Copperline Apartments at Point Ruston

Bottom line, used to be a good place to live when the view of the water existed but shady and dishonest management and rising lease rates aren’t worth the experience. Renters beware.
PROS:
–Good location and views. Some good restaurants within walking distance along the waterfront. Only a upper floor apartments, with a few exceptions (7^th and 8^th floor) now have a view of the waterfront due to condos built along the north side (even though everyone was told the view would be unobscured unless you were on 4^th floor).
–Good community. This experience could be different for everyone but I met a great group of people there. We even have a facebook page where we organized events. Why did we organize events? Well, because the management of Copperline said they would once a month. That quickly petered out so we started doing it on our own. Can’t say enough about the good friends I made living there.
–Gym and restaurant is located on the property. When I first moved in, I was told they would be ready in months. The gym is up and running now after numerous false opening dates were given. The restaurant/​pub is great and a good place to meet for your fellow tenants and locals. The restaurant finally opened in late July/​early August of this year.
–Dayrooms. Great place for the community to gather. We’d all do this once a week and it was a lot of fun. We also got together for events such as the superbowl and community organized parties in these rooms. One caveat, the large dayroom once had a great view of the water. Now you stare into other people’s apartment/​condo windows.
Layout of the apartment. I really enjoyed the balconies attached to my place. I had one attached to the living room and one attached to the master bedroom. I liked all the new appliances and the stacked washer/​dryer combo. The kitchen storage space was a bit limited. No issues with closet space so no complaints there.
CONS:
–2 elevators. I took the stairs mostly because I lead a fairly active lifestyle and I liked that little bit of extra exercise. When I took the elevator, I was always prepared to wait minutes for it. If someone was moving and had the elevator locked, good luck. Wait times of 15 minutes aren’t out of the ordinary.
–Moving in and out was completely ridiculous. Moving trucks aren’t allowed in the garage so they have to park on the side of the building. That means you have to carry your stuff (in some cases) hundreds of feet to the elevator, go down to the garage, then hundreds of more feet to the outside of the building. Be prepared to pay for exorbitant moving costs because of this poor design.
–Shady/​dishonest manager. I got along fine with most of the staff (in fact, most were helpful and personable) but the manager was extremely shady and dishonest. This person constantly made false statements, acted shifty and would miss scheduled meetings (I personally scheduled two with him and he failed to show up). They will also try to charge you for carpet. Be forewarned. I wasn’t the first person this happened to but I am the first one fighting it, as far as I know. This carpet issue is still ongoing. I am working with the JBLM Housing Service Office, who is considering black listing the apartment pending APEX/Copperline’s actions and legal, who are both advising me to fight this. I am very fortunate to have them behind me. They are trying to stick it to me, probably assuming I wouldn’t fight it. But I am, if only for the principle of it.
–Security. There is a security guard. He’s a good enough guy but if he is security then I am the Easter Bunny. The garage gate was constantly broken and stuck open. Fortunately, I was friends with a lot of the other military/​government, law enforcement and all around good people who lived there so I am sure we all had each other’s backs.
–Parking. Parking for guest is atrocious now. If there is an event along the waterfront or at the pub, forget about it. Speaking of parking, you are charged $ 75 per month for one space in the garage. Who else is going to park in there? Where else are you going to park if parking outside isn’t ever available? That’s just silly.
–Thin walls and floors. I never had a problem with this. My neighbors and I were all respectful to each other. But, I spoke to plenty of friends during our events, or at the gym, or at the pub to know that they were constantly having issues with the lack of soundproofing.
–Standards. In talking with the community, there was always a different standard for everyone. Some people had to pay $ 50 for parking, some had to pay $ 75 (everyone pays $ 75 now). Some people were allowed to have grills, some weren’t (you can see grills out on the balconies… allowed or not?). Some people had to pay X amount for a room on Y floor and some had to pay a different price for the same place, on the same floor.