Deep Ellum Lofts

Fantastic venue for the viewing of «Unspoken Speech». Way cool building… Way cool films.

I really really like Continental lofts. The people who live there are super nice, respectful, and tend to do a reasonable job picking up after their pets outside the building (most residents have at least one dog). There is ample street parking for you and your guests, and only a few mentally deranged hobos walking around in the immediate area. It’s walkable to deep ellum and fair park, and convenient to all the highways. The rooftop views are great, and so long as folks follow the rules up there the space is usually pretty clean. When residents do, however, throw parties up there and don’t reserve the roof (i.e., pay the deposit that they wouldn’t get refunded if they leave a mess or violate any of the myriad of rules — loud music, garbage, glass, nudity, pets), it definitely pisses me off, not only because I have to listen to their music but because for a few weeks thereafter the roof is a sea of broken glass, plastic cups, and sticky floor boards, making it not so usable for the rest of us. There is a pool a few blocks away with a bunch of outdoor grills, and a gym that all the deep ellum lofts residents have access to in Adam Hats, which are nice amenities for their relatively well priced units. Downtown, 800sqft will run you about $ 1500 if you don’t want to live in a party, drug-​addict filled building (like the Mosaic). Over here it’s more like $ 1000. Utilities are reasonable too if you pick a good plan ($ 50 – 90 a month). Office folks are nice enough, and maintenance requests do seem to get followed up within a sensible time frame.
There have been some break ins lately, of homes and cars, so this part of town isn’t for everyone. Hopefully they’ll change the door codes again soon so fewer crazies come in to rob folks.

If you want to live in Deep Ellum, I think a loft is the way to go. It captures the essence of this neighborhood.
Unfortunately, my knowledge of the Continental Lofts building is limited. I can tell you that the lobby gives you a sneak peak– super high ceilings and some industrial design elements. I didn’t actually visit anyone’s loft. So why am I writing a review? Because I did get to see the rooftop patio.
PARTY! This is the perfect place for that. This place boasts an amazing view of downtown. I would suggest that some Unilocalers move in here, and invite me up to hang out on the roof. If you build it, they will come!

This place is not worth what they are asking. I lived in a ground floor apartment. In the mornings it was always very noisy from traffic. Morning commuters & buses like to use Commerce as an alternate route into downtown. In the evening there is not much traffic but motorcycles love to fly down Commerce headed into Deep Ellum. Not ideal for a quite evening at home. The management company also rents out the lobby for art openings and events. If you live on the 1^st floor this puts the party right outside your door.
The property management company, Westdale, are very responsive to requests and are quick to fix issues. But their policies are very strict and they will nickel and dime you to death with charges. You will pay extra for parking, to have a washer and dryer, pets, garbage and water. Nice roof deck though.

We lived here for the past year and are now moving to another apartment in Fair Park.
The positives: I love Deep Ellum, I work downtown, it’s close to work, close to places to eat, go out, hang out with friends. The space is really cool, we lived on the second floor, #214, we had high ceilings, old wood floors, even a balcony. People were always impressed with the space, everyone looked up at the high ceilings when they walked in. The neighbors, mostly, were really cool and nice. There are a lot of creative people living in that building. There were also a lot of art openings, which could be annoying depending on the crowd, but I think it’s cool to live above an art gallery. Maintenance generally were very nice and came fast in emergencies and they pick up your trash outside your door three times a week. The rooftop deck is under-​utilized, it’s been a great place to gather with friends and meet neighbors.
The negatives: Management is at best incompetent. Other residents have seem to agree. We were promised parking when we moved in, instead we got put on a «waiting list.» Three months later with still no parking, a friend of mine moves in and they give her covered parking right away. I called and asked why, and they said again that I was on a waiting list. I asked how many people were in front of me and Misty couldn’t give me an answer. Finally I talked to her boss and I got parking that day. On at least two occasions they have lost our rent check and we had to write another. Our air conditioning kept breaking, I found out it is because they only buy filters good for a month at a time. You have to call and request a new one every month, which takes a few tries and unanswered messages. When we moved in we had a security guard at nights, then they fired them without notice. Thought the maintanance guys are great, a lot of times things were fixed in a makeshift way, doors replaced quickly broke again, windows fixed couldn’t be opened again. The bathroom door, it slides open. This always broke and didn’t make for a good sense of privacy.
Overall, it’s definitely one of the better places I’ve lived in, but we felt there were better options and decided to move. Just make sure you look around to other places that aren’t owned by Westdale and make your own decision.