Cyan/PDX Luxury Apartments

One word terrible company. I wouldn’t give this company your Business for any reason.

If I could write a review based solely on the maintenance team here, it would be a 5 star rating! Unfortunately, the building is lacking in amenities, and the management company and staff here are changing all of the time. We moved over Christmas, and I can not say enough about how knowledgeable and helpful Tim was! The CYAN has the best maintenance team I’ve ever had. Tim and Josh are my go-​to guys. They always get things done and do it right the first time (which is a rare thing in an apartment building)! Tim was especially helpful with this move in particular. Even though I know everyone is very busy around the holidays, he made time for everything — big or small — we needed done.

It’s a friendly place and the staff are ready to help at any moment. Apartments are really small but with awesome views and excellent location. Lovely site;)

I lived in the Cyan apartments since early 2012 and ever since Riverstone, which is now Greystar took over, it has been downhill. I DO NOT recommend moving here. My list of reasons could go on so I will agree with the other negative reviews being completely accurate.
Make sure to read the other reviews that are not currently recommended at the bottom too.

Pros:
1. Near PSU and downtown area.
2. Maintenance staff are great.
Cons:
1. City Center Parking manages the parking garage in the Cyan building-​not Cyan PDX. City Center Parking is difficult to work with – to say the least. Couldn’t get the pass to work for the first few days – turns out they forgot to activate it correctly. Later the car was locked behind a lower level gate that was broken. Then it happened again a few days later – late to work on both days. If you visit or call City Center, they are indifferent to problems and one manager even made it clear to me they have a monopoly. Cyan management wants to have nothing to do with it.
2. Apartment appliances are too small and too cheap. The oven is too small for a standard cookie sheet. Frig too small for much food – good luck getting a pizza box in there. Our dishwasher has broken three times. Washing machine doesn’t fit a full load.
3. While maintenance and some office staff are nice, most management is terrible. Staff didn’t record our loading dock reservation for move in, and was then rude and snarky about it. Over the months they lost rent checks. They reset the keyless fobs several times leaving a crowds of residents unable to get into the building at night. And on and on. Their casual incompetence and poor attitude made each of these problems much harder to deal with.
4. Neighbors have loud parties at the BBQ area and play loud music in their apartments. We’ve had to deal with barking dogs and residents smoking in common areas and smoking near all of the doors, including the front door.
5. Cyan building is cheap and poorly designed. It’s hard to notice when you first visit. But get ready for slow elevators with buttons that have to be hit multiple times. Gates that creak and slam. And lots of other discomforts.
Not worth the high rent rates!

Trash chute is down often but gets fixed quickly.
Cleaning staff is thorough. I can tell that they are not responsible for the parking garage because the building is clean but the garage is gross. There was a puddle of barf in P5 that was there for a year. I think it got fossilized.
Maintenance staff is fast and efficient.
Front desk staff is super cool and chill.
Gym is small and some machines are rusting over. It overlooks a church, which is nice because shame and deep-​rooted issues etc, run off that shit
Courtyard with fake grass so I don’t have to worry about stepping in dog poo, which I do often elsewhere for some reason
Appliances are small and fridge pools water sometimes.
Big windows and lots of natural light. My windows look into both a church and a bar, keeps me honest

Don’t even stop here if you’re looking for a place in downtown! The neighbors are rude and inconsiderate. Rent is super high for what little you get. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. So happy that my lease is almost up!

Amy from Cyan seems to think she can explain away their lack of professional courtesy by saying that apartments ‘lease without notice.’ This is a load of garbage. If somebody makes an appointment to see a unit, and THEN the unit leases before the appointment, don’t you think that the leasing agent should at least do me the courtesy of calling me to cancel so I don’t drive 2 hours for no reason?!
This staff is awful and this property is highly overpriced and overrated. STEER CLEAR.

In spite of having had a great experience living here, when it came time to leave… not so hot.
I terminated my lease, and paid a substantial amount to break that lease, at the end of June. At the time, I talked to two of the office staff, and turned my keys in along with a cashier’s check. Imagine my surprise to receive a dunning notice, and a further bill for non-​payment of rent. Seriously. What do you think breaking your lease means? If they had a staff of hundreds, I’d be more forgiving than I am right now. This is just poor communication among a small staff. It’s infuriating.

