Piper Lofts

If you are using Unilocal reviews to sway your decision to move into Piper Lofts, be sure to check the date that the review was written. The building changed ownership/​management companies in late 2013. Prior to that, living in Piper was a dreamy, lofty, downtown living experience. Since Dalmark has started managing, there have been changes that seem to only be for the worse. I’ve continued to live here because my loft itself is great and I live within walking distance to work. After being frustrated with the cleanliness specifically over the last week (a few days ago smeared dog feces on the sidewalk, yesterday finding fast food trash all over the elevator and also recently, dog food on the common floor area for 48 hours and counting), I hopped on to write a review (not into public shaming, but the people should know!) and to look at potential new places to move. I was surprised to see that Windows Lofts (who is now under the same management) had 3 of 3 reviews sharing my same concerns.
Among my main complaints that are directly related to Dalmark’s takeover are painting the once positively minimal looking white walls of entry colors that don’t fit the theme of an urban loft, taking away ability to access a top floor lounge, changing the parking garage to accommodate many other people aside from tenants, firing the cleaning crew that used to feverishly clean each floor each day (now the poor maintenance guys – just two of them – are responsible for cleaning and don’t get to everything), starting a trash valet service (mind you our doors are on the interior and having your trash outside the door is well, trashy) and set up two smoking areas (now you can’t leave the building without walking past one). These and more have all made the living conditions decrease along with the experience. When addressing this to not only the leasing agents in the office but with the district manager, they dodge my concerns. When specifically asking why the rent was being increased when the conditions of which I leased have significantly decreased, they said that the owner strives to provide the best living conditions and feels they are doing a great job. Meanwhile I understand a large building of units can be tough to manage, but the tenants do not seem to be the top priority here.

I just moved out after 4 years and my opinions on Piper Lofts are very polarized. Many things I loved and other characteristics made my time living there miserable.
Pros:
–Modern and stylish kitchens, fixtures, and architecture.
–Trash service twice a week
–Auto-​withdrawal on rent (just started)
–Maintenance and facilities workers on site everyday (great guys)
–Online maintenance requests
–Very safe building with elevator and all doors requiring access cards/​key fobs (I’m unaware of anything beyond some car break ins)
–Safe neighborhood
–First Fridays
–Good weather? P&L is in walking distance. Grinders concert venue. Tons of bars and restaurants.
–Great views of downtown so get a North view. The balcony might be tempting but the pretty constant wind makes them unpleasant to me.
–Pool on the roof. Wadding pool would be more accurate but great for cooling down if you want to sunbathe and grill.
–Google Fiber is finally available. It was a 2 year struggle with previous management companies but Dalmark was finally able to do it.
Cons:
–The noise. The #1 reason I moved out. You can hear your neighbors almost constantly. High heels can be heard the second a woman leaves the elevator and all the way down the hall. Sounding a lot like a horse. Usually ending with a thunderous door slam. Not awesome when you have a neighbor who parties until 3am on a weeknight. YMMV on this. You can get conscious neighbors or you could get total nightmares. After 4 years, I’ve had a lot of both.
–Parking costs. $ 100/​month per car. That adds up quickly.
–Just a block away from the streetcar construction madness. Hopefully that proximity will be a good thing soon but it causes terrible traffic congestion and detours without warning. (obviously not a loft issue but area issue for now)
–Street parking is a nightmare and can’t be relied upon. Most spots now how a 3hr limit. (they do offer guest parking on the 4^th floor of the garage though)
–Elevator issues — if an elevator is reserved for someone moving in/​out, which is fairly regularly, being down to one elevator is a huge pain.
–False alarms — construction has been going on for what seems 6 – 9 months when I left. For some reason this caused countless false alarms on the system. Deafening tone, a terrifying woman’s voice telling you there is a fire in the building, and strobe lights have scared the living sh#t out of me dozens of times.
I think this is a great loft for the person who parties on the weekend and wants the modern loft lifestyle. If you get old (like I did) and your Saturday night hot dates are you and your SO watching Netflix on the couch, I’d pass for quieter apartment.

After three years living here I’m convinced it’s the best place to live in the downtown area.
Pros:
*the building is simply well done. high quality materials used throughout (e.g. thick/​heavy doors, nicely polished concrete, nice windows)
*for a loft building it’s relatively quiet
*rooftop pool
*new ownership/​management seem to be doing a great job (e.g. filling commercial space that’s been vacant for 5+ years)
*residents are generally cool. a little older than what you’ll find at Library lofts or Market Station so it’s not quite as dorm-​like, but that’s not to say we don’t party. (e.g. lawyers, doctors, 26 – 40 year old professionals)
*VERY energy efficient. I find myself running the A/​C in the dead of winter because it gets too warm to sleep (personal problem). rarely have had a bill greater than $ 100.
*dog friendly. in fact, having a dog is practically a requirement to live here.
Cons:
Price is a bit high for KC. This isn’t a coastal city. It’s not even Denver, yet the prices are approaching Denver territory. Downtown cost of living is getting ahead of itself in this regard, but again, just my opinion. This is more of a KC-​macro topic as Piper isn’t alone in the price range. We simply don’t have thousands of millenials moving here every month and probably never will. So I’m not really sure the price is warranted but hey, I chose to live here despite the relative high cost, and for the money it will be tough to compete with Piper in terms of quality and amenities.
Things to know:
*if you’re a light sleeper, avoid the units with bedrooms near the elevator shaft. it’s quite noisy (lesson learned).
*$ 100/​mo for each garage parking space. with new parking rules in the Crossroads it’s almost a necessity.
*moving in: the freight elevator is small. have a large non-​sectional sofa? good luck.

