Ilume apartments in Dallas (McKinney, Spring: hardwood floors, to rent, countertops)

[bgNCATL]

Does anyone have any info on the Ilume in Dallas? I have a friend that will be moving to the Dallas area soon and would like to find a nice apartment to rent in the uptown area. The Ilume seems very nice, but I read that it's mostly a place for gay and lesbians. Is this true? My friend will be working in television and want to be in a nice, safe location near shopping and restaurants. Her price range is around 1200 for a one bedroom. Some of the things she is looking for is granite countertops, Hardwood floors, pool, gym, etc.

Thanks in advance.

[TurtleCreek80]

Well, it is on Cedar Springs in the heart of the "gayborhood."
It also backs up to a fairly unsafe pocket in the Uptown/Oak Lawn area- as a single female who is a native Dallasite, I would not feel 100% safe there (or even 60% safe at night while walking my dog)....I'd pass on the Illume for someone who is new to the area. Drugs, druggies, and some fairly sketchy vagrants walk through that area at all hours of the day and night. When I say "that area"; it's the pocket south of Cedar Springs, west of Oak Lawn, all the way to the tollroad.

Have her check into the Monterrey which is on McKinney a block north of the West Village. Or the Triannon or Ashton (may be too $$$) near Victory Park or any of the apartments in Victory Park. Or the Gables Villa Rosa in Uptown (it's on Cedar Springs, too, but a completely different neighborhood than the Illume.

She may need to lower her expectations. Dallas is cheaper than NYC but a maxed-out apartment in a prime area is still fairly expensive.

[R1070]

Ilume is located in the Oak Lawn neighborhood not in Uptown. It will be a totally different vibe from Uptown. If she is looking for some awesome gay friends to hang with at the many gay owned/oriented businesses on Cedar Springs she will be in heaven! If not she should look into Downtown, Uptown, Knox-Henderson or M Streets for the fun young urban professionals scene. Ilume is a gorgeous property though. They should be beginning construction on their newest property soon in the next block.

[Willsson]

...but I read that it's mostly a place for gay and lesbians.

The place is located in the heart of the area that is loosely described as the 'gay part of town', principally because there are a lot of gays and gay clubs in the area, although the population grows exponentially on Friday and Saturday nights and for special events. You can recognize that growth by all the cars parked in the streets, which, generally are not there on weekDAY nights.

What those who call Oak Lawn the gayborhood fail to point out is the tremendous growth of new construction of townhomes in the area. None of those buildings were built exclusively for gays or any other branded cultural sect.

If the Ilume is good for you and your friend, go for it.

[fabulous_nobody]

I totally agree with TurtleCreek80. We eliminated that building very early on during our apartment hunting. It's not about gay or pool parties, it's the location. There are quite a few new buildings with nice finishing in that area, I was curious why are they so cheap, well, just drive around there, you will find out why.

[bgNCATL]

Thanks everyone for the reply. Sounds like ilume is definitely out the question. I will definitely tell her about some of the apartments listed.