My husband and I lived at Hopkins Park Apartments for about 3 years and we had a fantastic…read moreexperience at Hopkins. The complex is well maintained. For any big maintenance projects scheduled (e.g. complex exterior re-paint, parking lot renovation), we received letter of notice 1-2 weeks ahead. For small maintenance requests, they are always handled promptly (next day). Onsite maintenance also responds quickly to emergency phone calls. When we do have questions for the management team, their response time to emails is usually the same day / next day. Be ready to get cards / candies from the management team at holiday season : ) Neighborhood is quiet and convenient. Bart and AC Transit are both close. Parks, restaurants, grocery stores and farmers market are all in 10 mins walking distance. There's also a Whole Foods and a Japanese market, about 15 mins walking. Most people live here are very friendly and they keep an eye on your apartment when you are away. It did happen that some tenant party loud at night, but only about once in a year. Our move-out experience is very smooth, too. We scheduled a pre-move out inspection with the management team a few days before the move-out date. They provided us a detailed cleaning list and the corresponding cleaning fee for each item. We cleaned the apartment by ourselves and received the FULL security / pet deposit before their promised date. The rent is high in the whole bay area, but Berkeley has rent control. At Hopkins, the rent only goes up about every 3% (or 2%?) every year, which is nothing if you compare to other apt which does not have rent control... A few minor cons: * As other reviews said, the big wall between living room and kitchen and the water heater makes you feel the apartment is smaller even than said. * Leasing office does not take packages for you. Your package will be left on your front door. * Sound insulation can be improved.

Hopkins Park Apartments has been not just where I have lived for the past six years, but where I…read morestarted my family. My wife, daughter, dog, and cat are lucky to have been able to find such an incredible apartment complex. It's situated right behind a park and playground, in walking distance to Monterey Market, Acme Bread, BART, and much more. It's well maintained and the maintenance team is superb. The management team, especially Nicole, is awesome. They're the friendliest and most helpful ones we've ever had. They're very pet friendly and family friendly. We would stay here forever if we could; the only reason we are moving is due to work. We loved our time here, was fortunate to be able to call it home, and can't recommend it highly enough!

First and foremost, do not lease a unit with Stonefire Berkeley. There is also a new complex called…read moreThe Standard at Berkeley and do not lease a unit there either. I will make this transparent yet brutally honest review as short, concise, and clear cut as possible. -Security guard is sleeping on the couch in the lobby while the parking garage is open because it's broken -I had no air conditioning heating AND cooling for 10 months straight -The ratio of tenants to available parking is flabbergastingly shocking as there are people like me who have been on the waiting list for 10 months now -A staff member said I violated their parking rule so the staff member goes ahead and puts a cheaply made sticker on my window that I can't take off unless I spend couple hours picking at it, but removing it will more than likely damage my window (image attached) -In addition to the point before, the staff member verbally admitted to vandalizing my car because the staff member almost word for word said to my face, "I wouldn't have vandalized your car if you didn't violate our parking rule" -I had no functioning lights in my kitchen, living room, and bathroom for about 7 months -When I got the keys to my unit, there was trash and broken closet doors and broken cardboard boxes and debris and one broken chair in the living room -Stonefire advertises their retail shops on the first floor but there is not a single retail shop within this complex whatsoever -They show 0 effort in accommodation, consideration, respect, and customer satisfaction -Their corporation Landmark Properties does not answer their phone and I left over voicemails to multiple people regarding my issues and I still have not received any response back from the people I left voicemails to except one person -The amenities this complex has to offer is not as convincing compared to almost every other complex around Berkeley, CA -Trash service is sometimes backed up so you have trash just piled up in the hallways -At one point in time, we had no service technician at all for couple months maybe -The parking garage gate is still open to this day because I was the one who manually opened it at 2AM with the chains on the side of the gate because I was locked out of my own property

Super bad experience regarding the trash service and hot water. Literally no hot waters for 5 days…read morein two months . And the hallways are stinky because the guy sam doesnt take out the trash when he us supposed to everyday. They dont take more than 2 bags while they also lock the trash room door so there is no way for us to throw out trash. Its a fking dilemma Cant throw out trash. They dont take trash. They they put trash right in front of your door when my trash is more than 2 bags since they dont fucking take it.

