Lauren Stemper, a junior in Biomedical Sciences and Alyssa Gerber, a junior College of Arts and Sciences, are roommates together in Tim's Place.,”

• No one seems to have any problems with landlord John Hennessy
• Residents of Nicole's Place, Tim's Place and the St. James all had good things to say about their apartments
• Hennessy not only provides nice housing, but better management

It is hard to find someone living off campus that doesn't have any negative comments about their landlord. When their landlord is John Hennessy, owner of Hennessey Group Inc., that search becomes much easier.

Hennessy owns The Nicole, 1539 W. Kilbourn St., Tim's Place, 1516 W. Kilbourn St., and St. James Court Historic Apartments, 831 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Lauren Stemper, a junior in the college of Health Sciences, and Alyssa Gerber, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, are roommates in Tim's Place.

"He's nice, very personable," Stemper said. "When we first met him he asked a lot of questions. He wanted to understand who we were, our families and where we're from."

Gerber said she noticed that he seemed more concerned about the well-being of the girls than the paperwork.

"He really took into consideration who we were before he rented to us," Gerber said. "He wanted to make sure we were good people and we got along as roommates and things like that. I thought that was important."

Rent at The Nicole and Tim's Place costs between $2,300 and $2,450 between four roommates, not including utilities. Each has air conditioning and heating as well as free laundry, Internet and cable.

According to Gerber, you also save money if you sign a two-year lease.

"On average it is like $575 a month if it is split dead even," Gerber said. "We save about $200 a month total because we signed a two-year lease."

As for the location, the former Schroeder Hall residents have had no problems adjusting.

"It's the perfect location," Stemper said. "I can't even imagine living at 2040's and walking from so far away."

Danielle Divito, a junior in the College of Communication, lives across the street at Nicole's Place and is equally as impressed with the management and the building.

"(Hennessy) is really nice," Divito said. "He's easy to get a hold of. And then we have apartment managers who live at Tim's

Place and they're always shoveling, putting salt down. God knows I wouldn't be doing that."

Divito also said she and her three roommates are very happy with their decision to live in The Nicole.

"We love it," Divito said. "When we were moving in here sophomore here(year?) we weren't sure if we wanted to stay so we only signed a one year lease but than I lived here in the summer and I was like guys we are definitely staying another year."

Hennessy said he believes part of the reason students love his place so much is because the apartments were designed as condos, providing a condo feel to them.

Hennessy also owns St. James Court Historic Apartment. The St. James was just put in the National Register of Historic places. Alfred Clotts, an architect who said he played a tremendous role in the development of Milwaukee, originally designed it.

"We rehabbed the St. James step by step," Hennessy said. "By 2002 our work was completed and at this point we're looking for ways to make it an even better place to live."

Prices at the St. James range from about $880 to $1790, for a triple and a double, respectively.

Matt Schoenfelder, a 2008 Marquette graduate who currently lives and manages St. James, only has one regret about living at there.

"I wish I would have lived here when I was an undergrad," Schoenfelder said.

But above all, Hennessy believes that the service provided to students living in his buildings is what is most important.

"What we're doing demonstrates that we're committed to them and that we're going to provide a very nice product for them," Hennessy said. "Our strategy is to have something a little better, but not only that, to make sure you have the service and the management to go along with that."

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