Tupelo Alley Apartments

Bike and other garage thefts keep happening, despite the fact that there is a security guard roaming the property after hours.
Our red bike trailer was stolen from the garage last night. Clearly, the security guard is not doing a very good job if these thefts keep happening. There needs to be a camera or the security guard posted at the garage gate, as that’s the only way a non-​resident can get in (e.g., they probably sneak in behind a car). A simple camera feeding footage to a cloud would probably be a cheap, easy option for management. That way, we can catch the person or people stealing from us and prevent future thefts. Or perhaps it’s a former resident who hung onto a key FOB.
The trailer wasn’t worth a lot, but it’s the principle.
In the almost year we’ve been living here, many of our neighbors have posted on the online resident board (Active Building) about their theft experiences – mostly bikes from the garage. It’s good to make each other aware of what’s going on so we can all be more vigilant, keep our eyes out for anything suspicious, etc. However, management recently began moderating new posts to the board, and it took them almost the full day to approve my post about this incident, which I submitted around 7am. After chatting with the manager, it sounds like they prefer residents come to them directly about situations like this vs. posting on the board.
It sounds like management is doing what they can to remedy the situation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we continue to see thefts here. Very sad. The board moderation is also frustrating – takes away from the interactive intention of the board and feels like a form of censorship.

Don’t do it. Do NOT move here.
Like others, I have seen the building go way downhill since it was changed ownership. Upkeep simply doesn’t happen. The common areas in the building look like hell and I’m getting to a point that I feel embarrassed to have guests over. Stains, smudges and holes on the walls, spots on the carpets — these things were usually addressed by the old management company, now they are completely overlooked.
Some supposed improvements were made to the lobby area of the A building, yet it looks older and more neglected than ever. (Whoever paid for that floor refinishing job … yikes.) At times, garbage and recycling in the trash room has piled up so much that I can’t even wade through it all to get to the trash compactor. Et cetera, et cetera.
God forbid you have to deal with anyone in the management office. They are uncommunicative and unapologetic about any mistakes — and there are many mistakes. Billing, mail, lease renewals — you name it, they’ll screw it up. I have dealt with my fair share of slumlords in my decade-​plus of apartment living, but I’ve never had an experience like this.
I like my unit, location and neighbors, but I’m disgusted by how quickly this place has deteriorated since I moved in and the management is the worst I’ve experienced. Considering moving.