Review based only on trying to get information on available units. Left a VM, never returned, called office again and spoke to Matthew who said he would email us some layouts. Never happened, so sent an email to the general Piper lofts email address and once again nothing. Put a post on their FB page asking again who we could reach out to — was told to email an Erika. So emailed her on June 3^rd and go figure no response as of today. Guess we won’t be renting here! We’ve learned our lesson with unresponsive management and if they are this unresponsive to those that don’t even already live in the building can’t imagine what they are like to those who actually live there! Sure the units are nice per the other reviewers and perhaps demand is so high that mgmt doesn’t have to be responsive?

So this review is based off of touring Piper and I must say I immediately fell IN LOVE with it! I had 2 tours at Piper, one of the 2 bedroom and one of 1 bedroom. This has everything that I’m looking for in a loft and more! Exposed pipes, concrete floors, brick walls, in unit washer and dryer, stainless steel appliances, modern living and the chill atmosphere of living downtown. They have a roof top deck with a breath taking view of downtown Kansas City’s skyline. What made it even better is the fitness center being on top of the roof that overlooks the skyline as well, opened 24 hrs 7 days a week. Who wouldn’t want to work out and seeing that view?! It has always been my dream to live in a place like this and I finally found it! Piper is also in a great location. Being in the heart of the Crossroads Art District and just a few blocks away from downtown you can always find something to do and eat! Everything is within walking distant and I find it to be in a safe neighborhood. Piper offers garage parking for a whopping $ 100/​month (a bit steep if you ask me) but they also have plenty of street parking around if you do not want to fork up that much. You may also do a month to month basis if you prefer to have garage parking for this month and street parking for the next, they seem to be flexible with that. I was disappointed that they did not have Google fiber yet but the view and unit itself makes up for it!
I made an appointment to check it out and I fell in love with it every time I came here. I was first shown the 2 bedroom and was stunned by how spacious it is, I wanted to lease it right away however a 2 bedroom is excessive for me. I only needed a 1 bedroom. Unfortunately at the time there was none available to show. I immediately put my name down on the waiting list, couldn’t miss up the opportunity. A few days later they call me for a 1 bedroom being available, came in to tour it and knew this was the place for me. However the time was not right, my plan was not to not move until spring/​summer time and the unit was available for me that day (11÷22÷13)!! The price may steer you away ($ 1000 – 1200 for a one bedroom) but so worth it! It would have been an impulse for me to lease it right away so unfortunately I had to give it up BUT with my name still being on the list I will wait for that call again! This is my dream place and it will come true next summer!

This place is awesome. It is pricey for the amount of space, but worth it. The office staff is the best and very helpful. If you are lucky enough to be moving when they have a vacancy, snap this place up because they go quick!
Check out the pool on the roof and all the great restaurants in the neighborhood once you move in.

When my bf was moving to KC we did so much searching for a place I thought I had seen them all. Honestly! But then we came across Piper Lofts. What should have been condos for purchase thanks to the economy and lucky for us became condos for rent! :) So with fully loaded «apartments» it was the best bang for the buck. Granite counter tops, art deco finishes and huge jacuzzi style tub in the master bath it was awesome. And who can forget the view facing North the city was amazing, a full panoramic view of downtown KCMO it was a sight to see. I’ll have to find a pic and upload it asap! This area is the Crossroads Arts District, walking distance to many great places — like Manifesto at 1924 Main St. in the basement and of course behind us were some great little places.
I recommend this place if you want city dwelling on the edge (literally).

Matt from Piper Lofts has a tremendously low-​key approach to apartment-​viewing that I find quite refreshing. We came to look at a loft after scheduling and re-​scheduling a few times, so I already felt like we were putting him off. When we showed up, however, he was quite friendly. He was busy, though, and asked if we minded taking a look at the place (s) ourselves.
Awesome.
The worst part of looking at an apartment is the weird rental person standing behind you pointing out things of no real interest.
«And these windows here, they push UP to open, which is kinda cool.»
«All of the doors have locks on them, which minimizes the risk of intruders.»
«This toilet is only 3 years old. Very low mileage.»
With Matt’s approach, though, we were free to wander aimlessly, checking out stuff at our leisure.
Ultimately, this approach – along with the space-​age appliances that make you feel like you’re living in a spaceship – sealed the deal.
(Minus one star for the place kinda being small but expensive… If you’re lying on the couch watching TV and you get a boner, you might hit the stove.)