Fox Plaza Apartments

This building was always great with respect to security and the staff. In the recent times the surrounding area has changed to a great extent and very day I see it turn more vibrant. If things continue to trend the same way, pretty sure this will be one of the sought after apartment complexes soon.

The location is super convenient since you’re right on Market and close to make lines of transport. Also, the maintenance, security and leasing people are super nice. These are the best things I can say about Fox Plaza. Otherwise, the location is in the heart of the homeless capital of San Francisco. You can hear people yelling at all hours of the night and every morning you walk outside, you can be sure to be greeted with the smell of urine (and other bodily excretions). People who live here have probably gotten used to it, but wow. For how much it costs to stay here, I want to expect something a little more pleasant. The poor suckers at NEMA pay even more though for the same stinky experience. Civic Center BART? This is where all the homeless people sleep and you can imagine the smell as a result. San Francisco Library? A beautiful building just around the corner, but it also serves as a day home for the homeless population. You can be sure to see women bathing using toilet water. Now, all of this is sad and unfortunate. I hate that I’ve become so cynical about the issues for this group of individuals. But facing it every day, and facing the anger and unpredictable aggressive behavior of this population is actually quite scary. If you’re a woman especially, I would think three times before renting here. As for the building itself — it needs a major facelift to charge what it’s charging. For its hundreds of units, only two elevators are ever in service at a given time so you wait forever. In my 6-​months here, I’ve dealt with having my front door replaced, blinds replaced, garbage disposal repaired, dishwasher replaced, and toilet fixed. For ²⁄₃ of that period there was constant construction in the building (hammering and drilling) making it impossible to stay in the unit during the day. I work from home so this was a big issue. Take your time and find something more deserving of your money — the people who speak highly of the place are probably benefitting from the fact that it’s rent stabilized and are likely paying rates well below market. On that note, watch out for being charged market prices by people who try to sublet in the building. They’re not only doing something illegal (can’t sublet here), but they’re also looking to make a profit off of your naiveté. For example, I was paying almost $ 1,000 more than the actual rent on my unit per month. Buyer beware.

Only more good things to add about the service and the staff at Fox Plaza… Truly a pet-​friendly environment that cares for your pet. Big thanks to the security staff and maintenance staff who helped me find my missing cat even in the middle of the night!

Resident of 1.5 years. Awesome place to live in SF. Very central, close to Bart, many local businesses and a ton of other amenities. Very diverse set of residents, everybody’s welcoming. Very dog friendly. Even has its own little parking area for Lyft and Über to pick residents up. The staff is very friendly and responsive, always great to stop by the office, especially now that it got renovated. The security guards are super nice and accommodating: Mokrane, Mamadu and Aneel are very pleasant to work with and keep the building safe.
Only quirk I find about the place is that it’s right on Market St, so expect a lot of ambulances and cars with loud bass passing by ²⁴⁄₇. Can be annoying at first, but you stop hearing it after a few months.

Location is very convenient with everything I need in walking distance (BART/​Muni, Union Square, Whole Foods, The Safeway, etc.).
The view is pretty sweet, regardless of the floor, and the renovations look great.
The front desk people (especially Mokrane that’s here almost everyday) are awesome!

The renovations are nice, the ‘hood is getting better, prices are pretty good, and the doormen – especially Makrane – are awesome!

I must say that the staff is being more friendly now and also there are some renovations going on in the building, it’s looking nice.

