Argenta

I never write reviews however I’m so impressed with my experience here at Argenta that I need to share. I just moved to SF and have been looking for the right place to call home. The staff here at Argents are without a doubt the most professional and thoughtful people I have ever met. They made what usually is a stressful time so easy and the things I forgot about they had already taken care of for me. I have rented corporate apartments for years and some places I never have my name on the call box. Argenta had my name and code all ready for me upon my arrival. Mariana and Arielle are the best in making the process simple, fast and I could not be happier. The unit I picked is clean the view is WOW ! and they even have a decent fitness center. If your looking for a great place and staff that will make you feel at home not like a guest then this place is the one

I moved into Argenta 2 weeks ago and so far so good. Mike and everyone in the leasing office have been great. I was a prior home owner on the east coast and despite living in SF for over a year now, I’m still completely unsettled by the rental market here. Mike patiently showed me multiple units on multiple occasions and guided me through figuring out which one would be best for me. I reluctantly selected one that wasn’t even available to view until move in day which was a bit unsettling. No need to worry though– everything I was told about it was spot on. Great floor plan, use of space and good quality construction– not a brand new never been lived in unit, but clean, freshly painted and well maintained. I looked at no less than 10 places before choosing Argenta and definitely feel I made the right choice. My prior building had all of the fancy amenities (lounge, pool, hot tub, valet parking, etc) I thought would be essential, but I’m not missing them at all looking out on my spectacular view of the Civic Center.

Really expensive, mediocre apartment complex.
1. Rude notices are left regularly, like a 3 day notice to renew your renter’s insurance and a «helpful» additional note telling you to buy the building’s overpriced insurance that’s «automatically» synced to your account, so you won’t even have to notify them when you do purchase this amazing opportunity! :P
2. Dogs piss in the elevator regularly.
3. The right elevator breaks down regularly and the management puts up signs telling renters that someone is moving in – at 9 at night, when we all know the elevator hasn’t moved for days. Really?!
4. They give one day notice for apartment inspections and then don’t show up.
5. The guy who staff the front desk during the day is rude and unhelpful, and gives the vibe that he’s always watching you and ready to make a negative report to mangement.
6. There’s a several hundred dollar charge to open your door if you’ve forgotten your keys.
7. The neighborhood is downright scary at night. You can literally hear screams of the homeless and insane living on the street right outside your door through the glass windows of your bedroom, even if your apartment is above the 10^th floor.
8. They lose packages.
9. They try to scam you out of your security deposit when you leave. Take them to court. You’ll win. The floors are made of incredibly soft wood that cost them $ 2k at most, but they’ll try to charge you for $ 10k. Reasonable wear and tear is a thing, especially if you’ve lived here awhile.
10. The location is great for walking and public transit, other than having to walk in a crime-​ridden area. The location is really bad for driving and Über/​taxi pickups, since this area is a morass of 1-​way streets.
11. They have a «rental» apartment you can hire out through the rental office for the night. Is this a hotel or an apartment building?
12. It’s almost as expensive as Nema, but Nema offers a lot more.
This could be a decent building, but I feel like I’m being ripped off (or fighting off ripoff attempts) regularly. They nickel and dime you regularly, even though this is advertised as a «luxury» apartment building. Bottom line, management sucks.

I just moved into Argenta, and management has been nothing but helpful since day one. I came to Argenta because the rent in my previous building was increasing (and totally not worth the price considering the neighborhood and upkeep of the building) and I didn’t think it was worth the price. So I figured if I’m going to pay, I may as well pay and live in a deluxe apartment in the sky! I know my rent will probably increase, but so far, I really love living here and finally feel like I’ve found a home. Not only is my unit pretty nice and spacious, but it comes complete with nice appliances and great views. I looked at a couple other similar buildings in the area, but they either didn’t have a washer/​dryer or they lacked square footage (and cost a bit more as well).
Did I mention they have monthly gatherings? I happened upon one on the day I was moving in. Beer/​wine, appetizers and chair massages. Definitely a great welcome to the building!
Likes:
–Small, quiet community
–attentive staff
–nice smelling lobby and common areas
–decent gym
–washer/​driver in unit
–great views of city hall
–centrally located
–cute little pet area on the 3^rd floor that’s perfect for late night or early morning bathroom runs
Dislikes:
–There’s some construction going on that can be a bit disruptive, but the windows are pretty sound (I don’t hear too much as of yet).