This is a nice building in a great location, and the building management is receptive and helpful…read morein most areas, however prospective renters should know that there is marijuana smoking and stench everywhere in this complex, and management either isn't able or doesn't want to stop it, so be prepared to regularly encounter marijuana smoke in the lobbies, staircases, elevators and in your apartment.

The New Californian is a nice place, but I had to move out after a year. My lease had the usual…read moreterms that allowed me to go month to month after the first year. When my lease was almost up, the management informed me that if I didn't sign a lease for another year, and went month to month, they would triple my rent. That's right: TRIPLE. Nobody told me they would do this when I signed the original lease. There's no rent control in Berkeley for newer buildings, so this is legal. But I refuse to be treated that way, and moved out. Unless you know exactly when you will move out, you might think twice. They can do this to anybody. UPDATE 9/1/2011: I found out they did the same thing to other residents.

I have been a tenant of Charles and Cindy since May of 2007 and I have never had such a positive…read morerenting experience. When I first went to rent the apartments I was a student at the University of Illinois and I moved out here due to graduate school at Cal. Cindy and Chuck were the only people who were friendly enough to do all of the renting and showing of the apartments by email and phone. If things would have been different my moving experience would have been much less fantastic. Additionally, they let me ship all of my things to their home before I moved to California -- this saved me so much trouble. Even beyond my initial experience, Cindy and Chuck have constantly proved to be amazing both as landlords and people. They are constantly working on the apartment and surrounding yard and garden to make the place look immaculate. They are friendly, honest and genuine -- hard to find in people, let alone in landlords. The apartments themselves are furnished and well taken care of. ANECDOTE ALERT! In the past, they have made me cookies and pie and dropped them off freshly baked. In fact, one evening, I got a call from Cindy saying she just baked a peach pie for me and she wanted to drop it off while still warm. Much to my chagrin, I was unable to return to my apartment that evening. So, what did she do? She said, "no big deal, we'll bake you another pie tomorrow because we want you to have it hot". Awesome! Needless to say, that pie was eaten in one sitting. Beyond the food, and hard work ethic, I genuinely love living in my apartment and it feels like Cindy and Chuck genuinely care for their tenants and their well being. Sometimes I think about the fact that someday I will move from this apartment and it saddens me a bit -- I know that as far as landlords go, this is absolutely as good as it gets, everything else will pale in comparison.

Hands-down the nicest owners/landlords in the world. Chuck and Cindy have not only been great as…read morelandlords but they have also become friends. On many occasions we have received fresh cookies, pies, cakes, and anything else Cindy has made a bunch of. I will review the different aspects of the Channing-Milvia Apartments experience. Apartment itself: The apartments are around 600sq. ft. This may seem small but we, my wife and I and soon to arrive daughter, have found it to be the perfect size. The kitchen is large enough for anyone who cooks a few days a week to every night. While they aren't huge they have allowed me to cook quite a bit of food at a time. The living room is large with a desk, bookshelf, futon, and two windows. Apart from the kitchen and bathroom, the apartment has hardwood floors which help to brighten even the 1st floor apartments(we have lived downstairs and upstairs). The bedroom is perfect for a couple, two roommates or a single person. There is a nice closet and a walk in storage room with shelves. The bathroom is small but it really is big enough. Outdoor scene: The backyard is fantastic! Not only is there a grass area capable of holding 15-30 people for a BBQ, but there is a large garden that residents are allowed to use to grow food. There is a peach tree in the garden and a lemon tree along the driveway, each of which produce an abundance of fruit in season. There is a large charcoal grill and a smaller charcoal grill, which residents are free to use at their leisure. Furnishings: Wow, these apartments come with everything you could need. I love to cook, always have(my dad owns a restaurant) and these apartments are supplied with more than enough stuff to prepare holiday feasts. The linens are great and the rest of the furnishings are in great shape. We have just about everything we could need/want here. What if a problem arises? Chuck and Cindy are skilled handy-people. They can fix anything from a leaky faucet to problems with your stove, light fixtures or plumbing. If you report a problem, any problem, they are extremely quick to fix it. We could not wish for better landlords or friends, we will be sad to move in May. We HIGHLY recommend renting here, you will not regret it!

