I moved in to Edgewater on August 8th, 2013 and out on March 29th, 2016. On the whole I loved living there and have many fond memories from my time on Berry Street.
First, the good: the staff is outstanding! Arthur and Sindy are helpful and kind and just the best. Living less than 2 blocks from Philz is also amazing - my girlfriend and I spent a lot of time there. You're very close to Safeway, Walgreens, Caltrain, Muni, and a number of good restaurants. There's no better place to live if you're a Giants fan.
The floor plans are good; our unit had a huge walk-in closet. The balconies, on the units that have them, are a pretty decent size. There are several outdoor spaces appointed with grills and very nice furniture. The resident lounge is beautiful.
Edgewater is very pet-friendly! I love dogs, so being situated between two dog parks and having many neighbors with pets were things I enjoyed about it. If you're not a dog person, well, that's something to consider.
Next, the not-so-good: Edgewater is 8 years old now, and the finishes and fixtures are dated. Most of the units have carpet everywhere but the kitchen and bathroom(s). The kitchen situation isn't the best: the stoves are electric, our garbage disposal was woefully underpowered, and our dishwasher was absurdly loud. The toilet seat was held on with plastic screws that required constant tightening, and the bathroom sink was a terribly cheap plastic.
Edgewater has no security desk or door person - or any 24 hour staff. The neighborhood is safe but it would still be nice to have someone around at night. During the day, the only on-site staff are the leasing associates (and maintenance personnel). If they're giving a tour, the office is locked so you can't pick up your packages/ask questions/etc. They are adding a 24-hour package locker, which at least addresses the first issue.
There's only 1 elevator per wing (3 total) and they're ridiculously slow! More often than not at least one is "out of service." And in my opinion, the gym is too small for the number of residents. It gets pretty crowded during peak hours.
Finally, the outright bad: a new 5-story apartment building is going up directly across the street. The northwest-facing units (like mine) used to have a pretty decent view of the city. But Edgewater is only 5 stories, so all of those views are now obstructed. And - it's an active construction site. It's not as bad now as it was when they were pile-driving for 30 days straight, but it's still going to wake you up 6 days a week when they start at 7 am. We had a lot of black dust come in through our window, too (though some was probably from the 280 freeway nearby). Construction on Eviva is supposed to end in October 2016... If they're on time. In any case, it's a hard thing to live next to.
Units with doors to the outside desperately need screens over said doors. You'll want to enjoy SF's year-round beautiful weather by opening your door. Unfortunately, Mission Creek attracts its fair share of mosquitos during the warmer months and they *will* find their way into your apartment. Burn an incense stick or something. And did you know there's some kind of sewage facility (or something equally smelly) at the end of Mission Creek? Well, now you do. It's about 725 feet from the southwestern tip of Edgewater. Most of the time you can't smell it, but when you can - oof. Not good.
Management has an exclusive contract with AT&T to provide telephone and, more importantly, internet service. The building is wired with fiber but for some completely inexplicable reason the fastest connection they offer is a pitiful 24 Mbps/3 Mbps for $80/month. It suuuuucks. My new ISP charges the same for a balanced 1 Gbps connection. And their contract with AT&T means they can't bring in someone like Webpass or Monkeybrains to force AT&T to compete. Also inexplicably, the units are wired with 100 Mbps Ethernet rather than 1000 Mbps Ethernet.
There are plans to renovate the common spaces, and to upgrade some (all?) of the units with hard flooring and new appliances. But that means *even more* construction, and *inside the building* at that. And it's my understanding that they intend to charge more for the upgraded units. That is of course the prerogative of the ownership, but I just don't think it's reasonable. Our rent was $3,456/month + utilities. At that price point, hard floors and modern appliances are pretty much required just to compete with the other high-end buildings in SoMa. Especially since Edgewater lacks many of the features/amenities its competitors offer. For $400/month more, our new building has 24 hour staff, a huge gym, 3 ISP options, valet service, package delivery, a pool, and more.
Edgewater is a fine place to live. When the construction next door and inside is finished, it'll be even better. The area is quiet, safe, and full of great businesses within walking distance. But in this price range, you can probably get more for your money elsewhere. read more