Argenta is the worst pretend luxury building you will find in the city. My partner and I lived there for a year and unfortunately there isn’t any negative star which is what Argenta would be getting. Let me elaborate:
— Construction noise: you will never have a piece of mind. There is construction noise from the early days in the morning till around 6pm. This includes weekends too.
— Neighborhoods: you’re constantly surrounded by homeless people and injection drug users. If you have a pet you have to be very careful because you are likely to step on syringes.
— The surrounding neighborhood isn’t really something that they can control. However, they base their rents on the surrounding conveniences (Walgreens, BART, proximity to downtown, and a very empty Market (the supermarket below twitter). Yet when we complained about the rent increase they said our area, unit, and building amenities were the reason, yet all are below standard for a luxury building.
— You aren’t in the desired downtown area, you are actually just outside of the Tenderlion and it spills into the building through the garage and the sometimes it walks right in through the front in broad daylight (security is not always around).
— Rent increase: don’t be surprised when you get a 17% to 20% rent increase. Although when speaking to Argenta they said this is what happens in the city. Not exactly true. We’ve heard the horror of getting a 10% increase (the new normal) but Argenta likes to take it up a notch or two.
— Amenities: there are really no amenities so not sure what to provide feedback on. If they convince you about the third floor amenities, first of all there is nothing and secondly it’s like a wind tunnel so you can never hang out there.
— Windows: they hardly clean the windows so you can forget about the wonderful view of the city hall they are so much overcharging for.
— Be prepared for move out fees. Like painting the walls, and any cleaning they feel they must do to a unit that has been through basic living wear and tear. Must properties charge for damage like: broken shelving, broken appliances, repairs to walls etc. Not for basic painting which usually gets done when tenants vacate most units.
— Our recommendation is to stay away from Argenta.

I lived there for almost 2 years and hands down one of the best buildings to live-​in. The whole staff is friendly, Marlon is a great manager, and Christian and Mike are just as good, Travis & Co. are vey helpful and responsive to any apartment maintenance. As well as Tikina and the garage attendants, Lamar and Enrique!
Yes, in the past I rated Mission Bay pretty high but I was new to the city and the access to the embarcadero and AT&T stadium were nice, basically I rated the location. Though Argenta is in a prime spot now and easy to access all parts of the city. The complex is big (20 floors) but small enough to know your neighbors and better kept up compared to other monstrosity high rises.
Some people have complained about construction but there are vey few «hip» neighborhoods without construction. City of Cranes!
I would have loved to stayed at the Argenta but relocated at out of the city for work. If I return to the Bay Area I will definitely check out the Argenta again!

