I have been a resident with Stevens Community for the last several years and have lived in four different apartments with the company. From the first time I moved in, I was impressed with the professional and personal character of the leasing staff. The person who showed me my first place was laid-back and friendly, making the apartment search that much more enjoyable, since moving really sucks.
When I first moved up to Minneapolis 5 years ago, I lived in a duplex property over by Hiawatha and my landlord was a true slum lord. We had a broken window for all of winter, a leaky faucet in the bathroom and in the kitchen for the entire time we lived there.
When I first thought of moving from there, I looked into Relocation Central to get a handle on what types of apartments would be available close to downtown. When I first visited Stevens, I was immediately in love with the neighborhood. We are truly downtown! The park is beautiful (and was even when I moved in in January) and the seasons pass by quietly here. All of the buildings are between 80-100 years old and are very well-maintained. The beautiful brownstones are on the historic register and my neighbors have always been friendly. Some of my current best friends are people that I met across the hall.
I have never had an issue with maintenance and when, in my second apartment, the roof fell in while I was sleeping, I was treated with respect and the hole was patched within 2 days. It was fine. There was some dust and plaster, but maintenance cleaned up well and I could understand that it might take some time to get it fully fixed.
I think that both maintenance and the rental office make this a great place to live. People are courteous and knowledgeable and are timely with answering concerns.
I love the fact that we actually have both a neighborhood organization (with a resident Board of Directors) and an arts organization to boot. There are different events in the park throughout the year including Red Hot Art, which I've participated in for the last 5 summers. We also have a block patrol made up of residents who want to make a difference in the amount of crack and prostitution in the neighborhood. The rental office will even credit your rent for every 2 hours you patrol!
I can understand peoples' problems with some of the neighborhood crowd, but it has a lot more to do with personal preference and how uptight you are than with management. Downtown is close, uptown is close, you're close to museums, theaters, bars, restaurants, and coffee shops. This is a terrific neighborhood that is very diverse, eclectic, and artistic. I can't imagine being happier anywhere else in Minneapolis.
Parking is sometimes an issue, yes, and that's a pain. But all the benefits of the apartments, management, package handling, and the location totally outweigh that minor inconvenience.

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