Concierge Apartments — Local services in Richfield

To summarize what is going to be a lengthy review, Concierge Apartments is a disappointing, misleading, and substandard residence where cheap fixes, scams, and shady activities run rampant. I lived there for around 3 months during the summer and ended up moving out early because we couldn't stand it any longer. To start, the photos and descriptions of the units on the Concierge website are highly misleading. Instead of "luxurious", "glamorous", "resort-style" living, we were met with a unit that was covered in layers and layers of paint (new [still wet when you move in, so beware] paint laid over chipped paint), paper thin/original 1960's interior doors with veneer chips (again, painted over to look better), closet doors with holes busted in on the inside (but sprayed with spray-foam and painted over), thin walls and floors with no insulation/cement floors with no subfloor, a single A/C unit that couldn't cool the living room/kitchen let alone reach the bedroom, and water that flashes scalding hot to ice cold during every shower. The only actual upgrades we could see from their "extensive unit renovations" was a linoleum-esque floor that simulates wood, new-ish carpet, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and newer kitchen cabinets. But even then, corners were clearly cut to save money - the appliances were base models with zero luxury (and few standard) features, the counters weren't flush to the walls and were even gapped away from the cabinets in places, the flooring is warping and damp from being laid directly on cement, and the cabinets had yellowish caulking between them and the walls to hide how crooked everything was. Living on the 1st floor (by the way, it isn't handicap accessible, as the 1st floor is partially underground and there are no elevators - only stairs), our unit was constantly damp and humid to the point were food in our cabinets would spoil/stale more quickly and items near to the ground (the underside of our sofa, a basket of pillows on the floor, our boxspring on our low bed frame) actually had a layer of white/green moss growing on them after just 1 month. There are no fans throughout the unit, so the only way to cool things down is to turn on the crazy-loud A/C unit. Which had to be maxed out every time you cooked because the heat from the oven and cooktop would bump the temp in the whole apartment substantially. From a health and safety standpoint, the unit was questionable at best. It was infested with bugs and centipedes and the A/C unit in our apartment blew air directly onto the gas stovetop, which would blow the flame around and present a fire hazard. The fire alarms in the building were going off constantly during our stay, both in our unit, other units, and the ENTIRE building. The whole building had to evacuate into the parking lot twice within our first week at Concierge. There is also a constant smell of weed and smoke throughout the building (the property is supposed to be smoke-free), and the pool area was so jam-packed, crazy and loud that many tenants didn't feel comfortable or safe going there. The police were called there multiple times, and an ambulance was called at least twice for fights in the pool area. Other selling points that were disappointing was the buggy key fob system and the gym (terrible airflow and crazy hot). The parking lot was always full, and it was often impossible to find spots. Noise was always an issue at Concierge - you could hear everything clearly in the hallway from within your apartment, the walls and floors allowed every sound and normal footstep to radiate through, and there are noisy neighbors and parties at all hours of the day and night. Finally, the laundry system is a scam that steals your money, the "month-to-month" lease requires a 3 month minimum and 60-day moveout notice, leases are inflexible (only start on the 1st of the month) and utilities are charged to the whole community (something they neglect to tell you). All in all, avoid Concierge - other places are a better value and higher quality. I recommend...

