I've lived in the Westville Village Apartments for several years. In comparison to most apartments in the New Haven area, rent is more affordable and Westville is an amazing community with nearby parks, incredible cafes, and easy access to downtown and other neighborhoods. However, the current management team has not done an adequate job in many regards and the complex has become somewhat unkempt and unsafe. I will likely be vacating my apartment later this year when my current lease ends.
...Specific issues as follows:
1. Maintenance issues take weeks to months to get resolved (if ever), and this comes from a tenant who's only asked for a handful of requests over a period of several years. It used to be much better when I first moved in, but that management team left. Since then, it has been pretty terrible, and the recent staff has largely been inattentive.
2. There are items of garbage all over the outdoor spaces. It also takes weeks to months for them to be cleaned. I will acknowledge that some of the issues are due to some tenants being disrespectful and not cleaning up after themselves. However, the management has also contributed to this attitude of carelessness. For instance, trash bins overflow and do not get cleared and therefore some people toss their trash on the floor.
3. There are major safety concerns. The complex is "gated", but one of the gates has been broken for years and remains open at all times. There are also large holes in the gates that have not been repaired. Theft has become common. The most significant issues include theft of car tires (occurred roughly a couple of years ago) and theft of cars (just happened). Many residents (including me) have had theft impact them on a smaller scale such stolen packages. They have had a security officer on and off, but I personally haven't found this helpful.
I think this complex was great when I first moved in (4 stars). But given current lapses, I would rate this complex as just okay (2 stars) with the main positive aspects just being the convenience of its location. With better management, I think it has the potential to improve, but I've waited long enough without much change.
Max of 2.