Island Drive Apartments

Worst apartment complex on campus. Don’t live here! Exposed wiring, stained carpets and black mold when I moved in. Management doesn’t return security deposits, maintenance never fixes anything and staff are rude.

Pros:
Great location! Near the hospital, on a bus line to central campus and north campus, near the park and a river running by.
Cons :
BED BUGS!!! Cant believe there are bed bugs in my room. And the office charged me 400 bucks (a lot more cheaper. according to what they said) to kill them.
WINTER IS COLD. you know how cold Michigan is, it is a Winter Fell. Here is Winter Hell in Island drive. Bring your own heater and harass the staffer almost every day so they could take the heat on a little bit more day by day.
POOR MANAGEMENT! It would take you YEARS to get things fixed if you email your maintenance request. Staff is not helpful and its turn over rate is high. New faces pop up every half year.
I am moving out, for sure! !!!

I’ve lived here for almost a month now, and I’m beginning to question my decision.
I live in a one-​bedroom apartment which is a great size, seems to be decently maintained.
BUT. The one A/​C unit is in the living room, and despite a ceiling fan about the kitchen table and one above the bed, the air does not circulate back into the bedroom. This is mostly fine for me even the summer because I keep my place warmer than most people like, but I have a high tolerance. The living room will be ice cold while the bedroom is muggy.
I’m mostly writing this review because I find the management office to be one of the worst I’ve experienced. They are so frustratingly disorganized and unprofessional. I filled out a lot of paper work and they couldn’t organize it. I filled out a form detailing that I was bringing a cat, his name, and his coloring. I even followed up via email close to my move-​in date to ask if they wanted his medical history (up to date shots). Even with all of that, they were completely unaware that I was bringing a cat.
This could have been good, less pay, but I brought my cat into the office (in his carrier) when I picked up my keys since I didn’t want to leave him in my car. Well. Surprise to them. Even with all of MY asking and following up, they were completely unaware that this was the plan.
I was also in the office when another new tenant was. He was trying to break his lease just two days after signing because his financial situation changed. The office worker told him he would need to talk to their home office, which is completely accurate and reasonable. But then the tenant got frustrated, and instead of remaining professional, the office employee started a fighting/​yelling match that included phrases like «I don’t care! You’re financial situation is not my problem! Get another job!» He asked for the home office’s phone number and/​or to speak to her manager, to which she replied that the manager wasn’t in and she DIDN’T EVEN HAVE the home office’s number. Completely ridiculous.
Anyways, I will probably be writing additional reviews as I continue my time here. Hopefully there are some good points I can add to balance this out, but I want to make sure people looking know what they’re getting into.

Sucks. Do not live here.
Even if you are pressed for budget, live somewhere else.
Maintenance is horrible here. The main staff are not nice nor courteous.
Rent goes up $ 10 each year.
Air conditioning is TERRIBLE.
Dirty and terrible terrible laundry system.
Bathrooms are super dirty.
Maintenance guys NEVER do a good job doing their work. For goodness sake! They are freaking paid to do their job, but yet don’t do their job.
I would cut back on eating out and extra amenities in life to get a better place than Island Drive.

