Post Katy Trail Apartments – REVIEW

LOCATION

The Post Katy Trail apartments in Uptown Dallas are a mid-rise apartment with a more boutique style. The building is located in the Mid McKinney area, which is in between the West Village Dallas section of Uptown Dallas and the Turtle Creek Section of Uptown Dallas. This means that you will have a good location for walking to some of the key parts of what make Uptown UPTOWN.

Post Katy Trail is surrounded by mainly a few small office buildings, but has no direct retail right next to it. So, it’s reasonably quiet at night, and definitely quieter than other sections of Uptown Dallas. But, on the first floor of the building is Gloria’s, a popular Tex-Mex restaurant with a bar. And, directly behind it, is a public entrance to the very popular Katy Trail. That is a substantial benefit, because there are only a few entrances to the Katy Trail.

The amount of traffic by the Post Katy Trail is going to be lighter as well, because this is a section of Uptown Dallas that isn’t traveled as frequently. That doesn’t mean it’s not popular, FYI, but only that the main “walk to” part of Uptown is about a block away. The area directly around the Post Katy Trail also feels very clean and well kept. There are no unattractive houses or odd buildings that distract from the good feel.

Getting to work: You would have quicker access to downtown than some areas that are more east, such as State Thomas or West Village. This area doesn’t have quite the traffic as other areas, so you can simply a couple of roads to Downtown, such as down Carlisle or taking Lemmon to Cedar Springs. The Uptown Trolley is also close by, so you can catch that and it will take you to Downtown Dallas for free. If you work in North Dallas, or need to get to the DFW airport frequently, you have a very quick access to the North Dallas Tollway using Lemmon to Oak Lawn. You are on the Tollway in a few minutes…and can then zoom to North Dallas, West Plano or the North Dallas Tollway.

Access to the 4 Key Features of Uptown Dallas: There are basically 4 Key Features of Uptown Dallas that give you access to a wonderful social life in Uptown Dallas. The key to a great social life in Uptown is to be in QUICK walking access to these features. We think quick walking access means to be in 7 minutes walking or under. Here is how Post Katy Trail apartments does in terms of being able to walk to the 4 Key Features of Uptown:

• Uptown Trolley – Being close to the Uptown Trolley is important, because it can take you to all of the other major features of Uptown Dallas. You can reach the nearest Uptown Trolley connection in five minutes walking, at McKinney and Hall. J
• Night Life in Mid-Section – Many people think of a “super cluster” section of night clubs along McKinney Avenue around Boll Street as the “night life” of Uptown Dallas. While this isn’t the only area of Uptown, it is the area with the most night clubs in one small section. The Post Katy Trail apartments is NOT within quick walking distance, but it is a super quick trolley ride to them.
• West Village – Post Katy Trail is in the North West section of Uptown. In the NORTH of Uptown Dallas, there is the WEST VILLAGE, with so many shops and restaurants, all in a few blocks. Post Katy Trail is DEFINITELY within walking distance to the West Village Dallas shopping center…about 5 minutes should do it!
• Katy Trail – As mentioned above, the Katy Trail is directly behind the Post Katy Trail!

Walk to Groceries? YES, definitely! The best bets for getting groceries will be:

• Minyard’s on McKinney Avenue (3 minutes’ drive)
• Kroger Signature Store (take Blackburn over the highway, about 12 minutes)
• Hop on the Trolley and get to WHOLE FOODS on McKinney Avenue in about 3 minutes or so

Overall Location: The location is quiet, but with quick walking access to many key features of Uptown Dallas. It is also a good one for keeping away from excess noise of the “bar scene” up North on McKinney Avenue.

Now, what about the social scene at the Post Katy Trail apartments?

SOCIAL SCENE

The social scene of the Post Katy Trail apartments is above average in comparison to other Uptown Dallas choices. If a main goal of living here is to meet people here, you will find good opportunities to do that. Here are the reasons:

Building Setup: Post Katy Trail is a central mid-rise style building and it offers many interaction points for you to meet other neighbors. It has a common mailbox area and a common parking garage. You will have plenty of opportunities to meet others here with the smart building setup.

Monthly Activities: Many Uptown Dallas apartments have some sort of social outreach to residents. The Post Katy Trail goes a step above. They have a monthly social event and it is usually OFF SITE, so you can get to know other parts of McKinney Avenue and Uptown Dallas. However, their social events also include other sister properties in the area, for a much bigger turnout and opportunity to meet people. In addition, they also promote a kickball and sports league, which is very popular.

