612 Whaley at The Mills, columbia-sc

I wanted to get this review out before students begin looking for housing for the upcoming school year. If you are considering 612 Whaley, please read this before making your decision. My biggest issue has been the extreme noise from the apartment above me. I understand that living in an apartment comes with some level of noise, but this is far beyond what I have experienced living in apartments before. 612 Whaley is an old mill that was converted into apartments, and the construction makes the sound transfer incredibly loud. I can hear the upstairs residents walking from room to room, doors closing and creaking, and even their dog playing with a ball. There are two adults and a dog living above me, so I am essentially dealing with the constant movement of three sources of noise directly above my apartment. What makes the situation worse is that after I initially brought the noise to my upstairs neighbor’s attention, the stomping became noticeably more excessive and, in my experience, seemed intentional. I have repeatedly brought this issue to management and feel that my concerns have been dismissed rather than meaningfully addressed. I was even made to feel as though I was somehow at fault for bringing up the issue. At one point, management agreed that adding padding to the upstairs bedroom floor was something they could do to help with the noise. A month later, nothing had been done. I have followed up multiple times, including emailing Zachary and CC’ing his supervisor, and have not received a response. For me, that speaks to a serious lack of communication and follow-through. Unfortunately, the issues did not stop there. When I moved in, the apartment was extremely dirty. I had to submit approximately 10 maintenance requests immediately after moving in. The apartment also had an unpleasant smell. One of the most obvious examples was my window blinds, which were so dirty that I genuinely questioned whether the apartment had been properly cleaned before I moved in. I will be including a picture because it speaks for itself. Parking is another major issue and can be extremely difficult. Overall, I would not recommend 612 Whaley, especially to students who have other housing options. The combination of poor noise insulation, cleanliness issues, parking problems, and my experience with management’s communication and follow-through has made living here far more frustrating than it should be. I strongly recommend doing thorough research and considering other options before signing a lease.

612 Whaley is a solid option for downtown-adjacent living, with cute units at a reasonable price point for how close it is to central Columbia 🏙️ The biggest tradeoff is the surrounding traffic situation, especially during football season when the area can become extremely congested and frustrating for daily commuting. Parking can also be a consistent challenge for residents, which adds to the inconvenience. Overall, it’s a convenient location with nice units, but the day-to-day logistics can take away from the appeal 👍

I lived at 612 Whaley a little over a year ago. There were a few issues. The building is infested with roaches. I would see 2-3 in my apartment every week. The trash room also has a lot of them too. The walls are extremely thin and you will hear everything your neighbors are doing. Guest parking is a nightmare here. Village idiot pizza is downstairs and a nail salon which was convenient. Also the rent prices are really good. Overall would give this community 3/5 stars.

Thin bedroom walls , you'll hear everything that your neighbour is doing, things like snoring, talking on the phone, etc. I was unfortunate to have an awful neighbor that did not respect the quite hours. The leasing office ignored all of my emails to them, in person they did not do anything about it either. Parking is awful, but very cheap. Everything else was pretty good, spacious rooms, well kept hallways, strong wifi and pretty good location. But the walls gave me a very bad impression of the place

I lived here for 18 months during my undergrad and LOVED it. The apartments are very spacious and the 1bd floor plan was perfect for me. There's plenty of storage space and lots of windows in the living room. I never had trouble with appliances or maintenance; they were always quick to respond. Neighbors are generally quiet, there's LOTS of dogs, and very friendly staff. Most everyone that lives here keeps to themselves, but is super friendly. Village Idiot downstairs is AMAZING. Their pizzas are pricy, but you can't beat good pizza and beer IN your apartment building. The only negatives were some lazy pet owners, parking, and mold. First of all, my bathroom was just always very moist and mold grew in my shower very quickly. I never felt sick or had any issues, but I did wonder if problems could arise in the future. Some dog owners failed to clean up after their pets in the hallways and stairwells, but the employees in charge of cleaning go above and beyond to sanitize shared spaces daily. Also, parking is a beast. I had several guests cars get towed and there was never any parking. There's not nearly enough visitor spots to accommodate the number of residents. The worst thing in my opinion is the cars that use the Whaley parking lot just to cut through to Oly/Granby. There's always guaranteed to be someone with their dog on a leash and someone flying past them without looking. Seriously, there have been a handful of times someone has almost hit my car because they're going so fast through our parking lot. I'd say management is great, property is great, cleaning crew is freaking fantastic they deserve a raise, and the residents in the building are pretty good, but the Olympia/Granby residents treat Whaley like it's their playground. I've watched swarms of drunk kids leaving village and chucking glass bottles in the parking lot where people have to walk their dogs. It's a little disheartening. Other than that, I loved living here and would totally recommend to anyone that wants quieter student housing.