Apartment Reviews for Oak Grove Towers - Minneapolis

I have lived in this apartment for over 3 years and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a cheap apartment downtown. There are some trade-offs (smaller aparments, no balcony, but I doubt you'll find a cheaper aparment downtown. Its great for students and travelers that just need a place to put their stuff. <P>
Security- I've never worried about personal saftely. But I have had to worry about property security. Quite a few people including myself have had their bicycles stolen. Their video cameras are about useless. After that I just kept my new bike in the apartment with no problems from management. I would say this is more of a city problem and to apartment problem. <P>
Parking- Paid paking in the ramp is a good deal if your lucky enough to get a spot. Spots are relatively large. Don't even think about parking outside on the street. This is a problem if you plan to have guests if you don't think ahead. <P>
Appearance / Upkeep- Apartments are plan and simple, you get what you pay for. But they are clean and have decent views of the city. Considering that electricity and heat are included, it is a good deal. <P>
Management and Office Staff- There are a lot a bogus complaints about the Manager Brian. He has personly been really helpfull and curtious to me. And if he gets made at you- well- maybe you shouldn't have tried screwing him over. The office staff is around from 8:30AM to 10:00PM which is really nice. <P>
Maintenance- I've have a few minor maintenance issues that have been resolved in short order. They do give decent notice when that shut of water or close down the parking garage for cleaning. The maintenace guys are great. <P>
Condition of Unit- For the unit being simple, there is not a alot of wear items. Unit is clean and appliances work fine. One note: the carpet seems to be exceptionally prone to staining. <P>
Noise Level: Building is concrete so noise doesn't travel to far. You can listen music pretty load with no worries. Outside noise is generally low with the exception of a few large trucks going down the road. <P>

I suppose Im really surprised about some of the negative things people have written about OGT. I love this place. I am a law student, need a quiet space, and have found OGT ideal. I can also watch a movie as loud as I want without bothering the neighbors. <P>
Brian has not only been honest, he has been friendly and most helpful in some of the situations I have needed him. The maitenance guys are the nicest people I have ever met, and very prompt at getting even small things taken care of. The office staff can be a bit terse at times, but I think that is just a reality... <P>
Parking does suck, although you have too options: pay for it and have a reserved spot, or suck it up. I have used the guest spots on the rare occassion when they are free, and walked a few blocks when they are not. The laundry machines can also be frusterating, but nothing exasperating. Other than those two things, I have found the building to be smoke free, clean, friendly, safe and a good home. I plan to continue living here until I buy my own place, as it is the ideal downtown apartment for its price. <P>

Just left OGT after 2 years. Fantastic location - close to downtown (5-10 min walk) but not too close! Many apts (ours included) have great views of downtown. Close to the ramp for I94, near I35W ramps. Eat street, loring park, walker art musuem, sculpture garden only 5 mins away. Hennepin 10-15 mins. Never experienced any crime, although there were odd characters occasionaly. Buses close by (one stopped opposite). Took the bus to the U regularly without any trouble. Apartment was a decent size, in good condition. Always warm, rarely noisey (except for the odd fire truck etc). Parking can be an issue but we had a covered spot which is very useful in winter. Office staffed from 9am-10pm, sometimes later. Office staff will sign for all your deliveries and keep them secure. Pool table nice but busy. Gym very useful. <P>
Two negative points - the laundry often had broken machines and was usually quite busy. Also guest parking in the immediate vicinity was usually zero, although there are lots 2-3 blocks away. <P>
Would've stayed longer if not for a change of job (in Italy!) and will look up OGT if I return. <P>

I was kind of nervous to move into this building because of some of the negative reviews here --- but boy am I glad that I didn't listen to the detractors.

This has been the best apartment building I have lived in, and I am no greenhorn when it comes to leasing. Oak Grove Towers is in the best location possibly -- within walking distance to everything: Uptown, Downtown, Eat Street, you name it. Don't like to walk? Well there's a breadth of secure, off street parking available here: covered or not. Beware about the covered parking though, it's not an underground garage (fenced, but open walls which leads to a lot of dust and dirt blowing through and snow in the winter. Oh well, it is still a better offering than other buildings on the block.

Full Gym, Entertainment Room, Party room, and front loading washer/dryers are some of the perks of this building. The views from some of the upper floors are gorgeous.

The only bad thing I can think of is that there are no balconies.

Otherwise if you like a clean, safe, well kept building run by excellent mgmt and maint. teams, this place is for you.

I have lived at Oak Grove Towers for 2 years without any major problems. The biggest headache with this area of town is guest parking. Street parking is limited and you can get ticketed/towed for parking overnight. Currently OGT has 4 guest spots on a first-come, first-served basis but they are almost always occupied. Resident parking is available and although the structure is rather dirty, I think it is probably better than average for the price.

Recently the fitness center was expanded, and is reasonable for an apartment this size. Also, management recently turned the old fitness center into a game room. Laudry facilities are sometimes out of order. You need to watch about half of the washers to make sure they don't reset during the first 10 minutes.

On the positive side, maintenance is always prompt and the office workers are friendly. The lobby is kept clean and the people in the building are diverse and friendly. Although parking and laudry could be better, I don't think you'll find anything better for the price in such a great location. Oak Grove is a nice area, close to downtown and uptown.

I've looked at several places in the loring park neighborhood and surrounding areas, and nothing is as clean and well kept as Oak Grove Towers. I can't believe some people live in those old, crooked places. I have never heard my neighbors and I can watch a movie loud without complaint. You may give up some square footage, but the location and building are well worth it. The management is cool too, unlike some of the stories I've heard about some of the better known places in the area. It's a quiet building, but i've been invited to some great parties also, so it's certainly not a boring place to live. And of course there are great veiws of the city.

Great loacation, most of the neighbors are cool. A few ghetto people but over all not to bad. I think Management is getting a little slack on who they let in. Nice building and apratments. Great views. Parking for guests is horrible. Really the only thing missing is a balcony, but for the price I can't complain.

The best think about these apartments are the people. It's a nice mix of young (college age) to old (retired with grand kids) and everything in between. Throw the great building manager and staff in there and you've got a great place to live.

Electric and heat is included in the rent, and there is off street parking available (some covered, some not) for a little more money.

This place is one the nicest apartments I have rented. The staff here is awesome and very helpful. they recently remodeled the entire building and it looks as well kept as a nice hotel. Parking stinks, but because they know that, they pay for your electric bill to help cover cost of parking lot. Everyone I've met in this building is very friendly. And there is a convenience store across the street that has twice the variety of a typical grocery store. I would highly recommend this building!