The Place at Shadow Valley Apartments

Lived here from 2011– 2013 and rented the Villa floor plan.
Pros: HUGE patio, like you can fit a dozen people at a time on one of those porches, my unit was one of the last that still had tile, they switched to faux wood in the wet areas, bedroom closet was pretty large, having a fireplace was cute (even though my cat napped in it more often that I actually used it, but it looked nice regardless), the little cave under the bathroom sink was perfect for the fireplace cat’s litter box. When my husband and I moved in we had 2 sets of living room furniture and the dining room held my couches as a reading area, even with our pub table, without getting cramped. Maintenance was always quick to respond and fix whatever I broke.
Now the cons: the laundry area was on the porch, the laundry area was so narrow I could only get a stackable washer and dryer which SUCK, tub was small and the showerhead was awkwardly low, the kitchen was a closed– off shoebox, when it rained our second floor front door would leak in water, parking lot got very crowded on the weekends, there was always a new pothole or 2 popping up after they finally patched an old one, dumpsters filled up quick and were slow to be emptied. My building faced that school on Grissom so you could hear their bells and announcements and super fun fire drills all of the time. And then I found out a 20 year old woman was murdered in one of the units a few years back, seriously, google it, some news did a report about it. I know they cant help that, but it always gave me the heebie jeebies.
Overall it wasn’t a bad place to live, it was cheap ($ 700 a month with pet rent on 2 animals), I made friends with neighbors, the pool area was alright and there’s a tennis court and volleyball court.

This place is not worth the price. There is only one way to enter the community, and if you live on the other side, you have to drive throughout the entire complex just to get to your apartment. There are so many speed bumps and they just recently added more. I understand the reason behind it but come on. It is pet friendly but if you walk the community, watch where you step, it’s a land mind. The neighbors are a gamble, we have been pretty unlucky, they lack respect for their neighbors. They say they recently renovated the complex but all I see is newly brown paint. I’ve have a problem with the toilet and still waiting for someone to come out to fix it. Our air conditioning went out several times for a couple days each time, so maintenance is sketchy.

There is a lot of positives things to say about Shadow Valley, It has a good location to 410 and bandera. Grogeries stores nearby, and for the most part relatively peaceful.
Where I start to have problems is then eminties. The weight /​workout room is poor. It is like working out in your gramma’s basement. The equipment is way past being wore out or even functional.
The pool is nice… when it is clean… which maybe once a week.
They have tennis court, sand volleyball and a kind of play ground for kids. But everything is on its last leg.
They have maintanence on-​site, but I am assuming they are trying to keep up with the breakdowns that any preventive care is not done.
Community activities… None
What gave this place its three (3) stars was it’s sister community «Vista Del Rey». It is a hole.