The Parc at Pruneyard

Horrible experience living here. I moved from a one bedroom in the community to a two bedroom. The two bedroom buildings have had numerous floods from a busted pipe before I moved in. My apartment smelled of mold so renovations were done in the bathroom. The floor was rotted. During renovations maintenance came in to repair the popcorn ceiling in the master bedroom. Unfortunately they decided to remove the entire popcorn part of the ceiling without using an abatement company. We lived in there for a few days after. I finally called to ask if an abatement company did the ceiling because I kept finding pieces of the ceiling behind furniture. Long story short, we were exposed to asbestos for a few days living there. I was 8 months pregnant at the time. We had to live in a hotel room for a long time while our apartment and all our belongings were «decontaminated» (literally everything-​Parc had to buy us new clothing to use while ours was decontaminated)
I urge those thinking of moving in to think of living in a safer/​newer place. This place has MOLD, ASBESTOS, and LEAD-​I have a copy of the report. The new owners may be making renovations but the popcorn ceilings are not the only thing that tested positive for asbestos, the drywall and a few other places in the apartments tested positive too so the buildings core is full of it.
6 months after this occurred, my cat started losing a lot of weight. It turned out he got lymphoma and had to be put to sleep. He was 4… We are hoping our health will be ok.

I have lived here just under a year and will be moving into another building due to the renovations. While the transfer of ownership in January was a little rough, my overall experience has been positive… I don’t know, maybe I am biased since I lived out in the bush of Zimbabwe for a few years, but I really like living here!
Pros:
— LOVE the dog park, and most of the residents are true dog people and know about and respect dog behavior.
— Neighbors are generally very friendly and respectful… in a year, there has been only 1 party that I could say was annoying, but even that one ended at an acceptable time.
(Just an FYI, the negative review from «A.M from Sunnyvale» is from someone who lived in my building… and was very disgruntled about life in general.)
— The apartments are a nice size and layout, love that there are windows in both the front and back for air movement.
— I am a single woman, and I have always felt safe.
— The management is quick to respond to questions and needs.
— They are within walking distance to the Pruneyard, Whole Foods, the Los Gatos trail and downtown Campbell.
— Super close to my job so I can come home for lunch.
— The apartments themselves are VERY quiet inside… I very rarely hear my neighbors.
— The bedroom and bath in the 1 bedroom layout are HUGE!
— Washer and dryer in the unit
— Will be a no smoking property as old leases expire
— LOVE that they had a gas stove/​oven
— Personally, I never had a problem with parking.
— I didn’t think I would like the garden type apartment, but I really do… it’s much more of a community.
Neutral and Cons (they are renovating so some will change)
— Price; they are more expensive but I appreciate that most of the renters are professionals and therefor, act professionally… and they are going to be more expensive after the reno. Not happy that rents are so high in Campbell… but I really don’t want to commute from Gilroy either.
— Having to move twice in 2 years due to the renovation… but looking forward to the changes and the management have been very gracious in regards to security deposits etc with the move.
— Cutting down trees… the redwoods are still there, and I am not sure if the ones cut down were due to disease or not and there was a drought
— Poor storage in the apartments… and the kitchen cupboards are awkward to use.
— Apartments on the dark side due to paint color and tinted windows
— Apartments are warm in the summer — especially if cooking
— People parking cars in free spaces and leave them for months (management just did an audit and that is being remedied)

I walked into the Parc’s leasing office today and had a terrible experience with the staff there– I asked for directions when my car broke down/​phone died and was told I was told to leave the building instead of being helped. The woman working there even had an iPhone with google maps sitting on her desk and refused to help me (a favor that would have taken one minute out of her day). Leasing offices by nature should be friendly and helpful, not unepathetic and spiteful towards people. I would watch out for poor treatment when living here.

