Crestview Commons — Attraction in Austin

TLDR: Unfortunately you do not get what you pay for here - the value of what you pay for to live here (once all the discounts are gone the first year) is not worth what you back get in my opinion.

Pre pandemic I may have leaned more towards a 4. I was pretty much one of the first people to move into the complex almost 3 years ago now. I've lived in a variety of housing and this is overall a sub standard experience, the first 1.5 years were great, but the last year has been subpar for me. I'm writing this review at 4am because a a fire alarm has yet again been going off for over 20 min in the middle of the night and I work at 6am. Unfortunately it goes off so often at odd times that most of the building stays inside at this point which is unfortunate.

Pros: The location is great, the neighbors around me are fairly quiet, the hallways are generally clean aside from a few messy neighbors. The overall layout is also nice. The appliances are great and in unit laundry makes a world of difference. The staff respond quickly to emergent needs, though some messages have gone unread for me and the maintenance staff is really great. (My last request however has not been addressed for over a week which admittedly is atypical for them.). The general location aside from safety has been a pro - 10-15 min essentially most places in the city.

Cons: The staff is usually fairly nice but there have been a couple times in which I felt their responses were less than professional - they do always address it when I ask point it out. The street noise is insane facing Lamar - I have been woken up by sirens, construction, cars driving by fast so many times in the middle of the night, people talking loudly in the middle of the night. We've had fire alarms go off in the middle of the day/night many times, sometimes without notice and they have lasted for awhile. I work night shifts which makes everything that much more difficult. This even happened during the snow storm in freezing temperatures. Post pandemic we have very limited use of amenities if at all - but the prices for the complex do not reflect that at all and neither have they reached out to accommodate for that lack of use of amenities (limited gym capacity/masking to run, limited pool capacity, public space capacity, can't have visitors in public spaces) - all of which I think are great measures during a pandemic, but if we're not using the space like before I don't think we should still pay as much as we do. I think they are cleaning more which is reassuring. We've also had a few crimes occur in the complex which is a little unnerving and also a couple more serious ones near the complex including homicides (2 alone in the past month). There is limited parking in the garage and for you to get a decent spot you'll need a reserved spot which is additional money per month. The amount of construction that has been concentrated near our complex is extremely undesirable - initially it was the complex next door, but then there's people constantly messing with the telephone poles outside, and most recently significant construction right at the Lamar and St. John intersection. Although they may advertise parcel pending - there are not enough lockers to keep all packages secure there - at that point couriers place them outside of your door. I have had packages stolen - and though when I initially brought this up they tried to play it off as it probably wasn't, I had pictures to verify that it was delivered/stolen - nothing in general has been done to address this issue from what I see. I will just have to hope a friend is home and grab the package before I come home if I'm not there. I have had 2 friends/coworkers move in when my initial year and half here were good, but since then things have only gone downhill and both of those references are planning on moving out when their lease is up...

I have lived at Crestview Commons for around 18 months now, so I figured it was time to write a review.

Overall crestview commons is “as expected” for an apartment complex of this type. I have not been blown away by the experience, nor have I been severely disappointed.

Location: This is a pro and a con of the apartment. It is centrally located in north Austin, and a short walk from the metro rail that gets you directly to downtown. The crestview neighborhood behind the complex is very nice for walking/ running. One drawback is that the building sits on a section of north Lamar that can be a little bit rough.

Apartments: The layout and style of our apartment is what sold us on moving here. It is modern and bright with good quality appliances and nice looking finishes. We enjoy that we look out to the neighborhood which makes it feel less like we live in a giant apartment complex. While the fixtures and fittings are aesthetically pleasing, they are generally pretty low quality (think cardboard kitchen cabinets). The walls are extremely thin, so much so that you can hear your neighbors conversation even when they are speaking at a regular volume.

Parking: If you move here expect to buy a reserved parking space. While it is free to park in unreserved spots, it is very unlikely to regularly find a space on your floor. However, I have noticed this getting better recently as occupancy in the building drops. In the garage, people generally drive way too fast and carelessly.

Amenities: The pool and gym are nice, and there are a lot of common spaces. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to use these much in 2020 due to coronavirus. Management have sent mixed messages about these reopening which is a little frustrating- i understand this is likely the same problem every apartment complex is having at the moment.

