The Esplanade Apartments

We originally signed a lease for an apartment in the historical building, which Stephen assisted us with (he's awesome), during the move we noticed people viewing the apartment right across from our door, so we went in to view it too. We ended up really liking it and decided we wanted to try to move into it. Mind you, this is all on a Saturday. Katelynn assisted us with everything and was able to get us the lease and move in the same day into the other apartment.

Stephen has assisted us with our move to Mio Apartments and we were lucky enough to work with him again during the transition to esplanades. He is absolutely fantastic, knowledgeable, personable, has the best customer services, and overall just a great person to work with. He went above and beyond with helping us get into the Esplanades without having to pay a ridiculous amount of $$$. He's just a rockstar

Katelynn, during this move is definitely the MVP. She assisted us with getting into the 1st apartment smoothly. After deciding to move into the apartment across from us, she was able to get this all done. During the the whole process of switching over, she kept us updated, was patient, and really seemed to do everything in her power to get us the apartment the same day. She also didn't seem irritated, because we did decide to move sort of last minute (close to the end of the day). We're so grateful for getting the chance to work with her!!!

The Esplanades is a beautiful community, has a swimming pool, and a mini lap pool. The clubhouse is beautiful. There's a mini dog park and lots of places for dogs to do their business. It seems like everyone picks up their dog's poop, so that's great too.

We moved into the Historical Flats, and it's just a beauty. Walk-in closet, which, for lofts is a PLUS, has a legit laundry room, and plenty of closet space, AND, amazing natural lighting.

Do not live here. Management that took over has shut down the front office. It's less safe, security is not around as often. Budget cuts just to save a little money as the ownership group makes billions. Some B.S. going on over here.

My wife and I lived here since 2019 and the staff here have been nothing short of amazing. The maintenance crew, in particular, Jose, has always taken care of us- from a faulty garbage disposal to replacing light fixtures, he is as professional as they come and quick to complete any maintenance requests.

Stephen Watkins, as others have mentioned, has always been very helpful and is our go-to person for any inquiries related to the residence. His kind and friendly demeanor make us feel as if he's an extended family member.

We all know the housing market in the Bay Area is brutal- we're forever grateful and blessed to be able to call this place our home.

We moved in here for 1 year. 500 deposit. Upon move out they charged us $800 for carpet replacement, $133 for wood replacement, $250 for paint, $433 for cleaning. excessive charging for them to upgrade the apartment. We only lived there one year. The floors were EXACTLY the way we got them. Trying to make us buy their new flooring. I've NEVER been charged upon move out before and usually receive deposit back because I keep places in good condition (I've lived in 5 other apartment complexes). We cleaned thoroughly upon move out.

I'll also mention that they admitted to raising our rent above market rate upon renewal (and above the price of other available units), but would not lower them.
Mind you - we always paid on time and never had any complaints. This company is CORRUPT. Do not rent here.

They WILL try to ILLEGALLY charge you for normal wear and tear - they are trying to charge us for stains that aren't even visible without a blue light that we would have no way of documenting on move in. They have shitty (peeling, lifting) floors (laminate?) they are trying to get us to replace bc i guess it's cheaper to just replace shitty flooring annually than to actually invest in decent flooring??? Then the painting. They'll just unnecessarily repaint the whole thing on your dollar. It's beyond bizarre.

Amber was extremely helpful, made applying for the unit and dealing with the entire process very smooth and present.

Overall, highly recommend.

First tour/move-in process: 5/5
- Staff friendly, Stephen in particular was outstanding-- helped pick out ideal apartment location with sunlight
- Quick/easy application and move-in process

Maintenance/Issues: 4/5
pros:
- Super quick responses from maintenance and staff
- Staff keeps property clean
cons:
- Had issues with dryer in our unit where it didn't dry - maintenance came in on multiple occasions but weren't able to resolve issue
- Experienced a vehicle break-in in the gated garage, dash cam stolen but no damage to vehicle

Living experience: 4/5
pros:
- very friendly neighbors
- good sound insulation: was on 1st floor and only heard some sound from upstairs (but rarely occurred and not bothersome)
- great amenities - gym recently renovated
- safe, clean, pet-friendly neighborhood
- Main Street of Japantown less than 5min walk
- fun food truck events in summer and farmers market from spring to fall, both located right across the street
cons:
- be weary, just outside of Japantown has some homeless people.
- one time someone was sleeping outside parking garage.
- one night, a screaming man was walking through the neighborhood, but was harmless
- fob key occasionally not working at gym
- food delivery; tricky for deliverers to find apartments; found it best to meet them along street

Steve Watkins is hands down THE BEST leasing agents I've worked with. He is super responsive, and guides you each step of the way. I wanted to share a 2 bed, 2 bath unit with a flatmate, and Steve answered all of our questions professionally and in a timely manner.

The Esplanade is a great community. It is well staffed, professionally managed, and has many great amenities (pool, BBQ area, clubhouse, gym, etc.). The units are equipped with smart home technology so you can lock and unlock units with your phone, and control the thermostat using Alexa or a Google Assistant.

My flatmate and I chose the Hyde floorplan, which is very spacious and offers privacy (2 levels w/ a loft area that has enough space for 2 desks - working from home totally possible with this floorplan).

I can not express how Stephen Watkins was such a big help. He was super patient and professional and made me feel comfortable through the whole application process. His attention to detail and quick response allowed me to fully understand every step. Stephen was such a blessing in having a smooth transition into my new home.

Finally lived here for a good amount of time to be able to write an accurate review. We ended up signing with one of the units facing the main st (Taylor) 2 bd 2 ba. We moved forward with The Esplanade because of their unique floorplan compared to other apartments. This is almost like a townhome style. I am very sensitive to noise so I had some concerns with car noise levels and the trains since it is a busy street but it has not been an issue at all. You can only hear things with the windows opened and even with it opened it sounds like white noise which I don't mind. The only bothersome noises are big cars or cars passing by bumping loud music but it goes by quick and again you only hear with windows opened. Same goes for the passing trains. Occasionally, you'll get crazier trains that shake your apartment slightly but it doesn't last more than 2 mins. The apartment appliances are decent except the dishwasher as that is probably the oldest item. It doesn't clean dishes as well as our previous apartment's since it does not have the top piece for water dispensing. I hope they consider upgrading the dishwasher soon.

Our leasing and onboarding experience was a bit rocky due to a big miscommunication from their end so I took half a star off. There were also a couple of times where I had questions/requests for the office staffs but never got a response for (even after following up) so I took another half a star off.

Please keep in mind that this apartment complex is older so there will be some things that requires more attention. Our initial move in came with wear and tear issues but the maintenance team happily supported immediately. I want to give a HUGE shout out to the maintenance team (Jose & Josafant) for their consistent amazing services. You can tell they are actually passionate and serious about their jobs. They do care about you and your apartment's wellbeing. They've both gone above and beyond and even came through on a holiday with an emergency maintenance request. The best part is they do not make you feel like a burden and always come with a smile on their faces. They're so hardworking and puts in extra efforts to keep this complex well maintained and holding it down for us all. I always see them cleaning the pool and parking areas. We must protect them at all cost!

Overall, our experience has been solid and depending on the pricing in year 2, we may consider renewing.

The Esplanade is a great apartment complex. There are a lot of events in the neighborhood (farmer's market and food trucks).

The maintenance at the Esplanade is fantastic. Maintenance requests are done through an app and are usually fixed the same day. Special shout out to Chris, Jose and Steve for their amazing help.