Residents in Plato’s Court at Knights Landing, a Bloomington apartment complex, have reported multiple issues, such as insufficient parking and unfair charges, to the Plato's Court management, but said they feel no steps are being taken to address the problems.
Junior Owen Louden said he has had difficulties contacting Plato’s Court management, often being directed to lower staff instead of higher managers.
“Everything keeps going to voicemail,” junior Cameron Stanley said. “No one is responding back.”
Multiple residents said a lack of parking spaces has affected the safety of those who have to park at Memorial Stadium.
Residents without parking passes believe the path between the stadium and Plato's Court is unsafe. The walk from the stadium to the apartment complex takes around 10-15 minutes.
Management at Plato’s Court did not respond to multiple email and phone requests for comment.
There are 220 parking spaces available for more than 460 residents. Parking costs have increased to account for the property management’s employment of after-hours and weekend workers who patrol the property and identify parking violations, Foresite Realty, who owns the Plato’s Court property, said in an email at the end of August.
"The price to park here last year was $200," Louden said. "Now it is $300 and apparently the parking passes only last for the semester."
An email sent to residents by Plato’s Court management Sept. 3 said Plato’s Court has always had a limited number of parking spaces available. More than 90% of residents desire to have a vehicle on the property and that COVID-19 has made the issue worse.
Other issues include people injecting drugs in Plato’s Court parking lots and people peeking into apartments and cars, junior Madeline Young said.
Young said Plato’s Court said security personnel patrolled the complex, but she has never seen any security. She moved in more than a year ago.
Residents have been able to discuss their issues over Henri, an app that allows users to communicate about important topics within their buildings or apartment complexes. However, Young said the Plato’s Court public discussion board has been shut down twice, at times when residents expressed their frustration over issues .
“Every single time it has been shut down is when we’re asking answers of Plato’s Court to ask them why they’re doing this,” Young said.
Residents have faced other issues, such as charges for things outside of their control.
Last year, when a main water pipeline burst, causing some flooding in areas such as the pet park, residents were charged for overages in water usage, Young said.
Young said she and her roommate have made an effort to find a new apartment, but emails from Plato’s Court pressured them to re-sign their lease.
“Before this major price increase happens, secure your apartment AND the lower rate before it is too late!” an email from Plato’s Court staff to Young said in January.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to protect the privacy of a source.
