Carriage Works Apartments

Pros

• They note that the staff are helpful and friendly, and the environment is beautiful and clean.
• They praise the new manager for doing her best to tackle issues and for cleaning up inside and outside when needed.
• They mention that the manager has trimmed trees, added mulch, and keeps trash picked up daily, aiming to reduce noise.
• They highlight Eddie, the maintenance supervisor, as one of the nicest and quick to help.
• They credit Eddie with an excellent, professional caulking job around the tub and leaving the area clean.
• They note there is a playground in the back where kids can play safely.
• They love living there due to the professionalism, responsibility, respect, and personal care from maintenance and staff.
• They love their apartment and have made good friends there.

Cons

• The apartment was not cleaned before move-in.
• The building is supposed to be non-smoking, but residents continue to smoke and the smell travels through the walls.
• The walls are extremely thin, making it easy to hear neighbors' bathroom use.
• The automatic doors do not always work.
• There are reports of drugs in the stairwell and theft, with management allegedly aware but not taking action to evict offenders.
• A resident reports someone yelling about killing people and lighting fires, with police not intervening.
• Office staff are rude and communication is poor; inquiries go unanswered.
• Maintenance takes forever to fix issues; repairs are slow.

Review

Across the various notes left by residents, Carriage Works Apartments comes across as a place of sharp contrasts: moments of genuine improvement and care juxtaposed with ongoing safety concerns, maintenance frustrations, and management turnover that leaves tenants unsure about what will be addressed and when. The stories paint a picture of a building with potential - clean spaces, a playground, and attentive maintenance in some cases - yet plagued by issues that range from the merely annoying to the genuinely hazardous.

Several early experiences set a tone of disappointment. A number of tenants describe moving in to a unit that was not cleaned, forcing them to spend extra time and money on housekeeping soon after arrival. The oven and stove replacement taking more than three weeks stands out as emblematic of slow or inconsistent responses from management. The building is described as non-smoking, yet cigarette smoke still seeps through walls and compromises health, a problem particularly acute for tenants with allergies or asthma. Walls are said to be unusually thin, making noise from neighbors - like the sounds of bathroom use - loud and pervasive. Other infrastructural issues crop up, from automatic doors that don't always work to higher-than-expected cleaning costs that tenants feel they must shoulder to make the space livable. In short, the combination of unclean move-ins, smoke intrusion, and fragile building systems creates a fragile baseline of dissatisfaction.

Safety and security concerns thread through many reviews. There are alarming allegations about illegal activity in common areas: drugs being used in the stairwell, theft that management supposedly knew about yet did not evict the responsible party, and even a resident who reports someone threatening to kill others and set the place on fire, with police action described as inadequate. The same accounts touch on the vulnerability created by thin walls and busy stairwells, where neighbors' behavior can feel directly threatening to the safety of others. Dogs and uncleaned up after pets add another layer of worry for some tenants, including incidents involving an ESA (emotional support animal) and dog-on-dog interactions. Elevator and trash-room conditions, and a perception that some residents' behavior disrupts the building, reinforce a sense that shared spaces are not reliably regulated or kept up to standard.

Amid the turmoil, there are signals of real improvement linked to a new manager and dedicated staff. An update labeled 51425 describes a manager who is actively tackling problems and even taking on cleaning tasks outside and inside the building - actions that include tree trimming, mulching, daily trash pickup, and efforts to reduce noise. A maintenance supervisor named Eddie earns particular praise for his professionalism, friendly demeanor, and meticulous repairs - most notably in a bathroom caulking job that is described as precise and well-cleaned. This thread of positive change is reinforced by other residents who highlight responsive maintenance crews, courteous interactions, and a generally cleaner, better-run environment driven by attentive staff. The sentiment is clear: when management and maintenance are present and proactive, the building can feel well cared for and more livable.

