Post Uptown Village Apartments – INSIDER REVIEW

LOCATION

The Post Uptown Village apartments in Uptown Dallas are literally on the edge of Uptown and downtown. They are in the central section that we call Routh South. This section has the highest amount of activity and night life. That means that you will have quick walking access to the night life of McKinney.

The Post Uptown Village was originally built in 1994. The term Village is fitting…because this apartment is more than a single building…it is a set of buildings that cover a few blocks. It is more in the older more traditional style of apartments, with buildings having 3 stories and traditional parking on the street for guests.

Post Uptown Village is right by Woodall Rogers with the street called the Maple Routh connections following straight into Routh in the north portion of Downtown Dallas. The building is set in a neighborhood with some older homes. The location of the Post Uptown Village is within walking distance to the “super cluster” of night clubs that runs for about 2 blocks, starting around Boll Street and McKinney.

Getting to work: If you work in Downtown Dallas, it is a quick shot to work. You can take the Maple-Routh connection to lead to Routh to downtown. You can also take the Uptown Trolley and it empties into north Downtown (and then walk a few blocks to get to work).

If you work in North Dallas or West Plano, it is a little more difficult. You have to go through the busy parts of McKinney Avenue to then get to the Tollway access point. Once on the Tollway, you can get reasonably quickly to work. This is because you are AGAINST traffic in comparison to others in Dallas, so you travel more quickly in your direction than if you went the other way.

The 4 Key Features of Uptown Dallas? It is important to be able to access the key features of Uptown Dallas…the features that make Uptown UPTOWN! Uptown residents are not big on having to walk far like in other cities. So, walking distance means to be in 7 minutes walking or under. Here is how Post Uptown Village apartments does in terms of being WALKABLE to the 4 Key Features of Uptown:

• West Village – Post Uptown Village is in the most south part of Uptown. In the NORTH of Uptown Dallas, there is the WEST VILLAGE, with so many shops and restaurants, all in a few blocks. The West Village is NOT in walking distance to Post Uptown Village.
• Katy Trail –The Katy Trail is a wonderful semi private running trail that goes through Uptown Dallas. Residents of the Post Uptown Village can most quickly to the Katy Trail using the Beasley Entrance at Hall and Turtle Creek. Post Uptown Village Apartments are NOT walking distance to the Katy Trail.
• Night Life in Mid-Section – As mentioned above, the Post Uptown Village apartments are within 7 minutes walking distance to the super cluster of night clubs on McKinney Avenue around Boll Street.
• Uptown Trolley – You can catch the Uptown Trolley in a few walkable minutes by heading to McKinney Avenue.

Walk to Groceries? No. Most of the grocery stores are in the NORTH part of Uptown Dallas. And that means, you have to drive up the busier section of McKinney Avenue (including a one way stretch) to get to them. It’s just not convenient from this location.

• Whole Foods is in walking distance, about 5 minutes away!
• Minyard’s on McKinney Avenue (6 minutes’ drive)
• Tom Thumb in Victory Park is pretty close, also about 6 minutes of driving.
• Kroger on Blackburn (take Blackburn past 75/Central) – (about 10 minutes’ drive).

Overall Location: This is a great location for walking to night life found on McKinney Avenue. This is also a good location for getting to downtown Dallas. However, this is not a good location if you want to enjoy the more regular parts of Uptown Dallas (other than night life). This location is full of older apartments and night clubs, but not easily walkable to groceries, the West Village or coffee shops and more casual restaurants. Please note: there are a lot of night clubs in this area and they stay open late. This is not a quiet area and it can get a bit noisy here.

SOCIAL SCENE

The social scene of the Post Uptown Village apartments is good for night life and is in general pretty good overall. Here are the reasons:

Super Cluster of Clubs in WALKING DISTANCE: As we mentioned before, you are walking distance in the super cluster of night clubs right on McKinney Avenue by being here.

Building Setup not as Social: Post Uptown Village does NOT have a key entrance. So, not everyone goes through the same set of doors or elevators. This creates less opportunities to meet other neighbors during the common daily routine.

