St James Uptown Dallas Apartments – Insider Review

LOCATION

Let me tell you more about the location. First, the St James Uptown Dallas apartments (built in 2006) are located on one of the most elite blocks in Uptown. This is a very exclusive, somewhat private block that contains 3 upper tier residences and some very prime retail and office space. It is bordered on one side by the pricey Crescent building, with its collection of premier shops and restaurants and office space (and of course the “Crescent Hotel” a $400 a night priced experience). On the other side, it is bordered by the access road that leads to the North Dallas Tollway.

That point needs to be mentioned in detail…if you are travelling often to the airport, think of a super quick, no barriers entry to get you quickly there. Same thing if you are working in Plano, it is super quick access. Another key point of this location to know for Plano or North Dallas working is that when you live in Uptown, you go AGAINST traffic to get to work (traffic flows TO Uptown/Downtown in the mornings). Translate: IF you work in Plano, or North Dallas, very quick commute to this location in general. Love it!

Now, let’s see what is located right around the St James Uptown Dallas apartments. If you walk down the semi-private block, about 2 or 3 minutes max, you have a terrific Paradise bakery, super for breakfast, lunch or to go dinners. You also have Dee Lincoln’s Dining Room and Bubble Bar, a dry cleaners and a mega popular Ocean Prime bar.

There is also a lot of greenery and everything seems very CLEAN…and pricey. There are some cute streets to walk as well just in back of the St James Uptown Dallas apartments, with a smattering of shops and homes. Great for enjoying the neighborhood.

Now, let’s explore the other parts of walkability for the St James Uptown Dallas apartments, in particular for the 4 KEY FEATURES of Uptown Dallas. Here they are:

• Katy Trail – The location is about 7 minutes walking distance. You head south on Bookhout street (connected in the back) to get to the sister property of the Trianon by Windsor apartments, called Windsor at Turtle Creek. They have a direct access point that you can use to get on to the busy Katy Trail.
• Uptown Trolley – The free Uptown Trolley can be considered walking distance, at the maximum of 7 minutes. Walk south just a tad to get to Pearl and then catch the Trolley at Pearl and McKinney.
• West Village – The Trianon by Windsor is not walking distance to the West Village Dallas. You can catch the free trolley to get to it, or a quick 5 minute drive will do it.
• Night Life in Mid-Section – A nice cluster of the more well-known clubs (that Uptown is famous for) are located on a small stretch of McKinney Avenue that starts with Boll Street and ends around Holland. This is not all of the clubs in McKinney, but just has a super easy to access concentration of them. It is not walkable to get to Boll (probably about 12 minutes), but it is walkable to take the free Trolley to quickly get to them.

Need Groceries? The location doesn’t have quick walkable access to groceries. You can take a quick drive north on McKinney Avenue and get to the Whole Foods  or take McKinney farther north to get to Minyard’s in North Uptown.  You can also quickly get to the Tom Thumb in Victory Park in about 5 minutes.

Got a good picture of the area now? Let’s explore more about the apartment.

SOCIAL SCENE

The feel of the St James Uptown  is generally a good one. It feels light and clean and pleasant. That helps go a long way in creating a good environment for getting to know other people.

I mentioned about the pristine block that the St James Uptown apartments is located on. There are some good basic places to walk to and enjoy for night entertainment, as well as the Paradise mega bakery to make takeout easy (I’m going to nickname this place Bunch-A-Dise…they got a lot more going for it than a pair!).

The St James Uptown apartments does a good job about having their own internal events to help you get to know neighbors in the community. That includes once a month social events…many places do this in Uptown. But, what they don’t do is typically have multiple communities join them, expanding the field of meeting more people. Trianon does that too, with their 2 other sister properties in Uptown. In addition, the St James Uptown has some special events like bringing in breakfasts and handing them out as residents leave in quick bags, or having a pretty special Thanksgiving meal too. Nice touches, definitely.

I also noticed that it tends to get quieter at night on this block. That is not a bad thing at all. It just means you should take a quick drive to more north parts of Uptown for extended night life (or take the trolley or cab).

If you are looking to have a quieter place at night with a lightning quick access to Plano or North Dallas or Downtown, I think you might enjoy this general location. But, now, let’s look at the apartment…

APARTMENT

The Trianon by Windsor apartments actually includes several buildings and covers a lot of ground! The main building includes the key amenities, the main entrance and the parking garage. There is another building that is across the inner semi private street. Finally, there is a small set of elite villas across the more main street as well. The villas start at the highest prices and include direct street residences.

