Lofts At One Powell

Pro’s:
Central location right downtown. Super convenient if you rely on public transportation. Amazing looking building with some history and character (from the outside). Great views of Market St. Not a high occupancy building (60 units or so) and very little traffic in public areas. Spacious lofts with amazing high ceilings. WebPass serves the building and Comcast wants to compete, so you will get a good deal on your high speed internet. Clean trash rooms on each floor that are cleared each day. USPS has some package lock boxes they will keep your smaller boxes locked in for extra safety.
Con’s:
You are on the last block separating civilization from the Tenderloin area. If you are unfamiliar with what that is, Google it. End result is a lot of crack heads trying to hustle you for money out the front door and lot’s blood curling screams and shouting from the BART station down below at night. And even if you are used to loud city living, the windows are original and provides zero sound proofing.
If you can work past the human noise, the Market and 5^th intersection in front of the building appears to be the go to path for all fire engines in the city so prepare your eardrums to blaring sirens at all times of the day.
Also, the main entrance faces Cyril Magnin St which serves as the back alley for all the business facing Powell St. This means the side walk up from the entrance is usually covered in trash bins or spill over from the trash. If you are lucky. Otherwise, it’s human leftover courtesy of the Tenderloin neighbors.
As I mentioned this is a small apartment complex. There is no lobby, there is no front desk, the management company tries but doesn’t appear to have the incentive to try (will detail the building manager in a bit).
Most packages will be left at the building entrance foyer by the carriers. Packages get stolen. Management sells you on the camera in the foyer but when packages get stolen they email you a disclaimer about how it’s not their responsibility. I’m not too sure if that’s even a real camera.
There are a bunch of corporate leases in the building which means come summer time companies pack in a bunch of interns into these housing units and the building starts to take the feel of a hostel. There’s also several AirBnB’s going on and seem to bring in some interesting characters (including a couple who liked to sift through others packages and mail in the lobby before the last spat of package thefts…)
The old Manager (Monique) was nice but was the one who sent the generic non answer when requesting assistance with the package theft. There is a new onsite manager, a guy, who appears to be the most anti-​social person you could put into a community manager role. Talk about a mismatch.
Due to the spike in temporary residents during the summer time your shared monthly utility fees will spike. During low peak expect to pay around $ 100 for water, sewage, and trash for 2 people. This will spike up to $ 140 during summer time.
This building has so much history and architectural character but somehow the designers managed to build the most bland, generic interior they could come up with. They went with the most cheap, bland looking paint, kitchen fixtures and carpet they could come up with.
There is no airflow within the apartments and if you want to get rid of the stuffiness during the warm months, you’ll have to open the windows and your front door and get a cross breeze going.
Not the safest building now with a large construction site next door. People often tailgate you into the elevator lobby and try to follow you up the elevator.
Finally, there’ are no recent reviews here so it’s important to note that the rent has now spiked over a$ 3400 for a 1 bedroom loft with a bump of 15% or so every year.
There are much better buildings in better locations you can rent from in the city compared to the price you are going to pay here. The novelty wares off fast.

Woohoo! As good as it gets! But seriously, if you are looking for the real deal, «city life» in San Francisco, you can’t beat these lofts. Location! Location! Location! Right in the heart of the city at Powell and Market with convenient access to Downtown, Bart, Muni, BEST restaurants and nightlife in the city. Lively area that will make you feel like you are in the happenin’ part of town. Definitely recommend living here :-)
One tip to keep in mind — there is no on-​site parking so you should park around the corner only a few blocks away. You can take a stroll down the block like a true city dweller!

I just moved to a new job in SF Financial District and I don’t have a car which means being close to public transportation is a must. I looked around in the outer areas like Sunset/​Richmond and was warned about the nightmarish muni rides. Apparently, the SF buses break down CONSTANTLY in the mornings turning what should be a 10minute ride into hours. MUNI also allows bums to ride unmolested and the buses usually smell like urine.
Seeing as how the new job came with a pretty nice raise, I decided to splurge and live lavish for a year and started looking downtown. I first went to SOMA around Mission and 4^th but apparently that area turns into a crack den after dark. As I walked back to BART, I noticed the lofts here and looked on their website and toured the property.
PRO’s
–The price is definitely spendy; my 1bedroom was $ 3,200. If money is an issue, this probably isn’t the place for you.
–The convenience is AWESOME. I roll out of bed and walk down Market and can get into work in about 5 minutes (my commute before was a hour and change). There’s 2 starbucks on the way as well as Walgreen’s and Bank of America is downstairs.
–I go out quite a bit and Ruby Skye, Infusion and numerous other clubs/​bars are all walking distance (no DUI’s). If you got game, any ladies you bring back here will want to come back again!
CON’s
–Parking sucks and your guests have to pay for parking in a garage.
–It’s also noisy when you first move in but then it just turns into ambient noise.
–Powell St is full of tourists which are fun to watch from your window but it also draws a bunch of scam artists and hustlers. You get to know all of them after a while but it’s a bit annoying at first.
All in all, I’m extremely happy I picked this place to live and would do it all over again.

