MCKINNEY UPTOWN Dallas Apartments – Insider Review

LOCATION

The McKinney Uptown Apartments is a 10 story mid-rise in the just about the middle of Uptown Dallas. It sits on a busier section of McKinney Avenue. The location is a few blocks from the West Village and a few more blocks to the “night life” section of McKinney Avenue. The location is prime if you want to be in the “heart” of Uptown Dallas, definitely.

Walking directly around the McKinney Uptown: There is nothing quiet or subtle about this area. The location has a high level of activity and people all around. You can tell right when you walk out the door…

Look outside the leasing office/main lobby, and you see some of the most popular restaurants and night spots of Uptown. Start with Breadwinner’s, which has perhaps the best brunch and lunch in Uptown. Right next to it is Quarter Bar, with its rooftop bar. And next to that…well, you get the picture!

If you look directly connected on the NORTH side, you are right next to the only pharmacy in Uptown, Walgreens. And, even better, right next to that, is the Minyard’s grocery store.

One UNUSUAL advantage of living in the McKinney Uptown that is not found ANYWHERE else: You can actually take your shopping cart back from Minyard’s, unload your groceries, and then leave your cart at the bottom of the stairs. Minyards will come and pick up your cart for you!! SOOOOO Nice!

Access Out to Downtown or North: If you work in downtown, you are pretty close from this location. You would take HALL street to then get on COLE avenue to go south. You can’t just take McKinney back, because at this point it is one way going north. It would take you probably about 7 minutes to Downtown. And, if you want to get to North Dallas or Plano, then take Hall until it passes over to Cedar Springs. About 10 minutes gets you to the North Dallas Tollway.

Now, let’s talk more about Uptown and how the McKinney Uptown plays into setting up a great social life for you…so, does it? Well, before we answer that, it is important to know that in Uptown people will tend to walk to everything in a short amount of time. The more you have in walking distance…QUICK walking distance….the better your location. So, it is important to be able to quickly access Uptown via walking, especially to get to what we call the 4 Key Features of Uptown. How does the McKinney Uptown do in terms of being able to walk to the 4 Key Features of Uptown?

• Uptown Trolley – Being near the FREE UPTOWN TROLLEY is important. Why? The trolley takes you all through Uptown along McKinney Avenue, even late at night on the weekends for dinner or night spots. The McKinney Uptown has a free Trolley pickup just almost right outside the door!
• West Village – The West Village is the largest concentration of shops and restaurants of Uptown in one place. It is important to be close, because there are great restaurants AND night clubs there in addition to the shops. And the good news, it is just up the street on McKinney Avenue, about 7 minutes walking.
• 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, even though there are several other terrific sections. (That cluster starts around Boll Street and ends around Holland, all on McKinney Avenue.) From this location, it is just a little bit outside of quick walking distance…about 10 minutes. Still, not too bad! And, keep in mind the free Uptown Trolley will take you there as well.
• Katy Trail – Being walking distance close to the Katy Trail means 2 things: great workouts and more friends. Well, this location is very much in walking distance. It is about 7 minutes to one of the few public entrances, using the Beasley Entrance at Hall and Turtle Creek. Awesome!

Walk to Groceries? Talk about super convenient. It is almost directly connected, almost right next door. You first see the Walgreen’s right next door. Then, on the other side of that, is the Albertsons’ on McKinney Avenue and Lemmon. And, it is in WALKING DISTANCE, easily.

If you need more choices, you can DRIVE to the nearby KROGER with organic, Texas grown produce, (drive on Blackburn and cross the freeway). You can also take a quick drive NORTH on McKinney to then get to TRADER JOES or go SOUTH on McKinney to get to WHOLE FOODS.

So, for location in general, this location is not only right in the middle of the Uptown lifestyle but you have quick walking access to many of the things that make Uptown great.

Now, let’s see what the social scene is like at the McKinney Uptown apartments.

