Radius Turtle Creek | Turtle Creek Apartments | Insider Review

LOCATION

Before we talk about the

Radius Turtle Creek

, it might help to explain the Turtle Creek area a bit more to get you a better feel of the area. Basically, Turtle Creek is a higher end area that borders the Uptown area directly. Turtle Creek was actually a fore-runner of Uptown, the best space in this area, before Uptown existed. The actual creek and the connected KATY TRAIL that runs through the area forms one part of the west side border of Uptown.

The Radius Turtle Creek apartments are technically just outside of Uptown Dallas…but it just doesn’t feel that way! It has a similar vibe and type of residents (single professionals, etc.). And, with the Katy Trail border being directly in easy walking distance, it just has a clean and VERY GREEN vibe. Many trees and parks and other natural areas gives this a surprisingly peaceful feel.

When you drive up to the entrance, you see a few houses to the left (only a few) along with the Katy Trail not very far away…meaning UPTOWN DALLAS AWAITS! On the right, down about 5 minutes, you see the start of the Oak Lawn area, with many shops, restaurants, etc. You also see plenty of trees and green spaces…if you have a dog, this is a fantastic area in particular!

Another huge positive of the Radius Turtle Creek location is that you do not have to be embroiled in some of the traffic snafus of Uptown Dallas (like the one way sections of McKinney Avenue that are annoying!). If you work north of Uptown Dallas, you can avoid Uptown Dallas all together and get quickly to the Tollway much quicker than most other Uptown Dallas locations. Same thing if you work in downtown Dallas, you’ve got quick access out.

Also, in general, the direct area here is going to be quieter at night. You have the advantage of quickly getting to Uptown, but then when you are done, you can leave Uptown and some of the noise of Uptown Dallas and have peace and quiet.

Note: The Radius Turtle Creek is NOT in quick walking distance of several of the key features of Uptown Dallas, such as the West Village, McKinney night clubs, the Trolley, etc. However, there are 2 things that help that:

• Quick driving distance: It literally is a quick…and we mean QUICK…few minutes to get to any of these features in your car
• Dart Bus: A Dart bus goes right outside the entrance. It can take you quickly to McKinney Avenue.

SOCIAL SCENE

The feel of the Radius at Turtle Creek apartments is very light and positive! We love the mid-rise feel because it gives a great mix of community feel and comfort, along with safety. And, it was obviously well maintained.

The area has so much greenery around it…I think the Marquis might have lucked out in making a great pick of where to locate this building! (Other buildings and a few sprinkling of residences just keep the feel nicely.) The Marquis obviously does a good job of maintaining many green spaces all around the property with excellent maintenance.

The building design is one of the best for making it easy to meet your neighbors. Let me share some of these great features:

• One mailbox: All residents use one mailbox area near the entrance (inside the building)
• One main entrance to parking garage: Residents all enter and exit through a gated parking garage with one exit/entrance
• One main interior: The Marquis at Cedar Springs apartments has a frankly humongous interior courtyard…one of size not found in even some of the more expensive residences. It’s great for the pool there, but also for just tanning in some of the great lounge chairs, or even throwing the football or Frisbee. This is one of my favorite interior courtyards in this area, period.

The Radius Turtle Creek also makes it easy to meet other residents by having shared parties with its sister property almost directly across the street, the Marquis at Turtle Creek.

Who lives here? It’s pretty much young professionals, like all of Uptown. Consultants, accountants, etc. For example, when I went to the leasing office, a young attractive woman in her early to mid-20s was taking care of a lease item. I asked her what she did, and she works as an accountant for one of the Big 4 (Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst and Young and PWC). She seemed to perfectly match the other residents that I noticed walking in and out.

APARTMENT

The mid-rise design typically means a secured hallway residence, with limited entry. This is definitely the case in the Radius Turtle Creek. (This is definitely a preferred design, for safety reasons, for convenience and for LOWER UTILITY BILLS!) While walking through the hallways to the door of the apartment, I quickly notice the well-lit hallways and new carpeting, as well as the air-conditioning. The leasing agent noted that this had very recently been changed and updated.

When opening the door of the apartment, I was very pleasantly surprised overall. The lightness and many windows of the apartment were a HUGE factor in making me want to explore all the features. It felt very open. Another thing I noticed right off: It SMELLED GREAT and CLEAN!

The features did NOT include some of the higher end features that many in Uptown Dallas love, such as hardwoods, etc. (They do have a few units with those, but they are not the standard design.) It was basic carpeting throughout most areas (But, even the carpet itself looked bright and new. The kitchen seemed cheery as well, although not with granite countertops, or stainless steel.

The rooms were on the larger end. It would be easy to place even larger sets of furniture in the living room. Same thing with the bathroom. There was never a cramped feel. Add the CLOSETS…they were not only walk in style, but just oh so large!

A few things were missing, namely:

• A washer/dryer was NOT included (but there were connections)
• Some of the little features seemed very basic, such as the thermostat (it looked like it was a bit old)
• The bathroom had a lack of a few niceties…it was pretty basic

AMENITIES

For such an excellent value in the price, I frankly was not expecting much in amenities. Wow, was I wrong!

The parking garage was huge and free for all residents. On top of that, the GUEST parking was also free, and included in the interior parking. The parking garage also includes rentable storage areas for convenience, and at reasonable prices.

I’ve already mentioned how huge the courtyard is, complete with a moderate size pool and tons of space to “frolic” with interior games or just relax.

The workout room was also a pleasant surprise. The online pictures for the site don’t highlight this enough…they should change that. The room was not huge, but much bigger than expected. It had plenty of free weights and treadmills as well. They had recently converted an existing space to add more space on to the gym…this helped tremendously.

One of the things I always look for is the carpeted and air conditioned and secured hallways for safety and comfort. This residence had all of this, and it was well maintained as well. The manager mentioned that the hallways had been recently remodeled, including attractive carpet and pleasing wall paint. It was well lighted overall as well, and very quiet. I didn’t see any signs of trash or dropped paper anywhere outside of doors.

If I had a wish list for the Radius Turtle Creek, it would include:

• They had only one laundry room, and it was small, and on the first floor. That might get a bit challenging for those on the upper floors, even though it was right by the elevator.
• There is no guest room for rent, so friends or relatives will have to stay at a nearby hotel.
• Although there is so much greenery around to walk to, there really isn’t much in the way of restaurants or night life to walk to. That’s going to require a quick couple of minutes in the car.
• I wish they would have included a washer/dryer

SUMMARY

The Radius Turtle Creek apartments are an excellent value for those who want to enjoy the Uptown Dallas lifestyle at a more modest price. The surprising amount of space and amenities that are found typically in higher priced residences are well appreciated.  For those who want a bit of quiet at night, but want quick access to Uptown Dallas, you should put this residence high up on the list to examine further.