Good: Pretty complex, excellent management, central air, full-size washer/dryer, no neighbor noise, can walk to shopping, month-to-month leases

Bad: Ants, tight parking, street noise, small kitchen, inconvenient mailboxes

Portola Park is a wonderful apartment community, located at North Livermore and Portola Avenue in Livermore. If you?ve driven past it, you may recognize it as "the pink apartment building". It is beautiful and well-kept-up.

Location: It is convenient to 580 and to local schools (Junction Avenue Middle School and Don Gaspar de Portola School are both within easy walking distance). It is less convenient to Lawrence Livermore and Sandia Labs, since you have to either take 580 or drive through Livermore. You can walk to shopping at Portola Village (Albertson?s) or to Wal-Mart/Home Depot. You could also walk to the bus station on Junction Avenue and the train station.

Amenities: Portola Park apartments have central air and full-size washer/dryer (not those small stacking washer/dryers like they have at Mill Springs Park and other complexes). Think twice about taking any apartment in Livermore without central air, and remember that air conditioning is not the same as central air. The summer I moved to Portola Park, the temperature got up to 115 one day, and temperatures over 100 are not uncommon. Those room units you find in older complexes don?t do much when faced with that kind of heat.

Noise: Almost the only noise I heard from within the complex itself was noise from the water pipes. It?s very well-insulated, and management is good about getting rid of tenants who cause a noise problem. However, there is street noise. I always heard noise from the street (my unit faced Junction Avenue) and the trains a short distance away. Be aware that, for some reason, those idiots who think everybody wants to hear their car stereo like to drive down Junction Avenue.

Safety: Though I never felt unsafe in the complex itself, there is a not-so-good neighborhood just south on Junction Avenue from Portola Park, which is why I only gave it a 4 for safety. The area between Portola Park and 580 is safe, though. The complex does have security guards on patrol at night.

Management: Management KICKS BUTT! (I?d have given them a 6 on a scale of 1 to 5 if I could) When I moved in, Rebecca told me that, on the second complaint made about you making noise, you would be given a 30-day notice to vacate. So this is not the place for you if you like to break rules and disturb your neighbors. But it is GREAT if you don?t like being woken up early or kept up late by noise from your neighbors. Rebecca and the others in the management office are wonderful- they always sent maintenance out promptly to fix problems, and were helpful and courteous. They do not suffer fools gladly, though.

Parking: I had only one car, so parking was not a huge issue for me. However, be aware that the parking lot is very tight, so getting into the garages (you get a garage with a 2- or 3-bedroom apartment) can be difficult. The garages and parking spaces are narrow, which was an issue for me since I have a 2-door car. There is practically no visitor parking, and street parking can be a little hard to come by, at least compared with Rhonewood or La Vina.

Leases: The only lease term I was offered was month-to-month. Portola Park is an excellent choice if you want a nice apartment with a month-to-month lease without being gouged for it (their rents are about the same as La Vina offers with a lease). They have income guidelines and require that you have been employed at the same job for at least 6 months.

Miscellaneous issues: The kitchens are small and decidedly short on counter space. You might have an ant problem in the winter- I had a couple of major ant infestations in early 2003, and others in the complex did as well. The mailboxes were in a separate building (that used to be a laundry facility) fairly far from my building. It was a pain to have to go out there, especially when it was cold or raining.

Recommended: YES Overall Rating

Parking: Maintenance: Construction: Noise:

Grounds: Safety: Office Staff:

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