Civic Square Apartments — Attraction in Pleasanton

Refreshing my update 10/17/2024: DO YOURSELF A FAVOR - FIND A BETTER MAINTAINED AND MANGAGED APARTMENT COMPLEX.

TO THE CIVIC SQUARE MANAGMENT response - your words are full of empty platitudes - your LACK of actions is what matters.

I wanted you to know about the poorly managed apartment and property, Civic Square Apartments. I moved into the facility because it was well-priced compared to much nicer but higher-priced apartments in my area. When my lease was coming to an end, the management decided to up my lease. The increase was significant, but what bothered me about the rise in my lease was $166 more monthly than units with the same floor plan listed on their website. When I brought that to the manager, Carina White, she told me my unit was “an upgraded unit.” Armed with that knowledge, I began doing my due diligence.

I found that for the same amount of rent, I could get a much newer apartment with nicer amenities and more extensive square footage than what I was paying for. Through December and up to the first week of January, the website continued to show several units with the same floor plan at a much lower price than management offered me in my renewal. I scheduled multiple walk-throughs of the other units to understand why my unit cost so much more, and on two occasions, the management “could not meet” me, and on one occasion, I had to cancel. Upgrade units meant nothing. What I gathered via e-mail and phone discussions is that “Improved units” meant the following:

• New carpet - That is not an improvement - that is managing the property!

• A backsplash in the kitchen - THAT COSTS NOTHING TO DO!

• poorly painting the old cabinets in the kitchen and then hanging new doors and drawer fronts on them - again, THAT COSTS NOTHING TO DO - AND THE LABOR DID A HORABLE JOB PAINTING THE CABINETS.

• New window blinds - that would be a necessary thing to do if needed.

• Installing a washer and dryer in the unit - I WOULD NOT HAVE MOVED HERE IF THAT WAS NOT INCLUDED. HOWEVER, THE ADDITION MEANS A LOST OF HALL CLOSET! Closet space is sadly missing for the units.

When I was due to sign a new lease in January, the management pushed the price for similar units up to what my new lease would be. What is amazing is after I decided to move on, the prices went down to the same amount I was currently paying for a unit.

In addition to the lack of flexibility on their lease – I was frustrated that the apartment complex chose not to increase the trash dumpsters despite having more residents in the units than they were designed for. Maintenance requests would not be addressed. One of my most frustrating issues was that the gutters leaked this awful brown water on my head as I entered my apartment's front door. Not only did I submit a maintenance request regarding this issue (early on my original lease), but I also pointed out the issue by responding to e-mails sent to the residence about gutter maintenance being done (I believe in October). I got no response. When I pointed that out during the lease renewal, Carina White (Community Manager) finally said it would be addressed – but the work was not done until the day I moved out (February 15th), almost a year after I first contacted Civic Square about the issue.

Now that I have moved, I am much happier at my new complex, but the frustration with the lack of response by the management and the understanding that they had no concept of the rental market in Pleasanton has left a very high disdain towards the management of Civic Square apartments.

Pictures show you:

1 -typical trash build-up over two days (every weekend).

2 -A complaint I have is the gap around my outside door, letting in cold/hot air and spiders. This IS AN IMPROVEMENT after the staff working for three days on the door - but still!

3 - From day one I complained about the brown water that would leak on my head as I would go in or out of my front door. After over a year I left the complex with that issue haven...

While the location and some of the staff are also nice, this is not a good place to live. Even the staff do not stick around, the leasing agent turnover is impressive. 6 in the last year and they only employee one or two agents at any given time. At the time of this review, they were using maintenence staff to cover the office. The complex advertises 24 hour security but that is not correct. The security company the complex uses only works from 6pm - 6am and by work I mean infrequent patrols. I found my neighbor's door open one night (she was fine, had accidentally left it open) and called the security company for assistance. They had no way to reach anyone from the apartment complex after hours, the only thing they could offer was to stop by a few times to make sure everything was okay. They came by one time, looked to see the door was closed and left. This is the same security company that responds if someone parks in your assigned spot. In the year I lived at the complex, I called the security company a few times (the issue mentioned above and a few times because someone was parked in my assigned parking space). The best response time I received was 2 hours. Good luck if you need a vehicle towed or moved during the day, I tried and ended up having to wait for it to leave on its own three out of three times. In regards to parking, there is no where near enough spaces. If you only have one car and no visitors you will be fine, the few unassigned parking spaces are almost always taken up by the residents that have two or more cars. Most of the buildings are very old. They look nice at first glance but when you move in you realize the only updated thing in the apartments are the thermostats. They use the cheapest appliances possible (as do most apartments) but if one breaks (as my dishwasher did), they will try every little fix possible (most don't work) before they will replace anything. My dishwasher did not work properly when I moved in and it took them 2 1/2 months to replace it. To make it even worse, as other reviewers have said, there are random and unannounced shuts offs of power and water. I understand that emergency repairs have to be made from time to time, but 4 times in one month, all with no notice is excessive. They are also in the habit of scheduling painting or other work and only giving the tenants 24 hours notice to park elsewhere, remove items from balcony, make other arrangements for water etc. There seems to be very little concern for the comfort and happiness of their residents. Bottom line, they do not enforce their own rules (If you like the smell of cigarette or marijuana smoke this is the place for you) and are slow to respond to any problem or repair unless...

The Worst Rental Experiences I've Ever Had

I would strongly advise anyone considering this apartment complex to look elsewhere. My time here was filled with frustration, poor living conditions, and unethical practices. The unit I was given had obviously been subjected to cheap, poorly executed renovations. These quick fixes left multiple gaps and structural flaws, which led to ongoing rodent issues — including several mice and, shockingly, even snakes getting inside the apartment. Dealing with management was equally unpleasant. The women in the leasing office consistently displayed unprofessional attitudes, were dismissive of concerns, and made every interaction feel like an inconvenience. Basic customer service was clearly not a priority. To make matters worse, after I moved out, the parent company attempted to charge me for damages that were not only pre-existing, but were also caused by the apartment staff themselves. Despite providing evidence, the issue was met with silence and resistance — a clear sign of the shady practices this establishment engages in. Between the poor living conditions, unhelpful staff, and dishonest billing, it's clear this place is more concerned with taking advantage of tenants than providing a livable and respectable home. Save yourself the trouble and...