Kingston Avenue Apartments
Ratings & Reviews
Resident Reviews
|Recommended: YesGreat neighborhood and complex — I love living at the Kingston Ave apartments. The interior is newly updated and the location is fantastic. The only gripe is the weird parking situation on Kingston Ave no parking past 10pm and the permit is not available to us .
|Recommended: YesLove it here — The community of people living here is perfect for my boyfriend and I. I'm a recent UC Berkeley graduate working in SF and this location is exactly what we were looking for. Close to grocery stores and other shoppes, quiet and clean, dog park nearby, great views, close to the freeway, etc. I've moved every year for the past 4 years within East Bay, and this is by far my favorite location. Would highly recommend
|Recommended: YesGreat Experience at Kingston — This apartment complex has been extremely quiet and welcoming. The outdoor amenity space could be kept up a little better. We are happy to be here and will renew
|Recommended: YesGreat location and layout. Sound insulation's not great. — I love living in this neighborhood, the apartment is cozy and gets great light. It'd be nice to have updated cabinets and a thermostat. The existing cabinets are quite wonky, don't close properly, and the built-in, oddly spaced shelving makes storing larger things difficult.
|Recommended: YesQuiet convenient place to live, a little old — Parking is relatively easy, for multiple cars you get 1 spot but parking is basically guaranteed about 1 block away - no circling. Pet friendly is huge for me - very easy to live here with cat or dog or both. Great location. It's a quiet family friendly neighborhood and I like being so close to Piedmont Ave, Grand Ave, transbay busses, casual carpool. I can hear occasional footsteps or loud music from upstairs and I can hear my neighbor across the hall talking loudly, but never on off hours, so this doesn't bother me. Laundry is on site and I never have been unable to get my laundry done. Property staff are responsive, transparent, and helpful, no sketchy weirdness or being totally MIA. Maintenance is helpful and responsive. Broken things get fixed. But some things are not easy to fix - the windows in the bedrooms are old - the frames are coming off the glass and it doesn't seem like this is going to get fixed any time soon. The windows in both of our bedrooms were leaking in the rain, applying sealant some fix was attempted for the second time TBD if this will hold up to the next rain storm. I don't use the shared outdoor patio area. There's a nice turf spot that residents use to curb their dogs so that is a good feature. But the outdoor patio area is getting kind of sad looking and isn't used.
|Recommended: YesGreat location, horrible maintenance — TL DR, if you value a safe, clean, dog-friendly place in a great neighborhood, come here. It's great If you need higher-end amenities or more support, look elsewhere.
Pros
I'm absolutely in love with the neighborhood. I'm a single woman who lives by myself, and I feel completely comfortable walking around at night by myself. My neighbors are great, and we're all very respectful of one another and the property. I can rely on them to grab a package while I'm out of town or for dog support. I love that the complex is dog friendly, and everyone has very well behaved dogs.
Cons
Maintenance is really hard to get a hold of. Even after I've submitted my request, I don't hear anything other than a task is open and someone is assigned to it text. No next steps, no So-n-so will come by your place next Friday between the hours of 2–6p. Nothing. Often times, my tasks are open for well over 30 days even if its as simple as a screen door fix or lightbulb change. The only time you make any progress is if you text the maintenance guy directly, and he'll make time for you that week. My hope for VMG is that they commute better with residents so we know when and where to expect it. A little text goes a long way.
Parking is hard. The lot at the complex is over-capacity, often with cars double-parked in one space. What's worse is that there's plenty of street parking, but its all owned by Piedmont, and they don't give parking to non-Piedmont residents. I'd love it if VMG would work with Piedmont on securing street parking for the rest of us who do not have a parking spot on-site. It's awful that I literally cannot park across the street.
Appliances are sensitive. There is usually a W D out. I really wish there was a vent in my bathroom.
|Recommended: YesLove living here. — I love living here. Everyone is really nice and maintenance gets done quickly. I have my own parking spot so parking is a breeze. The street can be noisy but I've gotten used to it. My only complaint is that my closet doors have been broken for years without replacement and my windows are starting to rot away. Other than that, you can't beat the location and it's a great place to live.
|Recommended: YesLocation and price — The only thing I'm worried about is earthquake safety. For the price I'm paying compared to other Oakland apartments and the location, the overall apartment experience is pretty good. Noise from above and below but not from sides. Upkeep and maintenance very good. Has some structural issues wiring not modern so can't use AT T fiber, elevator works poorly.
|Recommended: YesHave rent payment available before the 1st. — I'd love to be able to pay my rent before the 1st and set up auto pay
|Recommended: YesGreat place to live — We've have a fantastic experience at Kingston and are very happy with the apartment and management. Maintenance responses are very quick, and all of our questions are typically answered within a day. Neighbors are very friendly and it's great to live in a nice apartment in a safe area that isn't way overpriced, especially in the Bay area. The only downside is the walls are thin so I can hear neighbors talking at normal voice level, but that's typically only from the bathroom so other areas of the house are okay.
|Recommended: NoIt's ok — I would describe living here as mediocre. I would not recommend living on the side where the street is. I would also mention that there isn't enough natural light in the apartments. However, I would say the maintenance crew and staff are really friendly and get back to you in a timely fashion.
|Recommended: YesSo Happy We Found this Gem — Living at Kingston Ave Apartments is a pleasure, I have never had such a caring and responsive management team and lovely neighbors as well. Maintenance requests are handled in a timely manner, parking is easy and laundry is readily accessible. I can see why so many of the residents have been here for so long
|Recommended: YesClean, no frills place in a great location — The apartment and building are basic and not fancy, but clean and safe. On a busy street so it can get noisy, but the apartment itself is clean and cozy and I love this place. I also love the neighborhood and it was so easy to feel right at home here.
|Recommended: YesLove it Here — The property manager Melissa is the BEST Always in communication and responds to every request or question. Only drawback, new tenants upstairs seem to forget they live above and next to others...but noise is never at off hours.
|Recommended: YesGreat location — This apartment is in a great location close to public tranportation, grocery stores, and a couple blocks from Piedmont Ave. While this is a new acquisition for this management company. I cant comment to much on the quality of the construction or maintance just yet. But so far it seem they are keeping the grounds up.