Home  >  Philadelphia  >  Center City  >  Rittenhouse Square Apartments  >  The Drake

High-rise Apartment  «  Brookfield Properties
Rittenhouse Square, 1512 Spruce St | Philadelphia
Overview
Photos
Amenities
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Top Amenities

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  •  24-Hour Front Desk
  •  Building Laundry Room
  •  Cat friendly
  •  Dog friendly
  •  Fitness Center
  •  Granite Countertops
  •  Minimum Lease Term  
  •  Oversize or penthouse units
  •  Resident Lounge  
  •  Short Term Rentals
  •  Stainless Steel Appliances
  •  Walk-in Closets

User Rating

4.9
Average
45 Reviews

About this Location

Di Bruno Bros.
8 min via 2 (bus)
Lots of bars and
restaurants nearby
PATCO (rail) - 2 min
BSL (metro) - 7 min
Rittenhouse Square
8 min walk

Pricing 

Studio, 1 Bath
$1,217+
1 Bedroom, 1 Bath
$1,376+
1 Bedroom, 1.5 Baths
$2,131+
2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath
$2,101+
3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
$7,338+
Schedule Appointment At
(786) 403-0330
  • Bedrooms

    •  Walk-in Closets
  • Building Related

    •  Elevators
  • Convenience

    •  Dry Cleaning Valet Service
  • Entertainment

    •  Resident Lounge  
  • Included

    •  Sewage Included
    •  Trash/Recycling Included
  • Kitchen

    •  Dishwasher
    •  Garbage Disposal
    •  Granite Countertops
    •  Microwave
  • Laundry

    •  Building Laundry Room
  • Lease Terms

    •  Application Fee  
    •  Common Amenity Fee  
    •  Minimum Lease Term  
    •  Online Rent Payment
    •  Other Fees
    •  Security Deposit  
  • Living Room

    •  Air Conditioning
    •  Wall-to-Wall Carpets
  • Parking & Transportation

    •  Parking Nearby
  • Pet Terms & Amenities

    •  Cat fee  
    •  Cat friendly
    •  Dog fee  
    •  Dog friendly
    •  Max Pet Weight  
    •  Max Pets Limit  
  • Security & Maintenance

    •  24-Hour Front Desk
  • Sports & Fitness

    •  Fitness Center
  • Unique Unit Types

    •  Oversize or penthouse units
X

Overall rating 4.9/10, based on 45 renter reviews Write a review

9.3
Location
5.0
Amenities
3.6
Management
6.6
Value
5.5
Social
7.8
Safety
Excellent
11
Great
16
Good
13
Average
1
Terrible
4

The Drake reviews and highlights

  • Recently renovated
  • Elevators are really quick
  • Relatively quiet street
  • Convenient amenities, but lacking some of the features of newer luxury buildings
  • Great staff and responsive management
  • Best value for price in Center City
  • Close to Rittenhouse Square
  • Nice, but small gym
  • Laundry room is great
  • Free heat and hot water is great, but the units can run really hot even in the winter
  • Units are incredibly clean
  • Very safe neighborhood
  • Parking can be a challenge
  • Lots of bars and restaurants nearby
  • Sound-proof walls
  • Lots of light on upper floors
  • Great apartment building
  • Friendly doorman staff
  • Nice community feel
  • Although the building is old, the interiors are very up-to-date
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1
Terrible
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Terrible management. Maintenance takes forever to fix something. They don't give deposit back

In general, the units themselves are good. However:

The worst thing about the Drake is the management. They are so incompetant. They don't answer your emails, they won't answer your calls. When you go to the office, they are not helpful. Are the telephones working??

For some reason, the previous manager in charge is gone and a group of amateurs are managing the building. They have no idea what's going on.

---
I wanted to move to another unit within the Drake and the management office took more that a month to give me the lease to sign. I constantly followed up, but still took a month.

When everything was done, the new lease was signed, on the move-in date I went to get the keys for my new apartment and realized that the new apartment is not ready and it took them two days to prepare the apartment.

As of today (almost 60 days after I returned the keys and I provided will all required information), I am still waiting to get my check. This is clearly violating PA landlord-tenant law.

----
They are always in the middle of some sort of change. The rent system, the property management system, the maintenance request system. Whenever I go to the office, I see someone new.

Maintenance issues get weeks to get resolved. I need to constantly follow-up on everything. The chute is clogged and it took them weeks to fix it. Some ACs in the hallway (and gym) do not work. I have to ask multiple times to for maintenance to fix small issues in the unit.

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  • Studio / 1 bath
1
Terrible
Overall score
Location
Management

Severe maintenance issues-see Google reviews!

I'm writing this review in the hopes Brookfield properties management will see this and make the necessary changes.
Apparently the Drake used to have a team of property managers who were in office. Makes sense, the building is old and there's nearly 30 floors of tenants. Unfortunately Brookfield's management instead decided to cut corners and hire only one property manager to deal with not just the drake, but two other large properties (one Franklin town and the lofts at 1835 arch) as well. Understandably, she's incredibly overworked and can't manage all of the severe maintenance issues in these buildings on her own. She's trying to do the job of what used to (and should be) the jobs of multiple teams. Even worse, Brookfield is mid changing online portals so there's currently no way for her to even track and coordinate help for all of the maintenance problems except through email or text.
Jasmine, the maintenance team, the leasing agents and the front desk are absolutely trying their best to help tenants. Not their fault, this is on Brookfield. HIRE MORE PROPERTY MANAGERS/STAFF. Pay them a living wage with good benefits and stop cutting corners. Your employees and the tenants deserve better.

