MARQUIS OF STATE THOMAS Apartments – DETAILED INSIDER REVIEW

LOCATION

The Marquis of State Thomas apartments are a recently built, “village style” set of complexes in a socially strong area of Uptown Dallas. The area is actually on a more residential block, with single family houses, and converted office buildings primarily. It is a mature street with a lot of greenery and great sidewalks for enjoying the outdoors.

The STATE THOMAS area is a quieter area in general in Uptown Dallas. This area has more of a neighborhood feel than other areas in Uptown Dallas. It includes a lot of great streets for jogging as well. Make sure to do a search of “STATE THOMAS” on our website to find out more about this area and see some photos of the neighborhood.

Walking directly around the Marquis of State Thomas apartments: The location is about 1 block away from the busy McKinney Avenue Dallas, which means quick access to the night life of McKinney Avenue as well. The location is also right next to the very affluent ZaZa hotel. This hotel is a favorite of out of celebrities and has more of a boutique feel. Overall, I would consider this location as very good.

Look outside the leasing office/main lobby: You see a lot of houses and have a neighborhood feel. It is actually somewhat quiet for how close this is to the very busy McKinney Avenue Dallas. You also can see downtown Dallas, separated by the Woodall Rogers freeway. And, the already mentioned Hotel ZaZa.

Access Out to Downtown or North: The Marquis of State Thomas apartments has lightning quick access to downtown Dallas. In fact, you can pretty much walk to it, using the curved Maple Routh connection to cross over Woodall Rogers. If you work north of downtown (North Dallas or Plano), you can take a quick drive to Pearl, which will then take you to the North Dallas Tollway (all in about 4 minutes). Access is VERY quick to work!

Access to the 4 Key Features of Uptown Dallas: There are4 Key Features of Uptown Dallas that get you access to a better social life and fun. To judge having good access, we think that means being in about 7 minutes or under in walking distance. So, how does the Marquis of State Thomas apartments do in terms of being able to walk to the 4 Key Features of Uptown Dallas?

• Uptown Trolley – Being near the FREE (that’s right!) Uptown Trolley is important because you can take it to just about anywhere in Uptown Dallas. It goes up and down McKinney Avenue. The Marquis of State Thomas is within 3 minutes walking distance…just take ROUTH up to McKinney and the pickup is there.
• Night Life in Mid-Section – There is a “super cluster” section of night clubs along McKinney Avenue that people think of as “the night life” of Uptown Dallas. It starts around Boll Street and ends around Holland, all on McKinney Avenue. This isn’t all of the night life, and there are now some great other sections that compete. But, this is still a great cluster. For this location, you are super quick to walk to this super cluster…you can walk to Boll street in about 5 minutes.
• West Village – The West Village (the huge shopping center with clubs and restaurants) is in NORTH Uptown, and this location is more in the south. SO, you are not walking distance from this location. But, you can take a quick drive up West Village, because there are great restaurants AND night clubs there, too.
• Katy Trail –The Marquis of State Thomas apartments are not truly walking distance. It is about 10 minutes to the public entrance point at Snyder’s Union.

Walk to Groceries? Not yet…not really. The closest grocery store is on McKinney Avenue and Lemmon – Minyard’s. About 4 minutes driving.  BUT EVEN BETTER – it’s just a super quick walk to Whole Foods on McKinney Avenue.

You can also DRIVE to the nearby KROGER with organic, Texas grown produce, in North Uptown. You can also take Pearl to the North Dallas Tollway and then get off at Lemmon for the WHOLE FOODS.

Overall Location: The location is a very good one for WALKING to entertainment at night. It has some limitations for weekend and daytime enjoyment in walking distance, but nothing that can’t be overcome with a quick drive.

Now, what about the social scene at the Marquis of State Thomas apartments?

SOCIAL SCENE

The social scene of the Marquis of State Thomas apartments is pretty strong. Let me explain:

Restaurants and Clubs in QUICK walking distance: You are just a few minutes from McKinney Avenue, including many local restaurants and of course the super cluster of night clubs.

DOWNTOWN and AA Center: You are super quick driving distance to downtown events. That includes the sports (Mavericks) and live concerts at the AA Center about 4 minutes away. That also includes the Arts district that you can pretty much walk to.

The Amenities: The amenities of the Marquis of State Thomas apartments are strong and well equipped (large pool, huge fitness center, and large party center). And, there is a lot of space for them. That attracts residents and will give you opportunities to meet others.

Building Setup: The building design helps you meet people. There there are common mailboxes and a common driving entrance where you will rub shoulders often with others. And, the “village” feel inside connects the 9 buildings nicely together with connecting courtyards. This is definitely a well design building complex and it will help you meet people.

Monthly Activities: Many Uptown Dallas apartments have SOME sort of monthly activity to help you meet other residents. The Marquis State Thomas apartments does too. This includes off property events (think McKinney Avenue night clubs).

