Beacon Station Apartamentos

Not a great place to live. When I moved here in August I did not have a great 1st impression. The apartment door was left cracked open and the apartment was not clean. It is now February and I have realized that it is not safe to live here either. Juveniles like to hop the gate and try to break in apartments and cars. I asked the front office if I could move upstairs after an attempted break in and they refused. All they tell us to do is report it to the police. THAT IS NOT SOLVING THE ISSUE.... Rent is too high to not afford a security guard to patrol at night. Also if you don’t want to hear the train several times a day/night I advice not to move here. Lee mas

Pros
- Close to the medical school and dental school. HOWEVER, you can walk to the schools, but have to cross a busy street with many cars turning fast (lots of accidents). Very risky at times
- Apartment itself is mostly nice. I know a couple of friends who have issues with their places (ceilings leaking, faucet problems, etc). I think it was overall a kind of rushed construction, which can be seen in some parts.
- Amenities itself are nice. There used to be a cafe (Inner Bean), but there is... not one anymore.
- Maintenance workers have always been nice and did their jobs well.

Cons
- Management is bad. I think we have had maybe 2-3 resident events this year, and some of them are pretty sad efforts (aka buying 12 cupcakes and putting them out for Valentine’s Day). The people in the office answer things pretty aggressively and are eager to blame the residents for the problems. An example is when we used to have a lot of break-ins (like almost weekly a few months ago), their solution was for us to just leave our cars open, so they don’t break windows… They would tell residents that they had not had complaints about the break-ins even though people shared with each other that they basically were all told “this is the first time we are hearing this” and other silly solutions to the problems. I have lived in many apartments in the past, and this is by far the worst management I have dealt with. They are a bit hostile to be honest, and a lot of us just gave up trying to talk to them.
- Prices have increased a lot. I don’t think this place is worth the current price at all and there are several better options in the area (caveat being if you are a student, you would need to drive to campus from these places but honestly parking is not bad).
- Overall the apartment shared spaces aren’t well kept. Elevator has been down for extended times, hallways can get dirty, etc.
- Walls are THIN. You can hear everything. It’s pretty horrible, and I have had guests living in other complexes come over and complain about it.
- Trains run nearby. I won’t say this is a fault of Beacon because you know when you sign the lease that this is how it is BUT these Augusta trains sometimes stop on the track for 30-45 minutes
- The area is not safe. We have had multiple car break-ins - windows shattered and things stolen, bikes stolen, and squatters (cops called). Beacon rarely tells us these things, and I only know because students share among ourselves. Lee mas

Management is awful, maintenance is terrible. (Takes 1-2) weeks before anything gets resolved. In the middle of two train tracks so that’s all you hear day and night. Poor quality everything…. Gates community but 90% of the time they don’t work. Poor responses to everything, if you even get one. So poorly, managed… weeks where cars were broken into and nothing was done about it due to lack of security cameras. Always a problem. Spent 2 years there and would never go back. STAY AWAY FROM BEACON... STATION. Lee mas

The biggest issue to consider is security. We have had many issues with the drive in entry gates, the walk in gates, and with the key fob scanners around the complex. It’s such a common issue that I took a picture of the drive in gates being wide open at 9:05pm LAST NIGHT allowing anyone and everyone to come and go as they please…Moreover, I’ve been living here for over a year now and I have had several issues with accessing the apartment complex because the key fob wouldn’t work OR there are... days when the walk in gates are not locking, which allows anyone to walk through the entire community and buildings without a fob. I understand that technology isn’t always reliable but it seems to be too common of an issue to not consider when deciding where to live…Additionally, we have had many cars tampered with and 7 cars got broken into a couple of weeks ago.. Multiple residents have specifically requested more cameras and security for our safety but management responded with “Crime has no address or zip code and it is important that we do our part to limit access and opportunity by locking your vehicles and not leaving personal items in your vehicle.” and “Per your lease, we cannot guarantee anyone’s personal safety. However, given the recent uptick of events, we have engaged a courtesy patrol company that will begin on a TEMPORARY basis." Management states that the safety and well-being of their residents are their upmost priority but it takes them days and sometimes weeks to get gates and key fob issues fixed AND they aren't “obliged to furnish security personnel, security lighting, security gates or fences, or other forms of security” (per the lease) … even after the request of multiple concerned residents. Ultimately, if you’re a potential tenant, consider all things, read the lease carefully and do your research. I personally think the security issue outweigh the pros and cannot recommend Beacon. Lee mas

Only reason to live here is proximity to the health sciences campus. Good luck with anything else