We moved here from Hawaii and lived in our studio for a year and a half. WE LOVED IT SO MUCH! Never had a negative experience!
Pros:
1. Location! Everything we needed was in walking distance! And it’s among the hustle and bustle of the city (which I love)
a. 5 min walk to Bart/​Muni and Chase bank
b. 10 – 15 min walk to Costco, Trader Joe’s, restaurants in Tenderloin
c. 20 – 25 min walk to Union Square/​Westfield and Hayes Valley
d. Post office, Starbucks, and Andersen Bakery are all on the first floor
2. The view and balcony! It’s amazing! We faced the Financial District and could see everything!
3. Clean apartment! Our carpet was new and the walls were clean and white all over!
4. Big walk-​in closet
5. Granite counter-​tops and stainless steel stove
6. Lots of pantry storage
7. They have a parking garage (extra cost to use) and Zipcars
8. On-​site maintenance. If there’s something broken, give the leasing office a call and they’ll send up a maintenance guy to help fix your toilet, etc.
9. The building has security and lots of business-​type people so it’s generally a ‘clean’ place
10. Last and certainly not least: THE STAFF!!! Awesome bunch of people! Very professional and the office was modern and clean. We did our paperwork with Bryan and he was great! Everyone was friendly and called us by name! They even greeted us with «Aloha» from time to time! They also sign for and hold everyone’s packages being delivered so you’ll never miss a delivery. All you need to do is pick it up at the leasing office.
Minor Tips for Fox Plaza:
1. The bathroom is a little tight, especially when the door is open, so I would suggest replacing the door with a sliding door instead. It would be easier to get in and out and maneuver in the bathroom.
2. It would be nice to get rid of the smell of dog pee in the hallways, especially the 14^th floor.
Thanks for all the firsts Fox Plaza! Missing you~

I’ve lived at Fox Plaza for a little over 2 years now and have had such a pleasant experience the entire time. The location is within walking distance of anything you’d need. Sure, there are some homeless people that hang out outside, but I’ve never felt unsafe at night as there is round the clock security and the main doors are always locked at night/​weekends. If you drive or commute for work, there is a parking garage with the nicest attendants in the basement of the building, and it’s just a short drive off of the 9^th street I80 exit (right before the traffic starts to really build up). The leasing office staff is ALWAYS super friendly and helpful. They’ll hold all your delivered packages and they respond to maintenance issues very quickly.
Also: RENT CONTROL.
Love this place, and I’m sad to be leaving!

I love living at Essex Fox Plaza. The apartments are much more spacious than comparable apartment buildings around. The management is in the process of renovating the hallways as well as the Gym and Laundry facilities.
They also respond to service requests in a very timely manner.
I recently had an incident where someone from the upstairs apartment threw dirty water onto my balcony and stained it. I raised this as an issue to the management and they promptly hired cleaners to come in an take care of it even though this sort of request falls outside of the standard services they offer.
Thank you Fox Plaza!!!

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!! This great central location is even better!
Going on our third year living here in The Fox, and still loving it! (Love the security of RENT CONTROL!!! Heard but not confirmed that folks who have been renting across the street at fancy NEMA and experiencing their first rent increase in the smallest studios went up $ 400!!! Good for those making oodles of money, but Fuck that!!!) Back to location improvement… we now have several drinking and dining options as well as high end grocery store directly across the street in the Twitter building called THE MARKET! Pricey but hella convenient!
If you love and crave fresh air and beautiful open air views consider this place, as the balconies are some of the nicest in The City!
As Mayor Willie Brown says, «when you love in The City, your apt is your bedroom and The City is your HOME!»
Cheers on this first day of Spring!

I’ve only been at Fox Plaza for two weeks, but it’s been pretty great so far. I can’t comment on bed bug issues or maintenance yet, as I’ve only lived here for two weeks, but I’ll write other things I’ve noticed.
The leasing office has fantastic staff and were able to move me into my unit the same day I signed the lease. There were a few teething issues with my unit, but they were readily willing to work through all of them with me.
The immediate neighborhood seems pretty good compared to the rest of San Francisco. Maybe one or two homeless people hanging around the building at night at most. The building has security to guard the ground floor and keyfobs are required to access the residential areas, which is far better than some locations where the only thing stopping intruders is your door lock. The building is clean; I haven’t seen trash on the ground in common spaces (elevators, mail room, hallways, etc).
They’ll hold your packages and can pick up them up whenever (²⁴⁄₇). I haven’t experienced any loud neighbors (maybe I’m lucky?), but the street noise can be loud and sometimes at all times in the day (there’s construction pretty much everywhere in a few blocks and it’s right next to Market, so you’ll hear sirens all night). If you’re not a light sleeper, don’t like earplugs, and plan on actually sleeping at night, I’ll recommend picking somewhere further away. The leasing staff mentioned that the complex used to allow smoking, but since they took over (Essex) they’re moving to a non-​smoking policy. The common areas smell fine, which was a concern for me moving in since I really can’t stand cigarette smoke.
Since it’s a tall building, the speed and availability of the elevators was a concern to me, but there’s three main elevators to the residential floors which are fast enough and the wait isn’t very bad during rush hour.

