Mint Urban River Place

I’ve given this complex 1 star as Unilocal does not provide a negative two star rating and the location is quite good. The location is, however, the only upside.
I’ve lived in commercial and private apartments between Spain, GA, SC, WA and OR, yet I’ve never experienced such poor management and faulty facilities in my life.
A few days, maybe a business week, before or move in date. We were given a new lease and told to sign for a different (more confined) floor plan with lesser interior features for the same monthly rate as they had accidentally given away our unit. They did not explain this was a downgrade and the lease did not indicate a difference in appliances. With no time to search elsewhere on such short notice, we had no choice. The downgrade included an AC/​Heather unit which was several decades old that could not control the temperature nor did it always produce heat in winter. The dishwasher, also original to the apartment, also did not function often leaving dishes in worse condition than before despite pre-​washing.
We filed several maintenance requests and most went unattended or incorrectly addressed. Management changed during our time here, but still no solution to the faulty heat or dishwasher.
In fact, at the time of the management change, they misplaced all standing maintenance order which required resubmission and loss of priority. During this transition, the new management lost parking records which resulted in multiple calls each week for three weeks regarding our parking. Each time, they failed to enter it into their system and would inevitably call back. As for the parking itself, you pay the same third party rates you’d find at a nicer garage, but all spots are designed for compact vehicles which is generally not what is parked in each spot, making the parking a daily hassle.
The water heat also was faulty on our floor. The shower’s temperature suddenly spikes to nearly scalding temperatures briefly before returning to normal. After several months, management arranged for maintenance on the issue, which promptly reverted back to the issue. Management has yet to fix this.
Many of the building’s units do not have in flat washer and dryer. This means a large portion of the complex must use the same 8 washers, of which several, if not all, may not be working or filled with gratuitous amounts of dog fur. These means an inability to wash clothes in a timely manner and sometimes not at all.
Elevators routinely are out of order and to this date, not a month has passed without elevators shutting down.
Finally, despite the exorbitant rents, many of the residents seem to be lacking in basic hygiene and courtesy. The complex’s dog friendly marketing results in a constant pool of dog urine in common areas such as the elevator and entrance doorways which often go several days before the management will have them cleaned. With regards to noise, expect to hear everything. Many units have dogs many of which bark into the early hours of the morning and many neighbors party weekdays into the same early hours with disregard for all. Keep in mind, as the building is poorly constructed, you will hear everything. Meanwhile, the management does not acknowledge or act on noise complaints.
In summation, live somewhere else and save yourself a fortune.

Do everything you can to not sign a lease here. There are so many good things about this place, mainly the location, that it’s easy to get sucked in.
My main concern here is the office staff, they’re unprofessional and incompetent. We had to literally beg the staff for our renewal notice, which they gave us 33 days before our lease expired (mind you, THEY require a 30 day written notice if you’re moving out).
Maintenance staff was non-​existent, as we submitted multiple requests for our toilet that would run non-​stop. Correction, the big guy harrassed my wife for our 20-​lb Westie being off-​leash 15 feet from our door.
Now that we are out, we’ve received a letter stating we owe them over $ 200 since they lost our last check. LOST IT. If it was cash, what would they do?
Again, stay as far away as possible from this place if you can. Too many other options in Portland than to deal with these people.

The Good: The town homes come with a garage, which is a rare thing in the city of Portland. Units are spacious and contain a lot of storage space. There are some very nice neighbors but most in my experience don’t stay longer than a year or two. The South Waterfront location is great as it is a pretty safe neighborhood.
The Bad: The office staff and maintenance team are constantly changing. No one can seem to hold a job there longer than a couple of months. Before you know it, the person whom you have dealt with is gone and has been replaced by a newly fresh and untrained associate. Plus, Mint Urban is run from a corporate office in Denver and you will routinely encounter one of these executives on the premises. Some are nice and others (Manager of Training) are down right rude and unprofessional. Since this a corporation, they really could care less about your needs or complaints. They are only concerned with making a buck off of you and squeezing more money out of the rents.
The Ugly: Mint Urban is running an Air B&B out of many of the units on the premises. They will lie to you and say they are not. Since they are getting top dollar for this activity, it is forcing higher rents. Please be aware of this. Also, people are coming and going all the time which can be a nuisance. Is this a hotel or an apartment?
The Uglier: No two rents are the same. Lease term is usually for a year. Right before the year is up, they will increase your rent according to some computer generated rent algorithm. It is guaranteed that your rent will go up substantially after the first year. Please note that! I have seen many cases where rents are increased by several hundred dollars per month (this is fact as it has happened to me)! Even if you are a model tenant who is never late with the rent, they do not care one bit about you. They want more rent, and more rent and more rent! They are extremely greedy landlords… Again, run by a corporation. If they have to accommodate you, they will make you move to another unit. This is a pain and I have seen it happen not only to myself, but to many others as well.
Verdict: Okay to stay a year if you can negotiate a decent rental rate. After that, better to find another place to live. But really, why would you want to? Moving sucks!

