Soma Grand Residential Condos

This review is for access to move items in and out of the building. The management is condescending and only marginally helpful. Their attitude seems to be that you are lucky if you get their help or cooperation as they have more important things to do. The loading dock area is small and was partly inaccessible because the concierge had his car parked there and seemed to think that took priority over tenants’ access. The design of the building requires a long schlep to and from the elevator bay and the «freight» elevator is simply one of the regular elevators locked for use by whoever has reserved it (but that means only one user at a time which is crazy for a building this size).

Ahh! Thankful for some awful residents from Soma Grand who never pick up the dog’s poop we have lost our little space around the Social Security Office to walk the dog… I saw this coming long time ago and those uneducated residents will make their’s dog walk on side walk now. I’d never buy a place there to live because I want to live next good people.

I bought a place here in 2009 and absolutely love it. While the neighborhood might have a bit of grit to it there are so many great restaurants nearby, including the one right in the building, as well as walking distance to everything. This neighborhood is transforming fast too!
One of the things that attracted me to this place besides the absolutely stunning view from the 21^st floor were all the luxury amenities and great staff who help keep it looking great.

I lived in these condos for a year and they are great. The front desk staff is always nice, there was never any loud noise from neighboring units, complimentary petes coffee in the lobby. Life could be worse. Oh and the parking garage is the most affordable for monthly rates in the city. I docked them a point because when I was moving out they had over booked the elevator, then the next day the elevator was down, they had misplaced my moving paperwork and that entire process blew rocky mountain oysters. Other than that isolated incident this was a great place to live in a very central SF location.

I’ve lived here since January 2010. It’s the best condo I’ve ever owned.
Great construction (no noise between units), amazing views (the building height restrictions to the south guarantee the views in perpetuity), best amenities in SoMa, (short of the costlier places in South Beach.)
The neighborhood is in transition. I’ve lived within a block of here since 1996 and it’s interesting to see the neighborhood changes, sometimes they occur slowly, but the neighborhood is always changing. Keep your eyes open and avoid certain intersections at night. That’s life in the heart of a biggish city.
Comparable places in safer neighborhoods cost at least twice as much and aren’t half as much fun.

We’ve lived here three months now, so I think we can review it. My husband and I love the SOMA Grand. Sure, the building’s beautiful and the 5^th floor (with hot tub!) is awesome. But also, the people that work here are fantastic. The concierge and security people are always helpful and knowledgeable, and this means that there’s so much less to worry about. Our friends who visit us always have a good time here. Very recommended!

I bought a ¹⁄₁ in 2007 and love this place. The neighborhood is getting better, the community is full of a bunch of great people and the new management firm CitiScape is getting the job done well. Props to Liz, Davina and team for making the place a great place to live.
If you’re thinking of buying here, the amenities are great (housekeeping, coffee/​tea service, clubroom, spa, classes, wine tastings, etc.) and if you get a place on the NE side of the building the views of the City and Bay are really hard to beat!

My ex lives here. It’s awesome. Parking, security, workout room, deck… all nice. PLUS they gave concierge service. PLUS they have bi-​weekly housekeeping. That’s right. Wowzers. It’s a great place.

I adore iiving here! Everything the other reviewers say is true: the vue is amazing, the amenities are as good as they get (full service, ²⁴⁄₇). We travel often and feel totally comfortable leaving… the staff will take care of everything, including housecleaning. The maintainance is first rate and the community of neighbors has the perfect mix of friendliness and privacy if you want it. I love the diversity of the neighbors, of age, family status, sexual orientation, etc. The location makes life so easy: we walk nearly everywhere, but when we need it Muni, BART and the Market Street bus is a block away. As to the noise: of course it is noisy! You are about as urban as it gets. You get totally used to it! The building is totally sold out, but watch for an opening and jump on it!

