I am planning to move in to Reserve Square (East tower) in a few months. I've read so many conflicting reviews about the place though that I would like to ask you guys, especially people who lived in Reserve Square about your opinion of the place? I'm mainly concerned about safety there since I'm a 20+ y.o female on my own and I will be using public transportation for several months until I can get a car.

I'm sure you'll get lots of opinions, many of them conflicting.  I know that makes it difficult but you'll have to form your own opinion.

 

In my PERSONAL opinion as one of the (few) females on this site, I would not live there.  Safety would be less of a concern than it just not being a desirable place to live on many fronts for me.

 

1.  I have heard stories about them having a bedbug problem.  I do not know if that problem has been fixed, but it is a very tough problem to completely eradicate once it gets to be a problem at a property, as I understand it.

 

2. The grocery in reserve square is really, really lame IMO, and this is where you'd be doing the bulk of your grocery shopping due to proximity.  Again, all of this is in my personal opinion.  It is lacking in variety of products, quality, selection and service compared to most grocery stores.  It's the kind of place where if you're looking for a particular frozen entree, you won't find it, and the one you buy instead will be dried out with freezer burn because it's been there for so long.  But I'll point out that I'm picky, and a foodie, so I desire more out of my grocery than most people in terms of selection and quality.  At my grocery, not only can I get all the groceries I want, I can get clothing dry-cleaned, get pictures developed and get a prescription filled, all things I have done from time to time at my grocery.

 

3.  I think the location is not ideal.  In downtown, there just isn't much to do in close promixity to there.  You're not really very close to the bars or restaurants and everything is going to require a pretty hefty walk. 

 

4.  I will mention safety, as if you proceed eastward or go south up the street bordering the E side of Reserve Square, the people you encounter might not be the most savory.  The greyhound bus station is right there, which I just walked by last week and received 2 different comments as I passed.  I also think the area on the E side of the property is generally slightly less safe than from the W side of the property and on westward.  It's maybe due to some of the crimes I know if that have been reported there over the years, like purse snatchings and car break-ins.  But I recently walked through there from E 17th down to public square at the beginning of a workday, and back again at the end of the work day, and it just feels less safe once you get to the E side of reserve square. Again, JUST MY OPINION.

 

I would say overall that I think there are nicer places to live downtown. I looked into their prices a long time ago,and I think there are other places you could live that would be closer to the center of downtown for what they're charging.  You'd have better public transportation options being closer to public square, and could go elsewhere for things like groceries easier and more quickly. 

 

 

I have never lived at Reserve Square, but I do agree with R+Rer that there are better areas to live in downtown. If you love being close to the theater district or you have a car, then Reserve Square might be fine, in terms of its location. It's also a pretty quick bicycle ride to Asiatown and its ethnic shops and large Dave's Supermarket. Again, I cannot speak to its living conditions however.

 

If you want to be in a better location for transit access and more people around (more eyes on the street), try the East Fourth area, the 668 apartments, or the Warehouse District. There is a small grocery store (Constantino's) in the Warehouse District, a small market coming into the 668 apartments, and there's the CVS on Euclid near East 9th. Plus you can take the Rapid or the #20, 22, 81 and other buses over to Ohio City to Dave's Supermarket or the West Side Market. And there's the #81 bus that goes from Public Square to Steelyard Commons.

I live across the street-ish from Reserve Square and take the bus to and from Case every day since parking there is so darn expensive.  Safety isn't much of a concern for me unless it's at night and I'm carring something valuable on my person (I do however try to avoid walking in front of the Parkview Apartments across Chester because I get tired of getting hit on).  I don't shop at the Reserve Square Supermarket because I do have a car, but I don't think that market is THAT bad.  I was actually highly disappointed in Constantino's over in the Warehouse district the one time I went there - I expected it to be so much better selection-wise.  In that respect, I personally think the one in Reserve Square is better.  May I ask what you will be doing for a living (and where your job/school is) while living at Reserve Square?

