McNeil was super helpful! Nice building, simple process, quiet and secure. Good location.read more

Bldg management and maintenance are great. The corporate entity that owns this bldg and Telegraph…read morelofts is SHIT. This is the biggest example of overpriced bait and switch in the area. The bldg is freezing cold, damp, not secure at all. The units can be broken into by sliding a bow tool (Amazon) under the door to snag the door handle and you're in 30 seconds or less. My unit flooded before I moved in and I was charged for the time while I lived on my couch for a month. They are also trying to charge me for paint when I took the unit as is. Unit 406 has black mold on the interior walls due to 2 floods that ran all the way down to the first floor into Sweetbar.

Owner/resident since 2017. Couldn't be happier. Jack London is an awesome nook in Oakland with some…read moreeclectic businesses in the area. You're in the right spot if you love beer and coffee! Commuting to SF is a breeze, I have the option of the super relaxing ferry, the very frequent BART, and in a pinch, the 880 highway. The Sierra itself is wonderful. Spacious living conditions, with great options to stay fit: a lap pool and a fully-equipped gym with free weights and treadmills. Front desk service is fantastic too, I've known Nancy for years and she does a great job receiving packages and just keeping a pulse on the beat. The only con I'd say is I wish the building management would do more frequent window washings on the outside. No complaints here, looking forward to staying here for many years to come!

This review addresses two management issues:…read more Management- As of today after speaking with Nancy I guess the front desk will only accept carrier deliveries (USPS/FedEx, etc) for their residents. If someone you know needs to drop something off for you, you better be home. I was told that the rationale behind not accepting non-carrier deliveries is the amount of "space" available. Apparently space is magically found if the packages/boxes are delivered by a carrier. Super annoying and frustrating, and not to mention inconvenient. Additionally, the fire alarms were off the charts last year. The fire alarms go off in the middle of the night while most are dead asleep. What's incredibly frustrating is that management never tells us what happened. As residents, were completely left in the dark as to why we had to evacuate at 1, 2, 3 in the morning. They're always "investigating" and "looking into it", but how long does it take? The fire department comes and finds out what happened immediately! Why does a separate investigation need to occur with the Sierra Management? And then we're never informed, and then another event happens with the alarms. Just tell us what happened! Our pets get scared shitless and quite honestly, become traumatized. I expect to be woken up out of nowhere. My brain is now trained to wonder when the next one is, and I'll sometimes have the thought of "oh man, we're due for another fire alarm". It would sure be nice if we knew what happened each time.

Enjoyed my time living here. You get a great location and good amount of space for the price. The…read morebuilding was kept in great condition and upgrades made ongoing including - washer/dryers updated from coin op to app controlled - windows in the lobby applied a frosted film for privacy and safety - the oven in our unit was older, and when I mentioned it wasn't working well was promptly replaced - most units I notice as people move out are getting a good over haul with new flooring (carpet to hardwood) appliances, etc. Gardeners came frequently and kept the grounds nice. Neighbors were very friendly. Grateful for the property manager Reggie for all his hard work and responsiveness if anything was needed.

This building is kept in great condition - they are constantly cleaning it and it's always very…read morewelcoming. Reggie is the best building manager! He is polite, efficient, and always takes care of anything the building needs. Fran is also very attentive and looks out for the tenants. They are constantly updating us about security etc. Centrally located, this building is a gem.

