Review: Disappointment renting at Sentral Union Station in Denver
Last year, I moved from New York City to Denver and decided to rent at the Sentral Union Station apartment complex downtown. I had looked at a few other apartment options before moving (Modera in LoHi, new builds in Rino, etc.) but decided ultimately on moving to Sentral because I liked their large co-working space, and since I was working from home, knew that I would need a space like that!
After living in Sentral Union Station for 9 months, I ended up ending my lease early to move to another place - and here are some reasons why, for anyone else who is currently considering moving to Sentral:
The main negative of the Sentral locations is that they are partly rental apartments, and partly AirBnb units. When I first moved in, I didn’t think that this would be a problem - the team assured me that all of the AirBnbs were in Tower 1 (I would be in Tower 3) and that they were only a few units.
However, once I moved in, I noticed that it seemed like the majority of people in the building were AirBnb users - and it definitely gave the building more of a “tourism” feel and much less of a “home” feel. For example, the co-working space that I was excited to use was filled with random businessmen talking loudly on business phone calls, or groups of small children playing shuffleboard, etc. It was most noticeable during the summer months - when you would go to lay out by the pool, but there would be kids in the pool splashing and having diving competitions during their family vacation.
And after all, who can blame them! You want to have fun on vacation! But it felt like the amenities that I was paying an arm and a leg for, weren’t really mine to use.
It also felt like - as a resident - that the Airbnb guests were prioritized over the residents who lived there (and certainly paid more on a monthly basis). There would be times that items were broken around the residence, and the response time would take days, even weeks to get a response or to get fixed. I mention in my below TikTok video about how there was a ceiling leak/construction outside of my door that took over a month to be fixed - and that was after I emailed over 6 different times about it.
I was also surprised at the cost for apartments at Sentral Union Station.
For my 1 bedroom apartment, I paid over $3,300 a month - which was on par with apartments that I had been looking at in New York City - it surprised me, considering that NYC is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.
Lastly, as I started living there, I realized that the area wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. Downtown Denver is kind of a ghost town, with some dangerous activities nearby since the train and bus stations are one block away from the apartment building. If I were you - and considering moving to Denver, I would instead look at places to live in LoHi, Platt Park, near Tennyson street, and Cap Hill. (For what it’s worth, the Modera Apartments in LoHi that I toured were really nice - I wish I had gone with them instead).
Also - if you do consider moving to Sentral, take a good look at their lease break fine print! Since I left before my year long lease was up, I had to pay extra fees to move out, pay 60 days of rent, pay back money on any rental deals they had offered, continue to pay utilities, and….I’m still waiting on my security deposit. I’ve heard from other renters that they still haven’t gotten theirs back.
Overall, my renting experience at Sentral was incredibly disappointing from first move in to…months after still waiting for my security deposit.
If anyone is looking around for places to live as they move to Denver, I hope my first hand experience can be of some help to you!
Consider checking out some apartment complexes in the other neighborhoods I mentioned above, and definitely check to see if your complex allows for AirBnb rentals, as I felt that the Sentral business model provided a negative resident experience due to that (and other management aspects).