8/11/09:My husband & I have lived here since last Thanksgiving. We have 1 parking space that came included with the apt's rental price. We pay an extra $75/month for 1 additional parking space. Both are in the garage and are assigned. The garage is well lit and has some security features; requiring a key fob to enter the garage as well as call the elevators. In April, the doors and fob machine controlling entry to the garage broke and it took the management almost 2 months to have them repaired. In the meantime, the doors remained open 24/7. To say the least, this was very annoying, as the "secure parking facilities" were one of the big draws to the complex.
Also, during the last month there has been some repairs taking place in the garage during which the management decided to temporarily cancel the assigned spaces. Everyone was parking in others' spots, even cars that did not display parking decals which would indicate that they either lived in the building or paid for their spots. We brought this up to the Property Manager and he offered to refund us the $75 we paid for our extra space for the month, that we only needed to email him to remind him of our apt number. We did so as soon as we returned to our apt that evening. He did not respond to our emails or calls and he did not refund us the $75 as promised. By the end of that week, he had posted messages telling residents to park only in their assigned spaces or they would be towed. I guess others must have complained too and he realized he would be handing back several checks.
Probably the biggest issue we have with the Cascade is how they have, inch-by-inch, taken back many of the features that they touted so proudly and that we paid good money to share and enjoy. Upon moving in, they charged us a $500 non-refundable amenities fee to cover the 24/7 concierge service at front desk lobby, coffee/tea at the concierge desk in am, 24/7 access to the projector movie screen room, 24/7 access to the pool/games/entertaining room, 24/7 access to the tanning booth, pool/heated jacuzzi & steam room, and the secure, assigned parking facilities. I've already addressed the parking fun. Since February, the concierge hours have been slashed back more and more. Currently, they operate from approx 9:30a-10p. It's approximate because even if you are there during those hours, sometimes the desk is closed up with no one in sight. They also no longer offer coffee/tea, which was such a nice homey touch. The concierge staff controls the keys to the tanning both as well as the pool/games/projector room so if they are away or gone for the night, you can kiss your access good bye. The pool/jacuzzi is only open from Memorial Day - Labor Day so I've been told by the concierge staff, and it closes so early as to be almost impossible to visit in the evening after work. We're a little bitter about all that.
Maintenance is very nice and works quickly. There is an online system of making maintenance requests which is handy; however, if you elect to have a maintenance appointment scheduled so that you can be home when they arrive, better expect to wait a long time. It's easier to just call in the early am to the leasing office to inform them of your problem so that it can usually be fixed same day; however, your whole day will be wasted waiting for them.
The concierge desk staff is very nice and pleasant. We're never experienced any direct rudeness from the Prop. Manager; however, we have lost a great deal of respect for him during the last run in about parking when he ignored our emails and calls. There was also another time that I spoke with him in person regarding back-dating some notices he gave out to residents, literally blasting them with last minute notice of being towed/fined if they did not immediately comply. Things like that shake your trust in the management of your complex. You just have to keep in mind that it's an apartment complex - one of the drawbacks is living under others seemingly nonsensical rules.
Overall, we have really enjoyed our apartment and our neighbors are nice & quiet. We would recommend the Cascade - just take a deep breath, be prepared to deal with others, know your contract and local regulations. Best of luck apartment hunting!

*Quick Update 8/14/09* - it took a little while, but the property manager has now refunded us the $75 for each month our spaces were unavailable during the most recent parking construction. Yay! This does help to restore some of our faith. Like we said before, it's a great apartment and overall we have really enjoyed living at the Cascade.

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