Mainstreet Court Apartments - Saskatoon

Things have changed in my last 6 years here. This was once a very quiet, adult-orientated building but has turned into the opposite. Lots of issues with this place...The apartments themselves are extremely old and dated. Doors and cupboards don't shut, the floors lean and sag, and the appliances are from the 1980's. Those they renovate are slapped together in only a few days, so you can imagine the quality of the upgrades. The hallways and carpets are filthy, the building reeks of smoke, there are no elevators, and noise from crying babies, barking dogs, and car alarms are now the norm. The landlords--who seem to be new each year--defer any noise or parking issues to the city and are more concerned with renovating the old units than keeping the existing ones going or dealing with real issues. They are invariably rushed and rude when you do need to talk to them. Despite the provincial laws, the landlords demand unfettered access to your apartment. There is no 24 hour notice. If you request any repairs, you must give them permission to enter your apartment AT ANY TIME that week. Every winter there are periods without heat as the boilers fail. Last year we had no heat until the end of October (I had to involve the city last go-round to get this resolved). There are only 2 washer/dryer units for the entire building and, when they are actually operational, have unreasonable hours--the doors are locked at 9 PM and dont re-open until 9 AM. Families with kids monopolize the laundry rooms now. Finally, the type of people who live here has changed--it was once primarily U of S students and workers at the local hospital, but it these folks have been replaced primarily by immigrant families with small children. We have also had the Police in our building several times over the past year or two, and there has been a lot of vandalism of cars in and around the area. Let's just say it is not exaclty a friendly atmosphere at Duchess Court where it is typical to walk past people in the hallway/stairs without a nod or a smile. A lot of the issues were mitigated in the past by quiet neighbors and a friendly, dedicated residential manager. It is also a great location and was reasonably priced. Things have declined to the point where I would not recommend living here unless you have no other choice and/or love the area so much you can overlook the issues with this place.

The building was well run a while ago. Don't rent here. Maintenance takes days if not weeks to fix things. Laundry get more expensive every month as well. Definitely won't renew for the price the building charges.

The buildings have gotten upgrades over the years and despite being a somewhat dangerous area in the past; is crawling with cameras and security, the community garden near by offers lots of friendly opportunities to meet your neighbors. The hallways are vacuumed weekly, at least 2 washers and dryers. Kids are always expected, not very noisy in the building, just outside to play. The occasional soccer games are a little annoying however they are bearable. A very pet friendly area, (nearly a dog park; there are so many animals) and friendly neighbors to get to know. Kid friendly as there is a park just over from the empty field, and a school down the road. The area is easily accessible to bus routes, free little libraries posted at random for free books to give and take. Barber and coffee shop a few blocks down. Lovely area to live, been here 6 years and have nothing but nice things to say, have always felt safe here. :)