I am a fairly patient person and try to be understanding, but ever since Essex took over management of this property, things have gone from bad to worse. It is like the staff could care less that there is a huge leak in my ceiling or about the water damage to the wall near the leak. And if I go in to the office to try to talk to them about these issues, they just send maintenance up to tack up more plastic because who wouldn’t love half their living space covered in plastic for a month? Yes, this building is rent controlled and I have lived here for almost 8 years, so I have decent rent, but this does not excuse their nonchalant attitude toward their tenants. I even discussed a rent reduction with them due to reduction in services and they said it would happen, but guess what? It didn’t. The only thing they seem to respond to is getting the city involved. I have spoken with several former tenants who have sued them for their horrible management of this property or others. I cannot afford to move, if I wish to stay in San Francisco, so I am trying to gut this out, but if you have a choice in apartments, choose some place else.

After living here for couple months, I am happy with the management and the speed of service engineers now. Management office fixed my loud pipeline and the refrigerator within 1 week of when my below review was written. And after this, I had a couple service maintenance request and each time it took time less than 3 days to fix the issues. :)
Yes, it’s in the middle of market street and sometimes there are fishy people wondering around the building, but every time I stepped into the lobby, the concierge stuff will greet me with a smile. So I am happy to be home at last.

I’ve been living in a studio here since mid 2012. It was a little rough at first getting used to the city noise and the civic center «population», but things have gotten a little better since then.
If you don’t own a car this may be the best location in the city in terms of public transportation access and the sheer amount of things to do that are within walking distance.
The staff:
They staff is very nice, especially security. They do a good job of making us feel safe and cared for. The office personnel have always been very friendly as well and either will gladly retrieve a package for you. They have a lot of packages to contend with so if you think you may have more than one let them know.
The Apartment:
The view is great. We’re facing westward and can see The Mission, Twin Peaks, Telegraph Hill, the Civic Center and even the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance. I noticed a couple of reviews about bedbugs, but in the 2 ½ years I’ve been here I’ve never seen or been bitten by one. We have the «dark wood» floors and we really like that. Things like a dishwasher, garbage disposal and modern stove are a nice plus. The balcony is our favorite place to hang out in the evenings to watch the sun go down and have a glass of wine. I would say the view and the balcony hang-​out time is the best part of the whole deal.
The People:
99% of the tenants here are very amiable, but there are a number of A-​Holes who let their dogs piss on the planters or steps on the Polk side entrance (which basically just mixes in with the existing smell of human urine wafting in from the Civic Center). Seriously people, don’t be so damned lazy! The grassy area is just a block away.
Also, there is a terrible lack of elevator etiquette. I think common courtesy may be dead. Pro tip: on the ground floor, the elevator doors will begin closing as soon as the first person selects a floor, so unless you want the doors to shut on the next person, press the «door open» button until everyone is in, THEN select your floor. Also, don’t crowd the doors if you are waiting to get in the elevator — let people get off the elevator before you try to squeeze in.
So yeah, it’s great place to live minus the few inconsiderate tenants but hey, you really can’t escape that kind of thing living in a big apartment building.
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Update Dec 14, 2015
New management leaves a lot to be desired:
Previous management advocated for it’s tenants, taking steps on our behalf to try to reduce or delay early morning construction noise. Current management merely posts the phone number to the construction company. I find this inadequate.
New management replaced our traditional metal keys and locks with electronic fobs that don’t work very well. You have to get it just right on the sensor or no dice. Not only that but they tried to get away with providing only 1 fob per apartment instead of 1 fob for each tenant on the lease. Thankfully an informed tenant spoke out and got them to do the right thing.
There is a drop-​box for clothing in the mail room that one assumes must be a donation box for the needy, despite the lack of supporting signage. Turns out Essex has a contract with a recycling company, so they’re making money off of people’s old clothes instead of giving back to the community. Unless they are donating the money, it seems kind of shady to me.
Let’s talk packages. When you live in an apartment you get a lot of packages. Unfortunately, their system is slow and disorganized. Often they can’t find my package and I have to come back the next day. During the black friday holiday season, they posted a note saying they will return packages not picked up after 24 hours. 24 hours! This is laughable and speaks to their inability to plan for easily foreseeable situations like the holidays.
They have attempted to improve the aesthetic appearance by painting the walls and carpeting the floors in the hallways, and adding some fancy looking chandeliers. I personally would rather have things like the laundry room and gym updated rather than see cosmetic changes that don’t actually improve my living situation.
Two things I can say that have not suffered due to the change in management. One is the security. It’s very good — at least I feel relatively safe coming and going. The other is the maintenance crew. They do a fine job.