I love Constantino's but it's a gourmet market where you can also get a few basic foodstuffs, not a true, normal "grocery."  They have exceptional selections of things like gourmet cheeses and interesting crackers and imported mustard and stuff like that, but it's not where I'd shop for everyday items.  Well, *I* would, but I'm a food snob :)  But I mean I wouldn't get my staples there.

I love Constantino's but it's a gourmet market where you can also get a few basic foodstuffs, not a true, normal "grocery." They have exceptional selections of things like gourmet cheeses and interesting crackers and imported mustard and stuff like that, but it's not where I'd shop for everyday items. Well, *I* would, but I'm a food snob :) But I mean I wouldn't get my staples there.

 

I guess I was expecting it to be more like Fresh Market in Shaker Heights.  When I was in a rush, I could get enough food there to last me until I had more time to shop.  When I went to Constantino's, I literally walked out with a bottle of wine and a block of cheese..... sorely disappointed!

It's a great place if you want to buy some gourmet items as a gift, or for yourself, but yeah, not that type of grocery store. 

also a great spot for pre prepared foods.... and now back to reserve square :)

I live across the street-ish from Reserve Square and take the bus to and from Case every day since parking there is so darn expensive.  Safety isn't much of a concern for me unless it's at night and I'm carring something valuable on my person ([glow=red,2,300]I do however try to avoid walking in front of the Parkview Apartments across Chester because I get tired of [/glow] [glow=red,2,300]getting hit on).  [/glow] I don't shop at the Reserve Square Supermarket because I do have a car, but I don't think that market is THAT bad.  I was actually highly disappointed in Constantino's over in the Warehouse district the one time I went there - I expected it to be so much better selection-wise.  In that respect, I personally think the one in Reserve Square is better.  May I ask what you will be doing for a living (and where your job/school is) while living at Reserve Square?

 

...um sorry 'bout that. I just wanted to know if you wanted some fries with that shake :-D

Good thing for her I don't live downtown! ;)

I have a few friends who live in the building, although they are guys, that have had no issues living there.  The only thing I've ever heard them complain about are the elevators.

 

I haven't been poked in a long time.  LOL.

I live across the street-ish from Reserve Square and take the bus to and from Case every day since parking there is so darn expensive. Safety isn't much of a concern for me unless it's at night and I'm carring something valuable on my person ([glow=red,2,300]I do however try to avoid walking in front of the Parkview Apartments across Chester because I get tired of [/glow] [glow=red,2,300]getting hit on). [/glow] I don't shop at the Reserve Square Supermarket because I do have a car, but I don't think that market is THAT bad. I was actually highly disappointed in Constantino's over in the Warehouse district the one time I went there - I expected it to be so much better selection-wise. In that respect, I personally think the one in Reserve Square is better. May I ask what you will be doing for a living (and where your job/school is) while living at Reserve Square?

 

...um sorry 'bout that. I just wanted to know if you wanted some fries with that shake :-D

 

Yeah, my milkshake does bring all the boys to the yard......  The latest was some dude offered me his number in Target yesterday.......  Anywayyyyyyyyyyyy.........  Reserve Square is mostly CSU graduate students now, no?

There was a recent article in the PD about how the Reserve Square and the neighboring building, The Chesterfield, are becoming very heavily occupied by CSU grad students, especially Indian students.

 

Here's a link to our discussion on the topic:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,21700.0.html

I sure hope you like curry!

Thanks for the info guys! I checked out the places KJP recommended and there were several great apartments there. Made me wish I had checked these out before Reserve Square. But once I saw their gym/swimming pool I was hooked. I work out a lot and having these two amenities in-house is perfect for me. The proximity to Parkview Apartments and the Greyhound station is a concern for me though since I will be relying on my feet/public transportation for 2-3 months until I can get a car.

 

@Doctabrocolli: do you think it safe to walk from E13th to E14th & Erie around 6am and 6pm? Think that's the nearest bus stop (15, 16) going to my workplace and those will be the usual times I have to pass by these area. Will be working at Saint Vincent Charity Hospital.