I would absolutely stay away from this apartment complex. They are way overpriced for the quality. I get trying to keep up with the market, but they are not renovating the units to even be comparable with other complexes. We lived there for 2 years and they changed ownership 3−4x while we were there. Like others have said, it kept getting worse with each new owner. The current owners were rude and unresponsive to our needs and concerns. Our move out date was set for the 2^nd and on the 1^st I got a call asking why we hadn’t moved out yet.
The complex itself is in a decent location, you’re close to the Pruneyard and Downtown Campbell. The one bedrooms also have a huge bathroom and two big closets in the bedroom. The bathroom seems really great, until you realize that you don’t need that much space for a bathroom and would rather have a storage closet.
The apartments are also really old and extremely outdated. The appliances are old and the cable wire coming into the apartment was so old and not strong enough that it affected our tv and internet. They actually went completely out for a few days because the signal was so poor.
While it’s great that there is a washer & dryer in each unit, ours kept having problems. The dryer hose kept coming out of the wall and blowing lint all over the place. Instead of fixing it (because it didn’t fit properly), they duct taped the hose to the wall. I guess that works. And our washer would randomly start smelling like mold. I had maintenance out and they said the water wasn’t draining properly so it was sitting in the lines building up. The solution? Run an empty cycle in the washer to clean it out and see if that works. The washer also started leaking before we moved out.
When we moved out, I found black mold growing under the kitchen sink. Gross.
They replaced all the grass with tanbark, didn’t affect me. But what really upset me was that they still ran the sprinklers every night on the tanbark. What a waste. The sprinklers also run in the pouring rain.
The parking is terrible. People were always parking in our spots, including the workers when they were doing construction. They wouldn’t even tow the cars that were parked in our spots. Half of the guest parking was taken up by construction materials. Even without the construction stuff taking up spots, it’s very crowded. Can’t fit in the lot? You have to park a couple blocks away.
They are constantly leaving notes on doors to clear our patios, move cars, or remove/​lock up the pets for a few days for renovations. The apartments are not large enough to store all my patio stuff inside. And what am I supposed to do with my pets? They can’t guarantee certain days or times that people will be inside the apartment so I’m just expected to leave my animals crated all day, take time off from work to be there, or find a way to take my pets out of the apartment for a few days. It’s a liability to have them enter my house without me there, what if my pet gets hurt or escapes or they claim my dog bit them? My dog is nice, but she’s never been in a situation where someone’s entered the house without us there.
The workers they’ve hired have moved heavy furniture and not put it back, broken blinds (when they were replacing windows), and left broken glass and debris in the apartment for me to clean up. I also felt uncomfortable walking by the workers who stared and whispered together. Creepy.
I have heard of people’s cars getting broken into and stolen (which is why they hired a security company to patrol the parking lot at night), people’s mailboxes getting broken into, and I called the cops one night when a guy was breaking into a vacant apartment next to mine (security was already hired at this point). One day I came home to cops in the parking lot walking around with their shotguns out.
The pool got new furniture right before we left which was nice. But the pool is not heated and is always freezing cold. People from neighboring complexes (and elsewhere) come and use the pool. The staff doesn’t patrol this so the pool is often crowded with people who don’t live there. The hot tub has been closed many times when I lived there because a kid shit in the pool.
There are a lot of smokers at this complex. I wouldn’t mind people smoking if they didn’t do it on their patios. People walk by your open windows or smoke on the patios next to yours and your apartment instantly smells like cigarettes. People also leave cigarette butts everywhere. It’s also a pretty loud complex. People were always up partying and being loud pretty late.
They left a note on my door that I had an overdue balance with Conservice, whom I had just paid. I made a payment then got a notice that I had overpaid and was getting a full refund. Clearly I had no balance at all.
Do yourself a favor and live somewhere else.

Third management company in 2 years and have been consistently treated worse and worse by each one. Don’t live here.

