I've grown pretty frustrated with this place over the past year, especially during COVID19.
Pros: Apartments are pretty nice, not luxury but nicer than everything else in the area I found for the price. Roof is great. Location is good if you like being able to walk to places or want a short commute to work downtown. The front desk people are usually nice and helpful. Groundskeepers/maintenance are friendly and helpful too.
Cons: Where do I start. First, I'm still pissed that my locker go broken into and $600 worth of stuff was stolen in my storage room where only a few other tenants and apartment employees have access. The most likely scenario was that the contractors that were hired to install security equipment broke in because they knew the room wasn't being watched. The apartment admitted they left them down there by themselves. So you know no one is watching and you have the tools to break a lock? Sounds like a situation that someone might take advantage of. It certainly makes more sense than one of the other 5 or so tenants stealing things that could easily be identified if they carried them around the building and in areas that already had security cameras.
Second, while I like the apartment rooms, one of my sliding doors keeps breaking and getting stuck, and the stove and fridge are smaller than normal which can get annoying after awhile. Also, there is no AC in this building and the windows are not good for blowing air in and getting a breeze. I will acknowledge that the maintenance staff will help make a custom window attachment so you can hook up a portable AC unit you have bought.
Regarding the roof. Awesome area that I used to host parties at because it only cost $50 for 5 hours for the club house. Well since people complained that the room was booked too often and probably because they don't like planning ahead, the management raised the fee to $150. This isn't for a deposit like many other apartments do, it is a fee. Not worth $150 to rent for a night.
Communication is not great here either. On multiple occasions I've gotten last minute calls asking me to move my car so they can work on the AC unit. One time was at 8am, an hour before the crew arrived. Every single time I've had to ask where I should park. The other day they emailed us warning the power might go out that day. Sometimes I don't get the feeling they prioritize their tenants.
Now regarding COVID. The moment management could, they shut everything down: roof, gym, lobbies, etc. Closing the gym makes since due to the law. Closing the outdoor area on the roof and the lobby common area doesn't as long as people social distance. One time I was on the roof and it had not been clear that it had been closed and some of the maintenance guys came up and were side eyeing me for sitting up there. They proceeded to also eat and hang out up there. Two days later an email went out and more signs were posted reminding people that it was closed. I guess rules are only for tenants...
Now here is my biggest gripe of late that has pushed me to write a review. No one works the front desk anymore. What this means is that peope delivering packages have a hard time getting in and sometimes can not put their mail in the lockers. So often you will see packages laying around everywhere in the lobby, meaning anyone can come and steal your stuff. When my storage locker was broken into, the management said it wasn't up to them to keep anything secure (literally what they said). So by that logic, you can damn well guess they won't take any ownership if delivery people (who cannot get to the storage lockers) just leave packages laying out even though the reason they cannot delivery your packages adequately is 100% the fault of management. Also, tenants are asked to not let anyone in when walking into the building, so once again, how are people supposed to deliver packages?
The other big issue is the safety outside of the building. We have plenty of homeless and drug addicts hanging out around the building. I also frequently see people yelling outside. In the past, people working the front desk would ask people to leave (I've seen it happen). Now, nothing is done about it. While I understand the homeless have to have somewhere to go, my wife and I worry that we could easily get harassed trying to enter and leave the building. That isn't something we should have to deal with.
So my point is, management needs to stop being cheap and put people at the front desk again. Built into our rent is money that goes to pay for the upkeep and security of our building. At this point part of my monthly rent is paying for a service that I am not getting.
I would give this place a 3 star review. But after 2 and half months of management not doing anything around here, I'm just fed up. read more