Packard Lofts

I’ve lived here for 5 years and for the entire time the unit leaks gallons of water every time it rains hard. It seeps through the walls and is extremely disruptive. It has caused property damage.
I know I’m not the only unit that has this problem, so beware moving here! Also, management isn’t afraid to raise your rent 13% in one year even though your apartment leaks from two walls so 25% of is it unusable.

I have no idea what «Scotty P» is talking about. As someone who actually LIVES in the Packard Lofts, I have to say it is the best apartment building I have ever lived in. Barb is great and as her literal next door neighbor I have NEVER felt uncomfortable with her or any of her guests.
What is written below is some thinly veiled racist shit and needs to be removed from Unilocal

Moving across the country is hard. But we lucked out in finding Packard Lofts in Oakland. We’ve been here over a year now and can’t imagine living somewhere else. Let me tell you why…
1) Convenient location: Just a few blocks to the 19^th St. BART station, the free «B» shuttle and other bus stops. Plus many fantastic new bars and restaurants, the Fox and Paramount Theaters, First Friday Art Murmur, Whole Foods, YMCA… All in easy walking distance.
2) The open loft spaces: We are in a large 2 bedroom and it is great. The ceilings are probably 16 ft. tall with huge windows that bring in great light and a nice view of the Oakland hills or downtown. Industrial concrete floors. Nice new kitchen and bathrooms. I’ve always wanted to live in a loft, and these spaces feel very open and are blank slates for you to design (painting is OK as long as you paint it back when you leave). Everyday noise is not bad. You’ll hear some high heel click clacks and some music, but the other residents are quiet in general. The concrete walls keep it pretty cool in the summer and they have baseboard electric heaters in the winter (which work pretty well, but with such a big space I think we’ll use a few small space heaters next winter.)
3) Cat friendly. Yay!
4) Indoor parking garage included in rent. Double yay!
5) The shared roof deck. There are BBQ, tables and chairs for all to use. Great views.
6) Our great property manager, Barbara! She is such a great person and is always there when you need her. 4am emergency? No problem. Barbara is there! Like others said here, she sends out emails and makes our building feel like a community. And honestly, all the people I’ve met here are nice and friendly, too.
The couple of drawbacks (not a problem for us, but so others know)…
1) The bar downstairs. Yes, it makes noise (music thumping and people outside talking) on the weekend. You know it is there. If you don’t want to live over a bar, don’t move into a building with a bar.
2) Like another reviewer posted, I can feel somewhat uncomfortable in the neighborhood at night when alone. Just be aware of your surroundings (like, don’t be on your cell or ipod) and you should be fine.

Okay, look. The units look really awesome — except for the No.3 floorplan, where the window opens up onto basically a wall — but the only reason my sweetheart and I know that is because we caught somebody when they first opened and asked for a tour. We decided against moving in at the time because it was more money than we were looking to pay.
Since then, we’re on the move again. This has been our neighborhood for the last few years, so when we noticed the «now leasing» signs while walking around we thought to ourselves, well, hell. We liked the spaces — except for the No. 3 floorplan — why not? I called. And called. And called again. I’ve called five times. My sweetheart has called four. I couldn’t handle the idea of ten (10!!!) unreturned phone calls, so we stopped there. Packard Lofts, are you really now leasing? Does «leasing» mean something other than what I think it means? Does it actually mean «refusing to return phone calls?»

I’ve lived here for a little over 6 months. In the unit DIRECTLY on top of Mimosa Champagne Lounge. Yes, I still love it.
One of the best things about this place is Barbara. She could be your manager if you lived here! I don’t know if this matters, but she’s pretty young and easy to talk to. If there’s anything wrong, I just text her and she’ll get it fixed… so convenient! It’s pretty cool that we also have a mailing list to keep us updated on apartment updates and events – no worries, there’s an email once every one or two month. There were a couple of roof parties but I didn’t get a chance to attend.
The units themselves are pretty awesome. I think we have 14 or 16 foot ceilings… I don’t know but they’re freaken high and it makes the space feel very big… not that it needs to! It’s SUPER SUPER SPACIOUS no matter what unit you get (HOWEVER, I think there’s one sorta shitty unit without a window; it has a shaft or something for light. It’s has cheaper rent, of course). We have a cat and there wasn’t any hassle there. The bathrooms are really modern and new so maybe it was recently remodeled. I love how theres a water heater in our apartment and I’m guessing there’s one in each apartment. You know what this means? HOT HOT water. Enough for 3 to shower consecutively. You can ask the staff the also turn it up higher if needed – they’re pretty friendly! I need to upload and image of my bedroom wall because I was able to paint it (SWEET) as long as I returned it back to white. Also, the walls between the units are all concrete so you don’t really hear anything from your neighbors. BUT, if you’re neighbors are walking with heels upstairs, you can kind of hear that… ever so lightly…
Now, even though I can’t hear my neighbors, it doesn’t mean I can’t hear the bar people. It does get a little rowdy on Thursday-​Saturday and I’ve heard my shares of fights. No biggie though, I usually hear Barbara busting open her window to shut them up. and they do. Quite entertaining. However, I tacked off a star because I do realize this is not the most awesome location. True, it’s close to many bars, restaurants, bart (7 minute walk to 19^th for those slow ones like me), the freeway (but not too close) and across the street from YMCA. It’s everything you want right? True, but it might not be the place for you. I’m not going to lie, sometimes I’m little scared when I’m walking home by myself. Not at all during the day, but a little bit at night time. Imagine a tiny asian girl walking in the dark in a semi isolate area. I’m just asking for it, right? But I think that’s just how I should feel walking alone at night anywhere. It’s just me though, my roommates have no issues at all on this one.
Last notes:
Definitely worth it for the rent… perhaps one of the best deals in the Oakland downtown area if you need a nice and spacious place.
Garage is stinky because the garbage is tucked by the back. It’s indoors and that smell builds up!
Free gated parking with each apartment… CARMATRIX!
Best manager ever.