Moving to Stamford - Looking for advice

Submitted by mpd763 t3_zq35g0 in StamfordCT

I am moving to Stamford in a couple months with my girlfriend, and the amount of apartment complexes, townhouses and condos is overwhelming. I would love to hear any input on the different areas, maybe even specific complexes to look into or stay away from. We are in our early 30’s and have an older dog. Love going out to eat/ drinking/meeting people. I love to ride my bike and explore. Definitely want to be able to walk to get coffee / groceries etc. Any insight is appreciated!

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DLFiii t1_j0wd4r8 wrote

Stay away from Harbor Point and anything by BLT. They’re pervasive here but really shoddy terrible construction. They’re all the same. Thin walls, cheap fixtures, and lots of issues — like parking garage collapses. Also, no groceries stores over there, so it’s a bit quieter but not worth the cost for sure.

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JaqenHghar t1_j0wqqc2 wrote

To echo this, one of the buildings is sinking. They had to move everyone out in a building less than 10 years old.

It’s a nice area, but check out Bedford and summer streets. Tons of restaurants and bars and still close to the train station and I-95.

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Dot8911 t1_j0x5k9y wrote

You are talking about Yale & Towne, right? This building was converted from a 100 year old factory - changes in the water table caused the old wooden pilings to rot. Also a common issue in Boston's Back Bay, where I used to live.

Your comment makes it sound like the structure itself is less than 10 years old. Let's at least be a little bit fair.

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JaqenHghar t1_j0x82bc wrote

Fair point but it’s negligent to not have factored that in when converting from something that old. Not cutting them any slack. They sold that off quick and avoided liability.

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Dot8911 t1_j0xbke6 wrote

In hindsight, the building never should have been renovated in the first place. But if the change in the water table happened after the renovation, it would have been impossible to spot in advance. Hard to say if the engineering survey missed something, or if a change elsewhere destabilized the building. Regardless, sucks for all involved.

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JaqenHghar t1_j0xc5m6 wrote

Totally. And I’m just being a jerk. Lots of nice stuff in harbor point.

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Dot8911 t1_j0xe6di wrote

Oh no, I totally get it. Any time an entire building needs to be vacated, it is right and fair to criticize the developer for that. BLT absolutely needs to account for this moving forward. At a minimum so the buildings can be properly insured.

Hopefully the city has enough info to reach a proper conclusion about the root cause, because if a change somewhere else made this happen we want to avoid repeating that mistake too. Cheers!

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CiforDayZServer t1_j0xsw6e wrote

Another one didn’t have a bunch of cables installed to support the concrete and they had an entire porch collapse from an upper floor… believe the building has to be demolished.

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Dot8911 t1_j0x6vbs wrote

I know everyone likes to shit on BLT, but I live in one of the buildings in Harbor Point and I've had a good experience. We really like the neighborhood, it is very dog friendly. Love walking the dogs out to the water, going to Sign of the Whale, Fortina, or Mexicue, or getting coffee in commons park. You won't have trouble meeting people down here.

BLT is the building developer but they contract out the management to a variety of management companies. I would stay away from Infinity, there are a couple absolutely scathing threads on facebook with a laundry list of issues related to the management company.

I'd say don't write it off, take a look and decide for yourself.

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Crotch_Midget t1_j0xaiq1 wrote

I second this!!! Especially for a dog owner, like what?!? Avoid Harbor Point???

Having lived both downtown and now in one of the waterfront spots in Harbor Point I strongly strongly disagree on the Harbor Point/BLT avoidance. This area is incredible and 100x safer and more dog friendly than the rest of Stamford.

Opus, Beacon, Anthem, NV I’ve had friends live in (all had dogs) and they only had great things to say. I encourage you to come check out the area with the pup.

It does cost you a bit more financially over here but frankly you pay for luxuries and peace that I did not experience when I lived downtown

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Crotch_Midget t1_j0xb9yy wrote

If you have a dog you will be doing yourself a disservice by not exploring Harbor Point.

