Main Street Village Apartments

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dirtybird_IHB

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I started another thread regarding IAC apartments, apologies for starting a new thread about apartments, but this is a non-IAC question.



There is an apartment community in Irvine off Main called the Main Street Village. They call it Eco Friendly, but right now the promotions are nice.



Curious if anyone has heard anything good or bad about this place, its really new....



Thanks
 
[quote author="dirtybird" date=1244632517]I started another thread regarding IAC apartments, apologies for starting a new thread about apartments, but this is a non-IAC question.



There is an apartment community in Irvine off Main called the Main Street Village. They call it Eco Friendly, but right now the promotions are nice.



Curious if anyone has heard anything good or bad about this place, its really new....



Thanks</blockquote>


Personnally, I think this place is crap. First of all, it was developed by MetLife Insurance company, i've met the PM and he isn't very impressive. Asthetically, too many dark, unfriendly corridors and the kitchen cabinet selection was done by someone who is apparently a fan of the 80's.



Eco Friendly? Most california buildings are eco friendly due to title 24, this one says it took the extra step by adding a community garden. A community garden is not innovative as it will become negleted and an eyesore. I guarantee that in a couple years it'll be landscaped over.



Rent at Camden Place, much nicer amenities. Avalon Bay's place looks good too.
 
Definitely look into your options. I'm not hearing too many positives about Main Street Village. It's too early to tell how the community will develop. As for Camden Place Lofts, my wife and I toured the property just before our lease at BRE Pinnacle at MacArthur Place was up. We ended using Camden's offer (lower than what we were paying) to negotiate a rent reduction and it worked out well. Our thoughts on Camden weren't very positive. Their management staff seemed very unprofessional and we knew they were lying to us on a number of occasions. The property lay out has too many long hallways (like a college dorm) and I imagine it can be noisy having several people walking by your apartment daily. We also didn't like the apartment layout. While the square footage sounded appealing, there wasn't enough usable space for our furniture to fit. Lastly, there were far too many college aged students running in and out while we were there. It just seems like you'd have to expect loud late nights, crowded parking situations, and your neighbors' friends over all the time. A coworker of my wife just moved out of the Camden property and moved into the Avenue of the Arts community. Hands down she really prefers her new apartment over her old.



It might be a little risky, but you might also want to look into renting at Watermarke or Avenue One. The properties look very similar to all the new Irvine apartment communities, but the communities are probably a little quieter. The risk being the owner (investor) might default or foreclose.
 
Thanks for the replies. I figured Camden wasn't good. The only option was to go with IAC, that's why I was leaning with Enclave or Woodbury.



As for the Avenue of the Arts, I lived there when it was called the Lakes, the amenities were good, but no sound proofing in the apartment. I could hear the neighbors pretty easily. So its interesting to see 2 people's view points on one property, although the Avenue of the Arts property could have improved.
 
We visited Avalon on Alton/Jamboree the other day. Was really close to renting it. Amenities are solid (gym is really nice). Parking is great (esp right now b/c they just moved in their first tenant on sat). Floorplans/build quality is also nice. They were giving 6wks off this weekend. The girl said they might up it to 2mo. after the weekend.
 
[quote author="irvine_grad" date=1244680978]We visited Avalon on Alton/Jamboree the other day. Was really close to renting it. Amenities are solid (gym is really nice). Parking is great (esp right now b/c they just moved in their first tenant on sat). Floorplans/build quality is also nice. They were giving 6wks off this weekend. The girl said they might up it to 2mo. after the weekend.</blockquote>
2 months free rent for a 12 month lease?
 
Looks like 2 months free on a 2 bedroom this month.



<a href="http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/apa/1214562823.html">Avalon Craigslist Ad</a>
 
[quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1244693780][quote author="irvine_grad" date=1244680978]We visited Avalon on Alton/Jamboree the other day. Was really close to renting it. Amenities are solid (gym is really nice). Parking is great (esp right now b/c they just moved in their first tenant on sat). Floorplans/build quality is also nice. They were giving 6wks off this weekend. The girl said they might up it to 2mo. after the weekend.</blockquote>
2 months free rent for a 12 month lease?</blockquote>


Yea unless that has changed with the new special. They offered us 6wks w/ a 12mo lease over the weekend. Calypso is also offering 1mo off but they were a bit pricier with bigger floorplans.