I lived here for three years.
1. Safe. As a girl with an overactive imagination who enjoys watching «true crime» shows, I never felt unsafe here. That’s a huge plus.
2. Old, worn out, shoddy apartments. Not much else to say there. These are crummy units.
3. Poor management and poor maintenance… I guess I should say «hit or miss» but more like poor. They had to spackle something in my apartment once and they spilled spackle on the floor and left it there. I later noticed they had used one of my bath towels to try and clean up their mess, then hung my bath towel back up. How sketchy is that? I wouldn’t let maintenance in unless you are there to supervise.
4. BAD air conditioning. Heat is relatively decent, and that’s important. There’s just one air conditioning unit in the living room, so the living room is freezing while the rest of the apartment never cools when it’s hot out. This makes the hot summer months (which can be REALLY hot) absolutely awful. Like can’t fall asleep at night awful.
5. AWESOME location. Like 8 – 12 minutes walk to the University of Michigan Hospital/​Medical School.
6. Crappy construction. You will hear your upstairs neighbors for sure. Consider getting a 3^rd floor unit if you think this will bother you.
7. No bugs! Some other reviews mentioned bugs, but I’ve only had a handful of spiders the entire time I’ve been here.
8. The «gym» is a joke. I think 2 treadmills and 2 elliptical machines and one multi-​purpose contraption that uses bands and is really awkward. All are ancient and the machines are broken and/​or sound like they’re going to self-​destruct most of the time.
9. Not much in walking distance besides the Hospital/​Medical School. Can’t walk to a grocery store or any restaurants or anything.
10. Decent price. Under $ 1000 for a 2 bd /​1 bath isn’t too bad… given the location.
11. Crappy winter maintenance. They only seem to shovel/​salt through half of the complex.
12. Horrible towing. Tow trucks troll the property looking for improperly parked people. You have to go thru a lot of crap to get guest parking passes, and they’re only good for three days.
Private message me if you have any specific questions.

Be sure to read the lease carefully. They include a clause about entering your apartment without notice, which conflicts with tenants’ legal right to reasonable notice.
Maintenance takes a while to tend to requests, misses details, and leaves tools behind.
Tip for new residents: if you do sign here, be sure to know the unit’s history of mold, water leaks, and bugs.

I lived in Island Drive for a year and I can’t say I hated the place, but I can definitely say I had a lot nicer apartments. The overall layout and size of the two bedroom apartment was great, however in the summer with the lack of central ac and only box unit placed inconveniently in the corner of the living room, it could sometimes be unbearable. Also, bugs, bugs, bugs in the summer! Mostly spiders, I never saw a cockroach or silver fish, but we occasionally had a few other creepy crawlers visit.
The reason I am giving it such a low rating is because of bed bugs. Yes, BED BUGS. Not only did we get them once, but we got them on three separate occasions. We were also not the first apartment in the building to have them. Two other apartments were treated before mine was the first time and when mine was treated the second time, so was the neighboring apartment. I am convinced they are now living in the walls of the building.
The complex has a policy that the renter pays for any bed bug infestations. However, since we were infested so shortly after our neighbors, we did not have to pay and they were very nice and helpful
I can’t give them one star because I mostly had positive experiences there, but seriously beware– some buildings may be infested with bed bugs, which is not considered by the CDC to be a health hazard, but from personal experience is definitely a hazard to your psychological wellbeing.
Pros: size of apartment, cost, new management is friendly, pool, maintenance was prompt (however, others who lived in the same complex did not experience the same promptness)
Cons: BED BUGS, other creepy crawlers, only one inconveniently located box unit, could sometimes hear neighbors

Literally one of the worst apartment complexes on campus. Location is great, but I’d rather live anywhere else. Management is rude and greedy, maintenance is lazy and never fixes anything. I’ve seen roaches and some of the creepiest bugs in my life. Don’t do it.

The apartments are not bad. The management is not very helpful, specially the woman named Amera. Every time I call regarding something she says she doesn’t know. She doesn’t try to help but instead she tries to defer you to other employees. She made my move in very difficult.

