Apple Park Apartments

Mission Rock recently took over as property managers of Apple Park, and so far all they have done is make changes that negatively impact their residents. Not only have they not addressed the terrible, too narrow parking for its residents, (nobody should have to enter their car through the passenger side door!) they have not done a thing to make the complex safer from crime, my car and apartment have been broken into 3 times in 2 years. A new frustrating change, is the limited availability for picking up your packages. It used to be convenient, just stop by anytime before the club house closes and the attendant will get your packages. Now you can only pick up packages during business hours. They are normally 9 – 6, which is still hard to swing by in time if you work during the day. In the last week, they changed their office hours to 8 – 5, so trying to work with their new schedule, I got there at 8am and nobody was there! I waited for several minutes, but had to leave for work. My word of advice for Mission Rock, if you make changes, stick to them, otherwise you look incompetent and unprofessional. Also keep in mind your current residents and how you can improve their experience living at Apple Park, your changes effect your residents, so consider them and not just yourselves.

Update: Shortly afterwards I received my deposit back minus the remainder of the bill on the utilities. I’m glad to have it back, but will still dock them for deducting for carpet as «policy» which is illegal and theft.
Update: Aug 2015 I originally gave Apple Park Apartments 4 stars, because living there was a good experience. I have dropped it to one star because of the awful experiences I had with the manager (heavier-​set blonde woman). I initially brushed off her rude, condescending tone one day as her having a bad day, but after my interaction with her at move-​out, it’s clear that she’s just that way all the time. Everything I asked for (copies of forms etc) was a major hassle for her, she would roll her eyes at me, sigh, and use a very condescending/​f*** you tone with me. Everybody else is great, she’s the only issue. I went in for the inspection and she came by the apartment, which was in excellent condition. I had vacuumed, cleaned everything, and even cleaned some things to the point that they may have been dirtier when I moved in. She insisted that carpet cleaning would come out of my deposit because I lived there less than a year despite this not being in the lease (in other words, regardless of condition). I had taken extra care with the carpets, placing runners and taking off my shoes every time I came in the house. She wrote down on the move-​out form that the lint trap in the dryer had lint in it (around the edges, I had already emptied the lint) and did other nit-​picking that I wouldn’t expect anybody to do, writing down things as not clean despite them clearly being so. I said I would remedy the lint issue, asked for my keys back, and said I would return in a half hour to give her the keys. She said that they don’t do pre-​moveout inspections because it would «violate fair housing laws» and she couldn’t give me the keys. Imagine that, using laws designed to protect tenants as an excuse for illegitimately docking their deposits and depriving them of the opportunity to remedy issues. I was a model tenant and was only doing what I could to make sure the apartment matched the manager’s standards. Luckily, I had paid rent for a couple more days and was moving out early, so I demanded the keys back and she got very flustered with me, saying I made her violate the law, gave me the keys, and stormed off.
I lived in Apple Park Apartments for 6 months. Overall, I had a great experience here and only left because I found a more affordable place. I never had any issues requiring maintenance/​fixes, so can’t speak to how responsive they are. There were a lot of apartment inspections which were annoying. The apartment was in great condition when I moved in and when I moved out. Overall, I would suggest this place highly!
Apartment Itself (1 bedroom):
Everything looks relatively new and up-​to-​date
Didn’t once have any issues with mold, mildew, etc ventilation seems good
Appliances work well, especially the dishwasher, which is always kind of a grab bag
Well sound-​proofed. I was on a middle floor, never once heard my neighbors. Strangely, the door to the apartment itself has like no sound proofing so you can hear everything happening on the stairs, which was not an issue for me. Doesn’t go into bedroom or common areas easily.
Management:
Management was always very friendly with me. Every step of the process was great with them, the lease was clear and to-​the-​point. I had an issue with one manager documented above.
Grounds/​Amenities, etc
Everything is kept in good condition, the amenities were great and almost always empty. My balcony overlooked the park which is beautiful. There is a childcare center, so if noise is an issue for you, you probably don’t want a unit right next to it. I heard noise from the park, mainly people playing baseball, when I had my windows open. It was a nice form of background noise. Never had any issues with neighbours.
Cons:
They frequently have lawn maintenance people come by. On more than 1 day a week early in the morning you’ll hear leafblowers. I found this mildly annoying others might find it moreso.
You cannot send outgoing mail that isn’t envelope sized. I found this to be a major pain as I sell stuff on ebay. The office won’t let you leave outgoing packages with them.
Apartment Inspections (more cons):
I have never had so many «inspections» anywhere else I lived. Within the first two months of moving into what seemed to be a brand new apartment, there were three separate inspections. I think I had one more before I moved out. They give incredibly wide ranges and vague reasons. One was to «verify structural integrity» and would happen any time between 9 – 5 for like 2 – 4 days. Being a tenant grants you exclusive rights to your residence, exclusive even to the landlord. They have to provide ample reason and «reasonable» time-​frames according to the law. I don’t think a three-​day window is «reasonable», especially for inspections that seem like they don’t need to happen.

For the past five weeks I’ve been scouring apartment complexes from Federal Way to Olympia. I was under the impression that I would reluctantly end up renewing my lease in my one bedroom apartment in Tacoma. Last month I spent a full weekend going to eight complexes in Olympia. By late Sunday afternoon I was ready to call it quits until my last stop, the Apple Park Apartments off of Capital Mall Drive. What a delightful surprise! I spoke with a staff member (Mackenzie) who couldn’t have been more helpful. I told her of my specific requirements and she showed me a spacious 3 Bedroom-​2 Bath unit. She cheerfully answered all my questions. After hearing about all the amenities, especially the indoor swimming pool, I was sold. I have since had dealings with the rest of the staff and they are totally professional and very friendly. I would recommend Apple Park Apartments in a heartbeat. A special thanks to Michael who went way out of her way to actualize some specific requests… I couldn’t be happier. Also worth mentioning that all my favorite places are within walking distance, especially Trader Joe’s and Outback. I’m a very happy camper.

The day you meet with the office staff is the most they will ever care about you. It’s clear from the way they operate that the potential renter is more important to them than the current renters. Work nights? Get ready for a daily 8:30am wakeup call via the leaf blower guy (gotta make sure the paths are clear for anyone who might want to look at the units). I asked the guy if he could use a broom instead and he looked at me like I was an alien. «I use the equipment they give me,» he replied. Rain or shine, he’s out there blowing dirt onto everyone’s cars and making sure you don’t sleep too much. The next morning duty for him is to get the dumpsters all hooked up in a train behind his truck for a parade around the parking lot. This involves banging and crashing the dumpsters together as they go over the numerous speed bumps and I’m not sure what it accomplishes but the dude seems very intent on doing it often. Then there was the time I woke up to find a Mexican on my balcony moving all my plants around. Turns out he was hired to paint all the railings and nobody bothered to notify me. All in all, the apartments themselves are pretty typical cheap construction and are wholly unremarkable; it’s the attitude of management that’s the defining attribute of this place.