FYI for those looking at Calypso, the prices on their website are pretty much what you get. The actual (standard) prices are much higher-the prices on the site already reflect the 1mo free over a 12mo lease. We didn't visit camden.
 
I checked out Main St. Village last week and thought they were pretty nice. Different vibe from IAC, sort of an urban feel. I've been with IAC for 5 years and thought these were a nice change of pace.
 
Would you mind telling me what you thought of the interior? I like the fact that they use VOC paint, I've been in an urban type apartment (the Lakes at South Coast, now called 3400 or something) IAC is definitely more suburban...



How was it in terms of going from the parking to the actual unit itself?



Thanks
 
I thought the interior was very nice. They also use low VOC carpet, from what I remember the color was sort of a dark putty with a nice pattern. Cherry cabinets and granite counters. They told me they have different color schemes on each floor. These were the 1st floor models. The parking seemed close to me. Don't be fooled by IAC, they have very limited parking in most communites since many residents use their private garage for storage. Seemed like there would be plenty of parking at MSV. I'll be checking it out again when my lease is up in Oct.
 
[quote author="dirtybird" date=1244640360]Thanks for the replies. I figured Camden wasn't good. The only option was to go with IAC, that's why I was leaning with Enclave or Woodbury.



As for the Avenue of the Arts, I lived there when it was called the Lakes, the amenities were good, but no sound proofing in the apartment. I could hear the neighbors pretty easily. So its interesting to see 2 people's view points on one property, although the Avenue of the Arts property could have improved.</blockquote>


I don't understand why everyone thinks Camden is bad, i've never seen a bigger ammenity package in any 4 story multifamily community. Also, from visiting friends there, the common area is open 24 hours a day for use. Try to go into the common area at an IAC apt community after 10 will get you in jail.
 
Couple of points: 1) Properties that are in their initial lease up typically use bigger move in concessions because they need above average leasing to get the place full. Calypso, Main Street Village and Avalon are all in their initial lease up stage. 2) I think they call Main Street Village eco friendly because it is LEED certified....not just because they have a vegetable garden.
 
I agree on the eco friendly point. My sister is an architect and she studied for the LEED test. She read up about the claims by Main Street Village and said it sounded legit.
 
[quote author="dirtybird" date=1244862344]I agree on the eco friendly point. My sister is an architect and she studied for the LEED test. She read up about the claims by Main Street Village and said it sounded legit.</blockquote>


They aren't LEED certified yet. Back in the day, a ton of condo developments were advertising pre-sales with the term "pursuing leed certification" which, even if they did achieve, amounts to no real environmental mitgation in california. A Leed Certified building (as opposed to silver, gold plat) simply means the developer paid plan check fees to the USGBC and paid some intern to document and file all the construction manifests.



LEED certification is nothing but a scam to benefit the USGBC and offers no extra ordinary return to the owner of the building and especially it's tenants.



I think it's even doubtful that MSV will achieve LEED Cert as they still have to document some exemplary points that the USGBC needs to approve. This is tough to do since I know that they are barely meeting requirements as the decision to go LEED was made after design.
 
Does anyone know how long their promotions will continue going for? Are they still offering 2 months free rent on 2 bed 2 baths? Is what they advertise on their website what they are actually offering? Or are they discounting their rents? - Edit Sorry. I was thinking about Avalon off of Alton and Jamboree. My bad. Anybody know anything about Avalon?
 
Its always good to check craigslist:

<a href="http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/apa/1233608926.html">Avalon Craigslist Ad</a>



Looks like they are still offering the 2 months free, not sure how those prices compare to the website
 
Thanks for the link. Yeah, guess they are, but that pricing is the same as the online pricing. They look okay. But I'm sure the prices will fall somewhat. 2 months is pretty generous as it is though. Doesn't hurt to ask for a few hundred off a month though.
 
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