Pioneer Warehouse Lofts

The Pioneer Lofts are a decent place to live for the price. I moved here on an emergent need to find a place that accepted my large breed dog @ a fair price. So before I tell you why this place is great, let me warn you about the drawbacks.
Firstly, the parking is horrible for family and friends. It’s downtown, let’s be realistic. A parking spot in a building down the block is available for a monthly fee. It’s unassigned parking spots and they are super small. Truthfully add 10 – 15 mins to your schedule to get your car out and go to work. Next, there is no pool or gym and our rooftop is very basic.
The pluses are the cement floor and walls. The water is included. The dog and pet policies with dog park across the street. The deli down stairs. The decent location near Petco, walking distance to clubs and bars, and COMIC CON!
Overall, I am happy with the place but wish we had a pool at least!

Well this is the final straw in what has been a snowball of problems over the past year. You should know moving into this building that the management company solely relies on the fact that they have a wonderful location, and place no investment in the way they treat their tenants. After you moved in and you have signed away your finances to them, they will treat as an annoyance. Your requests for repairs will go unattended, and the front office woman will be rude to you anytime you intrude upon their office, which constitutes of entering it. I have never left a bad review of an establishment, and I was motivated to write this because the treatment is so terrible. Take my advice and move into any of the surrounding buildings as I have gotten to know their tenants, and the surrounding buildings will work to make your living experience worth the great amount of money you are paying. WALK AWAY FROM PIONEER LOFTS OR TRILOGY MANAGEMENT… I wish I had.

While waiting for our application to be approved, they gave the loft we were applying for to an already existing tenant. They didn’t even wait for our application to be approved. Sorry, but that’s not a good way to start off with potentially new tenants.
What should have been done was, for the property management to wait for our application to be processed, and if we were not approved, give the loft to the already existing tenant. If we were approved (which we were) give the loft to us, as that was the unit we filled out and PAID for the rental application to begin with.

Just moved in and have some issues potential renters should be aware of.
–Multiple times, when I was looking at the place, the parking garage was described to me as «in the building across the street.» After I signed the lease I found out it is not. It is over a block away and across the street, and tenants must use the lowest level. Add 10 minutes every time you want to use your car.
–For a quick dropoff or to run something up, there is zero parking. A 3-​minute zone in front of the building is pointless during the day when lots of metered parking is available – all that goes away after 6pm in the wildly popular Gaslamp. God knows how a guest is going to visit. One-​way street configuration means if you swing by the building to see if parking’s availble and it isn’t, to get back to the garage means going 3 blocks back the other way and back around.
–Being between 4^th and 5^th Avenue means it’s hard to escape the touristy Gaslamp, and weekend traffic can be a real bother.
–While I thought the north (off-​street) side of the building would be quieter, it faces the roofs of neighboring buildings, which have about 15 industrial sized air conditioners, for a non-​stop whooshing hum at all times. The Thai restaurant downstairs has an exaust directly below the windows so open windows fill your unit with a sickly-​sweet smell.
However, there is no better converted-​loft building in San Diego, as far as the architecture is concerned. The building has amazing bones, great concrete floors and columns, and the floor-​to-​ceiling windows are eye-​popping. Everyone is friendly. You could potentially live a car-​free life but you would likely spend all the money you saved on eating in fancy restaurants, of which there are about 1000 in walking distance. If the trolley went anywhere you needed to go, you could take it, as it stops right here. But SD is not NYC, and so you kind of have to have a car, and it’s not convenient to have one here.

Opinions change after a year. I moved out. For the price you pay you should get amenities and treated like you live at a luxury apartment… but you don’t. Being on the top floor I had a leak that spread through my bedroom and under all my electronics. They said they couldn’t fix it because of the rain (understadably) but never fixed it afterwards either. They charged me $ 100 for kitchen smoke when they previously said they would NOT charge me anything since if I lived there for a year they would get me a free paint job.
There is a pro– it’s relatively safe. I did see a bum who must have followed someone in after they punched in their code, but there was nowhere to go. The whole building is built like a secure prison… solid concrete and double bolted locks. The only way to get robbed is if you leave your door unlocked.
Final advice– compare the price they quote you, including the parking charge — to where you might want to live. Is it worth the fact that your friends can never find parking? That you will always have endless loud nights from the clubs? That the sound of concrete floors really carries through those thin walls? My guess is no.

my girl lives here… i love to visit her… just a short walk out for a nice evening with her… huge space… nice and secure. only complaint… no parking =(boo …but it’s not too bad in this nook of the hood (relative to the rest of gaslamp)

Pioneer Lofts are great if you’re seeking a cond/​apartment close to tons of dining, nightlife and other outlets. Being walking distance to Ralph’s, 24 Hour Fitness and Horton Plaza Shopping is great because you can save time and energy not hunting around for a parking spot (plus you get a little exercise)! Parking is extra (but the partnered lot is underground and controlled by a lock and key).
The building is fairly quiet as the concrete walls seem help insulate each unit (much quieter than newer «traditional» condos I have lived in).
The units vary in size and price which makes the building have a unique and different feeling (not so cookie cutter) and typical which is fun. Lots of exposed brick and pipes.
The management office is located next door so it makes rent drop off easy (and if you have issues the team is easy to get ahold of).
Love the rooftop deck as it provides a GREAT view of the city’s skyline and is always swept and clean. The community gas grill is also a nice touch as it makes summer bbqs possible for those of us without backyards.
All the units have A/​C (thumbs up) and some have great floor to ceiling windows (that actually open up to let fresh air in).
4^th Ave gets some «tourist» «foot traffic» and occasional noise from the Hard Rock rooftop (Sunday’s while djs are out) but the street isn’t as crazy as other areas of Gaslamp (a little more mellow and quiet).
Downside:
Moving in and out or large deliveries can be a pain as the «loading» zone parking is usually occupied by someone not loading but rather parked (for hours). I would suggest hiring movers if you can afford it.
None of the units come with refrigerators (just standard) and all have electric stoves (kind of a bummer as I love cooking with gas).
None of the units have washer/​dryers (however; coin operated machines are located on each floor and are hardly ever in use so getting laundry done isn’t usually an issue).
Occasional issues with the elevators (as it looks like they haven’t been inspected in well over a year, probably wouldn’t keep me from moving in but it is an annoyance).
If you don’t like downtown weekend traffic, I would suggest staying away (as with any downtown condo/​loft). Friday/​Saturday night driving can be a pain but the building is definitely close enough to walk almost anywhere in Gaslamp or downtown.
Based on other downtown condos/​lofts, the price point seems reasonable (water is included, electric is not). I would definitely give the thumbs up to checking out a unit.