Tenant Reviews for 711 William St

If you are looking for a professional Mega-plex apartment with all the amenities that is professionally managed - this is not it. If you are looking for space, charm, interesting people and a great location then this could be the place for you. I lived here from 2009 to 2014 and I LOVED it. I made lifetime friends and lasting great memories. This is the original truly loft apartment with tall beamed ceilings, large floor space with real hardwood floors and single paned original windows. Located in the warehouse/arts district you are close to entertainment, restaurants, art galleries and the original location of the Art Crawl. With large open floor plans (some with great views of downtown, some with patios) and large bathrooms you can easily make this your live work loft or an artist studio. Conveniently located to I-10, I-45, I-59 downtown and the train you could easily live here without a car and just Uber and order from Amazon Fresh. Yes, the garage floods big time when it rains heavily and if you aren't home to move your car you will lose it to the water. Yes, management is not always responsive or professional (the washer and dryers and gym equipment is not always in running order and...) but I guarantee you'll meet and friend some very interesting people and love living here. It all depends on what is the most important to you.

Absolute worst place I've ever lived. Lost two cars to flooding in the garage and roof and walls leak every time it rains, in most of the units. Manager has said they've fixed the roof but more than a light rain shower and you're putting towels on the floors and trying to rescue your furniture and belongings. Neighborhood is also known for crime and vagrants are on the street out front daily. Nightly.

As a resident of the Dakota Lofts (711 William St.) for over five years, I can honestly report that this has been to date by far the finest--an most informed-- residential decision I've ever made. The industrial modern decor of an historic building is unique in Houston, and the melding of concrete walls, exposed beams and pipes with state of the art track lighting, along with contemporary kitchen and bathroom hardware, immediately captured my attention. As a collector of rare ethnographic art and antiquities, I can honestly attest that no architectural environment has done more to showcase these carefully sought items; again, a unique attribute which immediately appealed to my imagination when I initially glimpsed the space, readily recognizing the possibilities. Finally, I should note that the neighborhood itself, a distinctively bohemian sliver of downtown Houston, serves to further enhance the overall residential experience. Not to leave out the staff who goes out of their way to make sure every resident is treated like royalty! Forgot to mention the managerial competence and efficiency. As she is the best! BRAVO to Randall Davis Company who so carefully designed the Dakota Lofts! JMB

A gem in the warehouse district of downtown Houston, proximity (walkability) to great entertainment (restaurants, bars, and live music) and easy access to getting to work around town (freeways, metro, etc.) . Little Gotham City, but chill. The grounds, the staff, maintenance, the neighborhood....brilliant.

I could not have experienced a more welcome and easy going move in. I came in on a whim to simply get some information and see if something was available. My boyfriend I were looking for something that suited both of our lifestyle needs but also checked all of our needs of a somewhat long list. So, needless to say, we were not having much luck finding something "perfect", because no such thing exists. Until I saw the building, the loft and met the staff. I could not believe what a gem we had found. Not only did the unit available suit our style perfectly but the staff was unbelievably hands on and welcoming. Our property manager is a doll and from the second I walked in was so helpful and happy to work with our particular situation. We were moved in within two weeks and already calling it home. I love the neighborhood and the strong sense of community that comes with this hidden pocket of local artists. Everything from entertainment to shopping and commute is close by, yet, the area still feels secluded and private. Everyone in the building is very friendly and welcoming. The maintenance staff is great. So friendly and happy to do anything they can to help. I never expected to have such a great, stress free and relaxed transition from always being on the road city to city to having a place I cannot wait to come home to.

I have enjoyed every minute of my time at Dakota Lofts. 3 years ago I moved to Houston and was so excited to experience loft living at its finest. Dakota has charm, character, history and style. I am a busy professional and appreciate the entire management team and maintenance staff. My requests are met with a great sense of urgency on the rare occasion that I have one. I've had many fun and interesting conversations with my neighbors and the staff. I also enjoy feeling part of a large family at Dakota Lofts. It's unique to live in such a large city in the center of all the action and experience such a close knit sense of neighborly charm and security that Dakota offers. Five stars from a resident! I've upgrade to my second loft at Dakota and confidently made this decision because I appreciate the style, character and beautiful charm of Dakota and the entire staff.

I Have read negative reviews on this side and It is unfounded truthun. The fact is, the manager of Dakota Lofts is caring,welcoming and a person who will laugh with you, cry with you, and give you a hug when needed, and will even pray with you if you need it. The manager makes this place feel like one big family. I lived at Dakota Lofts for 5 years and the main reason of moving in besides the beautiful area was the manager and management team! I felt welcomed and felt like at home! The moment I walked in, the manager gave me her undivided attention and continued through my duration of my lease. The Loft is very private and secure and is maintained constantly. The staff exceeds my expectations. I love the fact they provide fresh coffee/ espresso machine 24/7. Also, my neighbors and people around here are very friendly and respectful. Besides this, I love hanging out on the sky deck in the evenings drinking a glass of wine with friends and neighbors! I know I will miss this place and the management team when I move, I highly recommend this place to anyone that's looking to move in. P.S my electric bill is very inexpensive!!!!!

I've lived at Dakota for some years now. I enjoy my loft and location but I've gotta say the manager is the biggest downside to it all. She is off her rocker! There has not been an instance where I've passed by her office and she is not degrading or yelling at an employee or resident. If the owners have let her run the building for this long, they may be just as crazy as she is! After talking to many neighbors they also feel the same.

