Mcauley Commons

Pros

• The community is very clean.
• The people are friendly.
• The review recommends this senior community for loved ones in Detroit.

Cons

• The management is terrible, and the person who runs the place is disrespectful and threatening, with allegations that he made a pass at the reviewer.
• The lobby always smells during visits.
• Gate access has remained unresolved for over a month, showing slow management.
• Under new ownership, bed bugs persist for years and inspections are not thorough.
• Inspections are superficial and do not include pest checks in all units, nor professional pest control for every apartment.
• Tenants report mice, indicating ongoing pest problems and inadequate oversight.
• The entry gate is constantly broken and repairs are slow; the owner delays fixes.
• The reviewer plans to contact HUD and the media to escalate the issues.

Review

A recent set of reviews paints a troubling picture of a senior living community that many expect to be a safe, comfortable home for older adults. The threads running through the comments describe a pattern of management problems that color every other experience there. Several residents and visitors report that the lobby and common areas carry a persistent odor, which adds to a sense that the physical environment is not being cared for with the attention one would expect in a place housing the elderly. The overarching tone is one of disappointment and concern, with expectations of decent oversight seemingly unmet across multiple facets of the operation.

In particular, the management team at the top is described in harsh terms. One reviewer accuses the person who runs the place of being disrespectful and, on multiple levels, threatening. More shocking to this account, the same person allegedly made a sexual advance toward the reviewer during a visit. The experience is conveyed as part of a broader pattern of behavior by leadership that leaves residents feeling unsafe and undervalued. Another voice echoes a similar sentiment, urging that the administration needs to "get on your job" and implying that the conduct of the leadership has become a barrier to the dignity and security residents deserve.

Safety and accessibility concerns loom large, especially for residents with mobility or medical needs. A specific case involves an elderly friend who lives in the building. This resident's family reports a chronic and frustrating delay in getting the telephone gate system activated so the gate can be opened from her apartment. The problem has persisted for more than a month, jeopardizing her ability to access her own building and, if a medical emergency arose, to be promptly reachable by caregivers or emergency services. The frustration is palpable, with the parent or family member vowing to escalate the matter to local media if the issue isn't resolved quickly. The fear here isn't just about inconvenience; it centers on real risk to health and safety for an 83-year-old resident who depends on reliable access to her home.

The complaints about pests and pests-related inspections add another troubling dimension. Several reviewers allege that units have suffered bed bugs for years, despite claims by management that inspections are routinely performed. The implication is that bed bugs persist because inspections are superficial - perhaps limited to peeking into a few units rather than conducting thorough checks of mattresses, bed boards, and other vulnerable areas, or engaging a professional pest control service across every apartment. Beyond bed bugs, residents report mice and ongoing pest pressure, which compounds concerns about living conditions in what should be a clean, well-maintained environment for seniors.

Maintenance and financial management accusations reinforce the sense that residents are paying for a service they're not consistently receiving. One reviewer notes a recurring claim of "we are broke with no money," which, in the view of tenants, contradicts the fact that seniors pay monthly rents. The same account points to recurring maintenance failures - such as the gate being repeatedly broken - while the owner seems slow to address the problem. The combination of costly rent and unresolved maintenance issues fuels a broader sense of mistrust toward the leadership and financial stewardship of the property. The reviewer even mentions planning to file formal complaints with HUD and to speak with the media, effectively signaling that the concerns are serious enough to seek outside oversight.

Amid this barrage of criticism, a few observations offer a faint counterbalance. One reviewer mentions visiting a conference at the property and finding it very clean with friendly staff in that moment, suggesting that not all experiences are uniformly negative. Another line of commentary invites readers to consider Detroit as a place to look for senior housing and presents this community as an option to explore. Taken together, these lighter notes imply that there are moments of normalcy and positive interactions within the building, even as the prevailing sentiment remains unsettled and critical.

Overall, the impressions conveyed by these accounts are of a community that has diverged from the expectations many families hold for senior housing. The combination of management conduct concerns, safety risks for elderly residents, persistent pest infestations, and repeatedly broken doors or gates that impede access all contribute to a cautious, alarmed view of living there. For anyone considering this community for a loved one, the message echoed in multiple voices is clear: proceed with extreme caution, verify the current state of operations, and seek out other options if possible. The explicit warning from viewers - "DO NOT MOVE HERE - find a better place to live" - is hard to ignore in the face of the described realities.

Pharmacies

• CVS Pharmacy (1.1 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2.1 miles)
• Indian Village Market (2.6 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3.5 miles)
• Walgreens (3.5 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3.9 miles)
• Walgreens (4.1 miles)

Restaurants

• Joseph's Coney Island (2 miles)
• Cadieux Cafe (3 miles)
• Fowling Warehouse (3.1 miles)
• Yemen Cafe (3.6 miles)
• Atwater Block Brewery (4.1 miles)
• McDonald's (4.2 miles)
• Subway (4.4 miles)

Places of Worship

• St Charles Church (2.7 miles)
• St John's Presbyterian Church (4.2 miles)
• Grosse Pointe United Methodist Church (4.7 miles)
• St Joan Of Arc Church (5.9 miles)

Parks

• Matthew C Patterson Park (2.9 miles)
• Windmill Pointe Park (3.5 miles)
• Belle Isle Park (3.7 miles)
• Valade Park (4.3 miles)
• William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor (4.6 miles)
• Center Line Memorial Park (6.6 miles)
• Palmer Park (7.1 miles)

Hospitals

• Select Specialty Hospital (4 miles)
• St John Hospital & Medical Center (4 miles)
• Henry Ford Medical Center (4.2 miles)
• Detroit Receiving Hospital (4.4 miles)
• DMC Heart Hospital (4.6 miles)
• Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute (4.6 miles)
• Harper University Hospital (4.6 miles)

Physicians

• Childrens Hospital Of Michigan Specialty Center - Detroit (4.4 miles)
• University Health Center (4.5 miles)
• Windsor Regional Hospital (6.3 miles)
• Pointes Allergy And As (7.1 miles)

Cafes

• The Bean Bar (5.5 miles)
• Tim Hortons (6.3 miles)
• Tim Hortons (7.2 miles)
• Tim Hortons (7.9 miles)