Man, I came on this site wanting to write a review of the nightmare that is LCV but it seems many have made my points for me. I find it interesting that the same problems people have been writing about on this site for years are completely unchanged.
I moved in to Lake Cove fall '06. It was my first apartment so needless to say, my standards are pretty low. I currently live here and literally have a calendar counting the days until I move out (end Sept).
I will just note a few of my favorite parts of living here.
1. Any time I mention that I live in Lake Cove Village to a co-worker or friend, I get the same cringe.
Lake Cove apparently has a pretty awful reputation around Dakota Co. There was even a time when I got a haircut, IN BURNSVILLE, when the young woman asked where I lived. I replied "Inver Grove," to which she immediately responded "Oh, not Lake Cove I hope." These incidences happen far too frequently for me to list.
2. Parenting in this complex is beyond awful.
I cannot tell you how many "mothers" (see: welfare recipients) just toss their babies/toddlers into the car without a car seat and speed off, usually with a cigarette in their mouth. I hear second hand smoke is awesome for babies.
My fiancee and I literally had a three or four year old girl approach us at 1145 pm one night asking "if (she) could come into our house because her mommy has people over that are being rude." This is a tiny girl approaching strangers asking to go into their apartments. How awful. The same little girl can be seen riding her bike around the parking lot aimlessly until at least ten PM every night.
If the child is lucky, their parent will let them pace back and forth in the hot sun all day on the porch, while mom sits inside with the AC on doing God knows what.
I feel like I am supposed to call the police or CPS, but I can't call thirty times a day...
3. The hillbillies in the corner apartment, with a Confederate flag hanging proudly off the bottom of their upstairs neighbor's porch.
Apparently they think apartments can be appropriately used like private homes, what with their all night bonfires and keg parties. Ironically, they are located right next to the rental office which apparently has no desire to stop all night bonfires on their property. Don't misunderstand, this is not happening in a park area at all, rather right in the main courtyard for eight or nine apartments with open windows.
4. The pack of 15-18 year old boys and "girls" that stand outside 5321 all night smoking cigarettes and cursing extra loudly.
I guess they aren't always standing in front of the building actually. Sometimes you can hear them banging on cars and property in the "secure parking ramp." Very comforting.
Included in this group is "the kid." He literally sits in the ramp, back to the wall, smoking cigarettes. It sounds innocent enough but believe me, it is creepy to have a kid staring at you as he sits in a dank, poorly lit parking ramp.
5. The "secure" parking ramp.
It costs money to reserve a covered "camera monitored" spot under a dingy falling down ramp. Sounds good, right' Well, if there is snow falling someone WILL STEAL your spot. Dare you to call the management if this happens. They will tell you A.) We are sending someone over to take care of it. This means AT MOST they will put an orange sticker on the car giving them 48 HOURS(!) to move the car before it is towed. Thats great, let me just park my car in the snow for a couple days AND STILL PAY FOR THE "PRIVILEGE" of using your ramp. Please.
Or B) when someone takes your spot after five PM, you can call management's after hours staff where you will be dismissed as a "non-emergency."
Someone smashed off my passenger side mirror one night. I filed a police report and figured it would help to see the tape to determine the culprit. After all, the signs all around do say "Under Surveillance" and I see cameras around everywhere.
THE CAMERAS ARE FAKE. My mirror is still broken.
5. The 18 (relatives) on the floor below me sharing three apartments.
They loooooove that Mexican polka music, so much so that they seem to think I want to hear it all day and all night, too. Like clockwork, it begins at noon (early risers) and goes into the night. If you make a noise complaint with LCV staff, they WILL NOT address the problem.
However, they will rent each and every newly available apartment to their friends and family as soon as they are available.
Great big Latino woman sitting in front of the main entrance' Do NOT attempt to go around her, unless you are ready to be yelled at. My favorite is when they sarcastically say ESCUUUSE MEEEEE (sic) loudly, as if you were in their way in the first place. Do not give them a dirty look, or they will be talking trash in Spanish each and every time you walk in.
Again, I'm looking at you 5321.
Another famous pastime of this group is drinking suuuper heavily and loudly, then piling into their big red pickup trucks and peeling around the complex at 5 a.m.
Don't worry, though. The average response time for IGH police seems to be right around 45-60 minutes for this complex, plenty of time to catch them in the act.
6. I smoke a carton a day
.... and have never bought a cigarette. The entire hallway smells like smoke whether it is ciggies or ganja. Oh, and don't open your patio door to air it out because the person below you is on the patio, DEFINITELY smoking, and probably talking loudly on the phone.
Also, opening the patio door is an open invite to gnats, mosquitos, and spiders which are the only "benefits" of "lake front living" that I have seen.
Cigarettes do serve another purpose at LCV however. Each building has one of those giant "smoker posts" out front which is never emptied. It's actually okay though, as they smell great and are used to prop the "secure" door open 24 hours a day. I'm sure a wide open door has no adverse effect on my AC costs.
7. The washer and "Dryer"
There is one washer and one dryer per floor (six units). Each cycle is 1.25, or 2.50 per load. The floor I live on has one machine that I am pretty sure has had the same load in it for four months. This means I get to walk up a couple flights of stairs with all my laundry.
As an added bonus you can have the lady in 5321, floor three's entire head of hair all over your clothes each time you dry! It's a very good deal if you are looking to piece together a wig.
And people switching their laundry in anything remotely resembling a timely fashion'' Hahahahahahaha your ignorance amuses me.
8. My moldy bathroom.
Has been looked at 5 times, and has never been fixed. When maintenance has a work order they ARE VERY, VERY GOOD. But good luck getting a work order. The only problem they are worried about is leaking faucets, because it is coming out of their pockets. I'm sure they will charge me for the mold when I move out.
I could go on like this for five MORE pages, but I think this should be enough to turn at least some people away. If you are not abusive, a criminal, on welfare, or an immigrant from

User Responses
From: zachhart12	Date: 07/16/2008
i live in Pearlwood up the street off 52nd street...lake cove blows :D..we got a tour there and i was like yeah...6 apartnents..in a circle...facing your door, blow that out my ***
From: LCVhell	Date: 07/17/2008
Hahaha Pearlwood has an even worse rating than Lake Cove! Nice Try.
From: cheilanthes	Date: 07/22/2008
well, lake cove is for low income folks .... I dont expect much from LC. I saved money a lot, I moved in with a good deal ($623/2bed !). LC takes pretty good care of everything I ever requested. Yes, teen agers' hanging out bothered me. Management people were all very very good behaving - all times. I may want to move out only because I want bigger apt. Apartments are really old with old appliences. It doesnt bother me as I am saving money. You have to pay more depending upon WHERE your apt is facing. Each year there will be $30-$50 reant increase. Office is open 7 days a week, thats a plus. They'll kepp your mail if usps /ups/fedex miss you. Washer & dryer cost $1.25 each. The 5 speed breakers drive me into nuts. People would generally move out with extra flow of money.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/23/2008
They Do keep your mail, which is nice. BUT, they don't in any way ensure the intended recipient is the person who actually picks it up. Thats right, no I.D. check, no nothing. If I wanted to, I could walk in there and pick up ANY random package in the corner of the office and no one would question me at all. As far as management being nice, I haven't had any problems with them either. But, they are completely ineffective in dealing with complaints about other residents. All my incident report got me was the upstairs neighbors pounding on the floor (11pm, 2am, or whenever they feel like it) and calling me a -----. Hey thanks management, wanna come put my kids back to sleep? Or should I fill out another oh-so effective incident report? I moved in here with the goal of saving money to move into a house, I wish I would've found somewhere else.

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