(This review excludes Christi and Steve who were the community managers, as well as Sam who handles most of the fixit jobs)
This place is the worst. I moved here in April 2015 and I can hardly wait till my lease expires (a little less than 2 months to go).
1. They falsely advertise their apartment size
They advertise their 1 bed/​1 bath apartments as 750 sq ft. I signed a year lease ($ 2080 per month) and decided to get regular cleaning done. Cleaners like to know the total area, so I actually measured it and found that it’s 600 sq ft (594 sq ft to be precise). I sent an email to the management explaining that I’m missing 150 sq ft and that they should recalculate my rent based on the new square footage (I don’t have a patio, and I was told that my parking spot is not included in livable space). They said no.
2. The apartments have not been maintained
All the appliances look and function like they’re at least 20 years old. I took the front off the A/​C unit and almost vomited — I don’t think it’s ever been cleaned. All the cabinets and storage look like they’re made from throw away materials. There’s a horrible vanity in the bathroom which I asked the management to demolish — but they wouldn’t; It’s half an inch lower on one end.
3. The apartments are overpriced
There are many other places to choose from. Don’t come here. As of this writing, there’s a 900 sq ft apartment *in* downtown Campbell (E Campbell Ave & N 3^rd St) for $ 2495 which is a much better deal in every way.
4. They hire people that leave your apartment insecure and unsafe
They decided to spruce up this dump (likely to get rid of it, which they did) by painting everything a fresh shade of brown and replacing all windows. I came home to find stuff in my apartment moved, and glass shards all over the kitchen. The waste disposal in my sink stopped working — I filed a work order which later revealed that there were glass shards in the waste disposal.
5. More false advertising
They had one apartment completely done up with new appliances and stuff (same time the paint/​window work was being done). I found that they use this apartment for advertising on CL — so beware! As of this writing, they’ve posted this ad on CL (search 225 Union):
$ 2600 /​1br — 750ft2 — Gorgeous Renovated One Bedroom Available NOW!
This is not the apartment you will be renting. Don’t get baited.
6. Crime
I bought a motorcycle at the end of July 2015 and it was stolen early September 2015. This was the same time during which the apartments were being molested by the workers of some paint and window company. Also, interestingly enough, this was the same night during which there was a security vehicle (with guards) parked about 5 parking spots away.
7. Rude staff
Kevin the property manager was pretty rude to me once (I keep my interactions with him to a minimum). He somewhat apologized later saying that he could have handled it better and blamed it on his allergies. Ok, so I haven’t had to deal with a lot of rudeness but I was compelled to provide 7 points.
This place has been sold to another property management company as of Feb 2016. Not sure what they’re going to be like but I’m not hanging around to find out.
Update 2÷28÷2016: the new management uses Conservice for utilities (check out the Unilocal reviews). In short, stay away from this place. I’m definitely moving.
Here’s what’s written on the Conservice bill: Mailing remittance does not constitute payment. Conservice assumes no liability for postal delay.
(You’ll be charged a late fee of $ 10 if your payment is not in their hands by the due date)

Avoid this place at all costs!
Apartments are extremely over priced. You are only paying to live next to down town. The units are falling apart and despite the complex’s minimal effort to spruce it up, there is nothing nice about the units.
Aside from the units being dreary there is a huge crime problem that has yet to be addressed by the staff. Recently there has been someone trying to break into the units (while the security complaint they complex hired was there). The mailboxes have also been getting broken into. They hired a security company to patrol at night but we rarely see them move from their car where they sit back by the pool.
Bottom line is this place wants to charge an arm and a leg for run down units in a very unsafe complex.
My hope is my review will save some people from getting stuck in a lease like I did at this place.

I signed the lease today and my experience with Jack has been great. Once I move in, I’ll post an updated review, but so far, no complaints with customer service. :) Plus I’m really looking forward to using that swimming pool (well, my parents are).

I used to live at the Parc Apartments back in 2013 but left to live in Santa Cruz. When I heard that new management took over, I decided to move back because it was a awesome place to live. Management is friendly and when things need to get done in your unit, maintenance is on top of it! Christi and Steve who lease the units truly care for new and current residents. Kevin has done a great job of running the property. I recommend this property to anyone!