In one word, I’d say tolerable. I lived there fall 2010 to spring 2012
1) When my roommate and I first moved into the apartment, there were dead bugs (apparently box elder bugs) EVERYWHERE. When we complained, they sent over a maintenance guy with a bucket and a towel :-/​. To keep it short, the place was in dire need of a cleaning (obviously more than a single bucket, a single guy, and a single towel could handle).
There was supposed to be a cleaning crew sent to clean our apartment sometime during the week. They never cleaned our apartment (largely condensed story) so we asked that we receive some money back for our inconvenience… It took me a year to finally get that settled (even after they had agreed to give us the money).
2) They tow like crazy in that parking lot. I am not saying that to be a bad thing. Just be wary and warn your guests!
3) My bedroom was always a few degrees cooler than the rest of the place in the winter (I didn’t stay there during the summer so I can’t speak on that). The drafty window didn’t help.
4) We left the apartment in a better condition than we found it yet, a year later, I have not seen a security deposit check returned to me.
But it’s not all bad. If there’s not a problem, then you shouldn’t have a problem. I give them a C– in customer service. They are at a good location, decent size apartments, and cheaper than other places in the area… and they are very much aware of this. Money talks. They know people will sacrifice good service for cheap rent.
When I first saw the apartment, I was not impressed. But after looking at what else Ann Arbor had to offer (within walking distance to UM), when I viewed the apartment for the second time, it’s like I viewed it with new eyes. It was infinitely better than before (but it’s all relative). Ann Arbor places don’t give you much bang for your buck. And once we put our relatively nice furniture in the place, it wasn’t bad. I was comfortable. Nice distance from campus. I felt safe. And they do have a pool (which I never used because Michigan has more winter than summer).

These apartments are OK. I don’t live here but my boyfriend does, and let’s just say, I’d rather hang out at my place. For a grad student needing to live close to North Campus though, they fulfill the need. Overall the apartments are tolerable, though outdated and lack accessibility. There is nothing luxurious or homey about them and non of the perks some apartments have such as a gym or pool.

Buyer (lessee) beware! Do not trust this company. Earlier this year Island Drive offered a 1 month free on a 10 month lease for a studio on their website. I was asked to place a $ 200 security deposit to reserve this rate. When it came time to sign the lease, they stated that the deal was actually for a 12 month lease and refuse to give my security deposit back. My husband and I have been fighting for months now to get this money back and have taken it to the apartment complex’s owner. Both the management and the owner have been just awful to us. Given that this is a prime location for students, it seems just terrible that a business would treat their customers in the way that we have been treated. I would never recommend this to anyone, no matter how close it is to the medical school or Michigan campus. There are plenty of other options in the area such that you can avoid the dishonest, rude and hostile management/​ownership of this «business.»

I had an interesting 2 year residency here. This huge apartment complex was filled with medical, public health, electrical engineering, and computer science professional/​graduate students. Needless to say, the complex is very quiet with the occasional peep of students on an apartment hopping social for drinks during the beginning of the school year.
The complex is fairly dated, back from the 60s or 70s. The units are arranged in groups of 6 apartments, with 2 apartments on each floor, basement, 1^st, and the 2^nd floor. Although the walls are thin and the flooring has very little insulation, the limited number of apartments in each group helps minimize the noise level.
Most of the basement units are studios and deluxe studios. The 1^st and 2^nd floors are single and double bedrooms. Each group of 6 apartments has their own coin-​operated washer and dryer. This ratio almost guarantees no laundry conflicts. The place is fairly well maintained, with the trees and bushes always trimmed, the grass mowed, the fallen leaves raked, the snow plowed, the pool pH calibrated, and the heat always working. Tim the maintenance person is on top of everything. The management office has at least 3 people working to address issues ASAP.
Plentiful parking for a chump change in exchange for a permit. The open lot is so safe that I have left my car doors unlocked a few times over night, and nothing was ever taken from my car. Despite plentiful parking, visitors beware, constant towing is in effect 24/​7, almost to the point of OCD towing. I guess this town has to make a quick buck somewhere, and so they prey on poor grad/​professional students. Punks.
Given that it is Ann Arbor, there was a summer of the attack of the beetles disguised as lady bugs, and management made a poor attempt to extinguish those buggers that invaded every corner of the apartment. I may have ate a couple in my sleep while others drowned in my pool of drool. Then there was another attack of the wasps, which freaked the crap out of me. And then there was the constant battle with the spiders.
This huge complex is under a very greedy, yet professional management company that has a zero-​tolerance policy for late rent. One day of late rent, and you are slapped with a $ 50 fine. If you do not pay up within exactly 14 days, you will be slapped with a legal notice. Ann Arbor is not known to be a tenant friendly city. So be punctual with your rent.
For humble students, there is nothing to complain about, but this place is certainly not luxurious either. Get your learn on, and move on.