The Merian — Local services in San Diego

We moved into The Merian after looking for months at other available single family homes, condos, low-rise, mid-rise, and high-rises in the downtown area.

From the beginning, and still to this day, the property management and staff have been incredibly friendly and helpful. That's something that should just be a thing but we definitely noticed a difference at The Merian. They're professional but also warm and welcoming. The specific floor plan we ended up interested in was occupied and not available during our initial showing. When it became available, we were promptly notified and came to check it out. The leasing staff were helping others when we arrived unexpectedly but the front desk concierge, Adrian, stepped up and led us to the apartment and openly talked with us about the building.

Adrian has apparently been here since the building opened a couple of years ago. Since the launch, the original management company sold the building to Brookfield Properties, which also runs The Heritage and is heavily invested in San Diego if you Google them. From our understanding, Adrian is one of the only original staff remaining. And we're so happy he's still here.

I mentioned the new management because it seems the original was very hands off and basically let people do whatever they wanted. They knew it would all be someone else's problem soon.

The new staff has acknowledged that and has been making obvious changes to improve the quality of life for new residents. There have even been a few events they've put on in the beautiful 33rd floor Sky Lounge and well-planned gym areas. From beer sampling by a local brewery to Saturday yoga and how to make sushi classes led by a true chef, they're very clearly trying to get the residents to come together and have fun as a community.

Maintenance requests are handled so quickly, we've been surprised. The professional 24/7 onsite security staff is constantly patrolling and respond to issues promptly. They even make their way around the entire block to keep the area clean and safe for residents around the clock.

As far as the apartment itself is concerned, we love it. Everything is new and modern. I really enjoy cooking and this kitchen is one of the best I've ever had. The motorized window blinds throughout the place are very cool and useful. The combination of concrete and paint is perfect for modern living. Bathrooms feel luxurious with tubs that fit even my 6' tall body and the cabinet underglow is perfect for relaxing. You will definitely want to show this place off, even if you're an introvert.

Sure, there are a few machines in the gym that are powered down. Yes, waiting for the elevator sucks at times, especially when you have guests. And there are a few people living here that will rub you the wrong way. But that's kind of something you just have to understand and accept with this kind of living. Things happen. And money can buy awesome luxury apartments but it just cannot buy class.

If you're a respectful professional looking for a home downtown you actually love being in, this is your place. If you're that and work remotely full time, this is definitely your place. The views, the amenities, and (most of) the people are just icing on the cake.

Consider this place heavily if it's in your budget. If its not, stretch things a bit so it is. The good definitely outweighs the bad. And even then, the new management is trying their best to minimize the effects of the bad.

Highly recommended.

PS: We had a well-reviewed contractor come by several times to mount TVs and handle other tasks we wanted done. He said this building and The Heritage were the only ones he's worked at downtown that the Smart Entry system actually worked. It's pretty damn cool, even if we lost one access point because some residents kept abusing it by opening it up for no reason. It sucks to lose that entry thanks to whoever it was, but the fact management removed it from the smartphone app proves they are taking security of residents and their...

