When looking for housing off campus many students turn to places like Latitude at Kent, The Province and University Edge apartments. With all of the apartment complexes that have opened up over the years, it is easy to forget places like Riverview Apartments. 

Located on River Street and just off of Haymaker Parkway, Riverview Apartments was built in 1962, but it doesn’t look the way it once did. Tom Manning, a manager of Riverview Apartments, said updates have been underway since the new owners noticed a trend in students’ preferences for off-campus housing. 

“With the revitalization of downtown, it’s time to make that [the complex] more into a student area because a lot of upperclassmen like living near downtown,” Manning said. “Where as before it used to be, ‘be as close to campus as you can’ now it’s kind of ‘be as close to downtown as you can.’” 

Over the past three years, tenants have seen changes to the interior and exterior of the apartments as phases of remodeling have occurred. Manning said they have been slowly replacing the floors with hardwood floors and updating the kitchens. 

“We try to use our current staff on doing it,” Manning said. “They’ll go in, arrange it with the tenant. Tenant will go to class, they’ll come back and they have a brand new kitchen. That’s kinda the way we like to do it.” 

Security cameras have also been installed around the exterior of the complex in areas such as the parking lot and in front of each unit. These cameras were put in place to aide in the safety of tenants and help deter crime, Manning said. 

Manning said there have been no major issues over the years other than “uncontrollable issues” such as a car accident in front of the complex and a three-day internet outage. He also said there have been no major crimes around the complex and he “attributes [it] to the security system” that was installed. 

Manning said Riverview Apartments hasn’t had any issues filling all 60 apartments, 42 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom, over the past few years. Tenants are mainly made up of juniors, seniors and graduate students, many of whom re-sign after graduation if they will be in the Kent area. 

Rent ranges from $595 to $625 for one bedroom apartments and $695 to $800 with cable and internet services included, Manning said. Tenants are also given free parking and key card access to a laundry room. 

Overall, Manning said Riverview Apartments is working on staying up to date by incorporating more technology into things such as using an app for work orders and offering an online payment option for rent. He also said they try to keep “looking forward” and they think of the upgrades as “more of an investment” for the future. 

“It’s all looking forward. ‘What can I do with this place from here looking forward?’” Manning said. “‘Is the reputation bad?’ No, OK let’s move on with it. But, maybe 10 years ago it was but it isn’t now. Then it’s more of an investment decision.”

Contact Rachel Karas at [email protected].