Someone else beat me to a review today, so I will touch base on what him or her left out. I too have been living at Alexan for nine months, and have been disappointed time and time again.

It is no lie ? fumes come from both the trains and the cars. Windows and walls certainly are not sound proof, be it the train, a truck, Moffet air traffic, people in the hallway or the booming bass of the nightclubs on Murphy ? it all makes it?s way into the apartment. I have yet to experience a serious issue with water pressure like most, but my toilet does backup frequently, and if I leave the fan on, it draws a raw sewage smell into the room (from where, I have no idea). Air conditioning ? forget about it. You?ll get a sky high bill if you use it, all to cool down the kitchen and living room, but don?t expect the bedrooms to cool off.

I knew I was leasing property on a train track, and it took some time, but I got use to that sound. I enjoy the train, it is convenient to make a trip to San Francisco for Giants or San Jose for the Sharks ? unfortunately, it does not run on weekends right now due to CTX construction.

Security and amenities were the main reason that I decided on Alexan. There is a gate for the underground garage, as well as the complex. There is an elevator too. While we have only had one major malfunction in the last 5 months, there would be days or weeks before these security items would be serviced. And it is true, the stairwells are never clean ? I saw the same cigarette for nearly two months before it vanished. When they take the time to mop the mail/elevator/garage/bottom stairwell lobby, they leave a door open to air it out and let it dry overnight. For some reason, they usually will leave the door to the outside work open, rather than one of the two that only exit to the garage.

The staff here does not really seem to know much of their own apartments either. Someone already mentioned the security system, but these units are pre-wired for satellite TV. I?ve been a DirecTV customer since 1999, and was thrilled when my leasing agent told me that we had DirecTV ? that was until I plugged my unit into the wall, and kept getting the multi-switch for a DISH Network transmitter. So now I have a DirecTV dish on my patio, like most of the community.

We also have the little blue Ethernet ports in every room, called M-unit data lines. These are supposed to be for high-speed Internet access up to 2 MB. I have the fastest DSL available in the area, and I still have yet to figure out how to use one of these blue ports ? and the staff does not either.

There is a business center ? great is you work out of your apartment, terrible if you plan to use it any other time. It is only open 10am ? 6pm, and the pool is 8am ? 10pm. I work a consulting job, one where most people find it convenient to meet after 6pm. I could use the meeting room, if it were available for use. Moreover, I would love to swim in the mornings before work, but I have to leave by 7:45 to get to work.

You probably will not need them, but a neat feature is the heating units. They are individual by room, with their own thermostat. Of course, you will not ever get to use them, because they require about a two-foot clearance, and are placed six inches from the floor. Why they were not put at the top of the wall or in the ceiling, I will never know.

Closets are a joke, having no real usable space. If you have any tall outfits or large boxes, they most likely do not fit. Be sure to check the one on the deck/patio too, if you have one. It is generally smaller than you might think.

Downtown is okay, with a so-so Target and Macy?s nearby. Construction starts this year on the ?Santana Row-like? structure they plan to put in place of the now defunct and closed mall. That only decreases any chance to cut a deal with my lease renewal coming up.

Realize, there are some good things about this community, including most of the staff. I have been through three property managers in 9 months, along with a few different maintenance assistants, but everyone is generally nice. Regardless, they still seem to know very little about their own apartments.

The apartments are nice, too, but they do seem to be lacking that final touch that say a Pulte or Summerhill Town home furnishing might have. It is almost like they were trying, then got tired and did half the job they wanted to originally.

I will admit that unlike most dwellings in the area, we have a very limited bug or insect problem. Most likely, due to the train that goes by, causing none of them to want to live nearby.

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