I am updating my rating to five stars, because there have been a great amount of improvement since…read morethe new management has arrived. Kaitlyn and Camisha are amazing and responsive. As I mentioned in previous review, the building feels safe and quiet. I noticed someone is complaining her about their personal situation...it's unfortunate, but not really helpful. The maintenance and upkeep is A1. The grounds are clean and well attended to. The building is on the smaller size of many newer buildings, so the resident management not so bad. People are neighborly, kind and seem to want to follow the community rules. The amenities are a bonus with the coffee, printer and workspaces. These are generally available. I actually visit with my family in the media area or outdoor patio/lounge (nice fridge, grills and oven). The mail room....well, as I mentioned ppl are getting a lot of deliveries these days. SO, it's best to keep this in mind when ordering. The mailroom is not a post office--it's a community space. The delivery ppl change often, and they just put the boxes in there. I get a notice whenever I have deliveries, and I retrieve the ASAP. Some ppl leave their boxes in the room for days. I'm not sure packages are being "stolen". The mailroom has a lock and cameras. The parking situation is improving. There have been many issues due to people parking in the building who weren't residents; and residents parking in the reserved spots. Also, people who have spaces in the stacking spots have been parking in the garage spaces. Lots of confusion. The audit by management was necessary to get this resolved. Residents received several notices about the audit. All this said, I love the building and hope for many new wonderful neighbors.

. My brothers lease is supposed to start today. He has attempted to communicate with them all week…read moreto no response, he showed up today with his belonging and nobody is there to give him his keys or answer the phone in the leasing office

Best of the best apartments that I lived in within the bay area. I can imagine myself staying here…read morefor years. Quiet neighborhood, friendly people and most of the tenants that I have met so far is super friendly and neighborly :) The best part of this apartment is that you don't have to deal with any foot steps or noises from your upstairs neighbors because the property is built with concrete. I also wanted to give a shout out to the management team for accommodating everything upon my move with smooth process application, repairs, reserving the elevator for me on a SUNDAY! - The management team here is amazing, I never lived anywhere that has such a team that is always willing to help and check on you the next day to see if things are going well with the move and etc. They are all truly amazing people and Im so glad that I moved here.

I recently moved to the area for a job, and I'm staying here temporarily until I find a permanent…read moreplace. Bridgestreet Global has been coordinating my stay here, and I wish I hadn't chosen this location. When I moved in, I noticed a strong chemical smell (which hasn't gone away) and one of the window screens was off the hinges in the bedroom with loose screws on the ledge and floor. I received terrible bug bites one night, and an exterminator came into my apartment when I was on vacation. I never received a confirmation on a time/date before they came, so it was surprising to see all my sheets on the floor when I came home. After I came back from vacation, the mechanism to open the window in the living room was broken, and I have no idea what happened when I was gone. Maintenance people and Bridgestreet Global employees have also come into my apartment without notice, and I haven't felt a sense of privacy at all here. There is apparently no AC even though there is a thermostat with a "cool" setting on it. I'm fine with no AC, but that is super confusing. As a temporary resident, my experience may be different than that of everyone else that lives here, and I hope it is! I feel bad leaving this review, because the owner commenting on the reviews seems nice, but unfortunately my experience here has been mostly frustrating.

Horrible leasing staff. As a prospective tenant interested in renting, I called the leasing office…read morecountless times, left messages, and sent emails. No one ever returned my calls or emails. Carly is very shady and will do whatever she can to get you to sign a unit without transparently disclosing issues. In general I suggest you to not rent with greystar. Avoid at all costs.

If you live here, you will be subjected to breaches of California Tenant Law. When you inform the…read moremanagement of this, even through gentle reminders and polite emails, they will ghost you. Your packages will be stolen with no concern. The rent is high enough as it is... It has now been 5 months since we moved out and we have still not received our security deposit. Incompetent management that pretends to care during correspondence, but will continue to ignore you when you aren't actively pestering them