AVA Ballston Square

As a rule, I do not write one-star reviews. Breaking that rule for this place. PRO: The front desk folks are outstanding. CON: There is on-going construction and renovation with no communication about how long it will be or what the plan is. There is a deafening drilling sound radiating through the building from 9am-5pm. The biggest windows (the sliding doors to the balcony) have been covered with plastic and drilled shut from the outside. Both my wife and I work from home - but this is now not possible given the noise. AVA organized for inadequate office space outside of the building during the construction. The co-working space inside the building is also not sufficient. We tried to work from one of the pods downstairs (when you can get them - wake up early!) and it smelled like mildew and there was a cockroach in there. The air vent around our dryer is malfunctioning somehow as well - it sometimes smells like smoke + febreeze, sometimes like mildew + wet dog. This smell leaks into our kitchen and front room. Want to live here? Me neither.

Do not rent here!!!! They have been renovating apartments for over a year with no end in sight, the entire building sounds like a war zone every day Monday - Friday. No matter how many residents complain their solution is "deal with it or move out". Meanwhile things in the rest of the building (elevators, printers, door locks, lights, gym equipment, etc) are constantly breaking and never updated yet on top of overpriced rent they charge you an extra $500 yearly for amenity fees. And please please trust me when I tell you the parking garage is an absolute NIGHTMARE.

I loved the place at first but until they start caring and listening to their customers I would never live there again. The Good: At my Avalon, the staff was very friendly and everyone tried to deal with issues promptly. The maintenance staff dealt with issues in less than 24 hours! The bad and worse: Expect SEVERE charges upon move out. I was billed for over $1000 on questionable damages and was never allowed to speak to the staff who identified the alleged issue so it could be explained to me. My preliminary inspection report was squeaky clean, but then they decided that they wanted to replace the entire carpet and put it on my dime. The corporate office is AWFUL; instead of listening to my concerns and addressing them about their decision to replace the carpet, they are pressuring me to pay immediately without ever seeing an inspection report. They are also threatening to ruin my credit report by sending me to collection even though they are unable to produce common documents to prove that the charges are valid. Avoid Avalon Bay or you will end up paying for it afterward. I loved the place at first but until they start caring and listening to their customers I would never live there again.

I enjoyed the beginning of my lease, and love some of the employees like Mo at the front desk, but have had a horrible living experience ever since. When we signed our lease, we were promised several amenities which are no longer available: -library within the building -computer lounge within the building -party room within the building -sauna in the gym -mail room within the building -large presentable pool area -outdoor courtyard -lobby About halfway through our lease, Avalon Ballston Square began construction on the building and took these amenities away from its residents. We have endured unbearably loud construction noises that you can hear from your living area that begin around 8am. Many building entrances are not available, which is especially unfortunate when it is raining. The elevators are constantly under construction which has been very frustrating. The entrances and elevators that are available often smell like dog urine. Many hallways are not available on the main floor. I have to walk outside and around the block to access my mailbox. There is an overall messy appearance (exposed wires on ceilings, etc.) from constant construction and our water has been cut off several times in the morning which has prevented us from taking showers in the apartment before work in the morning. None of these issues where brought to our attention when we originally toured the building and agreed to sign our lease. The property management team has not been helpful in resolving any of our issues. Overall, it has been a horrible living experience and I will not be renting with Avalon again.

It's a shame what happened to this place. I've lived here for two years and I have never seen a residential building go from so good to so bad in such a hurry. When I re-signed my lease last year, the leasing office made no mentions of the upcoming renovations (probably because I would not have renewed my lease if I knew). They tried to spin it as a "temporary inconvenience", but their idea of temporary has been quoted as between 14 and 19 months. Doesn't seem "temporary" to me, but the woman I spoke to at corporate said the definition is subjective. I asked her what time limit she would consider to not be temporary, and her silence made me think I could be birthed and die at this property and the continued renovations would still be considered "temporary". Here is a list of some of the grievances going on and what can be expected for the next 14 to 19 months: -"Temporary" garbage bag walls...which have already been around for months -False fire alarms -Water shutoffs without any notice -Lack of access to courtyard and grills, which were highly touted when I paid my large amenity fee when I moved in. Not sure if the large parts of dirt are considered a new amenity or not -Exposed wiring throughout the hallways and elevators -Lack of any common area as they are demolishing the lobby and hallways which connected the two buildings -Elevators that require you to hop off on the 2nd floor Look, I get it...apartments want to make money. There are a couple of brand new buildings that are popping up in the area increasing competition so they need to renovate this place to keep up with the competition. But they are doing it at the current residents expense and will be doing so for quite a long time. I'm sure this place will be nice in 2021 when all the renovations are done. Until then, do yourself a favor and skip this place, unless you want to deal with all the headaches mentioned above.