Ahh… SOMA Grand. How I loathe and love thee.
Things I love:
You’re beautiful. From the common restroom to the lobby to the gym to the balcony to the meeting room to the party room with the big fancy kitchen to our condo. The building was secure. You need a FOB to get in and out after a certain time and there are/​were 24hr friendly concierge (s) in suits and all. Great amenities. Housekeeping every other Friday; I didn’t even need to own a broom or vacuum. Very modern and contemporary units: hardwood floor, granite bathroom floors, master bath has a jacuzzi, walk-​in closets, well-​insulated walls (couldn’t hear our neighbors except…), big windows, central heating, each room has its own thermostat, stainless steel appliances, glass top stove, Bosch fridge/​dishwasher, full-​size in-​unit quiet washer and dryer *gasp*. Other stuff: carpeted main hallways, three residential elevators (FOB activated so quite secure), grocery cart on each residential garage floor, designated parking (1), free wifi and coffee in lobby, great package receiving system (the concierge will hold your package for you and email you to let you know to pick it up), prompt communication, within walking distance to the Westfield Mall, Metreon, BART, and countless great restaurants in the Tenderloin, convenient access to the freeway.
Sh*t that drove me nuts and out of the place:
Noisy!!! Even though I was on the 21^st floor, I could hear the siren from 20 blocks away. Downtown location doesn’t help either. There could be sirens going off anytime of the day or night EVERY SINGLE DAY (or all day long). I could also hear people yelling from outside. This was my biggest problem because I couldn’t sleep.
When it’s cold, it’s cold, but lucky there’s central heating. But when it’s hot, it’s frickin hot and there’s no AC and we only had three windows that could crack open. The big windows (lots but can’t be opened) were great for views and natural lighting but they also create sort of a greenhouse effect. We didn’t get any blinds for the longest time. Even with the blinds down it gets really warm and muggy.
Bad ventilation. The microwave-​fan combo is very weak. If you cook anything that generates a fair amount of smoke or smell, it’s going to stick around longer than desirable. Don’t grill or fry anything.
The garage is not secure. I know it’s gated and all and there’s another gate into the residential parking area but it’s not that secure. Let’s just say people can get into the garage and even into the residential parking even when the gates are down. So lock your car and put away any valuable items.
You get one designated parking spot and if you need additional parking you have to pay an additional couple hundred a month (per month basis and no prorating) for the pass AND you don’t get a designated spot. You can park in the reserved parking on the non-​residential floors but it’s first come first serve, same as any of the spots on the non-​residential floors. If the garage is full you can give your car to the valet or good luck with street parking. Remember to pick up your keys from the valet before 6pm or have a spare copy. During the day time and events, the garage gets packed. Even at night, parking spots are scarce but you’ll find one at least. The garage is managed by a different company and is not a part of SOMA Grand.
The neighborhood is sketchy. Forget your late-​night stroll under the SF foggy sky. You’re situated in downtown between Market and Mission. You will encounter a lot of «characters» (e.g. homeless, druggies) if you go outside. Don’t go out alone, especially if you’re a girl. Bring your dog with you if you have one. Be ready to fend off aggressive beggars. Don’t be surprised to see some guy taking a dump between two parked cars then scraping his crack on a pole or lamppost. Don’t touch anything!!! Don’t breathe if you can hold your breath (jk)…it STINKS.
More noise! My downstairs neighbor liked to chop his/​her piano at 3 or 4 in the morning. There was also still construction going on during my stay so lots of construction noise beginning as early as 7am. The fire alarm (it’s ridiculously loud) goes off for no reason quite often… at unpredictable (often undesirable) times of day.
I lived here between ²⁄₂₀₁₀ and ⁹⁄₂₀₁₀. It was the most beautiful, luxurious, modern, expensive, cool, noisy place I’ve ever lived in.
PS: the rental/​property agents are very snotty and rude

Bought a place here in April of 2009. I loved the amenities, and the location (seriously close to just about everything downtown/​SOMA, $ 10 cab ride anywhere in the east/​north/​south part), but what really sold me was the view. I LOVE waking up and falling asleep to the skyline of downtown San Francisco.
The process, for me, was fairly painless when it came time to submit an offer. I lucked out by having an amazing agent (Kevin Gueco, ClimbSF, see my review on him. Can’t recommend him enough), who got me an amazing deal at a fairly dreadful time for the market. The «upgrades» were way too expensive, but I found it very very easy to do the superficial ones myself (ie blinds, washer/​dryer/​fridge).
My main gripe, right now, is the HOA mismanagement that occurred in the previous year. Fortunately we now have a new management company so I hope it will sort out the issues that existed before. The Citiscape team is great and security is very friendly (if you take the time to stop and say hi). The HOA board is knowledgeable enough, and the building is taken care of quite well!
Another big plus of the building: Heaven’s Dog (by Charles Phan) is right downstairs, Mr. Smiths is around the corner, Showdown is a block away, and if you walk 2 blocks to Howard you will find a TON of great bars and restaurants. Location location location!
I’m glad I made the decision to move here!

