Blaise Apartments 2645 1st Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55408

"Nothing exactly stands out as bad but I think it costs too much for what you get. Especially if you have a car and want to get a parking spot. Most places will have a garage that's cheaper to rent, but here you pay more and only get a place in a parking lot Edit: took off a star because they didn't send my deposit back on time. I'll concede that I may not have left the place in perfect shape, but I don't think the condition merits them taking half my deposit."

"Lived here for a year. I would’ve loved to leave a decent review but can’t for the following reasons: 1. I had two bikes stolen from the property and when I asked management for the security footage to give to the police for the report, I heard nothing. The room from which the bikes were stolen was a locked room only accessible to tenants and employees. I’m guessing it was someone in the building (maybe and employee) and they didn’t want the trouble so they didn’t provide the footage. Sad because my bikes were in clear view of the camera in the bike room. 2. Constant pot smoking on the ground floor. It wreaked of pot smoke. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care what you do in your free time but there are no smoking ordinances in Minneapolis for a reason. No one ever enforced the ordinance. 3. I came into the lobby on two different occasions to find people who did not live in the building chilling on the couch with their feet on the furniture smoking cigarettes. I reported it twice. Nothing was done. 4. Found a homeless person in the stairwell on one occasion with all of his belongings. When I asked him if he lived there he said no and that he was “waiting for a friend”. I notified management. Nothing was done. 5. When you move out, they expect YOU to clean the apartment yourself. I’ve never encountered that with a lease. In my experience you’re expected to leave the place in good condition but the deep cleaning was the responsibility of the property. When they found a spec of dirt on a surface and a crumb in the stove they sent me a notification that they were keeping the bulk of my security deposit. My daughter and I cleaned that place for three hours. They only backed off because I threatened to leave this post and let all my family and friends know how terrible this property is. They gave me a portion of my security deposit back but still kept some because they claimed I didn’t sufficiently clean the apartment. DO NOT MOVE INTO THIS PLACE. The building is not secure and management doesn’t do anything about it. Unsafe."

"The leasing agency is dishonest and money grabby. I DO NOT ENDORESE LIVING HERE. Their lease is a document riddled with loopholes that only benefits them. $150 for parking space that doesn't protect your vehicle from the elements or theft. I opted out of the parking option and did free parking on the street (directly beside the parking lot) and my catalytic converter was stolen off of my car. Guess who had to foot the bill? The leasing agents do not respond to emails in timely fashion and when they do their responses are riddled with passive aggressive tones. Further they constantly share how "short staffed: they are which somehow means that they don't have to accommodate tenants in any way. They do not value you as a tenant and they do everything in their power to avoid any sort of accountability. Also beware if you do lease with them, upon renewing they will likely spike up the rent for established tenants and give incoming tenants better deals. Looking for a college dormesque vibe where you can hear your neighbors full blown conversations or choir rehearsals, & domestic disputes from the comfort of your own unit? What about trying to fall asleep to the sounds of other tenants around you doing full blown workouts at different hours of the day in their own units, or the incessant presence of ambulance sirens, crummy leasing agents that end emails with smiley faces and exclamation points, and deliver half baked responses to your concerns? Then by all means, stay here. *I had to shovel out nearly $1200 for an additional month (despite my lease ending per contract August 2022). Like many folks, I have limited means and I was in communication with the leasing agent. I tried to negotiate cheaper rent (since they had offered me and so many others increased rent if deciding to renew). A slightly cheaper deal was offered -and they cited because I was on a higher level floor, higher levels cost more (when I looked online at the website to see what new prospects were looking at, this was NOT true). At any rate in debating what I'd do I was also given 30days to deliberate on whether or not I would renew -which was sent to me via email. When I decided it would be in my best interest to vacate, they threw the lease back in my face stating that all other correspondence between tenant and agent were null and that the lease signed trumped any other considerations. So even though I had 30 days to decide during the time of negotiations (I have evidence of this) they resorted back to the lease and said that I would have to pay an additional full month of rent because I hadn't confirmed my vacating date 2 months before my contract ended. -What insanity. They refused to work with as I cited my financial disposition (at the time I was transplant (new to MN) and a full time graduate student, working part time). No leniency, no kindness yet you as the tenant are expected to just deal with crummy service. I just received noticed that I am getting less than HALF of my security deposit back despite thoroughly cleaning the unit before leaving. I was billed $190 for them to re-clean an already thoroughly cleaned apartment?! and $100 for the walls -which there was only one small horizontal area where the built in desk was located that my chair bumped often that needed some attention). Let me also state that I was forced to take >30 pictures of the unit before leaving because they REFUSED to have an agent do a walk through with me upon leaving). Also don't bother asking for a supervisor or manager; I asked my leasing agent at the time, Lillie, to send my complaints up to management and this Olivia person never followed up with my emails. I am stressed out that I still have to deal with them, I want it to be over. The pros: high ceilings and no bugs. There are plenty of other apartments in the surrounding areas that have similar deals with BETTER amenities (such as garage parking for $150), larger units, better gym and recreational spaces. -You've been informed."

"I absolutely recommend Blaise Apartments. I have been living here for a year now as a first time renter and have had a great experience so far. The building itself is brand new and has very nice amenities for the price. I think a big deal for me has been the company that manages the building, NorthBay. From day 1 they have been a great team to work with. They are always very responsive and accommodating to any question I have in regards to my apartment, the property, and payments. The apartment is in a very centralized and popular area so you have everything within walking distance whether it's a grocery store, coffee shop, restaurant, art museum, shops... they are literally minutes away!"

"Don't do it. I can't believe there isn't more bad reviews for this company. Please do your research before signing a lease here. Northbay does have a very poor rating...1 star actually. They do not do a walk through with you for the apartment but will try to charge for anything after you leave. They do not fix anything so you are own your own as it will take maintenance days to go to the location and management has never even step foot in the building. They raise the rent for sure and these tiny apartments are not worth it. Also management is impossible to get a hold of by phone and email. So, if you move here expect little help. Plus, this building has an issues with squatters... old tenants sneak back into apartments they should have left. Management does nothing so it makes it easy for them. I have known other people who stayed here and they all leave after there lease is up. This place is overpriced, has poor management, bad area and tiny apartments. If your going to pay anywhere from 1000-1325 get a townhome or an apartment in a nicer area."