Tenant Reviews for 1475 TEXAS AVE

Catalyst Houston has demonstrated alarming management practices that raise serious concerns about oversight, transparency, and resident safety. The building lacks adequate security—camera coverage is insufficient, and the concierge desk is frequently unattended. There have been major security incidents at the property, including the burglary of rapper Slim Thug’s apartment. During my residency, my apartment was accessed without authorization multiple times, mail was tampered with, personal property was stolen, and my internet service was compromised, resulting in identity theft. These incidents were serious and documented, and I filed police reports and identity theft reports. When I requested to review security camera footage related to my incidents, management refused, stating that they could not provide access without a subpoena. I used my Tesla Sentry Camera in the garage as a lawful safety measure. Some nearby residents even informed me that it made them feel safer parking next to Tesla. Despite my clear and responsible intent to deter crime, some narrow-minded residents misrepresented my actions, and management failed to handle the situation appropriately, resulting in a hostile and unfair environment. I never harassed, followed, intimidated, or threatened anyone; my sole purpose was to ensure the safety of myself and those around me in a responsible and lawful manner. Building systems were unreliable and poorly managed. My air-conditioning system suddenly stopped working, and management informed me that it would take three days to replace the compressor, so I was temporarily relocated to another model apartment. Also, the battery in my apartment key access system failed. Given the timing of these events alongside repeated security breaches, I was left with serious concerns about what may have occurred in my unit while I was displaced. Certain individuals engaged in discriminatory and disruptive behavior, which management failed to address. Persistent judgment, repeated boundary violations, and coordinated interference created unnecessary challenges affecting both my personal and professional life. It is important that those responsible for these failures and misconduct are held accountable to prevent similar experiences for others. I also have additional concerns and supporting documentation that I am choosing not to disclose at this time. Even programs like “Resident of the Month� lack transparency and fairness. Management claims the selection is random after nominations, yet the process is unclear, inconsistent, and favors some individuals over long-term residents. Recognition has been given to new residents almost immediately while long-term residents remain overlooked, raising questions about favoritism and mismanagement. I have no personal interest in this award; I am simply pointing out what appears to be unfair and misleading practices. It is also worth noting that the property’s consistently Google ratings over the past two years—averaging around 4.1 stars appear unusually uniform compared to my experience, which raises questions about the reliability of some high rating reviews. Due to repeated security failures, identity theft, ongoing negligence, and hostile behavior from some individuals and management, I chose to terminate my lease early to protect my safety, peace of mind, and well-being. These incidents created ongoing challenges across physical, financial, and practical aspects of daily life. Catalyst Houston is unsafe, mismanaged, and toxic. The combination of poor oversight, lack of transparency, security failures, discriminatory behavior, and corrupt practices makes this property unsuitable for anyone who values real safety, fairness, and accountability.