I have lived in a town house at Mint Urban since ⁰⁶⁄₂₀₁₄. I am a little confused with some of the low rated reviews on this Unilocal; so here are my two cents.
The location is great; its a minute walk from the NS Street car which takes you through the heart of downtown portland, as well as to the skytram to the hospital (Big bonus). It is about 10 mins walk through the harbor to downtown (very enjoyable walk); however, it is very far away from the creepy crawlies that lurk around downtown Portland. It’s nice to come home to a clean, quiet, and safe home that is so close to downtown.
The staff is a nice group of folks and always have been polite/​kind to me since I’ve lived there.
My neighbors are respectful and there hasn’t been any obnoxious noise issues since I’ve been there. There are some reviews saying there is an issue with dog poop around the complex… I don’t own a dog and I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.
I’m taking one star off (I’d take off only half a star if I could) because the maintenance was unresponsive (nothing major) in the first months when I moved there; however, staff has changed and they seem more responsive now.

We lived here back in ²⁰¹³⁄₂₀₁₄. After we moved out I never received a refund of my deposit of $ 200. I called about a month after we moved to confirm that they had our correct address and waited to recieve what I thought would be a small refund. Nothing ever came and I caulked it up to just another fee that life brings. I am a landlord so I scrubbed the apartment spotless and even shampooed the rug. I was shocked to get a call from a collections agency over a year later saying that I owed them $ 217. I am not broke. I always pay my bills. I NEVER recieved a bill, a phone call, an email, a FB message, a text, or even a tweet from these people. They made zero effort to contact me so I never knew that I owed them money. I only moved about 5 blocks away. Like the other reviews say they are the worst of the worst. Watch yourself. I went to there office in person and asked them to send me the final accounting document so I at least know what I paid for. They still haven’t sent it.

Don’t be fooled by the pretty pictures online!
You must be a mountain climber for all the stairs, very steep. 3^rd bedroom is through garage (if you can get to it once your car is in the compact garage) the room is isolated from the rest of condo, the only other access in case of an emergency to the outside is blocked by an oversize dresser. Management would not move us nor give a refund. I would never stay at another Stayalfred what a huge disappointment!

Love the staff and the complex is very well kept! Great location in Portland. If you want to live down town it would take a look at River Place Mint Urban!

It’s a pretty nice complex. The area is very nice and kid friendly. Have had no real problems. I just wish there were more bars, restaurants, shops, etc a bit closer, but I guess that’s on me for picking the area. The weekly happy hour is nice as well!!!

I love this place! The staff is very friendly and very helpful. The maintenance team works very hard to fix any resident issues. It’s a pretty quiet community. The gym is AMAZING! I go there in the mornings :) They are very pet friendly and the application process is smooth and effortless.

When I first moved in I loved the complex. Then, in 2012 they were bought by a new company who started renovating the units. We were kicked out of our unit, moved into a «renovated» unit that was filthy and incomplete, and lived through a construction zone. Due to the number of high vacant units, rent prices were driven down and this is now a full on dormitory with many new dogs with separation anxiety and general barking. The location is great but that is the only positive I can think of. Lack of insulation in units means that my unit fluctuates 20+ degrees in a day. Summer days means 90+ degrees inside.
The complex recently changed their name, but you can see more reviews through the beginning of 2014:

We love this place! We have a great view, parking and it is close to entertainment, restaurants and the street car! You are so close to all of the cool stuff in Downtown Portland and the Pearl. Also, they have a great workout facility and the maintenance crew is quick and efficient.

READ FIRST GUYS Dog removal and DNA testing. This is a 2^nd review and warning for potential people looking for a new home. The first review covers other items. I uploaded a pic of the first newsletter from the new manager as of March, 2014. I was picking up a package in the office and mentioned I felt the newsletter was extreme to me and a little offensive to office staff. They left with it, and a moment later, the manager stood over me and said, «So, I hear you have a problem with my newsletter.» It was very confrontational, and I stated «not a problem but an opinion.» To sum up a very strange and hostile person, she raised her voice at me and seemed intent to start an argument when I expressed it was not legal to remove a tenant’s dog as stated in a newsletter. I felt was written condescendingly throughout (you can evict a tenant… not take their pet). I calmly told the manager she was being rude, and she told me to «make a complaint then,» and quickly walked away while SMILING. I have to admit, I was amazed this was the manager or anyone with a job. I’m a down-​to-​earth person I’m told, and it takes a lot for me to decide to write a bad review like this. It is the second time I’ve witnessed it her sub-​par people skills. I’m in the process of talking with her manager (on vacation) to report what has happened. If you’re thinking of moving here, I had to share this. I’m new to Portland and love the people here… finally home. Don’t move here… it’s managed by a true «hater.» I will post a picture later of our front door overhang that has been hanging off the hinges for a month, dangerously. When someone moving out accidently hit it, she came by and first accused my husband and I on sight as we were walking home with our dog. When she realized we lived here, she did not apologize but promised «the hazard» would be fixed next morning. She was taking pictures while mumbling about how it was going to cost the previous tenant a lot. She even seemed happy about it, which I didn’t think about again until the interaction described above happened yesterday. The steel overhang continues to hang over our heads as we walk in and out. The manager is killing this already overpriced property. It is made to look like a nice high-​end place but is not kept up. I hope this helps someone make an informed decision… I wish we’d known more when we moved. Live and learn!

I waslooking to rent a town home from Mint Urban.
The application process was horrible. The management took upwards of 4 weeks to process a credit and background check. Ridiculous right?
We called in and checked every couple of days and their response was, «Sorry out system is down we will have it done tomorrow. «Well having it done tomorrow never happened. Staff was misleading and clearly were not very good at their jobs.
We rented an apartment somewhere else. I can’t even imagine how bad it is living there when it was so much hassle even processing an application. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone to say the least.