Yugo Columbia District Flats — Attraction in Columbia Township

I need to edit this with my current problems with District Flats, I am including my previous review at the bottom.

I had avoided writing a review to try to remedy my situation with them. But in summary, unless you want to develop a chronic illness because of unsanitary and unsafe conditions in the apartment, do not live here. If you have any disability, this place is NOT accommodating, and will harass you if you ask for assistance resolving issues.

I started off my first year here in general happiness. I had provided medical documentation regarding my pre-existing health problems, such as asthma. The original management was amazing about working with me, and would check on me if they did not see me for a while. I renewed before I knew that this management was not going to exist any longer.

With the new management, things became progressively worse. They began to no longer clean messes in the public, common areas. They left feces, vomit, urine, and other substances I could not identify in the hallways, stairwells and community areas. It would take persistent reporting, and even calls to the health department, to have them clean the spot reported. It took them nearly a year to try to clean the carpets in the stairwell, which has no ventilation. The new management decided to steam clean the carpets, which ended up releasing ammonia into sealed hallways. This made my asthma ten times worse, and it hit points where I could not breathe properly, I was using my inhaler constantly, I could not sleep from coughing. When I reported it, and asked them to cease steam cleaning their carpets and find other ways to clean, as well as provide a hallway air filtration system to try to prevent the ammonia from entering into apartments, they laughed at my request.

Because of my health problems, largely made much worse by living at District Flats (and I have medical documentation indicating so), I had to move back home. They told me I could be released from my re-signing if I provided medical documentation, which I did. They refused to acknowledge this, and now continue to harass me and threaten me. The health inspector spoke with them regarding releasing me from the lease of this year, and they agreed to him that it would be best, and then later denied making such an arrangement with him.

I suspect they are so adamant about harassing and threatening me to pay rent for this year (despite me being 1,000 miles away and suffering from medical conditions because of them) because their complex is not full. They could not rent because their reputation has become so foul, largely because of situations like this. Please, please, please, parents, do not let your children rent here. It has been, by far, the worst mistake I have ever made in my life. I used to have a very difficult time with the new management, partially because of their misinterpretation of the Fair Housing Act. Once we sat down, repeatedly, both the manager and staff became far less hostile, and were even able to work with me. I would advise anyone with a disability to make sure they know their rights as well as the full Fair Housing Act. Once you make it clear you understand your rights, and their rights, things get a lot easier. In the past few weeks, management has been a great deal better.

Half of the amenities are non-functional. The doors don't work half of the time (keys won't access things, doors with handicap won't actually work, garage door openers won't open the garage door, etc.). Half of the amenities you cannot use unless the staff is present and working (about a third of the time). I know many of these features are supposed to be fixed in the near future with the addition of more cameras to catch the residents who are actively destroying property. It seems like every day there is a new hole in the wall for...

I just love paying $1600/mo to live in a facility where, upon immediately walking out of my apartment, I'm greeted with the stench/sight of trash and human detritus left by the obnoxiously loud, careless, drunken children of rich far-removed parents from the previous night. I have amassed a large photo album brimming with pictures of what I see in this building on a daily basis; it's how I say good morning to my family. Crushed beer cans and broken glass bottles, spoiled food that's become embedded in the carpet at the molecular level, a condom with a story to tell, or perhaps a lovely chewing tobacco-laden loogie in the elevator...they all constitute just a few of the great things you'll see upon moving into your new luxury District Flats apartment! But wait, there's more! If you sign a lease today, you just might have the privilege of being woken up at 2 AM the night before a big exam by an ear-splitting cacophony due to some intoxicated hoodlum pulling the fire alarm. Speaking of felonies, you might also enjoy any one of the vandalized exit signs in the hallways. Of course, the massive revenue generated by the residents of this festering dung heap simply isn't enough to warrant the installation of cameras that could easily deter such activities--let's not get cocky. No, you should be content with the unsightly removal of your $200 room number plaque because no place is perfect. Welcome home--we are tickled pink to have you here at the District Flats!

In all seriousness, the above excerpt (while humorously written) is in fact a fair, honest, legitimate, and accurate assessment (that is be no means exhaustive) of life at the District Flats. It is a glorified over-priced frat house, and my purpose for writing this review is to inform any prospective shopper of what exactly they can expect should they choose to live here. Perhaps more importantly, I would like to spare anyone of the incredibly expensive, stressful, and emotionally draining experience that I had as a well-meaning tenant. You will be charged for absolutely everything. A one-bedroom unit with parking does come very close to $1600--that is not an exaggeration--and that figure does not include your electric bill, for which you will also be responsible. There will be no effort made to accommodate your specific living situation, be it financial or otherwise. You will be viewed as a transaction and a signature on a legally-binding document by a faceless corporation. Your neighbors will not take personal responsibility for their behavior/conduct or their pets or their cleanliness (or lack thereof). Their dirt will be your problem in the common areas. The kids have punched many holes in the paper-thin walls. I have walked out of my room to find drunk people sleeping in front the doorway. The halls, stairwells and walkways have a certain smell to them that, as a microbiologist, I find disturbing. (It is very possible to contract viral infections from human vomit as they are easily aerosolized and relatively stable in the environment--a tip worth knowing if you live here.) The District Flats has been under new management since December of 2016, and in all that time nothing has changed in terms of how the community addresses problems. There are very few security cameras in the building. There is only one community push-cart that can be reserved on a first-come first-serve basis (and forgotten about at the expense of all other prospective users). The building is alive and shaking with noise almost all the time. The writer of this review is publishing it anonymously for fear of retaliation or being contacted by management, which has happened to other individuals that have posted less-than-perfect assessments of the...

Don't live here. Starting on the first floor: The call box is broken, so if you have a friend that lives there you can't just call them from the door to unlock it. They have to come down to get you. The 24 hour emergency line doesn't work either so if there's a maintenance issue you'll either have to wait, or be completely ignored by management. Speaking of management: I had an issue on my bill and was told to not pay until the office sorted it out. The office never sorted it out and I was given an eviction notice and told by the office that they'll handle issues after I pay. Elevators: Slow, rickety, have never been cleaned so they're stained with liquor, beer, puke, and more. The floors/halls themselves are never cleaned either so they're stained with food, trash, puke, and even dog pee. Doors themselves are even missing numbers. Rooms: The doors end about two inches above the floor and the walls are paper thin, so noise is a constant issue. There's also no hot water in the showers as the same water heater is used by every apartment, and the shower rod that comes installed is at an awkward height, so regular curtains don't fit. Kitchen: Our sink broke several times, the power went out, there's not enough light in the apartment since it all comes from above the fridge, and our dishwasher leaked. If you get stuck in a corner room then you pay and extra $30/month to have zero insulation, so you'll always know what the weather is outside. The air conditioning won't help either. Plus, if it rains then you'll know because the water will get inside your apartment and bathroom. Along with not having a pool, the "Cyber Lounge" is always out of paper or ink, people reserve the study room and don't show up, and the movie theater has been broken for about 7 months. District Flats is also great at losing mail, considering the fact that I received a piece of mail 5 months after it was postmarked. Even for $600/month this place isn't worth it, so put your time and money elsewhere. I'd rather pay $1,000/month to live somewhere else than resign at District Flats. Also, parking is an extra $140/month. As long as you make it off...