SOCIAL SCENE

The social scene of the McKinney Uptown Apartments is VERY active. Being in this location is the main key to that. Let’s explore a few details about that.

Restaurants and Clubs in QUICK walking distance: There really are not any restaurants or clubs in walking distance. We have already mentioned Breadwinner’s, Primos, Quarter Bar and more. You can add several other restaurants to that as well, all in super quick walking distance.

The West Village areas nearby: The West Village is also in quick walking distance, about 7 minutes away. You can see it clearly when you walk out of the lobby door of the McKinney Uptown. Actually, because you are this close to the West Village, as you are walking past the restaurants and clubs mentioned above on McKinney Avenue, it all starts to melt together…it is like West Village is extended to the McKinney Uptown location, because the shops and restaurants are almost pretty much continuous at this point. Translation: You have a LOT to walk to in the West Village, and the surrounding blocks!

The Katy Trail. You are walking distance to the Katy Trail. If you are not from Dallas, and haven’t lived in Uptown, let me tell you why this is SUPER important to live nearby it (and yes, it helps your social life to be near it!):

• So many people in Uptown now use the Katy Trail. And, many people use it not only after work, but during lunch and other times of the day.
• Most people know the Katy Trail is a huge social focal point of Uptown. People that run on it want to meet other friends too.
• The Katy Trail is super wide and can hold a lot of people. So, it works with biking, walking or even rollerblading. It is also semi private, so you can only access it from a few key points of Uptown.

The Amenities: The amenities are somewhat average at the McKinney Uptown apartments. But, they actually seem a lot better because of the location. We will cover the pool and the workout gym below, but both of these are very social and will help you meet people.

Building Setup: The building has a single set of elevators, a common mailbox area and one main entrance that people use to get in the building. Also, there is just one building here. So, you can not HELP but meet plenty of people here as you go about your ordinary business!

Monthly Activities: This is a social area, and so many Uptown Dallas apartments have SOME sort of monthly activity to help you meet other residents. The McKinney Uptown also has social events. They typically hold these events on the property. The number of events is average compared to other Uptown properties, and most other properties hold events OFF property. But, they also don’t have the social location that the McKinney Uptown apartments has.

Size: The McKinney Uptown is a SMALLER property, with 144 units. They also have fewer apartments per floor (basically about 16 apartments per floor). You have a chance to get to know your neighbors, definitely.

To sum it up: Meeting friends and making social connections at the McKinney Uptown is almost as easy as getting out of bed. Not because the McKinney Uptown works hard to make it happen…but mostly because of the abundance of activities and things to do in walking distance. If you want to meet people, a lot of people…this is a great, GREAT location. If you want more privacy, you may need to look elsewhere in Uptown.

APARTMENT

Style: McKinney Uptown Apartments seem casual and charming. All of the apartments feel more like a home, with light, bright colors, and typically lots of light inside. They also make sure to include the main features that most people want in an apartment, such as better appliances, etc. The hallways are climate controlled and have been recently renovated. The feel here is pretty easy going and cool.

Variety of Floor Plans: They offer a good selection. Starting with one bedrooms, and going even to a FEW (and I mean just a few) Three bedrooms. They also have two bedroom STUDY floorplans that some people will use for a 3 bedrooms, where the den closes off (and that’s the third bedroom). The three bedroom here is very nice on the wallet, fyi.

