University Park Apartments

We love our apartment! We have one of the newer remodeled apartments and its the nicest place we have ever lived. Some of that may of course be regional differences, but I feel like I live in a castle. The ceilings are so high, and there is so much light coming in the windows. We have a private balcony, and are right across from the new community center which has a great gym and lounge. We are a little sad that there is no pool anymore like some of the older pictures on the property showed, but it's not the end of the world for us. We have 2 dogs that love the wooded feel of the community - so much better than downtown in a stuffy highrise. The location is close enough to bike to campus or down the road to the plaza that has food, bars, and stores, which is great since we do not drive a car. It's also right on the bus line for when we need to go further. The only criticism is that the maintenance team could be faster to respond.

I've been living at University Park Apartments for over a year now, and my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. There's a strong sense of community here. The management organizes regular events for residents, which helps foster a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. University Park Apartments has been a fantastic place to live. The combination of location, amenities, and a strong sense of community has made my choice great. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable and convenient living experience near the university.

I am an outgoing resident of University Park (resident ~1 year). While there were a few stumbling points amid the transition of property ownership around the time of our move-in (August 2023), it’s clear that Nest Communities is investing a lot of resources into the property with a number of big renovations. University park is a large complex though I was impressed with the office’s attention and willingness to work through our issues with us (specifically replacing old fixtures etc). Flexibility is one word that comes to mind and we greatly appreciated the team over our year with Nest Communities.

A big thanks goes to the maintenance team. Lee is wonderful and took all of our tickets seriously. We wish we could bring him along with us to our new residence.

I am an outgoing resident of University Park (tenant ~1yr). I moved in with my partner in August 2023 right around the time the property was amid a transition in ownership. We are leaving University Park to be closer to downtown Ithaca.

In the beginning, we had a few stumbling points including needing fixtures replaced and having trouble accessing our unit on move in day. We were not very happy, we you can imagine, however Nest Communities took our complaints seriously and did what I consider a fair job in remediating any shortcomings. Problems are inevitable though we recognize Nest Communities willingness to listen to our concerns and invest time to meaningfully handle them. It’s clear over the past year that Nest Communities is pouring a lot of resources in renovating and updating facilities and it’s already paying off (new gym and lounge area are great!)

A big thank you goes to the maintenance team for all of their help this past year. Lee is excellent and we wish we could take him with us to our new residence.

In February 2023 University Park was sold to Live More Ithaca (now Nest Communities). Since then our rent has increased by $300, pet rent increased by $25, and they stopped paying the $50 for internet.

During the past two winters the parking lots have never been adequately cleared of snow. The sidewalks have probably been cleared a total of 3 times. As a result, there is often ice covering the sidewalks and parking lots and they are difficult to navigate.

The buildings are in bad shape but no improvements have been made recently. The outside carpets are moldy, many AC units smell terrible, and there is no overhead lighting in the living room or bedrooms and very little natural light. Insulation is very poor, which drives our heating costs up and there's a hole in the outside wall where a woodpecker lives. Every summer we have a terrible time with fruit flies that live in the walls.

Yet the owners appear to justify higher rents because of superficial amenities like a "pet pampering station." And the swimming pool has never had water in it.

In short, the prices are similarly high as much nicer apartments and the quality has gotten worse recently.

The unit is ok. It’s old but livable. The natural lighting is terrible at daytime. I have to turn on the light in my living room to work. The room is very humid during summer, and it’s easy to have molds. The wall is thin, and the soundproofing is not that good. I live in first floor, and I could easily hear noise from above at night. The property management company is terrible. My unit is not very clean when I moved in, and I have to clean it again by myself since they refused to do it. They are also very hard to be reached out. They never answered the phone call and replied emails very slow. I have to physically be there every time in order to solve problems.

Management is absolutely terrible. They take a month to respond to you, and we are still waiting on our maintenance requests that were submitted two months ago. Our sink leaks, air conditioning is terrible. We actually switched out of the first apartment we moved into because it had living and dead bugs everywhere. The only reason we stayed is because the apartment unit we moved into is the only new building in the complex. so it isn't too bad. But definitely poorly constructed. Not worth the money. It'll work for now, I guess.

I have lived at University Park for a year and a half now, and in my opinion it is one of the better places to live in Ithaca for students in terms of value and price. Many of the other apartments near campus charge much more but do not have as many amenities. Included in the rent is a spacious floor plan, walk-in closet, and in-unit washer/dryer. It is a bit further away from Cornell's campus (about a 10 minute drive or bus ride), but I personally enjoy living somewhere that is a bit quieter and away from Collegetown. If you do not have a car, it is right next to a bus stop. It is a quieter place and I have never had any issues with noise.

I will add that before I moved in, this apartment was advertised as having a gym and pool, both of which have been closed the entire time I've lived there (probably due to Covid). So if those are amenities you're looking for, it doesn't actually have them. I also had some issues with the management when I first moved in (the wifi wasn't set up like it was supposed to be and I had to go to Spectrum myself to fix it). However, I believe they've had a change in management somewhat recently and have been a lot more responsive since then.

It's affordable and sizeable, but that's about it. Hasn't been updated in years, I've had packages stolen from my front door, and the gym/pool advertised haven't reopened since COVID. It's incredibly far from campus and downtown, and there's only 1 bus that only comes once per hour every day.

Has really great square footage for the price (710-ish?). Has a small patio too. Technically has a pool and gym but they have been closed a long time. Near the airport so its far-ish from campus but right on the route 32 bus line so not a big problem. Management doesn't ever bother us which I like.