I occupied a 2BD / 2BA on the NE corner of the 3rd floor of the O building with two roommates from 2021-2023.
PROS (from most to least impactful):
1. Prices are reasonable & the only rent-raising is due to market changes. Our rent increased after our first year by a couple hundred dollars (post-covid prices), but it would have remained the same if we stayed another year. The parent company has their own proprietary algorithm to determine "market changes".
2. Maintenance is reasonably available & quick to fix issues. We suffered some normal issues from time to time (ethernet setup, dripping under the sink, dislodged closet doors, air intake vent filter replacement, smoke detector issues, etc.) and it was quick and easy to let maintenance know. Ninety percent of the time an employee was there to fix the problem within a couple days. For major issues, they have an overnight emergency number as well, which I never had to call.
3. Building employees are friendly and helpful. Ophir and Tana helped me with all my concerns, including questions about billing, dealing with maintenance issues, finding misplaced packages, helping me with technical issues related to the parent company's app, and even going the extra mile to bring packages up to my room during move-in before I had arrived.
4. The basic components of the apartment are modern and pretty good quality. Great apartment door, flooring, countertops, cabinets, toilet, vanities, shower/tub, and shower tiling. Nice washer & dryer, sinks, countertops, and bedroom doors. Acceptable fridge, electric stovetop, microwave, dishwasher, and closet doors. I've seen a couple other units besides mine, and they had all the same basic components.
5. There is technically a security guard who I'd see every once in a while at night. I couldn't tell you their schedule, as they're usually sitting inside a room near the entrance (on their phone), but every once in a while you see them on patrol too. The Dogpatch area is very calm and safer than many parts in SF, but you still get the occasional disturbance outside (especially on dumpster days). I'm confident that if something scary actually went down, I could shout for help and the guard would hear me.
6. Barebones physical amenities and useful services. Many modern complexes offer tons of amenities that I know I wouldn't get enough use out of. The trash concierge service was super convenient, and I know there is a laundry service you can opt in for as well. Amazon delivery services have their own access to the main gate, and it's easy to buzz people in for additional access like for friends or food delivery. I know they just got a new system (the old one was broken for like three months), so things are probably even better now.
CONS (from most to least impactful):
1. Small fridge and no room for a bigger one in the fridge spot. I think it's barely big enough for two meal preppers, let alone the three we had. We bought a mini-fridge to supplement.
2. Generally bad airflow. As our apartment was on a corner, we had three windows in the shared space and one in each of our bedrooms (all facing away from the building). The bedroom windows open to 90 degrees, but the living space windows barely open a few inches. There is a central air system that would circulate the air inside, but even so, my room would be uncomfortably hot after a WFH day. If someone ran the oven or dryer, I'd be sweating. On the whole, the heat was nice when it was cold outside, but I run hot and I like to be cool at night. I used to sleep with my window open, but the action on the street, while infrequent, was enough to wake me up periodically.
3. Security deposit was late. Our move-out process was super easy and the staff were very accommodating, but our security deposit didn't make it back to us until about two months after we moved out. If it weren't for my former roommate remembering, I would have completely forgotten about it. It was a simple mistake due to an address issue and all we had to do was swing by and pick it up, but there was no contact from the staff nor any process in place to let us know how to collect it. I'm definitely willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one, but it's a big deal to be missing out on $850.
Besides the cons above, you can expect that things will fail every once in a while, but not more than is acceptable. Once or twice, an Amazon package was "delivered" but nowhere to be found, or the staff would need reminding for some minor request.
It's also worth noting that I probably had one of the best apartments in the entire O building. Many apartments have windows facing the courtyard, and apartments on the west side ONLY have windows facing the courtyard because of the highway. Overall, I had a great experience and I was sad to leave! read more