturday and Sunday (and some week days too) because there are people constantly moving in and out. Also, the elevators break down at least once a month (there were a few times in the year where they were both out for an entire day). Dogs pee in the elevator and it's hours before it's cleaned up. Dogs? Love 'em? Me too! How about when two of your neighbors leave their dogs home all day and the dogs have loud and vocal separation anxiety? You can hear them in your apartment. The BBQs and firepit on the roof are in constant disrepair. By that, I mean things break and they don't get fixed for months. I had to bring my own lighter to light any one of the three very nice looking Weber grills. The firepit was broken for the first four months I lived there. C'mon... This is the noisiest place I've ever lived. Want to face away from Fauntleroy? Great, face East and there are garbage and recycling trucks at six a.m. each weekday. Especially bad in the summer, but it will wake you up in the dead of winter when your windows are closed too. Also, there's a fire station directly across the street to the South -- the sirens are loud and constant. So yes, there is no "quiet" side of the building. Don't be fooled. And seriously, you need to know what you're getting into with the commute over the West Seattle bridge -- especially if you're relocating from out of town. It is truly miserable a lot of the time. It seems close, even if you work at Starbucks HQ, but the bridge can be a 30-40 minute nightmare any day of the week. No matter where you work (unless it's in West Seattle) there is a better choice than West Seattle if you want a non-insane commute. read more

I have lived here for almost 2 years, and loved every minute of it. Though I am moving at the end of the month to be closer to work, I will say that this place is awesome. I have had really good encounters with the staff, along with the maintenance crew. They are all very nice, and have taken care of my issues promptly. The building is full of nice folks who are not afraid to say hello to you at 4am. The surrounding area is very safe, and besides... The building is secure 24/7 anyways. The gym is all that you need and more. The top floor is the selling point for this building. I think I BBQ's for about 60 straight days last summer. The boiler makes it so that you NEVER run out of hot water. (Yes...I am guilty of taking a 1/2 hour shower)...Also, since this building is "green", my power bill averaged about $40 per bill (bi-monthly). A quick 5 minute walk up the street gets you to California Avenue as well. Negatives... My rent was projected to go up 12% this year, so I jumped ship. Parking in the garage is worthless... I always park on the street or up on the hill for the unlimited parking. Almost every morning, someone's dog urinates on the steps in front of the building... But it gets cleaned up as soon as the maintenance folks show up around 7am. If you like a nice, quiet place to lay your head... This is it. You do pay a bit more for it, but if you take into account the views of the city, the rooftop, gym and other amenities it is well worth it. read more

I lived in these apartments while my husband was deployed for a year. This new management are horrible! They tried to with hold my refund for normal wear on the apartment. After threatening to take them to court because they were in the wrong they gave me my deposit back. It's sad that a good resident gets treated so bad when I was early on rent every month. I would not recommend living here. The fire pit on the roof was always broken and when it was working teenagers were always up there drinking. read more

STAY AWAY! Link Apartments will nickel and dime you, lie about move out costs, and avoid responding to emails. This apartment complex is completely unreliable and untrustworthy. We moved in expecting to thoroughly enjoy living here... and for the most part, we did! The s*** came when we moved out. When we moved in we asked about painting the walls. We were told that there were three colors they could paint for us but if we wanted our own colors we had to buy the paint. However, they would still repaint upon move out at NO COST. We were charged a hefty amount per wall that was painted. We also were charged a $120 fee for "microwave replacement" for a microwave that was NEVER IN THE APARTMENT. We had to purchase our own microwave because the specific apartment we rented did not have one. When we received our move out letter in the mail with all of these charges, we sent a nice email explaining each of the fees we disagreed with and why. Link never responded to our email and sent our charges directly to a collections company. We are in the process of disputing these charges, however if Link disagrees with these charges this will hit our credit if we do not pay them. STAY AWAY FROM THIS APARTMENT COMPLEX. They seem great until you move out and get thoroughly screwed over. read more

There are so many negatives to this place that I don't even know where to start. The noise here is awful! The windows are not efficient at blocking out the constant traffic noise at all and there is a Fire Station directly across the street. Sirens are blazing multiple times daily and in the middle of the night. We've been here a year and since the day we moved in there has been construction going on every single day. Also, the Trader Joe's that opened across the street stocks and loads after hours meaning you get woken up all night long due to the trucks beeping as they park and all the banging as they are unloading. The temperature is another issue. It is so hot in these apartments that even non summer months can be unbearable. It gets hot even when it's raining outside! We got an air conditioning unit that we had to run 24/7 in the summer and that only brought the temp down to as low as 75 degrees if we were lucky and a huge electric bill. The parking here is horrible. You have to pay for parking ($65 a month and the lot is so over crowded and the spaces are so small. We got a parking ticket once because one of our tires was barely over the line but we had to park that way to fit! The cabinetry inside the apartments looks nice but is actually very cheap and within a month of us moving in they all started to come loose from the hinges. New management started here a couple months ago too and they are terrible! The manager is ridiculously rude and couldn't care less about the tenants. We are looking forward to moving out of here. Save yourself the time of even considering this building. You can get so much better for your money. read more

