Without a doubt the major problem here are the thin walls (especially via the apartment above). As many others have said in the previous reviews, you can clearly hear every word being said in an adjoining unit and every step being taken in the unit above you. The noise from above is by far the worse! In a world of surround sound stereos and subwoofers, it is easy find yourself living in noise hell. Young kids, pets and inconsiderate people all contribute to this hell. The quality of life here is all about who is living above you. For me, the situation became intolerable when the family with kids moved in above me. The noise was so prevalent that I felt like a fifth member of the family that could not speak Spanish. My advice is to only consider a 4th floor apartment where there will not be anyone living above you.

Especially avoid the first floor apartments simply because the air conditioner compressors are outside your window. Your units compressor and 3 others from the units above you will be shutting on-and-off all night long during the summer months. Also as someone mentioned, they could hear the person above them flush the toilet. Truth is that the water from all the units flows downward, so you will hear everyone above you flushing. I thought the people above me were flush-aholics, but when they moved out the flushing continued and I realized it was the people on the upper floors as well. Lastly, people gather in the courtyards during the summer and young teenagers, underage drinkers, can be very problematic in the middle of the night. These courtyards are like echo chambers, you can hear every word spoken. The complex has no security or security services to handle late evening noise problems or drunkards. Managments advice is to call the police. A place this large at the least should employ a security service to handle loud neighbors and such.

As with most complexes there is a large turnover in management. When I moved in, the assistant manager was an idiot who probably could not tie his own shoelaces. Everyone since that time is long gone and they have all new people. And if you move in, there will probably be another new group by then. There are a couple nice staffers now, but they will probably be gone soon enough.

On the positive side, they have implemented a good system for package delivery. It could be a little better, but the fact they send you an e-mail when something arrives is great. The day before Christmas, they also empty out their closet by delivering right into your home, so nothing is missed.

I would rank maintenance above average as well. The head maintenance manager is annoying, but his staff seem quick to please. They also make a good concerted effort to keep the place clean and perform excellent snow removal. On multiple occasions I asked for assistance and they were quick and, most importantly, RELIABLE. The maintenance staff does enter your apartment an amazing number of times during the year. Smoke detector check, furnace check, etc every reason imaginable. If you have a dog (or another reason why you would not want them in your unit), this is a real annoyance.

As for dogs, a few people have posted about people not picking up after their pet. Since there is so little grass around an apartment, one person not picking up after a large dog becomes noticeable quickly. This does happen and the staff does try to address this problem, but if you have inconsiderate neighbors, not a whole lot can be done. If you do not have a dog how often are you even going outside in the front of the building anyhow. If you do have a dog, the back area along I-270 is all fenced in and great for letting your dog run. Unfortunately, for about 7 months of the year, it is a major mud pit. They do charge an unreasonable pet rent. On a side note, kids are more bothersome and destructive. An extra charge for kids would seem to be more logical. Also, their policy is no large dogs above the second floor, but this is not well enforced there are many examples of people living with very large dogs on top floors. In reality, they should not allow people with kids to reside above the first floor either.

A real annoyance is the all white apartment including the appliances. It would be nice to have a little color now-and-then. No accent walls here. Everything is eggshell white. The appliances were pretty good with no problems to mention. The gas stove was a big plus. The bathrooms, laundry area, and closet space all quite nice and well designed. Cable outlets could have been on a few more walls. Make sure you see the carpet in your apartment before moving in. They try very hard to stretch the lifespan of the carpet, so if you do not see it you may end up with a piece of crap as I did.

Parking is not usually a problem, but the fact they charge an extra $100 a month for it is obscene. Do not waste your money by paying extra for a reserved spot. The main problem with the parking garage is the garage door never works, especially for garage number 2. They spend more time fixing it then it actually works. The buildings have electronic locks on the front doors, but there are no security devices on the building doors that access the parking garage. Anyone who has access to the garage also has easy access into the building. Even when the garage door is working, people tailgate into the garage constantly. This is great for those who do not want to pay $100 a month for parking. They tow constantly from the front of the building, but never from the parking garages. You will hear that tow truck outside at 2 am in the morning getting anyone without a placard.

A major problem with this complex is that there are only two elevators in the whole complex. One in each parking garage. If you are moving in an upper floor unit, this can be a huge inconvenience and struggle. Since trucks can not go in the parking garage, when you move in you will need to unload at the entrance to the parking garage, roll your stuff into the elevator then roll it to your apartment which can be several buildings away. Before choosing a unit, carefully consider how you will get your stuff from the truck into the apartment. Remember, paying movers by the hour is expensive. Also if you live on the top floor, that will be four flights of stairs down and back up to get your mail each day.

Overall, it is a good location, but a little pricey. The apartments have a nice floor plan and the appliances are dependable. The maintenance staff is above average. The overwhelming big problem is noise, especially from above. If you can not stand noise intrusion into your apartment, go with a fourth floor unit (of course, you will need to drive up a narrow parking ramp everyday). On the other hand, if you like making noise and simply do not care what your neighbors might think, then this is the place for you.

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