Yet the optimism is uneven and short-lived in other entries. A later update - dated 9.18.25 - casts a troubling counter-narrative: "one of the worst places to live" due to constant management turnover, a sense that complaints are ignored, persistent smoking, and ongoing dog-related and other resident conflicts. This note explicitly says complaints are not taken seriously, and it catalogs ongoing problems with noisy neighbors, untrained or poorly behaved dogs, rude tenants, and a perception of indifferent office staff. It contrasts sharply with the earlier praise for Eddie and the new manager, underscoring how fragile improvements can be if leadership is unstable or unresponsive. There are also calls from other tenants for basic reliability, noting that calls and emails to the office often go unanswered and that the office staff can be unhelpful or unavailable.

Interwoven with these experiences are debates about rent, admissions practices, and overall fairness. A few tenants report confusing or troubling messages about income-based rent determinations, suggesting that rent is calculated based on income in ways that feel unfair or inconsistent with expectations about paying market-rate rents. Some residents complain about hoops to enter the building and about the perception that paying different amounts - some residents paying more while others pay less - creates resentment and a sense of inequality. A critic of ownership notes that changes in management have not yet translated into consistent or fair practices, implying that the new ownership may not be fully aligning with the needs and fairness expectations of long-term tenants. Others counter with more neutral or positive takes, praising the staff and maintenance, and even a few who express genuine satisfaction with the living environment when things are managed well.

Taken together, the collection of notes presents a property with real strengths - clean spaces in some units, effective maintenance personnel, a willingness from at least some managers to roll up their sleeves and address issues, and moments of visible improvements in grounds and common areas. It also reveals persistent weaknesses: a history of slow or incomplete maintenance responses, ongoing tenant conflicts, smoke intrusions in a supposedly smoke-free building, safety concerns that feel inadequately addressed, and a management structure that has fluctuated enough to leave residents uncertain about who is in charge and how quickly concerns will be resolved. For anyone considering moving here, the threads suggest a cautious approach: investigate the current management team, ask concrete questions about how they handle complaints, safety, and noise, and seek recent resident experiences to gauge whether the building's leadership and maintenance teams are stable enough to ensure reliable, ongoing improvements.

Pharmacies

• CVS Pharmacy (0.5 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.4 miles)
• Target Pharmacy (1.5 miles)
• Brockie Healthcare (1.6 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2.5 miles)
• Weis Markets Pharmacy (3.6 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3.6 miles)

Physicians

• Yorktowne Family Medicine (0.6 miles)
• Family Medicine Assoc Of York (0.9 miles)
• MyEyeDr (1 miles)
• Brockie Internal Medicine (1.2 miles)
• York E.N.T Associates (1.3 miles)
• Wellspan Health (1.3 miles)
• MyEyeDr (1.4 miles)

Places of Worship

• Madison Av Church of the Brethren (0.7 miles)

Restaurants

• Hardee's (0.7 miles)
• Plaza Azteca Restaurantes Mexicanos (1.2 miles)
• McDonald's (1.3 miles)
• MOD Pizza (1.3 miles)
• Olive Garden (1.5 miles)
• Lyndon Diner (1.5 miles)
• Quaker Steak & Lube (1.6 miles)

Theaters

• West Manchester STM 13 (1.4 miles)
• Frank Theatres Queensgate Stadium 13 (3.5 miles)

Cafes

• Starbucks (1.6 miles)
• Colonial Coffee Shop (2 miles)
• Starbucks (2.7 miles)
• Dunkin' Dounuts (3.4 miles)
• Starbucks (3.6 miles)

Parks

• Reservoir Park (2 miles)
• Bob Hoffman Fields (2.5 miles)
• York County Rail Trail - Brillhart Station (2.8 miles)
• Cousler Park (3.2 miles)

Hospitals

• UPMC Memorial (2 miles)
• York Hospital - Imaging Department (2.1 miles)
• UPMC Memorial Hospital (2.3 miles)
• WellSpan Behavioral Health (2.5 miles)
• WellSpan Surgery & Rehabilitation Hospital (2.8 miles)
• Wellspan Gettysburg Hospital (3 miles)
• Wellspan Childbirth And Family Education Center (3.6 miles)