I’ve been living here for about 6 months and I can’t wait to leave. The building is old and run down. Plus it is located in a bad area. The street is filthy and there are always homeless people sleeping outside. On a positive note, the staff is generally friendly and the rent is comparatively low. However, I don’t think that makes up for the poor condition and location of the building.

+3 stars for very friendly staffs & very good management and amazing view.
–2 stars for the neighbors who makes loud noise and smoke a lot.

We just moved here last week and we love it so far! The view from our apartment is amazing and the space is just enough for us and our pug, Lilly. Everyone at the leasing office is very nice and friendly especially Danielle who showed us the apartment and helped us with our lease. We had a package to pick up from the office and she left a cute little note for us on the box :) It’s the little things in life that goes a long way. Kudos Danielle (and everyone at the office) who made us feel right at home.
Daniel, Tio, and Lilly

I’ve lived at Fox Plaza since 2006 and never once have I experienced a bed bug or a roach problem. I’ve never even heard anyone in the building make a reference to one. I highly question if Russ O and Kate have ever even lived in the building. The photo by Russ O is a clear fake. It’s not in the same format as the signs the management company posts. I followed up with the management company as well as the SF Rent Board and they’ve never had a complaint. What issues Russ and Kate have are manufactured or limited to their imaginations.
Fox Plaza is an ugly building from the outside, but the apartments are updated, clean, and functional. Every unit has a great view, balcony, and most are updated with wood flooring, granite kitchen/​bath surfaces, stainless appliances, closet space, and some like mine have in-​unit laundry. There’s also a laundry room on the 14^th floor with a gym. The building has underground secured parking, secured and separate residential lobby, 24 hour security, and an additional evening door person.
The building leases studios, one, and two bedrooms with a variety of floor plans and large (for SF) square footage. There’s over 400 apartments so experiences vary, but I’ve had the same neighbors for years and my floor is quiet. Market Street is noisy, but if your patio doors are closed, it’s not a major issue. The majority of the residents are in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and professionals.
The neighborhood is changing fast with lots of new residential units coming on the market between 9^th and Van Ness. Muni underground and BART are a block away. F-​line and bus lines 6, 9, 71, 21 all stop in front of the building. New bars and restaurants are opening in the immediate vicinity and last I read there is a new grocery store opening in the Twitter building across the street.
High-​rise living in a transitional neighborhood isn’t for everyone, but the central location, rent control, outside space, views, dog/​cat friendly policy, and parking make it a great option.

BED BUGS! BED BUGS! BED BUGS! This place is infested with bed bugs. RUN!!!
We had BED BUGS for 4 months and didn’t know the cause. All brand new furniture had to be thrown out! Mgmt does spray common areas weekly and did spray our apt but they kept coming back. Mgmt is responsive but they NEVER will tell the whole building that there is a HUGE Bed Bug infestation nor spray whole building. They need to be PROACTIVE as bugs travel through walls, outlet covers, under doors. They try hard to keep the place clean such as elevators, walkways, common areas and do respond to broken things in apt promptly. They try to keep clean with Section 8, Homeless people puking, pooping, and harassing you outside as well as the attacks after night in the Tenderloin this is not a good place to live. It is close to everything though and they take BIG DOGS which is nice.
Most of SF has BED BUG problem. Beware!!!