All 19 tenant reviews.

“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!!!!”

“The lofts are nice but a major factor that come to mind is the ------- ----- she is ignorant and steals from the company she mistreats employees by yelling and points fingers at the wrong person only to save her own --- by ---------------- himselfthe property is nice you just don't want to be on the managers bad side becuase she is on a major power trip her modow is " I'-------------- and I don't know any better"”

“The place is great for the money. Downtown but just outside the central business district. The neighborhood only appears dodgy, but that s part of the charm call it authentic. The south facing units may cost more because they get a view of the city, but they also get all the sun. My north facing is 800sf, and it is $875 and stays a little cooler because it s in the shade. Parking is very easy and secure in the garage even though there s a big chance you can find easy parking in the street right next to the building! Management is conscientious. Last concert caf is one block away; other restaurants are near by. Complex is dog friendly. Other tenants are friendly also. The laundry room is great, but the elevator is slow, slow, slow!”

“I went to the Art Crawel, and came across the Dakota. I am glad I did. Large Lofts, and nice Neighbors.”

“Electric Bills that eats in your Entertaining Budget, but being able to be 5 minutes from work, and have my Dog was well worth it. If I had to do it all over again I would move here again.”

“I lived at the Dakota Lofts, and I can say I enjoyed it. People is what can bring a Complex up or Down. My Neighbors were friendly, and considerate. Every Neighbor on the 3rd floor, or for that matter the entire Bldg. respected each other. The Dakota is one of the few Lofts that allowes Dogs, so it was a blessing to find them. I would recommend the Dakota, but would give a heads up on the Electric Bill it is on the high side, but the convience of living in downtown was worth it.”

“I enjoyed living there.”

“My Wife, and I Moved into the Dakota Lofts while she was going to UH, and she could walk to the University after work. I would pick her up at night. The Lofts worked out for us during that time in our lives being close to UH, and our Jobs. The 1st day we moved in I had never seen the place before, and I got a little CULTURE SHOCK......."From living in the Suburbs of Clear Lake to NOW living in the Wharehouse District of Houston is a little unsettling". Once I calmed down, and adjusted I was very happy with the situtation. The lofts are nice, and can be fixed up to your lifestyle. Neighbors are VERY friendly.........NOW!! you have to get use to the Idea of living in Downtown......This is not your Daddies back yard :]]. You will have a homeless person come up to you from time to time, and your friends may think you sprung a gasket, but once they come inside, and see what it's all about they will warm up. My biggest complaint there was the electric bill, it was extremely HIGH. I would have perfered to have the money in the bank. The electric bill was $400 on adverage. I will tell you stright up "If you don't make at least 100K a year by yourself or as a couple".... this is NOT the place for you. It will be very hard to have enough money for Rent, Electric, and to enjoy the benifits of living in Downtoen Houston. Every weekend there is a photoshoot going on outside, and the annual Art Crawl Festival is right outside your window. The Train near the Lofts were annoying but I got use to it. When we moved out we broke our lease because we were having a baby, and wanted to get a house. Personally I thought we were charged more than usual. We had custom painted the interior, and had made investments in the loft....Lighting, in Dining area, and hallway etc., and still paid top dollar to get out of the lease. In general my experience with the Dakota lofts, and living in Houston was a positive one, and would recommed the Dakota provided you plan to stay there during your entire lease.”

“The Dakota Lofts are nice apartment spaces for the $. It is an older building, but it is kept clean and the maintenance manager is very helpful. The management might not react that quickly, but in the end things do get done. The neighborhood is moving up and everyone in the building is quite friendly. It is a dog friendly building. All in all, my continued experience at Dakota is good. The building is very safe.”

“The Dakota Lofts are NOT safe nor secure. The Building Manager, Patsy, is a absolutely horrible manager. A religious fanatic who corners people in her office to preach the bible and other right wing propoganda.<br><br>She has on occassion verbally attacked several of the tenants. She constantly bothers people about attending her church.<br><br>The owners would do well to fire her and bring in new management. <br><br>”