Prado Apartments

"We were early residents of Prado when it opened over 2 years ago. In the beginning, this place was 4-5 stars. Fast forward to today, I find it hard to give even 3 stars. Utilities are expensive. Trash alone is ~$80/mo. You’re not allowed to leave boxes that are too large for the small chute in the designated trash rooms on each floor, even if you break them down. Management expects you to bring them all the way to the ground floor garage and throw them directly into the dumpsters. I wouldn’t mind doing this if the trash fee weren’t so high. If you want to live here, my advice is to not pick an apartment closest to elevator 3. It’s the designated moving elevator that is often reserved or not working. There are 2 other elevators, but you have to walk around the whole floor to get to them. Taking the stairs wouldn’t be so bad if the stairwells were well kept. They are stained and reek of dog pee, and it does not seem like they are regularly cleaned or maintained. There are frequent fire alarm tests due to retail spaces moving in on the ground floor. Most likely this won’t be an issue once those spaces get filled up, but it might be a while. In the past 2+ years, only 2-3 businesses have moved in. Management will usually send an email to warn you about the testing. At least 2 times, the porch above us was washed without warning and all the dirty water fell down onto ours, getting all of our things wet along with it. I complained to management, but never heard back. We had horribly loud upstairs neighbors in our last 6 months. We left a polite note on their door, and they retaliated by stomping as hard as they could. We complained to management several times after this. We were told loud neighbors were ‘part of apartment living’. I’ve lived in apartments for the past 10+ years and never had ones who stomped like these people. We followed up with audio evidence, but it was difficult to get a response or even acknowledgment of the issue. In the end, we were told they would speak to the residents. Nothing really changed, but we gave up. The outdoor theater and fenced dog park near Nuevo were finished for at least half a year, but remained un-open. It was disappointing that we were never able to use these amenities that were advertised when we first moved in. There was once a SWAT car at the building, but we never heard what that was about. Another time, police caution taped off the entire sidewalk and were flying a drone around the building. Other than that, I’ve personally never felt unsafe. As for the positives, the apartments are modern and nice looking. We didn’t have any issues with our appliances aside from our dryer being extra loud. The courtyard and amenities are fairly well kept, and the surrounding Nuevo neighborhood is a nice place to walk your dog or play with your kids if you have any. There were specific management and maintenance staff that were always kind and helpful. In general though, management doesn’t respond or follow-up very quickly, if at all, to emails. You have to call or go down in person. Moving out was a hassle. We reserved the elevator, but it was not put into maintenance mode for us until about 30 minutes after our scheduled time because they either forgot or didn’t take note of the reservation. Other residents kept trying to take the elevator, which meant you had to go take the stairs to whichever floor they took it to and send it back for loading / unloading. Getting our security deposit back was also a nightmare. It took 2 months for them to send us a digital payment. I was sent on a goose chase to contact the Greystar office, who had no record of us being owed a deposit, and then management stopped responding to our emails. We had to call. As others have mentioned, they charge about $700 in move-out fees. We cleaned our apartment thoroughly, even wiping down the molding, but it didn’t decrease the cost at all, so I wouldn’t bother putting extra effort into cleaning. Also, they don’t seem to revoke Latch access after you move out, so if you’re a new resident, beware."

"I lost my packages for 3 times. No responsibility acknowledged by the leasing office. Actually they put the packages into a secure place overnight after the theft happened a while ago. The only complaint I have is the water quality. I’ve been living at this place for 2.5 years."

