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Archstone University Towne Ctr
Categories: Home Services Real Estate Apartments Home Services Real Estate Property Management Apartments, Property Management
7936 Avenida Navidad(between Caminito Sana & Via San Saba)
San Diego, CA 92122
Neighborhood: University City
(858) 333-8036
$1,200 off rent
Save up to $1,200 off your rent on select 1 & 2 bedrooms. Offer based on specific move-in date & lease term, & availability is limited.
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 9 am - 7 pm
Fri 9 am - 6 pm
Sat 9 am - 5 pm
Sun 11 am - 5 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
13 reviews for Archstone University Towne Ctr
13 reviews in English
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Review from Rahul K.
San Diego, CA
3/28/2011
I have been living at this place for like 6 months now. Its quite a refreshing change from all the monotonus buildings like Costa Verde and stuff.
The best thing I like about my apartment is the Gas Stove which runs on Natural Gas, instead of the more common electric stoves which are not fun at all to cook. The customer service is also really prompt and we get most of our custodial requests fixed in a 24 hrs.
The location is really convenient as UTC mall and the transit center are only 5 mins away. Its quite convenient for me as I get buses from UTC to UCSD. -
Review from Jeff L.
San Diego, CA
1/16/2012
The theme of this writing is that the smile you share when the leasing team shows you the apartment is the last smile you'll share. We were told after moving in: YOU HAVE NO CHANCE OF GETTING ANY OF YOUR DEPOSIT BACK! REPEAT: NO CHANCE! KISS IT GOOD-BYE! The office staff will continue to smile. You will just be pissed.
Really wished that I would have read the reviews on here before we signed anything.
The move in experience is definitely less than ideal.
1. We were told Directv was no problem, only to find out once we sign a lease that none of the apartments face the correct direction for the satellite, which must be on a tri-pod on your porch. My advice to you, if you are passionate about having a dish, get a 2nd floor apartment and then have them put in an extender to have your dish extend above the roof. We saw at least one person try this. Tough break for us, we have a dog over 40lbs, so we have to occupy an apartment on the 1st floor.
2. Then, one other fun little tid-bit....if you happen to use PODS or ABF, or anyone else that will drop a trailer/unit, etc. This place will not work for you. We had a trailer and they made us drop it 1/8 of a mile away from our building. This was despite all of the talk before we moved in about it not being a problem. Too bad our version of no problem (in front of our apartment) and their version (somewhere in the community) didn't seem to match up. As a result we( ended up paying movers for at least 1, maybe 2 extra hours of work, because they had to walk so far to move all of our stuff. Mercifully, we didn't try to do it ourselves. That would have been an EPIC FAIL!
3. So, once you get past that, (again - after you've signed the lease - for some reason none of this comes out before hand) they do a "walk through" of the apartment which consists of them telling you how hard they worked cleaning your place and you signing their form. As the walk-through guy is walking out, he says "oh by the way, when you move out you'll be charged $50 for cleaning and $100 for carpet cleaning. They do that for everyone. Just want to let you know so that there's no surprises." Thanks for the no surprises. That's like saying halfway through sex, "oh by the way I have the clap". At the very least, you'd expect the place to be clean since they are charging everyone $150 on their way out.
NOT
SO
MUCH!
Let's just say that the guy that moved out before us didn't exactly get his money's worth. I've seen sheds that were cleaner than this place.
4. First thing when you move in, call maintenance and tell them you need your vent vacuumed and your air filter changed. Ours looked like it hadn't been changed since the Carter Administration. It was disgusting. Not sure how anyone was breathing in that filthy air, but we were for like a day before I could figure out what the problem was. Put it this way, the screws to the air duct had at least 1, possibly more layers of paint adhesing them to the wall. These things haven't seen the light of day in quite some time.
Now the positives -
1. Neighbors are very friendly. There's not a bad apple in the bunch.
2. This has got to be one of the more centrally located areas I've ever seen. EVERYTHING is within walking distance - the grocery store, shopping mall, parks, dog parks, several bus stops, coffee shop, post office - you name it. If you like walking/jogging/biking, this is the place for you. You could literally walk for miles. There are sidewalks and crosswalks for as far as the eye can see. Every road I've seen has bike lanes also. Seriously, other than work, there isn't a single place I've gone that is more than 2-3 miles from home.