The Cyan is located downtown Portland next to PSU and boasts a diverse community of professionals, educators, young families, students, retirees and an eclectic blend of cultures. I moved into the Cyan/​PDX on 12÷31÷13 on the premise of a lease take over. After viewing several units in the Pearl District and SE Close In I chose to become a part of the Cyan community. I must admit the conditions the prior tenant left the unit was less than desirable but being a lease take over I did not expect the typical move in protocol. I met with the leasing office to discuss concerns about the condition of the unit and they were and continue to be consistent, responsive, positive and professional in our communication. The leasing staff/​maintenance staff are friendly and seem to take pride in their work… adding to a heightened sense of community. I think it’s important to realize as your searching for a new place to call home that no matter where you live there will be people who share an experience that is uniquely their own. My experience @ the Cyan/​PDX has been excellent. The things I appreciate the most about this community is that it embraces pet owners (I’ve got quite the brood of rescue mutts); I appreciate the pride the staff takes in their job and it is generously shown throughout the community… whether it be just as simple as a hello in the hallways, a social event planned for residents or forward thinking and investment into creating new/​different spaces and experiences for residents to enjoy. Another perk for the Cyan/​PDX is LOCATION! Public transit, shopping, pubs, coffee shops, restaurants, ZipCar, Car2Go and night life are all within reach!

Riverstone is a horrible management company. After their purchase of the Cyan,
I have had nothing but trouble whenever I’ve had to speak to the staff at the leasing office.
During the first two or three months of their takeover, we had to remove one person from our lease and add two more. Seems simple enough, right? Unfortunately, during that time the staff was never the same from one week to the next. I heard different information from different employees, and they would always deny that I had previously been given the incorrect information (even though they themselves hadn’t even been working in the office during the prior weeks.) On top of that, the staff kept mixing us up with another group of tenants and confusing us with information that didn’t relate to our situation. They could have, I dunno, asked who we were before they started spewing out incorrect information?
Water, sewer, and garbage bills are paid with the rent every month. On the first of the month, we’ll often call down and ask _​exactly_​how much we owe for the current month (including the utilities.) NEVER have we been told the correct amount, and we always end up with a letter on our door within the next few days warning us of the consequences of not paying our bills in full. If you ask them why you hadn’t originally been told the correct amount, they’ll tell you that you should have just added the Conservice bill to your rent amount and figured it out yourself. In a household with four different individuals, sometimes mail can be lost, or the addressee of the bill will be out of town. It should be easy for the staff of this building to look at our ledger and find out how much we owe, but even a simple task like that seems impossible for Riverstone.
After constantly expressing how upset I’ve been with their service, I get a robotic «I’m sorry you feel that way.» and nothing more. I’ll be honest in that I’ve ended many a conversation with a raised voice; these people just infuriate me with their inadequacies.
The manager of the office rarely steps out to address concerns herself (even when I’m visibly upset with them.) I wish I could say that she’s been more involved with our experience, but I really haven’t exchanged more than a few words with her (although she did laugh at me on the phone once.) You would think that a very vocal tenant who is constantly in the office with their issues might be addressed by management.
The staff are aware that people are unhappy with them, to the point where they admitted a low satisfaction level when they asked tenants to fill out a survey. Nothing has changed since we filled those out, and the whole survey was just an empty act to pretend that they care about improving. I just wish they would show some act of goodwill to try to change the way we feel about this place, but they haven’t. So instead, I’ll be vocal to my acquaintances about my experiences in the Cyan, and even to prospective residents who are entering the leasing office for the first time.
With all of that being said, we will not be renewing our lease here. If we had been aware that Riverstone would be taking over, we never would have leased here to begin with. DO NOT LEASE HERE.

After my previous review update, I filed a small claim against both the old management (Behringer Harvard) and new management (Riverstone Residential) for not returning my security deposit and prepaid rent after 31 days of my departure from Cyan PDX. Before mediation occurred, I was contacted by Behringer’s counsel and settled out of court for my full claim, that was double the amount owed after 31 days. The small claim is officially closed.
For people seeking advice, this is all I have to say:
***If Cyan PDX owes you any security deposit or prepaid rent after 31 days of moving out, you are entitled to double the amount owed if you file a small claim against the management company that authorized your lease. If they do not send you an explanation of why your money is held past 31 days, you are not liable for any charges made by them, including cleaning fees.***
It takes a bit of work to file the claim, but it is worth it if they owe you a lot of money like they did with me.
This is all sad, because I actually enjoyed my time here when Behringer wasn’t trying to sell this place to a different company. The office was forgetful at times, but the concierge was good about getting packages. The trash chutes were broken about half the time, so that was a definite minus. I never had noise issues with my neighbors, which I’m thankful for. (My coworker was less fortunate with that issue.) If it weren’t for this debacle at the end of my time here, I would have given it a 3 or 4 stars. Alas, what could have been…

The current leasing office, management, and maintenance are simply awful. I lived at the Cyan for 3 years. It was better when I moved in.
Today, their rates are rediculous for the space and service you get. They up the rent about every 6 months. You’d think that they’d try to lower or keep the rent as is for old customers, but they actually do the opposite. They drove us away.
Garbage chute does not work most of the time, and the hallway often smells like rotten food .
Common areas and lobby are almost always occupied by students who seem to spend all the day there for some odd reason.
No door man, or concierge. They do not tell you when you receive a package (that’s more recent thing btw).
The elevators are almost always dirty. I once saw the same dog pee stain in the elevator twice in a time span of 3 hours!!!
DON’T LIVE THERE! Spend your money somewhere in the pearl or something.

