The Lofts at Albert Park

After checking some of the other reviews I wanted to share my experiences. I lived at the Lofts for the last two years and have been very happy with this location. As many in the San Rafael area know, newer modern apartments are extremely hard to find, but this complex is clean and well maintained. The property manager, office staff, and maintenance crew are so extremely courteous and helpful. Anything I have needed they have promptly assisted me. Here are some positive things I feel are worth mentioning about The Lofts:
–Updated modern apartments
–Many units have a beautiful view of downtown San Rafael (gorgeous at sunset)
–Washer/​dryer in each apartment — no quarters needed!
–Parking space is included
–The complex is gated, giving an extra sense of safety
–On-​site gym for free
–Community BBQs and Jacuzzi that are well maintained
–The Lofts are walking distance to some of San Rafael’s best restaurants and nightlife
–The community is very quiet as a whole, with the majority of the renters being young professionals and serious mature college students
–Dog lovers! If you have a pet, this place is pet friendly… and may be one of the only places in Marin that allow dogs. They even have an outdoor area for people to walk their dogs (including cleanup stations)
As with any apartment complex, there are going to be some difficulties at times, but overall I really loved my home at The Lofts and recommend it for anyone to check out. After viewing many of the other apartments in the San Rafael area (many of which are outdated and rundown), I found The Lofts to be my favorite.
P. S. I see another reviewer state that the building was infested with silverfish and other bugs… in two years I never once saw anything along those lines. I never had any sort of insect issues and the property is kept well maintained.

Lived here for almost four years. Changed apartments three times. Never had to pay a cleaning fee or carpet cleaning fee till I moved out of the complex then I was hit for multiple fees.
Until my move out I was happy with the service provided. They never fixed the front door to stop the water leaking and the rotten wood from falling out or the washing machine that would not fill and the road noise is awful not to mention the lack of closet space but the $ 1700 I was paying seemed expensive but was easier to pay then move.
When I was told my rent was going to increase by $ 500.00 per month I started looking elsewhere as you know with the rental market you do not always have a choice to move. I provided a 45 day move out notice. I paid a full months rent in May even though I moved out on May 4^th.
I was then charged for two months were of rent which was reduced to one month and they charged me for over $ 500.00 in cleaning fees.
I left the Unit Clean, the stove had never been used, the dented fridge (dented before I moved in) was left clean, the dishwasher was run once before I moved out to leave it clean. There were some minor scuff marks on the wall which I had tried to clean with Mr Clean they charged $ 28.00 to paint. They charged another $ 200.00 to clean the 15 year old carpet that when I moved in they admitted it should have been replaced before I took procession.
I am very disappointed with Greystar and also their other property Annadal which took my deposit money promised me a move in date of June and then said it would be August but we are keeping your $ 245.00 deposit.
What really bothers me is how Greystar will not even meet with you to discuss the problems. I have requested a meeting with the property managers and their supervisors to negotiate a settlement and they will not respond.
If you are desperate it is a great place to move just be prepared for the homeless to sleep on the sidewalks and use the bathroom as you watch from your windows and the road noise and the fees they will charge when you move out.

I have been living at The Lofts for almost a year and on the whole have been happy with the building. Like all buildings there are pros and cons that come with the neighborhood and with renting in general:
Pros:
*Well run: staff are prompt and very approachable.
*Maintenance have always been quick to respond.
*Pet Friendly.
*Loft apartments are spacious (I have one of the larger units available).
*Bike Storage available
*Parking Included
Cons:
*Large amount of homeless in area (downtown San Rafael in general).
*Noise can be an issue and is for our particular unit.
*Kitchens are rather small.

What’s the point of an appointment?! We had an appointment at 5:30PM today, showed up early and were turned away. Some excuse about not being allowed to show an apartment at 5:30. I felt like I was in that Seinfeld episode where Jerry made a reservation for a rental car and there was no car available. Didn’t I make an appointment??? We both left work early to show up on time only to get sent away. The woman had cookie cutter customer service skills at best and offered zero allignment or empathy. Perhaps a good thing. It was super hot in the office and, the place weirded us out after that anyway. Oh well. On to the next.

