My review is based on my experience living here (which was DIRE) from Nov '12 till Aug 2013 - I've since moved out of this place.
WARNING: These SRO Micro 'Units/Apartments' are HORRIBLE. Im terribly embarrassed to have been a tenant here once but I am writing this review not necessarily to slam these SRO's but to try and be helpful & useful by warning people about this Building!
First off, they are TINY TINY. 175 - 200 Square Feet Small. They are Micro Apartments. Absolutely DISGUSTING for San Francisco to encourage/permit Single people to Live in.
Rent is around $875 and you have to meet low income requirements to qualify. Im not sure about the details or if a section of the building is reserved for Section 8, Handicapped, People on Welfare/SSI/SSDI but the Location is Absolutely Dodgy... surrounded by Liquor Stores, A NOISY Freeway, Construction, Hazards, Dangerous Alleys, and Drug Addicts & Dealers are all over this place and the surroundings despite being 'conveniently' located in SOMA across from Whole Foods, Escape from NY Pizza, and close to Caltrain, Safeway, and the Giants Stadium.
Each Units has ONE sink that you use for cooking and washing up. Tile is artificial Plastic flooring & there is carpet in the 'Living' space. The Unit I rented was INFESTED with Bed Bugs (Which do not Discriminate) Bed Bugs are a HUGE PROBLEM in this building; and had taken over & the carpet that takes up most of the building just adding to the infestation. The carpeting is the absolute worst, & brown in colour. There are bathrooms in each unit with a shower and toilet & they are painted gray/darkest blue & are dark & scary, not to mention incredibly slippery & accident prone.
The 'perks' of living here are the Trash Rooms & Laundry Rooms on Each Floor. There is a patio on the roof with a view of the freeway and all the industrial construction. The second floor has a room with mail boxes, vending machines & a pool table, 'library' & 'gym' & there is Security of course around all night, though they are VERY busy attending to the many problems this building has. Free cable is included but you have to provide your own TV. There is a big fridge/freezer in each micro unit, metal burners, a few painted wooden shelves, no space for even a table. Everything is CHEAP. The rooms are secure and you access each Unit with a Hotel style Card/Key which is a bit unusual.
The tenants that rent here are all supposed to be single, as the tiny micro units couldnt possibly fit more than one person & everyone here has 'Low Income' although I saw some families crammed in to Single Units. A lot of bad activities have occurred in this building - drug deals, crimes, overdoses, deaths, horrible fights, scary interventions, & this building was often horribly unpleasant, loud, & noisy.
Be warned, The City of SF ought to intervene & put an end to these kind of establishments for people to have to live in. They're disgusting. I hated living here but I thought I had no other option during that time I was a tenant & it was an absolute blessing in disguise that I moved. I literally left everything I owned behind & am trying to forget that I lived here. There are no good memories associated with this dreadful awful horrible place & I feel sad, ashamed, & embarrased for having lived here.
If you do decide to consider YBC, please take this review in to consideration, but regardless, do go by & see with your own eyes by all means. Yerba Buena Commons often advertises its micro units for rent on Craigslist. Also do a bit of research on the building/Micro/SRO Apartments on google. read more