Terrace Station - Apartment complex in Mountlake Terrace - 24000 Van Ry Blvd, USA

This is the worst apartment I’ve ever lived in. I’m usually very easy going, live in most apartments for a few years without complaint. This place seemed really nice on the surface, but there are so many things they don’t warn you about. 1. I live above a daycare. They leave the garage open all day for them, so there’s no end to the break-in problem if you’re (like me) assigned to a garage space right next to the open door. There’s also noise all day. 2. Packages - no idea what’s going on, but my packages take days to appear after being delivered, even when there’s photographs of the package on the floor in the mail room. This has happened a few times a month every single month, and once, a refrigerated medication delivery went missing and had to be thrown out by the time it showed up. My insurance wouldn’t pay for it a second time so it cost me $1240 to replace in addition to the initial $100 copay. 3. Frequent inspections/services during the day. I work nights, and can’t be up waiting for them all day but they won’t give a specific time of arrival. One of the inspectors literally walked in on me sleeping in bed because the bedroom lock doesn’t work. The other banged on the front door for about 4 minutes before I finally got dressed and let him in. It was unlocked for him. He knew I was sleeping and still banged on the bedroom door on his way out too. What would they do if I wasn’t home that weekday morning? Why not just walk in if the door is unlocked and no response? 4. The apartment looks nice, but on closer inspection, tons of little things are broken that I’m sure I’ll be charged for when I leave, but missed during my initial inspection. The blinds in the bedroom were down when I moved in and as it turns out, they don’t go up on one side (the bottom is broken off). There is a cracked tile in the kitchen. One of the drawers wasn’t assembled right so there’s just a hole to the next drawer down. The windows are nice to open but the highway/construction are very loud. That wouldn’t be so bad but they didn’t put AC into these brand new apartments, and the windows are not the standard shape to accommodate a window unit. You can rent a portable unit from them for $100/mo, but portable units aren’t made big enough to cover our 1400sqft apt so the bedrooms are dreadfully hot in the summer with no recourse. Also the “new” carpets don’t go all the way into the corners?! 5. They sent us a threatening email about smoking on our balcony. We are lifetime non-smokers who were on vacation when the supposed offense occurred - turns out, the lady on the apartment next to ours is always smoking swisher sweets out there, and she lets her animals poo out there too right on the floor. Gross. I’d normally never break a lease (so expensive) but I’m tired of everything here. I really wanted to love it and was so excited to be here but I’m now saving to get out of this mess. Don’t make my mistake; don’t be swayed by the pretty lobby and nice facade. UPDATE: per the response, the community manager was supposed to reach out to me. I never heard from them. They did however completely fix the package situation after this review - I wish they’d done it when I emailed them but they do deserve credit for fixing it so quickly and then sticking with it for several weeks now. Thank you to whomever made that change - I know I sound mean in this review, but I’m just frustrated. Please note if you are considering Terrace Station West, we’ve been evacuated twice this week (Dec 2023) for false fire alarms, at 9:30p and 1:30a. I’m hoping it’s a fluke, but it may be worth asking if the issue has been resolved if you’re signing a lease this month. It sucks hauling yourself out of bed on a weeknight to go stand in the rain. Update: 4th fire alarm in three weeks. Many people have stopped evacuating, from what I can tell. There were only 3 other families outside besides mine this time.

The office staff has been so helpful during my application and move in process. Alyssa was so friendly every time I had an encounter with her and the maintenance team keeps the community in such great shape. I am so happy I moved her and would recommend to my friends!

Had an amazing experience working with Grace Cardenas, the Leasing Manager for Thrive Communities. I recently started apartment hunting and wanted to check out Terrace Station. Gave them a call to see if I could schedule a tour and spoke with Grace, who was incredibly friendly and worked quickly to schedule some time for me to come in that very same day. Upon arriving, Grace was very welcoming and took the time to get a better understanding of what I was looking for. We proceeded to go on a tour of the building, apartment space, amenities and the rooftop area. She answered all of my questions without hesitation and did a great job of showing me all of the great things they had to offer. With this being my first time apartment hunting, I couldn't have asked for a better experience and left with a lot of great things to consider, and I have Grace to thank for that!

