Hopkins Park Apartments

My husband and I have lived at Hopkins Park Apartments in a two-​bedroom unit now for eight months. It’s a quiet, well-​maintained complex. Well-​behaved pets are welcome. I have seen cats and dogs, but I hear no barking dogs from my unit, and I see no dog poop outside. Management seems to be proactive about handling complaints.
Most of the residents are middle-​aged, and many are seniors. Thanks to the rent control in Berkeley, many residents have lived here for years, or even decades. Because they consider this place home, they’ve put flowers, bulbs, or low-​growing herbs in the garden beds by their doors, and some have elaborate container gardens. I’ve done a bit of gardening by my front door too, and I appreciate that management doesn’t discourage this.
Since the units are small and since the Bay area requires open windows, our peace is largely a gift of considerate neighbors. In my area at least, they’re very good about noise. I can’t hear the neighbors on either side, but I can hear the woman above me walk around, and I can sometimes hear her when she’s talking. More soundproofing in the floors would be very welcome.
The units are quite small. The 2-​bedroom apartment is about 660 square feet (24′ x 27.5′). There are 3 small utility closets: a coat closet, a linen closet with shelves, and a broom closet. We took the door off the linen closet so we could use it as built-​in shelves and put the litter box underneath. Plus, there are 2 clothes closets, one 7′ and the other 5′ long. The kitchen has little in the way of counter space, but management provided us with a microwave cart and a metal-​topped kitchen-​island-​style storage cabinet, and we brought a 3×5′ kitchen table. Using all those pieces together, we’ve been able to prepare complex meals without much trouble.
The location is perfect, right next to the Ohlone Greenway in a pleasant neighborhood in the «flat» part of Berkeley. We’re near many of the fun locations without having to listen to the traffic. BART is a 7-​minute walk away (with access to San Francisco and both airports), and we can walk to the Fourth Street shops, to shops and restaurants on Shattuck, or to Trader Joe’s by the university in about 20 minutes. San Pablo shops are even closer. So is Monterey Market. Solano Street is about a half-​hour walk. The neighborhood in all those directions is full of charming bungalows and is a real joy to walk through, and I’ve felt safe walking nearby before dawn and after dark. The park across from the complex is a magnet for neighborhood activities and family birthday parties. It’s a great place to go to people-​watch and pet other people’s dogs. The main sound I hear during the day is children playing in the park.
The office isn’t staffed fulltime, but staff is quick to respond to email. Maintenance has me spoiled: they’ve responded to my forms the next day, and the problem is usually fixed within half an hour. They’ve replaced a drippy faucet and a wobbly toilet seat for me, but honestly, the place is well kept, so there haven’t been a lot of reasons to call them.
The staff don’t wait for things to become emergencies, either, before they deal with them. My toilet started bubbling one evening, and when I reported it to management the next day, I was told that they had learned this from other residents and had sent a plumber out at midnight to check the lines before a clog could cause any overflow damage. A few nights later, my toilet bubbled again, and this time I knew to call the emergency line. About 20 minutes later, a plumber came to my door accompanied by the resident manager, and he must have taken care of the problem at the main line because it didn’t happen again.
In terms of shared services or common space, the laundry room for our half of the complex is roomy and well lit and is kept clean, with four card-​operated washers and dryers and a sink. It has a code on the door to guard against theft. The parking lots are small, but we’ve always found a space – not that we move our car that often. We only have one car, and I think they only give out a tag for one car. I’m not sure what two-​car residents do. Each resident is also issued a key to an indoor storage locker. Ours is about 3′ x 3′ x 4′, nice extra room for suitcases and holiday decorations.
The biggest problem with Hopkins Park Apartments, from a renter’s point of view, is that so few units become available. Even the ones that do become available often don’t make it to the advertising stage. I knew this place was perfect for our needs, so I didn’t wait for a unit to be advertised. I called to find out if there would be any availability in the next few months, signed a lease on a unit the same day the tenant announced she was moving out, and rented it empty for a month before we needed it. If I had it to do over again, I still would: I’d spend that extra money in a heartbeat. This is a great complex to settle into and call home.

