Lansing Towers

If you've got money to burn, live in Lansing Towers. This building is occupied exclusively by students, elderly, and a few legislators who need a place to crash when they are in session. There are always vacancies here, but if 1-bedrooms are unavailable, you won't need to wait long. People move out constantly, for the reasons below. If you move here--get ANYTHING that sounded good to you in writing first!!!

PROS:
-----

-Great location;
-Nice floor plans;
-Generally quiet;
-Huge windows & much light;
-Utilities very cheap ($24/month electric on average & no gas);
-Central Air Conditioning;
-No pool, parking, or additional fees;
-Maintenence responsive and good once you finally get anything approved by management.
-The city mandated some structural improvements recently.
-Always a vacancy due to the rapid turnover (people get sick out dealing with the "cons"; see below.)
-INSIDE of building is safe.
-Pleasant "doormen"; but not really doormen.
-Light fixtures are genuine & original 70's era; not modern replications.
-Though gun-shots can be heard sometimes, the police have drastically reduced the drug activity and protitution in the immediately-surrounding neighborhood.


CONS:
-----

-EXPENSIVE!! ownership & management!!! Owner is known by all to be a miser. Only improvements here are forced upon the owner. They're either mandated by the inspectors, or just require a total replacement. Had he kept the building up over the years, it would be worth the rent they require.
(About 1% better now, but MANY (5-7) managers have "run" this building over the past few years. Present one has been here 2 or 3 years or so--before that--a new one every 3-4 months.) Management prefers not to deal with the tenants unless forced to, and if you need something, forget about it if it will cost them more than 59 cents.

-Management told many lies to get me here, which I've heard from others, too.
(Mgm't claimed: "Good security, enclosing the pool in glass for Winter use, installing security measures in the garage, and the funniest... monitored & working cameras").
The carpeting in my place was extremely ratty, worn, & VERY (10-20 years) old when I moved in (still is, I believe) and they never even painted before I moved in, after they told me EVERYTHING was new, including paint, rugs, & fixtures, etc.
The apartment was dirty when I moved in. Keep in mind that I paid a $50 cleaning-fee before moving in. Then, hours and days after I moved everything in, they ordered that I sign a library of lease addendums (including an agreement to another $50 cleaning fee upon moving out), or they said I couldn't stay. Don't fall for this.

-There were some dead flies on the window sill when I moved in. I soon learned that in the warmer seasons, I can only open certain windows because MANY flies come in otherwise, and I live far above the ground levels. Management responded to my complaint about the flies by saying, "Yeah, I have them too." It's really quite gross if you don't open the window every week and vaccuum the big pile of dead fly-bodies from between the window and screen. If you do though--make sure to not let the 10 or so living ones in at the same time.

-Do NOT park a nice car here. Every car has probably been broken into & burglarized--and many have been more than once. Convertible tops have been slashed, windows smashed, cars robbed & vandalized, etc. Nobody is ever caught. The building does NOT care at all. Do not believe them when they tell you they are considering improving the situation. They've been claiming this for many, many years. I finally stopped complaining or filing police reports.

-"Doormen" only work during M-F 8am-10pm; useless security guards otherwise.

-Updated the elevator cars' interiors, but only facially; They still break down constantly. (Not good if you have asthma, or are one of the many elderly tenants, and want to walk to the 14th floor.)

-Building run down.

GARAGE: The city forced some structural improvements & some were in the garage. The garage still rains like Niagara Falls in spots and on SUNNY days. Also, during some of the construction they've done, the workers caused cement-dust from the jack-hammers to damage the finish of everyone's vehicles' paint.
Then the pipes in the garage were leaking some milky substance that bonded with the paint of many cars, as it was unavoidable. Professional auto-body people (some are friends) told me it required repainting to remove. The building finally attempted to redirect the milk with make-shift "gutters" hanging from the ceiling over the cars. This was only after some expensive luxury cars were damaged, though. Mgm't recommended using an abrasive substance to remove it, but I wouldn't if you want to keep any remaining paint on your car. Good luck getting even an apology or any help with any of the damage the building causes you or your property.

-Cameras: There is one camera on the premises--it's in the garage, and IT'S FAKE!!! This is also common knowledge in the surrounding ghetto, and the reason for the burglaries.

-Other than the above, just lots of little things, like opening the pool late in the season every year, and draining it by Labor Day at 9am, which is typical for the way things are done here. It's often closed for refilling, too (I heard it turns cloudy a lot).



FINAL THOUGHTS: You could do worse, but if you are prepard to burn through money for rent and repairing your vehicle, etc., then spend a little more for migraine medication. If after that you are happy, then you will remain happy. I basically liked this building itself, and it's location, but the aggravation never ended while I lived there. What killed me was that anyone with any business sense or even any amount of common sense and consideration would be able to correct the problems, and then would be able to justify the rent cost (and maybe even a higher one).

Recommended: NO Overall Rating

Parking: Maintenance: Construction: Noise:

Grounds: Safety: Office Staff:

I'm the author!

Lived here?

I'm the manager