I just renewed my lease and starting my third year. For the most part I have really enjoyed my stay here except for the horrendous surprises each year when lease is renewed and you have to make a very quick decision; should I stay or should I go. Reminds me of a song from the 80’s by The Clash. Liked «Rock the Casbah» by the way but at times The Parc does not rock at all.
Let’s not forgot the office staff. They are always there for me whenever I need assistance of any kind. Christi, Steve & Kevin are the best I have ever dealt with in all my years (years of renting that is).
Sam and his maintenance team are excellent and have always responded quickly to all of my work requests.
Unfortunately, for all of us residents we have a serious problem with mailbox burglary which isn’t being resolved or maybe not even addressed. Last Wednesday, May 20^th, I went to get my mail and while attempting to close the door the hinge at top came loose and door was hanging down. My neighbor, Mark, happened by and was able to get the door to close.
First thing Thursday morning I sent an e-​mail to office staff. Also left numerous voice mails on Wednesday night. While putting duct tape on my box early Thursday morning Kevin and Sam showed up to save the day. Sam was able to do a quick fix and get the box secure.
My main concern: this has been happening and it’s not the first time. The previous weekend there was a break in on the other side of the complex. If I remember correctly, there were problems months ago and nothing was done to even attempt to alleviate or address everything. Someone in management said the post office would be replacing boxes. There has to be a solution to all this because I think it will still be happening in the future unless something is done. Let’s get it together Parc team. You’re better than that and I trust you can resolve this major problem.

I’ve lived here for three years, and was going to wait until August for a review, but I’m so astonished at what I came home to today I felt compelled to write right now. I’ve recently been laid off and thus at home during the majority of the day. Parc is always doing some sort of renovation or replacing of things, so I can only imagine how often this happens unbeknownst to people who work during normal 9 – 5. I live on the second floor. Today, after coming home from the gym, I passed by a vendor towards the entrance of my building. The vendor (who is replacing windows) saw me walk up the stairs and asked if I lived in a specific apartment. He spoke to me regarding moving some of my belongings out of the way. I apologized and agreed, and as I got out my keys to unlock my apartment that has all my belongings, work, and irreplaceable possessions — he told me that my apartment was open. He was planning on locking it once he was done.
WHAT? I exclaimed?
The vendor was far from my apartment with a huge, heavy window that he had to drag all the way to his truck. In the meantime, he is leaving it unlocked?! How does this even make sense especially since he knew upon seeing my apartment that he was unable to do any work?
How many times has Parc let this happen?
I just got off the phone with a leasing consultant regarding my extreme concern over our apartments being unlocked with no one monitoring them. The response was heinous. He told me that it’s «difficult» for the vendors top ensure all the apartments are locked (even though mine was never formally worked on). Only one of the guys has a key and the idea is while the team of 8 works on 14 apartments, people will be deterred from breaking into the unlocked apartments because there are so many people working. It’s hard for that one guy to go back into every apartment to lock it.
EXCUSE ME?
There was only one man working on my set of fourteen apartments, and he was going in and out other people’s homes while all my stuff was unlocked.
Leasing guy: «You’re the last set of apartments, and we haven’t had any reported robberies yet.» He then attempts to tell me that there’s no worries should anything happen, because Parc requires renters insurance.
No, just no. Stay away if you value your things!

**Warning** Stay far away from this place. It is the kind of complex where if you trip and fall the office staff will come kick you and beat on you while you are down and then call their lawyers right away. I want to live in a place where they ask if you are okay and is there anything we can do to help. My rent has been increased by 67%. That is the highest increase I have ever dealt with or even heard of. While living here I have seen about 15 office staff (including managers) quit or get fired. I have seen maintenance staff walk out on the office staff and have seen very good maintenance staff fired. The place does absolutely nothing for you and then increases your rent. They hire managers that have no customer service skills at all. They made a dog park that is always muddy cause the water doesn’t drain and they put these stupid agility course want to be items that are metal sheets that stick out so easy for a dog to hurt itself. They used to put out a little monthly flier but they don’t do that anymore because the staff is to busy beating on tenants and raising rent. All I can say is STAY AWAY!

Once again business center unavailable.

