::TITANIUM LINING::On the flip side, the wreck occurred as Austin and I were returning from a celebratory dinner.
Monday evening, after weeks of searching, annotating, calculating, pro-and-conning,
hoping, and compromising, we had four more properties to look at. To set the stage: we were almost decided about another, less cool, SoCo loft (primary problem: it only had about 650
usable square feet, so we'd need to get rid of 2/5 of our furniture; secondary problem: the walls were all shades of mustard yellow and the floor's concrete was
painted; tertiary problem: it cost $1000/mo, more than the original "dream SoCo" place).
First up?
The Adam Hats Building and
Futura Lofts, both managed by the same property company. They're both in
Deep Ellum (oh look, there's Adam Hats on its main page!), though Futura's in the east and Adam Hats is more on the interface between Deep Ellum and downtown. I got to Adam Hats first, so I had them show me the available unit while Austin commuted. We'd already seen the floorplan as it existed in the basement (ack!), so its layout wasn't too big a surprise to me. I asked the current resident what the utilities were, and -- here's where things got interesting -- he said, "It's never been over $240." My mind started spinning. Sealed concrete floors, two walls of windows (about 20' and 40' long, with
cellular shades), double sinks in the bathroom, the most glorious view of downtown I've ever seen from a window.
Austin joined me at Futura Murray and Continental lofts, and while he seemed pretty enchanted, I was unenthused. We went back to Adam Hats.
He stepped inside the loft, and I was pleased to see he was as impressed as I, and that the SoCo one was no longer a factor. He loved the unpainted concrete floors and the view. It also has things like a dishwasher, a bathtub,
any windows (much less a view), an onsite fitness center, access to a pool down the street, and full-size WD hookups that our current place (which I love) lacks. A true step up.
It's the building whose lofts I have coveted since
high school (well, this one and
2220 Canton, but now they have ugly apartments built all the way around them, forever occluding downtown views). It's the building everyone knows because it's so visible. It's the one on the southwest corner. Third floor. Literally the closest one to the freeway. Our unit will be the one I've pointed to dozens of times, saying, "I wish I could live there."
And now I will. We get the keys May 14.