I had a lot of issues living here and recently moved. Excited to put the experience behind me, but would also like to share to potentially spare others!
I moved from out of state for a new job, so I had a limited time to look for a place and this complex was convenient, the units I saw were spacious and reasonable priced. Unfortunately, details such as valet trash fees (even though I lived steps away from the dumpster) and other fees were not laid out to me beforehand.
The unit I rented was supposed to include brand new flooring and appliances. When I arrived on move-​in day, I found an absolutely disgusting apartment with damaged appliances:
— the flooring was new but extremely dirty (my paper towel was black after wiping water from the ground)
— there was actual excrement still in the toilet
— the fridge and oven were damaged and part of the kitchen faucet was not even installed. The dishwasher had not been installed properly.
The list goes on! I immediately complained to the leasing agent on the property who called the manager. He came in to view my unit and showed little surprise, nor was he apologetic. I ended up having to contact the regional manager to get the apartment fixed up in a timely fashion and she refunded a portion of my rent. She was much better to deal with.
Needless to say, things did not start off well, but I had spent all of my money moving half way across the country so my options were limited. Once I settled in and finally got them to start billing me for the correct amount, it was better for a little while. The next issue was noise. I’ve lived in apartments in several states and never experienced anything quite like it, especially in a place that actually looks nice. I could literally hear everything my neighbors did — speaking, tv, walking, bathroom noises, etc. The worst was my upstairs neighbors who apparently did not sleep and walked very heavily — at times my walls would shake. I couldn’t get any sleep! After months of complaining repeatedly and getting nowhere, I finally complained to the regional manager and was released from my lease. You should also know the building is infested with silverfish, I’ve never seen so many in my life — I even found that a few had stowed away when I moved! There were a variety of other bugs that were all too prevalent as well.
To summarize, I would not recommend this place to an enemy. It is poorly managed, too loud, and in poor condition.

After being here for almost 2 months, I can say this is a really good downtown pet friendly complex. It has a good management team who seem to be on top of things and the build quality of the individual apartments is really nice. It is downtown San Rafael and walking distance to a lot that San Rafael has to offer. It is pet friendly without a long list of exceptions AND it doesn’t feel like you’re living in a zoo. People do a great job cleaning up and the maintenance team does a fine job of keeping the place looking neat.
You’re right across the street from Albert Park which is a ball field /​kids play area /​grassy field park. Yes, homeless and transients hang out there (like every city park) however they are harmless and friendly. Kids play, people have dogs and do typical park stuff and there’s never a confrontation.
Noise level — not bad for where it is! You hear the overnight trash trucks /​street cleaners and then typical day activities but nothing out of the ordinary. Inside you can tell they used insulation (not many do). Sure you can hear someone close a closet door hard but I do not hear music, TV’s or people talking. You can get a decent nights sleep here AND you can’t beat the access to 101. Views? Some have nice downtown views, some have windows to the courtyard (me) and some overlook the main electrical depot. All in all, if you’re looking for decent quality to match the «market rate», this is a good place to consider.

This place will work with you no matter what. I really appreciate the lengths management has gone to make sure my time at the Lofts worked out. Although you may not like everyone (there are a LOT of units), you probably will make some friends and management does have your back. It’s not the best area, but you are close to downtown. Oh, and dog friendly is an added bonus!

This is my second year here at The Lofts & I really love it here. I own 2 dogs & they love living here also because everyone, including the dogs, are so friendly! I love that this community is gated & is secure at nights. It gives me peace of mind. I love the campus because it is beautiful, clean & spacious. I know this place is expensive but it is only 2 blocks away from everything! Restaurants, grocery stores, Starbucks, the bank & all the dive bars! I love walking around town & not having to waste gas just to run a quick errand. I truly recommend out community to all! If you love dogs!

This place is great! The managers Natashia and Jonathon are AWESOME! Both such friendly, happy, and understanding people. I am a young ballerina who was in a scramble to find an affordable place to live in San Rafael. Natashia went out of her way to help me out and work with me through many tricky spots when I’m sure it would have been much easier for her to just opt out. I really feel like she went the extra mile to help this happen for me and I know she does the same for others. The service is GREAT here! The grounds are safe, very clean, well kept, and beautiful. Great spa and workout room. I am delighted to give Natashia and The Lofts Apartments five stars!

