The Des Moines Building

Everything was great for 18 months until Indigo took over. Then they started claiming I owed $500 for "misc". They took me to court and they lost. The heat was out for a week Dec 2022, a week Feb 2023, a week in March 2023, and 2 weeks in April 2023. People are constantly trashing the elevators, literally wiping buggers on the wall. There was vomit on the floor through 1 whole weekend. I have pictures where someone threw a pumpkin down the hall where it sat smashed for 2 days. The trash chute area always smells of sour milk. This became a nightmare, that 6 months later i'm still dealing with. All the street noise is amplified by surrounding buildings. Sirens of ambulances headed to Mercy, and high school kids with loud mufflers. I gave 6 weeks notice of leaving, but they didn't cancel cable/internet service so now DirectTV is trying to collect nearly $100 extra from me. Car was broken into in parking garage. Liberty garage will have problems with access about 10% of the time. Homeless in the alley. You won't feel safe on the street after dark. Horrible, horrible experience. Avoid any INDIGO managed property. I have documents to support all my claims.

1. If you are going to take a tour here make sure you ask if the air conditioning/heat is working look for the LG thermostat on the wall if there is a code like CH 05 it means the A/C or Heat is out. Don’t expect them to fix it right away it usually takes a week or two. 2. If you file a complaint against a neighbor or a general complaint don’t expect them to do anything about the complaint because they never do. I have filed numerous complaints about neighbors using the recycling bin as a trash can and all they said was we will talk to them about it. 3. If you need something fixed and if you can afford it you are better off hiring someone because they only have one maintenance man here. 4. Homeless people use the carpet by the office as their own personal urinal and the office does nothing about it. So, if you’re touring be sure to look for the big pee spot by the office you can’t miss it. 5. By law they are required to provide a safe place to live and this is not a safe place to live. You have people drinking in the alley then smashing the bottles. You have non-residents getting in the stairwells. You also have homeless people using the pocket park as their own drug den. 6. Neighbors throw their trash in the trash room without using the trash chute and when you tell management it takes them a few days to get someone to clean it up. 7. Apartments were built cheap and now 10 years later they are falling apart which means you are probably going to have maintenance in your apartment more than you like. 8. The community room has a table that is unstable, cabinets that are coming apart, two recliners that are nasty and a couch that is nasty. Oh don’t worry about playing pool because the pool table needs to be replaced and they have claimed it will be fixed but a year later it still hasn’t been fixed. 9. The manager obviously believes that domestic violence is funny as I told her about neighbors fighting down the hall and all she can say is I am not sure what to say to that. Seriously, that’s the best she can come up with? How about I will talk to them. 10. There are no backup lights in the stairwells so you either use your cellphone, stay in your hot apartment, or walk downstairs in the pitch black. Management was told about this and they refused to do anything. 11. There is trash everywhere in the alley because they allow homeless people to live in the alley which is unsafe. I am honestly afraid to take my trash out that can’t go down the chute.

Horrible place, would not recommend to my worst enemy. I lived there two years and both years the heat was out during the winter, and took months to fix. The management was terribly incompetent too. The place could be dangerous too. I remember when the elevator was out so everyone had to take the stairs, and the emergency lights were out in the stair case! Ten flights in pitch darkness, so unsafe! Do not rent here.

Living here has been a crap shoot with the heat and A/C. It’s constantly breaking down and it takes forever to fix. Instead of putting a new system in they just replace parts and because of that the system constantly is breaking down. Residents leave trash in the trash room instead of sending it down the chute or taking it down to the dumpster. Residents along with FedEx employees are constantly standing by the doors smoking when they should be 25ft from the entrance of the building. You can only use NexGen for internet and tv service. I will definitely be moving after this year.

Previous reviews are correct that basic maintenance needs like hot water and working heat/AC not only go out frequently, but are left unresolved and unacknowledged by property management for weeks at a time. Noise is also an issue, both in noise travelling between units and noise from the street outside. There is frequent street racing and motorcycle/engine noise pollution in the night. With those negatives being said, the unit spaces themselves are fairly modern and nicely spaced. Trash chute, laundry machines, sky walk access and small gym area are all available within the building. Has a beautiful historical lobby. Building has good cleaning upkeep. On balance probably still worth it, if you plan on the inconveniences mentioned above.

Air conditioning broken ALL SUMMER despite repeated complaints. Windows don't open, so the heat is miserable. The heat has broken at least once every winter, although it's fixed within a week. No hot water for almost a week last winter. Public spaces are filthy.

A/C has been out for the past month. Additionally the units have no windows. It is basically a hot box that hasn’t reached under 85 in the last couple weeks. No urgency to get a HVAC company out

Clean and well-kept complex with great natural light in units. Amenities are nice and the roof is perfect for grilling. Maintenance requests are tended to promptly and staff is friendly. Only cons are being in prime earshot of 'loop scooping' traffic at night and that windows don't open.

