Third Rail Lofts

It is with sadness that we give this community a thumbs down mainly based on our move-​out experience. We have lived in the penthouse of the Gulf States building for nearly 2 years and absolutely loved the unit and had an awesome time entertaining friends on our large patio. Without going into granular detail of specific experiences, I would like highlight the following pros and cons of the Third Rail Loft community. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Pros:
— Aesthetics of the community were amazing! We often received compliments about the décor from our visitors
— Location! Location! Location! You are close to many downtown restaurants, bars, corporate offices, etc.
— Theatre room was awesome!
— Timely response to maintenance requests; courteous and helpful maintenance staff
— At the middle of all DART routes/​trains; perfect location if you are big on using public transportation
— Super social events; great snacks/​food and themes; great opportunity to meet your neighbors
— Concierge was always very helpful and courteous! They were an added bonus!
— Employer-​based discounts on rent and fees!
Cons:
— Water pressure issues in the Gulf States building occurred frequently during our entire time living in the building. The issue was still occurring as of March 2015. The water would come to a complete halt for nearly 30 – 45 seconds at random times during the day/​week
— Bowling alley was generally down for repairs
— Security was not too good, particularly the live security team (humans); generally lazy and unresponsive to requests for assistance
— The parking garage is over subscribed by external customers; the community has started to leave the gate open to the 7^th and 8^th floors I think, which is resulting in non-​residents taking up spots on the 7^th and 8^th floors
— Unprofessional and unresponsive local management team (the newest team post May 2015); we had a particularly terrible experience with Stephanie. Lack of support from management leadership to force issues to resolution. Generally, most contact with anyone in the front office post-​May 2015 has been met with lack of genuine concern for the happiness of residents. The previous management team led by Desmond was much more courteous, responsive, and hospitable
— As with other reviewers, our experience has been that the community will attempt to gouge your deposit unnecessarily. They attempted to bill us $ 400 for scratches on the glass top of the stove on a 9-​year-​old appliance. No consideration for age or general wear and tear. After threatening a lawsuit; we were advised that a deposit return would occur
— Dog park was never used as our dogs could not be dragged within 2 feet of it… smells very bad during the muggy times of year
— Time Warner is the only cable option… YUCK!
— The water and sewage bills were a racket! Third Rail Lofts use a 3^rd party to charge for water and sewage each month. We lived in an 1800 sq. foot unit with 2 adults and 1 teenager and paid nearly $ 60 – 90 per month! When we contacted the City of Dallas who provides water and sewage to the building we determined that the 3^rd party is clearly putting a heavy surcharge on the bill given to residents compared to what would be charged directly if billed by the City of Dallas. We currently live in a 3,200 sq. foot home with a sprinkler system and have 2 adults, 1 teenager, and 2 young girls and the bill, which includes also trash is less than what was paid at Third Rail Lofts

Ok. I will update this review once my deposit and final reconciliation is complete.
I lived in the Gulf States building for the past year and loved it. Great resident events — actually one of the best parts of living there thanks to Ashley. Nice fitness center and other common areas. Bowling alley is an awesome addition. While it is true that there seems to be a fee for everything, I know that is the case with many other luxury apartments in a downtown location. When all added up — total rent was very fair for the size, amenities, location. I was on a higher floor and never really had a noise issue. I did like the management and staff very much. I would absolutely still be a resident had I not purchased a home.

