The Richmond at Uptown — Local services in Houston

I’m a current resident at Avenue R. Recently, a resident hit my parked car in the parking garage. They didn’t leave a note or any indication of who they were. After I filed a police report, I contacted management and was told the property does not have cameras in the parking garage, only at the entrances and exits. I was also informed that the courtesy officer had the information of the woman who did it, but they wouldn’t share any information with me. It was implied that they’d like to stay neutral since it was an issue amongst two residents. After giving me the run around for weeks, management continued to suggest that I use my insurance for repairs. I was told that they were working with the police and that I should be patient for the police report. I did that, and upon taking time off from work to pay for the police report, the only information that was listed was my own. I still don’t know who hit my car and this is over a month later. No one from the office or management team ever contacted me to express any concern. I sat down with the manager, Ashley, and she didn’t offer anything beneficial. She shared a personal story of being in a car accident and how much of a headache it was. Which isn’t even close to experiencing a hit and run of my parked car at the place where I once considered home. I also spoke with the Regional Manager, Margie, and all she could do was also offer a personal story of being in a car accident. Since they weren’t being helpful, I attempted to post to the community forum asking if anyone saw or heard anything and also informing my neighbors of my experience with the management team and my post was denied by management. After inquiring why it was denied, because they didn’t bother to inform me, I was told that they like to be private and the forum was for people to find workout buddies and not for complaints. So I took it a step further and posted my note on every apartment door in the building.

I received quite a bit of feedback and support from other residents before management removed the letters. One resident expressed that someone kicked a dent into her car door. Management advised her to file a police report and did nothing further. Another resident’s car was broken into and he had a bunch of things stolen, management did nothing. Another resident expressed that her car had been broken into three times and she’s complained incessantly and management has done nothing. Her exact words were “management is a joke”. She also tried to post to the forum and management blocked it. Many residents responded saying they agree that management is lackluster when it comes to dealing with real issues and concerns and they were happy I put the notices on their doors. There have been various break in’s and criminal activity on this property. Please beware!

This place prides itself on being a luxury apartment home and it’s a facade. If you’re considering living here, take it from someone who currently lives here and think again. I’m impatiently awaiting my release date, the end of my lease this summer. If you’re truly looking for luxury, personal safety, as well as the security of your property, seek elsewhere.

Pros: Remote access to your apartment provides a layer of security, so random people can’t get in unless someone lets them in. Food trucks come by the community on occasion. Nice amenities.

Cons: No cameras throughout the garage. Hallways and breezeways smell terrible majority of the time. Pet urine and feces throughout the community including inside the hallways and breezeways. Reckless drivers in the garage. There are no speed limit signs posted and the speed bumps are a joke, so people speed through. Lack of accountability from management for break-in’s, damages to personal property, and concerns for safety. One courtesy officer who works evenings. Paper thin walls, so you can hear just about everything your...

Update: since new ownership this place has done a 180. The staff is friendly and informative, they answer the phone and hold little events that are always nice. Package lockers have been upgraded to hold more items. Much happier here than I was the past 2 years.

I have lived at Avenue R for a few years now and it has had its ups and downs. The staff here has been a revolving door which has made things tough as there is no consistency and no one is here long enough to get anything done.

Building and Amenities - The amenities are nice but randomly closed pretty frequently. The pool is probably the best feature and the gym has a good amount of equipment. Dog park is nice but people don't clean after their dogs. They added shelves to the package room and now you need access using your FOB to get in, this is due to the amount of packages being stolen, which was a lot. Hand sanitizer dispensers are rarely filled.

Parking garage- Unfortunately I have nothing nice to say about this other than its covered. The garage is tight, there are frequent break ins and lack of cameras. There used to be a security guard that patrolled but not anymore. They also just added about 50 more speed bumps making it look like a motocross track. Your car will take a beating driving over them.

Apartment - My place is nice, high ceilings, clean look, hardwood floors with carpet in the room and closet. Walls are decent, you can hear your neighbors if they are partying but you shouldn't be able to if they are doing normal day to day things. I do wish they would wash the windows maybe once a year, they have never been washed since moving in.

Maintenance - I have had a good experience when I have worked with maintenance on my own for things in my apartment but the building maintenance along with the staff handling of it has been rough. This year during fire alarm testing they had the alarms going off for about 3-4 hours two days in a row, during the height of the pandemic and everyone was working from home. Water shut off is pretty random and can be an all day thing. You will also get emails from the staff that say maintenance will be performed but then its cancelled and there is no follow up to tell you.

Staff - Revolving door since 2020, cant keep anyone here to save their lives. You almost ever talk to the same person twice and no one never picks up the phone. The biggest issue was when everyone was mad about the packages being stolen and there were complaints to the staff regularly but it took 7 months before any action was taken. I will say that the new manager Chassity does seem to care about her job and appears to want to make Avenue R a good place to live again. She has been here for maybe 2 months now which is probably a record.

When I first moved here the place was fantastic but has since declined. I still think it can be a nice apartment again some day but they need the staff to stay long enough to make changes and they need to prioritize the right changes, an example would be why spend money on more speed bumps when the priority should be security of the garage? If you can find a good price here its not the worst place you could live but I am sure there are places that aren't going through a major transition you...

I am writing this review to warn others about the serious security issues at Uptown Richmond Apartments (formerly Avenue R). On September 5th, my apartment was burglarized, and the only item stolen was my safe. No electronics or other valuables were touched. This was highly suspicious because the safe was hidden in my closet, and the only people who knew of its location besides myself were maintenance staff, who recently came into that same closet to replace a light bulb.

This burglary felt premeditated. Weeks prior, I noticed a large work boot print on my balcony, which told me my home was being watched. Access to my patio is only possible for residents or staff who already have property access, which makes it even more concerning. The burglar knew exactly where to go, as if they had inside knowledge.

Instead of support, the leasing office tried to gaslight me, saying the safe could have been seen through “open blinds” (completely impossible as the closet is not near any window), or that “crack heads” could have somehow chosen my unit at random ignoring the fact that my unit is behind controlled gates, and the only people with consistent access are residents and staff. On the day this happened, I had a rare doctor’s appointment. I work from home, so maintenance staff are very aware of when I leave and return, which gave them the perfect window to carry this out.

I demanded compensation for negligence, because the property failed to keep residents safe. The pedestrian gates don’t work and are chained shut, showing a lack of functioning security. There are no surveillance cameras on the back property or sides, and the only working entrance gate breaks down every month. Elevators are frequently out of service, packages get stolen regularly, and many maintenance requests are marked as “completed” or “in progress” even when nothing is actually fixed.

After being a resident here for two years and paying thousands in rent, I can honestly say this property has failed to provide a safe and secure living environment. The very place I was supposed to feel comfortable in has been compromised. I will not be renewing my lease, and I encourage everyone to STAY CLEAR of this complex. Uptown Richmond continues to rebrand under new names, but the reality remains the same: terrible management, broken security, and unsafe living conditions. & To Management DO NOT ask me to give a call pretending you guys are interested in hearing any complaints. You all barely answer the phone. I have already emailed, filed a police report and stopped by IN-PERSON in hopes of resolving this matter.

P.S. This review will be updated as I am looking forward to the complex’s management doing the right thing to resolve this...