Anyone know of great luxury apartments in Berkeley or Walnut Creek? (Oakland: real estate, rentals)

[tissys]

I will be apartment hunting next week so could use suggestions...Thanks..

[jade408]

Fourth and U in Berkeley
The Uptown in Oakland
The Grand in Oakland
There are some apartments in Emeryville, I believe it is 6400 Christie

Define Luxury: New? Gym? Doorman? Washer/Dryer?

[tissys]

Thanks for the info...I like the fourth and U ..will check it out next week
..luxury to me is newer, gym, washer/dryer, pool, nice location near bars/stores/etc..

Originally Posted by jade408

Fourth and U in Berkeley
The Uptown in Oakland
The Grand in Oakland
There are some apartments in Emeryville, I believe it is 6400 Christie

Define Luxury: New? Gym? Doorman? Washer/Dryer?

[jade408]

Hard to come by here in the Bay. The established districts do not have space for new buildings with amenities, so they tend to be out. For example, 4th and U is nice inside, but close to not a whole lot. There is another newer building in downtown Berkeley, but I don't know if they have a gym and you'd be competing with students. Walnut Creek probably has better options if "new with gym" is required. Pickings are slim though. Your best bets are the downtown Oakland buildings. There is a lot of nightlife near by.

[mayorhaggar]

4th and U is on 4th Street where there's a lot of trendy shops and restaurants in a small and concentrated area, mainly just north of University I think. The rest of 4th Street is really industrial, lots of warehouses. There's also a lot of residential housing in the area. It's kind of far from downtown Berkeley so it's not really in a very convenient area. The shopping on 4th Street would be convenient but again there's not a ton of stuff, it's maybe 3 blocks of shops and restaurants.

There's definitely a ton of condo buildings in downtown Oakland. Downtown Oakland has some nice parts but they're mixed in with not-so-nice areas. Definitely get a feel for an area before you commit to a place and avoid West Oakland where there are some new condos as well--West Oakland is just nowhere near gentrified yet to make living there make any sense.

[sonarrat]

4th & U isn't in a great location, unless you really, really need access to Amtrak or must be no more than 2 minutes from a jam-packed interstate freeway. Oakland's options are really much better in this department. They've put a lot of money into redevelopment and new real estate in the past several years.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

4th and U is on 4th Street where there's a lot of trendy shops and restaurants in a small and concentrated area, mainly just north of University I think.

Fourth Street shops (@ Hearst) close at 6. Shops include Crate and Barrel Outlet, CB2, the Pasta Shop, Tea Shop, Chocolate Shop, Apple Store coming soon, and a few trendy boutiques. That leaves Tacubaya, Zut, Spengers and Vik's open after 6, unless you hike to San Pablo (there is one more restaurant on 4th street, but I forgot what it is). Then you'd get a few more options. 4th and U, not that great. Great designs and layouts though. Crappy neighborhood. 4 blocks of stuff, but it ins't very neighborhood-y. Used to be the artist's studio zone, the shops showed up about 10 or 15 years ago. Lots of traffic in the vicinity. It is tricky. Convenient to the Marina though.

Downtown Oakland rentals:
http://www.livethegrand.com/ (I toured it, nice complex. It is on a quiet block, but really close to Whole Foods, 24 hour fitness and the BART station)

The Uptown: http://www.theuptown.net/ (I haven't been here yet, you actually need to make an appointment for a viewing, which is a pain.) This is your best bet. They have a pool. I think it is heated year round. Looks pretty happening in that building. Lots of young people.

Broadway Grand is renting as well. Generally decent layouts. I can't recall what amenities they had (I toured pre-rental)

There is also the Packard Lofts on about 23rd http://www.packardloftsoakland.com/ (These are for rent, even though the website isn't advertising anything. I saw the sign a couple days ago)

[Setsuko]

A friend of mine lives at those 4th and U apartments. When I was up there last time visiting. The Amtrak runs literally right behind the place. It's so loud it's ridiculous. I mean the tracks are literally like 15 feet behind the building. The prices should not be that high with the train being that close, needless to say she want's to move ASAP. Oh yeah the warning bells that go off when a train is coming is just as loud as the train.