Moving to Phalen Village was the best decision I ever made!…read more I moved a great deal throughout my life. My moves topped 25 and 10 of those moves were Interstate moves. The longest I'd ever been able to live in one place was four years and I was tired of the Gypsy lifestyle. So I started looking for "the last house on the block" because I wanted to throw away the moving boxes and finally put down roots for the first time in 55 years. I started looking at numerous housing options. If, in the beginning of that search, you would have asked me if I would have considered Active Senior Living I would have given that a "remote chance". I knew I did not want the overhead of a full home, again. I looked at apartments but the rental rates were not to my liking. I wanted more for my dollar. I looked at Condos but could not find a small condo complex that accepted pets. Besides which the Association Dues for the condos were outrageous. Then one day I simply drove by Phalen Village and dialed the number from my cell phone while stopped at a stoplight. From that moment forward absolutely everything fell into place.There was one unit share open at the time and turns out it's exactly the floor plan I would have chosen, given the options. I was approved by the Board Of Directors to move to Phalen Village within days. The Resident Manager shouldered virtually all the renovations to my unit (carpet, flooring, paint, light fixtures, appliances) and I simply showed up a month later with my furniture. The process was seamless! The next month I brought my new rescue Pug home and he considers himself the Mascot of the building. I thought I was moving into an apartment building. I soon found that I had moved into a family atmosphere. The caring and support and socialization with the other members in the community is more than I ever expected. A loner, by nature, it is hard to justify not falling out my front door down one floor to events. I have repeatedly, and personally, seen and been the benefactor of the support of this community in difficult times. I am so proud of and grateful for my Phalen Family. If you are looking for more than just an "apartment" or have decided the overhead of a "home" is too much, if you are looking for a place to belong, if you are looking for a place to socialize, if you are looking for a place to connect, if you are looking or a place to thrive, if you are looking for a place to finally call "home", then Phalen Village should be your next stop. It's true what they say here. Real Life does begin at 55.

My parents moved into Reallife in 2005, and has been the best move they could have made. The…read morecommunity is great and active, so there is always something to be involved in, but as independent private apartments, they also have the privacy that one would expect of a private apartment. No more snow shoveling or home maintenance. No more worries about falls off of ladders. No more weekend maintenance projects with my parents. The co-op takes care of all of this for them, and they love it!

There are 49 different layouts. When viewing, they will only show you the model unit. I cannot…read morestress this enough, make sure you get to view the unit you're moving into!!!!! The building is U shaped which means there are three hallways on each floor along with 50 units on each floor. I live on the opposite end of the U where the moving elevator was on the complete opposite side of the U. I have a 7 minute walk to and from the trash/recycling. It takes 3 1/2 minutes to walk to the elevator. There's an elevator at the end of my hallway, but that's not the elevator they allow you to use to move in. I had what they called a, "long move in." It was me and three of the moving guys I hired literally running down the hallways because I had budgeted them for 7 hours. The manager only allows you 3 hours to schedule the dock to move your stuff in. If you go over the allowed 3 hours without telling the manager, they will fine you $200. This place absolutely loves their fines. Parking is $160 a month. They charge for trash and water. My heating/ac bill was extremely outrageously expensive. I moved out of an 800 sq. foot house and my electric bill was never over $80 a month. My electric bill now for a 630 sq. Foot apartment is $120 a month in the summer. Since this is located above a grocery store, there are deliveries at all hours of the night. 2am, 3am 4am, 5am, not to mention, the garbage trucks come very early as well as the recycling truck. The two gas grills are completely filthy. I don't think they've ever been cleaned. It's a grease fire waiting to happen. I've tried 3 attempts at leaving Google reviews, but they've been removed every time. The noise from the mufflers is so loud and obtrusive, you can't leave your windows open in the summer nor can you leave them open at night due to the nightly deliveries. The unit I have comes with a "fireplace" which it definitely is not. It's a fan with an orange light. It never gets hot enough to warm up the place. I thought it was at least a gas fireplace, but no. It's such a bait and switch trap. I pay $1630 a month plus $35 for water/trash and $160 a month for parking. Keep looking as this isn't it.