 

@KJP: as it happens...I love curry. lol :)

 

I don't think you'll have a problem with the walk, although as anywhere, whether it's light or dark (which will depend on the time of the year) may influence how safe it feels, and you should seek out streets that have more pedestrian / car / bus traffic. Hopping over to East 9th, for instance, you'd have a lot of people out and about at that hour. On a nice day, you can also walk up to Euclid and then down to work on 22nd ... would be about 20 minutes. I'd also check out the 12 and the 14 as potential routes ... shaves off one block by running from Prospect.

It's not terrible, and most likely nothing will ever happen besides perhaps a few cat calls (the sketchiest part of your walk would be along E. 13th between Chester and Euclid where said cat calls would occur).  But if you'd like to avoid that (especially in the winter months when there are fewer people out and about), you could catch the B-Line Trolley at E. 12th and Superior to E. 6th and Lakeside and catch your #15 bus there.  On your way home, you'd take your bus to Public Square and then catch the B-Line Trolley to get back to E. 12th and Superior.

Thanks for the info guys! I checked out the places KJP recommended and there were several great apartments there. Made me wish I had checked these out before Reserve Square. But once I saw their gym/swimming pool I was hooked. I work out a lot and having these two amenities in-house is perfect for me. The proximity to Parkview Apartments and the Greyhound station is a concern for me though since I will be relying on my feet/public transportation for 2-3 months until I can get a car.

 

@Doctabrocolli: do you think it safe to walk from E13th to E14th & Erie around 6am and 6pm? Think that's the nearest bus stop (15, 16) going to my workplace and those will be the usual times I have to pass by these area. Will be working at Saint Vincent Charity Hospital.

 

@KJP: as it happens...I love curry. lol :)

 

 

I'd recommend getting a bike (if you don't already have one) and riding that back and forth to work.  Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods are well scaled towards using bicycles as transportation.  It will be quicker than walking and likely quicker than public transit.  In winter months, you can take transit or drive once you have a car.  If you want to get a used bike, one good option is the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op:

http://www.ohiocitycycles.org/

Thanks for all the great suggestions! Looking forward to my move to Cleveland. :)

Thanks for the info guys! I checked out the places KJP recommended and there were several great apartments there. Made me wish I had checked these out before Reserve Square.

 

If you are on a year-to-year lease, take some time to look around the area and see what neighborhoods you like best. As has been often said, people don't necessarily choose the apartment for what's in the apartment. They choose it for what's just outside the apartment in the surrounding neighborhood. Get to know the city and see what you like. Few people land in their absolutely mostest favorited (I just heard all my English teachers, including my father, choke) neighborhood when they first arrive in a city.

 

Think that's the nearest bus stop (15, 16) going to my workplace and those will be the usual times I have to pass by these area. Will be working at Saint Vincent Charity Hospital.

 

@KJP: as it happens...I love curry. lol :)

 

 

X is right. I think you'll find a bike is better suited to your commute than anything, except on the snowiest days. The distance from Reserve Square to St. Vincent Charity via East 14th Street appears to about 4,000 feet! Heck, even I could bike that! :) But I would look for a secure place to park the bike at work. Leaving it outside (locked or not) is asking for it or pieces of it to be stolen just for scrap metal.

It depends on what her job is IMO.  Dressy clothes and biking=not good.  Even if you wear pants, it's wet here a LOT and you'd get shit all over your pant legs. 

True. But many cyclists I know who bike a long distance (5-10 miles) each way to/from work bring a change of clothes with them. Some even have showers for cyclists or take a "sink bath" at work.

I'd like to see someone bringing women's dressy work clothes with you on a bike in a way that they wouldn't get wrinkled.  Even if you wore nothing but polyester, that wrinkles up enough when you fold it that it would look pretty bad just being taken out of a bag and put on.  Men can just wear whatever shoes and pants and change into a golf shirt most places and who cares.  It's really an entirely different ball game for women. I cannot think of one outfit I have for work that I could fold up and put in a bag and take out and have it look ok to wear on the job.  If your office is business casual and you can just wear a sweater and khakis or something, maybe, but not any kind of professional office.  But she said she was working at a hospital I think, right? So maybe it's scrubs, in which case that would be excellent.

