Apartment Review for Forest Park Apartments - Kansas City, MO

Supposedly, this is a crime-free, drug free apartment community. However, I think that just means that crime happens and then they don't tell the apartment community/residents about it or acknowledge it. Supposedly, there is security but that security is shared with other apartment communities so there is no continual security on-site. I have heard from others that cars have been stolen, vandalized, etc... but the Forest Park management does not notify the residents when these events happen other than to put a general blurb in the monthly newsletter which recommends that apartment residents should not leave items in their cars. The lighting on the property is atrocious and insufficient to meet minimal safety standards. The maintenance workers spend there days smoking by the pool with the leasing agents so they are too busy to get any real work done such as cleaning the grounds or following up on actual maintenance requests. In fact, we can not even open our patio doors to our bedroom because of the amount of cigarette smoke from the pool. It is disgusing!!!!!!!!!! Almost everytime I look outside or go outside the head maintenance man is sitting outside smoking. I think they pay him per cigarrette. Trash around the dumpsters is left for days on end. Trash is also strewn around the buildings and the property thereby attracting rodents, raccoons, and other unwanted wildlife. This is not only a nuisance, but could be dangerous. The interior of the buildings are dirty and dusty - the hallway carpets are stained and dirty, cobwebs can be seen throughout the hallways, the glass is not cleaned, etc... The exterior of the buildings are chipped and badly in need of paint, especially the balconies. The main entrance to the apartment parking lot is crumbling and dangerous as well as looking dilapidated. The noise level from I-35 is tremendous and increases in the winter due to the lack of foliage. The trucks, emergency vehicles, and general traffic noise is defnitely less than desirable. I wish I would have realized how bad it was before I rented here and how much sleep/rest I would lose as a result of excessive highway noise. The leasing office is ineffective in dealing with problems. Others have mentioned that parking is a problem, but I have never had a significant problem with parking while living at this apartment community. However, if people are having a problem there is unfortunately no way to enforce the parking rules and like everything else, management probably does little or nothing to correct the problem. The apartment manager is nice, but she is surrounded by buffoon idiots for leasing agents and maintenance employees. Since, I have lived here many people have come and gone. The turnover here at Forest Park is greater than I have ever seen at any other apartment community and it seems to be mainly due to poor maintenance staff,lack of follow-through by management on rule enforcement, and a fundamental lack of safety awareness.