3. As far as inside the apartment, the closet space is unlike I've ever seen. There are 5 full sized closets and the cabinet space in the kitchen is off the chain. Washer/Dryer units are on the porch - a little weird, but maybe that's how things are out here (I'm a recent transplant from the east coast). If you don't have the Washer-Dryer, then you have another storage area off the patio.
4. The property seems to be well maintained. There are doggie stations throughout the community with bags and garbage cans. Definitely makes things easier. 2 pools - included one that is heated. Hot tub...nice Club House. Everything looks good.
One last thing to look forward to/beware of...
Most times, there are "move in specials" that will give you money off your rent. This is terrific, but after a year, your rent will go up. I repeat YOUR RENT WILL GO UP! Do not get comfortable. In one year, you will have to move or have your wallet jacked up. I think that if they would just take the money they allocate in recruiting new tenants and just put that towards lowering the rent, then they would save so much money. Perhaps this is a new idea they're putting into place. Something tells me that it isn't. -
Review from Eric L.
Updated - 4/16/2010
Let me tell you the incompetence of Archstone UTC:
1) During an effort to be more"green" they installed low flow fixtures and new fluorescent fixtures in the kitchens. The fluorescent lights now don't work... yay!
2) Our water heater output line ruptured and water flooded the laundry room below. They entered our apartment and fixed it in a snap (that's a plus) and then started using a dehumidifier to make sure mold didn't show up, etc. When they took out the dehumidifier, they left out doors open for all those fun critters from the outside to get in.
3) During the rains of 2009, our ceilings leaked. It took them weeks to get it completed.
4) They just sent (as in like 5 minutes ago) me an email saying they're going to resurface the pool starting April 5. This review is being written on the 16th of april.
5) They do construction on the pool/hot tub in the spring/summer when people want to use it. Good thing they don't do it in the winter when people DON'T want to use it.
6) The hot tub was being resurfaced on Memorial Day. You know, end of may when people don't want to use it.
7) Their laundry system uses credit card charges to a smart card which has a $0.50 surcharge for loading any money on the smart card.
8) They changed the washing machines all out at once after being told they would do it in shifts half 1 day and then the other half. needless to say, I had no clean clothes which sucks since I was out of the country and JUST got back home to a place with no laundry rooms.
9) They charged us the month to month rent WITHOUT our rent adjustment for 3 months after we signed a renewal on our lease.
10) There were nails sticking up in our entry way for us to step on. It did cut my feet a couple of times.
11) their "24 hour response guarantee" is, and I quote "A suggestion moreso than a guarantee." After it took them 3 days to respond because I went to the leasing office.
12) Our front door doesn't always close easily because of the door having warped so much. instead of fixing the alignment of the hole for the bolt to fit in, they left it with the reply of, "It works fine"
Okay, I'm done ranting.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/9/2009
It's a place to live what can I say?
I've lived here for a little less than a year and there are… Read more »
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Review from Cindy W.
10/8/2009
My first apartment with my at-the-time boyfriend (now my husband) was at this place. We got a one bedroom and at the time, no dog. On our move-in day, my guy was backing up the UHaul and the lady from the office didn't tell him to stop so the top of the truck broke the frame of the garage and she just stood there and then told us we had to pay $300 for it. Wow...really? This could have been prevented if SHE JUST TOLD HIM TO STOP! She was standing right there!
So we finally got a dog since my guy was working the night shift at the time and I was always alone. So once we got a dog, they had to move us to the dog area and renew our lease for another year. I wasn't crazy about renewing the lease, but the new place had a washer and dryer right on our porch with a door to close it. When we moved, they charged us $1600 to replace the carpet but the carpet was steamed cleaned by us and it wasn't filthy at all. I didn't get it.
Getting my package at the front desk takes a good half hour since they take care of people who requires the most attention first and then when they're DONE, they'll get your damn package. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
We have assigned parking spots but I came home one day and someone was in my spot and after beeping for awhile, no one came out. So I parked behind this person to block them in. At midnight, the towing truck was trying to tow my car for taking up a lot of space. I stopped them in time so they wouldn't tow it.
The landscaping, pool, hot tub, pets, etc are great and clean, but other than that, not worth the money.Listed in: La Jolla UTC
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Review from Jennifer K.
