Aqua Via

I love saying I live here on my Unilocal review. living here is amaaaazzzing. just ask me because I have lived here, still live here and will live here til I move away.. The management is excellent. They always care about the residents. Its safe and the parking is secure! Yes the trains are annoying but its better than living in the ghetto. I lived at Merritt on 3^rd and it is so high crime there! See my review! The building is full of thugs. Its also full of prostitutes who pretend to be teachers of the word of god! NO one like that hear at Aqua Via where I live this week! I love living by Jack London Square. JLS area is so much fun and I have so many friends hear and everyone knows me by name when I go out and walk around! So much to do around here and don’t have to drive anywhere! We are very happy here and our place is beautiful! Two huge big very big bedrooms! I do have a two bedroom apartment. Its so clean and neat to. Very modern and a quick ride into the City. Wouldn’t live anywhere else in Oakland, but its actually JLS since I refuse to admit I live in Oakland and you wouldn’t have to either if you lived hear with me! MOve hear its so great with professional people with jobs and careers, not pot smokers and husband stealing meth heads!

My husband and I love staying here for a few reasons: 1) The location was close to his work and in the heart of everything/​close to great food and fun. 2) They had air conditioning. 3) We loved the layout of our apartment and the wonderful view that we had as the sun would set everyday. 4) Management and Maintenance were usually very accommodating and polite. 5) We never had any issues with safety. 6) The train didn’t bother us at all.
On the other hand however, some of the other reviews we agree with in that 1) You should expect the rent to raise annually (this is why we moved). 2) for +3K rent you would expect amenities like a pool, nice gym, etc … not the case with Aqua Via. 3) We loved the pets in the building but there were just too many instances where the hallways smelled like urine. 4) If you wait too late to figure out if you will stay and pay the higher cost and don’t turn in your 30 day notice, expect to pay an arm and leg to move out. When it is time to renew your lease and you don’t want to pay the increased rate, put in your 30 day notice IMMEDIATELY or you will end up paying almost $ 1,000 on top of your rent as a month-​to-​month rate.
Unfortunately, we had to pay the month-​to-​month rent which was $ 4100 to only stay 10 days in that month before moving into our new place. The issue we had was that we were told someone was going to move in and that we would get the majority of our money back, but no one moved in and we were not notified until the last two days of the month, and we had friends who wanted to move in had we been able to tell them. Also, we did not receive any of our deposit back and they were still asking for more money after we had moved out!
Overall our stay at the apartment was 4 or 5 stars because we really didn’t have any issues and loved our apartment! It was just the move-​out that really caused problems!

i very rarely write reviews but I have to rave about Gladys Tymous the Business Manager at Aqua Via! We signed our lease and started moving in on 7÷31÷15. She is so professional, efficient and friendly! It is so refreshing to work with someone that is so good at what they do! Moving is very stressful and she made it as smooth as possible.
Brava!

I have lived at Aqua Via for two months now and have loved it, but today something magical happened that made me write a review.
This morning, I dropped my keys into the elevator shaft. Yup, that happened. My apartment keys, apartment fob, car keys, and car fob — DOWN THE SHAFT. FML. I called maintenance and they came right away to scope out the options. As it turns out, the only option is to have the elevator company come out and lift the elevator and go down and get them. The cost to have them make a trip out here is $ 450.
Enter: GLADYS the apartment manager of the year! Gladys called the elevator maintenance company and had them come out and do their monthly maintenance today. While they were there, they could grab my keys and it would just be included in the maintenance visit fee. FUCKING MAGICAL. Saved me $ 450 and a lot of stress.
Gladys is a life-​saver and she really takes pride in taking care of her residents.