I’ve lived at Argenta for 3 years. During that time, I’ve been subject to all kinds of noise, smells, air pollution and exit/​entry obstructions due to new buildings being constructed and existing buildings being renovated in the surrounding area.
This year I’m moving out — well actually, my lease has been terminated — but not because of living in a construction zone. For the past 9 months (!!!), at all times of day and night, I’ve been hearing tortured dog cries and barks coming from unit #510 above me. I first raised this issue with building management 7 months ago, out of great concern for the dog. About 3 months later, the dog cries and barks had become a real noise nuisance — e.g. waking me up in the middle of the night. So I began to complain to the building management. After many months of giving me the run around about what was being done to help the dog and end the cries and barks, and being told that I could move to another unit within the building or move out of the building if the dog cries and barks were disturbing (which is an unbelievable response to a noise nuisance that I wasn’t creating!!), I finally got the Regional Property Manager to address the matter directly with me. She offered me a very minor rent concession (which was grossly insufficient and cheap given the great inconvenience this entire matter has caused me, e.g. 100+ pages of email correspondence with building management, spreadsheet log of the dog cries and barks and final petition to CEO, General Counsel and EVP Property Manager at Monogram Residential Trust (the owner-​operator of Argenta) later…) and told me — orally and in writing!!! — that the troubled dog and its owners would be moving out in January. Well, it’s March now and the move out hasn’t occurred. The dog still lives at Argenta and is still crying and barking at all times of day and night.
As if the lie told by the Regional Property Manager that the dog was moving out wasn’t unprofessional enough, when I continued to complain about the dog cries and barks, the Regional Property Manager and Local Property Manager accused me of lying about hearing the dog cries and barks and then terminated my lease. This is unprofessionalism at a new low!
For those of you considering moving into any apartment on floors 4, 5 and 6 with unit numbers ending in 07 to 10, e.g. unit #410, 508 or 609, I wouldn’t advise that you do so until you know for sure that the dog living in unit #510 has moved out. At least 3 apartments on floor 6, 4 apartments on floor 5 and 3 apartments on floor 4 are being disturbed by the dog cries and barks!
So why hasn’t Argenta done something to help the dog and stop the dog cries and barks? My theory is that they just don’t care that over 10 (!!!) apartments in the building are being disturbed by the dog cries and barks — ala the rental market is so hot right now that if a resident isn’t happy here for whatever reason, they can just move out — and that the dog’s owners likely work for major tech companies in the Bay Area and Argenta doesn’t want to have a bad reputation with these companies. Just another instance where tech employees have obtained elite status in this city…
Btw, the dog in question is an English Mastiff, weighs 200+ pounds, stands at least 3 feet tall and is often left alone in a small 1 bedroom apartment that it shares with 2 adults. Obviously, the space is too small for the dog and the dog is quite lonely.
Argenta should be ashamed of how it has handled — or rather not handled — this situation. So apartment renter beware — building management is all about $$$ and doesn’t care about your living experience at Argenta.

My husband and I have been residents of Argenta for four years now and love the building. When we entertain friends they are amazed at our beautiful view, high end finishes, deck and overall ambience of the building. Argenta has more of a personal, community feel than other apartments I’ve lived in. The manager Marlon really cares about his residents and makes us feel more like family than renters. All of the staff are very professional and not only listen to any concerns we may have, they do something about it them. Mike, who works at the front desk has gone out of his way on many occasions, looking out for our family and dog. He has taken our mail up and watered our plants while on vacation and has even taken our dog out to potty when we’ve been in a bind. All of the staff are more than happy to assist us and make our home life easy and convenient. The building feels very safe, with entry control and night security guards. Our dog is very welcome at Argenta. The whole building is pet friendly, with dog treats at the front desk and a secure dog potty area located on the third floor. At night I know I will be safe taking the dog out without having to leave the building. Parking is also very secure. I especially love the buildings gym. It has everything you need for a great workout, is larger than most apartment gyms and is uncrowded. Receiving packages is a breeze. The management makes sure your mail is locked away and notifies you when a package arrives. Also, Argenta has a convenient dry cleaning service. The maintenance crew is stellar. Fast responses to requests and very qualified. Overall the building is clean and beautiful. A great place to call home.

I looooooved living at Argenta. The only reason why we moved was because we bought our own place.
Argenta is pricey, but on par with other luxury buildings with doorman in the area. However, I’d say Marlon and his excellent management, customer service, and team made it absolutely worth it.
Every time I have the smallest of issue, or a light bulb went out, I submit a request online, and it will be fix when I get home from work. Interior décor is classy. I really liked the dimmed hallway, and the granite leading up to my door, all extremely classy.
I occasionally have the issue that the valet parked a car in front of my car and I have to wait for them to move it, but it only happened a few times in a year.
Packages arrived without issues, building is safe because Google Express usually just leave my packages at my door and there isn’t any theft issue.
One of the things I’m most impressed about is the thoughtful interior. The architect is really considerate. I had a 1 bedroom and there were plenty of closet and storage space. My apartment had carpet (there are wood floor ones), but I love how warm and cozy it was. I faces the city hall, and it’s extremely quiet at night.
I wish Marlon manages my current building, because I feel really taken care of at Argenta. There are times when I thought I left my hair straightener on while I already left for work, and he didn’t mind sending someone into my unit to help me check. I leave my keys for the cat sitter to pick up at the leasing office and they are happy to help pass it on.
Rent there, you won’t regret it :)

