Apartment Reviews for Cameron At The Summit - Birmingham

Formerly known as Cameron at the Summit, Bell Summit is situated to the right of Vestavia of Birmingham off of Interstate 459 and Highway 280. The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Bartow Arena are also close by. Carmike Cinema is steps from the property, perfect for any movie lovers, while avid readers can pick up their latest book at the nearby Barnes & Noble. Commuting is a breeze with the quick access to I-459 and Route 280, not to mention I-65 just a little further from the premises. Reviews noted that these apartments are in the perfect place for attractions and restaurants, however some felt that this area can be a bit unsafe.

I've lived at the Summit for 18 months and have had a fairly pleasant experience at the Summit. I want to address multiple topics so as to hopefully give a broad, fair, impartial, and truthful assessment of my time here.
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Makeup of Renters:
There is a diverse population of renters. You have anything from local college kids to young professionals to retirees. The buildings seem to be occupied and sorted by age group which was absolutely fine with me. Our building was made up of an older crowd for the most part. The average age in our building was probably in the mid 40s. I believe the staff definitely planned to put us in this building when they saw our family make-up and knew that our experience would be the best if we were surrounded in a more family like atmosphere as opposed to a younger singles type crowd. That worked very well and I appreciate the staff's attention to little things like this.
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Parking:
There is plenty of parking. In most areas on the straight-aways in the parking lot there are multiple speed bumps. In front of the 26 building, there is a absence of speed bumps. I contacted the staff about this but never received a call back. They were courteous but most likely this fell to the back burner. Cars continually speed in front of this building. With small children, runners, and pets all around, this creates a dangerous situation. It also makes for a hard time backing out from the parking spaces closest to the 26 building. My wife was involved in an accident here while backing out. Coming down the hill from above the 26 building the road is downward sloping. Due to not having speed bumps, cars speed down the hill and straighten out that curve. It is very easy to look both ways, begin backing out, and then have a car pop out of know where. I had this happen on multiple occasions. At first I thought it was just me, but when my wife had her accident, I knew it wasn't just me so I called the office to explain my concern. This should be addressed as I see this as a liability on the the rental company Stephen Bell. Overall, the parking lots are safe at night and fairly well lit. I never had the first issue there safety wise.
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Noise:
Noise is probably an issue in any apartment complex, so I won't harp here. That's just part of apartment life. If you don't like it, buy a house. The neighbors above sounded like elephants stomping around. Whenever they got loud it was easy to hear through the floor. They seemed to keep some odd hours but I won't speculate any further about that. They were young and inconsiderate. That caused most of the multiple calls I had to make to the security officer on them. Quiet hours begin at 10pm. We all sign the contract to abide by that. Some folks simply don't pay attention or care. If you do have a noise complaint, the courtesy office (which is also a Birmingham Police Officer) is somewhat suspect on when he'll get on scene. I ran a range of receiving a call from him within 15 to hours later. He did make an effort if he was on duty to call another officer over. Word to the wise, if you have a noise complaint, have the police meet you so you can show them where the noise is. If they can't hear it through the front door, they won't contact the neighbor. Also, do contact the office staff and file a complaint so everything is on record and so they can pursue financial penalties if you have people foolish enough to not get the memo on being quiet.
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Grounds:
Simply put, these are well kept and manicured. The apartment grounds are clean and have a nice appearance. The pool during the summer is a different story. The upper pool by the main office stays clean for the most part. This pool attracts a more "mature" crowd. The kind that understand their mama doesn't live there and know they need to clean up behind themselves. Now, as for the lower pool by the workout room, that is a whole different story. During the summer there, this pool attracts what we'll further refer to as the "club lavela crowd." It's basically Sodom and Ghamora mixed in with about 500 gallons of beer, liquor, and 1000's of cigarette butts. Mix in about 400 F-bombs and GD's an hour and you've got a nice family atmosphere. Throw in clothes and towels folks forgot to take home because they were too drunk to remember what they brought in the first place and you probably get the picture. Its looks like a night club at closing time. Cameron has their hands full keeping this one clean. If you go at night while the younger crowd is sleeping off their drunkeness, just be prepared to tiptoe through the mine-field of trash. Most of the trash cans will be overflowing with the previous days exploits. That said, I realize if I don't like it, I need to stay away. I did. But I reserve the right to report what I saw on a daily basis. Be careful of broken GLASS in the lower pool. The pool was drained and cleaned during the summer of 2010. We'll call that collateral damage due to the partiers. Swim at your own risk.
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Construction, Maintenance:
Construction seemed par for the course. Maintenance is a step above the call of duty. These guys do a solid job and the staff is very responsive to items that need immediate help. I never had the first issue with the office staff. They were always courteous and helpful. We had pipes freeze in January and were out of water for 5 days if I recall correctly. One of the maintenance men who lived in our building checked in on us and even offered to help us get a few 5 gallon buckets for extra water to flush the commodes. The maintenance guys are truly 5 star team players.

Staff:
In the past, I've read a few negative posts about the office staff relating to a time period of about 2 to 4 years ago. Rest assured, there are NO issues with the staff. I won't name any names, but I can tell you, they are all very helpful. They always were available to help and were genuinely concerned with making sure any issue we had was resolved. They also would check back with me if I saw them outside to make sure everything was okay. They paid particular attention to my questions with an intent to get down to the root issue and propose a solution before I left. That is truly revolutionary. Most complexes I've lived in just jotted it down and I would never hear anything back. Cameron has a top notch staff. They aren't just collecting rent checks, they're busy providing excellent service to their customers and taking time to make sure we're happy. (The only time you hear different is usually when the folks I mentioned above in reference to the pool get mad because they want to complain about the staff holding them accountable to the rules of the community instead of letting them run amok. Kudos for Cameron sticking to the rules not bending to a young and foolish crowd of renters that could ruin the complex.).
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Overall:
These apartments are safe, located in a great location, and effectively managed. Every amenity you could need can be found at the Cameron. If you are working in Birmingham and need an apartment rental, give Cameron a fair shake. You'll be pleased with the professionalism of the staff and grounds team.