If you don’t have the time or energy to read this whole review, the most damning piece of evidence I can give you as to why you should stay FAR away from this place is that my husband and I just recently decided to pay the lease termination fee of over $ 2000 because we couldn’t stand to live there anymore. That’s right, these newly married twenty somethings (that should tell you how much extra money we have to pay a lease termination fee) decided we would rather scrape together that much money than live 6 more months in this crap hole.
We should have noticed the red flags from the beginning, but sadly we did not. The apartment itself looked nice and we loved the idea of living on Mississippi, so we made the worst decision of our lives and applied. The application process was horrible and full of technical glitches. When we were approved, we were sent the lease and the pet deposit was $ 200 more than what she had told us and what was written on the paperwork we brought home from the tour. For some reason we still decided to proceed.
The other thing we were told in our tour was that we could hang a light if we wanted (since there are places for them to be installed in the ceiling). «Just buy it and then send me a picture. We approve basically anything. If you wanna hang a chandelier, you can hang a chandelier». Cool. We bought a light, sent a photo and got a response saying «woops, sorry, my maintenance people told me you actually can’t hang lights…». Ok.
The apartment itself was fine. The counter tops scratch at the light touch of a tissue, so that’s cool. What you really need to know about is the NOISE. We have lived in many apartments and are quite used to typical apartment noise. When you share walls you have to understand that you are going to hear things. But when the apartments are separated by nothing more than a thin layer of particle board, it makes it a little hard to enjoy yourself in your own home. We frequently had to SLEEP IN THE LIVING ROOM because we would try to go to bed and we could hear the neighbor’s TV so loudly from our bedroom that we couldn’t sleep. The «fire safe front doors» weigh approximately 975 pounds and have no soft-​close feature, so literally every 20 seconds all throughout the day, you are jolted by the loud slamming of a door. The fact that the apartments are on Mississippi is cool, but be prepared to be kept awake (not just on weekends) by people right outside your apartment window drunk and screaming. Literally screaming. We heard one woman straight up horror movie scream for a solid minute or two before I almost called police for the fear that someone was being murdered outside my window.
The neighborhood is not safe. A few days after we moved in, we read on the resident portal that there had been two car break-​ins within a couple nights of each other on Albina, right behind the building. When this kept happening, I decided I should bite the bullet and pay the $ 95/​month for garage parking. Unfortunately, I quickly learned that the garage door frequently breaks, leaving it wide open to the public and allowing bikes to be stolen.
The key fob entry system frequently breaks, leaving residents locked out unless the office is open. So that’s really fun. One morning, I got up at 4:30 to use the gym only to get downstairs and have my key fob not work on the gym door. But luckily on my way back, I was able to catch my husband, who had taken our dog out. Had I not been down there to see him outside, he would have been trapped outside the building at 4:30 am with no phone, waiting until someone else came down to let him in.
Some of my favorite posts from the community message board:
«I had an important package that was unable to be delivered to the office because they decided to close early»
«Has anyone else noticed that the water coming out of the faucets is brown and chunky?» (This one lasted for days)
«Can someone please hose down the outside doors? They smell like piss»
Unfortunately, I’m running out of characters, so lastly I’ll just tell you that our $ 2076 lease break fee (a check with our names AND apartment number on it) was mistakenly applied to someone else’s account. Then Tupelo Alley received a money order with no name on it and thought «Hm. This is approximately $ 200 less than their lease break fee, but we should just assume it’s from them.» I only discovered this when we received our move out paperwork in the mail and noticed that they were taking an extra $ 200 out of our deposit for the $ 200 that we allegedly shorted them. EVEN AFTER MOVING OUT, THEY ARE STILL MAKING OUR LIVES HELL. The new manager was extremely unapologetic (in fact, she did not apologize) and basically said «woops, I applied your check to someone else’s account but I fixed it, NBD!».
Do you want to live at a place where management mishandles thousands of dollars worth of your money and only fixes it after you notice the problem? Then Tupelo Alley may be the place for you!

RENTERS BEWARE. There is dog shit everywhere (or at least the heavy odor of dog shit), the washer/​dryers do a terrible job (they get mega-​gross from dirty water not draining), and generally the units not in A building are overpriced for having no AC, which nearly killed me this year (although they advertise on their website that there is AC throughout). They increase rates to absurd amounts every year, add «benefits» like the new bike room, but then charge everyone to store their bikes there, while the pre-​reno bike rooms were definitely acceptable and free. Every seeming «benefit» becomes an added fee to the residents. Not sure what we paid over 2k every month for.
However, those issues get this place 2 – 3 stars. The one star reflects upon the atrocious and immoral nature of management here.
Tupelo Alley will scam and nickel and dime you every chance they get. Greystar, the management company, is THE most greedy, incompetent, and unprofessional company I ever had to deal with in my 10 years of renting. For example, the leasing staff will agree to terms with you on one thing and, months later, Greystar will not honor this agreement, blaming the renter for listening to the staff at Tupelo Alley. There is clearly no training in place for the staff (really high turnover), resulting in miscommunication and tacked on fees and charges to your account. Further, they are changing all units to hardwood so regardless of how well maintained the carpet is, when you move out, they will pass on the costs of the hardwood to you by claiming the carpet needs to be replaced (over $ 1100). The Greystar staff, Natalie Bell and Alicia Overstreet, are dismissive and rude, citing the Fair Housing Act of 1968 as reasons why they charge you outrageous fees for everything. FYI, the Fair Housing Act’s purpose was to prevent refusal to sell or rent a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, not to dick over residents.
For anyone thinking about renting at Tupelo, I would definitely suggest you reconsider renting from an apartment complex with a smaller, less unscrupulous management company.

