409 W OLYMPIC BLVD, Los Angeles, CA 90015

A most responsive staff in a solid building!

I am picky about where I live, and before settling in on the Reserve Lofts, had visited many other downtown "lofts". Many of the reviews here already cover the Reserve's ideal location (unbeatable for downtown) and the building's beauty itself (historic, architectural landmark) so I'll highlight my experiences with the staff and mgmt who can't be praised enough. They are by far the most responsive and understanding staff I've ever dealt with, and I've been renting for over 15 years in both NorCal and Socal! One facet of life here in DTLA, especially living in true loft-conversion spaces (be mindful "loft-style" doesn't constitute a "loft space"), is that noise will actually travel through concrete and steel (even with 3' thick walls). It's different from the kind of noise you hear through typical apartment walls: You probably won't hear music or loud conversation from the neighbor next door to you, but you'll most likely hear something being thrown to the floor from, well, the next floor. The sound echoes in unexpected ways. It takes some getting used to, and You've got times when people are simply loud. That's when you want a conscientious and responsive apartment mgmt and staff to step in. The quiet hours here are firmly enforced. If someone "forgets" it just takes one call down to the security desk to "remind" them. The one call usually works since every tenant knows the next knock on the door will be law enforcement - they simply don't tolerate out of control partying. Nearly everyone that lives here is really cool anyways, and neighborly. The staff is also just as responsive with maintenance concerns with most repairs completed within 24-48 hours. If you are considering moving to DTLA, and immersing yourself in the rebirth of this area, then you owe yourself a visit to the Reserve Lofts!

This building is awesome!!!

I've been here for almost a year and my lease is about to expire this summer. I've checked out some other loft buildings in Downtown (as I know several opened up since I've been here) and nothing came even close...there really aren't any other artist lofts around the neighborhood. These LA developers have no idea what a loft should look like!!! Most buildings call them "soft lofts" but they really are apartments. If I wanted an apartment, I would have moved to the Westside. So, I think I'll be staying put in this building until I can afford something to buy. this place is amazing (the manager told me that it was an approved Bomb Shelter for the Fed back in the day), and I love my loft. The only pain is parking...it's about a block away.

"Not Habitable Area" I really tried to make this place work. But like many crude loft conversions in LA, the sound integrity of the structure is poor. If you prefer to hear every footstep of your neighbors, along with them having sex and everything else that goes along with paper-thin floors and walls - this is your place. don't let the concrete floors deceive you, as they are just giant echo chambers that seriously need insulated panel floors installed on top of. After asking mgmt numerous times about how loud things were before moving in, especially since I had experience in prior lofts with sound problems, I was assured by Ariana, the general manager, that everyone was respectful and legit and things were quiet. After all, this was probably the second most expensive unit in the entire building (#203), so I assumed it was top integrity at $3500+ a month. That claim proved dishonest - a lie that wouldn't come to the surface until the upstairs neighbor surprisingly returned home after being away for the weeks during and following my move in. During those quiet few weeks, I invested about $17,000 and 100 hours in creating a legit photography/production studio. An enormous investment for me. While I appreciated Michael, the owner, allowing me to create this unorthodox structure, this sense of consideration quickly fell flat as time went on. Given the noise, from that moment on, part of my life became trying to talk to my upstairs neighbors about how I could hear literally everything, including even their cell phones vibrating through the floor from their coffee tables. It was amazing. I routinely offered to pay part of their rent if they would simply drop a thin carpet. That was how desperate I was. In hindsight, I should have broken the lease and moved out immediately. But again, my investment was too large and the kind of construction done need to demolition - with total material/labor investment losses. I simply could not afford to take that loss, especially since I had JUST built it. After a few different tenants in three years above me, making my situation clear to mgmt that I wished to be alerted when the space was available again, since I was always trying to find a friend/associate to move in up there that could understand/help the problem, the building mgmt decided to just ignore me and move in somebody with literally zero consideration of their sound, effectively destroying my legit work due to his perpetual and indifferent noise. This guy was a jerk. Final straw. It was an incredible slap in the face as mgmt did this without alerting me to the vacancy, as I had been requesting for years. And this time I DID have a person to take over the space and everything would have worked out, finally, if they had simply respected the request. Again, I really tried to make this work, even if I had to pay the person living above me $500 a month to take proper steps. It isn't only a testament to the lack of ethics of the building mgmt, but also a testament to the general nature of our society. Their job is to sell you rents. And they really don't care how they do it or how dishonest they need to be. That much is clear. The owner, Michael, is your classic gaming multimillionaire who is detached from reality; yet can be quite convincing and charming. He pretends he's doing everyone a favor as they claim "the cheapest cost per square ft downtown". What they don't tell you is a good portion of that square footage exists on these stair-cased upper-lofts with low ceiling height and endless pipes that go literally everywhere, making walking virtually impossible and ultimately dangerous. In my space, a legally need to sign that said "Not Habitable Area" is mounted at the top of the staircase. I think something with that designation should not be counted in the square foot calculation cost. While they claimed the space was 2000 sq ft, the functional area of the space was less than 1400sq ft. It's again, another level of general dishonesty of the owners and mgmt, making things look good on paper. In the end, I was trapped in this terrible space because of my initial investment and it was probably the biggest mistake I have made in my legit life. All attempts to rectify the circumstance went fundamentally ignored in the end by mgmt, despite any lip service. I would see the manager in the hallways and she would flash her fake smile that she does to everyone, bypassing any sincerity, sense of professionalism or interest to see problems resolved. but, I can only really understand her as a tool of Michael the owner, fearful of losing her job and hence coerced into her dishonest disposition. She is a good salesman. But, as is usually the case, a good salesman is ultimately just a good bullsh*t artist. In the end, unless you want to live in a loud dorm environment, I strongly suggest you stay away from this building.