"TLDR: Don’t rent here. This place was a headache. The lack of safety and security, the excessive noise, and bad management are not worth the exorbitant rent and stress. There are much better options elsewhere. Safety Was a Disaster: We had bikes stolen from what they called a 'secure' storage inside the ‘secure’ garage. Even scarier, someone got into our apartment without our consent several times. Latch: an Unreliable, Security Concern: The Latch app system, your phone key to access your apartment and all common doors, was unreliable and problematic. It often failed, especially on a low battery, locking you out of your own home. You have no physical key at all and the deadbolt offered no real security - it was decorative! To top it off, our Latch access remained active for months after moving out. Can Hear Everything – and I Mean Everything: Inside: the walls at Prado are super thin and poorly constructed. We could hear all sorts of noises from our neighbors, even when they tried to keep it down. Our upstairs neighbor just walking sounded like thumping elephants. Constant construction noise didn't help either, paired with the poor air quality, we were forced to keep our windows closed. Outside: The courtyard is a fishbowl and you can hear any and all noise and conversation from the pool and bbqs. Lawrence Expressway is quite noisy at all times during the days. Blaring Alarms and Endless Evacuations: Cooking or baking in your apartment? Prepare for the fire alarm will go off no matter what due to poor hood ventilation. The alarm is so loud and some people unknowingly open their door into the hallway to let out the smoke, which then causes the entire buildings alarms to go off and require evacuation. This happened way too often. Paired with the abnormal amount of tests of the emergency alert system, our hearing was negatively affected and it made working from home difficult, since you can’t take a meeting when their alarm is blaring. Everyone got desensitized to the alarms and stopped evacuating because of how often it was a test, which would be horrible in an actual emergency. Unavailable Amenities: When we moved in, we were excited about the little park right out front and some shops on the first floor. Never saw them open. Parking's always a headache as this community was not properly zoned for all the commuters that live here. So if you have guests on the weekend, they may not find a spot. Then there’s the elevators which are often inaccessible (out of order or reserved for move out), so good luck taking the stairs with a stroller and groceries. Water's Bad, Move-Out Charges Worse: The water tasted and looked bad, despite their promises to fix it. They added a softener that does nothing. Our skin and health were definitely impacted. And when we moved out, they hit us with this huge $700 fee out of nowhere, plus they even tried to double-charge us for rent and utilities, which took several attempts to get them to remove. It felt scammy and opportunistic. Left a bad taste. Management? More like Mismanagement: Dealing with Prado and Greystar’s management was a letdown. They seemed nice at first, but once you're in, they're not much help and have a rude demeanor. They didn’t seem to care about our concerns, especially with the theft and security issues. My two cents: Prado might look good on the outside, but living there was a nightmare. It was more stress than it was worth. If you’re looking for a new place, keep looking. Prado's not the dream home it pretends to be."

"The leasing team was highly unprofessional when it came to the below market rate program. On the website and over the call the representatives mentioned $2000 for a 1 bed and 1 bath apartment which was quiet lucrative for them to generate the web traffic. After calling them, discussing the rate and scheduling an appointment, when I arrived for the appointment I was told the rent is actually $2700. The rep mentioned that they have been calling everyone to let them know about the rent change but frankly if I was a bit smarter, I’d have started calling by time of appointment so people don’t have to drive unnecessarily. While my apartment range was about $2200-2300, the rep seemed quite demeaning to say “Oh you won’t find an apartment in new building for that price”. I mean I know that, and you are showcasing it as below market rate program for equal opportunity housing, shouldn’t you think that rent is rather affordable in this situation? I think the management need to put sensible people on the property."

"Terrible experience - do not rent here under any circumstances! Safety Concerns: Multiple of my bikes were stolen from what was supposedly a "locked" bike storage, even when they were padlocked to the ground. Worse still, we had several unauthorized entries into our apartment. While some of these occurrences were passed off as "accidents," it painted a harrowing picture of how easily someone could access our apartment. The Latch app, meant to be a security measure, seemed like a double-edged sword. The latch, which was essentially a decorative deadbolt, could be easily accessed by anyone with the app. To add insult to injury, even after vacating the apartment, our Latch access remained active for over a month! Couple this with the regular theft of our packages, and it's easy to see why we perpetually felt vulnerable at Prado. Noise Issues: If peace is what you're seeking, Prado is not for you. The paper-thin walls and subpar construction ensured that we were involuntary listeners to our neighbors' daily activities. From audible conversations to footfalls that echoed ominously in our apartment, the noise was loud and constant. The ruckus from the construction outside was also consistently loud. Earplugs at night and noise-canceling headphones during the day became essentials, not by choice, but out of sheer necessity. Water Quality: Despite being assured that the water softener installation would address the poor water quality, it remained terrible with heavy calcium deposits affecting our skin/health. Move-out Charges: Our experience at Prado was bookended by another disappointment. Despite handing over the apartment in clean condition, we were slapped with an exorbitant $700 fee, apparently a 'standard' move-out charge. It felt like daylight robbery. Bad Management: Prado and Greystar were also subpar. While they were all smiles when selling the unit, their demeanor took a 180-degree turn when we approached them with genuine concerns. Issues, major or minor, were met with indifference, and our pleas for assistance with thefts and break-ins fell on deaf ears. In summary, Prado was a Pandora's box of problems. While the area boasts numerous housing options, Prado, with its flawed security, incessant noise, and lackluster management, is a choice I'd urge anyone to reconsider. For those looking for a hassle-free and secure living experience, I'd recommend looking elsewhere."