In summary: Neighbors are really excellent. Management is hit & miss. Units have quirks that may or…read moremay not be something you can live with. Working from home is OK if you have a unit that isn't a greenhouse, but you won't want to invite most clientele over to your space. The neighborhood has issues with illegal dumping and drug users. The trains are comically loud and will definitely be noticed by people on the other end of your phone convos. Great for pet owners, if you don't have a unit that gets unhealthily hot (like most facing 47th). I lived here for a few years until the pandemic brought big changes to all our lives. I wanted to make sure to review because I recall seeing so many red flags when I first looked at this place -- a URL on email addresses "fdcollins" with no website to match, a company named "Proper Management" that had little to no online presence... I had to do a ton of research to assure myself it wasn't a scam. It is not a scam, everything was fine. Francis D Collins is the property owner and Proper Management is the company created to manage properties owned by Collins, I believe. Svend, the offsite manager that sent our bills and answered the office phone, was excellent -- always replied to our emails quickly and was attentive. Resolved issues quickly & efficiently. Jay, the onsite manager (but not a resident), was not that great, but he wasn't the worst. He would fix things, but not necessarily quickly. We were having such a big problem with the sun in our unit, we bought materials that we could install ourselves but needed permission to do it...Jay didn't give permission and did eventually install it, but he took our materials and did not use them all nor did he return them, so we just lost money on that. (He promised to return the unused stuff, he just never did). Jay also did kind of lame things to blight the street in front of the property like tear out the plants and just leave piles of dirt instead. That was especially disappointing because when we moved in Jay and Nolan said that they were working to improve the greenery and had just planted trees. I thought the flower gardens near our unit was their work, but it turns out it was various neighbors that were later told to rip them out, but the management did not do anything with them afterwards...just let them grow weeds and attract garbage. At least the gardens kept some of the street crazy away. He also left an old car parked out front, taking up parking space close to the units so that we had to walk farther to get in, which was occasionally uncomfortable. It attracted criminals and was eventually stolen. I'd say that the exterior attractiveness of the property went markedly down while we were living there, as a direct result of their decisions, and because of that, more street wanderers would come around. Originally I thought I might have clients over, but it became too embarrassing & uncomfortable for guests. The units at Dutchboy are all unique. Ours had its pros and cons. The totally open layout was a dream, as was having the tall ceilings. The water and power were always reliable. The bathroom was surprisingly small. I (5'7" 150lbs) often showered standing sideways (facing the curtain or wall), because the shower was so narrow. The sink was so close to the toilet that my knees were under it when sitting and I could rest my chin on the sink. But the worst by far was that there was only one small ground-level window that opened, but two large clerestory windows that face the sun all summer long baking in the heat. With no vents, the heat would get trapped and it was 90 degrees in our unit until 10pm. It's too dangerous to leave your door open and walk away, but even sitting next to the door with it open for hours, it couldn't circulate very well because the unit was 50' deep and the window was 2 feet from the door. When wildfire season strikes, it's really unlivable. We had to move out partially because of this. The unit wasn't that clean when we moved in, even after we asked and they agreed to do the floors...for example the bedroom area had beams that were coated in dust. They cleaned the carpet, but not the concrete. I did a thorough cleaning myself before moving in and found a thick layer of dog hair in the broiler drawer under the oven. There was some trouble with drug users camping and cooking on 47th...fires, explosions, pests/rats, endless garbage, hit & runs, crazy behavior on the street, fights, etc. To their credit, the management worked really hard to stop the whole thing, as did a lot of the tenants, and eventually it did mostly go away before we moved out. Best thing was the neighbors. They all had a great attitude and liked to help each other out. The neighbors aesthetic touches on the outside of the units were what make the place really special. Large metal sculptures, potted plants, unique patio furniture, adorable pets...all really take the edge off the stress of city life.

When we considered moving here, I could not find much about these lofts online; this has prompted…read moreme to post, as there are several units recently rehabed and available for rent. Neighbors: These really get 5 stars. In this repect, this is a great place to live. Several of the residents/artist have been here for a long time. Neighborhood: This is no doubt the industrial section of East Oakland. In this location we see very few problems. Because 47th is a dead end here, we do have a couple of homeless on the tracks and we have trash dumping and occasional prostitution. This is becoming much less as this place becomes more habitated on the 47th St. side. A few of us on this side have made it a sport to chase these people off and consequently it is a much less desirable place for these activities. In speaking with the long time residents they also say that there has been next to no crime within the warehouse property. I think the most recent, a few months, ago was a car break-in. Management: They get negative stars. In over 20 years of renting and/or owning, these are the worse people I have ever dealt with. Francis D. Collins owns this property and I have not been able to get a call back from him to see if he is truly complicit in the deplorable attitude of the Proper Management staff. Some long time residents confirm that if you have a problem here, like something that needs repair, they will pretty much tell you to go f*ck yourself or just ignore the request. We have had a serious problem in our place, one that legally has to be fixed and the Proper Management staff, very unsavvy in landlord/teneat law, has told us the above. It has taken calling in the city to have this repair done. (Note: We made our request 4 times) If you are looking into these places know that the rents are all over the board. What we pay around 2K for, our neighbors, in the same size space whom have lived here for only a couple months longer, pay 1600. We were able to negotiate down from the original per month price they were asking. Less the management, it is a very cool place to live with great warehouse space. I have to assume and hope that with all the work going on here that Francis and Proper Management will figure out that you have to be accountable and repectful to your tenants, not just collect the rent.

