2660 Cityplace Apartments – INSIDER REVIEW

LOCATION

Driving just east on Blackburn from 75, you see the modern shaped 2660 Cityplace mid-rise building on the left hand side, within quick walking distance of 75. I like that it is just set back enough from 75/Central to not have to worry about sound issues from the highway. The building is set right in the middle of a recently built shopping center as well, with retail on the left and right of the building. The retail is not in the building, providing a quieter in building experience, please note! J

The location is a great one in many ways. First, the Dart Rail is nearby. Being near the Dart allows for quick access to downtown Dallas, Uptown and many things north of this area. Second, the same station is connected to the Uptown Trolley, which will take you easily through most parts of Uptown, and at NO CHARGE! The Uptown Trolley can be reached in about 5 minutes or less. Third, 2660 Cityplace apartments is built into a shopping center that includes some of my favorite things…exercise and food! To the left of the building is a recently built LA FITNESS, with huge billboards of fit professionals beckoning you to enter. To the right of the building, directly connected, is the Kroger Signature store. This is a recently built store as well. It includes a well stocked terrific local/state-wide produce section. They even publish the photos of the farmers for each type of produce.

Also included in the same shopping center next to 2660 Cityplace apartments is a Starbucks, as well as a walk up pharmacy window, and even a Bank of America. Almost directly across the street is a Super Target (Target with a market) as well, Office Max, etc. This is a 3 minute walk to get to the Target. This setup would be perfect for someone that offices at home and for anyone that wants a very convenient lifestyle.

A rundown of the WALKING DISTANCE to key Uptown attractions from 2660 Cityplace apartments:

• Uptown Trolley – It is about 5 minutes walking distance to the trolley at the Cityplace Uptown station (combines with the Dart Rail)
• Katy Trail – This location is about 12 minutes walking to the entrance on Blackburn/Turtle Creek (near West Village)
• Night Life in Mid-Section – This location is not walkable to the cluster of night clubs in mid McKinney, but about 7 minutes away driving
• West Village – This location is 9 minutes walking to the West Village.

SOCIAL SCENE

The single building is a 5 story midrise with glass predominant throughout. It has an oval shape to it, for an intriguing flair. The building design and the entire residential center is well thought out, and lends itself to easier social interaction, as well as convenience. This includes the 2 pools and the single main entrance and interior hallways, which will give you plenty of opportunities to meet other residents.

The building is placed well in the middle of a retail center. There are people to the left going to the LA Fitness. There are people to the right, going to the Kroger, Starbucks and more.

The 2660 Cityplace building and amenities seem to be more than adequate to provide you with opportunities to meet people. The 2 pools and the design of the building so that you walk in using a single main entrance and interior hallways will help you make friends with other residents.

Currently, there are monthly social events at 2660 Cityplace apartments. However, they are typically just held on the property. Most other Uptown Dallas properties will hold an event off the property in an Uptown restaurant or pub, to get to know more of Uptown Dallas. I think they need to change their monthly event to do just that, to help with the location being a little harder to walk to main attractions of Uptown Dallas than other properties nearby.

APARTMENT

The apartment itself is new and very well designed. It is always fun to be in a recently built apartment when it is put together right. The designer of these floorplans obviously put a great deal of thought into making these both beautiful and functional living spaces.

The kitchen has all of the “bling” appliances, such as a stainless steel refrigerator, granite countertops (including an overlooking section that you could easily put several bar stools to make for an instant small party or dinner venue), and a GREAT deal of cabinet space (the most I have seen in this price range). I also love the hardwood style floors being in the kitchen as well, this helps add to the warmth. The hardwoods extend into the dining room as well, for a very open feel.

The 2 bedroom floorplan had a beautiful large granite island that was separated, perfect for more cooking or for a built in table. It also had a nice size pantry built in, along with a perfect size “dinner nook” that didn’t overpower the room or require a separate room.

Overall, I felt like the design of the entire apartment was very open and VERY light, with the larger windows helping greatly in giving an inviting feel. The included patio space is functional, not large, but enough to house a couple of chairs. The guest rooms all had windows as well for natural light.

Bathrooms also had a pleasing finish out with granite countertops and tile flooring. Closet space includes walk in closets, but they are not gracious or large, only adequate. They did include a lot of shelving to make up for some of the lack of room.

I think that 2660 Cityplace apartments does a super job overall with their interior apartment, but I wish they had included the following:

– Washer/dryer is not included

– The design did not include a separated stand up shower, but a tub/shower combination

– Just a tad more closet space

AMENITIES

The amenities of the building are helpful but not overpowering or wasted. Excellent thought was put into putting in enough amenities to complement and life make easier…but also with letting the features found in the directly connected shopping strip (Kroger, Bank of America, etc.) provide for needs that make sense.

For example, the gym. It was a good size and included many cardio/step type machines, including treadmills with tvs. There were also adequate free weights and yoga balls, along with machines weights. There are also shelves to store gear and plenty of lighting (many windows to allow you to see out to the street).

What I loved about this gym was that even though the large LA fitness is literally directly connected to 2660 Cityplace apartments, the designers of this building still included a more than adequate gym that can take care of most fitness needs (except more expert weight lifting). It would have been easy to say “let’s just have everyone join LA Fitness and not worry about having a nice gym”. Bravo, good job.

The covered parking garage is free for all residents. There is also PLENTY of visitor parking but outside and around the building (shared by the stores) and also inside on the first level of the garage, without needing a pass or key fob. They really thought through the design here very well, because visitors will have no trouble finding parking.

The directly connected shopping strip adds the following features, within 1 minute walking:

• Kroger “quick take out” meals and Texas/local grown vegetables
• A unique walk up pharmacy window on the OUTSIDE of the store. This makes it easy to pick up or place orders without having to enter the store. Nice feature!
• Bank of America (including drive through)
• The already mentioned LA Fitness!
• Across the street is the Uptown Trolley, and with a 2-3 minute walk, you can catch it and go enjoy Uptown!

SUMMARY

The 2660 Cityplace living environment is an exceptionally well thought out environment for living for a professional, whether you work in Downtown or even work from home. The building and features are above average, and the value/price benefit is very nice as well. Residents who want to visit the key features of Uptown Dallas will have to walk a little more than usual, because this residence is directly east of the West Village Dallas, on the other side of 75. However, the distance is definitely walkable, and the CityPlace West Rail stop makes for quick trolley access throughout Uptown Dallas.

If you are wanting to pay slightly less for a newer residence with the niceties (hardwoods, etc.), but still be walkable to the Uptown area, 2660 Cityplace might be a perfect choice for you.