Apartments For You

This is my third year here at the Gallery Apartments on Washington boulevard. Very cool place to live. Very diverse. Location is awesome, close to the CWE, downtown, and Forest Park. I only have one issue. The security cameras. Not sure why i have been targeted three times of someone stealing my property here. First, it was my bike. I accidentally left it ouside my apartment door. Mind you, there is an outer door, that is only accessible with an entry code. I woke the next day, to find my bike gone. I immediately contacted the leasing office to tell them what happened. They said someone would be in to check the security cameras. I had to call several times before, they eventually told they didn’t see anything on security footage. ??? There’s like 150 cameras around here! Not one camera picked up anything? To make some sort of amends they offered me one of the old rusted bikes in the storage area that people had left over the years. I was so desperate to have a bike to ride to work i looked at them. They belonged in a bike graveyard. I was then offered 50 bucks off my rent. I accepted. That bike meant alot to me. I’ve ordered quite a few things from Amazon over the several years ive been here. Unfortunately for me i work the same hours as the leasing office is open, which makes it impossible for me to get my packages myself. The packages are usually left with the leasing office. Sometimes it’s a challenge getting ahold of the staff to get my packages. Either no one answers the phone or when i can get the office, no one is there. Sometimes they are here on Saturdays, but i seem to have bad luck in catching them. When i can final catch, they offer to put my packages in my apartment for me. But if the package is delivered and no one is in the office the USPS just dropped the packages outside the leasing office. Basically anyone with acces to the building can pick up the packages. But wait, there are cameras in the area right? So how did one of my packages walk away. They said they couldn’t see anything on the camera. Wow. Really? And in my latest missing package, the office left my two packages in a designated area, of which i did not ask. One of the packages was there, but the other, and more valuable one was not. I notified the office and they said they would review the security footage and get back with me. They did and low and below, there was an issue with the security cameras yet again, so who knows who walked off with my package. I don’t feel secure anymore and i won’t be ordering anymore packages.

Is this a perfect place to live? It is pretty darn close. I spent 3 years at this place in a small apartment. I moved out because of space and I’ve been regretting it ever since. I really miss this place. It is a gorgeous building that is all updated and new. Or at least it was 2 years ago :) still relatively new. I had nothing but pleasant experiences with the staff. Yes it was small, yes they had parking problems and I’m sure cars got broken into (mine didn’t but I was in the secure-​ish lot) but overall it was a fantastic value and if I didn’t want a 2 bedroom I would still be there!

Caveat emptor: An updated fair & honest review from an ex tenant:
This place used to be a great place to live. However, like some other tenants on some other review sites, I experienced 2-​faced people with management. I caught them in several lies (they’d tell me one story, and later tell me the exact opposite). Example: they initially told me that a neighbor admitted to damaging my property, but later said he denied it. Why the sudden flip? This lying by management was actually a pattern I began to notice during my 2 years of living there. The Whittier units are next to a house with a dog that barks CONTINUALLY, making it so I can’t sleep in my own apartment. I work at night and don’t enjoy being awoken at 6 AM. I also suspect management framed me for one or more of the reasons they asked to not renew my lease.
I moved out over a month ago and have yet to see my deposit check. I was told over 2 weeks ago it was going out the next day (another lie, I suspect). I would pay several months’ rent at once to avoid their $ 10 credit card fee they added. Of my $ 300 deposit (not including non-​refundable pet deposit), they say I am due $ 135, which I have yet to see in the mail. They subtracted $ 90 from my deposit for parking that they forgot to bill me, and they tried to charge me extra (beyond the $ 75 they subtract out of everyone’s deposit for carpet cleaning). My unit was dirty when I moved in despite being a «new» unit, and there were carpet stains & construction mess EVERYWHERE. I was fortunate enough to have made a note of this on my move-​in sheet, so they couldn’t charge me. Update: they returned my «courtesy call» today and stated that they’re not legally obligated until 30 days and that it’s ready to be mailed out. Still, no apology for the delay or explanation why they told me it would be in the mail over 2 weeks ago.
The pictures they show on their website are nice, but they do not maintain the grounds. They let many plants die, there are more weeds than grass (often overgrown), and it takes multiple tenants complaining about the green water in the fountain for them to do anything. Jennie is very rude and has lied to me repeatedly. I suspect they think that telling what they consider to be «white lies» to get tenants complaining about an issue to be quiet is okay. Example: the catch basin for the A/​C water drain wasn’t draining. They initially told me not to worry about it, that it’s normal and that there was no drain in it for legal reasons. This made no sense to me, and is in fact UNTRUE. When the water started growing mold, I told them it was a safety issue for my cat (she could drink the water & get sick). Only then did they agree to fix it. Only excuses I can think of: LAZINESS and SHADY practices.
Also, there’s a trash can for dog waste located in front of the back door that smells like hot feces because they don’t empty it for months at a time. It attracts flies that get into the building and apartments. They won’t move it farther from the door (despite complaints from tenants). My girlfriend would gag from the smell during the hot summer months. They get to maintenance issues on their own schedule. One maintenance issue (wiring) remained unfixed for a year, and they only did a temporary fix that ended up damaging the wall plate (which I replaced out of my own money so I could get my deposit back, which I still haven’t seen). Like other tenants, I also saw several insects (including some that seriously scared my girlfriend), but I happened to be more amused watching my cat kill them.
Also, when I moved in, I was told the neighbors are homeowners & the cameras deter crime, but despite what they say, this isn’t really the CWE. There ARE car break-​ins and bike thefts (even in the secured lots). Just another one of many lies they tell to their tenants to convince them this rip-​off is a good place to live.
For $ 300 less than I was paying at the Gallery, I found a new unit with over 2x the space of my previous unit… AND a garage… AND a basement for storage. Seriously, this place used to be awesome, but has gone to the DOGS with the noise problems, raising rent/​fees, and mistreating tenants.