The Link Minneapolis — Attraction in Minneapolis

When we first started looking for places close to the U, the Link seemed like a good deal: we got a month of free rent, promised $250 giftcards per person who tours, it was on the lightrail, and it seemed to be in a quiet area. But after moving in, we noticed nothing but problems.

When we first moved in, our unit was disgusting. There were (and still are) glue stains on the floor, the windows were covered in paint, the deck felt like it was about to collapse, and cabinets were missing shelves and had large chips on the sides. Since August, these problems have gotten worse with our windows completely freezing over, the balcony windows slowly falling out, water damage in our closet, and honestly I could go on with how poorly the building quality and materials are. My girlfriend literally tapped one of the walls and it left a dent, and you can see the seams of the poorly constructed dry wall. The bathroom paint is streaking due to the bathroom not being properly ventilated. We are on the 6th floor, so you would assume the noise of outside and the lightrail would not be an issue, but it wakes us up every night/morning. There is absolutely no sound proofing.

The management and maintenance in the complex is also terrible. The management bribes you with gift cards and other perks, even though they have failed to supply these gift cards to many residents. They promised to give us a giftcard to every roommate, but when they finally had them supplied (about a month after moving in) they told us it was only one giftcard per room. We were lucky to even get two - most people didn't get any. My roommates and I have gone down to the office numerous times with the problems in our unit with the only response being a "we'll get to it," or a "put in a fix it." They fail to monitor the amenities. The study room computers and printer are always broken, the coffee machines are always broken or out of coffee, and the roof is unusable due to snow and animal urine/feces. The maintenance is mediocre. There was water damage in our closet from our upstairs neighbors washer, and they brushed it off after they fixed the leak. We now many multiple stains on our ceiling and wall in our closet. They also brushed off every other request that we put in and said "that's how the building was built." We have put many noise complaints for our upstairs neighbor, but nothing has been done about it. They're constantly stomping, partying, and playing loud music (which can be heard from the hallway and staircase). We constantly hear cracks and creaks in our ceiling because of their stomping and parties.

The outside of the complex is revolting. There are broken bottles and other liter surrounding the complex and nothing is shoveled or plowed! The stairs connecting the outside lot to the lightrail are dangerous due to how icy and snowy they've become. Currently, the hot tub has been in the outside parking lot for weeks with nothing being done to repair it, and because of this there have been support beams taking up space in the garage for going on three weeks. The hot tub is taking up some of the only handicap parking in the complex (if you have any physical disability, this place will not accommodate you). There's been a broken light fixture outside the lowrise since we've moved in, which management has done nothing about. The lowrise is always dirty, with the flooring starting to crack all over the place despite it being brand new. None of the hallways in the lowrise or tower are ever cleaned outside of the first and second tower floors, which makes the complex extremely dirty and smelly. The trash rooms always have trash bags and loose trash everywhere and management does not do anything to clean it or fix it. They also promised to give us compost bags (because compost is available here) but that never happened.

All of these things make me want to move out earlier than expected. I would recommend checking out other complexes or renting a...

Edit (9/9/2024): I finally received a phone call from the property manager today. They said that after reading my emails and reviewing the move-out impaction report, they've decided to refund me the $815 carpet replacement fee and that I'll receive it within 21 days. I'll update again if there's anything worth adding.

My experience with living at the Link was acceptable until I moved out on 8/9/2024 and was charged $815 for bedroom carpet replacement on 8/14/2024, and did not hear back from the leasing office after trying to contact them four times via email. Basically, I lived in a bedroom with an old carpet scheduled to be scrapped and replaced from the beginning of my lease (but the leasing office didn't actually take their responsibility to do it), took good care of it and did not cause any damage beyond normal wear and tear. Then when I move out they are charging me $815 to have the carpet replaced. Since I wasn't able to get in touch with them via email, I am in the process of filing a claim at the small claims court.

