The Hayes on Stone Way has been amazing for me. The location alone is a huge plus — incredibly walkable, surrounded by great bars and restaurants, and right in the middle of everything Ballard has to offer. Yes, there’s street construction nearby. It’s a growing neighborhood. That’s part of city living. I want to give credit where it’s due: Caitlin in the office stepped into a mess left behind by the previous management company. There was very little structure or accountability before, and she’s been working hard to clean that up. That’s not easy, and it shows. Now let’s address the flood of dramatic reviews. A few loud voices online do not represent the majority of residents. Some people would rather complain in group chats and behind fake accounts than actually walk into the office and have a conversation with the people who can solve the issue. It’s much easier to type paragraphs online than to communicate like an adult. There was a temporary hot water issue — yes. It was addressed. In a shared building, if multiple people are taking long showers during peak hours, it’s going to affect supply. That’s basic apartment living. It wasn’t the scandal some reviews make it sound like. Shoutout to Santa for consistently handling work orders and maintaining the building. Maintenance matters, and he does his job well. No apartment community is perfect. You live around other humans. But I haven’t had any major issues here, and when something has come up, I’ve gone directly to management and it’s been handled. That’s how it should work. If you’re reading the negative reviews, just remember: sometimes the loudest people online are not the most reasonable ones. My experience has been positive, and plenty of us are living here peacefully.

I have lived here 5+ years. Experienced multiple management firms through the years. Security Properties has made this place an extremely unsafe and uncomfortable place to live. Many Units including mine did not get hot water for 10 weeks starting in November. They then falsely advertised to reviews on Google and public emails that the issue was fixed. Wrong. I did not get hot water again yesterday 2/17/26. We have had multiple break ins (without any public announcements from management) in the past two months. In the past 5+ years living here it has never been this bad. other management firms took action and at the very least let everyone know what happened. This management firm keeps everything in the dark. We are a targeted community. Criminals know this. Yet the management firm shows complete disregard for the safety of our community and property. The only way we as residents know what’s going on is through a group chat that was formed as a last resort effort to create some form of safety in the community. This management firm does not view this property as a community with real people living in it. They view it as one of many properties that add to their bottom line. All efforts that they claim to have made are minimal and never a sustainable solution. Their main concern is cost not human safety or living conditions. The community has been considering taking legal action against security properties. Let this be a warning to all of you considering this apartment community.

After living here for years, sad to report an extreme decline in safety and quality in 2026 under new management. We have friends in the other big buildings on Stone Way and none experience the severity of issues found here. The new corporate decision makers are in Hong Kong and the on-site team is not empowered to communicate transparently nor address issues urgently. Under new ownership of Security Properties, the building has become a local target for crime. Most concerning is that management DOES NOT NOTIFY residents about security issues, including about repeat situations that create personal safety risks. Previous management would email residents about major and minor security incidents that day so that residents could be informed and take precautions. New management will leave you in the dark about security. A sampling of issues from the last couple months alone: multiple nights of non-resident trespassers confronting residents in the common areas and sleeping in the hallways, at least 5 car break-ins, countless package thefts, etc. Front door has been broken for months. Took 3 days to fix the “secure parking garage gate” being wide open at night. They compensated units a mere $250 for taking 10 WEEKS in winter to restore hot water access. They also rented out new units without informing people of the ongoing hot water issues. They have not invested in enough package lockers to adequately service all residents. Even if/as management takes action to improve the security situation, the lack of timely, straightforward communication about security issues will continue to warrant a 1 star review. We hope that corporate will give the Hayes management team the budget and communication freedom to restore the building’s quality, as the on-site team is well-intended and capable of doing so.

The Hayes has serious security and safety issues that management is failing to address or even tell residents about. I moved here just a few months ago and have been shocked by the security issues: private garage break-ins, several car break-ins, non-residents sleeping in the hallways, and constant stolen packages. The building seems to be targeted by a crime group that appears to have access to the property. What's even more upsetting is that the management team didn’t notify us or say anything, even after becoming aware that someone may have used a cloned key fob to gain unauthorized entry. I don’t think any of this is acceptable, nor is it being treated with the urgency it deserves. I used to live in another apartment next to this one and never dealt with anything like this, so I know for a fact that this is not a "neighborhood" problem but definitely a management-specific failure.

Do not live here!!! We were really excited for the first few months living here, but maintenance issues started piling up. We have now gone over two months without hot water, with the suggested solution being to run the water for 30+ minutes and hope it becomes warm. In my many years of renting, this is the worst I have been treated. Especially for the price they charge, being treated this way is unacceptable. The lack of care and follow-through has been extremely disappointing.