Okay visiting this place was comical.
Quotes from the guy in the office showing me around:
«the area isn’t great, it isn’t terrible but I wouldn’t let my girlfriend walk around at night. «
“the transients are harmless, they don’t even ask you for money. «
“sure I guess it’s safe to walk your dog at night, just be careful. «
“oh yeah we have a bigger place (than the one he was showing me) but it gets no light you probably don’t even want to see it. «
Aside from the colorful quotes…
The apartment they showed me wasn’t cleaned, had garbage all over the place.
There is a giant electrical tower just yards from the complex.
The models I wanted to see (which I was told were available over the phone) were not available at all.
The floorplans are cool, very urban vibe but have very small bedrooms (think queen bed fills the room)
Was an amusing 15 minute visit but a waste of time since the phone agent gave me totally different information compared to what was really available.
Hope this helps someone…

We received terrible customer service as prospective renters. If that’s any indication of the customer service the tenants receive (and apparently it is, based on the other reviews) then do not bother with this place. Pass it up. When we came to look at their available 1 bedroom units the gentleman in the office said he had none to show. Ok that’s fine… except then why was there a post on Craigslist that day saying there was an availability! He told us to come back on Friday and they’ll have one to show us then for sure. We were on our way and had a feeling we better call this time to make sure. He proceeded to tell us he had nothing to show. Yet again, there was another posting on craigslist saying there was an availability. Liars. He told us to come back the following week. Forget it. You fail Loft management.

Buyer Beware!!! I still live here now. This has been the worst place I have ever lived. So much has been bad in my experience that I don’t even know where to start.
I moved in first and had a roommate join me. They lied to my roommate and made him pay the deposit when I already paid it. Before my roommate moved in they put multiple notices on my door for all of my neighbors to see saying that I had not paid and would be evicted. I had paid and had the receipts to prove it! I’m still living here right now so obviously they weren’t right.
When my roommate moved in, besides stealing $ 199 extra dollars from him, they put more notices on the door saying we hadn’t paid. He went down to talk to them and they brought it up that he didn’t pay before the notice was posted. He showed them via his phone that The Lofts had deducted the money from his account and that they were wrong. They agreed they would fix it. The very same manager that verified that it was a mistake posted a notice threatening to evict us the very next day!
The on site management staff has never had any clue of what is going on and apparently has no authority. I get the same response every time I have a complaint or issue and it is, «I don’t have the ability to do that for you, I will contact my boss and one of us will call you back.» They never call back!
Today, they shut our water off. I wouldn’t of known it was happening if my roommate hadn’t seen it on someone else’s door as he left for work and called me waking it up. It sure would of been fun to go to work later today dirty and smelling. Not to mention the fact that I had two surgeries yesterday and need to clean out my wounds today and my work was giving me a short day to recover.
If you work weekdays at early hours the neighbors will keep you up. There is no air conditioning here and you are not allowed the ones that sit in the windows. The maintenance department hasn’t fixed one of my problems since I have moved in. You will find that people smoke in the elevators and left their animals shit in them as well. The gate to the parking garage is often broke. I came home for lunch once and they said I couldn’t come into the parking garage and there is no guest parking anywhere and you have to pay meters downtown. I have also seen 3 smashed in windshields on my neighbors cars from the gates.
The apartments look nice, don’t fall for the trap. They will try to extort money out of you.