The Penfield is the best ! After 40 years owning a home I sold , so I could enjoy worry free…read moreapartment living . I researched over 20 apartments and finally decided on the Penfield . BEST DECISION EVER! the staff is amazing , from front office to maintenance any and all questions or concerns were addressed IMMEDIATELY! the location is amazing , but the staff makes the difference . Highly recommend !

I'm a young professional that works downtown and the lofts are a great place to live. Cool,…read morehistoric building with updated amenities. I have a golden retriever and can take him right across the street from Mears Park. Tons of great restaurants and bars nearby, and the world of beer tap room is opening next door. I can walk to check out the farmers market, St. Paul Saints, and easy access to the Green Line. I'm buying a house in a few months and moving out, but would recommended anyone looking to move downtown to check this place out.

From the owner: Embrace your artistic side in our vibrant and pet-friendly downtown St. Paul lofts. Enjoy the…read moreconveniences that the city has to offer with an industrial, historic feel in your new lofted home. Once home to Robinson Straus & Company and Powers Dry Goods, Lowertown Lofts captures the historic details. High ceilings, exposed beams, and brick have been preserved in each home. Luxury meets industrial in each renovated loft, featuring modern finishes, cabinetry, and stainless steel appliances.

Great property in a great location! Love how pet friendly it is!read more

From the owner: Come home to Grand Magnolia Apartments - the finest in apartment living!…read more We are ideally located in the heart of the Lake Phalen neighborhood with easy access to I-94 and I-35E. Heat, water & trash are included in the rent. On-site laundry is available for your convenience and we have both storage facilities and garages available for rent! All of our apartment homes feature new carpeting, energy-efficient appliances, ceiling fans, large windows & tons of closet space! Dogs and cats are welcome!

Love this place! Management is great! They truly care for their residents! Thanks Chris and Dylanread more

I lived here for a year. The apartments are very modern but a little on the small end. I paid about…read more$1700 for a 600 sq ft. 1 bedroom apartment. The electrical was on the higher end too. When I stayed at Kellogg Square is was less than $30 a month. I was paying around $100 monthly here. Initial Impression: Rental Assistants: Loved Lupe! Very nice. Communication is a little on the slow side. If you email with questions you won't always get a reply. Be sure to have your questions ready when you do your showing. Parking Sucks: My parking spot was being used by other people so I would park in the guest parking my first several days. My husband was yelled at by a rental manager as the spots were for guests only. When I told them my spot was taken they went to look during the middle of the day (when people are at work) and basically called me a liar. Luckily I took pictures of the cars I found in my spot. They then apologized and gave me a better spot. Staff: The security people at night are awesome. I enjoyed talking to them. So were the valet people for the Hyatt and the bartender at the Hyatt! I also enjoyed seeing staff at their building parties. Amenities: Excellent! Oddly they go unused most days. Pool was a little on the cold side for my liking. Kids enjoyed it though. Safety: The location is not safe. This is one of the main reasons I decided to leave. One night I heard a woman screaming and horns honking out my window. There were men trying to carjack people by walking in the middle of Kellogg to block them. This was very scary. Also, you can walk to lots of places but be prepared to be sexually harassed or followed. I even received a proposal on my walk to World of Beers! Security Deposit/Move Out-In: Move out and in was very easy. They let you go to the lower level where you can access dolly's and elevators. I like that their security deposit is low. I did not like that they charged me $70 for two hours of cleaning. I left the place extremely clean. I am guessing they charge everyone this to make up for standard move out work they do that most places would cover (like Kellogg Square!). It's unfortunate a few instances tainted my experience. I do think most people would enjoy and be very happy here.

They make sure their sidewalks are always clear no matter the weather, as someone who uses them…read moredaily to get to the bus I'm very thankful.

