Beware 137 Isabella St
If you’re like me and on the hunt for a place to live that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, you might have come across this listing. The pictures looked decent, so I thought I would check it out. I booked a viewing, and the first thing that hit me was the area - as a young woman walking in the afternoon, I was terrified. Been living in downtown for 6 years and thought I had seen it all. This particular stretch of Jarvis is SKETCHY. Many unhoused folks, drug use, general vibe of seediness. And they seem to linger all around the actual building itself.
I finally get there: the lobby looked okay. I know it’s an older building, and the super was friendly. He showed me two bachelor units. Indescribable… Y’all, it was bad. Both units had a random fire exit door leading to the outside of the building WITHIN the unit, that fully opens onto the street. When I raised that as a safety concern, he just went “Well, yeah, lots of people have an issue with it.” When I asked about pests, he said “You’ll probably see some roaches saying hi, but just call us if that happens.” The entire kitchen had cockroach traps set up, which indicates a major infestation and not one or two roaches.
And then… he showed me the basement bachelor. Or as I like to call it, the Saw basement apartment. I had to dip ASAP - just abysmal. He said it has been vacant for more than a year because no one wants it.
Do not bother even viewing - it is BAD.