ZERO! This dump hasn’t closed, it should be sprayed, neutered and exterminated. Hey Greystar property! Renter beware! I called their toll free number from my office on Friday and because of another great Unilocaler I asked Shawnda many times — Is there availability of a studio. «Yes.» Will I be able to apply to rent a studio? «Yes.» A Unilocaler says you make appointments for apartments that don’t exist. Is a studio available? «Yes. You will get a tour. I assure you we have several studios and you may see a floor plan model. «You are sure? I don’t have time to make an appointment if there is no availability. It doesn’t make sense to me there is a studio available but I can’t see one. She persisted to lie through her teeth and pitch downtown amenities «near the coast», etc. I got there an the middle eastern woman (to distinguish from the other woman with dark hair) treated me like crap. She did not have the customer service skills of a toad. She did not acknowledge I had an appointment. She said she didn’t have a model to show me. She said there was NO available studio for 4 months. I said I had set aside my whole afternoon with this appointment tying me up. She didn’t care as in smug! I told her about the Unilocaler who said just this. Didn’t care. I told her I would Unilocal my horrible experience. She said «whatever you want to do.» Apparently you don’t have to be competent to work for Greystar! She is oddly confident that she will keep her job. Why? I was angry at the way I was treated… So here’s the brush off and back at you! Glad I don’t live there this is who I’d deal with… I don’t tolerate incompetence or rudeness. Bottom line they lie on the phone. I’ll bet Shawnda got a bonus for my making an appointment. I looked up all Greystar properties so none of them will ever get me. So thank you I don’t and won’t live there! Oh and I told her that I was lied to on the toll free appointment/​information number. She looked at me like they didn’t have a phone. I also suspect discrimination on her part as the agent for Greystar. have fun. What has happened to San Rafael?

I love my loft, love that its clean and feel like I’m on vacation from the busyness off it all,
My rent went up close to 300 the first year, the second 200 and so on. So my lease is ending and I found a new place so I can actually go out to eat, save money and take my daughter on a vacation !!!
There is a gross puddle outside my front door, I’ve mentioned it a few times but there is still a puddle there and I’m thinking about. Adding some gold fish„ I’ll miss my friends who like to chill at my loft, but not the note$$$$ good by Albert Park Lofts, it’s been bitter sweet! Looking forward.

I wish I could give negative stars. I ALMOST moved into this place and I am so thankful I did not. I have never experienced such horrible customer service when dealing with apartment hunting. I leased online and within seconds I knew I did not want to live here, so I filled out a deposit refund form and faxed it over. It’s been well over a week and I’m still waiting. I was told a week ago that it was in process and it would take 3 business days. Still waiting… Beatriz lies to my face, doesn’t even return my calls and to later on call the main office where you get your refund back and find out they haven’t even received the forms! I’ve had it! DON’T EVEN DEAL WITH THESE PEOPLE!!! They seem nice but it seems like they only care about you when you are interested to rent with them!

I am looking to move to Marin from the East Bay and made an appointment here to view some lofts. I walked in and found out they had absolutely nothing to show. Beatriz, the leasing agent, was professional and friendly and apologized she had nothing for me to view. She did, however, show me some videos and pictures of typical units that would fit what I was looking for. I guess the number I called took me to some call center and they don’t have current availability. It’s too bad because I really would have liked to know if they had something to show or not. Other than that my first impression of the community and office staff is a positive one.
What I get from some of the negative reviews below is people have never lived in an apartment complex before, or they lack general common sense. Let’s go over some of the basics.
Noise: It’s apartment living. You’re surrounded by people. Think about it.
High utilities: Stop running the heater or AC all the time. Don’t take hour long baths or showers. Turn your lights off when you’re not in a room. It works wonders.
Combative automatic gates: Seriously? If you need signs telling you how to enter a gate you shouldn’t be driving, period.
Mexicans: Trust me, they live in houses too.
Beatriz advised me on how to check the website for availability for the time it is I would like to move. She also said she would get in contact with me when something opens up. The Lofts are one of the top three I am considering and I will be back. If they have a full house they must be doing something right.

I have lived here at the Lofts for about a year and a half and I really like it. I have had a few things that needed to be fixed in my apartment and they were fixed quickly. Troy is great and gets things fixed quick and if he can’t fix it on the spot he goes above and beyond to makes sure your not inconvenienced at all. For example my washer machine had a problem that required a part to be ordered. In the mean time I was allowed to used a vacant apartment to get my laundry done. So far I feel that the staff has done a great job with anything that I needed done.

I have been here a week and like the place so far. You can walk to downtown, close to some nice restaurants and bars. The place is close to the park were the burn outs hang out during the day (there harmless). The park is a great place to take your dog. The lofts are nice with lots of light, good size bathrooms. The lofts have a nice urban feeling to them. Being from Chicago I like that.
My only complaint is the Noise late night on weak days. Its not every night but a couple nights a week. When you work in the AM and want to sleep it sucks. Some people have a lack of respect for there neighbors. Don’t get me wrong, I party with the best of them. That is apartment living sometimes. Most of the people here are very nice and down to earth. good place to live so far.