I would NOT recommend anyone move here. Their communication was horrible which exacerbated the resolution of many of the below issues. My final move-out statement is inaccurate. I'm now two months in without any resolution. When I first reached out on Nov 3 (and later followed up due to lack of response), they confirmed in writing my final move out expenses only to increase it less than a week later with an "oops, our bad" email. I disputed the additional charges, and they just keep sending me my final statement without addressing my concerns. The level of noise at all times was terrible. Light rail had unpredictable overnight construction with noise, and they would shine bright lights below overnight that would light up my bedroom. I, regrettably, lived next to I-5 so I could "enjoy" the view of the golf course. The I-5 noise was much worse long-term than when I briefly toured the apartment. If "quiet" is what you're looking for, it's not here. There's too little parking for residents. We were amongst the very first residents in the building and they did not have two paid spots for us. Construction will take all or most of the parking behind the West building during the weekdays. Car break-ins were rampant. P1 is left open the majority of the day, so resident cars were unsafe. People broke in to the "secure" P2 garage. My bike was tampered with. There was -at least- 7 ear-piercing building-wide fire alarms that went off in my 2.5 year residency. I lost count, but some of the dates were: 7/15, 7/30, 11/8, and 12/11. I stopped keeping track after so many. Speaking of fire alarms... Fire alarm testing in 2022 ran the building-wide fire alarms for 5 hours 2 days in a row non-stop. There were many, many other apartment inspections that disrupted my work days. It was probably the most I've ever had maintenance in my unit than any other apartment I've ever lived in. The "road" behind the West building is dangerous because there's no sidewalk and people drive too fast going through. The Montessori parents particularly drive recklessly, period. This complaint is especially relevant to those who will be taking their dog around the building. I was harassed by another resident who was speeding late at night behind the West building. I repeatedly motioned for her to slow down; when she didn't, I flipped her off. She then ambushed me in the front of the building while I was walking my dog and pulled out her phone to record me. I filed a report with Security at 12am. The manager, Ann Marie, did not respond to my email the next day that I marked "urgent" because she said she was "busy" depositing checks. #priorities, I guess. They wouldn't issue the other resident a warning without also issuing me one as well. In addition to the above points, I made numerous complaints about smoking and noise, both to Security and to management. Management would just keep referring me to Security. In fact, I wonder if I should file my Google review with Security because that was their refrain every time a problem came up and took no further action. When I read back all the problems I had, I wonder what in the world possessed me to renew. The unit itself was nice, but too bad all of the other problems came with it. Social media manager: don't offer to have me reach out to you to "discuss." You have an email with all of my listed concerns/disputed charges if you bothered to look at it.

Love, love, love my new place 🤩 proud to call this place home! Gorgeous property, breathtaking Mountain View’s, the grounds & pet station area are very well maintained. Smooth move in process thanks to the amazing staff. You guys Rock! Can’t wait to settle in & have my friends over!

Would NOT recommend. Staff was nice enough, but management is incompetent. 1. Fire alarm goes off and requires building evacuation monthly. 2. Trash bins are frequently broken or full. 3. Elevators are a nightmare due to space being shared with a daycare. 4. My vehicle was broken into TWICE and there were no cameras on the spaces. Surprisingly, there are multiple cameras pointed towards the empty and unused back racks. 5. Lastly, and worst of all, we were completely lied to about the move out process and thus was left with a huge balance at moveout. DO NOT TRUST ANYTHING THAT THE STAFF TELLS YOU. Make sure to confirm everything in writing. I don't care what they tell you, they will deny the conversation ever happened. Not only did they add additional items to our moveout checklist after we moved across the country, but they refuse to provide any information for anyone outside the complex to try and resolve the matter. This was disappointing since we thought we had a good relationship with the staff at the front desk and were friendly enough. All that changed when we decided not to renew. We reserved the elevator for our move and (as usual) the office was late opening by 45 minutes. Thus, our movers started late and we ended up incurring a fee. Ultimately, the price, amenities, and offerings were NOT worth the rent price or the headaches we experienced moving in OR out.

Mail service costs too much to constantly misplace packages. That wouldn't be that bad if the front desk would take ownership but they always blame me or the mail service even though there is every bit of evidence that they haven't sorted out the mail situation. The idea of convenience is clearly more important than getting us our mail. Parking isn't great. Most of the surrounding spots are timed. Unless you leave before 7 and get home after 5, you will have to pay for a garage spot or find a spot around the back. The big garage door on P1 plays by its own rules. I don't think the door openers work on it but if you don't mind going around or you are assigned P2, you'll be okay, I suppose. If you are in P1 and get home between 3-6, I hope you don't mind children. The childcare gets out and uses the main garage and one of the elevators. Not a bad thing but some of the parents rip through the garage like they have a death wish. So be careful when taking out your recyclables. Trash chute is great unless it doesn't work for a week. This happens on an off. Once again, wouldn't be so bad if we weren't paying for that too. Convenience, sort of. Dog wash. I'm sure it is nice!

I feel so safe at Terrace Station, the security features in place are amazing! I am impressed with how well kept everything is year around, inside and out! Kudos to the maintenance team they have working. I would definitely recommend this complex to anyone looking to move to the area.