Millennium Tower

I’ve lived at the Millennium for almost 3 years. Let me tell you why I will only be a renter and NEVER a buyer here.
Cons:
— On the surface, the unit looks nice, but the construction is shoddily done. The sound carries through the doors and you can hear every word your neighbor says if you are in the hallway — or even in your unit. Good luck getting sleep if you’ve got a newborn across the hall.
–Speaking of noises, the floors won’t stop squeaking. One of my friends had her entire floor bubble up on her in another unit for no reason when it was raining outside. It looked like a speed bump!
— The staff that have been around for a long time are SO snotty. The only time they ever speak to me is to scold or lecture me. «You can’t wear flip flops on club level after 5pm. Shorts aren’t allowed on the club level (even though I am clearly going to the gym which is located on club level). You can’t have popcorn if you aren’t going to watch the movie.» Good lord… lighten up. I am a presentable, respectable professional woman in my 20’s, not some bum off the street.
–For as long as I’ve lived here, the windows have been broken… or they just don’t work well. They don’t stay open properly — they only open wide enough to let an obnoxious whistle of air through but not enough for an actual breeze. We have to prop them open with a roll of paper towels when we need fresh air.
–We have to fix the dishwasher 1 – 2 times a year because the door keeps getting out of alignment with the rest of the cabinets.
–The countertops weren’t properly finished. Everything stains them, even putting a water glass down for a few minutes. I’m not trying to be picky… but be careful not to get any olive oil on the countertop. You will have that stain forever. Some units complained and got it fixed, but apparently we missed the timeline.
–It’s not in a neighborhood. The location is convenient for work. It is not convenient for anything aside from that. You ran out of olive oil for dinner and it’s 6:45pm? NOTHING is open within walking distance. You need to get in your car and drive or über to a grocery store. I had the same thing happen to friends who came over for dinner and wanted to pick up a bottle of wine nearby. They walked around the «neighborhood» trying to find a place to grab a bottle of wine for 30 minutes before giving up.
Pros:
–Spacious — our unit has lots of windows. The downside of that is it gets extremely hot during the day time. Thank goodness for a/​c.
–This is a relatively social building and they put out a nice calendar of events that you can choose to go to. You can also choose to be a recluse and never meet anyone in the building. It’s pretty quiet if you want it to be.
–You have staff that will do EVERYTHING for you. Lightbulb went out? Call maintenance. Toilet clogged? Call maintenance. Shower won’t drain? Maintenance. Ice maker not working? Maintenance will teach you how you turn it on. These guys are FAB.
–Security is top notch. Sometimes to the point of being excessive. To I really need to buzz my key fob three times just to get to the elevator?
–They’ve got a pretty good group of guys at the valet. I like the system that allows you to call your car up via text. The wait can be long during busy hours, so you just have to learn how to time it.
–It’s great to have a pool, hot tub, movie theater, gym and playroom in the building. Like most of the residents, I probably use these far less than I should.
–Location is great — you can easily get into and out of SF.
To sum it up: There are plenty of other units that will be coming onto the market with better construction, nicer staff and similar amenities. In short — save your money for the Lumina or the next great high-​rise. For the premium you pay to live here, the reality of your day to day falls short of expectations.

Pros: The amenities are very nice and the service is excellent. The staff is very responsive
Cons: Noise from construction is very loud and near ²⁴⁄₇ given there are several large buildings under construction next to MT. Trucks backing up at 3 and 4am can be heard even when you are 30 plus stories high. Given Sales Force Tower and Trans Bay will be under construction for several years, its worth noting for renters.