Do not, I repeat do NOT rent from this hell hole. From the day I signed my lease I saw red flags…read morebut it was too late to look for another place. I had one week to be out of my beautiful luxury apt I moved from. I went back one last time right before signing and asked to see the unit one more time just to make sure I was getting what I wanted. It was raining and one of the leasing agents looked at the other one and rolled her eyes I should have walked out right then and there. She finally did give in though and show me the unit one more time. On that tour, I asked how much it would be for a cat deposit because I was considering getting one at the time. She told me three $300. When we got back to the office where I sat down to sign the lease, I was reading through the contract and it said cat deposit is $200. I brought it to her attention and she said no it doesn't and I said yes it does. It's right here and pointed it out to her. So then she tells me oh well that's a mistake that needs to be updated. It's not my fault your contract says a different price. She should have honored the 200 deposit. In the end, I just got a note from my doctor saying that she's a companion animal so I didn't have to pay anything and they lost. Does she not realize I would have one in court? The walls are paper thin. You can literally hear your neighbors (on sides and upstairs and downstairs) having a good time in their bedroom. Apartments were built in '89 and I'm pretty sure they have the original paint and carpet in the hallway in all the buildings. The sign out front says 'luxury apartments'. They may have been luxury at one time but no more. That sign needs to come down. There was one staff member (Shannon, the manager) that I really liked and she was easy to work with, but for some reason they let her go. I guess she wasn't manipulative or evil enough. Cockroaches!!!!

TO ALL FUTURE TENANTS WHO IGNORE THE WARNINGS NOT TO GO WITH THIS PLACE - FIRST THING YOU DO, TAKE…read moreA PICTURE OF YOUR STOVETOP WHEN YOU MOVE IN. SAVE IT SOMEWHERE SAFE. There are multiple instances in reviews of them charging you 500$ to replace a "damaged" stovetop-- they're glass, some scratching is normal. When we left ours, there were a few scratches, hardly more than we started with, but they insisted it was "heavily damaged and required replacement". We lived at Valley Creek Apts for several years and for the vast majority of our stay, we had few complaints. Maintenance was efficient, the gym and lawns were kept clean. Communication from the main office was an entirely different story-- they "lost" our lease in the middle of its term and forced a resigning even though we had a copy of the original stored in our records, during which they attempted to change financial conditions of the lease. They hardly communicate important information with the community beyond small gathering events that they host, and it took several emails to get in contact with anyone. The elevators were constantly broken, and when one of the main doors broke over the winter, they took months to repair it and forced the residents of the building to cover the quadrupled gas bills for heating. They insisted that "only vehicles could be stored in garage spaces" and threw out anything that didn't fall into that category, including my water bottle that was sitting next to my bike (I had forgotten it overnight). Upon moveout, their treatment of us as renters decreased even more drastically, and they attempted to make us pay for apartment damages that we had noted upon moving in; the only reason we were able to argue that cost down at all was through numerous emails arguing our case. They threw away our internet modem upon moveout rather than alerting us that they had found it. It's just not worth it. If you DO pick VC, take LOTS of pics so they can't upcharge you horrendously.

First of all I do not live in Galtier Towers, but had the pleasure of visiting a friend who moved…read morehere from the burbs and loves it. The location bordering Lowertown is fantastic. A farmer's market in one direction, Lunds Byerlys in another as well as a drug store and scores of traditional and trending imbibing spots. The high rise view is spectacular for most residents. The building seems well managed with 24 hour security, underground parking and space efficient units.

Management is extremely unreasonable, unresponsive, and management office has a constant turnover…read more It takes at least a week to get a response to an email (if you get a response at all) They also are extremely corporate, Assistant property manager said they said they are only able to send pre approved responses to emails(from the "Toolbox" provided by corporate) and they don't seem to respond unless the answer is in those emails. Staff is short with you unless its mindless chit-chat.... Also staff seems to put you on hold when your talking, nobody seems to have a straight answer without putting you on hold. (could be the turnover tho) The lease has over 300 pages of nit-picky rules including specific ways of doing EVERYTHING in regards to your apartment. They don't tell you about all the rules before you sign the lease. Also, the overall vibe amongst renters is that bigos is a horrible place to rent from, but we are all too broke or tired to move. The only good thing is the month-to-month lease. TLDR: RUNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!

