Aria Apartments — Attraction in Redmond

Editing my rating due to my overwhelmingly positive experience with Yulissa, who has replaced the previous manager I named. My issues with my fridge have continued, so she has ordered me a brand new fridge and provided compensation for the food I lost. Thank you!

Leaving at four stars because the rent hikes are still too high in my opinion.

Original review:

Thrive management has absolutely gutted what once was a beautiful, luxury property.

When I first moved in under Blanton-Turner, Dynasty was the property manager. He was amazing, he hosted monthly events for residents, addressed issues with empathy and common sense, and responded promptly to any concerns that arose.

There are still many positives to living at this property - the proximity to so many amenities like parks, grocery stores, and restaurants. The big windows are beautiful and the aesthetic of the building is nice.

However, Thrive management, and the manager of the office, Matthew Wilson, leave much to be desired. This was brought to light when I submitted a maintenance request regarding my fridge. The actual maintenance team is amazing and helpful, though they are obviously overworked. I don’t understand why they cannot hire more employees. One person carried my fridge in and out of my apartment. That is a two person job, he shouldn’t have been placed in that position.

Due to the issues with my fridge, I had to throw away all of my fridge and freezer items. The fridge that they gave me while my fridge was being worked on was missing shelves and drawers, had food stains, and most notably, MOLD. See attached photos. Despite these issues, management has absolutely refused any kind of compensation or resolution besides telling me to submit a claim with rental insurance and apologizing for introducing mold into my living space. I am immunocompromised so this was extra hazardous.

On top of this issue, there are the greedy rent hikes that were never so high under Blanton Turner — this year I was served a whopping 27% increase. With all that money, you’d think they’d be able to provide an actual luxury experience, as they claim to. Blanton Turner was able to provide a much higher level of service without price gouging their residents. Thrive...

UPDATE: so the property manager responded saying they want a "chance to make things better". Well how about caring about the existing residents concerns, instead of increasing the rent by almost $300 upon renewal!! Spoke to a few others I know in this building and they are facing similar issues of more than 10% rent increases upon renewal. The irony is that these same apartment are leased to new residents around $2500, but renewing residents have to pay $2800. Shameful.

I have been with Aria for a year now now and had a really great experience with the property manager Chase Baucom (I took the apartment after talking to him, but sadly, he left by the time I moved in). After that, the management Thrive Communities has just been sub par. It has been an unbelievable hassle to take my car out due to the stackers not working. My packages have gone missing from a locked package room twice now. The noise is unbearable. You can literally hear loud thumping footsteps of people moving, jumping, dragging stuff from the apartments over you. The ceiling is pounding at all hours giving us a splitting headache. The management has nothing to offer except variations of "We're sorry, there is nothing much we can do".

And finally, the worst part, the rent. My lease is up for renewing soon and I have received a $250 hike in rent!!! Clearly, they don't want people to live here for more than a year, if this is how they treat people trying to renew their lease. Giving 1 star only for the location. Close proximity to restaurants, bus stop, Redmond town center and grocery stores. And boy do they take full advantage of this to absolutely fleece their residents for sub-par service.

Please, please, DO NOT MOVE IN here. You will have to move out after 1...

I have waited a bit since moving in to Aria to post a review. We moved in, literally, just as Thrive moved into manage Aria. I did an exhaustive search for somewhere to live, and Aria was at the top of the list: proximity to the beautiful park across the street and walkability were the major selling points. But we were apartment-hunting from across the country, so until we got here we weren't completely sure what to expect. And every apartment complex has reviews that range from horrible to amazing. So at some point, you just sign a lease and hope for the best.

After being here for a few months now, here is what I can tell anyone that cares to know: a rental building is only as good as its staff and management. That isn't to say that Aria isn't a great building; it is. There will always be things that break; there will always be community-property items that go missing...because people break things and people misplace things. I have worked in hospitality in the past and I can attest to that first-hand. The important thing is what happens when management becomes aware of the missing or broken things.

I'm sure people all have their own experiences, and they are different than mine. But having had a move-in issue with our moving company and Aria property, I can tell you that I was very impressed and grateful for how management (Chase!) handled the situation, keeping us informed but not concerned. And yes, we have had some maintenance issues (try being a homeowner for a while and deal with those maintenance issues.....). But the maintenance staff here (Bob and Ashanti) are wonderful. Their response time is excellent and they will work with your schedule.

We have been very pleased with our decision to lease at Aria. Aria is nice; the management and staff...