As a resident of Third Rail for two years, I feel like I have extensive experience with the facilities and the staff to write this honest review.
We moved into The Gulf States Building (part of the Third Rail complex) in February, 2012, after moving to Dallas from NYC. We were impressed by the facilities: rooftop pool, bowling alley, etc. The staff at the time was pretty friendly and helpful, too.
Fast forward to two years later and I can honestly say that I cannot in good faith recommend Third Rail to anyone looking for a decent downtown Dallas apartment.
We had our share of maintenance issues, notably the air conditioning unit failing on a monthly basis in the warmer months. It wasn’t uncommon for our phone calls and emails to go unanswered for a day or two, meaning that we’d have to leave our dog in an 85 – 90 degree apartment during the day — absolutely unacceptable.
Security can be an issue too. I’ve spoken to other residents about having their car broken in to, and mine was involved in a hit-​and-​run a few months ago that left me with a $ 5,000 repair bill. Surprisingly, there are no cameras in the garage.
The main motivator for the review and *warning* to prospective residents is how utterly unprofessional the management team has become. I sent a slew of emails to the «property directors», both Desmond and Brandie, about various issues, that went unanswered for weeks on end. Yes, weeks. My Outlook email read receipts told me that they were read, but no replies were ever received.
Once I was able to reach them in person, Brandie was extremely cold, unapologetic, and could care less about the needs of the residents. Desmond chose to avoid us entirely.
As several others have said, don’t expect to get your deposit back. We received less than 20% of our deposit back, and I’m sure the only reason anything was given back was due to our persistence. Normal wear and tear is not something that Third Rail understands or recognizes — which could be viewed as illegal per Title 8, Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code.
Third Rail Lofts could easily be a 3 or 4 star property if the management team was scrubbed and replaced with a new staff that genuinely cares about the wellbeing of their residents. But until that happens, look elsewhere.

Horrible Management, Won’t receive Deposit Back no matter what you leave the apartment in. I had a cleaning company come in and re do the whole apartment and they still charged me. Also they will put items on your credit. Elevators Smell like Urine and dont work have the time. Staff is unresponsive, the only upside is the pool area which sometimes smells like dog urine.

I lived in the Gulf State Building and it perfectly renovated. If it was in manhattan it would be a 5k per month unit. I did feel safe with the security despite the downtown location. The dog park is foul.
Now the ugly. I did not my security deposit back despite many emails, persistence and unreturned phone calls. I never received any explanation or correspondence. Shame on TRL.

Number one best thing about TRL is the convenience. It can’t be beat. CVS and banks are just downstairs, DART rail and buses and D-​link make public transit practical and genuinely useful. Restaurants are all around the neighborhood. And I also work downtown so it’s a pedestrian commute. Hardly ever have to fight that big life sapper, traffic.
Number two best thing is the maintenance staff. They are friendly, polite, professional, competent etc. But that doesn’t fully describe them. They are truly excellent. It’s been mostly the same crew since I’ve been here so low turnover keeps us from having to worry about a revolving door of people with keys to our home. Good group of guys.
Number three best thing, it’s pretty uneventful. We get a fair amount of street noise; lots of sirens, motorcycles revving their engines obnoxiously and club goers yelling and screaming after 2am. There’s even a protest group in the park across the street that sometimes sounds like a fight breaking out. But it’s the city and half the noise is from people having fun, so we don’t stress. We’re not that far up so you can definitely avoid most of the noise by picking a unit higher up and away from Main Street. Elm and Akard are both much quieter. But aside from the noise, you can do your daily living thing and not be bothered. It’s definitely a place where you feel you have a home.
Some of the negatives? A few of the other reviews covered them pretty well. The ‘dog park’ is just an astroturf square with a drain in the middle. They clean it regularly but it stinks always and you have to get at least as far away as the gas grille to escape the constant smell. Even then a stiff breeze may remind you what’s there. Everybody picks up after their dogs but…
The bowling alley is 60’s tech and shortened and almost always in some level of disrepair. The wine room is something of a dungeon with its windowless basement charm and the theater room, though nice, remains locked up until you reserve it. Though not large, the pool beats the heck out of most of the other pools around here. And there’s a large hot tub available year round!
Parking is both a high and low. It’s super convenient but not terribly secure. There’s a secured area on 7 and 8 but the gate’s sometimes broken and for years you could walk up there without a fob. And that area is NOT heavily trafficked so if someone gets up there it’s just you and them. The more convenient lower floors are shared with the public so sometimes it’s tough to find a spot. But there’s always someone around and it’s safer and better than a lot of the parking in competing buidlings. Security patrols the garage all night. Certainly far fewer breakins than the neighboring Davis Building’s garage. Just put your stuff away.
But that brings up one gripe about TRL. Security doesn’t seem to be the highest priority. For the longest time (until just a few months ago) any time you’d exit the elevator on the first floor of Gulf States building the front door would unlock. So you could be checking your mail at 2 am nowhere near the front door and ‘click’ — door’s open! I don’t think there was ever an incident but that’s not what security is about. The door to the garage is supposed to be key access only after hours. It’s not. You can tug just a little harder than normal after hours and the magnet gives up. (Not sure how well that would work anyway with all the club goers using it, but…) These are all minor issues right up until there’s an incident.
What else? They do like their fees. And the rent climbs relentlessly at every renewal. No lenience. And they will sometimes enter your apartment without notice. Just yesterday two fire alarm guys came in and opened our bedroom door to look for a speaker in the bedroom. We were in bed. No loud knocking; just two guys we’d never seen poking their heads into our bedroom. The elevators, especially in the garage, have issues. They’ve gotten stuck more than once. Then there’s one of the biggest headaches of all, the Time Warner Cable. It’s ALL you can get here. And it’s AWFUL!!! We have to constantly request TWC to reset our box. They’ve come out probably 6 times in 3 years to fix poor internet, downed Internet or pixilated or missing channels. TERRIBLE.
And now the newly resurgent complaint: I can’t stand cigarette smoke. It makes me cough. It makes me feel funny. It stinks. It’s a health hazard. It keeps me from sleeping well and ruins the enjoyment of home. I had to move units a few years ago to get away from a neighbor whose smoke invaded my place but that was before this was a non-​smoking community. They accomodated me then but the leasing office is always getting new people. So I don’t know what they’ll do this time. In the past few months I’ve been smelling smoke in my unit again. Just told them about it. Guess I’ll update this review when that situation’s resolved.