Security: This is probably my biggest gripe with the complex. We have received messages about security incidents in the complex (people breaking glass doors in the middle of the night, cars being broken in to). I have also seen windows boarded up in the leasing office. While management usually notifies us of incidents, they don’t seem to do much to address it. There are no cameras in the parking garage or hallways, and secure entrance to building could be better.

Management: We had a great experience with Bethany when signing and renewing our lease, she has been friendly and extremely helpful throughout our stay. I have had a couple of minor issues with the management but generally they have been addressed.

Value: This is the category that my opinion has changed on recently. In our first year, this was a great value. The concessions we received brought the pricing right in line, if not cheaper, than comparable complexes. After renewing our lease in early 2020, two things happened that made the pricing make less sense to us. 1) The rental market in Austin has tanked. If we were resigning our lease now it would be significantly less than the contract we are locked in to. Also there are now many better options available in the area for less than we are paying. 2) All of the amenities are closed, yet we are still paying for them.

UPDATE: A new issue that has routinely popped up is the malfunctioning fire alarm system in the complex. Over the last 6-8 months we have had at least 4 incidents where the fire alarm went off periodically throughout the day. On one other occasion, it went off at 3 in the morning and continued for at least 30 minutes. The building staff hasn’t done well with communicating during or after these incidents. I should also mention that the alarm is extremely loud, and once it goes off once, it will certainly go off multiple more times that day which forces you to just anxiously wait for the siren in the apartment to erupt. Not ideal when...

I've been living at Crestview Commons for a little under a year and it continues to meet and exceed my expectations. First and foremost, the management team is responsive, friendly, and accommodating. Your requests do NOT fall on deaf ears here, unlike many complexes in Austin. I've had both standard/everyday maintenance requests within my apartment to building design flaws with rain drain pipes (that initially produced an unreasonable amount of noise for sleeping but no longer do) that have ALL been addressed with fixes/solutions. I'm extremely grateful for the genuine care the management team has to right anything that's wrong. They're also fun, positive and personable. They put time and energy into hosting different types of events to build community and relationships, which are some additional perks to living here and that make it such a warm and enjoyable place to live. :) Management aside, the amenities are fabulous. Your journey starts (and/or ends) with a Starbucks Tazo tea, coffee, cappuccino or flavored latte from the self serve coffee machine and tea counter that's accessible (and free) during leasing office hours. After work, you'll need to move your body that's been sitting all day and get your workout on. The gym alone was a huge selling point for me because I've never seen an apartment facility with so much "hiit" style training equipment. PRO TIP: Save your money on a gym membership and subscribe to a cheaper online program if you need programming. Standard dumbbells and weight/cardio machines...check. Now the "wow factor"....there's a Smith's machine, Landmine setup, box jump equipment, KB's, an agility ladder, a C2 concept rower (sold yet?), battle ropes (yes, ropes), TRX trainers (!!!) large med balls (dynamax style), Lebert Fitness bars, on-site (free) yoga classes to stretch it all out and keep your mobility top notch....it's a dream for any fitness enthusiast and validates your monthly rent when you think about how much you'll spend (or save in this case) on an annual gym membership (cha-ching!). The remaining amenities include the rooftop lounge with DT views and drink/food accommodations for entertaining; the infinity pool that's party and relaxation ready with grills and a fire pit; the pool lounge equipped with a kitchen, tvs and pool table; and an indoor lounge with shuffleboard and mini kitchen setup. Finally, the location is pretty dreamy. Within a mile, you're walking distance to a chili parlor bar called Long Play, black star co-op, a fantastic skincare spa for the ladies (give Skin by Kayleigh some love), a mini-market, a gaming bar/restaurant (Vigilante), Fat Cat's for tea and coffee, Little Deli pizza, tacos, bbq, an entire Asian shopping center across the street with restaurants and a Korean skincare shop, karaoke for the closet singers, etc. Brentwood Park is just under a mile away with volleyball and tennis courts. The train and the rapid bus are a short walk away for weekend festivities (go green and take public transport!), and ride share options are really affordable for going out DT. There's also a nice sized dog park for your furry friend or for you to pet/instagram everyone else's furry friends (make sure you @crestviewcommons). I hope this helps in your apartment searching journey. If you liked my feedback, spread the love and give my name a shout to the girls at the office. Hope to...