I moved here a few months after it was first built. When it was under the Original Management with Holland Properties it was an AMAZING Experience With Felicia Cannon, Chad and The O.G Front Desk Concierge Adrian were on top of EVERYTHING and Ran that Property Extremely Professional and always made it a home to everyone who lived there Originally. Miss them so much! When the Merian was under Holland Properties EVERYTHING was always Fixed. The Front Desk staff were always SOOOO Friendly and always was there for you to feel at home. The Management at that time was Always there for the tenants always making sure they came FIRST. Made sure they accommodated everyone who lived there at that time and made them a Priority. Never discriminated any Tenants who lived there. ALL THE Amenities were always there to Enjoy. You didn't need to pay a 500.00 Deposit to enjoy the Sky Lounge or 250.00 for the 2nd Floor Lounge for Private Events. Just a Free Reservation to Host Private Events when a day was free. Property at that time was always Kept the Entire Property Clean, in ORDER and always such an awesome place to call home at the time.. However as soon as Brookfield Properties came in they really messed everything up. There were 4 Different Management Turn arounds. They treated us tenants like a number. They did not enjoy their jobs. They always made onsite security do double shifts and underpaid them. Management never wanted to meet with tenants if the tenants needed help. Yet alone reply to emails. Management made onsite staff control tenants by turning us away by saying " the property manager will reach out when they can." The Elevators were always Broken down and always took more then 20-30 minutes to get into one. If you live on the higher floor level it was hell. If you lived either on the 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th Floor by the Gym your Neighbors above you will complain due to Loud Banging noises due to the weights being dropped and management will add it to your tenant record without any discussion with tenants that get in trouble. As soon as you walk through the Lobby passing the front desk to get to the elevators the front desk staff Literally will dog you down till you get into the elevator. They were NOT friendly by any means. The mailroom was so disorganized. Packages were always stolen. Mail was ALWAYS Miss placed. There is always a HUGE divide between the Low Income Tenants and The NON Low Income Tenants. Management Literally treated you just as if you were either a Low Income Tenant or a NON Low Income Tenant. The Pool was never enjoyable as its always Dirty, The Hot Tub was never hot or it was was broken so they wouldn't let anyone enjoy those amenities for long periods at a time. The underground parking Garage has NO cameras from when I Lived there from 2020-2023. My friend worked for the security here through Allied Security so I was told soooo many things behind close doors During 2022-2023. My other friend did the parking for the underground garage through a third party company for the weekends & Events shared everything about the underground parking on a day to day biases. So unsafe. If you want to live in misery this is the Home for you. There are other Sky Scrapper Luxury buildings in Downtown SD, Little Italy & Balboa that are places to call home. Believe me when I say this is not it. Do your homework with the Merian under Brookfield Properties. I PROMISE you it's not where you wanna come back after a hard day of busting your ass calling this...

[01/27/21] 5 Stars The Merian now has new management, Brookfield Properties. Chad, the property manager, is stellar. Huge improvements since he took over!

The cleanliness of the property has improved. They finally took down the fence which looks great.

The elevators seem to work great now. Still some delays when there are move ins but def not as bad.

We had issues with our hot water with former management who "tried" to fix it several times but just kept getting the run around. With new management, it took only a few days and they resolved the issue. Can finally take a hot shower! :)

[8/10/21] 3 Stars We've been here 7 months now and a few things have changed quite a bit so I wanted to write an update.

When we first moved here back in Jan 2021 the property was at about 40% leased, and from my understanding we're closer to 75% now. This means a few things:

Amenities: went from open 24-hours to now closing at 10pm daily. With more people living in the building, the pool specifically, gets pretty packed. Especially on the weekends, there are residents sadly abusing the 2 guest maximum. There are parties on the roof, people playing their loud music, etc.

Windows: the windows have never been cleaned. We are paying premium rates for west facing views but the windows are filthy! Finally got a notification that windows are getting cleaned on July 16th and it's now Aug 10th and our windows are yet to be cleaned. I struggle to find that it takes ~4 weeks to get windows cleaned.

Property: there is a fence surrounding our park that is going unmaintained which was supposed to be down by now. Also, this is soaked in urine and smells awful. It seems the entire block that the Merian is on is only being maintained by the city on a weekly basis. This means, there is urine, poop, trash, etc surrounding the entire block. Seems to be the only dirty block in the area which is surprising.

There are only 4 elevators so when one is down or is being occupied by a move-in/move-out there are extremely long waits.

[3/2/21] 5 Stars We've been here for a little over a month now and thought I'd send another update.

Security: We appreciate the 24-hour security. Feels very safe! You need a fob to enter the building, use the elevators, and access amenities. You also go through 2 garage doors to access the resident parking garage which is amazing for extra security.

Amenities: So far we've only been able to enjoy the pool (upon reservation) and the dog walk. Both are kept really clean. Sometimes residents don't pick up after their pets which is kind of annoying.

Staff and Property: The staff is amazing! There is an onboarding specialist to make sure you have everything you need upon move-in. The property is kept in pristine condition with daily cleaning (multiple times throughout the day). Maintenance requests have been handled within 24-hours.

The only nuisance so far is the low water pressure, and there is no way to fix it. From my understanding it to reserve water but being it is something we use all the time, it definitely slows things down -- and uses up more water.

[Dec 2020] 5 Stars We just signed a lease and couldn’t be more excited. Our sales associate, Luba, was exceptional and the primary reason we decided to move forward with this property.

Plus it’s a Holland Partner Group portfolio and they’re the...