I really enjoyed living in the Des Moines building. It is in the heart of the city and a very nice place to live. The staff were always very friendly and helpful. I thought it was very reasonable for the price. The only negative thing I can say about the Des Moines building is that you need to keep an eye on your account. There was one month where I was charged twice for internet service. I can honestly say though that they were very helpful in resolving that issue. The other issue I had with the Des Moines building was with my deposit return. I got charged $95 in cleaning charges when I can honestly say that I left it better than when I moved in. Besides that, it was a very nice place with very nice people. The price is very reasonable and the location was great. I would choose to rent from the Des Moines building again in a heartbeat. Would highly recommend.

We have lived at the DM Building for 3 years, first in a studio and now in a 1 BD. We've looked many other places, simply because there is so much renovation in the downtown, and The Des Moines Building is by far our favorite. I love the authentic history of the building that was preserved as one of the earliest renovations completed during this cycle of urban renewal. A big bonus to the renovation instead of build is that it is easily the quietest place I have ever lived for both street noise and neighbors. About twice a year there's a bit of revelry in the hallways- (Halloween and New Years)- but day to day it's quieter than any apartment or house I've lived in. It feels like a solid stone castle. I've lived on the 8th & 11th floors with never an issue. The building is pet friendly, which is important to us, and even with our many dog neighbors, we don't hear them. Here are some of the things I love about The DM building: the units offer many floor plans, and great views; The location is the best right in the heart of the downtown; I love the stainless appliances, and appreciate laundry in the 1 BD & above; The rooftop is fun and gorgeous. When we were in a studio, we used the downstairs coin laundry and community room much more, and enjoyed that as well. Probably the thing that sets the DM building apart the most is the highly responsive office staff, and the fact that they are always investing in residents and the property. The fitness room is continuing to expand, we have regular social events now, and the opportunity to give back to the community through school year and holiday sponsorships. It's true you have to budget for parking and there are "fancier" amenities at other places if you are into a pool, but nowhere as clean, quiet, and invested in building a true building community. Plus we swim at the Y. I always hear back right away from office staff when I have email questions. The office staff are interested in my input and explore additional perks like dry cleaning pick up and vending machines. We love living at the Des Moines Building.

My rating is specifically with regards to the lack of providing a safe environment for the two years I have lived in the Des Moines building. Noise has been a CONSTANT problem on my floor. I have been woken up so many times at 3:00 am (bar closing time) that I have lost count. I can't function the next day. I have called the police when management failed to improve conditions. Also, the huge air gap under your door means you can hear every word in the hallways, especially at 3:00 am. There are no cameras on the floor! So no accountability. And the motorcycle noise was UNBEARABLE. I believe it shaved a few years off my life span due to constant stress. I had to call police about the motorcycle noise on many occasions. I could also mention the people stealing toilet paper from the public restrooms, the drug addicts who were sleeping in the basement, the next door tenant who illegally sublet her place for six months right under the nose of management, the list goes on...

Rarely do I review anything outside of books I read but this building is awesome! I like this apartment building and location because it caters to my needs. It is close to my work and being that I am naturally an introverted person as well as a germaphobe, having a quiet and clean place is a must. They go all out by having it cleaned throughout EVERY single day and I rarely hear my neighbors or their pets. The managers in the office and the maintence man are amazing as well, if I've had a question; they have replied back or called me within minutes to resolve my concern, even during weekends. The only down side is that the elevators are semi-slow to get where-ever I am. Outside of that, I love living here and I plan on staying here for awhile.

This is a great historical building with really friendly people and management. It's in the heart of downtown with easy access to the skywalk, which makes getting around super easy, especially in the winter. Only minutes from restaurants, bars, and other social places.

There are a lot of positives about The Des Moines Building. First and most obvious is the location: the skywalk access is hard to beat and you're right in the action of downtown, but not so close that you can't escape it. The office staff and maintenance are extremely helpful, and the halls are cleaned daily. Utilities and cable are combined in your monthly rent payment, which is convenient. The rooftop area is very cool, the fire pit and grills are great, and the view is very impressive. The soundproofing between apartments is the best I've ever experienced, the sense of privacy is excellent. And you're one block away from Walgreens and the Downtown Pantry (open 24/7). This is a renovated building, originally built in 1930 or so, but you would never guess - it doesn't have any of the usual problems from refurbished apartments. There's no creeks/grim/bugs/etc. It's like brand new. **NEGATIVES:** They don't provide parking. You can park on the street (and make sure to move your car between 6-9am and 4-6pm every weekday), or use the Liberty Parking garage next door for an additional 100$ a month. Sometimes dogs will bark late into the night, and sometimes they will make messes in the elevator. The messes are always cleaned up extremely fast, sometimes over my lunchbreak! But still. Most strangely, you can't open the windows in the apartments. Not a single one. The apartments are temperature controlled so it never gets too hot, but I definitely miss falling asleep with the windows open in summer.