The charge was unreasonable because the bedroom carpet in the unit was scheduled to be scrapped and replaced shortly after I moved into the unit 2 years ago, at no cost to the tenant. They notified me of the date scheduled for carpet replacement a few days ahead of time, and I spent 1.5 hours vacating my bedroom as requested on that day and waited a whole day, but they did not replace the carpet as scheduled. In the afternoon they emailed me that the carpet replacement work might be rescheduled to a different date, and in that evening they sent another email saying that the carpet was not replaced and would not be scheduled for a future date. I spent another 1.5 hours putting everything back into my bedroom and didn't get anything done on that day because of the mess.

And this reminds me of another unacceptable experience when I transferred to a different unit at the Link. The leasing office notified us of a scheduled transferral date with a very definitive tone (even though they used the word "tentatively" - to avoid legal responsibilities, I guess). I packed up everything to get ready for the move, to avoid my belongings at the previous unit being treated as trash and thrown away by the maintenance (as they said in an email). However, on the scheduled transferral date when I went to the leasing office to pick up the keys, they said that the new unit was not yet ready and that they needed to reschedule the transferal for a future date. That was not an option for me because I had already packed up my things and put off other errands, and they did not notify us ahead of time (they only sent an email 15 minutes before the scheduled time for key pickup) regarding the change in transferal date. I was forced to sign an as-is agreement otherwise I wouldn't be able to transfer to the new unit until a few days later, even though the start date on my lease had already passed.

Overall the location is convenient, the facilities are above average for student apartments, but their untrustworthy and questionable way of doing business makes me afraid when I think back. I will not recommend anyone I know to live at the Link. If you are living at the Link, I would recommend taking lots of photos when you move out, requesting email communications (rather than just talking over the phone or in person) regarding important dates, unit condition and maintenance from the leasing office, and maybe recording your conversation with the leasing office staff in case you need these as evidence in a future...

Today around 7:08 pm, I overheard a conversation between a resident and a leasing agent whilst being on the first floor. The resident had been coming back from work and had left her key fob there.

One of the leasing agents was still in the office when she so kindly went up to him and asked if in anyway possible he could get her up the elevator and into her unit since we need key fobs for EVERY single building, unit, and amenity entrance (which is very annoying).

Before she even asked, he had coldly said "guys not now we're closed" and it came off very uninviting. As if his demeanor changed after being off the clock. Granted: I understand hard days and frustrations, but not even before she could speak it was quite rude and I think he should've heard her out first.

She still continued kindly, stating she realized the office was closed, but still wanted to know "how she could get in after close". I'm sure she knew she would need to call the after hours line, but she only asked that way because she felt nervous to straight up ask him to let her in. Him already being there probably had her thinking he'd be kind to do so. (I mean that's what anyone would think).

He told her to call the number line for after hours lock outs. She thanked him and walked away, keeping her composure whilst he stayed in the office.

As someone who has left their key fob inside their unit so many times, I felt bad for her. It's frustrating and can happen so easily and it mostly SUCKS because you'll have to pay $75 (which they raised the price from $50 to $75 just this past month) to be able to get into your unit after hours. We can not even get up the elevators without them!

And just the way he interacted wasn't at all helpful. It can be embarrassing for residents and we are aware it's annoying to ask them to let us in, but it's not our faults the key systems are built that way and it's out of our control we get charged; after hours. Who wouldn't want to avoid that charge? And even sometimes THEY DON'T PICK UP AFTER HOURS! No matter how much you call them, even being 8:30 pm, no one will pick up.

It's a difficult system because the person we call has a life of their own thus a sleep schedule of their own. Sometimes a resident will have to find a different place to stay (or sometimes the lobby...) until the office opens in the morning, to be let in for free.

I just recently had a great experience with two ladies who were in the office around 7:01 and helped me get in still. They told me sometimes agents will linger in the office after close and can still be at help. I appreciate them for having a good attitude and won't forget that. I couldn't help but compare the two and wish my fellow neighbor had a better experience...

I just think it would've been nice for him to help her out... he was literally right there and would be leaving right after anyways. Even if he wasn't allowed to, the response should've been better. Another resident and I had overheard, and agreed it was rude.

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Overall my rating reflects other opinions I've had on my time here and the price reasonability. I would say 7/10 in general.

Residents here are pretty chill and to themselves. If you are an American and aren't moving in with your own friends, good luck finding roommates who will befriend you since most of the students here are international Asian students who clique up and have different social cultures. Can't blame that...