Size: Marquis of State Thomas apartments is a bit smaller than average property, with 211 units. This is a spread out community with a lot of space, but it is well connected with the courtyards.

To sum it up: The location is perfect for quickly getting to activities and entertainment of Uptown Dallas. The Marquis of State Thomas apartments itself also has a great building design and community events to help you meet people. This is one of the stronger social scenes in Uptown Dallas.

APARTMENT

Style: The Marquis of State Thomas apartments are more recently built, so they have a good “modern” style inside. The style in the main building and the 4 townhome buildings are higher level, including nice hardwoods, granite countertops and beautiful kitchens. Access in the MAIN building is all “controlled access”, so you can’t enter this building without a key fob.

Access to the COLBY buildings are also controlled access. The townhomes are open access, because they have no upper neighbors. The doors open to the outdoor, and include patios that open to the street.

Variety of Floor Plans: There is a rather large variety of apartment floor plans available at the Marquis. Honestly, I don’t know if there is another apartment in Uptown Dallas that has this large of a selection. The range includes small studios, one bedrooms and two bedrooms.

There are 9 buildings in total at the Marquis of State Thomas apartments. One building is the MAIN building, and it includes higher finish out levels (hardwoods, etc.) and direct access to the AMENITIES (pool, gym, etc.). Four of these small buildings are called the COLBY buildings, and they have JUST one bedrooms. The other 4 buildings are TOWNHOME buildings. Most in the main building have hardwoods.

The COLBY buildings have the least expensive prices, but have a lower degree of finish out. They are good values overall. (Only the first floor in Colby have hardwoods.) The one bedrooms in the MAIN building will give you a better social connectivity and they are very attractive, but they cost more.

Features: Let’s take a look at what specific features are included in the Marquis State Thomas apartments:

• Hardwood style floors – The majority of apartments have a beautiful hardwood floor surface. It’s darker, just gorgeous. (The majority of the COLBY units do not.)
• Beautiful appliances – The majority of apartments and the townhomes have nice stainless steel appliances. The COLBY units have black appliances.
• Patios/Balconies INCLUDED – The majority of apartments have a patio or balcony. The townhom buildings have a nice open porch. But, the COLBY units tend to NOT have balconies.
• Granite Countertops – a majority of apartments here have granite countertops.
• Washer/dryer included – The apartments include washer dryer sets. This is so appreciated…and uncommon for Uptown Dallas.
• Nice size Closets – These closets are great sized.

The Marquis State Thomas apartments have just a few weak spots:

• No walk in showers – Most of the apartment floor plans do NOT have walk in showers. This feature make things easier and I personally prefer it over the standard “tub/shower” combo.
• Easy than Preferred Access – The gates are controlled by key fobs and so are the hallways. But, it is easy for non-residents to enter through the townhome buildings. And, the townhome building doors directly face the open street. This made me a little uncomfortable.

Overall, this is a very nice apartment with great finish outs. I also like the very wide variety of floor plans available.

AMENITIES

The amenities at the Marquis of State Thomas apartments are better than average in Uptown Dallas. The owners put some thought and money into the design. The amenities are overall very strong. Please see our REAL VIEW^TM Gallery for photos!

Let’s explore the amenities included:

• Parking Garage Space INCLUDED: The parking garage gives you a free spot, all included.
• GUEST parking INCLUDED: A GREAT feature, let me explain. The management gives out a FREE parking pass to guests for parking. (Guests can also park on the street, but not many spots there…take the parking pass instead.)
• AWESOME Pool: I like the pool. It just makes you feel comfortable and it is fun. Plenty of space too. It is directly connected to the party room as well, so you can view what is going at the pool from inside the party room because of the all glass walls.
• PARTY ROOM: I don’t normally talk about party rooms…they are more of an afterthought. But, this one is fun, and it includes soft bench areas and lots of room to hang out. Definitely see our gallery on this one.
• GYM: One of the better gyms in Uptown. It is not huge, but it packs in a lot of equipment for cardio and some free weight equipment too. Heavy duty weight lifters may need to join the nearby Gold’s Gym.
• Potty Station interior dog park: They have an interior pocket park section for walking your pet. Nice feature!
• DOWNTOWN VIEWS – You are right next to downtown here, without any building obstructing you. So, downtown views are available on the END side of the Colby building, on the corner AND in the main building on the south side. So, lots of opportunity for downtown views.

There really isn’t much that isn’t included. Only a couple of items to mention that is lacking:

• Free Weights – I’ve already mentioned it, but the free weights are a bit lacking in the gym.
• No storage – I wish there was on site storage available.

Overall: Amenities are above average in comparison to other Uptown Dallas Apartment choices. In fact, well above average here, and well thought out.

SUMMARY

The Marquis of State Thomas apartments has a good social location for enjoying the Uptown lifestyle, especially for enjoying the night life of McKinney Avenue or downtown events. The wide range of apartments allow for just about any budget. Amenities help out in getting to know neighbors and to have fun.