The best thing about the Kendrick is the rent price and the location. For a two-bedroom flat that includes a washer/dryer combo, less than $1000 is good. Especially for the area.

However, the construction quality is shoddy. Everything is plywood, and you can tell they used the absolute cheapest materials available. Paint is dry and flaky; floors squeak (the place was only built in 1984).

The insulation between apartments is HORRIBLE. In fact, there is none. No interior walls are insulated, including walls that seperate apartments. I can hear my neighbors talking as if they were in the next room. People upstairs walk normally but it sounds like they're stomping. The entire building is made of wood, so it shakes ever-so-slightly when trains go by.

Plumbing is also very suspect. Kitchen sinks in our building drain behind the dining room wall, and they must not be correctly vented, because they CLICK VERY LOUDLY, mainly when the temperature is below 50 or 60 degrees. And it gets worse as it gets colder. Maintenance says nothing can be done about this. I've no idea if it's a problem in other buildings here, but it's gotta be. It's actually woken me up at night. Extremely annoying.

Maintenance staff are lazy. I always have to ask them to spread salt on sidewalk ice; they have to be told everytime. Sand doesn't work!! They do a decent job on most things, but they just seem so lazy.

Appliances are sub-par. When the place was built, it was all Kenmore appliances. Now they use cheapo Fridgidaire crap -- did you know anyone made a dishwasher for less than $200' When we moved in (in 2003), the place still had the original dishwasher. It was ugly, but it worked great. They replaced it. New one sucks. We still have the original range; I won't let them take it. They also replaced our kitchen sink with the cheapest one they find: $44.

Office staff are generally helpful and courteous.

Parking is decent. There's a garage, but it costs $40/month. One raw deal: they told us the garage is heated, but it's not. It generally stays a bit warmer in the garage than outside, but "heated" is a lot different than "not heated," especially for $40. I've heard about break-ins in parking lots, but I haven't seen it myself. That's common anywhere though.

Other things...they told us heat and a/c are included. They are, but YOU pay to run the fan. Big difference -- this was totally unclear until I got my first electric bill. Kendrick pays for your water, but YOU pay to heat it! Each flat has its own 40-gallon water heater, so it's easy to run out of hot water. This was ALSO not explained to us when we signed the lease. Water pressure here is below average. In addition, depending on where in the complex you live, it can be quite a hike to trash dumpsters and mailboxes. The neighborhood is a little ghetto-fabulous, so expect thumping bass as cars drive by. Our neighbors like to smoke weed in their bathroom; they turn on the exhaust fan, stupidly thinking it will remove the smoke. Not exactly -- some of it ends up in our bathroom. There used to be a few Section 8 units here, but they discontinued that. Hopefully that will help, but I haven't noticed a difference.

For all its faults, it's a decent place to live. The price is good and leases are flexible. But be very aware of its many problems and expect noise from your neighbors.

User Responses
From: ahappyrenter93	Date: 09/30/2005
just so you know I'm a single mom that lives in one of those section 8's you thought were discontinued... well Kendrick has renewed the contract for another five years. I find your review racist, (we all know what "ghetto" refers to)and classist. If you cant hadle some bebe kids and hip hop music move the the suburbs. The matinience staff has always treated me great, and responded promptly. Maybe all it takes is respect for others. I hope I never run into you. It really sad to know that people see section 8 as a negative. Think of how many people have used it as a tool to support their family while finishing college, or disabled people who's social securtiy checks dont pay the bills, or peoples grandmothers who's retirement checks aren't enough. I am so dissapointed that people continue to look down negatively on things we dont understand. Remember the civil rights movement? It was about alot of things! And I know you can justify your self by saying "well not all section 8 people are bad, but it just really sucks to have to live next to some one who has the cops called, or smoke week, or play load music" We know what "ghetto" means. Section 8 is an important thing to give people an opportunity to do better for their family. You cant hate on a program like that. If you dont want to see the reality of poverty, move your ass out and hide from it, like the rest of white middle class america.
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/15/2007
A pretty stupid response. Your whole response is telling this person to not group everyone in Section 8 and say they are the cause of problems, which I agree with. But then you end your response by doing the same thing and grouping all of white middle class america into a group that hides from poverty. Very hypocritical. Good thing you weren't born white, because then you would get into trouble for being racist.

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