I don’t live here, but I did a ton of homework and almost bought here, so I’ll speak to what I know.
This place rates 5 stars if you can spend 2 million or more. The units get decently big, and with that amount of money, you will get parking.
What distinguishes this property from other residential high rises in SF is the amount of service and the fantastically well thought out amenities.
— The club lounge is open access and very nice, with complimentary teas/​coffee and some snacks
— The gym is huge and modern.
— There is a large outdoor deck.
— Wine tasting room
— Dining room
— Theater
— Kids playroom
— Magnificent pool and architectural skylight overhead
— Private dining room serviced by RN74
— Wine storage locker (12 bottle locker for each unit)
— Massage rooms
— Regular events hosted by the HOA
The standard finishes in the units are modern and relatively high end, but not too over the top. The tower is relatively narrow and tall, which I believe contributes to one of the major drawbacks of the individual units … large structural girders blocking your ability to walk up to windows to get a full view. Instead, in front of many windows there is what amounts to a large and permanent countertop sitting in front of the view. I believe the building design also contributes to the rather strange and seemingly tiny layouts of some of the rooms.
I believe most or all of the units have additional storage lockers outside of the unit. But the flip side to this is that many of the units don’t seem to have enough closet space.
The parking is mostly valet here. I don’t like valet parking because I think the reality usually doesn’t match the expectation. You end up having to wait a lot, and you can’t go get stuff out of your car easily. But OK, some people like it and it can be useful for visiting guests.
At the very top end, you have dedicated spots that you can self park in. Most people that have parking will just have regular valet service. The vast majority of people will not have parking at all, because they just didn’t build enough of it. My understanding is that spots in the tower rent for 700/​month, and a garage across the street will rent you a spot for 400/​month. Welcome to SF!
The views are rather blocked in until you get above a certain floor. I want to say floor 30 or so. Of course, if you get high enough, you can see the bridge and some pretty spectacular views. The tower is around 60 floors high, which makes it one of the tallest buildings in the city. Keep in mind the Salesforce Tower is going up next door, which will kill the view for some units.
The location is excellent. It’s literally a short one block walk to the Embarcadero BART/​MUNI stop. In fact, there’s a good chance that, if you work downtown, you might be able to just walk to work. Of course, the Ferry Building, Westfield Mall, and Union Square are right next door as well. The one thing I’m not too sure about is how the traffic is trying to get out of the Millennium and over to the highway. I suspect those few extra blocks compared to the Infinity will add up during peak traffic times.
In short, this place only really conforms to the normal definition of livability at around 2 MM and up. Below that, it only rates five stars if you absolutely don’t want a car, and you value the admittedly great amenities over the weird unit layouts and the high prices you will pay here.

Its like living in a five star hotel/​condo with all the incredible amenities. The staff is unbelievably nice. one of many things that differs this building from the rest is definitely the staff! The text message valet service is pretty awesome too.

Beautiful place to live. The valet service for residences can’t hurt!

On the positive side, the staff is wonderful. This is really a full service building. Plus there’s a lot to do in the neighborhood. The residents are friendly and quiet.
There are also some very big negatives. The building is surrounded on three sides by high-​rise heavy construction. The permits are an unheard of ²⁴⁄₇. The noise is almost unendurable at times, particularly in the middle of the night. Complaints are rampant, renters are moving out or canceling leases. There are new high-​rises on the drawing boards and the Transbay Terminal has years to go before it’s completed. There may be several more years of noise, dust and turmoil. Noise is a very big problem unless you happen to be a heavy sleeper. Don’t purchase a unit in the expectations of rental income.
Secondly, the neighborhood has a lot of recreational things to do. However, this part of SOMA is not as residential as other parts. Office workers crowd the streets during the day, but at night there’s a deserted feel about the streets. It has a sterile, empty, «corporate» feel. A lot of restaurants are lunch places that close at 3:00. Those that are open are pricey. There are one or two neighborhood pubs, but not many. Certainly this building is not the whimsical, quirky San Francisco one expects.
Thirdly, the Owners Lounge is friendly and well staffed. It could use a refurbishing as it feels slightly worn around the edges. Food is provided from the restaurant RN47, but the menu seems a little repetitive. It’s not bad, but a lot of people end up calling out for food.
In short, if you are thinking of living here be sure to view the building on a weekday during business hours. Agents have a tendency to show properties on Sunday when the construction activity is slower. Also, rent for a while before you make a purchase. The neighborhood is in transition, and is to some degree a developers’ invention. There’s a question mark whether it will ever become neighborhood, or be just another passing phase. San Francisco has had a musical chair lineup of neighborhoods over the decades. Some (like Opera Plaza or Fontana Towers) have every resource, but don’t succeed.