So I loved it so much the first time that I now moved back and have been living here for over a year. Even though the rent went up 35% or so since 2008, for the exact same unit, on par with the city’s bloated rental market: WORTH IT
Impossibly, the amazing management that Greg had in-​place before has improved; Marlon, the new manager, seems to have been grafted with DNA that exhibits exceptional emotional intelligence, with a keen ability to properly value what is and ISN’T important: where most places nickle-​and –dime you on trivial maintenance items and are inflexible, he knows the value of a happy tenant that renews his lease, a tenant that rents because he knows how much it sucks to be a landlord. I mean, they even change your LIGHTBULBS for free. I showed interest in having a bidet hose installed, and Marlon offered to do it FOR FREE (although I have yet to take them up on that offer.) My three year old has been secretly stuffing junk in the heating vent and all Travis did was kindly inform us of his naughtiness instead of accusing us of bad parenting. These are just a few examples of their deferential treatment towards tenants.
Travis and Noël, the service gurus, are friggin AWESOME and FAST: salt-​of-​the-​earth resourceful Bob Villa type guys that seem to be available at all hours and sometimes accomplish superhuman feats; I witnessed Travis single-​handedly install a new thousand-​pound Washer/​Dryer in my unit, somehow leveraging pivots, fulcrums, and Newtonian physics to his mechanical advantage. The security woman, there since the beginning, is super nice, always willing to sort through the all the packages to find your delivery, not with a groan, but with a smile. I mean, even the parking attendant beams a smile every morning, directing me to the floor where I can find the best parking.
From my place, I have a view of mid-​market, across from Twitter/​Über. You feel like you are living smack-​dab in the center of the city with antique street cars going to and fro and high tech millionaires milling about with an occasional howling hobo getting arrested, making life interesting. Since our last go, mid-​market has/​is changing: it’s gentrified beyond imagination. There is a convenient vegan-​friendly, expensive, but amazing grocery store right across the street. My bank account is beginning to hemorrhage itself into the coffers of that establishment, funneling it’s prepared gourmet pizza and sushi into my stomach. The building even has one of its own ultracool beerhall on the bottom level. LOVE, LOVE URBAN LIVING.
Honestly, I wake up every day and feel like I am on a vacation.

I really wish I would have read these reviews about 3 months prior to the end of my lease. I didn’t and then received a lease renewal notice just a day or two after there were 2 months left on my lease. The renewal was at a 10−15% increase depending on the term. I was shocked but it was too late to terminate because you have to give 2 months notice otherwise you pay the 1 month rent penalty. They had me over a barrel and they knew it.
This was mostly my fault, yes, that I didn’t ask them prior to 2 months left on the lease what the increase would be. But really, I never expected such an increase. I’m an ideal tenant and was just expecting 2−5% at most.
However, I am still giving this place a great review because it’s been a fantastic place to live. The staff is AMAZING! They are so friendly and have helped me out above and beyond while I lived here. A big thank you to all of them.

The staff, including Marlon, the general manager, is 2^nd to none! Living here for the last 2 ½ years has been a pleasure. Rent is expensive, but you are paying to live in condominium-​quality apartments in a great central location in the city. Everything is within walking distance. The apartments feature high quality finishes and upgraded appliances. If you like living somewhere which is owned and run by a corporation (i.e well run, clean, well managed) but has a local staff who genuinely cares, this is your place.

Nice property and great maintenance staff but be prepared at lease renewal time for your lease to increase drastically and also to be charged excessively for normal wear and tear upon move out so they don’t have to fully refund your deposit.
Look around at all the properties in the neighborhood because they are all about the same price but amenities vary a lot between each property.

