My boyfriend moved in two years ago, on fairly short notice (he works for the government and got transferred). Everyone was really nice, and he got a great deal on a one bedroom. Recently renovated and spacious. The office staff was always friendly and the maintenance guys are great. They respond to a complaint pretty quickly, and there's always at least one maintenance guy working every day of the week, yes, even Sunday. We never had any problems. The management was having some issues with the main gate at the time, but its fixed for the most part now. Every once in a while when someone hits it and knocks it off track, its out for an hour or two until they can get it back on track. Fast forward two years, and we started looking for an apartment for the two of us to move into. I was moving over to Jax to go to UNF. We searched for months. We didn't have a bad reason for leaving, we just wanted to comparison shop. We wanted something centrally located, which GTA is, to both naval stations, and the colleges. It takes me 10 minutes in the morning to get to UNF, 20 with rush hour traffic. 20-30 minutes to either naval station and 15-20 to get to downtown. We stuck with Green Tree. We couldn't find anything that was as a complete package better. Yes, there is going to be newer apartments, or better parking, but as a complete package, Green Tree is great.
We have been in our new apartment at GTA (we upgraded from a one to two bedroom)for four months. Again, the staff is great. Maintenance is pretty prompt. They just put new roofing on all the apartments. We moved from the front of the complex to closer to the back. That smell' I've smelled it only twice in two years. And I'm outside somewhere between 6 and 10 times a day with my dog. The gate everyone is complaining about' They tell you when you move in its not a security gate. Its in place to keep the rifraf from driving through at all hours of the night with their music blasting. The neighbors are quiet. For being in apartments, you can never hear the day to day life of your neighbors. The parking isn't as horrendous as these people make it sound. If you have to walk an extra 20 feet, oh well, its good for you. The grounds are kept neat and clean, with lawn maintenance done every Monday like clockwork. The outside lighting is very good. There aren't loud crazy parties going on all hours of the night. The kids who play outside are taken in by their parents somewhere between 7 and 8 at night.
As far as security goes, if there is something going on in the neighborhood, the office lets you know. If something needs to be fixed in your apartment, you get a notice so you KNOW someone will be in your apartment. If you're paranoid, arrange to have someone stay home that day, or get a safe. But the security street goes both ways people. Lock your doors. Shut your windows when you're not home. Lock your car up and dont leave valuables in it. Common sense will keep a lot of what these people are complaining about from happening in the first place. Its a card opened gate in the front, sometimes people are just not going to follow the rules and drive through after someone has opened the gate if they really want in.
Green Tree is very pet friendly. My only complaint is that they don't require you to show documentation of rabies shots when you sign the pet agreement. They only ask that you keep your dogs on leashes and that you pick up after them. There is the regular trash compactor and another designated dog poopie bin on the other side of the complex.
The pools are kept supremely clean. The kid's playground is always kept clean and free of debris. There are three bus stops located on the loop that is Princeton Square. The tennis courts are well lighted for those of you who wish to play at night. It is probably one of the greenest apartment complexes you will find, with large amounts of grass and trees everywhere. Not to mention the lake that is home to a variety of wildlife including ospreys, ducks, geese, and otters.
My one and only complaint of the entire apartment complex is that when it rains very hard and for days at a time (as is often the case in Jacksonville during the summer) the areas in front of some of the buildings can end up with some rather large puddles. Those drain off the moment the rain stops of course, so don't complain, just get a pair of rain boots, walk around it, or walk through it barefoot. It is not going to kill you.
If we didn't want a yard in the next couple of years, we would probably stay here. Like I said, its centrally located to just about everything. For college kids who don't want to stay on campus but don't want to live too far away either, this is great. Military families looking to relocate' Also great, its 30 minutes to Mayport (without traffic of course) and about 25 minutes to NAS Jacksonville. 20 minutes from the beaches, and 30 from St. Augustine. And right off of I-95.
Everyone is going to have some complaint about something. But the people on here who say its horrid, I don't believe them. If you get the chance, stop by and ask to see an apartment. If you call and want to visit, ask for Sara. She's been very friendly every time we walk in the office and she does her best to make you feel like this is home.

User Responses
From: chriss29102	Date: 12/09/2009
This has to be someone in the office that wrote this review.

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