I’ve lived here for two years and it has been one fiasco after another, mostly due to the management structure. It is a large building, and is owned by Greystar Management Company.
This morning at 8:00 a construction crew started drilling into concrete directly below my apt. This came with no warning, and multiple attempts to discuss the matter were met with a dismissive and annoyed tone by both the construction crew and the apartment management, who both said that it was out of their hands, and blamed the management company for the disturbance. This seems to be the trend here; blame Greystar.
Grestar was blamed when I couldn’t get a discount on my rent for the month and a half when the floor of my apt. was torn up due to flooding caused by an incorrectly installed washing machine. Greystar is blamed for the horrible teeny-​pop music they now pipe into the lobby ²⁴⁄₇.
This structure allows (forces) the on site office staff to be completely ineffectual at maintaining all but the most basic functions of running an apt. complex.
The staff here tries their best, but they just can’t quite get the job done. Notices are usually late or don’t come at all (we had to ask about our lease renewal, only to find out that the thirty day notice had never been sent). The online system for paying rent seems to be down more than it is working. During one of these down periods I paid rent with a cashiers check, only to receive a late notice a few days later. When I investigated i found out that the check had been misplaced. Luckily, the office staff found it in an unlocked drawer in the maintenance office.(!?)
Besides all of this there are the usual small things you might expect from an over-​priced dorm for thirty-​somethings; the complementary printer in the lounge is perpetually broken, the key fob access is disorganized and people are constantly having their access revoked because of technical errors 9this happens with the buzzer as well)
From what i hear, most of the staff is leaving soon, i can only assume it is due to disagreements with Greystar and the way they are running this facility. It would be nice if someone at that company were to get the message and begin paying a little bit more attention to the concerns of it’s customers, but i doubt that will happen.

Well, we only got to the application step with Tupelo Alley Apartments before deciding to never live there.
RECAP: They charged us $ 84.00 for 2 application fees, which they never refunded despite the fact that they did not process our applications. Also, their online advertised pricing simply doesn’t exist. It’s waaay more than what you see there…
Details if anyone cares to know:
We saw a one-​bedroom apartment on their website (not
, or other third party site!) listed for $ 1495/​month so we decided to stop in to take a look.
SURPRISE 1 came when they told us in person that the specific apartment we wanted is actually $ 1,740.00/month… That’s a $ 250 difference from their website! When asked why this is, the leasing agent (Kayla) said that their online pricing doesn’t «always» reflect the actual rental rate. We asked why they don’t update them, and got the answer: their pricing system changes each rental rate every day. OK, so how does their own website not change? (a bit of technical info from someone having worked in the industry: these systems have been around for a few years now, and companies that use them have their sites immediately updated simultaneously with the system change in order to avoid these types of issues.)
Regardless, we wanted to give them a chance so we toured the property and saw some apartments. They were nice but way overpriced at $ 1700+!! During the tour the leasing agent kept telling us to keep checking the website for pricing changes and make sure to apply online ASAP once we see something that we like. Hmmm. Strange after what we just found out, but OK…
The next day we looked and saw the same apt for $ 1,475.00 — a clear change from $ 1,495.00 the day before. So we went ahead and applied online. The site allowed us thru the entire application process without a single word about the rental rate not being what it states. YAY!
After having paid the application fee of $ 84.00 (!!) for two adults, we get an email from the community that they need to verify some information prior to running our credit. No mention about the price. So I called them to see what they needed. First off, I find out that the price was wrong, yet again — in fact it’s still $ 1740.00, and they are sorry but they don’t’ know why their site changed overnight. When asked why does their website allow a prospective resident to go thru the entire application process without seeing the accurate price didn’t yield any response other than a confused «I’m not sure…»
SURPRISE two: we were also told that they ran our application already — even though they needed to verify my husbands information first, so they either ran it without accurate info, or they simply lied. So sorry, but they can’t refund the application fees!
I’ve tried talking to the manager at their office, however, they seem to always be at lunch or running around. Not surprising. Clearly made the mistake of not reading the previous reviews before dealing with them…
Anyhow, we won’t be living there anytime soon. After this ordeal, it’s pretty clear that they are misleading prospective residents, which makes me wonder how they treat the ones already living in the building. And what about those price increases at renewal time? Ugh.