Features: Let’s take a look at what specific features are included in McKinney Uptown:

• Hardwood style floors – Every apartment has thick hardwood floors in the living and dining areas. They have carpet in the bedrooms and tile in the kitchen.
• Lots of Windows and Natural light: The McKinney Uptown floorplans really have a great amount of windows and natural light. In combination with the lighter wall colors, it is easier to “feel cheery” here…seriously.
• Newer appliances – Appliances are newer and all of the right ones are included.
• Granite Countertop – The kitchens have a darker granite countertop. The bathrooms are more plain, with cream color countertops (not granite).
• Great Views of DOWNTOWN and UPTOWN – If you are wanting some great views, go to the 5^th and 9^th floors and face either south (downtown) or north (uptown). There is no other mid-rise this tall around, so you will really get some great views!
• Nice carpet – I don’t normally care much for carpet. But, I like the quality and look of the carpet in these apartments. It seems more thicker and cheerful. I can’t believe I just said that. J

Although the McKinney Uptown is above average in their apartment, they also have some weak spots…namely:

• Average Size Closets – The closets are ok, not huge.
• Washer/dryer not included – The McKinney Uptown does not include a washer/dryer set.
• No laundry room – They also don’t include a laundry room. You will need to rent or buy a set.
• No walk in showers – The apartments here have the standard TUB style of shower/bath combo (think quick trip to Target for shower rings, curtain). It just makes life easier if it is a walk in.
• Patio/Balconies not included: Very few of the apartments have balconies. But, there are a few of them that have GINORMOUS balconies…ones that are the size of a LARGE ROOM. Overlooking with a great view…they don’t come around often.
• Kitchens a little small – Ok, I know that an apartment kitchen is just normally not going to be big. This is NOT a super small kitchen, but I think it is a bit smaller than the average Uptown apartment kitchen. =

I think the apartment itself at the McKinney Uptown is attractive and will please many tastes. It definitely is NOT over the top in any way, but very safe.

NOTE: The 9^th floor (top floor of residences because the 10^th floor is all the gym) has special units with higher ceilings and higher feature levels. Something more like a “penthouse” floor, but they don’t cost much more than the other floors. Definitely check these out if available, and apply for them asap if you like them. They don’t come around often.

NOTE #2: AVOID floors 1 through 4 on the side that is directly facing McKinney Avenue. That is because at night this directly faces some busy night spots. There is no live music most of the time…just a lot of people!

AMENITIES

The amenities at the McKinney Uptown Apartments are not spectacular, but adequate. However, because of their location, they are highly cool. Let me explain what I mean:

• The Terrace Pool – The pool is a good size and the size actually matches the number of residents in the building…enough spaces to handle the number of residents. That is important because many apartments in Uptown make their pools way too small in proportion to the number of residents. That being said, the terrace pool (4^th floor) looks out over the SIDE so that you can hear what is going on at Breadwinner’s, Quarter Bar, and Primo section. It is very cool to hang out there while also getting to hear (from a distance) some of the Uptown live action.
• The GYM with ALL GLASS windows – The actual amount of equipment in the gym is pretty darn good. They have a good amount of cardio equipment and a better than average amount of weights. Better than many gyms in Uptown. But, what makes this gym seriously cool is that it is on the 10^th (top) floor, and the gym walls are ALL GLASS. You can see what is going on throughout all of the West Village
• Controlled Access and Climate Controlled – Hallways and elevators are secured. They require an electronic device that attaches to your key chain. And, being climate controlled, you relax once you are in doors, and you save money because when you open the doors, you don’t let heat or air conditioning out.
• Parking Garage INCLUDED – Your car has its resting place…
• VISITOR PARKING…INCLUDED – 2 open levels, one at ground level, one right below.

The McKinney Uptown could do better with their amenities in these area. They are:

• Laundry room not included – Washer/dryer units are not included, only hookups.
• Parking in general – because of the location being close to the West Village and Primos, etc….outsiders tend to try to use the garage here to park temporarily. It’s a constant battle, and it means on busy event weekends (think OU v Texas), you might get annoyed trying to find parking for yourself. Ugh.
• No interior dog run – There is space outside, but nothing inside the building.

Overall: Amenities are decent, but the location makes them better.

SUMMARY

The McKinney Uptown apartments will work for you if you are interested in a very busy social scene within Uptown Dallas. They have one of the best locations in Uptown for walking to everything. Their apartments feel bright and comfortable and the amenities are adequate, not great.