I never write bad reviews but for this apartment complex I feel obligated to warn everyone about the pathetic management. I went twice to tour apartments at this property after making appointments and every time they give an unacceptable excuse that they cannot give me a tour. It was a waste of gas and effort to get to the place in time.
There was an incompetent employee who I do not remember her name but she mentioned that she was pregnant. She was arguing with me for the reason why I cannot see the apartment. She was extremely rude and I could not take it so I walked out and told her politely that I will not come back. She said «Ok!!» without even trying to make the situation better. Completely unprofessional. I do not recommend anyone to rent at this property. If the management is like that before you rent the unit, how are they going to treat their tenants?

This place is nasty! The apartments are very old and dusty. We had a mold problem that made us actually ill! The tenant living down strairs from us had a rat in her apartment. We had roaches; when the maintenance crew was informed they suggested to get a can of raid!
My garage was 100 yards from my apartment. Everytime I would ask to have it moved closer they said that there was nothing they could do.
On top of all this they continued to raise rent every few months until they wanted ~2000 a month for a one-​bedroom apartment! Watch out for the move out charges that are a real gouge:
— Heavy-​cleaning fees that are ~$ 150
— Carpet replacement (just replaced in 2010) for ~$ 150
The location is great near Campbell… but it is not worth paying so much for such rent for a trashed out one-​bedroom apartment. Oh… and also someone in the neighborhood keeps breaking into the mailboxes and stealing mail. The ‘security’ team that is supposed to prevent this leaves before 10PM. Not safe!

I have similar views as others living/​who lived in the complex. As a current tenant, I’ve seen a lot of great things with the complex but have been pretty sidetracked by the accompanying issues (mainly feeling misled).
Pros:
Maintenance — the team is phenomenal! Though sometimes they don’t respond quickly (it doesn’t seem the online reporting system works the best), they fix whatever issue you have in a timely manner once they’re in. The complex is pretty open to every issue you have, non discriminatory.
Swimming pool and hot tub — pretty big, always clean (except for routine leaves that fall from the tree overhead)
Mail — all large packages are brought to the main office for pickup, so you don’t have to worry about missing deliveries
Friendly front office staff
Beautiful apartments, with fresh carpets and double bedroom closets
Spacious bathroom, with a separate vanity area
Location — short walk/​drive to Pruneyard and Downtown
Cons:
Parking — it’s incredibly rough here. We were told upon moving in there was plenty of visitor parking behind the office, and we trusted that being true (never seeing the lot ourselves since the apartment viewing was in the opposite direction). We were also told we could purchase an additional spot (only given one) for $ 30 a month. However, the first week after moving in my boyfriend had problems finding spots on the weekend. We went to the office the next week and were told it’s basically our problem. They also said we couldn’t purchase a spot since the complex is at capacity and they have to save the remaining spots for new tenants. Frustrating!
Security — we were also sold on security, being told they operate 24 hours a day. However, within the first couple months of living here we received probably 6 notes on our door saying there were break-​ins. It’s hard to believe given how small the complex is that security is that active, given all the incidents.
Utilities — with a one bedroom apartment, we pay $ 17 trash, $ 50 for unit expenses, plus our own expenses through PG&E. Before moving in we were told utilities would be $ 50 max, so it felt misleading to not have been given an accurate estimate of the expenses (with them leaving out the individual PG&E).
Gym — you see this when you tour, but I advise not being too excited there’s one here. It’s very limited and the equipment is outdated.