I was an owner at Uptown Place for a few years. I don't see any recent reviews, so here are my…read morehonest thoughts of the building/location: Pros - - Great location. Centrally located in Downtown Oakland, the building is a quarter-mile walk to BART, half-a-mile to Lake Merritt, and a mile to Jack London Square. A few blocks away from the Fox and Paramount. There is also a bus stop right in front of the building that can take you to SF. - Really nice, spacious floor plans with amazing views. The building is 8-floors and has clear views of the entire Oakland city scape. - Overall the building is well-kept and clean. The cleaning crew does the great job. It is also a pretty quiet and mellow building with many young families and working professionals. Cons - - It's downtown Oakland, so be vigilant. Don't leave your car parked on the street in front of the building overnight, as car break-ins in the area are very almost a daily occurrence. There is also a lack of security, so the homeless and thieves often sneak into the garage and mail room over and over again. The HOA has always leaned against hiring security due to expenses, so it's on you to project yourself and your stuff. - As with any condo building, the HOA fees are high. In 3-years my monthly rate increased almost 33%. There are also minimal amenities, other than a small "gym". - There are move-in and move-out fees ($250) and also potential fees for large deliveries. If you don't pay, they will look you up on camera and fine you. Don't take the risk. The HOA is very involved (and a little strict), which can be a good and bad thing. Follow the rules and they won't bother you. Otherwise you will be ratted out on the building's FB group. - No guest parking.

I decided to expand my condo search to Oakland. This building is newer (built 2009) than a lot of…read morethe ones I've looked at in SF so it doesn't have the maintenance/financial problems that older buildings in SF seem to have. It's 8 stories and 88 units, that's a lot 8s which is good luck ;-) Also it seemed to have great reviews on here from other residents... Walk Score was 98, almost perfect. Transit Score was 75 which means maybe a short was to public transit and bike score (for those than bike) was 94. So if you don't own a car you should be ok here. I also wanted to make sure the HOA was doing ok financially. I've had some bad experiences with my current condo. HOA Score was 6.74 which is decent. Looks like they had some overspending the last couple years but their reserve funding was excellent. Exactly what I like to see in considering owning for the long term! Unfortunately the unit I was looking at was taken off the market. References: https://www.walkscore.com/score/630-thomas-l-berkley-way-oakland-ca-94612 https://www.hoa-score.com/associations/CA/Oakland/Uptown-Place

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.

DO NOT LIVE HERE! Noise, bad management, lies, there is no community. Like Others has posted it's…read moremostly a retirement home. Nobody's an artist here anymore. Just people who complain because they're old. They have no businesses and complaining about businesses making noise. This is a commercial building. Full of people who don't use it as such.

Ive Driven by this Building for years on my way to Chinatown. It reminds me of the Carleton Hotel…read morefrom the movie New Jack City. I was at the Cotton Mill Studios for a Yelp Elite Event and F3 their Monthly event. The Lofts were quite nice. F3 is quite the event and it held monthly. Most of the Lofts are open to the Public. F3 is a sensory overload of Art,Jewerly and Fashions and Shows Walking thru the Lofts is like walking thru a maze of creativity . You just don't know whats around each corner. F3 is definitely a cool event. l

The Essex is a lovely building, flawlessly managed and maintained by an extremely kind and capable…read morestaff. The residents are friendly and welcoming. It's hard to imagine a more pleasant building to live in. But sadly the Lake Merritt neighborhood has become a living hell. When COVID closed the bars, Lake Merritt became Oakland's outdoor night club. The city did nothing to discourage this, and now the problem is getting progressively worse even as the economy reopens. There are non-stop fireworks, amplified music rattling your window panes, dirt bike gangs revving their engines, car break-ins in broad daylight, and so on. All of this occurs pretty much every night of the week, year-round. The neighborhood's city council people--Nikki Bas and Carroll Fife--have publicly come out against enforcement of noise laws or really anything else that might make the neighborhood livable again, so don't expect any help from your elected leaders. This neighborhood used to be a diverse, dynamic, and beautiful place to live. Now I can only recommend it if you are able to sleep through M-80s going off outside your living room at 2 in the morning, and if you don't have any kids or pets, as they'll be instantly traumatized.

2 of my good friends live here and I came to visit, this place is really nice and has a lot of…read moreamenities and their rent prices reflect that for sure...my friends really enjoy living here and showed me around the premises. There is a nice pool and gym that overlook the lake, there is a security guard at the door at all times and a decent amount of street parking for guests. I asked them about noise level and they said for the most part it's pretty quiet but the walls are not the best with some dampening so they can hear their neighbor's music at times. Overall a nice place to live if you can afford it