Zo - Oakland, California

Kevin M. (.

I moved into Zo near the end of May, early June, of 2022. Upon move-in, and lease renewal, I was promised an account credit towards rent and received it. The value was great for the space provided (2bd/2ba) and I had a beautiful view from a corner unit. Since I moved in the staff have been cycled through multiple times and as I was moving out (July 2024) the staff had recently been updated that year. From the previous management in the office, the new staff is friendly, easy to talk with, and will help you out with what you need.

The ammentities of the community are nice, the upstairs has a shallow pool that is heated (although during my time living here the pool had been closed for months due to overhaul maintenance project). The upstairs lounge and fire pits are a great place to have get togethers or to just sitdown and read a book looking out at the city. The 5th floor lounge is a great spot to watch a movie with a group of people. The 5th floor patio has grills the are well maintained considering how many people use them. Although I don't have any pets, I noticed the dog run and pet wash station are kept nice for the residents that use them. The gym at Zo is okay, it has enough equipment to get a decent workout in so you don't need home equipment. During my time there I reported that some of the treadmills weren't operating correctly and that was never addressed. I even ran into the person (contractor) that insepcts the gym equipment and they still weren't fixed.

In the unit I had there were electric appliances. The oven in the units was difficult to figure out how to operate but after finding the technical manual for it online it helped out in understanding how to use it. The ovens tend to run a little hot. The washer and dryer are full size and can hold a large load. I never experienced any issues with the freezers, fridges, or microwave. The racks in the closet are adjustable so tenants can organize their space based on their needs which is nice. Water pressure in my unit (6th floor) was good but other residents appeared to have issues with flickering water pressure. The heat of the water was nice too, it never got scalding or too hot. There are no reliable sources for heating and cooling air.

The happenings within the building are quite frequent. Community members have get togethers to meet up and hang out, and there is a community chat that is ran by residents.

There are a couple of issues that need to be resolved in the community. There is an ongoing battle for parking spots in the lot because there was supposed to be assigned parking. When I was leaving the management team sent out a notice to say that they are working on it, so I assume that will be dealt with in the near future. Resident's who are pet-owners found that recently they were having difficulty accessing the dog-run at night to let their dogs do their business. From my understanding it appears that the building did not want people in the dog-run past 10:00, and want residents to use the street. The building is in a nice area downtown, however there are still nearby sketchy individuals that I wouldn't want to run into at night because I had to walk a dog outside.

That last thing to mention is upon move-out, I had the manager walk through my apartment with me to verify that I left the condition of the unit in good standing. Because I had lived there a long enough time, touch-up paint was covered by tenant's rights. The manager verbally agreed that the place looked great, didn't need to be cleaned by an external crew, and that I would get my full deposit back. They even made sure to mention that they would send me an email describing that for my records. I never received the promised email from the manager even after reaching out to them. I did not receive my full deposit back and below are images of the state of the apartment as I left.

My experience at Zo was an great one but not a excellent one, I encourage those who are considering moving-in to go ahead and join the Zo community.

Britney W.

Beautiful Complex Amazing Team. ZO Apartments has it all
Kelly and Gabriel are an outstanding team together representing a beautiful development. Both are professional and will have you SOLD before even viewing the actual apartment itself. Kelly's due diligence while showing you the amenities during the virtual tour and A-1 customer service is a winner in my book, and Kelly was very helpful by assisting me with any questions or concerns I had regarding the building.
ZO is a beautiful Apartment Complex located in the heart of Downtown Oakland, with a top notch security system, and BREATH TAKING VIEWS!!! ZO offers a beautiful rooftop sparkling pool, sterilized gym facility, clean secured bike rack room, a nice Dog Park for your furr babies, including a cleaning station, and closed garage parking for your vehicle(s). Washer and dryer in unit, not to mention more than enough indoor/outdoor space to entertain your friends & loved ones.
ZO Apartments is most definitely a TOP contender if looking for somewhere to call home in the Down Town Oakland Area.

Update: My current status at ZO isn't as wonderful as I would have liked it be, unfortunately outside of everyone being wonderful; tenants and management, we're supposed to have assigned parking since I've moved in BACK IN April, and NO one's using their assigned parking stall, which is frustrating because if you work late at night it's almost impossible to find a parking!!!! And it needs to be addressed ASAP!!!!!

Dylan F.