I've lived here for almost 2.5 years now, and will not be renewing. Few good things, lots of visitor parking, decent dog parks, snack store is usually well stocks, cops come often to do rounds, good location and the pool is alright, although sometimes very dirty (last year the bottom of the pool was VERY dirty, leaves dirt etc.) Maintenance is pretty good, they solve problems pretty quickly. Last year we were having issues with our AC, and a few days later they gave us a new one. They have a gym, although half of the machines don't work. Half of the amenities they promote, they don't even have. They have a pool table, but usually the ends of the pool cues are so worn down, you can barely shoot with it. The "movie room" controls are very difficult to use. In the two years I've lived here, the fire alarm has rang about 8 times (including in the middle of the night.) Parking in the winter sucks, if you ever have to park on the street while they clear the lot, you literally have to walk all the way around the complex to find a clear way to the door, because they pile up the snow on the sides of the road. Now they've added this new stupid rule, where you can "reserve a parking spot" by the main door for 50 dollars a month! Which literally only affects people who live in the middle parts of the apartments, by that specific door. Potholes in the parking lots are terrible! A few months ago they spent days "fixing" the parking lot, just for the holes to come back. Garbage cans are packed full half of the time. A few months back, an alarm to the main door wasn't working correctly, and was going off at all different hours, and it took them months to fix it. They also may come into your apartment without notifying you, in April I received a notice from concierge saying that Xcel was coming into the apartments to change the power meter, and when I called xcel, they said they went in February! The package system SUCKS, basically a free for all, I've talked to a bunch of neighbors who's packages went missing. I just found out I've been being overcharged in rent too since March. Every year that you renew your lease, it skyrockets. You pay for all your bills and all the bills for the actual complex are divided among all the residents, so you end up paying your own electric bill, plus another electric bill that's added to your rent for the grounds. Units itself are meh. Cracks on walls, the sides to the heaters are falling off, this weird yellow hue on the white tiles in the bathroom, the floor boards weren't installed properly and there are gaps between them and there's these weird bumps on the floor. Theres this huge gap underneath the main door and the ground, but i just bought something to cover it. Decent cabinet space and storage. In my unit, there's this weird square in the ceiling in the living room where it seems like they did work, and then poorly covered it up. There have been tons of issues from the start, starting with I was getting extra charges for "not having renters insurance" when I sent them the policy multiple times. I've had ants and silverfishes, but Ive heard of other neighbors that had mice and roaches.My lease was set to expire in August 2024 and was renewed another 3 months. I called the office and talked to the manager, and she said they automatically renewed it because they "had too many move outs" in August. In that same call, I said it was fine but I would definitely be moving out once the lease would be officially expired, November 30. I thought I left things very clear. Now it's November and I'm ready to move out, when I get a notice for a lease renewal. I go into the office, and the manager says she doesn't remember speaking to me and that my only options are signing their vacate form now and staying another 2 months (where they'll raise my month to month rent another $500) or leave now and they'll mark my credit, charge me $2500 and send me to collections. The manager and other ladies in the office are very unprofessional. Living here has been one of the WORST experiences in my life,...

We moved into Concierge almost a year ago, when they had just started doing the renovations. While the place definitely looks much better than it did a year ago, take it from a current resident that Concierge puts much more into the looks of the place then actual customer service. They will take you on a tour, show you a perfect model apartment, ask you to sign the lease, and want you to write a review after the tour. However, these newly remodeled units are far from perfect.

Before we even moved in and after we had signed the lease, they had originally put us in a building that is not meant for pets (we have a dog). When asked where to take our dog out for potty breaks, we were told we would have to walk across the complex to the dog park, another employee corrected the error. Then, on move in day, we find out the apartment we had signed the lease for was not actually ours (it was facing a quiet residential street). Instead, we were told there was a mistake and were moved to the much louder side facing I-494. After we moved in, we needed to have someone come in a paint areas that had been completely missed because of the short amount of time the contractors actually spend remodeling. The inside of the pantry door had not been finished painting, there were numerous spots on the trim that had been missed, along with paint drips all over the place and an outlet that did not work. They DO NOT completely remodel the bathroom, so you get an old and outdated vanity and sink as well as an old and outdated tub. We have had someone come in to fix our bathroom fan twice for how loud it is, and it still is the same. Even after they had painters come in and touch up the places they missed, there are still spots on the trim where you can see the unpainted woodwork. Our main closet door in the living area was obviously damaged by a previous renter's pet, but instead of replacing the door, they just painted over it. I could go on about other areas of shoddy workmanship that really points out the bottom line for Concierge is making a profit and not making the place as great as they say it is to the renters.

Also, beware of late fees. We have missed the deadline to pay rent (which was our fault) a couple of times because the first of the month fell on a weekend, but Concierge has over charged us late fees that are not what our lease specifies. Even when being told that the problem was corrected, we still received notices saying we needed to pay what remained on the late fee or get an additional late fee. They do not check the leases and try to overcharge renters.

Finally, they have a habit of making major renovation changes with no or very little previous notice to the renters. For example, over Labor Day weekend when most renters where away, they dismantled the existing dog park and made it much smaller. There was no warning of this and many people in my building were understandably upset. They have since put the dog park back together, but it is a mud pit when it rains and that has not been taken care of. Also, when we moved in back in November, there were trees in the parking lot. One day, they came in and cut the trees down and turned them into wood chips for the dog park. They paved over where the trees had been. Then, last week, they started tearing up the parking lot where the trees used to be to plant....trees! Does that make any sense? We already have a shortage of parking, and now with this construction (of which there was no warning of), a good twenty spots are unavailable. I have had to park on the street because the overflow parking was full. It's very frustrating the lack of communication about what is going on for renovations and why they do things that do not make financial sense.

With all that being said, the location is great and that is why we have decided to stay another year, even with a rent hike of $150 a month for a one bedroom apartment. So, if location is everything and you need a place that is pet friendly, move to Concierge but beware that appearances...