Eighth and Grand Apartments

I saw an ad in craigslist and apartmentsdotcom… saying that they have one bedrooms for $ 2,210 (the ad is below). I had called days before to setup an appointment. When I arrived, they had me wait for 15 minutes till they can find someone to tend to me. Seemed like the leasing agents were too busy so they had the guy who sits at the front desk show me around.
The guy started out by telling me not to believe the internet, that things were out of date. Right away he said they they only have $ 2310 and above. It’s a new building how can things be out of date? Things were very much disorganized and that they only had a very limited selection of 1 bedrooms. I told him my price range ($ 2k -$ 2300) and he kept showing me rooms that were out of my price range as he was only interested in up-​selling me (there must be commission involved). He mentioned that he used to work at the watermarke which explained his pompous/​snobby attitude. He showed me small rooms that were literally studios with a wall divider and called them one bedrooms. The bottom of barrel rooms have concrete floors and the nicer rooms have hardwood floors. The guy showing me around, had a take it or leave it attitude. At the end he said he would follow up with me and send me a follow up email and never did.
The place looks like ikea threw up all over the place/​hipster-​heaven. I guess with whole foods downstairs and being in dtla, this place feels the need to appeal to hipsters only. They have to understand that there are normal working professionals that need housing too. The building is only ¼ open. The place was still a construction zone. Literally guys walking round in hard hats. The hall ways were depressing. Felt like I was walking through a dingy hotel. Needless to say I’ll be taking my business elsewhere.

As a longterm DTLA resident, I have lived in my share of luxury apartment rental properties. I am always looking for a building who puts their residents first. DTLA’s newest addition, 8^th and Grand, has found a way to do that before they have even opened their doors to their first occupant. When I first visited the pre-​leasing center and was pleasantly greeted by Kiley (she is the best, so quick to answer & respond to emails). My decision to visit the office immediately felt right. The office is set-​up so that a potential resident does not have to guess what the two most important areas of their unit will look like — the bathroom and the kitchen; they are fully built out to scale right there. The office takes it one step further with their onsite virtual tour that shows you all of the building’s amenities… multi-​level fitness center, ground level café and don’t forget the Whole Foods grocery delivery service. I completed my application and picked my unit on the spot and am now waiting for construction of Phase I to be completed so I can move in soon. Everyone who is joining the wave of people moving to DTLA needs to check out 8^th and Grand. Don’t get left behind!

My move-​in date is in October so I can’t really speak to the apartment yet, but I can say the leasing service and agent has been great! I’ve been working with Kiley Speakman and she’s been great since the get-​go. Friendly, very professional, easy to get a hold of and most importantly… she follows up with responses to all questions and requests within a day (or two max)! I’m really looking forward to moving in :) will probably update this review after a few months of residency.

If you are interested in living in this property, you need to ask for Estella Arevalo. She is unbelievable at taking care of all your needs. She listens, is attentive, and will give you first class service. When I met with Estella, I felt like the most important person in her day. We must have went through a couple hours worth of questions between units, prices, and property measurements. I really cannot say enough about how great of a service she provided. I told her when I left, that if I didn’t meet her as my leasing agent, I probably would have lived somewhere else. Now I just have to wait for the building to be completed… I cannot wait!!!