Hey everyone.  I'm a current Chicagoan, but a former Kansan.  I've been seriously thinking about leaving Chicago for downtown Kansas City, just don't know that much about downtown KC or the best way to go about finding a good loft.  I'm looking to rent an apartment and found on Craigslist the Coffee Lofts.  This place looks great, but I have no way of checking them out for myself.  Does anybody have any information or comments on these lofts?  Also, I came across another site that said these lofts had gone from rental to condo, is this true?  Anyways, any help would be appreciated!  Thanks, and hope to be helpin the cause for downtown KC soon!

yeah, they're condo now but some folks rent their loft out.  they're good lofts--high ceilings, exposed 'works, concrete floors, good location.  units on the west side experience some noise from the coffee plant and units on the north side get noise from trucks at all hours, but it's not bad, really.  i've lived here about six months and things have been pretty boring, and i mean that in a good way--no fire alarms or problems.  parking is attached, or is free on the street.  they are a little more expensive than what i was used to, but they are nice units.

I live there too. My only complaint is that it's not that close to a lot of things. Some might see this more as a blessing than a curse, as that guarantees a greater deal of quiet than most parts of downtown(apart from the white noise of the Folger's Plant across the street). That said, I think the units are extremely attractive, the people are mostly young and beautiful, and the staff is(for the most part) responsive to residents' needs.

They are very cool units. Right now, the rest of the garment district is getting ready to convert to condo, so it is going to be a bit sleepy for a couple of years, but it has a ton of units in that area and should go nuts once it is back up to full occupancy again.

units in the coffee lofts are looking a bit worse for wear.  anyone have any insight on this?

http://www.realtor.com/search/listingde ... =21#Detail

A price point for everyone!

i bet it has textured walls. 

Ahhhh... it's not so bad. I like the blue. Plus it is priced to sell fast!

"Estimated Payment:
$5 Per Month*"

That sounds pretty steep... 

Closing costs alone would be more than the price of the house.

all is good except the assholes who piss in the elevator and throw beer bottles from the top of the stairwell....

Naughty bahua!

Yes. I make sure to ride the elevator up from my first-floor apartment, urinate on the way, and drop beer bottles down the stairwell, before having another pee on the way back down the elevator.

So, doesn't everyone?

At least you're sticking to number one, if you know what I'm saying. Wouldn't want your neighbors to have to take the smellevator.

I knew that was you!!

I smelled something getting the mail the other day.

Yeah, I always send my smells upstairs to get the mail.

hi all. I might be looking to buy rather than rent and the Coffee Lofts have some of the most reasonable prices I've seen. Are people still peeing in the elevator? Are the people that were there still there and how are things now that the tax abatement is gone (I think it ended in 2009)? Does anyone have more recent information/experiences on them?

Thanks! I'm going to bump the DE Loft thread too with similar questions

It is my understanding, that the owners of Coffee Lofts have dropped the sales prices in the past week. Sounds like they are trying to clear off the shelves.

Regarding issues like, peeing in the elevator, your best bet is to get feedback from people who live there now. Posting here is good, but you can also be so forward as to hand out around the building and talk to people coming and going. Tell them you're considering purchase and ask for a few minutes to discuss the way the place is operating.

You can't judge a place by random experience. Nearly every downtown elevator has had urine or other fluids deposited late on an occasional Saturday nite, but, yes, it is reason for further investigation, of ANY building you're considering. Each property is a community in itself and the nature of the place is constantly evolving.

On a related note, there was a guy who asked me recently about a building near the Coffee Lofts. He wanted to know if there was still a beautiful woman there that occasionally consumes too much, and then after taking all her clothes off, goes door to door looking for a friend.

Well, not that I knew of, but like I said, lurk the building and interview the residents about the real amenities/drawbacks of the particular building.

What building was that? I'll hang out there for "interviews"

On a serious note, thanks for the response. Good information, particularly the dropped pricing. I have a lot to consider and these are helpful ideas. From this thread and some others that have popped up in my kcrag search it seemed like a few regulars on here lived there. I was wondering if they might still and how they are liking it, and if not, why, etc.

For the peeing - it was mentioned somewhere on the board. I've lived in apartment buildings and know what comes with them, but I am past the big partier stage of life and want to be in an appropriate building. That was more of a side comment than the intent of my question

Be aware, some of the more "mature" buildings are more likely to have problems with urine odor, than do the post-grad frat houses.

Besides making inquiry of residents, if you talk to a good downtown- knowledgable realtor (warning: most realtors are not dt knowledgable), they should be able to give you the flavor of the individual properties.