Signature 1909 — Local services in Austin

So I’ve been living in aspen for around a month now and I cannot say it’s been a good experience. My roommates and my problems seem not to be affecting the majority of people we talk to, but the building doesn’t seem to care. They only have one guy on maintenance, he’s nice but overworked, front desk said he was missing last time we talked to them about an issue (because maintenance portal is down this week for....reasons?). Anyways our water won’t actually get hot, ever. The water heater just turns off, but even after we turn it back on it doesn’t work. Our dryer doesn’t dry clothes and they replaced it...with another one that doesn’t work. Our dishwasher doesn’t work, we’ve put in a request when we first moved in and no word yet. Washer didn’t work, but they fixed that in a timely manner. The trash chute never really seems to be working as it relies on all 17 floors not leaving it open, because if anyone does it simply won’t work. The front desk usually doesn’t stay the full time stated. The parking garage doesn’t have turning mirrors and the parking situation seems unorganized at best. There was no printer last time we asked, about a week ago, which was one of the amenities offered. My roommate’s package was delivered, then lost, and she was told that happens a lot by the front desk. They honestly didn’t seem prepared to open, but time has passed enough that I feel such problems should have been addressed already. The building looks nice, the amenities I have used were well kept, and the community is friendly in general. I hope that our issues get addressed and I can remove this review soon. UPDATE: Though most of the issues above have been handled many new ones have arose. My roommate was parked in her assigned spot in the garage and was towed, though the building paid the costs it’s still a big inconvenience to drive out to the tow company and get the car back. The parking garage has gotten mirrors which is great but it’s extremely narrow and still not very safe. Another roommate of mine had her car broken into while parked there, but the building was not concerned. The security is a joke. I haven’t seen a security guard in months, which is somewhat problematic because there have been times that people who do not live in the building will wander in. For example a middle aged man who was lost, not wearing shoes, and very confused approached me late at night recently and said he was just trying to find someone who works there to help him. During the day there’s been multiple times where homeless people have entered the lobby while I was down there. The desk doesn’t say anything to them in the cases that I’ve seen. It’s not a big deal, though I will say I didn’t love when a man came in and began yelling at me to water the fake plants in the lobby. I don’t know if anyone was at the desk at the time. Basically anyone can enter the building whenever. I won’t get into details on here but it’s ridiculously easy for someone to enter the building (not just the lobby but actually go up to different floors) or the parking garage without a key or any help. Everything here is done just for show. From the events they boast about, which are scheduled at obscure times to decrease turn out and often only have enough supplies/food for a handful of people, to the many promises you’ll hear about before you sign that turn out to be disappointing or just simply not true. The apartment itself isn’t bad, but not worth the money. I wouldn’t even take issue with quite a bit of the stuff that’s gone down if it wasn’t for the way they present themselves as so luxurious and safe. There’s more I could go into but this review was already long before I added...

Extremely Disappointed with Signature Apartments I regret to say that my experience living at Signature Apartments has been nothing short of disappointing. I feel compelled to share my grievances in the hope that others may avoid the same issues I encountered during my time there. First and foremost, our move-in day was an absolute nightmare. Upon arrival, we were greeted with an apartment that was far from the "clean, empty" space we were promised. Instead, we were welcomed by a mess left behind by the previous residents, including garbage strewn about, filthy walls with noticeable divots, and dust lurking in every air vent. To make matters worse, we were forced to hire a cleaning service at our own expense just to make the apartment habitable. This was an immediate breach of our contract and a clear indication of a lack of responsibility on the part of Signature Apartments. Our problems didn't end there. For over a month and a half, we had to deal with a malfunctioning fridge that froze all our groceries. The ordeal involved numerous back-and-forths with management, particularly Candice Stricklin. At first, they absurdly suggested that we were storing our items incorrectly. However, it's common knowledge that regardless of how one arranges their groceries, they should not turn into frozen blocks. We followed their advice and adjusted the settings accordingly, but the issue persisted. After much insistence, they finally replaced the fridge with a so-called "new" one, which inexplicably lacked an ice machine and was handed over to us in a filthy state. This was particularly frustrating as we, being college students on tight budgets, had spent a significant amount on groceries that had gone to waste due to the initial faulty appliance. Furthermore, the apartment itself left much to be desired. It lacked natural light, giving it a dark and claustrophobic feel. Out of the four bedrooms, only two had windows. I was unlucky enough to have a room with a view of the Torre parking garage in the alleyway, which meant keeping the blinds drawn at all times to avoid the unsightly view. As if these issues weren't enough, the general condition of the apartment building left much to be desired. The trash chute was consistently overflowing, resulting in a persistent stench of garbage throughout the building. The rent, which is already exorbitant for what is offered, is further compounded by a $145 monthly parking fee. To add insult to injury, the mandatory use of SimpleBills, a third-party utility payment service, felt like a total scam. I would strongly advise against considering Signature Apartments as your place of residence. The numerous issues I've encountered, from the unclean move-in conditions to the inadequate appliances and overall lackluster living environment, make it clear that this establishment falls far short of its promises and fails to provide the value one would expect for the price. Save yourself the frustration and look elsewhere for a more suitable place...

Please don’t live here. The expensive nature of this apartment is not worth the poor management and the building’s inferior design.

To begin, the apartment has a “secure” bike room that is accessible from the outside. The “secure” door was faulty, and I notified the front desk of this twice. Given that my bedroom was 80 sqft, I was forced to leave my bike in the bike room anyways. Fast forward a few weeks, someone breaks into the bike room (because of the faulty door I notified the front desk about twice) and manages to steal over a dozen bikes (including mine) even though the apartment has “security.” When I communicated that I was upset to the manager, she was condescending and anything but understanding. “You didn’t tell us!” “The door was fine!” Ok, how’d they steal a dozen bikes, then? To be fair, corporate ended up buying me a new bike, but I promise you the management of my apartment had nothing to do with that reimbursement.

Second, the apartment was built very poorly. The walls are paper thin so you can hear EVERYTHING. When I say everything, I mean it. I woke up to construction @6am every morning (even though I was on the 15th floor), and I went to bed hearing either my roommates or neighbors having conversations clear as day. In addition, the multi-floor parking garage flooded. Granted, this flood was not man-made (it rained all night), but this is a clear example of the apartment’s poor design. Many, many cars were half-consumed by the rain water. When I say half-consumed, I mean that the water was well above the cars’ tires.

Finally, I must draw attention to the type of people this apartment employs. My next door neighbor tweeted that she woke up in the middle of the night to the apartment’s security guard watching her sleep. I cannot 100% confirm or deny this, but the claim was made, nonetheless. From what I know, this security guard no longer works at this apartment, but it is obviously still relevant.

Overall, I lived at Crest at Pearl for two years, and I absolutely loved it. Slightly cheaper for significantly larger rooms and better management/design. In general, I would avoid the high rises in West Campus as I have heard similar horror stories about...