Prairie Lakes was a wonderful place to live in the beginning. Recently they have been replacing the siding and roofing on all the apartments and the place is a complete mess. They gave us little notice that they were going to be doing this. They aren't even finished with one building before starting another. They've had 5 as many as 5 being worked on at once. The noise level is awful, parking is virtually absent, and there are nails on the streets and in parking spots. The office also said not to park in our assigned spots while our buildings are being worked on due to cars being damaged. It was supposed to take 10 days per building but so far it has taken longer than that estimate. The workers are literally throwing siding and roofing down to the ground and at times it is spilling over into the road. The worst part of all is the apathy the leasing office has toward the whole situation. All they will say is that it will make the community nicer. They don't care how much the residents are inconvenienced. If they want to incovenience us to this extent they could at least knock off some of our rent for the month during which construction is taking place on our individual buildings! All they've offered so far are 15 minute massages in the leasing center. My apartment has become nothing more than a storage unit during the construction and after the construction is done we have the painting of the buildings to look forward to. I hope that the future residents enjoy the mess the current residents are dealing with. I won't be staying to find out. I have seen the leasing offices true colors come shining through! g-hKOS7s4Nq5n3hEIpHd

User Responses
From: plakesmgr	Date: 09/07/2005
As the manager of Prairie Lakes Apartments, I understand that these upgrades are overwhelming. Please rest assured that this is a sign that our residents have chosen a place to live where the owners and management are interested in providing everyone the best possible place to live. Because we know this is a stressful time, we are trying to accommodate everyone by offering, a business center to use, a hospitality suite or the use of models to escape the hustle and bustle of the renovations. All of this is complimentary and available upon request. We will continue to, as we have in the past, do all we can to ensure that each residents stay here is exactly what they were hoping it to be.
From: renter60540	Date: 10/04/2005
TO PLAKESMGR, As a resident other than the author of this review, I would like to post a response to your quote of "Please rest assured that this is a sign that our residents have chosen a place to live where the owners and management are interested in providing everyone the best possible place to live." I cannot believe you can honestly even say that. This is not a sign that management cares. This is just a new reason why when it is all done that they can try to raise the rent. If the owners even cared what the residents thought, they would not ignore all the complaints on the ever continuing noise and disruptions to our lives. They refuse to even acknowledge personally the burden they are placing on us for their own financial gain so they can advertise "newly renovated apartments." The fact that they will not even consider a rent reduction even when certain residents are affected by the noise for over ONE MONTH now and counting is a true sign of their disrespect and lack of concern for current tenants. It is very obvious that the only concern the owners have is the bottom financial line. While this may appear a smart business plan, the are obviously missing the long-term vision that by treating current residents so poorly, they will certainly be losing future business. Also, the fact that you even have to offer a hospitality suite is further admittance that you acknowledge the apartments to be in an "unlivable" condition. Yet, we are paying full rent every single month. PROSPECTIVE RENTERS BEWARE! The owners can dress the outside of this place up all they want, but once they get your money, they have absolutely no concern for their renters and very, very poor customer service.
From: meg_mcgarry	Date: 10/31/2005
"Treating current residents so poorly"?? Look, construction is an unpredictable, noisy affair. No one involved is happy DURING construction... but it's a necessary evil in order to get to the newly renovated light at the end of the tunnel. I must respond to the last resident's post because I too am a resident here. I also happen to be a very recently former employee of Prairie Lakes and as a resident I can most certainly understand any fellow resident's complaint about noise. I have a newborn baby (and thus the “former” employee part) and I hear the construction every single day, whether they are working on the building I live in or not. But here's the reality... the buildings are getting BRAND NEW ROOFING AND SIDING! This community will be LIKE NEW to ALL of its residents. Yes, we all (including the office team members!) have to put up with a little dirt and noise for awhile... and as angry as that may make you temporarily, wouldn't you rather live somewhere that is well-maintained and well-constructed?? The owners of this community want to stop problems BEFORE they happen. If you’ve lived in any apartment for any length of time, you know that things start to need tinkering after time goes by... Prairie Lakes needed some tinkering and we are lucky enough to have owners who are willing to pay for it. (Trust me; I’ve lived at some other local communities that were not as prepared to properly maintain their assets!) In order to do this, it means inconvenience for the present time. If you truly believe that the property manager does not care about your suffering than I can only assume you have not personally spoken with her. It is not for the manager to say to just start handing out rent discounts to everyone when they are upset. What is a sign to me of true caring is a manager who will sit down and listen to you. I can guarantee you that your property manager wants you to be happy here and would be more than willing to sit down and chat with you if you gave her the chance. Do not assume just because you didn’t receive monetary compensation that your manager does not care about you. This could not be farther from the truth. What many people DON'T understand is that the Fair Housing Act PREVENTS good managers from simply "throwing money" at a problem to make it go away. In the apartment industry as you may know, what is done for one must be done for all. So you see, your property manager cannot just hand out random rent discounts to help you through your discomfort. What she CAN do is offer things to everyone... like massage therapy and a courtesy suite or model apartment home to stay in if the noise is too much for you... etc. (And I happen to know that almost NO ONE has taken advantage of these FREE services... why don’t you treat yourself to a good night’s sleep in one of the specially set aside suites? Or, if you have a better solution, bring it to your property manager’s attention!) But like I said, I too live here and I have to say that even though the construction has been going on since early August, it has NOT been so bad! To be honest, the first two days (roof rip off) were the worst and after that, it has been very tolerable. Look, we all have to go through it. Your office team is most CERTAINLY there to help you. They will listen to you and help you through. Please don't think that no one cares because I am here to say that we do. If I hadn’t left on maternity leave, I would PERSONALLY help you. But take heart... It's almost over! You've made it this far and now you will be one of the lucky ones to reap the benefits! So, as you see, I think I can speak for the team at Prairie Lakes when I say, we certainly DO acknowledge your burden. We are all living the same experience here and we know that when all is said and done, you will be proud of your “new” community once again. We certainly are and we are happy you are with us. I have been proud to call Prairie Lakes both my home and my workplace. Resident and Former Office Team Member, Meaghan McGarry Meg_mcgarry@hotmail.com
From: fairyprincess2.geo	Date: 11/13/2005
The free services that 'almost no one' has taken advantage of have not been advertised to the property quite as well as each of the construction flyers we get. I can guarantee most of the residents didn't know about any of that, unless they've called to complain.
From: pissed22	Date: 02/27/2007
why didn't i hear about these so called "free services"? what a bunch of bull. this is all smoke and mirrors.

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