As far as specific concerns go-I have not had AC in 3 weeks. The water keeps getting shut off during the day. The elevators keep going down, and multiple people at different times including myself have gotten stuck in them to the point where the fire department was called to get us out.

Unfortunately I think someone would have to get hurt badly for the management company to actually care about upkeep of this building...

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  • 1 bed / 1 bath
1
Terrible
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

MICE INFESTATION- 08/2024

I have lived at The Drake for about 4yrs, Every place has its ups and downs. Many residents have complained to managements about the MICE issue, NOTHING is being done about it. The elevators are down at least 2x a week. DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!! NOT WORTH THE HEADACE.

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  • Pet owner
  • 1 bed / 1 bath
6
Good
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Review

It was solid. We are moving because it's a little cramped but perfect for first years. Close to PATCO

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  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
7
Good
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

The Drake Review

Great for Single Grad Students on a Budget

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Reviewed by
 
  • Studio / 1 bath
7
Good
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

The Drake Review

Great location.

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  • Roommates
  • 2 beds / 2 baths
3
Terrible
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Would not recommend

The building is very run down; service requests for broken appliances take weeks to be resolved; front desk staff is frequently unfriendly; fire alarms go off multiple times a week; the building does not provide adequate notice before entering the unit; on the upside, the location is great and rent is relatively cheap.

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  • Studio / 1 bath
6
Good
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Safe location but old building

The apartment is in a great location, and I have two roommates so having our own bathrooms for reasonable rent is great. The building is quite old, so we have occasional maintenance issues which can take a while to get resolved.

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  • Roommates
  • 3 beds / 3 baths
8
Great
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

Review of The Drake

It's a prime location with generally affordable rent, however, the new management has made maintenance issues harder to deal with.

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  • 1 bed / 1 bath
10
Excellent
Overall score
Location
Amenities
Management
Value
Social
Safety

It's great!

Highly recommend!

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  • 1 bed / 1 bath

The Neighborhood

Signature Spots

dining 22 Recs

Monk’s Cafe
Lazaro’s Pizzeria & Grill
&pizza
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grocery 2 Recs

MOM’s Organic Market
Di Bruno Bros.
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convenience 3 Recs

Walgreens
Rite Aid
CVS Pharmacy
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fitness 34 Recs

Flywheel Sports
Philly Personal Training
The Sporting Club at the Bellevue
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parks 6 Recs

Rittenhouse Square Park
Seger Park
John F. Collins Park
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coffee 29 Recs

Elixr Coffee Roasters
Federal Donuts
P S & Co
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About Rittenhouse Square

Rittenhouse Square is located in Center City and is home to some of the city's best restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. The neighborhood has luxury high-rises with beautiful views of the the park and has quick access to popular transit.
Pricey
Amazing Charm
Extremely Safe
Central Location
Great Social Scene
Great Coffee Shops
Lots of Wharton Students
Median rents in Rittenhouse Square
Studio
$
1,500
1 Bedroom
$
1,900
2 Bedroom
$
2,550

Getting around Rittenhouse Square


Parking Near The Drake

No parking is available at The Drake, but there is parking nearby.
Parking rates are for informational purposes only and may vary — for most up to date pricing, please reach out to the garage directly.

Rittenhouse Square Reviews

582 reviews
Walnut street is very safe - there's always people around and it's well lit. The neighborhood includes all of the fun aspects of living in Philadelphia - tons of access to food and bars, nearby grocery stores/markets, access to the parks and the Schuylkill River Trail
Very close to fun restaurants/bars/shops. Close to the subway as well as the train station (suburban station).
Rittenhouse is the safest part of Philly. It's a very "happening" part of town—lots of restaurants and bars on every street. At the same time, it's right next to more residential neighborhoods to walk around in and explore. It's a great place to live relatively close to the law school but with a degree of separation so as not to get trapped in the law school bubble.
The neighborhood is both quiet and lively. There is so much around, but I have never had an issue sleeping or studying because there is too much noise. The broad street line is a 10-15 minute walk away and we are close to shopping, food, the park, and the river trail. Has everything within a 10-15 walk.
This neighborhood has everything I need within walking distance. Shops, grocery stores, parks, the subway and trolley, post office. You name it. It's very safe and extremely quiet, which helps when I'm trying to study. The Rittenhouse Square area is really the best place to live in Philly if you don't mind paying a little more.
I love this neighborhood and knew I wanted to live here when beginning my apartment search. The park is one of my favorite places in the city, and I love being able to easily access all the restaurants and shopping nearby. It's also an easy (~20 minute) walk to Penn Law, and the walking commute has always been a nice and peaceful part of my day.

Spruce Street in particular is great - it's a little south of the square, so is quieter/shielded from a lot of the traffic that the neighborhood gets, but it's not out of the way or far away. There's a Starbucks, a grocery store (Rittenhouse Market), and a few corner stores (Four Seasons and Food & Friends) within a 2-3 minute walk of my apartment.
Love the neighborhood, Rittenhouse Square is beautiful and we are so close to the more commercial areas like Walnut Street while not being in the center of the craziness. Plus we are within walking distance of public transportation including 10 minutes from the 15/16 street PATCO station. I personally think it is one of the best areas of Philly to live in.
Rittenhouse Square has a park in the center surrounded by a bookstores, restaurants, and a public library. It is open to pets and often has open art / food markets on the weekends. It is close to the Broad Street Line and PATCO. There are many families who live in the area. It is affordable compared to other major cities (NYC, DC, Boston), but there are certainly more affordable areas in Philadelphia, simply without the luxury of being so close to Center City.

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