When I moved in, this area was fantastic, and management at the time was fantastic. The building…read morewas clean, well-managed, and secure. They used to do many fun local events and provided amazing customer service and resolutions promptly. Then, a constant revolving door of maintenance staff and managers started happening due to this location being basically a training ground for new managers. The building is absolutely not secure, and there are frequent break-ins and lots of theft by homeless people. You often find homeless people camping in the garage, stairwells, and hallways with less foot traffic and in the doorways. You find durg paraphernalia as well as urine and human feces in these locations constantly. You often find them enjoying themselves and helping themselves to the very little amenities they have. Packages, bikes, and cars are broken into constantly. All the complaints you make turn to deaf ears as upper management will downplay the issues or think residents are just making it up. Some of the main things that constantly break are heating and air conditioning, and they can take a long time to be resolved. The garage doors and entry doors often break or fail and stay stuck open, inviting unwanted thugs and the homeless in. Security cameras that barely work, and if they do, the images are too blurry to identify the person. For the price you pay, you basically feel as if you were living in the ghetto. Behind the building is basically a halfway house where you often find needles and syringes and trash everywhere and in front of the building next the the rayette is basically a section 8 building where thugs are sitting in front of from 7am to 2am doing and dealing drugs. This was my wonderful view, and I watched this daily. There are constant fights and lots of screaming and vandalism throughout the day and night. You see ambulances arrive 5 to 7 times a week for drug overdoses. Amenities of the building are a tiny gym that's the size of a large walk-in closet, a rooftop green area with a broken leaking fountain, and broken, dirty grills that are not used as often as they used to be. A community room. A dirty pet washing station that people rinse out dirty items in that may give your pet leprosy. Granted, you're close to the Chs field and the farmers market. Lowertown is not what it used to be. It's now a haven for the homeless, and there have been within the 3-block radius shootings, stabbings, as well as people being carried off by paramedics due to overdoses. Every year for the past 2 years, it's getting worse. Save your money and choose another location. Management does not care about you, and the area is not what it was.

My partner and I have lived here for a little over 5 years. The green roof is one of the best perks…read moreof living here. We enjoy the use of the gas fire pit, the grills and the ability to relax outdoors. Rick is a top-notch apartment manager, always responsive to your communications. The location is pretty great, but it has gotten a little crazy with the Saint's stadium nearby. If you like to be in the middle of the action, this is a place to consider for your next rental experience.

I've lived at 333 for 2.5 years and wouldn't live anyplace else in Lowertown. The building is…read moreimpressive with the huge pillars from the original factory in the hallways and apartments. It's always spotlessly clean (thanks Irma!). Nate, the maintenance manager is responsive, and always happy to go the extra mile. Bri and Alyvia in the office are friendly, hardworking and tenant communications are excellent. We live in a very urban environment so you have to be mindful of your surroundings. The building is secure and there's a security guard here (who lives in the building) from 6pm-6am and I feel safe. I love the diversity and occasionally gritty edge to the neighborhood, but it's just 3 blocks to the Farmers Market and 4 to the Saints stadium, so the suburbs invade us throughout the week in the summer. It's 3 blocks to the Mississippi for great walks and Mears Park has concerts all the time. Guest parking is metered on-street or parking ramps nearby, so a little tricky for entertaining large groups of friends. The 333 amenities (common/game/theater rooms, 24 hour coffee bar, gym and lounge next to the rooftop deck) are beautiful. I feel proud of where I live. The rent is at the top end of my budget though, and if it goes up much I'll have to move, but I love it while I can afford it.

This place is amazing! I fell in love with the high unfinished ceilings and huge windows. I have…read morefolks living above me and I heard them twice in one year. I think they dropped a dumbbell. The appliances are brand new with lots of fancy features. The building is clean and well maintained. I have not had the opportunity to put in a housekeeping ticket as of yet. I did lose a very special earring down the drain and I asked the maintenance engineer if he would help me retrieve it. He had it on my counter within hours with a nice note. I am so grateful to Ben. I really like the common areas when I need to host some friends for a gathering. The areas are exceptionally clean, so we make sure to leave it the same way. Our packages are kept in room and an email is sent promptly when they arrive. The packages are organized in an easy to find fashion. Our neighbors are the best. If you have friends over they are respectful. We have a book club, seasonal get-togethers and art crawls. We do have many dog owners. I love the doggie biscuit pot at the entrance. I think all the doggies do as well. Lana and Calsey always keep it stocked. That is a Bonus! We have needed special favors and Calsey, Lana, Ben, Nate and Dee are extremely helpful. My printer was out of ink and I needed the lease agreement printed, a package placed outside the package room due to my late arrival, something hung...the list goes on and on and they never made me feel like I was inconveniencing them. We had an issue with trespassers camping out and management employed a security guard to ensure our safety. Calsey went as far as to fight city council to close our skyway access. She won! Thanks Calsey and team. These folks care and make you feel like part of the family. I never want to move out. I think they should convert these lofts into condos.