I was taught that before coming to some bitchy final conclusion about something that it’s a good idea to weight out my pros versus cons. My father taught me that at an early age in order to bring me up less judgemental. Although my dad did a great job at raising me along with my mother, judgemental I have become… don’t hate the haters bitches…
PROS
–can walk to Sol Food
–across from Albert Park and my dog will shit there quicker than at the DPA (designated pet area for those who aren’t in the crew), that’s incredibly advantageous in the rain
–my own washer and dryer (that’s GOD if you ask me)
–two full bathrooms (if i feel like taking two tubs and not cleaning one all the time at least I still have the other)
–close to Walgreen’s (the 24 hours one, that’s important)
–in walking vicinity of Tuttimelon, Starbucks, bars, and most importantly, the porn store
–high ceilings so when I scream your name it reverberates off the walls
–the hot tub is BANGING
CONS
–bedrooms are so small that I had to get a whole new set of furniture (oooohhhh, excuses to shop, yay!)
–for some reason I don’t have doors on the bedrooms, but my neighbor does… hmmmmm
–if you don’t pay your rent within three days the online «convenience» system is completely shut off and your ass has to go get a cashier’s check (note: pain in ass)
–when my neighbors smoke indoors (which isn’t allowed) you can smell it through the vents
–the garbage cans are only accessible by going outside of the building (don’t forget to bring your keys, been there, done that, bad idea)
–everyone in the building smokes (pro), has dogs (pro), and is a fuckin’ hipster (CON!!!)
–the upstairs parking is not covered, dammit
So as you can see it’s pretty balanced. At least it’s newer and the maintenance staff (yay Troy!) are super nice and extremely friendly.
Great location everyone!!! You know you’ve always been dreaming of living next to an exposed power station! Don’t LIE!!!
I will tell you one thing, it’s about the same price for my loft as what I was paying in Mill Valley for something new, but dark, low ceilings, and ¹⁄₃ the size. So you definitely get more for your money than southern Marin, and I think my last apartment was relatively close to those power stations anyway… whatever

EDIT: I’m leaving my first review up for fairness sake, but I have to decrease my 4-​star to a 2-​star (this so often happens after move outs, doesn’t it?)
When moving out, I tried to get an apartment inspection ahead of time. Unfortunately, I was an hour late to work one day and the inspector never showed up (I was later told he got the day off and they never bothered to call me.) They then never scheduled a new inspection despite my requests, and I ended up having a half-​hearted walk through as I tried to move out. Also during move out, I was supposed to receive my deposit back in full, and they refused to give it to me. Two days after move out, I was told I’d get back around $ 500, but nearly two weeks passed and no check came. When I called to inquire what happened to my deposit, I was told that I would not get it back as after they had cleaned my carpets, they found a «pet urine» odor and thusly took my deposit to pay for both the carpet cleaning AND the new carpet. (Yeah, they ripped up the carpet without telling me. If I hadn’t called, no one would have informed me they weren’t sending the check they promised.)
They claimed the pet urine smell was over the ENTIRE apartment — living room and both up and downstairs bedroom — even though our dog is a dachshund and we had a gate closing her off from both my bedroom and the second floor. They, of course, disposed of the carpet so they could not provide proof that there was any urine smell at all, and even correspondence with my lawyer was met with little to no response. They basically said «we said it happened, so screw you.»
I would have taken them to small claims court, but my mother died unexpectedly, and I decided that I’d rather grieve in peace than chase down some lying landlord over $ 500.
Regardless, I’d still say living here was pleasant, but the move out is horrid, and they will scam you out of your deposit. But as long as you know going in that (especially if you have a pet, which they allow) you won’t get your deposit back, you’ll be happy here.
FIRST REVIEW:
i’m told that these apartments are more expensive than others in san rafael, but i believe you get what you pay for. the staff here is friendly and fast — when i need a lightbulb changed where i can’t read it (loft ceilings!) it happens in a day.
the apartments are lovely, bright, and open. i live in a 2 bedroom loft and if i weren’t moving to the city, i would stay here. the appliances are new, we got a brand new carpet on move in, and i have to say, i have almost no complaints.