Have loved living here for two years. Great downtown view, good gym, cool bocce ball court, protective garage and for the most part friendly neighbors. I’ve lived in a lot of apartments and as far as managers go Gladys can be at the top. She’s like a mother hen to the building, takes care of the needs quickly, always has a smile, is a very hard worker and started a monthly wine social in her off hours to help get residents to know each other. I once left my lights on in my car while on a road trip and she went out of her way to help turn them off. George is also a superstar maintenance man who gets the job done quickly. George and Gladys care which means a lot. While the building is very pricy, they make it great to live there. Jack London also is getting better by the month from a restaurant and entertainment standpoint.

— Staff is dangerously incompetent, unresponsive in the extreme, and straight up rude (especially Gladys).
— There are constant break-​ins in the garage. Intruders have stolen dozens of bikes and broken into countless cars and they keep coming back. This problem could be solved, but management keeps dragging their feet saying they are «getting bids.» Yeah right.
— Raised our rent $ 300 the first year and an additional $ 500 the second year (no, they didn’t make ANY improvements to unit or the property). One of my neighbors said they tried to raise his $ 800. This place is well on its way to being a ghost-​town if it isn’t already.
— I’ve been waiting 2+ months to get my deposit back (the legal limit is 21 days). I had to pull bank records from 2+ years ago to prove I paid the money and even still they are making up excuses for why they can’t cut the check yetTheir reasoning — «accounting issues.»

The new management are absolutely horrible, fake and unhelpful people, and this goes especially for Andrea. When we moved in, I remember a lot of people complaining about Doug and that management group, but they were wonderful and a breath of fresh air in comparison.
Expect the management to lie to you about your lease, renewal rates, changes to the building, available units, etc.
Expect rent to skyrocket to unbelievable levels once your year lease is up.
Expect to hear the train blast multiple times an hour, every hour of the day and night, 7 days a week.
Expect to have to wait until the weekend to get a package from the management, even if it comes on, say, Monday, because Andrea likes to get in late, leave early, chat on the phone to friends during business hours instead of being helpful. Meaning that unless you somehow get off of work in time to catch someone in the office at 5:45, you wont be able to get any packaged until the weekend.
Expect to find a puddle of dog pee (once it was even a pile of poop) in the elevators at least once a week that the dog owner neglected to clean up.
Expect to find the atrocious «log» in the foyer drenched in dog pee at the base, which of course emits a stench of piss on warmer days. This says as much about some of the tenants who live here as it does about the bad management who refuse to get rid of this tree-​thing (probably because they can’t bare the though of parting with something that they only just got after the unnecessary remodel at the end of last year).
The only helpful, congenial person working there is George, the fix-​it man. He’s the only one left over from the old team and is a truly wonderful guy. Go figure.

Moving day.
I didn’t renew the lease because when I moved here in 2011, a one bedroom unit was 2200. I’m leaving behind the same unit a little more worn at 3250.
In a few short years… You do the math.
Services decreased since Legacy a Partners took over. We used to have weekly cocktail gatherings, concierge services and frequent carpet cleanings. Now the carpets are dingy and the building smells like dog and weed.
Management is lax by comparison to what this place was.