Loud, Don’t ever expect to get your deposit back. Elevators do not work half the time. I have been stuck in the elevator for more than an hour at a time. They enter your apartment without notice. Their dog walking area makes the whole patio smell.

Great attention to detail from the staff. The buildings are both great and landmark structures downtown. Resident events are always well-​planned and attended. Elevators always work. Amenities are well-​cared-​for. Absolutely the best property on Main St!

I moved into Third Rail (Gulf States Building) in October 2011 and this has been one of the best apartment experiences I have ever had. Firstly, the leasing agents are both extremely nice and helpful, answering all kinds of little questions I had about living downtown. They suggested several places to go for a drink and great restaurants to try and did not lead me wrong. Secondly, the other tenants at Third Rail are not your typical apartment dwellers. Everyone is courteous and welcoming and I have made several new friends in the short time I have been here. Thirdly, the amenities are exactly what you need with a few extra things that most places don’t offer. The pool is a little small, but it has a great hot tub running all year round! The common spaces are well maintained and the parking garage has plenty of space with two levels of reserved parking to keep the riffraff out. The location is premier, perfectly centered in downtown and you can walk almost anywhere you want to go. A block away from the DART Station if would want to hop down to Deep Ellum or too lazy to walk to AA Center.
Lastly, the attention and care shown by the staff here is second to none and I have made several request for routine repairs that have been promptly answered and dealt with. No headaches, delays, or excuses. That is why I pay a little more to live where people actually take care of their «home.» Check this place out if you get a chance, you’ll be pleased you did.

New resident here, only been in a month or so, but i have to say, I LOVE this apartment so far. Free great parking, close to the dart, you can bike anywhere at night cause downtown isnt crowded after 8. Its perfect, i like it so much more than i thought i would!

I can’t tell you how maddening and frustrating it has been trying to get my deposit check back from this ‘company’ since I moved out. I enjoyed living there but the after move out experience has been one of the worst customer service experiences of my life. I wouldn’t recommend 1407 Main, Gulf States, 1414 Elm or any property managed by Spectrum properties to anyone. The absolute worst.