I've read the previous reviews and felt it was important to give an honest, unemotional assessment of what I have called home for three months now.

Location: If the Galleria area is for you, the location is exceptional. My particular unit faces inward, and although once in awhile I can hear street traffic (stereos, screetching tires, etc) altogether it's relatively quiet. As for traffic - getting South (59) and West (Richmond) is easy. Going North (say I-10 and 610) is a bit painful due to construction and Galleria traffic.

Units: The construction material is top-notch. However, the construction itself is poor. I'm on the 4th level which comes with travertine floors. These floors were poorly cared for and not sealed. Mine have actual stains and scratches in them. Catching the reflection from an incoming window renders a very messy and dirty looking floor. I am aware of what travertine is supposed to look like. Once brought to the attention of my neighbors, they too realized that the conditions were poor.

The granite counters had grouting spread randomly on the backsplash and around the sink. This could have easily been removed, but was not. Also, the counters are not sealed - you'll want to be careful that previous tenants kept the counters clean, and make sure you don't let water stand as over time they will look horrible as a result.

In my particular unit, the master bedroom door did not latch shut properly, the bathtub spout was not fixed properly (kept falling off), and the front door frame is not square and thus I do not get a good seal from the outside (I can see light coming through around the bottom left hand side for about two feet). The weather stripping on the bottom is not properly attached, and thus it too leaks.

The windows are nice and the blinds of reasonable quality although mine do not shut completely - there's always some residual light peeking through. I noticed some marks on my walls which were obviously patched, but that's pretty minor altogether.

When I moved in, there was construction dust everywhere. I asked the office to have someone come in and clean the apt - it was clear to me that it wasn't prepared properly. The maid service did little other than run some water through the tub. I cleaned the dust off counters and floors myself.

Sound insulation is quite poor - I often hear my neighbors. I don't think they are any louder than others I've had in the past. The floors, without carpet, are such that I can hear those next door walking through their apt. The walls are pretty thin - in similar places, I've found the insulation to be quite a bit better. I wonder about the comments on how quiet it is related to the # of empty units. As always, it just depends what you consider quiet, how much noise you generate, and by whom you live.

I can sometimes hear noise in the hallways but perhaps it's more than usual as a result of the door not fitting properly. In general, this aspect of insulation is on or above par to other similar places.

As for parking, I find that the garage is more than adequate and the location reasonable. This may change as the units fill up. For some time, a significant number of people were double-parking which wasn't too annoying because there weren't enough cars that it caused anyone to walk much further. Over time, this will be a pain. The mgmt team has sent out requests to change this, but there are those that feel they are more important than others and entitled to do as they wish. I feel the mgmt team has taken about the right amount of action on this one.

As for trash, there is only one chute and for some it can be quite a walk. I'm not certain there is enough space in the container for the complex when it fills up. I often find boxes lying around but they're removed pretty quickly. Only a few neighbors leave garbage in the hallway, which in my opinion is rude and lazy - but that's life in an apt complex.

I will note that smoking is pretty common in hallway areas. Most people retire to the stairwells. At one point, someone had placed and ashtray on one flight but it was removed a few days later. Now there are butts all over the ground constantly - certainly not impressive. Personally, it doesn't bother me much - it's a stairwell, but I'm sure some would hate it.

The amenities are nice - both pools well kept at all times. The workout facilities are very nice as well although not perfect. The lounge is a bit weak, but that's a personal opinion. The coffee is nice, but bring your own mug - they run out of cups quite often.

I've personally found the mgmt team to be very courteous yet mostly inept. I am typically met with courtesy but I'd prefer results, which thus far have been almost completely nonexistent. I believe these things start at the top, and I have a suspicion that this is where the real problem starts.

A final note - the community. As always, there are all types although, for the most part, I've met a lot of my neighbors and get along with them well. It seems a reasonably social place, however, I suspect that depends where in the complex one lives. I spend social time with my neighbors at their place, my place, or out somewhere locally sometimes as a result of passing in the hallway on a random Tuesday. I don't find that there are too many pretentious folks, however there are obvious exceptions. There are also those that lack class and do not show respect to anyone, including themselves. In both cases, it's the exception and not the rule.

I cannot make a recommendation to a stranger. It depends on what one is willing to pay for the positives and how much one weighs in the negatives. It's suitable for me although I will likely move on when my lease comes up. The negatives are important to me, and there are too many options related to the positives and thus I feel I can find better value a short distance away.

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