Pearl Properties

Good management, amenities and in a good location

1700 Chestnut is fantastic. The building is beautiful, I've seen zero bugs in a year and a half, the view is great, the gym and study space are excellent, and the package system is reliable. The location is perfect as well. The only downsides are the street noise (I can hear loud conversations on the street from my 8th floor apartment) and the price.

Amazing spot in Rittenhouse!

Best building

I love living in the beacon, the apartment has big windows and great modern finishings, and the maintenance team is highly responsive. It’s also easy to get to class because it’s in front of the bus stop on walnut. I think it’s better value than some of the bigger buildings like 2040, and it still has about 20 first year Wharton students living in it.

Great building

The studio is small, the building used to be a hotel and the rooms were refurnished. So that could be an issue if you’re not living alone. The administration is very good though and very responsive

very nice amenities, huge gym, location is around good food. doormen are great. it is very secure. appliances are all in-unit and modern. my apt doesn't have sunlight but some do.

The rooms are small, but everything works and management are efficient. it's a shame not many wharton people live here.

Building is well kept, front desk is attentive and watches out for safety, maintenance is highly responsive, easy mail/package system. Pearl Properties also organizes various events that are fun for grad students around the beginning and end of the school year. Half a block from the 17th & Walnut bus stop that goes right to Huntsman.

Good value for money

I would recommend The Latham to anyone looking for a quiet place in the city. Studio apartment with access to neighboring building's amenities (movie room, gym, big kitchen). Pearl Properties employees are so nice too. I don't know how they find them but every single person I interacted with for the last 3 years was so genuine. Caitlin at the desk was always so cheery in the mornings. Could not start the day off bad when she is around.

After living here 2 years, this place is definitely in a great location. The common areas and hallways are kept quite clean and trash is taken out regularly. They would have occasional events for building residents to get together which was very nice and I do feel like the management were cordial.

However there are a few things that had I known prior to living here I would not have moved in:

1. The biggest thing is that some of the walls are paper thin. Not all of the walls but one of the sides of each apartment has a thinner/newer wall next to an adjoining apartment so you can hear almost everything from that neighbor including those private noises you’d rather not hear. This is the biggest reason I’m moving out - the other items listed below are annoyances but more manageable.

2. When things aren’t working they can take a while to get fixed. This included one of the elevators that was broken for over 6 months (at one point, both elevators were broken although briefly) and the washing machine on my floor that took a long time to get repaired (we share laundry so the wait is longer when fewer machines are working). Furthermore, my air conditioning was broken when I moved in (during summertime) and every time I told management, the maintenance people would do something that wouldn’t fix the underlying problem. When I would tell them it still wasn’t working they would brush me off until finally someone on the roof saw my unit was freezing over and finally they replaced it but the whole thing took months and it would get hot and humid in my apartment in the meantime.

3. The elevators make incredibly loud noises that wake me up at night. They are very screechy but I was on the top floor so this may not have affecting lower floors.

Very professional and responsive management, great concierge & maintenance team. Units are pretty sound proof. Close to the 19th street trolley station to get to class. Also feel super safe here.

The Latham building provides studio options that are newly renovated and have tons of storage. The building is quiet and W/D are free for residents with two on each floor. We also have access to the 1700 Chestnut property across the street to use the gym and amenity space.