San Diego, CA
6/13/2011
IF YOU ARE THINKING OF LIVING HERE YOU CAN KISS YOUR ENTIRE DEPOSIT GOODBYE!
Our deposit was $500-$550. $300 of that was a pet deposit for our 2 cats. They told us it would cost about $150 to clean the apartment which included the carpets, overall cleaning, and some touchup paint. They took our ENTIRE deposit. They repainted the entire apartment which was not even necessary! And charged us for 2 months worth of water/trash when we pay that every month with our rent!
And there's a mysterious charge on there which looks like a partial rent charge when we were never not once late on rent or short for that matter. We did move out on the 23rd of the month so we paid a pro-rated amount that the office calculated for us and said that the online service could not pro-rate but just to pay the amount they told us. And we have a paper they gave us that has this in writing! My husband is going to go over everything and be giving them a call. I'm surprised they did not replace the carpets and charge us for that!
At an apartment I lived in a few years ago my deposit was $150 and I got the whole thing back! They did not even charge me for the cleaning! I have no idea why! And from other previous places we have always gotten MOST or half our deposit back!
We lived here for 1 year and 3 months. After signing a lease they called to inform us that tenants in the unit we signed the lease for wanted to delay their move by a month and that they had the right to do so. We were pretty flexible and were able to delay our move out from our old place by a month no problem.
However, when we moved out it was up in the air on what date we would actually move out as we were purchasing a condo and the closing was taking awhile. I asked if we could delay our move out if possible and they said only if our apartment hadn't been rented. When I explained what happened to us when we moved in the lady I spoke with said that should not have happened especially if we had already signed the lease. Um well it did!
We had to go month to month and pay their exorbent month to month rent for not signing a new lease since we were buying a condo and knew for sure we would not be living there for another year. Not to mention had we signed a new lease they wanted to raise our rent by $50 and our pet rent also by $50 so in total they wanted to charge us $100 more!
The kitchen pretty much sucked. It is the smallest kitchen I have ever had with absolutely no counter space! And you can't even open the oven all the way because the fridge sticks out and was blocking it from opening all the way. Not that it's too much of a big deal but they said we would have an updated kitchen and it was not updated.
The water bill is one of the most expensive water bills I've ever seen! They do some weird calculation like divide up the water bill for the entire complex between everyone. You don't get your own meter. And they are alway watering the plants for the complex! The sprinklers come on at 11/12 at night like clockwork, and I'm pretty sure even when it rains they come on!
The staff was pretty friendly but I do not appreciate being robbed of my money and am so glad to be a homeowner now!Comment from Community M. of Archstone University Towne Ctr 6/13/2011
Hi Jennifer, My name is Andrea, and I am the community… More » -
Review from Shelby P.
San Diego, CA
4/9/2010
My boyfriend and I have lived here for over 6 month. There are pros and cons to this apartment complex but all in all I have really enjoyed living here.
Pros:
Pet Friendly!!!!! This place is hopping with dog loving owners. Everyone here has pets and there are two dog parks extremely close to the apartment. There is many spots for your dog to do his or her business and they have poopy bags near the apartments.
Pretty safe community. It's private property but does need more lights.
Friendly Neighbor's have never been close to anyone I have ever lived near but this place is amazing. I have met so many great people and everyone looks out for each other.
Service Request get done FAST.
Pay online, service requests online, etc.
805 and 5 highways are extremely close
5 minutes from Scripps Beach
Surrounded by shopping, restaurants, schools, gas stations, banks, malls, movie theaters etc.
Cons:
Maintenance workers start working pretty early so sometimes they will wake you up.
SPIDERS and bugs!!!!! They are pretty much everywhere however the apartment complex will spray for them weekly in and around your apartment for free if you ask, but you have to be out of your apartment for six hours : (
The pool closes at 10pm even on weekends
You HAVE to keep your dog on a leash. If the leasing office or maintenance people see your dog off the leash you will be yelled at.
Fined for not picking up your dogs poop but that's just common courtesy!!
Fined for throwing cigarette butts on the ground but again common courtesy!!!
If you don't buy a parking spot...don't think you will be parking near your apartment because it really doesn't exist most of the time.
TIPS for living here.....