You must pack an iron when you go on vacation!

 

Besides, wrinkles usually work they way out by noon. By quitting time, no one remembers what happened before lunch anyway.... :D

Hotel rooms have irons in them.  I've never stayed in one that didn't.  Also, I don't dress up on vacation so that's kind of n/a.  Jeans and a t-shirt don't really need ironed.  Seriously, it's a valid point.  Acceptable men's dress is very different than women's in most workplaces.  Men can get away with a lot more casual clothing than women.  But I know, I've made that point repeatedly.  Broken record RNR.

Riding a bike to work as X recommended does have its merits. However, as rockandroller mentioned, it would be impractical with dressy work clothes and I have to wear a lab coat to work as well so mud stains would be embarrassing. I wish I could wear scrubs everyday! That would make life so much easier. lol

KJP- yes, I am on a year to year lease. Once I get to Cleveland, I should be able to explore the neighborhoods there and see which ones will suit me best. And I should have a car by then, so the commute to my workplace won't be too much of an issue.

Don't worry about wrinkled clothing. Men don't notice the wrinkles in their own clothing, let alone what women are wearing!

 

That's good that you'll be on a year-to-year lease. We get some people coming on here asking where they should buy a home because they're new in town. Never buy or make a long-term lease commitment in a town you don't know much about. There's no rush to find the perfect setting.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/03/grocery_store_at_downtown_clevelands_reserve_square_apartments_is_closing.html

 

This might change your mind about the grocery store option.

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- One of downtown Cleveland's few grocery stores will close soon, as the owner of the Reserve Square apartment complex tackles a first-floor renovation project.

 

The K&D Group, an apartment owner and developer in Willoughby, plans to close the store within 60 days. Most recently called the Avenue Supermarket, the store has been unprofitable for years. K&D bought the massive Reserve Square apartment building in 2005 and expanded the market to a 22,000-square-foot store stocked with food, toiletries and other products.

 

"It has always lost money, and we expanded the store with the hopes that it would become profitable," said Doug Price, K&D's chief executive. "That never really worked."

 

Price plans to replace the market with a 6,000-square-foot convenience store. The change is part of a larger renovation project, which will eliminate a ground-floor walkway between East 12th and East 13th streets.

 

Wow,that's unbelievable.  I knew it was kind of a crappy grocery (IMO) but crappy grocery is better than NO grocery. 

Oh shoot. And I was counting on that convenience too. :P

I hope the convenience store they are planning will be open by June...and that it won't be too expensive!

Well, there's always Dave's full-service grocery stores in Asiatown (about 20 blocks east) or in Ohio City about two miles west, or Constantino's small grocery about 20 blocks west of Reserve Square.

Well, there's always Dave's full-service grocery stores in Asiatown (about 20 blocks east) or in Ohio City about two miles west, or Constantino's small grocery about 20 blocks west of Reserve Square.

 

And you can take one of a few buses down Payne from Reserve Square to Dave's.

I am NOT trying to be inflammatory, I swear, but isn't there a lot of crime around that Dave's? I remember hearing about some fairly nasty stuff there, pretty recently.  I can't remember the website that maps out crime - can someone post it?

I am NOT trying to be inflammatory, I swear, but isn't there a lot of crime around that Dave's? I remember hearing about some fairly nasty stuff there, pretty recently.  I can't remember the website that maps out crime - can someone post it?

 

Not a lot, no, it's in Asiatown.  There was an armed robbery a couple months back, but that's it.  (And by there, I don't mean at the Dave's Supermarket, just Asiatown in general.)

I am NOT trying to be inflammatory, I swear, but isn't there a lot of crime around that Dave's? I remember hearing about some fairly nasty stuff there, pretty recently. I can't remember the website that maps out crime - can someone post it?

 

Not a lot, no, it's in Asiatown. There was an armed robbery a couple months back, but that's it. (And by there, I don't mean at the Dave's Supermarket, just Asiatown in general.)

 

I used to shop there very often and never had any problems.  The area around Dave's seems just fine to me.

Ok, guess I will eventually find my way to Dave's once I get to Cleveland then. :)