Village Lakes

My name is Steve. I want to give a big shout out to The Lakes crew! We just had a winter storm with lots of sleet leaving the entry ways to the Apartments very slippery and dangerous so I called maintenance and they sent a crew of guys over to break up the large sheets of ice and remove it! Now it's safe! These guys are great! Thanks guys! Five Stars for a job well done!

Located in the city itself. Near University Park, Highland Park, SMU, Greenville Ave., Presbyterian Hospital, Northpark, The Shops at Parklane, White Rock Lake, the M streets, Lakewood, Zion Lutheran Church, Old Town, and Mockingbird Station. The Lakes at The Villages has connections for washers and dryers in each unit, a laundry mat(not coin operated), a pool and hot tub, a small gym at the office, a mail room for the Lakes at The Villages, two connected ponds(the Lakes)with an approximate 2 mile walking trail circling them, which includes a dog park. Their are several places with benches and a space with picnic tables along the walking trail. The new shopping, bars and dining offerings for The Villages are a short walking distance from The Lakes at The Villages, and the large pool with the swim up bar, the main gym, the volleyball and pickle ball courts, and yoga are located in the same area as the new shops, restaurant, and bars. The Villages also has a new Hotel in the same area. Their is security, which is available 24 hours a day, onsite maintenance(which also is available 24/7/365 for energencies.) the mail room, pool,office & gym, and the laundry mat at The Lakes at The Villages are all accessed by a security code. The Lakes are very pet friendly. There are events the Villages hosts weekly and monthly(most cost extra, a few are free. The Lakes has a considerable number of ducks and geese that live on the property; for being in the city, and near 75, Greenville, Northwest Highway, Skillman, and just a couple of miles from Uptown, Downtown, Harwood District, Lower Greenville, and Oaklawn, the Lakes at the Villages is a small oasis with its own green spaces and nature insulated from the hustle and bustle just off property, and very much feels like a neighborhood, as opposed to simply an apartment complex or high rise. As a native of the Park Cities, the location is the best part of The Lakes at The Villages, but the Villages are not high rise, center of Downtown or Uptown living, and have been here for many decades. FYI: Not every unit faces the lakes/walking trail.

Way overpriced! Used to be nice looking but the trees are disappearing! Emails and ads trying to get more money from us. Loud leaf blowers, mowers and freaking chain saws. They can kick you out any time if they decide to bulldoze your building.

The management needs to improve. We've had several occurrences where a simple maintenance order will go haywire (not completed, status unknown, etc) and the office staff never knows what's going on. Other times we have to beg for a real solution, for example our A/C was smelling musty and they only offered a scent cover. I had to be persistent with both the office and maintenance staff to get a routine air duct cleaning which resolved the issue. This review is being triggered because after 2 years of on-time rent history, no complaints, and generally exhibiting excellent tenant history, the management is not granting us ANY flexibility with our move-out date. They will not allow us to move out even 1 day earlier without paying major early termination fees, even though we are contacting them 6 months in advance. I have rented apartments in the DFW area my entire life and I have never, ever experienced such rigidity and blatant unhelpfulness regarding the move-out process.

New Current Lakes Management is not nearly as responsive, efficient, or concerned about reported problems as was the previous Lincoln Properties Management folks. Dog poop is fairly rampant in the grassy areas. Whatever happened to the DNA testing for dogs? I have repeatedly asked for our breezeway to be blown off twice a week (like it was under Lincoln on Mondays and Fridays). Additionally, previously, one porter under Lincoln, took care of the entire Lakes Area for picking up discarded trash by residents and vendors, sweeping up around both the recycle and trash dumpsters, etc. on a daily basis. I have again asked several times for such services and a twice a day walk through (morning and afternoon) by the porters to pick up both driveways and grassy areas of trash, fallen limbs, etc. There are now some 3-4 Lakes porters (as best I can tell) and they don't come anywhere near performing what one previous porter accomplished each day. I pick up trash and police up around our cul-de-sac dumpsters as I have given up on the current porters doing so on any type of regular basis. Last week, after the high winds, my wife and I swept up several bags of leaves from our breezeway as we were tired of walking through 3-4 inches of them. The sub contractors get by with murder by trashing the place. The contractors place debris on a tarp and drag it to the dumpster...leaving whatever falls off en route or near the dumpster as is. I also see the same thing (trash) around Building 26 when I pick up the mail each day for an elderly resident in Building 26. Lastly, now a meeting is required to install a handrail for an elderly couple, whereas before management responded to the need by residents before a meeting or lawsuit was required. It appears to me that the current porters gather around the 8650 Mail Room using it as their office/comfort place...instead of doing their assigned chores. The bottom line is that the Lakes no longer has any management...except in title only. I predict, and some residents agree with me, that the Villages/Lakes is no longer the pristine entity it once was...it is just a former shadow of itself and heading down hill fast. On a positive note, the apartment maintenance requests are still honored and repaired in a timely fashion...thank goodness!