Review for Frogtown Family Artist Lofts Cooperative Apartments

What the property management company won't tell you about:

1. The permanent rodent infestation.

2. For a "family" building, you will be forced to live with second hand smoke indoors and out.

3. There is a serious crime problem in both the surrounding neighborhood, and among the residents of the building, which includes vandalism, stolen cars from the lot, street prostitution all around the building, a drug house in the next block, drive by shootings, assaults in the parking lot, and a lot of petty crime by residents and their children.

4. The premises are very poorly maintained, and the parking lots and sidewalks very poorly lit. Huge ice dams are routine in winter in the parking lot & on the public sidewalks on the courtyard side. 5. The courtyard is contantly littered with trash. Residents' children routinely leave their toys, bikes, scooters, skateboards, etc. in the public sidewalks of the courtyard, presenting a big hazard to walking in at night. Constant violation of the building curfew by resident teens, vandalism of other residents' property, the coop property, etc. is routine. There is a group of teen boys who are allowed to subject residents and their children to name calling and swearing, intimidation and abuse of younger children, and sexually harrassment of young women with verbal taunts as they walk through the premises. There is a handful of these teens and their parents who are roaming the premises at all hours, completely out of control, and property management does nothing to enforce the policies or make the premises secure.

6. Professional artists routinely abandon the place because of poor management and maintenance, really obnoxious problem tenants, and refusal by property management and the coop board to recruit potential artist residents, and rely upon the easier Section 8 voucher tenant recruitment instead. This summer (2007) the arts committee of the coop voted to ban student artists attending area arts schools from the property, and the proposal was approved by the entire coop board. The place is bizarre beyond belief, and is the only artist coop in St Paul that doesn't participate in the St Paul Art Crawl.

This review is being written on October 13, 2007.

This pretty much says it all. Don't be fooled like I was by the pretty courtyard. Property management panders to the long term tenants causing the problems. Construction is cheap and flimsy. Second hand smoke is NOXIOUS! I was out the minute my lease was up (07/08). Much better housing is available for the price, and there are far superior artist community housing opportunities to had in the TC. This place is a joke.