This review goes through a wide and varied history including tales of wonder and woe combined.
This starts off like most reviews. The Apartment itself was not a bad place to live and to move in to, the management company kept things in tip-​top shape and had respect for their tenants and the community as a whole. This all changed when the management company changed as I’m sure you’re all too familiar.
After that point Tupelo Alley was rife with problems, from dirty and messy areas in general, a certain sense of ‘You’re just a tenant” with all of the fail that is associated with it, ending with victim blaming. Allow me to elaborate.
While Tupelo Alley had a strict ‘no smoking policy’ it was as though there was a smoke-​house on site, which when you have children with Asthma or worse it can cause some serious problems and concerns, while raised numerous times as a problem the ‘action’ taken was minimal at best, which ultimately resulted in moving into a DIFFERENT and more expensive apartment on the third floor in order to help mitigate this problem, Yay for tackling that issue appropriately.
When we moved into this new (er) apartment quite frankly the place was a mess, the blinds were damaged and broken, the washer/​dryer combination had to have regular maintenance and eventually replaced with different units, and being third floor on a walk-​up without AC, I tell ya that’s quite fun in the summer time!
But the real icing on the cake happened when in the ‘cold chill’ which sprung through Portland this past year, resulted in a near-​by unit busting their pipes and flooding not only the apartment itself, but also all of the adjacent apartments (below and next door). Fortunately they brought in a crew to clean, clean, and clean with high powered blowers and dryers and the like, to help keep the potential mold at bay. (Chalk one up to not getting black mold, right?!)
But here I stand months later after move-​out where the Management company contacted me in a presumptuous manner claiming that the move-​in items (broken blinds) and damages which resulted from THEIR clean-​up crew from a problem I was not a party to, asking for us to pay fees. Their defense? «The previous management company didn’t leave us any Move-​In forms, so this is all on you»
Thanks guys, thanks so much Management company, not only have you lost a customer at this potential property, but you’ve also lost one permanently at any of the multitude of properties you may own. Great job there.
Otherwise the neighborhood itself is nice, very walkable, lots to do and lots of excitement, there are alternative solutions near-​by if you’re looking to live in the community but don’t want to have to deal with what will eventually be a ruinous experience for you.

Great location, on Mississippi. Nice views (at least from our friend’s unit). Very helpful staff; fabulous to have big packages waiting for me.
Nice amenities: the outdoor grills, fireplace, billiards room, common computers & printer, and workout room.
Apartments: modern & woody, rather than dated and carpeted. Just the way I like them. Visit and see for yourself.

As a newcomer to Portland, I was excited to move into a nice apartment complex in a trendy neighborhood that seemed a good alternative to the hustle and bustle of downtown. After having lived at Tupelo Alley for a year (and recently moved out), I have some major complaints about both the apartments and neighborhood.
The apartment itself looks modern and nice appearance wise. However, after living in my studio for several months it became clear that everything was poorly built and put together, and the apartment was low quality. Cabinets started falling apart, dishwasher was loud and did not clean properly.
The apartment itself was outrageously overpriced, and they require additional monthly rent for a parking space in their garage. I opted for street parking because of this extra and pricey charge, which made both finding parking and conveniently bringing in groceries pretty impossible.
Dogs are barking constantly, day and night. My snooty neighbor (most of the tenants come off as snooty) continued to complain about me smoking on my balcony (although I am a non smoker and never smoked on the balcony) leading to repeated judgmental warnings and emails from the office staff.
The girls working in the office, with the exception of one super awesome manager (Jolene) were prissy and rude to me almost each time I had to speak with them.
The neighborhood, while offering fun and trendy places to eat, drink, and shop, is heavily peppered with drug dealers and a drug abusing homeless population. The riffraff of the neighborhood was uncomfortable, and unsavory and often belligerently drunk characters hanging around made it feel completely unsafe to take my dog out alone at night to use the restroom.

I have lived in T.A. for almost six months. It’s clean, convenient and nice looking. The downsides: Mississippi is great by day and into the evening, but the place empties out by 10 on weeknights and feels deserted and (for me) not very comfortable. Inside is fine, but I don’t like to come in late b/​c I don’t feel comfortable walking in the n’hood late. Weekends are totally fine until pretty late. Parking is not great, especially as the weather gets warmer.
The apartments are quite nice. Downsides: the heater is loud; cell service (ATT) is sketchy here; the kitchen cabinets look nice but are not well apportioned (not a huge thing but I am always surprised how tall bottles don’t fit well in cabinets, etc.) and very little drawer space; the appliances are not stellar; the BR faucets are low flow to save water and suck; the «hardwoods» are very cheap pergo; and it’s expensive. One other thing: the occupancy seems low (which I would think would translate into some concessions when you rent) and it sometimes feels a bit… empty here.
All that said, I like it here quite a bit. The n’hood is fun and the place is comfortable. I would consider staying long term but it’s too expensive for what it is and the lack of n’hood feel is a major downside for me. I mean Mississippi is a fun place, but there is not a sense of community for residents. It’s more like a destination (which has its upsides).