Wow, this place is clueless. Their sales people (20^th floor, Shannon?) and front desk were rude and uninformed. They couldn’t even answer the simplest questions about the building and came across as lazy.
The building is ok, but the vibe is terrible. Would not want to have to deal with their staff on a daily basis so I will not be moving here.

what? 4 – 5 stars for this place? really?
well, we went to look at it and the sales lady. i think her name was Cathleen was a total B**!!
i wanted to see the yoga room, she said, really? u want to walk in the rain? and i said, umm yea!
That right there lost the sale. at least from me. i am never doing any business, with the type whose first response to any request is what she said.
Pls. there are other, BETTER neighborhoods and bigger spaces for the same price everywhere else in the city as well and yeap, i am going to choose the others instead of this BS cust. service lacking people.
I really do not care about anything this place has to offer (amenities and all), they could not offer the the simplest form of differentiation from their competitions, which is; exceptional customer service, the gold standard!..
sorry, u just lost a big sale and your bedrooms are the smallest i have seen and i have seen small units, but these bedrooms are pushing it, along w/​the shit cust. serv. offered with complementary peets coffee.
no thx.

Hi — I have not moved in but I am very excited about this place… I worked with ClimbSF’s Chris Lim and Renee who have gone above and beyond to just about anything for me to get a place as I transition to SF — I have been looking for over 3 months every weekend at different places and somehow SOMA Grand was my first choice and they have been so supportive, warm and welcoming.
If I ever have to buy a place Chris Lim and Renee would be the people I would love to work with. They really care about the people and they ALWAYS GO ABOVE AND BEYOND… thank you for being so GREAT…

I finally got around to using the parking garage below Soma Grand.
$ 1 for 0−1hr, $ 8 for 4−6hrs, $ 10 for 6+; I forget the 2−4hr prices.
I got there in the morning and was directed to a large parking spot, awesome. I did call the garage the day before, they said self-​park until it gets full, then courtesy valet afterwards. I don’t do valets, so since I was getting there early, no biggie.
The neighborhood’s a bit sketchy and plus I had to head up to the Union Sq area, so the ‘hood get a bit more sketchier going the direct route.
When I came back in the afternoon, the lot’s busy with parked cars…
I’ll park here again, as long as i’m not schlepping buttload of stuff.
They have a walking guard to keep the rifraffs out.

Attended a white party that my friend Amy was throwing. The place is amazing. I really love the club level, perfect for throwing a party whether it’s day time or night time.
Also another thing I like is they have parking available for guests, $ 1 an hour not bad.

A friend of mine recently moved in here and invited me for drinks and to check out his new pad. I’ve heard alot of good things about this place and for surely wanted to check it out.
OH MY FREAKIN’ GOODNESS… it was beautiful. It was a corner unit and pretty much from every room you can see a great view of SOMA, the Bay Bridge, the ball park and down Mission street. We both just sat by the window drinking our wine just somewhat mesmerized by the view at night. It was awesome.
As far as the interior was concerned, it was pretty spacious and super modern. In the master bedroom, there’s a huge walk-​in closet and spacious bathroom with a sunken tub.
The second bedroom was slightly smaller but still big by sf standards. Did I mention all the rooms had a view?
The kitchen had a large granite counter and stainless steel appliances. My friend doesn’t cook much so unfortunately he won’t be making much use of it…(hint hint. i can cook!)
He got the place because it’s just like living in a hotel with all the amenities (housekeeping, room service, concierge, gym, spa, etc.) but all of his stuff was there and he can do what he wanted with it.
I asked him if I can live in his closet…

13 stack split bedroom, you will be mine in due time!

The building is amazing the amenities pure luxury — but affordable. The scene at the party was something out of a bad B– Movie. Plumped up lips and lots o’plastic surgery. Looked like the Marina and Pac Heights went slumming South of Market.
If you go to many of these parties you see the usual suspects trolling around and hovering around the open bar and the chocolate fountain.
Check out the model condos. Great views, nice lobby, the «open space» is limited to a few patches of planted areas and large planters that remind me of the Sky Bar in LA. The jacuzzi could be bigger, but the club house for hosted private parties is cool.
The rooms are small but they are great for single upwardly mobile young professionals, DIWNK’s (dual income with no kids), or cougars on the prowl!
I’m sure this place will become the host of many parties to come!

The opening party for the Soma Grand offered a glimpse into the hip, urban lifestyle offered through this multi-​faceted project. The sleek design greets you in the lobby, and the homes offer views of the city unlike any I’ve seen yet. Granted, the building is in a fringe local for now (Mission and 7^th), but will bring the neighborhood up a notch. With five restaurants on site touting illustrious chefs such as Charles Phan, and my favorite Mission dwelling, Limon, this is much more than your usual condo experience. The fifth floor is outfitted with a huge deck that accommodated the main event and will be perfect for parties (by the fire pit or in the hot tub), or in the general gourmet kitchen with a huge flat screen television. This is definitely modern-​urban-​chic living, SF Style.