Park At Voss: Multifamily At 2424 S. Voss Rd.

[Guest danax]

9:27 AM CST Wednesday 3-2-05

Park At Voss renovation complete

Allison Wollam

Houston Business Journal

The $4.8 million renovation of one of Houston's most notable apartment communities, Park At Voss, is complete.

The extensive renovation allowed for the addition of a business center, two conference rooms, a coffee bar, a covered outdoor kitchen and an expanded fitness center with new fitness equipment.

All of the apartments have also been updated and many of them now offer wood flooring, new appliances and a painted accent wall in one of eight colors.

The property's 12 elevators have been modernized and updated, and each of the 12 buildings that comprise the development have added modern features such as keypad entrances and glass door-enclosed hallways.

Built in 1972, the development sits near the intersection of Voss and Westheimer.

Park At Voss is owned by Sterling American Property Inc., a New York-based real estate owner and developer with its Houston office located within the property.

Paula Newton, the property's asset manager, says the complex had a long history as corporate apartments under the name Oakwood Apartments, and the company polled the residents to determine their preferences to ensure it was on track with what Houstonians would want in an upscale apartment community.

Park At Voss continues to provide many businesses in Houston with corporate housing, but a majority of its residents call the property home, adds Newton.

[jmancuso]

my mother lives there and despite the extensive renovations, the quality of residents has gotten much worse.

[HOUCAJUN]

my mother lives there and despite the extensive renovations, the quality of residents has gotten much worse.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It has.

[Lowbrow]

When I first moved to Houston for work my company put me up here for a few weeks. It was a nice unit (as the Oakwood). It had the remote control fireplace and everything. When they first tried to move me into the unit there was a squatter in the flat who had recently been laid off from my company. The place was a mess of Jim Beam bottles. He eventually left (they put me up in a different unit temporarily) but stole the microwave and tv.

I also liked that they had maid service and dry cleaning on property.

[cheesyc]

Damn. I keep reading bad things about Park at Voss. The place looks great, I've taken a tour of it, even talked to one of the random residents while I was at the complex and he loved living there. Then I come home and see all the bad things people have posted about it here and on www.apartmentratings.com.

I've got a LOT of second thoughts about the place, but I haven't seen a complex I like as much around the galleria area. Do any of you guys have other recommendations (maybe these new complexes you're talking about), that I could check out? I just moved back from San Diego and don't want to get stuck in a lease at some hellhole that looked nice on the outside.

If anyone has lived there and had a great experience or a horror story, I'd like to hear it. You can get in touch with me at kathulos@hotmail.com.

Thanks,

Christian

[Trophy Property]

The market is not absorbing those new units overall.  In many threads they talk about any old, deferred maintenance apartment complex as being poorly managed.  This can be a result of market conditions, not just poor management. 

I did a contract job last year for a friend trying to fill up an older Galleria area property near Winrock.  I pushed out people like the cross-dressing heroin dealer who parked his Harley in the breezeway, the young blonde dancer who was a white slave to the Ayrian brotherhood, (did I mispell that?), primarily because the brotherhood member who came to live with her had a murder conviction.  the homeless yuppie that looked clean cut, probably because he would alternate between living in a vacant and shacking up behind the panel by the dryers in the laundry room,I could go on & on.    In addition to cleaning out that, you had an exodus of good, stable, quiet residents who were always leaving for either a home/condo purchase, or a newer property with more amenities.    You have owners running the property in the red and barely able to make the note and payroll, so forget any rehabs.  The money has to come from somewhere.  then you might turn around and lease 10 apartments, but one would cancel, three would turn out to have felony convictions, another was being evicted from where they are living now, and the rest have terrible credit, maybe one or two with broken leases from 3 or 4 years ago. 

Mid 90's you wouldn't have taken the last 5.  Now, they look pretty good on the bell curve.  I had this problem in the middle of the Galleria area.  Can you imagine what apartment managers in places like Sharpstown & Fondren Southwest have to deal with?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is very interesting. I always wondered about these old apt complexes and the issues that the owners had to deal with. I would absolutely hate to have such a management intensive Real Estate asset. If I had the money and I had the choice between buying Retail, Multi Family or Office I would choose Retail in a hearbeat. The other two take too much time to manage.

[jmancuso]

Damn.  I keep reading bad things about Park at Voss.  The place looks great, I've taken a tour of it, even talked to one of the random residents while I was at the complex and he loved living there.  Then I come home and see all the bad things people have posted about it here and on www.apartmentratings.com. 

      I've got a LOT of second thoughts about the place, but I haven't seen a complex I like as much around the galleria area.  Do any of you guys have other recommendations (maybe these new complexes you're talking about), that I could check out?  I just moved back from San Diego and don't want to get stuck in a lease at some hellhole that looked nice on the outside. 

      If anyone has lived there and had a great experience or a horror story, I'd like to hear it.  You can get in touch with me at kathulos@hotmail.com.

Thanks,

Christian

that place is a pit. my mother has been there since 1999 and until a few months ago, she had drug dealers downstairs right from her. they didn't get evicted but were shipped off to iraq becuase the leasing office didn't give a ____, as long as they got a rent check.

[rps324]

that place is a pit. my mother has been there since 1999 and until a few months ago, she had drug dealers downstairs right from her. they didn't get evicted but were shipped off to iraq becuase the leasing office didn't give a ____, as long as they got a rent check.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It may not have been the leasing office, it may be ownership. When I was cleaning out the absolute crap people at one complex, they told me to stop. To which I replied "who do you want me to save? The heroin dealer or the gypsy's that throw dirty diapers on other people's car or the prostitute? Pick and let me know" to which they told me, "save anybody who is paying"

Of course I got rid of them anyway. It was just a short term contract gig for me at the time so I pretty much nodded politely and then went off and did as I pleased. A lot of the on-site people though have families and really need their jobs, so they have to keep their "numbers" up regardless. Too many times upper management thinks the answer is to put their foot on the back of these on-site managers necks just a little harder, and that will make it all better.