Monthly Activities: Post Uptown Village gives you MORE opportunities to meet neighbors than compared to other Uptown choices. They’ve got a monthly activity with residents not only of the Post Uptown Village, but other sister properties…making a lot of people available to meet. They also have sports clubs for their residents, including kickball.

Size: The Post Uptown Village has 496 apartments spread out over several buildings. That is above average for size in Uptown Dallas, but they are also spread out quite a bit. It will be more difficult to meet people in most of the area due to the many separate buildings.

The Amenities: The amenities of Post Uptown Village are below average for Uptown. The amenities are also older. However, Post Uptown Village does have a good pool area and plenty of space to congregate around the pool.

DOWNTOWN has Options: There really are quite a few places to quickly get to, and being closer to downtown makes that even easier. There is the obvious: sports (Mavericks, Stars) and live concerts at the AA Center that is in WALKING distance. You can also visit the Arts district that is just about 4 minutes away. You also have Klyde Warren Park, Perot Museum, and the Katy Trail entrance. Translate: Plenty of “cool, trendy” places to enjoy.

To sum it up: The good monthly activities will help to meet people. And, you can meet people by going to night life nearby at McKinney Avenue. However, if you don’t drink, this may not be a great location.

APARTMENT

The apartments are extremely basic and have an almost dorm like feel. They are well below average for Uptown Dallas.

Style: These are older style apartments, more traditional and boxy. These were built well before the newer style of midrise apartments that dominate most of Uptown now. The apartments are also typically smaller, but they do seem to use their space well. The apartments are not luxurious, but very basic.

Variety of Floor Plans: There is a HIGH level of variety in the floor plans, particularly for the one bedroom sizes. This ranges from a tiny efficiency (489 sq feet!), to small one bedrooms to small 2 bedrooms with study. The smaller one bedrooms give a more reasonable price entry point for Uptown, but for the money, the price is actually quite high for the square feet you would be living in. The 2 bedroom floor plans are affordable but are on the small side, such as the 925 sq. foot starting 2 bedroom. There are not any large one or two bedrooms here.

Strengths: This is almost the most basic apartment in Uptown I have seen as far as features. Nothing much stands out as far as features. The apartment could use for some strong renovations.

• Flooring: It’s carpeted throughout most of the living areas.
• Countertops: More basic
• Appliances: White or black, not stainless
• Smaller Kitchens – the kitchens are tiny
• Patios/Balconies NOT INCLUDED – Patios/Balconies are typically NOT included here.
• Programmable Thermostat – A programmable thermostat is NOT included.
• Washer/dryer NOT INCLUDED
• Walk in Showers – They are not included. The building was built before these became more standard.

Summary: The apartment shows its age somewhat strongly.

AMENITIES

The amenities at the Post Uptown Village are below average for Uptown Dallas Apartments.

Let’s take a look at some of the Strengths:

• Pool – the pool are is a good size, and I like the deck above it that overlooks.
• Parking for 2 in a one bedroom: They will allow both cars to park in the garage at no extra cost if you have 2 occupants in your one bedroom.
• Space for dog walking – I like the amount of green space around for walking your dog. There are a lot of trees in the area here.
• Gym: It’s a decent size with some free weights. It also has a lot of windows. It’s not huge, but it’s ok.

Here are some AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT:

• GUEST parking NOT INCLUDED: Only available on the street, NOT in the garage. A lot of apartments, not a lot of guest parking.
• No Elevators: You need to take stairs to get to your floor.
• Hot Hallways: Hallways are hot in the summer and cold in the winter.
• Limited Controlled Access: There IS controlled access to the apartments. However, there are also a lot of apartments that are easily accessed from the street.
• Few Views of Downtown – Not typically, except for the 4^th floors on building 5 and 2.
• No Convenience Store or Restaurant or Concierge in building: None present.

Overall: Amenities are definitely BELOW average for Uptown Dallas Apartments.

SUMMARY

Post Uptown Village Apartments are appropriate if you want a slightly more inexpensive but extremely basic apartment in Uptown Dallas and want to be able to walk to night life. It is also if you want to quickly get to Downtown Dallas. The apartment is below average and very basic. So are the amenities, overall. And, besides walking to night clubs, there is no quick walking access to some of the key parts of Downtown, such as the Katy Trail and West Village.