Comments on Ken's review of The Uptown Apartments
Description: A LEED Silver Certified Apartment complex in downtown Oakland, Calif. developed by Forest City builders. http://www.fcgreenhouse.net/
I live here and here's my review.
The Uptown is a brand new LEED Silver apartment complex in downtown Oakland, by Sears, the FOX theater and 19th Street BART station. It's a place worth considering if you are looking to move to Oakland, or move from another Oakland neighborhood to one with more arts and entertainment. Uptown is one of many real estate ventures kicked off by previous Oakland mayor Jerry Brown, now State of California AG, under his "10,000 residents in downtown Oakland" plan.
The apartment complex is certified LEED Silver by USGBC. The rents are definitely "luxe" for which you will enjoy: a concierge, heated swimming pool, jacuzzi, common 'hang out' areas including a mini movie theater, poker room, easy access to BART and the AC Transit "center" on 20th @ Broadway, proximity to tons of art galleries and restaurants and bars (Luka's Taproom, Flora, Franklin Square, etc); and close access to Berkeley/San Francisco and the rest of the SF Bay Area. This place is perfect for fresh grads at Clorox, Kaiser doctors and retirees alike.
I most enjoyed the fact that I didn't immediately smell formaldehyde glued carpets or high-VOC paints upon entering the units. They also all have dual-pane windows. By being apartments, you automatically have less energy requirements to heat or cool the place too, with windows that open, and "insulation" on at least three sides.
Complaints:
(1) Bike parking in the garage sucks. The vertical bike racks are imposible to use!
(2) No on-site composting
(3) This is specific to my unit--the patio doors do not have weather stripping, so I can feel this week's arctic wind rushing through all around both patio doors. The unit is new and I expect this to be fixed soon.
Message me if you are interested and I can get you a deal.
Ken's keywords: apartment hunting, apartment, green, leed, silver, certified, usgbc, oakland, downtown, bart
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