I loved living at Hopkins Park Apartments. The management and maintenance were outstanding. I loved my upstairs unit with vaulted ceiling. Lots of windows and light. Very quiet complex and nice people. Great location in North Berkeley, easy walk to BART. Dog friendly and my rat terrier loved our apartment with lots of nice places to walk nearby.

My boyfriend and I have had a wonderful experience at Hopkins Park Apartments for the past 8 months. The whole experience has been a breeze — they have been highly professional from the beginning.
The location is beautiful, quiet, and well maintained. It has gardening, trees, cute porches, and a great laundry facility. Our apartment includes a large storage locker and a parking space. All the neighbors that I’ve met here so far have been really nice. It’s a great mix of young couples, small families and some very friendly retired folks. There are some people that have been here for years, and they seem very happy.
One of my favorite parts is that it’s directly across from a safe, clean park where kids and adults can bbq, play sports, or enjoy time with their dogs. We bring our french bulldog almost every day. Getting to the North Berkeley Bart station is a breeze — it’s a 5 minute walk on a lovely pathway through the park.
In contrast to the 1 star review below, our puppy has never been an issue of concern. If neighbors complain that a dog is loud or not disciplined properly, then it may be brought to the attention of the owners. I am very thankful that they respond well to those types of complaints.
Their maintenance workers are available 9am-​5pm weekdays for requests, and respond very quickly. They been super helpful, patient, and polite when coming into our apartment. In case of emergencies, there is a number you can call, which I’ve needed to do for electrical issues (my fault, oops!) and someone was here in a jiffy. We have lived in several places in San Francisco, and moving here is the best experience we’ve had yet. WE LOVE IT! Thank you Hopkins!

Hopkins Park Apartments is in a great location (next to Cedar Rose park/​greenway) but they are very tiny old units. You’re looking at 500 square feet, very poorly laid out. There’s a big wall between the tiny, slender kitchen and the living room that makes it feel very cramped.
The rent is too high but it’s too high everywhere in Berkeley so what can you do?
On the bright side the area is well maintained by a friendly maintenance crew and it’s just about the only dog friendly place for under $ 2k/​mo in the whole damn town.

Sloppy Management.
They are often not there during the very limited office hours and even then they are unresponsive to phone calls.
Despite being told that there is a parking spot for each tenant, they have left a massive storage container in the parking lot (this also seems to be a place where a large dog poops). As a result tenants are forced to park on the street if they get home past 8pm.
One must walk very far to the poorly located trash bins.
The manager, Nichole, is very rude.
It’s over-​priced for what you get and the level of service provided by management.

Hopkins Park Apartments hates puppies!
Despite saying they have an animal friendly policy they refused to let my 3 ½ month corgi puppy stay in the apartment. We moved into this apartment precisely because we wanted to get a dog and told them so during the lease signing process. They only told us that there was a breed and weight restriction (note: this is not enforced).
The pet policy made it seem that puppies would be accepted but when I called for clarification on the statements I was yelled at in the most unprofessional and rude manner.
Don’t move here if you wanted to be treated with respect.

I have lived in a 2-​bedroom apartment in this complex for almost one year. Our apartment is bright and filled with light. The complex allows dogs, which is shockingly rare in the East Bay. For a two-​bedroom apartment, rent is also quite decent. The other residents are friendly and quiet, the grounds are well-​maintained, and maintenance requests are promptly fulfilled. There is ample parking for residents and street-​parking for guests. Another added bonus is the inclusion of bicycle racks between the buildings. Also, the assistant manager, Jamie, is excellent.
I can only think of three things that would detract from my satisfaction with this comlex:
–there are three closets in the unit’s common rooms, which means there are more places to put things — however the closets aren’t terribly wide or deep. There also is not very much storage space in the kitchen, even with the additional microwave cart the complex provided for us when we moved in.
–the office’s hours aren’t terribly convenient if you work from 8 – 5, Monday through Friday.
–The one-​bedrooms are so expensive that I can’t afford to stay in the complex now that my roommate is moving out. Since housing in Berkeley is so ridiculously expensive, it is quite a shame that I won’t get to remain here by myself — everything else in the area that comes at an affordable price so far appears to be sub-​par at best.
These three things aside, I highly recommend this complex. It is truly wonderful.