Area location: The area is directly between 2 super popular attractions of Uptown – the Katy Trail and the West Village. Many people visit these attractions each day, constantly. Being in this location means an active social scene is basically at your back door.

Restaurants QUICK walking distance: No restaurants directly border Post Katy Trail other than Gloria’s. However, it is extremely quick walking access to get to either the West Village (with tons of options for night life and dinner), as well as other choices on McKinney Avenue and Lemmon as well.

Size: The Post Katy Trail has 5 stories, and has 227 apartments. It is a well spread out property. You get a lot of breathing room for each floor and a good amount of privacy well.

The Amenities: The amenities of Post Katy Trail are well above average for Uptown Dallas. The amenities are not huge but they are very well done and attractive. These attractive amenities will draw people to them, giving you opportunities to meet people.

To sum it up: The location, the amenities and the activities from the management will all give you excellent opportunities to meet people.

APARTMENT

Style: The style of the Post Katy Trail apartments is luxurious but warm. The apartments have attractive kitchens with darker cabinets and medium brown hardwoods, along with granite countertops (lighter). Having hardwoods in a kitchen just adds life and warmth, so well done! The living rooms also include the lighter hardwoods. The bedrooms have a plush carpet and the bathrooms have beautiful tile and the same granite countertops.

Variety of Floor Plans: There are 13 total floor plans, and 10 of them are one bedroom. The floor plan start with an efficiency size and move to 2 bedrooms. One thing I love about the one bedroom floor plans is the presence of larger one bedroom plans (over 900 square feet). That is quite rare in Uptown, surprisingly. Also, with the amount of one bedroom floor plans, this is a place that will be friendlier to single residents, not roommates.

Strengths: The Post Katy Trail apartments have these strengths:

• Beautiful Kitchens – The kitchen is delightful and has plenty of cabinet space as well. Some of the plans have LARGE granite islands, making it easier to entertain as well.
• Granite Countertops – Attractive and lighter colored.
• Hardwood Floors – Present throughout the kitchen AND living room. As mentioned, they are an unusual medium brown color that I find very appealing.
• Newer appliances – Includes stainless steel appliances that are newer.
• Decent size Closets – These closets are a good size and with a LOT of shelving!
• Walk in Showers – INCLUDED, thank you!

Normally I always mention AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT. For the Post Katy Trail, that would include these:

• Washer/dryer NOT INCLUDED – Ugh.
• Patios/Balconies NOT INCLUDED – A balcony is typically NOT included here.
• Programmable Thermostat – NOT included. Helpful to keep utility bills lower.
• No Gas – Really would like to have seen gas ovens here. Not that the oven was bad, it was nice. But, just not gas.

Overall, this is charming, delightful apartment aesthetically, but could use a couple of handy features to make it better.

AMENITIES

The amenities at the Post Katy Trail are slightly above average for Uptown Dallas. This is not the largest set of amenities in Uptown. But, what is present is tastefully done. However, a few very important amenities are left out and should be carefully considered.

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

• Secured, Air Conditioned Hallways – All access is controlled by electronic key fob for safety. And, hallways are air conditioned, making it much more comfortable to get to your room. It also saves energy for your apartment, because the building will essentially provide heat or airco to your apartment!
• 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.
• POOL – This is an attractive pool, with many little cozy spots. This is not a “swimming pool”, but more of a social pool, but it still works well. LEED CERTIFIED – This is one of the very few buildings in all of Uptown Dallas to be LEED certified. This means energy efficiency and green friendly. It is silver level, meaning no smoking. A LEED building will typically mean 25% lower energy bills than a non-certified building.
• Dog Walking Space – There is a lot of space nearby for walking your dog, not even including the Katy Trail, even there is no internal dog run or park.

Here are just a few AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT:

• GUEST parking NOT INCLUDED: Guests must fend for themselves on the street. There are not a lot of parking spaces out there either.
• No Laundry Facility – When an apartment doesn’t include a washer/dryer, it’s just good manners to include a laundry facility. They don’t.
• Views of Downtown – There are NO views of downtown. None at all possible, due to the location. If this was a taller building, there would be.

• GYM – The gym is a little smaller than it should be. It does have 3 ellipticals and 2 treadmills and a few token free weights, but not much else.

Overall: Amenities are ABOVE average for Uptown.

SUMMARY

The Post Katy Trail is a smaller style mid-rise in a quieter area of Uptown Dallas. The location is quiet, but is set between two major attractions of Uptown Dallas: The Katy Trail and West Village. So, walkability to a social life here is very good. The apartments are charming and warm, but more for single residents (not roommates). The amenities are ok, but lacking on some key and important areas.