I’ve been here over a year and I moved from a 2 bedroom/​2 bath (8^th floor) to a 1 bedroom/​1bath (5^th floor)
When my 1-​year lease expired on the 2 bedroom, I moved to a 1 bedroom. My opinions on this apartment has not changed much; I still believe it’s an amazing place to live, if you can afford it.
There’s a new manager named Alisha and she is so helpful. My 5^th floor unit faces Nordstrom (my previous apt faced Powell) it is a lot noisier than my previous apartment. The street performers with their found object instruments are relentless and they are quite passionate about their music. That’s a big downside.
I hardly ever see my neighbors, which can be good or bad depending on how you feel about neighbors haa. Usually the floors are quite and peaceful.
People complain about the homeless people on the streets blah blah blah. Downtown SF in general smells like pee, so that’s something you’ll have to get used to.
Honestly if you have the money, it’s worth living here. The only thing missing is a gym

So, here’s my story. I lived way up in the North Bay for about 6 years here in the Bay Area. I went to school, got a job in Novato, life was good, surburban, and wine coutryish. I switched jobs recently and now work in South San Francisco and my girlfriend and I were going to move in together. We wanted a spot that was close to BART and easy to get around, etc.
We looked at a few places around the Richmond and Sunset, and then by chance I found this crazy place. They had 3 units open and we looked at the 1BR loft, and it was amazing.
The appliances were all brand new — full size, stainless steel fridge, dishwasher, oven, microwave, granite countertops. Really really nice. The in unit washer and dryer are a lifesaver. That was our main draw to this place, believe it or not.
We both still have cars — parking completely sucks ass around here. Seriously. The only decent spot is the Mason O’Farrell garage and sometimes the employees there can be hard to work with. We pay 320/​month for a reserved parking spot. It’s unbelievably expensive and slightly outrageous. But, I need my car for the time being.
Getting packages here sucks. UPS generally leaves packages at your door, but FedEx won’t even try. There is no lobby or receptionist, it’s a door on the side of the Forever 21 building locked with a keycard. So if they don’t try to call your apartment number to buzz you in (and they can have it ring your cell phone) then they just stick the note on the outside door.
The rent is very expensive. Our 1BR loft is $ 2595. The website says $ 2495 is the minimum rent, but I wish we got that price. The good thing is they take a very cheap deposit. I think it was $ 1200 total for us.
Nicole, the property manager, was awesome. Very accommodating and we literally moved in to the place days after we saw it. I really like being here but it is getting very expensive. I don’t know how many vacant units they have but I’m hoping maybe I can ask them to lower my rent once our lease is up in order for us to stay here another year.
There’s a lot of homeless around but it’s a very well-​traveled area. Lots of good restaurants around and Union Square is literally a 5 minute walk away. You can fall out of bed and land in the Powell St. BART station — it’s literally right outside. It’s hilariously close. The Metreon is near for movies, and Whole Foods is just a nice walk down 4^th St.
If you’re moving in to this place, ONLY USE CORRIB MOVING. Check them out here on Unilocal.They’re hilariously awesome Irish guys who can move in to this place with finesse. Only move in during a weekday — there’s like, two spots outside and it’s very hard to move in. Don’t try to do it yourself — trust me. You will hate life. They are pros, and they really know what they’re doing.
I give it 4 stars because it’s expensive and parking blows. Also because there’s no lobby or receptionist for packages. But, you can pay rent online.
I still haven’t really met any of my neighbors, most people keep to themselves here. I see a few of the same people in the lobby now and then but I think most people tend to pass through this place.

I could get used to this!
My family stayed here in between moves and it was awesome! Located right at Powell and Market, it felt like NYC or Paris right in our hometown. I had forgotten how lively this area is during the summer time.
Great restaurants, shopping, public transport, and all the funny funny tourists. The lofts were well maintained, high quality building, well-​stocked, etc. The only drawback was that the one-​bedroom is a true loft, so sound carries throughout the unit. Our fault for having kids I guess ;-) Ideal for one or two people. Not sure about the two-​bedrooms.
If you have some longterm lodging needs, would definitely recommend this place.