I lived here for almost 3 years, so this is an honest review from someone who I loved this place in the beginning, but trust me: things went downhill quickly and they will for you if you move in this building. Between security gate not working, elevators out every other week and your kitchen sink literally unsealing, dislodging and falling through the base and damaging your pipes and flooding your neighbors because the appliances are so old and worn, please take this as a professional warning to save your money BEFORE you waste it moving here. CONS 1. PVI Insurance Scam and Hidden Fees – you will be charged every month on top of your rent with random explained fees, escalating water bills and PVI renters insurance fees or you will be threatened with eviction. Every month, you will be charged even though you will provide compliant renter’s insurance (State Farm, Geico, Lemonade, does not matter), in writing multiple times. Chris Prestigomo will do nothing about it. You instead will get a “credit” towards your bills at the Catalyst. What??? Even after you continuously provide documentation of your fully-funded renters insurance. 2. Valet – They will be nice at first when you are touring/moving in but wait until ASTROS season when the front of the building becomes a complete nightmare. For about 5 months your hard-earned rent money that pays valet will be used to help ASTROS fans paying $40, $60, $80, $100+ to park at the Catalyst on game day or bow down to patrons heading to eat at Irma’s that also share the use of the garage at the Catalyst, it gets SO ------. If you have a high stress job such as doctor, engineer or lawyer, be AWARE the entire driveway in front of the building will be backed up to Bagby & Texas street, you will be trapped and will not be able to get your car out on your own time. 3. Crime – Lot's of break-ins in the garage, homeless folks getting access through the garage and unlocked doors (one guy accessed the building from jumping the roof at Irmas and causing HOD and HFD to get the fire trucks and ladder to get him down from the metal roof of Irma’s) and unwanted visitors within the actual building. Barely any communication from leasing on this and when seeming happens you will get the usual letter telling YOU to be diligent about your surroundings AFTER the crime is done. 4. Move Out – Absolutely do not call professional cleaners, do not clean anything in your unit and do not bother making repairs because they are just going end up charging you for things you were told they would not charge you for. Regular wear and tear, carpet, baseboards, etc, as a resident, it does not matter. Their goal is to charge you for cleaning fees and send you a ridiculous move-out bill at the end of their “evaluation” of course led by Chris Prestigomo with the threat of reporting you to all 3 credit bureaus if you do not pay for the fees that they drum up. It does not matter how sparkling you leave the place, you will be charged. 5. Racism – Do not be fooled by the “diversity” of the building. Every review that you read on Google previously regarding the rampant racism displayed by Chris Prestigomo, Property Manager, Catalyst Houston are absolutely true and show a pattern of his behavior. If you really want to see his racism go through the roof, speak with quiet intelligence and use your big SAT words, he hates to see that and will jump up out of his chair and attempt to physically escort you out of his office as if you are a child. You may be impressed with the aesthetic of the building BEFORE you move in but after experiencing racism and unnecessary attitude from the manager, you will never recommend or consider this community for anyone. PROS Annette - Not sure what all the negative reviews are about but she’s the best reason to live at the Catalyst. Sweet, fun and very professional, she was a rockstar the entire time and my go-to person. Harris County – Read the fine print on your lease. Although Marquette Management are based in Chicago, they can absolutely be sued in Harris County! YAY!

I was a resident of this place. Today I had my assistant let in the guys to put up somethings in my apt. I wasn't home. I been at my friend house recovering from back surgery. Chris deactivated my key fob! There is nothing in my lease that says I cant give my key fob out. He sent a paper saying something bout a garage card and no sharing that access. Luckily I caught the other leasing agent and reactivated my key! There is nothing in lease saying that will happen deactivate my key and my rent was current. This man has gotten beside himself! I have reached out to his superior several times and no response. If this isn't retaliation and harassment. He also stated he watched a man go into my apt. You have nothing else to do? His supervisor finally responded. She didnt address nothing l said but on what he said, l was yelling! They dont need to run and an ant pill clean up! Dont move here! Read the other reviews on Chris! I stayed here for less than two weeks.

I would not recommend this building even to my worse enemy. I have been here 3+ years and cannot wait to move out!! The building has turned into a wastelands and they have let unqualified folks into building, SUPER thin walls, I can hear my neighbors using bathroom and hear their movies all night. To make things worse, I live close to an exit door which SLAMS all night. Building used to be quiet but that feels like ages ago.

I personally would not recommend this Apartment Building. I used to live here for 1 year and thankfully ended up moving out because of the noise and crowd that was starting to take over... I still have 2 pals there and they say it has gotten consistently worse. She says the walls must be thinning out because she can hear her neighbors talking on the phone and in bed. The elevator has been down for 3 months and they have not been able to fix it either. The concierge is also changing quick and are very transient. They are now looking for another building to rent with.

