Metropolitan Park Apartments

A mixed bag From: -Anonymous- Date posted: 2/28/2006 Years at this apartment: 2003 - 2006 1 response   I've lived here 3 years, and I can report a mixed experience. I have not had any major complaints with the management, and I suspect that some of the expectations of other posters are unrealistic. Many of the tenants are young twenty-somethings and I am not sure if they have enough experience to denounce the management as incompetent. Things like finding the management office unmanned or needing to leave a message because they're on the phone is pretty typical of other properties I lived at previously in Redmond and Puyallup. In larger properties, it seems common for the managers to be off showing apartments, supervising cleaning and maintenance, and what-not. And I haven't found the management staff to be rude in any of my dealings with them. I am not on board with the "down with the management" campaign. Form your own opinion, and don't belive everything you hear. Ok, now for some of the not-so-great stuff. I eventually moved from the south side to the north side of the building to escape the noise from my neighbors on either side. The walls are too thin. 2 years ago I had trouble for about a year with the management allowing tenants to use the roof deck for parties during the summer. The tenants hooked up a PA system and were DJing loud parties into the wee hours of the morning, with management approval. Management claimed the tenants were instructed to turn it down at 10pm, but they didn't stick around to supervise. I complained each time it happened, but then the parties stopped, presumably because the tenants who were into it moved out. Didn't happen at all this past summer (2005). My pickup truck has been broken into twice parked in the gated garage here. The first time they forced the lock and stole an expensive music keyboard I had foolishly left in the front seat after a band practice. I had to have the lock replaced. The second time they smashed out the passenger side window and tore up the center console to steal a 6 year old Alpine CD player. Cost a bit to replace the window and repair the console and dashboard. I didn't replace the radio and just have the hookup wires dangling out the console so even a drug-crazed burglar will realize there is nothing left to steal. :) A couple years ago there was a bout of elevator trouble. For about 18 months, the main elevator (and the only one that serves the lower parking level) was going out every few weeks for days at a time. Carrying groceries up the stairs was getting old fast, and I changed parking garages as a result. Last fun story -- about a year ago I accidentally dropped my keys while stepping off the elevator and they went down the gap. I went down to the first floor and called the emergency number on the office door -- no good, message saying the number was not in service! So I called the regular office number. Thank god the message gave a cell phone for one of the managers -- not as an emergency contact, but for prospective renters -- but I called it anyway. I got her, and she said she'd call Ed the maintenance person and have him call me back. So Ed called me a few minutes later and I explained the situation. He said it would cost $50 to have my door unlocked. I said fine (I expected a charge). Next he asked if I had it in cash. I said no, I didn't happen to get locked out with $50 in cash in my wallet. He said too bad, the policy was to only unlock if the tenant had cash. So I said goodbye, called the manager back (that was April or Toni, can't remember which now), told her about that, and she got upset along with me and said she'd call Ed and straighten it out. He called me back a few minutes later to say he was on his way, but we had to wait for his clothes to finish the drying cycle and for him to drive from Renton. He showed up about 45 minutes later to let me in. To be fair, he HAS been polite and helpful on other occasions since then, but the lockout debacle left me with a pretty bad impression. In case you're wondering, I taped two coat hangers together with duct tape, took the elevator down to the bottom floor, and was able to hook my keys out from under the elevator with the aid of a flashlight. :) Also in case you're wondering, the emergency pager wasn't working because they hadn't paid the pager bill. :( I am getting ready to give notice and move out, not because of management or maintenance issues, but because of the building construction. I learned that the construction will require a lot of noise and disruption outside as they replace all of the exterior layer of the building plus the balconies, windows, and sliding glass doors. I was not aware that would affect my apartment until I saw the scaffolding going up on the north side and went to ask. I guess I should have gotten suspicious when I got two notices in the last three months trying to give me incentives to go on a lease rather than stay month-to-month. :) I know from pricing the high-rises downtown before I moved in here in 2003 that you can spend a LOT more living downtown, so maybe this is a reasonable deal. But you may have to be prepared to take the bad with the good to be happy here. Hope this helps.

Recommended: NO Overall Rating

Parking: Maintenance: Construction: Noise:

Grounds: Safety: Office Staff:

I'm the author!

Lived here?

Disclaimer: No attempt has been made to verify or assure the accuracy of the claims made by the author of this opinion or responses. You must judge the truthfulness of any review and accept responsibility for your use of this information.

Pets Not Accepted: Should You Sneak Your Cat or Dog In Anyway? - Sep 29    Apartment Move-In Inspection Tips - Sep 22    How to Get Rid of Mice, Part 2 - Sep 15    Decorating from Smart Garage Sale Purchases - Sep 08    When Your Apartment is a Cell Phone Dead Zone - Sep 01    10 Things Smart Renters Know About Apartment Hunting    How to Break Your Lease Legally