While Dakota Lofts had in the past been somewhat reasonably priced for what you were getting, They aren't any longer. The Mgr Patsy (who passes the blame on to Randall Davis) Has been upping every tenant's rent 100$ every time you sign a new lease. By upping the rent 100 dollars every 6mos- 1yr she has scared off many of the older nice tenants that used to live there ( including myself) She loves replacing the old loyal tenants with new, annoying, loud, dirty, sketchy ones. Before I left she allowed some crack heads to move in, who would wait in the elevator and try to ask to use your cellphone- or would be arguing in the hall- I remember seeing one of them just sitting in the garage in his car waiting.. for hours. I heard that eventually there was some sort of police intervention after a woman was being beaten in one of the crackheads' loft, a neighbor heard it and called the police.. For how many years I stayed there.. and the 30 thousand dollars I spent on rent there.. THERE SHOULD BE NO CRACKHEADS. Also, when you increase rent more than 100 dollars a month two years in a row- you should have something to show for it. Patsy claimed they were upgrading the building, but let's be real. She didn't upgrade any units that were occupied-- which meant if you lived there- increased rent & NO UPGRADES. Also, Patsy has horrible taste- and Randall Davis is cheap, and all his other properties aren't doing so well. So her definition of "upgrade" means changing out your linoleum (in the bathrooms) to the newest flooring they found on CLEARANCE.. which is ALWAYS UGLY. and putting a bbq pit ON THE ROOF.. which means you have to climb this sketchy ancient staircase with all your supplies to use it.. and there is no trash can up there.. and you aren't allowed to smoke. AKA NO ONE USES OR LIKES THE BBQ PIT WORST IDEA EVER. The communal washers and dryers SHRED clothes and comforters, Also there is occasionally bleach in the washers that will ruin your clothes. I refused to do my wash on site when i lived there. I'd also had my laundry picked through while it was in the wash, and had things come up missing. The Building is really old- that's part of it's charm- but you will notice the halls always smell musty- the windows are so old they don't have good seals on them at all- not only do drafts come in-- one time i watched a fully grown tree roach walk into my apt through the 1/2 inch gap in my window i couldn't close. The windows lose A LOT of heat in the winter, and let in ALL the HEAT in the summer. Also, no matter which side of the building you're on-- expect loads of NOISE pollution and distractions-- Dakota is located close to the train tracks/ and station.. AND the police station-- Between the trains blaring their horns at 3 am & 5 am - and the sirens wailing down the street- you will go insane.. the best part is .. that's not all the noise-- The lofts are also sandwiched between 3 music studios that are loud-- close enough to last concert cafe to hear the muffled music til 2 am on wednesdays (bongo night)- and there are also some young punk kid neighbors who throw huge house parties with live music about every other weekend. ALSO I believe there must have been a homeless shelter or something close by, because not only are there wanderers from the jail that just got let out downtown and find themselves around Dakota.. but there were Always tons of homeless folk-- some nice-- most not so nice. Expect to be harassed if you park on the street, and always walk out to meet your friends, as when they park they will probably be approached as well. AND NOW PARKING- I used to call it the GARAGE OF DOOM. Practically every car in the garage has scratches or dents on it .. which has huge concrete beams every 8 ft or so. that you have to navigate through. This same garage also floods, and i mean FLOODS- i've seen water 3 ft high down there.. usually once a year--so if it's raining, PARK ON THE STREET- which brings me to my next complaint-- Cops park on the street- you think no big deal, right? maybe it's safer with all the cops parked on the street.. Maybe the homeless people will stop harassing me and telling me they have AIDS if there are cops on the street. BUT NO, these aren't real cops, they are like paper work cops.. and they take ALL the parking. (which is funny because a garage was just built for them but they still don't use it) So when your garage is flooded, or you have family in town.. good luck finding parking before 4 pm. Andddd FINALLY- everyone loves that there is artwork downstairs--- except who would call that "Art". All the tenants hate the "art" and at one point a couple years back a piece went missing and mgmt threatened to search all the lofts for the piece. I think they made up some scheduled maintenance inspection so they could see if the art was on the property..First off- i'm pretty sure that's illegal to search the apts like that-- second- who is dumb enough to steal a painting and keep it in the building??? I would assume someone took it ELSEWHERE- hopefully to the dump.I have no idea how that ended up but I know they got cameras installed in the lobby.. another piece went missing last year and a letter was posted saying they caught the vandal on tape stealing the "art work" and they had such and such days to return it.. the hilarious thing was all the tenants wrote on the paper to get the work out of the building, everyone HATED IT. There actually used to be some lovely work on display in the lobby-- now it's just crappy cheap photography-- And every piece is horribly over priced.. For God's Sake, PLEASE GET REAL ART. now for the good things- dakota had a great location as far as driving to work was for me- my neighbors used to be lovely people- before they started moving out. lots of artists and musicians- and when rent was reasonable it was a great spot.

The Dakota Lofts unlike other apartments allow certain individuals to run businesses out of their apartments. This would be ok if they ran a small internet business or some kind of low impact self starter. However this is not the case, a few people that live here bring large crowds into the building making lots of noise, littering, holding up the only elevator in the building, using areas of the building for business that only should be allowed to people WHO PAY RENT HERE. You know what? If your business is doing this well, get an office! We don t get a cut of your profits so why should we have to deal with your large crowds of clients!!! Ok enough ranting, I feel much better. All in all cool place minus the tenants who are abusing their privileges which is pretty huge for me (moving out). PS Really bad bug problem, garage is an under ground death trap that floods and scratches up your car!!!!