Recently moved into the building from NYC and everything has been great. Marlon, Maycol & Christian have been amazingly attentive and helpful during our settling in process. Travis, the maintenance guy, has quickly filled any and all of our needs. The door (wo)men are super friendly and always greeting everyone with a smile.
The building is really nice & clean and thoughtfully designed. The units have nice high ceilings, lots of windows, spacious bathrooms & high quality kitchen. The 24 hour gym is very clean and not used much so it’s pretty peaceful and easy to get a good workout in, very quickly. I don’t spend much time in the lounge or in the lobby but both spaces are well maintained and perfectly nice.
The building is very dog friendly and the 3^rd floor outdoor space is perfect if you need to get a quick dog walk in.
It’s a quick walk to Hayes Valley where some of the best restaurants in the city are, one MUNI stop from a giant Safeway (which also delivers to the building) It’s very close to City Hall and UN Plaza which has a Farmer’s Market every Sunday and Wednesday. The neighborhood seems to be changing for the better and a restaurant & market place, in a similar vein to Eataly, will be opening in the Twitter building across the street this winter.

At Argenta, I received some of the best service I have ever received, period– not only in the context of a place to live, but in the context of customer service in general.
Marlon in particular was super responsive and extremely helpful, 100% of the time, sustained over the course of a year and a half living at Argenta.
It’s one thing to receive great service once. As they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day. But to sustain great service consistently over such a long period of time is extremely unusual.
CUSTOMER SERVICE HIGHLIGHTS
— being a recent Canadian transplant, I had no US credit status. Other apartments in the area wanted an insane ($ 5000+) deposit and basically treated me like a hobo. Argenta charged me the same deposit as a regular American. So if you’re an international transplant like me, check out Argenta.
— multiple staff members had memorized my name and suite number very early on. It made it feel like home very quickly.
— the have an «everyone does everything» attitude. For example, if I needed to pick up a package, the nearest staff member would drop what they were doing to get it for me: maintenance, security, leasing, anyone.
— maintenance issues were taken care of promptly. Someone came in during «emergency» hours to fix a beeping smoke detector. When my dishwasher needed repair, it happened the next day. When I didn’t understand how to use my thermostat, maintenance immediately came to take a look at it and informed me it was user error, without making me feel like an idiot in the process.
— when I needed a special kind of receipt and a bunch of paperwork upon move out, it was all promptly provided over email.
— emails were always responded to very quickly, even after hours.
— I lived above the gym, and I couldn’t figure out where the music was coming from. I thought it was my neighbors. I eventually figured out it was a daily workout session in the gym. Marlon immediately reduced the bass level on the sound, and it was never a problem again.
BUILDING & SURROUNDING AREA
— the unit and the building were all top quality. If you don’t like dogs, stay away from the 3^rd floor as that’s where the patio is. People will be constantly coming with their dogs off leash, and some of them will charge at you in the hallway. There are 20 floors, so plenty of others to choose from where this wouldn’t be an issue.
— parking was fine. The only issue was that sometimes all the regular sized spaces were taken, forcing you to cramp into a «compact» space. They’re moving to an assigned parking system to alleviate this problem. Compact spaces will be cheaper, full sized ones more expensive.
— the surrounding area is Civic Center: rapidly developing, but still filled with lots of homeless people. They’re annoying but harmless and I never had a problem.
Overall, highly recommended.

