Gables University Station — Local services in Westwood

We've lived in this home for 5 years, having planned to stay for a few months after quickly selling our third Westwood house after 38 years in town. What drew us and kept us here? I've wanted a pool in the backyard for decades. The Amtrak Station is across the street. Is it the spectacular view of Big Blue (Summer green and Winter night skiing), or the informative signal lights on top of the Pru, or seeing the sunrise from our Livingroom wall of windows, or is it location? A single reason to recommend Gables is difficult to identify. There are many reasons which recommend Gables University Station as outstanding. Location is what drew us here. We know the area, all of our services and support system, as well as accessibility to them are local. But, that's not enough. It has to provide great living and respect to go along with location! We've got it here. The leadership and work ethic of every Team member shines in the realms of polite, responsive, prompt, courteous, accessible, and cohesive care. These attributes carry over to a clear and consistent communication style through which everyone you speak with either knows and does solve the concern or finds the person who does. Concerns are addressed in a timely fashion with a good (The COVID dilemma was recognized by all) timeline for the correction. If necessary, reasonable updates are then communicated. Currently, Jess ( shining start/ new onboard) unobtrusively and accessible leads our Team. Yarley moves things along for and Tanya, who has or gets the information I seek ( She is in my view as I approach and I can wait for her to finish with another person or a phone conversation before I ask for help) is my "go-to" for our very high expectations at Gables which haven't changed since we arrived!. The Leadership Team has rotated since our arrival and is superb. Unseen but outstanding and ever responsive are Ray, our newest addition, and his Maintenance Team. Together they are all not only available, approachable, and accurate in their work, they also show genuine concern for us as Residents by learning our names, making good eye contact, actively listening, following up on needs that have been addressed, working with residents as collaborators, and assisting our guests as needed. The Team is also very grateful for and responsive to the gratitude of our residents. Our new home is cleaned beautifully, kept safe, and maintained very well by Director Ray and his staff who are an amazingly neat, and courteous, group of accomplished providers. After work has been completed they actually follow up to be sure the work has continued the way you want to in fine fashion. Several neighbors have become friends and we look forward to many years ahead in our home! Thank you all for providing a genuine home for us and for our guests. Looking forward to new friends to be made and stories to be heard of how you came to live with us for a short or long time! The folks we've met and befriended are outstanding in diversity and life experiences! Do yourself a favor. You deserve it! Come...

I'm really not a fan of seeing people without profile photos, with 1 or 2 reviews leaving comments like "worst management team, oh bla bla bla 1 star" with no details of their experiences at all.

The location:

I grew up in the area and remember when there was barely anything on University Ave besides and industrial park and a train station. Now it's an impressive retail and entertainment center, so great Gables has a lot going for them in terms of location. If you're a die hard suburbanite and are subconsciously comforted by middle class amenities, grid-square layouts and everything you could ever need within 10 minutes on a horizontal plane with no buildings over 4 stories - then this should be in your top 1% of choices. A+ on the location.

Details living here so far:

Everyone seems to be very accommodating in my experience. My movers were not the best, and despite their own mishaps, Dago dropped everything and ran around the building to re-arrange the elevator situation so a not-ideal situation could work as smoothly as possible.

We had some furniture delivered to the apartment prior to our move in date. Moving during a pandemic has introduced some challenges, especially around arranging delivery dates (too soon, too late, etc..) and Gables accommodated our needs unflinchingly. If I did this with some other managed properties I've had experience with, there would have been pushback. My admittedly massive packages were tucked away securely and available on day one.

The staff are quick to remedy issues. Something will go wrong. The best customer service will knock interactions out of the park 199/200 times, and you have to accept that by chance sometimes you're that 1 time and remember the times that you've fumbled at your job too. I've had two package issues and they each were resolved without effort on my end. The staff here are great.

Update: The staff knocked COVID out of the park in terms of managing the property and restrictions. Everyone's thankful things are loosening up now!

The premises are wonderful. Very tall ceilings, AC works great, the blinds are sturdy and of good quality. I have a massive bathroom and appliances that are modern and in good working order. The interior courtyards are very well tended, and the maintenance crews are friendlier than others I've worked with before - other properties it has seemed like they're focused on the job at hand and try to forget that someone lives there... Here the maintenance staff are quick to introduce themselves and everyone seems very conscious of the fact that we're all going to see each other again many more times so let's acknowledge each other.

Update: from 4 to 5 stars because this place has only grown on me over time. Not a bad...

The two stars are for the location, and maintenance responds immediately and does a good job. the monthly early am fire alarm issue seems to have finally been corrected as well.

However just today i received a notice to renew. they are asking for 2941/month for an additional year, which is an 18.9% monthly rent increase (unheard of), and $700 MORE a month than when i originally signed here two years ago. Or i can do month-to-month for...wait for it... 4,468/month!!! rent is cheaper IN boston!! These price gouges (no other word to explain it) the Gables are asking are simply laughable, and not even close to matching basic cost of living adjustments. I feel these rent increases may be illegal, and will be reaching out to the Commonwealth this week to inquire. Also friends of mine here just received a similar $700/month hike, and only after their FIRST lease. So it surprises me to read some reviews here from those living here 6+ years, because unless they are Section 8 with some rent ceiling, or inherited a trust fund, i don't see how anyone could sustain or be satisfied with that many years of price hikes. I would really like to discuss with any of you who have provided such positive reviews to see where the disconnect may be.

This below experience also left an awful taste in my mouth. Management makes a point to call this a 'community', which sounds pretty nice, right?? Well.. I found someone's apt keys last summer, and management would NOT approve my posting re: this on our so-called 'community' message board. i lost my keys before, and was charged $150 for a new key, so it's not cheap to replace. I also took the time to write up multiple notices which i taped up on EVERY entrance/garage door that same night as to notify you, like you would expect a real 'community' to react. within a day every notice was taken down, and the response i received as to why they would not approve my message board post still befuddles me. i simply didn't trust the office with your keys, as they could just say they were never turned in to make more $$$ off of you. and how the Gables reacted to not approving my posting/taking down all of the notices sadly re-affirmed such a belief. for some reason they did NOT want you to know someone found your keys. so if you lost your keys over at panera during summer 2021, and are reading this now, i would look to be refunded for any possible key replacement fees you may've incurred by the Gables. your keys were in my possession and should've had your keys returned to you without incurring any...