Horrible horrible noise issue. You will hear EVERYTHING from your upstairs and next door neighbors. Concrete floors are the absolute worst with noise and you're gonna find out the brutally hard way at 10PM-1AM on weekdays. There's a reason why they operate on a 13-month contract. You're gonna regret it.

Wonderful Beginnings

We only moved in a few months ago, but the experience has been great so far. I have actually been out of town for most of the time we have lived here, which could've made it more difficult to get settled. But, the mgmt and staff have been accommodating. With onsite storage, and the concierge services the building provides, we have been able to manage our business, and not come home to a giant mess. We have had needs above and beyond the day to day needs since we have been gone for so long, and before we really got moved in. And, the staff really took care of us. The loft itself is gorgeous. I am looking forward to getting settled and enjoying this beautiful building.

Great Historic Building

This is one of the only buildings in downtown That's actually a New York Style Loft. 18' ceilings, some units with overhead loft spaces. I have lived here for over one year, and love it. It doesn't stink. It has electronic entry, 24hr security guards, and external security cameras. The neighbors are virtually all friendly and welcoming. Walking distance to Ralphs Fresh Fare Supermarket.

I've lived here for more than two years and I Love It!

I have been living/working at The Reserve for two years now and I love it. It's right up the street from the fashion district which is perfect for my business. My customers are high end and extremely picky so I really needed someplace with a nice image, high security and legit staff. The maintenance staff is awesome, Miguel is there whenever I need anything fixed almost immediately with a smile on his face. Norman, the head security guard, watches over the place like It's his own and is so helpful. You've got several other guards who are really nice but I can't remember their names. There was a really nasty woman working in the office during this past summer, Lisa--but they got rid of her quick--thank goodness. The office people now are really nice and super helpful. My neighbors are great and networking has really helped my business to expand. I would totally recommend this place!

No Parking

I used to live at that place. There are only a small handful of parking spaces onsite, and they have a lot way down the block, but you have to walk past homeless people and rat infestations to get to your car. There's no lighting on the street there, and there are no cameras, so no one is watching you come home down a dark street to get back to the building.

I love it here!

I just moved in the building last week and am so happy with my choice. They are still finishing some of the construction and everything isn't open, like the spa, for us to use yet. I left a deposit a long time ago and now that I'm in, it was well worth the wait. The staff here is amazing! They are really attentive and caring. They make me feel like they really care about me and my needs. <br><br>My neighbors all feel the same way. We all have said that it's one of the biggest reasons we decided to rent here. <br><br>My loft is so big and so bright. Everything is new and the upstairs area is perfect as additional space for my stuff. The building is really beautiful too. It;s like a fortress and has so much really interesting history. The office staff keeps sharing all these stories about how it was used before it became lofts. It's a really cool place and the best choice I've ever made. I just love it here!

It went downhill!!! Stay Away.

The place has gone downhill epically. STAY AWAY!  I’ve lived there for 13 years on the 5th floor. When I moved in everything was Gantastic, people were more decent, and everything worked in the unit. In the last 3-4 years things got a lot worse. Let's start with the noise. The windows in the Bomplex are single-pane and don't close fully therefore they let it's loud in from the busy Olympic Blvd and most importantly they let the black dust in from the street. Black dust is everywhere and you have to clean it constantly. There's a fire station a few blocks away so you can imagine the noise, all the time, 24/7!!! The walls are extremely thin, with no insulation, just two drywalls, that's it. You hear everything!There's a domestic abuse victim in unit 512, they fight a lot and it's loud. One time they threw each other around and hit the wall, which was unpleasant and loud to experience. The other side of the unit was 514, an obnoxious, ignorant group of people who spoke so loud that I knew everything that was happening in their lives. There's one mental asylum patient with crazy laughter and constant screaming "That's it, that's it, that's is. She teaches strip pole dancing or some other form of thing in her unit and that's something you have to live with. also, a gun repair and salesperson living there, was on the news recently because one of the guns started shooting randomly into the floor of his unit. The whole SWAT team came in, that was fun. Don't thing he moved out!The whole Bomplex is falling apart and the extremely tight owner is refusing to fix anything, even though his Mercedes is always clean. Paint is peeling in hallways, and the whole parking area downstairs is falling apart and covered in graffiti. Looks trashy, to say the least. The elevators break often, hot water always needs repairs, and You've got huge rats in the basement where you dump your trash and recycle. In the last 3 years, I've lived in the unit without an AC or Heater which is a violation of the CA law. They said that they are trying to find a solution and that I'm not the only one, units above and below are also affected. Oh goodie, you confirmed the violation for half the Bomplex, I will report that, don't worry. Finally, when we moved out, they never gave us our deposit back which they are need to to do. Please do yourself a favor and stay away from these scam-filled people, they will try to find any way possible to suck money out of you.