500 Square Apartments, bellingham-wa

500 square is a nice place to live and is in a great location. I have a slight problem with that when me and my roommates moved in, there was a lot of damages to the apartment that wasn’t taken care of prior to our move in. One of the biggest damages was a dent on one of the bathroom doors. We could also see that someone tried to do a paint match but it didn’t work out so great and there is multiple dents and scratched to the walls. Another issue is that it’s hard to get contact with the onsite manager during their said business hours. Besides that, 500 square is an ideal place to live.

I really wanted to like this place but unfortunately it’s just not what it claims to be. The building itself is pretty nice, you can tell it was made to look good but not actually be of good quality but I can get over that. My main issue I have here is the lack of management presence and the lack of security/safety. There is almost never a manager on sight, even during 11am-2pm when they are said to be here. There is an entrance/exit that anyone can use to get into the building by sliding your hand through the bars, making it super easy for anyone to enter the apartment building without being a tenant or a guest. I messaged the manager about this 5 days ago and never got a response. I also sent a follow up message yesterday and still no response. I have friends living in this apartment, and when they moved in they didn’t even have a functioning dish washer because it was missing key pieces. They didn’t have any mirrors in the bathroom either. Yet, they were still paying full price of the rent regardless of not having a fully equipped apartment. When I moved into my unit, there weee already scuffs and dings - specifically around the kitchen. Not to mention there was sawdust in the cupboards. The apartment units themselves are beautiful in my opinion but lack functionality. For example, there is only one drawer in the kitchen in my unit (which is a 2-bed 1.5-bath) - and the drawer can’t even be opened because the fridge blocks it from opening fully. Similar issue in the bathroom, if the door is open you cannot open the drawers. I think this apartment could be really great with some improvements but it definitely has a way to go.

The parking lot is very crowded and not very safe. The apartment is on a steep hill and the property management decided to block off the safest and most convenient exit/entrance for the parking lot. To the best of my knowledge it was only to block non-residents from driving in the parking lot. I never noticed a problem with that before, this is my second year living at 500 Square. It has only made the access to parking more difficult and dangerous.

New and spacious apartments with excellent finishes. The entry to building is secured which is very safe and relaxing. Balcony view is amazing and I personally love it so much. The property manager is very responsive to questions and concerns. Highly recommended!

Disappointed in the management and overall experience living here. There have been many issues with this place from the beginning. To name a few, the move in date was pushed back two days and we were given less than a days notice, the apartment was still covered in sawdust once we were able to move in, the toilets weren’t working, the dishwasher wasn’t fully installed, mirrors weren’t installed until weeks after moving in, and now we are dealing with not having electricity for the past 72 hours.