The Metropolitan Downtown Columbia

"- Doors slamming constantly - Construction noises all the time, workers don't care - Fire alarms have gone off 3 times since I moved in - Unprofessional maintenance who don't actually fix issues - Carpets in hallways still aren't repaired after it was announced 6 months ago (you read that right) Update: the carpets have finally been replaced, and things have been a bit better overall. Updating my review :)"

"The leasing new team is very unprofessional. Maintenance team is understaff. The carpet in the halls are filthy. They painted the hall way blue, why? It looks dark and dreary. The lobby furniture is old, holely and dirty. Dog hair all over furniture. My apt only get day light from one room. Leaving soon as my lease expires. Over price for poor services."

"My husband and I lived in Metropolitan Downtown Columbia between July 2, 2020 - October 31, 2023. We decided to move out of this place due to lack of security and two incident with our car. This apartment is not a secure facility. While it is located by the Mall in Columbia (so you would expect some foot traffic) but for the amount of money they are charging and the false sense of security they give their residence is highly concerning and costly to your properties. 09/28/22 we had a resident who backed into our car and left us with a lot of damage; lucky for us the residence left us a note and were able to get the insurance information. When we ask management for video footage we were informed the cameras were not working ( this is the norm). On 10/10/23 we had our second incident, overnight my husband car was broken into by thieves that followed a residence car to come inside ( what was supposed to be a sensor gate tied to the gate pass in the car). Thief typically follow any residence but there is NO security measure in placed that can prevent them from existing the garage (it does not require anyone existing to have a pass to scan in order to open. the gate) therefore people get in following someone else with a pass and exit anytime they want; which is exactly what happened on the night my husband car got damaged. Additionally, the officer that came to assist us indicated that there has been several break-in before our car got broken into. However, no email notice has gone out about it to make all residents aware. Last known email we had received regarding break-in was 09/2022. Our car break-in has not been reported to the residence either as of 10/31/23. Assume it won’t be reported even after we left the apartment. If you were to requested a termination due to these type of incidents you will be responsible for $4,000 to break the lease; we were lucky our lease was just turned to a month to month when the incident happened so we didn't have to pay the fee. We had a meeting with the manger Olivia who actually did her best to help us through this process; however if we knew what has been happening in this apartment, (WE) would not have renewed our lease for this year. We are now left with $7,500 damage to our car; cause by lack of security and communication from the management. It is very disappointing. The only good thing about living in this apartment was being in the center of Columbia where you can drive short distance for most things. We also had good experience with maintenance team and have had quick response for repair requests ( base on the season) However, you are better off renting somewhere else that could provide you honest communication for the price they charge and actually place security measures that actually work. I wouldn't recommend this apartment for anyone who doesn't plan to implement personal security features in their cars and on their unit. Unfortunately you will not be able to hear your antitheft alarm go off from the garage to your apartment room and your property will be stolen as you are about a few feet from it in your unit; sleeping or awake."

"My husband and I recently moved out of the Met after living there from July 2020 - July 2023. If you are considering living here, I would be wary and do your research. While the Met staff is professional and the apartment appears nice from a tour, I will never recommend anyone live in a complex owned by Kettler. I have lived in various apartments since 2014 and my experience at the Met was the worst by far, primarily because Kettler has proven that they do not invest in their communities and they take advantage of their residents at every turn. When we signed our lease in 2020, the Met was the best choice for us because it had reasonable rent for the space you would get compared to the other "luxury" apartments in the area. At the time of leaving in July 2023, our monthly rent was approximately $3300 for a 3 bed/2 bath apartment on the 6th (top) floor, roughly 1300 sq ft. Over the course of our time as residents, we noticed a continued decline in Kettler's investment in the building and its residents. A couple key concerns for us were: (1) First, Kettler did not invest in the Met to align with its rent increases. In 2022, we were hit by a 20% rent increase, which was a national trend during this time. What frustrated us was (a) the lack of notice Kettler provided for this significant rent increase (it was roughly a $500/month increase, and we had barely 2 weeks notice to get back to the Met) and (b) the feeling our money was not being used for the Met. We expressed this frustration and management shared this notice period was regular practice. We felt powerless. (2) Fast forward to our 2023 renewal process. After 2022, we knew we needed to leave the Met. However, we ended up needing more time to carry us over until our next living situation was ready. We were planning to pay the premium for the month-to-month or 3-month lease. However, when we got our notice, barely 2 weeks before again, it blew us away. The month-to-month and 3-month lease were roughly $7,500/month and $7,300/month respectively. It is highway robbery, especially as nothing had changed about our unit/complex. We were lucky to have friends that cared about our living situation and offered us a place to stay. In comparison, Kettler clearly showed it doesn't care for residents who can't commit to 12 months. (3) The Met is not a secure facility. While it is located by the Mall in Columbia (so you would expect some foot traffic) we noticed an uptick in youth entering the building, running through the halls, banging doors, and there was an attempted break-in during Spring 2023 on our floor. The resident contacted the police, elected officials, Kettler, etc. Kettler promised weekly updates and increased security, but updates stopped within 2 months and security was never addressed. As of July 2023, this remained an issue. (4) For the 3 years we lived at the Met, we estimated about 50% of that time the garage door was broken. You must pay $75/mo. for any extra car in the garage. We asked the Met to refund us while the garage was broken, but they would not unless we returned our parking pass. We were concerned to return our pass in case we would not get it back. At one point, the Met committed to having an overnight gate attendant, however, we arrived back multiple times after hours and no attendant was present. (5) Amenities are declining. Early 2023 a treadmill broke in the gym. Rather than replacing with a comparable treadmill, it was noticeable that the Met chose a cheaper alternative. Additionally, the grills stopped working reliably in 2021 and we were told we should bring our own lighters down to help light the gas. No additional updates on the grills were provided. Unfortunately, the other apartments around this area in Columbia are also either (1) owned by Kettler (TENm.flats, etc.), (2) are newer builds that are more expensive, or (3) older communities. This may be your only choice in Columbia, but if so I would recommend pausing and seeing where else in Columbia or central Maryland you could consider that may meet your needs."

"An unexpectedly poor experience so far. My partner and I moved in 5/27 and had issues from the beginning. The leasing office never emailed us any paperwork on our lease, and we had to call them (3 times) in order to receive it! I understand this may be a busy season, but to not send over anything until less than 2 days before move in (4:30pm on 5/25) makes it difficult for new tenants to set up necessities like utilities or collect requirements like a cashier's check. We were running around on 5/26 trying to get everything sorted because we only received one day's notice of what exactly we needed to move in. (Note that we did submit a move in application at least one week prior to move in). When we did move in, we noticed several cosmetic (some minor functional) defects in the apartment. For example, one of the three light fixtures in the bathroom is gone. Just gone. We found what we believe is the light fixture on a table and attempted to assemble it ourselves, but it appears to be broken. The window screen on our balcony also has a rip, the single outlet in the bathroom is unusable, the blinds cord in the living room is so tangled we cannot pull/use it at all, and the end of the shower rod is partially out of the wall. I believe they do a move in inspection prior to new tenants coming in, but the inspection people missed quite a few little things. I also should note that the hallways in the common areas (where you walk around the building) are covered in dark stains down the middle. It's yellow carpet so it looks really bad and is surprising for a community like this. Considering the lack of any information upon applying to live here and the multiple minor issues in our apartment, my experience has been lackluster, and not what I would expect from a "luxury" apartment community. Hopefully they respond to my maintenance request soon. Update: they did respond swiftly with maintenance help and are supposedly are going to re do the carpet and walls this June/summer"