Update: Just moved out last month after living there for 3 years (due to our expanding family) The move out experience was painless! The damages we were charged for, were more than fair and even though we didn’t get down on our hands and knees to clean everything (I’m preggo, not into that right now) they hardly charged us anything for cleaning. (It wasn’t filthy, but definitely needed a deep clean) I was expecting a bill since our deposit was pretty small, but we didn’t have one at all!
Pros: Its surprisingly quiet for being right downtown. The only thing I ever hear is when people are in the hallway. Its extremely rare that I hear any noise above, below or next to me.
Our apartment has a width of almost 30 feet of windows that start at about knee height and go to the ceiling. We have an amazing corner floor plan that looks out over the courtyard.
I use the exercise room on occasion and there are usually just a couple of people in there. Its never too full in my experience.
The location is awesome. Just a few blocks from the waterfront, the streetcar is a couple of blocks the other direction. We were able to cut easily cut down from two to one car.
Cons: I have just a couple of minor complaints but they haven’t really affected my happiness much.
First, I wish there was still free yoga, that was awesome.
Second, the management has recently started locking up the moving carts. Its ok if you have to use one during business hours but unfortunately, 2 out of the last 3 times that I’ve wanted to use a cart has been at night when no one is there to unlock them. Bummer, but not the end of the world.
Third: The appliances are small. If you’re a big home cooker, this probably wouldn’t work too well for you. I don’t care, there are too many great restaurants nearby to be home baking all the time.
Anyway, its not a perfect place, but we don’t live in a perfect world.

Revising some of the qualities I posted in my 2011 review. What you will find is a building being managed to produce the most incoming from its tenants, in other words, it’s going down hill. The rent is pricey for a multifloor building that continues to have garbage shoot issues. The staff do a decent job cleaning up the messes from the tenants but overall seem disengaged.

I moved into Cyan a little over a year ago, and rented it sight unseen while moving from Honolulu to Portland… best decision ever! For anyone who appreciates a safe and clean environment, well-​lit apartments, and modern design elements, it’s hard to beat Cyan/​PDX.
As others have said, the location is perfect — you’re close enough to the downtown action, but because we’re out on the lower SW side, most nights are fairly quiet and peaceful. Plus we have lots of great amenities within walking distance — the PSU Farmer’s Market, coffee shops, great restaurants, outstanding food carts, a «Natural» convenience store right downstairs, parks, public transit, etc.
The one thing that really stands out at Cyan/​PDX is the amazing sense of community here. Unlike many of the other reviewers, I know a fair percentage of the residents here in the building, and count several of them to be among my best friends here in Portland. I’m no social butterfly, but I did make the effort to get to know the people in the building. It was easy since our fabulous concierge, Kristina, organizes a lot of community social events. Since I’ve lived here, we’ve had:
— Free wine tastings in the backyard
— Free happy hours in the lobby, sponsored by a local PDX brewery
— A pet mixer event with prizes from local pet businesses
— Free weekly yoga classes
— Ongoing weekly social activities
Living at Cyan was a nice experience before they hired Kristina, but having her on staff just took things to a whole new level of community and care. Cyan/​PDX now feels like «home,» rather than just another large rental complex.
And yes, once in a while, things break down and need repair. But that’s to be expected in a huge apartment complex with over 300 units. Wear and tear, people. It’s not rocket science. And the Cyan staff is great about fixing issues as soon as they can.
(Many of the other reviewers have harped on these issues, and I can’t help but wonder if they’ve ever lived in a rental complex before. They seem to have unrealistic expectations, and my guess is that they’ll be the same ones who complain about things no matter where they live).
And since everyone seems to be mentioning this — I need to clear things up. Yes, the A/​C was out last year, but that wasn’t really a big deal! On average, this building is exceptionally cool (since we’re surrounded by tall buildings and lots of trees). So you won’t find the same kind of heat that, for example, permeates the SE side of PDX. And since the A/​C was fixed, it hasn’t been an issue since.
The bottom line is that like with anything else, you have to make the effort. Most complexes will either have great amenities with poor management and no sense of community, or poor amenities with nice neighbors and management. It’s very rare to find both, but Cyan/​PDX fits the bill perfectly.
Put in the time to get to know your neighbors and the wonderful Cyan staff, and you’ll wonder how you ever lived anywhere else.