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bombbad15 t1_j0x3mu7 wrote

Real estate agent here, you’ll probably enjoy the convenience Washington blvd, summer st, Bedford st, and hope st have to offer to the social scene, transportation, etc.

The larger rental communities will be more dog friendly than small landlords, often with lower deposits but add additional monthly fees.

Just a few miles north, you’ll find many parks to hike and explore, not to mention the other options in surrounding towns.

Having a firm grasp of how far your budget will take you in town will also heavily factor where you wind up. Have any other questions?

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CatsNSquirrels t1_j0x2knq wrote

Avoid BLT, as someone else said. Their buildings are unsafe. And I would recommend avoiding Element One. We’ve had a horrible experience here.

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turfgrrl t1_j0x2rse wrote

Glenbrook and Springdale are both walkable interesting neighborhoods with an old school neighborhood vibe that also have walkable apartment to grocery store areas. There are no grocery stores, unlesss you count Target in the downtown, and none in the south end.

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nirvanax80 t1_j0z66dz wrote

Wouldn't Ridgeway Plaza be considered downtown? that has a Stop & Shop and is definitely walking distance from any residential buildings on Summer or Bedford St.

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turfgrrl t1_j1bnuzy wrote

Ridgeway Plaza is not considered downtown, but certainly is within walking distance to many areas. Like most things reasonable distance is subjective. If you are used to being in a city than a reasonable distance to anything is less than 10 minutes by foot, at least by the measures in urban planning.

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bluejams t1_j0z3t5w wrote

If you have a car, There is abig stop n shop and a ShopRite right at the Greenwich border. It's maybe 7 minutes from downtown including traffic?

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Hairy_Weight_3922 t1_j0wcmif wrote

Hi, I just moved to summer street in march and my gf joined me in June. Loving it so far, can't say much about complexes but we love summer street.

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stalematehypothesis t1_j0xoeq8 wrote

We live in 66 Summer. About as downtown as it gets. It’s about a 1-2 min walk to Columbus park where Fido senior can do his business if he’s not down for a long walk, and about 4-5 minutes from Mill River Park which is bigger and has a small dog park if he’s up for it.

Walking distance to 20 bars/restaurants.

Only walkable grocery shopping is Target. Which is fine for quick runs, but honestly not great for weekly shopping. I drive/take the bus to Stop n Shop 10 min down the road for that.

2.5 good coffee shops within walking distance (Winfield, Honey Joe’s, Lorca-this one’s a little bit further). 1 even closer Dunkin if you hate yourself, which I often do.

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stalematehypothesis t1_j0xr5mq wrote

Another thought: if you guys are really wanting to meet people, Urby seemed like it was geared especially toward social 20/30-somethings, with events and gatherings held within the complex. I can’t remember all the amenities, but I do recall being shown an area where they held cooking classes.

I believe they also have their own coffee shop in the building.

Urby is in the downtown area, but is a little further away from the bar/restaurant strip of Summer/Bedford street, but still walkable. However, you’re not walking to get groceries from here.

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ruthless_apricot t1_j0z0xlq wrote

66 Summer is one of the best buildings in town IMO - I also live on Summer St downtown. The Target-only grocery store issue is one we all face!

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BasilNo5839 t1_j0xp4bn wrote

I live in Urby and have really loved it. Summer House was also one of my favorites I toured but it’s right in the middle of Summer Street if that’s something you want.

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mpd763 OP t1_j0zr3us wrote

Wow, I can’t thank you all enough! This was the exact info I was looking for. A few weekends ago we did quickly explore Harbor Point, and am thankful for all the input on it. I will be sure to really do my research if considering a place there. I think we will explore the Glenbrook area and Summer St. next. Again, appreciate everyone who took the time to reply!

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Zero_consequence_7 t1_j0x2f0v wrote

Stay away from any building from Morgan street near the Tully center. They claim to be luxurious and offer crap amenities and charge you for every damn thing and not monitor the property. I am so happy for leaving the area and now live in Middletown CT much better and we have great apartment buildings here.

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