Get a unit with a washer/drier inside it....it's HELL lugging your laundry to the laundry room and if can get $$$ fast! $1.25 wash and $1.00 dry plus to put more money on the card is dumb because you have to do it at the gym which is down the street (from where I was anyway) and if you forget your key well looks like you have to walk back to get it before you can wash your clothes.
Even if you live alone think about buying two parking spots if possible. If you have company over it's hard to find extra parking.
When you move in check EVERYTHING. Even the tiniest thing tell them beforehand because they might charge you for it.
If you don't like dogs DON'T live here.
The area isn't extremely lit up so be cautious but that's a no brainer.
The leasing office can be slow at getting your packages to you if they are showing apartments or doing something else so UPS and FedEx is your best bet. -
Review from Judy W.
San Diego, CA
Updated - 7/20/2011
Archstone leasing office called me the day after I sent the letter. John was prompt and professional, so I give them a star for that.
We also decided to forget who owed what to whom so it turned out to be zero sum for both sides. That's another star for being able to compromise.
He apologized for the painting charge. Even he didn't know why the painters had to repaint the whole place when there were only small holes for frames in the walls.
The carpet cleaning fee is standard - he wouldn't budge on that because it's for "sanitation" purposes. I still disagree that it should come out of my security deposit rather than part of Archstone's cost of doing business.
The fact that they can't provide me with a copy of my own credit report even after they charged me for a background check - that's a little fishy. I think it's required by law that if a tenant pays for a credit check, then they're entitled to a copy of whatever the landlord is checking - it's my personal info, after all.
I'm not fully satisfied with the results, but I have better things to do with my time than take them to court.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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7/15/2011
Long story short, I moved to another apartment in Archstone to cover the lease of a friend who was… Read more »
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Review from jane m.
Glendale, CA
8/11/2009
I have to agree w/ everything that R.J. says below. My roommate's car was also towed that morning and the management office gave him a hard time as well.
I moved here because management seemed really friendly and willing to help but after moving in most of them have been less than helpful. It took them 6 months to properly repair my oven and yes, they have a 24 hour maintenance guarantee but that just means they come w/in 24 hours.
Rarely have they "fixed" the problem correctly on the first try. Maybe we moved into a bad unit, but we've had ALOT of problems ranging from a broken oven to plumbing problems...crap coming in through the bathtub from the unit upstairs. GROSS
My unit also flooded when i first moved in and they expected me to move back in after 3 days, after they had torn up my walls and ceiling, before repairing it. It took them 3+ weeks to fix.
It's also set up in a way that your neighbors can look into your unit basically whenever they want.
I really have nothing good to say about this place, except that the staff is friendly and helpful...right up until you sign the lease. -
Review from Jamie B.
San Diego, CA
Updated - 10/11/2011
Living at Archstone UTC was a disaster because the entire office staff is disorganized. I could write a book with all of their errors, but I will just cover my move-out experience. I thought the nightmare was over when I moved out, and had been told my cleaning fee/ painting fee/ and carpet cleaning would not exceed my $300 deposit. After moving to the East Coast, I get a call from the office manager, John stating that all of the mail they were sending to me was being returned. OF COURSE IT WAS! I JUST MOVED OUT OF YOUR ADDRESS! The silly part is, he waited 2 months before he called me to tell me I owed money. Keep in mind, my phone number was the same, and has remained the same. At this point, I wasn't even going to argue about the $140 balance because I just wanted to cut my ties with the company. (The $140 balance was 2 months of water bills, and paying to repaint the entire apt. even though I was told the paint wouldn't need to be done in my move-out inspection). I tried to pay this balance while on the phone with John, but I was told the only way I could pay would be by printing out a credit card form and faxing it to the Archstone office. A pain in the butt, but I did just that! I filled out said form, and faxed it to the number listed on the form itself that states "FAX TO ####". A week later, I received a call from the corporate office saying they received my fax, but needed to know what Archstone community I had lived at. I told the lady UTC, and she told me that my payment was received. Once again, I thought my balance was paid, especially since it reflected in my bank records. Received a call (now a month later) from John saying that he has received my payment information, but it's too late he has to send me to collections. The $140 charge came out of my checking account almost a month ago! After a phone call to corporate, and him, he has now told me that he took my charge out of collections, and wanted me to fax the form back to him. Never received an apology ONCE in this whole ordeal, and frankly I don't appreciate how the MANAGER spoke to me like I was the moron, when I did everything as I was told. Or being sent to collections for a balance I already paid, for that matter. I have worked in customer service several times, including in a Law Firm, and have a college education, and never have I dealt with an entire office staff as unorganized as Archstone UTC. They have brought me to tears, extreme frustration, and complete awe. I hope this post sheds some light on what a bad experience they provide, and I will continue to pursue every avenue in spreading awareness. Please note- I am not the only person with a bad review, please do your research before you decide to move in with them. I wish I would have. It's also helpful to simply walk around the complex, and ask people already living there if they would recommend it or not.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/16/2011
Let me start by saying I was very impressed with Archstone UTC when I first moved in, however I am… Read more »
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Review from Charissa G.