The apartments start from the small one bedrooms all the way up to the villas. I notice that no matter what the floor plan is, they seem the share these good qualities:

• Attractive Kitchens – in both the one and two beds, they have darker countertops (granite style) with medium wood cabinets. Appliances are nice and newer as well.
• Lots of Bedroom Closet Space – even in the one bedrooms, the closet space is GINORMOUS, this space is bigger than in the closets of some houses I have been in!
• Feels warm and bright – in general, the ambience of the room makes you relax, it is a charming feeling.

There are differing levels of flooring. Slightly over 50% of the apartments have hardwoods, while the rest have a (newer) carpet. When hardwoods are present, they extend through the main living areas. The kitchen typically has a tile, and so does the bathroom.

One thing that you will notice that is different than other places in Uptown is the BATHROOM. They have the LARGEST shower I have ever seen! It is a sit down “nature style” shower that reminds me of a posh hotel combined with a rain forest. They call it a “vertical spa”. Really unusual, and sticks out in a good way. Make sure to see our pictures on this one, trust me.

As with all apartments that we examine, there are a few weak spots as well. Here in my opinion are areas that I wish were a little better at the St James Uptown for the actual apartment:

• Washer/dryer not included – The washer/dryer set is not included. The building also does not have any laundry facilities. You will need to rent a set and have it installed.
• Patio/Balcony not standard – I don’t know why they forgot this one, especially with the attractive views possible in some locations…but most units don’t have balconies or patios. Many units do have “Juliette” balconies, which allow you to open the full length door without stepping on to anything. This made me hesitate to call it a “Trianon” (See def above)! J (That being said, you need to be on the alert of a select few units that DO have something amazing. They are only on the first floor and they have a HUGE HUGE shared outdoor patio yard area! You would have to see it to believe it and I can’t do it justice with words. This is only on a very few units and they rarely come up. They give you basically a huge outdoor area that would be perfect for spring or summer parties at night. If you can get one of the few units that have these, GET IT!)

AMENITIES

Amenities are a little above the average level of Uptown Dallas. Nothing major is left out and you won’t feel slighted at all by being here.

Let’s start with the amenity strengths:

• Parking Garage INCLUDED – No charge, and it is secured with an electric key fob.
• Hallways are Climate Controlled and Secured– They get both of these right. The hallways are secured by key fob and they are also air conditioned or heated, depending on the season. This is not only important for convenience…but it will also lower your utility bills because when you open your front door, you won’t be losing energy. HUGE!
• Elevators – Includes elevators from the parking garage to make carrying groceries and shopping bags easy!
• Guest Room! – At the sister property of the Windsor, which is about a 7 minute WALK down the street, you can rent a guest room for a relative or friend. This makes having guests convenient…and it saves you from the cost of having to pay for an extra bedroom if you will just use it for occasional guests.
• Fitness Classes 3x a week – For free, onsite, nice perk!
• Dog Park – There is an exterior dog park that makes it easy to walk your dog. This is not standard in Uptown, so very nice. There is also a lot more green space around the Trianon than the typical Uptown Dallas apartment.
• Free GUEST Overnight Parking – This includes not only a few spaces outside, but also includes sheltered spaces in the garage.

Now for the weaknesses:

• Gym – The gym is actually a decent size. I just wish it had more substantial free weights. I’m probably being a little picky here.
• Average Size Pool – The pool is actually a decent size. It just isn’t as nice as some comparable other properties in Uptown Dallas. It also doesn’t have some of the extras that other properties have, such as chairs in the water, newer style “duo” chairs, heated sections, etc.
• Views of Downtown – For being this close to downtown, there aren’t actually any views of downtown. The building sides that face downtown are next to super tall buildings that block downtown views.

Overall, the amenities are decent and have the basics and more. They just are not as extensive as a few other properties in Uptown Dallas.

SUMMARY

The St James Uptown apartments is a good choice for people that want to be in a quieter section of Uptown Dallas that also has quick airport and Tollway access. It has some enjoyable restaurants to walk to, and is a reasonably quick drive to the busier night life of McKinney Avenue. The residences are attractive and have newer features overall. The amenities are a little above average for Uptown, but not stellar. The apartment social activities, along with the Uptown south location, allows you to meet people at a more casual pace and yet still get sleep at night.