I’m curious how long cora l. lived here before she wrote her review. I was confused by her statement regarding people NOT acting like they’re in college and especially by her rave review of the management!
Management: I have lived here for almost three months, not long. In those three months I have seen a turn over of four, seriously FOUR managers and staff! Not kidding, this building has the highest staff turn over I have ever seen and each new group will tell you «oh they were awful, they brought us in to fix everything, I assure you we’re not going anywhere!» Uh huh, you’ll be out of here by the end of the month, I guarantee it. Not only that but they are increasingly incompetent, can’t get the parking situation together to save their lives, are rude about it (the new blonde) and most other things, they over bill and are snippy and roll their eyes when you call them out (blonde again), they lose packages (Monica), they have the most inconvenient office hours ever, and they are AWFUL at communicating information!
Case in point: there was a FIRE in our building this morning where we were all evacuated, that was seven hours ago and not one single announcement has been made about what happened. WTF!
Partying: I cannot tell you how many times I have encountered puke in the elevators in the morning. I once woke up to a group of 10 people screaming outside my door at 2am. The management has now resorted to LOCKING the Eco Lounge (community room) on off hours due to constant damage and vandalism. The lobby bathrooms are often clogged and defiled by Monday morning.
Cost: Though beautifully designed, energy efficient and in an amazing location Tupelo Alley is way OVERPRICED!!! At first it appears you are getting a deal and then you start to notice things like I’ve mentioned above… Why are we paying through the nose to have our access to the very things we’re paying for restricted? Why are we paying for puke in the elevator? Why are we paying to be spoken to in a condescending tone by a manager who will be replaced in a week? Why are we paying (extra) to have a garage with no visible parking space numbers and then being reprimanded for not knowing where we’re supposed to park? Why are we paying $ 30 a month in pet rent on top of an initial pet deposit? I could go on and on, please feel free to add to my list…
Bottom Line: I like living here, I really do. My neighbors are incredible, the neighborhood can’t be beat, my view is amazing, I love my bathtub, but is it all worth the stress and hassle of the issues above coupled with the $ 1400 a month with no rent security come lease renewal? Nope it sure isn’t. When you tour this building, ask how many vacancies they have. I guarantee it’s high. Ask for an accurate percentage of renters who renew their leases, I guarantee it’s low and there’s a lot of really good reasons for that!

This location is very nice, depending on what you want. Mississippi Street is happening right now, very hipster, might get a little old.
The apartments themselves are pretty. I like the hardwood floors, fairly large windows, and slightly funky dark wood cabinets. There is plenty of cupboard space. The bedrooms can be quite cramped, but the closet is large. The bathroom sink is attractive but the faucet is not very useful.
Beware, the heater is loud. Also, the dishwasher is so loud you definitely can’t watch TV or even have a conversation while it is running. That is the one thing: I wish they had a more modern dishwasher. Storage units for rent are tiny, but the closets and pantry in the apartment are large.
The other tenants are nice and considerate. This is a large plus for me. No stupid parties or acting like ppl are in a college dorm, as far as I could tell. There are only 2 elevators and they frequently break, so I wouldn’t want to live here as a disabled person. The elevator repairman is prompt and friendly, though.
Staff is very nice, and the management here is right on top of things.
Utility costs are relatively low. The heater does work, and the washer/​dryer are nice. The gym is good to have and I love the firepit outside. It is good to live in a secure building that is also tasteful and has some character.

Sarah: Not true! They’re only advertising a free month’s rent for certain apartment units; it says in the specific units’ ad. I was just there, toured them and am seconds away from signing a lease.
They’re beautiful, and as mentioned below, a million miles away from the clawfoot tub hovels I am used to living in as well. I’m ready to get away from the mold covering my bathroom walls due to no ventilation. I’m also ready for a W/​D and dishwasher!
It’s awesome!