My partner lived here circa 2009 before he met me, and he LOVED it. We've been living here together for over three years now...we really loved it at first, but this community has gradually gone downhill. The GOOD: - Great location, close to major highways, parks, shopping, restaurants. - Salt Creek runs along the property boundary - great for plant IDs and wildlife sightings (beavers, mink, raccoons, deer, coyotes, toads, songbirds, and your typical waterfowl). - Maintenance personnel are wonderful. Friendly, prompt, and seem to really care about doing a good job. - Updated finishes in the kitchens and the faux hardwood floors throughout the units are quite nice. - Office staff are friendly and seem to genuinely try their best despite working for an awful company (Aimco). - The package locker service is convenient. - We really like most of the fellow dog owners and dogs that live here. The BAD: - Office staff rarely answer the phone. I have better luck with email, but that isn't the best for urgent matters. The leasing office is a revolving door. - Even though the package locker service is convenient, it came at the expense of the business center (we often used used the printer there) and Tim, the awesome concierge who would do just about anything for residents. - The parking situation is unacceptable. Even if you don't have a reserved space, you still have to pay $15 (up from the $10 it was when we moved in) to keep your vehicle here. On top of the $36 vehicle sticker required annually by the City of Elmhurst. I could understand the fee if this were Chicago, with great public transportation, but this is the suburbs, and people need cars to get around. If you get home any time after 8:30pm, there's no parking and you have to park clear on the other side of the community. I don't mind walking at all; the maddening part is paying for the "luxury" of parking, and then not even being able to park by your wing. - The fees and rent are exorbitant. Parking, pet deposit, pet rent (which pays for the use of a dog park surfaced with small stones that are uncomfortable for most dogs)...and rent increases ~$70 each year. - The community touts itself as smoke-free, but I constantly see/smell people smoking and find cigarette butts on the ground. Every so often the office will send an email out reminding everyone that it's a smoke free community, but nothing ever changes. - Aimco is unresponsive. My partner sent a courteous email to corporate outlining our list of concerns. The president of Aimco said she'd forward the email to the regional manager, who would address our concerns. This was months ago, and no one ever reached out to us. - You have to pay 3 months' rent to terminate your lease early. Which would be fine if the landlord was a person counting on the extra income, but I know Aimco would have no trouble whatsoever getting the apartment flipped and rented out almost immediately after the unit is vacated. If you don't terminate your lease early, you have to give 60 days' notice if you aren't planning to renew otherwise they charge yet another ridiculous fee. They intentionally make it confusing and inconvenient to leave, and ultimately impossible to avoid paying extra fees and penalties. - There used to be a nice wooded area north of the building, but recently they cleared away all the trees to make way for development of more townhouses. (Can it still be called"Elm Creek" if there are no elm trees left?) Soon there will be even less parking due to construction. (Six parking spots were occupied by two cherrypickers and a maintenance trailer last year from October through the end of December, making the parking situation even worse). I've left out other bad things because my review is already too long. My point is that we used to love living here, but we don't recommend it to people anymore and we are looking forward to leaving (hidden move-out fees and all).