Just moved out of this building last month and found myself a cheaper apt. off Memorial Drive within a 8-10 min walk of Downtown and right across the beautiful Bayou Park. I would definitely NOT recommend this building. The walls are VERY THIN and the insulation is VERY POOR. You can hear neighbors using the bathroom, slamming their doors, and the plumbing going down from other floors. For the amount residents pay to live here, it is not worth the headaches, money and stress. Since pandemic, the building did away with background checks so younger crowds took over pool area and would play loud music during the day as if it is a fraternity house. The one benefit of building is that there are luxury restaurants within 1-2 min walk and the Astros ballpark is a 2-3 min walk. There is also valet parking sometimes. But in reality, the positives don't come close to outweighing the negatives. Do yourself a favor and look at an apartment building where the insulation is properly installed and where you won't be hearing your neighbors peeing and opening doors.

I have been living in this building since early 2021. I can confidently say that this building's standards and resident life has been drastically impacted due to poor management and relaxed requirements on the application process. It seems as if the energy/medical/law professionals have been replaced with instagram partiers, people without jobs who throw parties at 2am on weekday nights, and people who attract robbers to steal cars out the garage. I understand the pandemic has caused a great financial strain and prices were lowered, but the change in residents has been pretty upsetting given that we were subject to such tough income requirements and background verification when we applied back in 2020. In addition, the building clubhouse is on the 26th floor and has very nice views of the downtown skyline as well as 2-3 televisions and kitchen. The problem is that the building is not strict with who is allowed to enter and how much time is permitted to spend there. Unfortunately, some of the new residents, friends, and AirBNB's will take over the clubhouse on the weekend and use it as a party room and night club. Not sure why management has not stopped this... Moreover, I'm not sure if the building wasn't properly constructed, but you can hear your neighbor's plumbing, closets, and bathroom appliances. For such a nice building on the eye, I'm not sure how the developer could overlook noise containment and put such thin walls. This building is a tease and an nothing more than a overpriced condo building with shiny windows.

Would strongly advise people to look elsewhere when it comes to apartments. This building is a pretender and fake luxury apartment building. Don’t be fooled by the new amenities, everything comes with a steep price and the biggest problem with this building is the noise intake and the kinds of people they are allowing to move in. When we moved back in late 2019, building was very quiet, professional and always clean.. talk about a complete opposite, since they stopped doing thorough background checks on who can enter, building has become a noisy as any I have lived in. It doesn’t help that walls have mold and poor insulation so you can hear every move from neighbors too. From cabinets slamming at 5 am to plumbing going down at midnight, be prepared to hear every last noise from neighbors. It’s quite ridiculous for the amount you pay to live here. I would also advise to keep your car elsewhere, besides having neighbors possibly vandalize your car, there have been numerous break-ins here and building has allowed its own residents to be the target of the select few who enable crime and others to enter so they can commit crime. All in all, this building has become a compote disaster not to mention trash being overflowed so hallways will smell really bad until they are cleaned on Monday mornings for a temporary refreshing. Not sure why they would stop doing background checks and why building was so poorly constructed by the combination has enabled this place to become more of a fraternity house with nice amenities rather than a luxury apartment building. Don’t be fooled y’all.

So disgusted with how things are ran here. Dog Feces outside my door multiple times. Nothing has been done about it. The dog park is atrocious. Nothing works on the property amenities, they are always not functioning. This used to be a nice place. The manager only cares about increasing rent on a property with multiple shootings, car thefts, and filthy unpainted walls with bad smelling hallways. The reviews have gotten so bad I’m not surprised at all anymore.

If you're looking for the best luxury high-rise in Houston, The Catalyst is where you need to be. I've been living here for a couple months now and love it. No problems or issues, don't listen to other reviews. Management and leasing staff are incredible. The concierges and valet people are amazing. The gym, best apartment gym in Houston, hands down! The pool, best pool with views in Houston, hands down! The building is safe and secure at all times and in walking distance to everything you need, baseball (whenever that will be), restaurants, bars, markets, east downtown. Message me on Instagram if you need help ryanhesse, also I'll split the referral commission????