I’m moving out of Cyan after a year and a half here. I’ve seen it go through three management changes. The good, the bad, the ugly:
The good:
* Extremely close access to public transit. The street car runs right next to the building. The yellow/​green MAX lines are one block west.
* Clean. Cyan has a cleaning staff that cleans the building every morning. They do a good job of it.
* Rent is good given the location. I pay $ 1319 for a 600 square foot apartment with an *amazing* view. Similar apartments in the area go for more without the view.
* Did I mention the amazing view? You get an awesome view of either downtown or the river. Assuming you’re above the 5^th or 6^th floor.
* «Natural» and Laughing Planet Café on ground floor. You can get lunch, dinner without even having to step into the rain.
* Good office staff. I’ve watched management change. The current staff is very friendly, responsive, and good at reacting to any issues that might come up, as well as forward-​thinking in planning events for the community.
The bad:
* Tiny appliances. The dryer doesn’t really dry… after 3 cycles, your clothes will still be damp. The freezer can hold about… four things in it tops.
* The AC went out constantly last summer for the whole building. The solution was «open your window.» It was out for weeks at a time.
* Like with most upscale apartments, there is an illusion of security that doesn’t really exist. What I mean by this is that the building is protected by keycode entry systems… however due to the high traffic of the building, getting in is not exactly difficult… at all. I don’t really know if this is a «bad» thing, but I wouldn’t call the façade of security a good thing either, you know?
The ugly:
* Trash chute constantly broken. It was out for my floor for an entire month. People are constantly throwing idiotic things into the chute… like CHAIRS. Seriously… chairs. What would possess someone to throw a chair down a tiny square garbage chute? I can only guess that alcohol played some role. See my next point.
* College students. I’ve never known my neighbors. Half the time, I didn’t even know if someone was living next door to me unless I saw them. In the past 3 or 4 months, I’ve suddenly become very aware that I have neighbors because they’re extremely loud college students. Parties. Parties. Parties. Loud parties with LOTS of people. Like too many people for such small apartments. Not just one neighbor, mind you, but all of them. Right now, I’m awake at 3:30AM because my neighbors are having a wild, out-​of-​control party. Cyan uses TAC-​One as a security after-​hours. Calling them fixed the problem for… oh, 5 minutes. I don’t think I’m being some curmudgeonly old bitch… but having a large party in an apartment means being aware of your neighbors and being nice enough to end it at 11 – 12 on a weeknight or 12 – 2 on a weekend. Anything after that, you’re an inconsiderate douche.
If you like having to call the police at 3:30 AM to go to sleep, you probably will not enjoy living here.
This building is actually fairly quiet when people *aren’t* throwing parties, so I’d be offbase to call it a frat house, but the college population has become dramatically noticeable as I’ve lived here longer and longer. This isn’t surprising given PSU is one block over. It is surprising given that SW downtown is essentially dead at night.
I’m leaving Cyan because I’m leaving Portland. If I weren’t leaving Portland, I’d probably still be extremely reluctant to renew my lease here.

Started out great, but we have had continous problems with the central AC since May 2011. It shuts itself off during the night. Finally, on June 22, the building mgmt sent this out to all tenants:
«It is recommended that while we address this problem, that you open your windows during the night and close them early morning along with drawing your blinds. We also suggest running the fan setting on your thermostat. If you have any questions about this function, please call the Leasing office.»
I don’t know about you, but for ~2k/​mth in rent, I expect more than «open a window» when I request the AC be fixed.
It’s now July 6 and the AC still does not work at night.

After /​ragequitting upon the end of our lease and about two years of time to cool off, I’m reevaluating my old apartment as a guest. I must say I miss this place.
Behringer was terrible and was the reason I took my rating down to one star upon leaving. Seems like Riverstone took over management again — definitely a plus. Nicer leasing office staff with longer availability hours. Consistent and friendly concierge now. Events are held again.
Typical downtown Portland apartment complaints. Not sure what rent is like now (it seems… rude to ask friends) but it was on par with other highrises in the area.
Pros: location, pet-​friendly, beautiful units
Cons: tiny appliances, parking garage can be asjkdlf;jf at times

5 star urban living right here. GOLD Leed certified building with gorgeous views, über dog friendly, Courier coffee every morning, and very modern look to the apartments.
Love the fact that even the larger units were designed to be spartan with clean, simple lines and not a lot of space for clutter and chaos. The high ceilings make the studios and one bedrooms still feel roomy and light. Plus, windows that actually open up and let the fresh air in are priceless.
Gorgeous appliances, everything is eco-​friendly and there’s even a community garden to sample from without having to do any of the tending.