San Diego, CA
3/28/2011
I am definitely a fan of Archstone UTC, as I've been here for the past 10 months. After living in other apartment complexes in the La Jolla/UTC area, I've come to find that there are pros and cons to every complex. For you college students looking for a place to live, hopefully this review will be helpful!
Pros:
+ I love the location of my specific unit. It is right over the laundry room, meaning that we can jump up and down without a worry, and it is right next to the swimming pool. If you live on the far edges of Archstone, this might not be a pro for you, but I'm just pointing it out.
+ Parking isn't too bad. They provide 2 spots per complex (I think), and then there is guest parking along the main streeth.
+ The gym has cardio machines that have TVs attached to them! All you have to do is plug in your earphones and you can watch almost any station!
+ Swimming pool and jacuzzi, plus lots of extra tables and chairs if you want to have friends join you.
+ The maintenance staff are super friendly, and are a joy to be around! They always smile and wave at me when I leave early in the morning or when I come back exhausted. It's refreshing.
+ It's close to the 805 South freeway. UTC Mall is really close as well (about a 10 minute walk)
+ Free coffee and cookies in the leasing office, which is super hospitable of the staff and makes up for any situations where one has to wait to talk to someone.
+ Good for young families and people who want a quieter apartment complex to live in without the distraction of louder university students.
Cons:
- The gym is super small, with only 2 treadmills, an elliptical, two bikes, and some weight lifting equipment.
- Signing the lease was a little confusing, but this could partially be because I live with multiple people and we all had to be there at the same time to sign the lease.
- Far from the Arriba/Nobel Shuttles, but walking distance to UTC and another bus along Genesee. (Might not be the greatest for college students). -
Review from Edward M.
Beverly Hills, CA
10/13/2009
As a Registered Nurse finding a safe and quiet home is my first priority second to the right price range. I can honestly say that Archstone U.T.C. is the best place I have rented from in the past 6 years. I have lived in 3 other Archstone property's and this one wins 1st place in my book! I found the leasing office staff to be friendly, kind and respectful. Anne in the leasing office is the best. Although it is not an original Archstone built property, (the property was purchased by Archstone and converted to Archstone's standards.) I found the property to be no different than any of the other 3 I have called home. The comfort and size of my 1 bedroom apartment was perfect. Packages can be safely left in the leasing office for fast pickup during office hours. Maintenance requests were always completed if not the same day within 24 hours. My neighbors on the property were all friendly. I had no noise issues or crime problems either during my year stay at this property. Parking spaces were also always available and assigned. I highly advise anyone who is seeking housing in the U.T.C./La Jolla area to check out this property. You won't be sorry. Thanks Christina Lee and Anne Henry for always going above and beyond during my residence here. Your kindness will never be forgotten. Edward Mc.
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Review from Alicia A.
San Diego, CA
2/12/2009
Transferred here from an Archstone complex in San Francisco. The staff is super friendly and helpful and maitenance is on top of getting things fixed if needed. Quiet neighborhood with a safe feel. Everything is close by. I was hesitant at t1st because my apartment had been renovated in like 15 years but its fantastic. Dont see myself moving anytime soon. And the best is the floors are pretty solid here compared to my last apartment so my dogs can play without annoying the neighbors and I rarely hear mine. Great community!
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Review from Steph M.
San Diego, CA
9/11/2009
I have a large dog, so this place works for me....and it is one of the only places that I can have my dog. I have lived here a few months and so far so good.... we shall see...
