I'm sorry, but I totally disagree with the above comments. I came to the El Granada Building in 2000 and I have gotten a chance to live in all three layouts; studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom apartments. My entire time here has been a great experience.

Pros
1. General building maintenance and facilities.
I can assure you the owner takes care of the building. The management friggin hires a guy to Lemon Pledge every square inch of wood, vacuum the carpet, and take out the garbage and recycling every weekend. The Orkin guy makes regular visits to prevent pests from entering the apartment complex (there are a bunch of food shops downstairs). Every unit has a fire alarm, smoke detector, and fire extinguisher with annual inspections to ensure that they are working. I agree that there was a problem with the dryers, but the management recently bought top of the line washers and dryers for the tenants to use. Try to find that level of dedication to the upkeep of the building in a city full of Reddy Realties.

2. Community
Believe it or not the management actually tries to instill some sort of community within the building. A bi-yearly newsletter is distributed and sometimes includes a dollar coin to get something to drink at the soda machine. You get cool El Granada merchandise when you sign your lease. There is a building scholarship for $1000 every semester. The manager and assistant managers are all students so they're more like your peers and less like slumlords.

3. Safety
Let's face it...Berkeley is not the safest place to live. The management ensures that safety of all the tenants comes first. Sure there are strict rules like never leaving the front door propped open, but you'll be glad you did when a fricken riot breaks out on campus and ransacks The Athelete's Foot below. There are cameras on the premises (in public areas only) to prevent vagrants from entering the building and stealing your stuff. You are given an electronic keycard to prevent copied keys that can end up in the wrong hands. I feel safer here than anywhere else in Berkeley.

4. Location! :)
The place is right across the street from campus. It takes me 5 mins to walk to the RSF, 10 minutes to walk to BART, and 15 minutes to walk to the north side of campus. There are tons of places to eat and shop as soon as you walk out the door. The location is definately the best thing about the El Granada Building.

Cons
1. Cost
Although prices have gone down over the years, it is still on the fairly expensive side.

2. Old building
The El Granada Building was built like early 1900's or something so the building is still pretty old despite the many renovations going on. The units still have steam radiators from back in the day which is kind of annoying.

3. Location! :(
Even though it is one of it's best qualities, the El Granada Building is located right in the middle of everything loud and obnoxious...drum circles right out your window, drunken college frat guys yelling, Cafe Milano playing that horrible horrible music. Some units in the secluded section of the building are pretty quiet though. Overall, if you're a light sleeper, you'll have some trouble getting your rest.

Overall it's a great place to live while you're a student at Berkeley if you can afford it. Definately better than the slum I lived at my first year out of the dorms.

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