The Positives:
There is really a lot that can be said here without overexagerating.
— The units are really spacious — there is wonderful amount of space in each room so that you can fit a lot of furniture and it wouldn’t feel tight at all.
— The staff is really nice — we haven’t had any major problems yet, but the staff always comes throught for even the smallest issues.
— Valley parking — it’s a great service, because I never need to wonder where my guests will park their cars.
— Club level — also a great facility, where anyone can meet with follow residents, get a cup of coffee or just hang around in the gym or the pool.
These are the major things and the list can go on.
The negatives:
Thank god this is a short term rental for me. My husband and I would never purchase a property here, because:
— The building construction is of unbelievably (for such high class building) low quality. When I walk around the apartment the floors squeak on every step (I definitely don’t weight that much :))
— There is almost no lighting — in the entire living area there are only two lights above the kitchen island and that’s it. In the bedrooms there is absolutely no lighting, so we need table lamps.
— The windows are the most difficult part — when completely closed they still don’t stop the outside air and noise. Overall they are of poor quality and it shows.
Millennium Tower is currently surrounded on 3 sides with the construction of the Transbay Terminal. The construction is scheduled to complete in 2017 and for the last couple of months has been a ²⁴⁄₇ activity. I really hope it will become quieter after the major excavations, but neither I nor my husband have had a good sleep since we got here.

I’m rambling off and this is just my opinion: This development is so unique, you’d think you only get something like this in NY/​Hong Kong. All the comments here are on point. I can’t imagine what’ll happen once they’ve sold out, actually I can, I just can’t say. The Trans Bay Terminal is going to land right here as well. It’s based on a global/​international economy and this serves as a second home for many major foreign business emissaries. With all the transit stations merging here, this is quickly becoming the center of N. Cal business dev. Because of today’s tight lending market, the demographics of owners and planned community/​public works growth it has enough factors contributing to a strong financial base. The construction loan is 330M and has sold to 300M, value at 900M. If you have a couple cool mils laying around, want to be a part of a unique venture, punch it up and it just make make sense to you too.
(I’m not pluggn’ anything here… I’ve just been out and about, collecting info, writing down my thoughts.)

Great valet service, very helpful and courteous staff.

Absolutely looove it!!! The building and the staff are amazing, amenities are to die for, and what beats it all is the owners lounge and Sports Club LA for residents only. Not to mention massage room, private pilates and yoga studio. I honestly forgot when was the last time I opened my own car door with fabulous valet parking ‘hotel style’. Overall, highly highly recommend it!

This place is simply amazing. They’ve fully amenitied the building to have just about everything you would expect from a 5 Star hotel; yet it’s your house!
There are a couple of really impressive things in the building.
Club Level
This is to NOT be missed. It’s a 20,000 square foot area that’s common for all the residents. There is a gym, a five lane 25 yard lap pool, hot tub, locker rooms with steam room, wine tasting room and storage area, awesome outdoor patio and of course the club lounge that has a bar that is tended and catered every night by RN74. Having a bar in your house is FANTASTIC!
The Views
If you have a chance to see a view from one of their higher units you don’t want to miss it. They’re simply stunning!
Check this place out. It’s fantastic.

You have a rare opportunity on Saturdays and Sundays thru 11÷22÷09 to see 4 units @ Millennium on the 52^nd floor done up to the 9s by 25 fabulous designers.

Then again you might be so distracted by the views in every direction you have to remind yourself continually to look inward. Unbelievably spectacular both out and in.
My absolute favorite apartment is 52D, with an entry by Ann Getty and the Master Bedroom gussied up by the exceedingly likeable and talented Gioi Tran of Applegate Tran Interiors.
$ 25 for admission with proceeds going to a different «charity» every weekend, yesterday my money went to Berkeley Rep which is exactly where I would want it to go.
Sats 11 – 7, Suns 11−5…and I’m tempted to return for a twilight visit, when the exterior designer (nature) adds to the drama of this glamorous temporary installation. (so PM me if you want to join me!)

Millennium Partners has done another outstanding job! The building and amenities are beautiful and the staff provides Four Season service every day of the year!