Great apartments and common areas. Toured multiple times, had a deposit and then ended up taking a job in another city. Nic in the office was incredible to work with and very flexible. Great location with quick access to the city yet felt like a small town being in West Seattle. Sorry I will not get to see the area develop around the apartment as it will be a hot spot in the next year or two. read more

My partner and I have been living here since November 2013 and overall, I would rate living here as a 5 Star experience for the following reasons: Yes, it's true, the walls are thin but simply letting our neighbors know they were too loud got rid of the problem!! Another reason, the staff take time to know who you are and listen when a problem has occurred. For example, we had a tenant directly below us that would open their windows and smoke. The smoke would enter our livingroom window. They weren't just smoking cigarettes! After documenting the problem and speaking to the manager, the issue was resolved as quickly as legally possible! Lastly, we have a TON of wonderful canines that live here with their people. The staff here maintain the property and surrounding area very well for the amount of foot/paw traffic they deal with on a daily basis! We definately plan on staying for another year when our lease comes up in November. For these reasons and staff that take care of tenants' concerns 99% of time: FIVE STARS!! Thank you Link Apartments staff!! read more

I was very disappointed to find out most of what was told me at lease signing was false. I will keep it as brief as possible with a pros and cons list. 1- Pros a) new building, b) up and coming location, c) allows pets, d) elevators, e) grocery stores close by 2- Cons a) kitchen floors are vinyl not wood, b) community events were few and far between; when held they were boring and not organized well, c) stainless steel "look" on appliances, d) when the gym opened it was small and the equipment frequently broke down, e) building was not professionals only; many units are income restricted, f) several incidents of theft in and outside of the building, g) traffic noise is high due to poorly insulated windows, h) frequent yelling and drunken behavior in front building even in cold weather, i) several incidents of people openly drinking beer and hard liquor in the lobby, halls and on the roof deck; accompanying behavior on the deck was usually loud and obnoxious, j) parking was poorly designed and is difficult; sometimes you don't get a spot and several cars had been dinged k) lack of street parking for visitors; and, l) no air-conditioning. I was upset and disappointed that my security deposit was not returned within 14 days of my move out and that a deduction was taken for normal wear and tear. The management would not return e-mails, calls or respond to a certified letter after my move-out. My suggestion is to join the Tenant's Union and fight this in small claims court if the dollar amount is worth it to you. I would not recommend living here. Plus this place is very expensive for what you have to put up with; especially, if you are paying the full monthly rate. read more

I was one of the first residents to move into Link when it opened in 2011. While expensive, I had no real complaints about living there. The trouble came when I moved out. I was billed above and beyond my security deposit for carpet cleaning, general cleaning, and repairing nail holes in the walls. I had a problem with this for several reasons: 1) the carpet cleaning fee was deducted from my security deposit, which is illegal under Washington law. If a landlord is going to charge for carpet cleaning as a standard fee when a tenant moves out, that must be clearly stated in the lease (which it wasn't, of course). The landlord cannot deduct an expense like this from a security deposit, which is to be used ONLY if the tenant has caused damage beyond normal wear and tear. Cleaning the carpet falls into the category of normal wear and tear. 2) I put a lot of effort into cleaning the unit when I moved out because I had been dinged by previous landlords and I wasn't about to let that happen again. I swear, that place would have passed the white glove test - not a single spot, drip, stain, dust bunny, or strand of hair was left. I guarantee that apartment was cleaner than when I moved in, because when I moved in there was a fine layer of construction dust covering almost every surface in the unit (remember I was one of the first residents and there was still some construction going on when I moved in). On my checkout form, the manager noted that I had left the unit in "good, clean condition", but lo and behold, I was indeed charged for cleaning by a professional crew. I was told this was a standard fee charged on move-out. This falls into the same category as the carpet cleaning. It is illegal for a landlord to deduct fees from a security deposit for anything that is not damage caused by the tenant. Some streaks on the window and crumbs under the fridge do not count as damage, and a landlord cannot charge for that out of the security deposit. If they want to charge tenants a fee for a move-out cleaning, that is fine, but again, it must be in the lease. And finally, 3) the lease specifically says that small holes for hanging photos and whatnot are allowed, but I was charged for filling them anyway. So, given the effort I had put into cleaning the place and the nearly pristine state that I had left it in, I was pretty upset. I sent several letters to the management company outlining the fees and why they were illegal and citing the Washington State landlord-tenant laws that applied (RCW 59.18.285). I'm happy to report that the charges were dropped from my bill and I was refunded my money. I really encourage anyone who has been confronted with similar charges to fight them - I can't stress enough that these types of fees are ILLEGAL and they are basically stealing from you. Don't let them do it! Read your lease carefully, know your rights, and fight any illegal charges that they try and force on you! read more