Lived here now for four months. I’ll do my best to lay out the pros and cons.
Marlon and his staff are very competent and extremely attentive to all your needs. Maintenance requests are fulfilled within a timely manner. The building is clean, outdoor lounge well manicured and maintained.
We have a small 2 bedroom corner unit that overlooks City Hall. The floor to ceiling windows (which are filthy and only get cleaned annually) are not tinted so there’s zero privacy and everyone at the Fox Plaza can see into our unit. We hear the garage bell when cars exit, street traffic gets loud during rush hr and with all the new construction going on in the area there’s an increase in noise overall. On a good note, we never hear our neighbors ;)
The uneven and rounded walls in the master bedroom are a bit weird when trying to position furniture. The carpets have some rippling and the wood floors are not durable whatsoever. The dishwasher doesn’t accommodate large dinner plates. No pot lights under the overhead kitchen cabinets — it would make cooking so much more enjoyable if I could see more of what I was doing. No dead bolt locks!!! (coming from Brooklyn, I miss having that EXTRA measure of security). Concierge isn’t 24 hours.
Although this part is beyond the control of Argenta, I must mention that there’s a crazy wind tunnel outside the bldg. I don’t know what it is about this area but hold on to whatever’s not securely fastened. On several occasions I’ve had things fly out from my kids stroller basket. The residents lounge is also subject to the high winds. In addition, we have AT&T as our mobile service provider and let’s just say that we seldom get any cell service. I’ve also heard that other residents with Verizon experience dropped calls.
Pros — High ceilings. TONS of storage space. Bathrooms have a heater built into the extractor fans (good to have for those chilly SF mornings). Full sized high-​end appliances. Nice cabinetry (although sometimes I feel like the kitchen is too fragile — porous counter top, glass backslash and overhead cabinets). In-​house stacked washer/​dryer (a must if you have a kid/​s). VERY pet friendly bldg. Great for families (lots of kid friendly activities within walking distance). ²⁴⁄₇ gym access (although it could do with some cardio machine upgrades). Free coffee in the resident lounge. Easy access to public transportation and/​or freeway if you drive.
If you can afford it, I say give it a try.

I live at the NEMA across the street now, and I really miss my Argenta HOME!
What I miss about the Argenta is the superior units. The units are spectacular and high quality. My Argenta apartment always felt like a warm cozy home and NOT another apartment building. The appliances are the top of the line.
The gym could use minor upgrading but I loved that it was open 24 hours/​7days.
Everyone in the leasing office is so genuinely kind and helpful.

I used to live in Fox Plaza, when I first moved to the city. I loved moving to Argenta and lived there four years. I paid $ 2000 the first year, $ 2400 the second year, $ 2800 the third year and moved out paying over $ 3000.

Yes, Argenta is at a premium location, and yes, you’ll pay for that. Yes, at lease end, your rent will probably go up. However, my rent is hundreds of dollars less than what units were going for at Fox Plaza right next door for the same size space in a much newer building.
Hands down, Argenta has THE BEST staff I’ve ever lived with. Period. Friendly, courteous people, who do everything they can to make your residence easier. I’ve never had an unpleasant interaction with any of them. Maintenance people are prompt and detailed, and every request I’ve made has been accommodated.
They’re pet friendly, and everybody loves my little dog, Trooper. It’s a mutual thing — he loves Leigh Ann, Paul, Marlon, and all the maintenance people.
The unit had a beautiful floor-​to-​ceiling window, a nice view of Market, Polk and Fell Streets, in-​unit washer/​dryer, and the quietest kitchen appliances I’ve ever used. I had few, mostly minor maintenance issues; the one urgent call I made was handled quickly.
Only minor gripes: carpet is a little prone to stains, and the wood flooring is a bit fragile. Otherwise, fantastic place to live. Great units, great people, good prices.
I’m only moving because I’m buying my own condo in the city. Argenta is one of only two places (my first apartment being the other) that I can honestly say I’m a little sad to leave.
Thanks to Argenta, my introductions to San Francisco, pet ownership, and the beauty of the city’s historic downtown, were all huge successes. Argenta made the San Francisco experience complete for me, and it was worth everything I spent.

I had a cool apartment here for about 3 months. Great views, great gym, convenient (but kinda nasty) location, and great amenities.
We were the first people to ever live in our unit, and it was the nicest home I’ve ever lived in. Brand new absolutely top of the line everything. The units were originally going to be for sale, so no expense was spared on fixtures or hardware. It even had 2 dishwashers.
It gets 2 stars because it really really sucked when we moved out. I won’t bash them too bad, but if you are thinking of moving in, — take strong WARNING: They won’t warn you ahead of time that a large dog will cause $ 8000 worth of damage to the real wood floors in just under 3 months. The landlord pointed out the damage during a regular maintenance call and we decided mutually to move out before the damage got worse. They did waive the lease-​breaking fee, but not before sticking my roommate with a bill $ 6500 more than the security deposit we left… :(