I do recommend the Grove because as college apartments go, it’s not terrible. Having your own bathroom attached is nice and the ample floorspace in common areas makes the apartments very homey. Some level of wear and tear is expected, and it’s not going to be perfect. You get what you pay for. That said, there is a huge disconnect somewhere in management. There’s a serious problem somewhere, and I’m not sure if its understaffing, inexperience, or just not focusing on the needs of the residents.
...Here’s why I give two stars:
- Packages. It can take days to receive your delivered. They need to have people devoted to logging packages, not the already overworked front desk staff.
- Dumpsters. Overflowing weekly and they don’t order enough for move in/out. The dumpster area is constantly covered in garbage and furniture. They just don’t care.
- Maintenance. The maintenance staff is overworked. They do excellent work, but getting anything done takes weeks because they are too busy working on pointless “upgrades” mandated by Yugo.
- “Energy Upgrades”. Yugo corporate continues to make “energy upgrades”. They’re severely limiting the amount of water we can use, causing the residents to suffer greatly to lower their water bill. They need to focus on upgrading the buildings.
- Buildings. The stairs are literally crumbling. No one cleans the grounds so there are fire hazards, code violations, crumbling buildings and stairs everywhere.
- Internet. I’m sure they’re cheap, but Pavlov Media is horrible. No smart devices work, adding any device to the network takes hours, and if anything goes wrong, their nearest office is in Phoenix. Phone support is useless and getting anyone up here to fix anything takes days. They need to switch to Executech who has tons of experience with all the Bella properties or find another local MSP. Pavlov is too far.
- Office Hours. It’s clear they have staffing problems in the office. The office will randomly close early or open late. Chances are, they’re open for the one hour you’re not home.
- Snow removal. Snow removal in the parking lots is a joke. Sidewalks are great, but unless you have 4wd, you’re not leaving the parking lot.
It’s not a bad place to live. I’ve found it almost perfect for my needs. If management would get their act together (whether it’s corporate or on site), this would be a 10 star review. Be prepared to deal with the utter BS and add a few extra days to any delivery time and you’ll be happy here.
Max of 2. Cat.