Would not recommend. You pay luxury prices but tenants consistently feel like an after thought. We did not have access to our trash chute for almost half a year. Now for the second time our electronic payment system is being deactivated. The trash cans are always full, the front door breaks occasionally so hopefully you weren’t planning on using your phone to get in. There has been a revolving door of management since I moved in. The heating is subpar and struggles to get above 65. As others have noted it constantly reeks in the common areas. The rooftop TV has not worked properly since I moved in. The rooftop pool was unavailable for the first 3 months of my lease. On top of all of these issues, they raise the rent consistently on every renewal. The only brights spot is Nicole at the front desk and the cleaning and service staff have always been kind and helpful. But, that doesn’t compensate for the laundry list of issues that make for an uneasy home life. Stay away.

Daniel L.

Leasing office was fast to respond, helpful, and patient when guiding me through the application & signing process.
The complex is kept clean and service requests are responded to quickly. Staff is friendly and helpful.

In terms of the units, they're nice and spacious with a lot of light and great views. As of winter, the units are naturally warm ~23-25C (no need to turn the thermostat on); that saved me quite a bit on my electric bill. They have a special AC system that runs water around the units that allegedly saves on electricity for cooling.
Water warms up really quickly for the kitchen and showers.

There were some inconveniences with some designs/placements, though they aren't really deal breakers for me. Just being a bit nitpicky here.
- there is no kitchen ventilation. So when you cook you need to open the window and turn the living room fan on
- the water basin is a weird convex shape so there's not a lot of room for your hands, but it's something you can get used to or find workarounds for
- there isn't a second hallway light switch, so you either need to use a smart light bulb or just go back and turn it off
- all the entrances can be app-controlled or accessed via a fob, which is nice, except for your unit's door for some reason. A bit weird to go around with a fob, but eventually switch to a traditional key to enter your unit. On top of that, the auto-locking mechanism of the unit makes it so you can lock yourself out easily if you are not careful.

Overall great experience living hear for about a month.
Some other good parts:
- good location. really close to the BART and bus stops. Good local restaurants a few blocks walk away. Very close to a park and the lake.
- neighborhood is pretty quiet and well lit at night
- dog washing station is incredibly useful

Tony C.

Would I move in here knowing what I know now? Absolutely not. Only the incentives put us in here in the first place, and those made it sensible for us to stay, warts and all. It should be said that Nicole at the desk is amazing. Efficient, positive and goes out of her way to get things done. She never fails. Nicole is a gem. Erwann (sp?) in maintenance is in the same category. You need it, he takes care of it. A very likable guy, too.
Another thing keeping us here is that our unit is tough to beat. Corner unit, lake views, no one around us and more quiet than we thought it would be. The modern appliances have cut our utilities by two thirds from where we had been living.
Management of the building is awful. Granted, the people in charge are hamstrung by a totally feckless corporation in some far-flung location, but they don't seem interested dealing with residents, especially when dealing with someone like me, who has a strong personality and will rage against the machine. Oh, and that I'm one of the oldest people living in this is assuredly a factor.
Oh, and dog piss pools in elevators are a normal occurrence, the latest of which was this morning. And the AC, which we would use twice a year, has never worked since the building opened?
From what I've gathered, the other new high-rises around here aren't any better, but if I were you, I'd take a hard look before choosing this place.

Shane C.

I manage one of the retail spaces on the ground floor. These past 6 months have been a dream with Erwann managing the facilities. The sidewalk aesthetic has improved, the trash areas are very well maintained and he is super responsive to help with other fixes around the property. As a business operator, I can’t ask for anything else to run smoothly. Thank you!

Eugene R.

I moved into Zo after relocating to the Bay Area from NYC, and It's been a great experience so far. Jowanna Khaled and the team have been great. I toured a few buildings in the area before deciding on Zo due to its location and proximity to Bart and the warmth and friendliness I felt from the tours I got from Nicole and Terry.

Allie

Terrible Living Experience
These apartments are absolutely unfit for living, especially if you have children. The building is constantly filled with the strong smell of cigarettes and marijuana, which seeps into the units regardless of whether windows and doors are closed. The elevators reek in the evenings, making the environment even more unbearable. The management office does nothing to help—they just make empty promises and talk, but no real action is taken.
Living here is a constant source of stress due to the inaction of the management and the inability to ensure a healthy, safe, and clean living environment. I do not recommend these apartments to anyone who values their health and the well-being of their family.