High rise in Downtown Oakland (Piedmont, London: lease, crime, hotel)

[davdaven]

Are you set on a high-rise building? There are several mid-rise buildings around that may be to your liking. Compared to 4th & U and Avalon and whatever other sh!tty overpriced apartments have opened up recently along 4th Street in Berkeley, you'll love them all.

Here are a few that caught my eye, all of which are in Emeryville and offer a good mix of modern Berkeley and Oakland living...

Fantastic top floor 1 bedroom loft at Liquid Sugar
Amazing Chic and contemporary 1 bedroom, 2 baths condo.
Sign Up For Our Waitlist! Icon at Park

[Obamadon1]

Isn't the grand going condo soon? May be something to consider

[youngnastyman]

Originally Posted by mrazyattic

We have lived in quite a few apartments/lofts and the worst experience was where we paid $4000/month rent at (the grand).

We now live in a bigger apartment for 1/2 the price. It's not a high rise or in a "hippish" area but it is gated at least. My fridge broke the other day, it took them all of 20 minutes to bring a new one up.

Do you mind living in a loft? We absolutely loved it. Much cheaper than the grand with a lot of room. You can definitely hip a loft out really well. If you're young like us, it's a wonderful living experience.

I wouldnt mind a loft would just need something with a decent parking and be in a good area that I feel comfortable walking around in and am close to some form of nightlife and scenery. I am new and alone to this area so want to be in a place where there is foot traffic and other people around so i'm not feeling secluded.


I havent really had much luck yet looking around. Some of the ones posted above look very nice but I noticed that alot of these private owned buildings want like $8K move-in costs (first and last months rent + Security Deposit) which is insane. I would like not to dump a bunch of my savings into moving into a new place (again lol).

[mrazyattic]

Originally Posted by youngnastyman

I wouldnt mind a loft would just need something with a decent parking and be in a good area that I feel comfortable walking around in and am close to some form of nightlife and scenery. I am new and alone to this area so want to be in a place where there is foot traffic and other people around so i'm not feeling secluded.


I havent really had much luck yet looking around. Some of the ones posted above look very nice but I noticed that alot of these private owned buildings want like $8K move-in costs (first and last months rent + Security Deposit) which is insane. I would like not to dump a bunch of my savings into moving into a new place (again lol).

Yea the move-in costs are huge sometimes. My wife and I were looking for a house to rent, and it was ridiculous 8-10k. I figured at that point, why not pay double and buy?

Most apartments don't cost much to move into. I moved into my current one with $2500 (firsts + $500 security) just look around good luck to you.

[mini_cute]

Originally Posted by mrazyattic

We have lived in quite a few apartments/lofts and the worst experience was where we paid $4000/month rent at (the grand).

We now live in a bigger apartment for 1/2 the price. It's not a high rise or in a "hippish" area but it is gated at least. My fridge broke the other day, it took them all of 20 minutes to bring a new one up.

Do you mind living in a loft? We absolutely loved it. Much cheaper than the grand with a lot of room. You can definitely hip a loft out really well. If you're young like us, it's a wonderful living experience.

Did you have a 2 bedroom or larger? And were you on the penthouse level or close to it? Because a small 2 bedroom penthouse at The Grand was $4100 last time I checked a few months ago- that was the cheapest priced penthouse. It sounds like you haven't lived at The Grand in awhile, so price points must have been lower back then. You must have been living large then at The Grand when you were here.

[CirclingLogan]

I used to live in The Grand and have to say I completely disagree with the negative comments.

The whole place feels very high end (it even impressed my Belvedere home-owning parents-in-law), staff is great and maintenance would fix any issue ASAP. The roof decks are really beautiful. Everything is ALWAYS quiet. Parking is cheap for a secured garage ($65/mo).

With that being said, 1 bedrooms are running about $3000/mo, which is pretty crazy for Uptown/Oakland. If you look, you can find nice 1 bedrooms in historic, pre-war buildings for $1700-$2300. Some even have higher quality appliances than The Grand (though none will have all the amenities).

[artemis78]

Originally Posted by CirclingLogan

I used to live in The Grand and have to say I completely disagree with the negative comments.

The whole place feels very high end (it even impressed my Belvedere home-owning parents-in-law), staff is great and maintenance would fix any issue ASAP. The roof decks are really beautiful. Everything is ALWAYS quiet. Parking is cheap for a secured garage ($65/mo).

With that being said, 1 bedrooms are running about $3000/mo, which is pretty crazy for Uptown/Oakland. If you look, you can find nice 1 bedrooms in historic, pre-war buildings for $1700-$2300. Some even have higher quality appliances than The Grand (though none will have all the amenities).

Honestly, I think that's what it comes down to--the friends I have who live in similar luxury buildings do so very intentionally because they want and are willing to pay for the amenities. Many wouldn't consider renting a place without secure parking, for instance (whereas I never had a parking spot at all in any of my rentals, let alone a secure one!) Some friends who looked at a unit in the Grand a few years back liked it specifically because they wanted a building with a doorman (which it had at the time--not sure if it still does). That's really never crossed my mind as an amenity to be looking for. It just depends on how important those things are to you, and how much money you have/are willing to throw at them.

Broadly speaking, the location of the Grand is great. The prices are double my mortgage half a mile away, and you can easily rent a unit in an older building in Adams Point or the Lakeside Apartments District for much less than that, though it may not include parking. Just depends on how much the amenities and the newness of the building are worth to you.

[jade408]

I personally think the Grand is overpriced. I am disappointed a new high rise building doesn't have AC.

As for secure parking? That is pretty easy to get in many parts of Oakland. All of the apartments on my street have secure garages, most of the time included in the rent. My sister's building has secure parking for a fee in a 1st floor garage....

The Uptown offers parking, but I hear they sell more permits than they have spaces, so it doesn't work out well. OP if you live at the Grand you may want to inquire about that.

Personally, I liked this luxury building better:
Luxury Apartments for Rent in Oakland, CA | Domain Oakland Apartments

Also, everyone once and a while condos at Market Square in Old Oakland pop up. Lovely building, and good amenities. More foot traffic nearby at night.

Back to the Grand. It is safe enough, but the streets over there are so empty after 6 or 7. Hopefully Alamar helps with that, but that block is a dead zone. Not much open after 5.

[CirclingLogan]

Originally Posted by jade408

Back to the Grand. It is safe enough, but the streets over there are so empty after 6 or 7. Hopefully Alamar helps with that, but that block is a dead zone. Not much open after 5.

While I'd be the first to agree that the parking lots near The Grand should be converted to housing/retail, I don't find it that dead. Between Hawker Fare, Alamar, True Burger and people walking to and from the lake and Whole Foods, it stays pretty lively. Not to mention, it's right by Farleys/Vo's/Luka's/Plum/etc.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by CirclingLogan

While I'd be the first to agree that the parking lots near The Grand should be converted to housing/retail, I don't find it that dead. Between Hawker Fare, Alamar, True Burger and people walking to and from the lake and Whole Foods, it stays pretty lively. Not to mention, it's right by Farleys/Vo's/Luka's/Plum/etc.

There is a big hole essentially between grand/20/Harrison/Webster. The surrounding areas are more lively, but that small 2 block radius does not have much street level activity. You can almost always find parking in front of the Grand. And people are rarely walking on that block. It is really strange. Even though Farleys/etc are just one block away, it is a completely different vibe. Particularly after dark. That's what I mean. It is close to lots of stuff, but eerily quiet.