Amazing location, but some downsides.
PROS:
I lived here 3 years and enjoyed a lot of my time here. It is a fantastic location near the Pruneyard, Downtown Campbell, public transportation, and the LG creek trail. You are not too far from Los Gatos or Willow Glen either.
The maintenenace staff here is fantastic, they have come through for us numerous times when major things have broken, we lost keys, or had an issue with a neighbor. They work hard and do a great job.
The units are great for couples, they have two vanities in the bathroom, two huge closets, and a ‘updated’ kitchen with GAS stove! Great for cooking.
The pool is great as well, big, clean, and nobody really uses it.
CONS:
The downside is that everybody seems to own a dog here. Big dogs. Small dogs. They bark all day, and all night. They take humungous dumps right out in front of your walkway as you walk to work, and try and kill your cats or you as you come home.
I like dogs as well, but why somebody would live in a one-​bedroom apartment with two huge dogs just baffles my mind.
The windows are from the 70’s. They do not insulate, barely close, and could be broken into by a 5 year old. They also let in every possible noise from street, so if you are in a bad location in complex, you are out of luck. If they had new double pane windows my review would jump to 4 stars.
Parking, I know all complexs have problems with parking, but there is very little for guests. Also, numerous breakins, and vandalism of cars. (my car was broken into) They say they have security, but are completely lying, because you sign a lease saying they have no liability.
So, if you are a serious dog lover, drive a very secure car, and want the location then I say go for it. If not save your money and rent a townhouse in Campbell like I did.

I lived at the Parc at Pruneyard for 2 years. I moved out primarily because my rent went up. Rent is going up all over the Bay Area so this is not a knock on Parc at Pruneyard. The rent was too expensive for me.
Pros:
Very quiet — No parties or loud people
HUGE bedrooms and living room
Mirrored closet doors
Well maintained
Washer and dryer in the unit
Gas stove
Garages
Nice pool (although I don’t swim)
Great location — Close to Pruneyard, downtown Campbell, 880, San Tomas Expressway, Valley Fair, Grocery stores
Safe
Cons:
The apartments are just old
No central heat and air — Heater in hallway and wall unit AC though
Not much storage other than the bedroom closets and two storage closets in the hallway
A couple of management changes but I think that’s the norm — Didn’t affect me too much. Any issues I had were resolved to my satisfaction.
A lot of dogs and some dog owners didn’t pick up after their pets
The second bathroom is just a toilet and sink
Utilities are a little high
For those people with kids — Not that convenient to schools. Elementary and Jr High School are within about 30 — 45 min walk but the high school is not close. It will take over an hour and two buses ($ 3.50 a day or $ 45/​mth Day Pass) for your kids to get home from the high school if you can’t pick them up.
Overall, Parc at Pruneyard was fine. My main requirements in an apt are safety, quiet and a washing maching and dryer and those were met. The main deal breaker for me other the jump in rent was the amount of time it took my daughter to get home from school every day.

Imagine my face: Go into office and see whats going on with bill, see new person, ask where the old person is. Their answer: «They changed management, I’m new!»
Fantastic…
So now this place has new management and a lot of the things the previous management told me was a lie. BUT… new management is pretty cool. They rectified many issues. All is somewhat well. The rent still sucks.

The Parc at Pruneyard is pretty nice. My husband and I have lived in a 2-​bd here for about 4 months now, on a recommendation from my co-​workers.
I’d recommend it if you really want to live close to downtown Campbell.
Atmosphere:
Very laid back & family-​friendly. There’s always folks hanging out on their patios or at the pool, they all seem friendly enough. There are a lot of kids in our end of the complex, but I *think* that’s because the 2-​bd apartments are all grouped together in 2 or 3 sections of the complex.
Staff:
I’ve had only minimal interaction with the staff. They’re prompt and courteous. Only complaint I have is the over-​use of taped-​to-​the-​door notifications. They put a notice on our door to clean up after our dog… and we don’t have a dog.
Price:
Expensive. But, it is Campbell. This wasn’t the cheapest apartment we looked at, definitely not the nicest or newest. But it is less than a mile to downtown and lots of shopping. The location was worth it for us.
Amenities:
Meh, decent. The pool is really nice & has a deep end, but is not heated. My key to the common area doesn’t work, but I saw it on the tour and it seemed nice. There’s a nice patch of grass by the office, but unfortunately is primarily a place for dogs to crap. Parking situation is VERY bad. Even my assigned space is light years from my apartment and guest parking is pretty sad.
Apartments:
They’re old, but nice. I love the laminate floors in my kitchen and bath. The layout of the 2 bd is a little strange, main bath in the hall and ½ bath off the master. Kitchens need work, the cabinets are cheap and ancient but usable. BONUS for gas stoves and baseboard heaters.