I moved here in January from the east coast. I got a 9 month lease. The building itself is very new, and once you are inside it's quite nice. I certainly would not say that it is luxurious because it's not. In fact, Soma Residences adversises its property as being minimalistic and modern; which it is. Everything is new, the units and property are well kept. In my opinion the management is very professional. Herb is just great. He is extremely cordial, friendly, accomodating, and professional. I hope the management at wherever I end up is as good as they are here.

As far as the location goes, this place gets an A for its proximity to downtown San Francisco. However, it gets a C- for the neighborhood. Although I have not had any issues myself, the primary reason why I am leaving is because of the neighborhood. It's improving right now. The city is actually peforming official improvements on the area as I write this. However, if you are walking into the city itself you need to pass through the "6th street corridor" which is basically the vagrant nexus of San Francisco (the property is situated between 6th and 7th street). Though mostly harmless, it's no fun to have to walk past so many pan handlers, druggies, etc. in order to get into the city. Forget about walking away from the city. I have only done that once or twice, but it gets worse if you're going away from the financial district. Ultimately, I think the thing that bothers me the most is the smell. As I've already said, the once inside the property everything is safe, new, clean, etc. But the 6th street corridor area always smells of urine, vomit, and alcohol. The smell never really goes away except after a heavy rain.

If you're driving a car, then I don't see why would would need a place so close to the financial district anyways, but if you were driving, this would not be an issue because you could just drive everywhere and avoid the local color. The garage seems to be secure, clean, and safe. It's gated from the street, and they have suveilence there etc. Parking is very reasonable (150 for a space in the garage).

This place does section 8, which means you're living with people who are having their rents subsidized. Most seem to be harmless. Some are even quite plesant. However, judging by the visitors some of them have I wouldn't be surprised if they were breaking some conditions of their parole/probation; if you get my drift. Another issue is that some people just don't understand that trash goes in the trash chute... It's hard to believe, but there have been several occasions where people have literally filled the trashroom with garbage instead of simply throwing it down the chute... Overall, everyone keeps to themselves here and I haven't had an issue with any specific neighbors, but that's not to say that I feel like I can do better for the amount that I am paying...

One poster mentioned cooking smells. Well, that's certainly true. Again, it's not an issue because it rarely spills into my apartment itself, but someone nearby must like to cure sardines or something... The smell can be quite overpowering if you happen to be in the halls when they are cooking... This is because the kitchens are all right near the entrances to the apartments.

The walls are fairly thick. There has only been two occasions where the noise was an issue in the 9 months of my being here.

So on the positive side this place is very new, well maintained, prime location in regards to its proximity to the financial district, and excellent management.

In regards to the negative aspects of this place the neighborhood is just terrible (though improving), and some neighbors just shouldn't be living here. Not for the price that we non-subsidized people pay at least. If you have a car you're going to be paying $200-$300 more per month than you would be paying for a 1BR in Pacifica w/ parking... for a studio here. In my opinion if you don't need to walk to the financial district you can do better, especially if you are keeping a car.

I would still recommend this place simply because the staff does an excellent job mitigating the negative aspects of the neighborhood. Also, it's improving. I'm thinking that once the federal building one block over gets finished they just aren't going to put up with the vagrancy in this area anymore. If you need to walk/use public transportation and are phased by vagrants, this isn't your place. If you're okay with that, then give this place a look. If you want to live in San Francisco, this place is worth checking out if you like the urban life. I still think this property is superior to "most" others. It's certainly not luxury living, but when compared to many other places, the property itself is quite nice.

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