From the tours and website of The Edge, you'd think it was the ideal place to live at Temple University - the modern look, the convenient location, etc. Unfortunately, it's quite the opposite. My living experience at The Edge was nothing short of a nightmare from start to finish. My friends and I shared a suite, two of us in the 1-person bedrooms and two in a two-person room. The common room was lit with one weak lightbulb. The kitchenette consisted of a stovetop that didn't work, a microwave, and a mini-fridge whose freezer was so frozen that nothing would fit into it. The single bedrooms were roughly the size of a walk-in closet, with clunky black metal furniture (including a desk that fell apart) that's clumsy and hard to move. The bathroom sink was clogged the day I moved in and never fixed, the toilet paper holder fell off the wall the 2nd day of occupancy, and the water pressure in the shower was barely tollerable. There was one large (read: wall-sized) window in the bedroom that opened in, but it was impossible to open due to the size and arrangement of furniture supplied to residents. All of this for the low price of $600/month. Granted, utilities were included, but that's still quite a lot for North Philly. Keep in mind that the price of a single room is now upwards of $750/month. Laundry facilities are inadequate- 2 washers and dryers per floor, with roughly 100 people living on each floor. Good luck doing laundry before 3am. At least one elevator was broken at any given time there, including move-in day. The management and staff were probably the worst part of the living experience there. Management of the building changed while I lived there, but whoever was in charge of leasing and rent was out of her mind. I awoke one morning to the sound of this woman running down my hall banging on doors demanding that people with late rent pay within 24 hours or be evicted - mind you, she was telling this to roommates, which is against the law if I'm not mistaken. Notes to tenants - late rent, room inspection, maintenance notices, etc. - were slipped under apartment doors -- unfortunately with college students who are away for winter break and other miscellaneous holidays, this is a less-than-effective means of communication. Staff who were not management were students working in the building as RA's...these students were given access to payment history and financial records of peers living in the same building, which seems less than responsible. The ""free tanning and gym"" in the building amounts to no more than 3 tanning booths with a 10 minute time limit and weak bulbs, and 3 treadmills and elipticals. Keep in mind that these facilities are in the lobby of the building, where everyone can see you working out. Wireless never worked in the time that I lived there, and cable was always cutting in and out. Parking is a nightmare if you have a car, as the lots attached to the building on either side are either for temporary parking or have a 3-hour time limit that you now must pay for, or be towed.
Of course, there are definitely plusses to living there: Security is on watch 24/7 and everyone entering the residential portion of The Edge must be signed in or swipe their key card. The vicinity is well-lit on the outside, has a handfull of retailers (though 3 of the storefronts have been vacant since construction - a convenience store has been ""Coming Soon"" since 2006), and is in a great location at the end of campus and near the Cecil B. Moore subway station. Like most other big campus living complexes, you're paying for a lot more than you get. Unfortunately, the negatives far outweigh the positives at this place.
Pros: Convenient location, 24/7 security, clean facilities
Cons: Poor management, incompetent staff, overpriced
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