I absolutely love living here. I’m about to renew my lease. I think the sour reviews are testament to the fact that human beings are brilliant at finding something to complain about no matter what. While their complaints are often based in reality, the reality was apparent for them when they signed the lease. So, yes:
The apartments are big and beautiful and, depending on where you are in the building, the views are lovely. The neighborhood is fab, BART is 6 blocks away, it’s simple to get onto 880. There are washer/​dryer units in the apartments, as well as AC units, and your furry friends are cherished here. One of my favorite things, though, is that more than most apartment buildings in the area, it’s easy to get a community feeling in this one if you look for it. The residents are mostly warm, unpretentious and considerate. Most of the ones who aren’t are new– I’m sure they’ll warm up soon. :-) And yes:
The building is next to train tracks. It stands to reason you will hear trains if you live here. The building has big, loft windows, so you will get lots of sun (yay for me!) and some heat if you don’t close your curtains or open your windows or turn on your air conditioner. (But why wouldn’t you do at least one of those things?!?) There is occasional construction at which times you will experience, uhh, construction inconvenience. This is not a hotel, so there is no staff that constantly rotates through the building cleaning every corner, but the place is clean enough for me, an avowed clean freak. There is a small gym in the storefront next to the lobby, and the members run around the block for a short time during every class. The classes only run first thing in the morning, lunch time and directly after work hours. (I both belong to the gym and witness classes I’m not in and I can promise you there is no screaming. (Was that complainer have nightmares?)) There is only one person that works in the office so if they need to show an apartment, help a resident with something, or otherwise do one of various tasks of their job, they might be out of the office for a short time. (Gladys is there nearly every time I go to see her, though. And… she’s an angel who works harder than anyone I know.) The building is in a warehouse-​y section of Oakland. I.e. this is NOT Walnut Creek with its leafy, safe streets, it is Oakland, with all of its grit and gristle. Again, ALL of that is apparent upon viewing the building for the first time, so if any of it is a deal breaker for you, do not sign a lease here.
Last, I need to talk about George, the maintenance «crew» and unsung hero of the building. He can and does fix anything and everything and takes pride it that. He’s a warm, smart, charming man, and he lives in the building with his lovely wife. Together they contribute to the community feel here. I don’t know that I would love it here so much if it weren’t for George’s sweet and reliable presence. As it is, though, I’m so glad Aqua Via is my home.

***BEWARE*** If you you’re reading bad reviews here, and decide to take them with a grain of salt because you think someone was just disgruntled, like I did, you’ll regret it! I’ve given this 4 stars, so my review doesn’t get hidden. It only deserves 1.
You work hard for your money. Spend it wisely. You will not be experiencing anything close to luxury or serenity at Aqua Via.
At the end of the day be honest with yourself. Ask the question «did you ever imagine yourself renting next to a train station»? :
So, here’s my checklist:
1. You will never get a good night’s sleep. Anyone who has posted that you «get used to the trains» doesn’t live here, or works for the property. The trains are horrible. I’ve had friends in Montclair say they can hear them some nights. And, this place is at ground zero for that sort of noise.
Management will lie to you and tell you that they only run until 10pm. While that may be true of the amtrak trains, the bigger and much louder freight trains run all night long, 7 days a week, and more frequently at the beginning of the month.
Also, the building is conveniently located at an intersection, so by law all trains coming and going need to blast their horns. So, get used to seeing your neighbors flipping the bird at the trains through their windows regularly.
2. Way over priced for no amenities. Rents are in the $ 3k+ arena FOR OAKLAND. And, they conveniently forget to mention that you will be paying for water and waste on top of that. And, not a water bill for your unit, but from some BS percentage of the entire building’s water waste. So, they’ve got multiple renters in one bedroom units, which means you also get to pay for their cost savings.
They will also nickel and dime you for everything under the sun here. So, tag on monthly fees for a small storage unit, parking, etc. to their already exorbitant rents.
3. Expect for your rent to be raised annually at least $ 3 – 400. Unfortunately, management sees no reason to keep its reliable tenants. Which is surprising, because I have seen a lot of section 8 looking people coming in and out of the elevators. There was actually a renter here who would regularly dumpster dive in our garage for cans. And, he lived here. I have no clue how they can afford to live in this building.
4. Pet Friendly building basically translates to urine stained carpets and front entrance.
5. The «gym» is rundown, with old unmaintained equipment. I would assume management gets a kickback from Urban Fitness, because they try to convince you that everyone in the building has a membership there. And, on Urban Fitness –completely expect to be woken up by their streetside workout routines.
6. The neighborhood is safe so long as you don’t get mugged, and your car doesn’t get broken into. Remember this is not the burbs, it’s not even the city. It’s located at the dark end of a street of produce warehouses, And, at least in the city there are people around as witnesses if a crime happens. If anything it’s a training ground for young thugs looking to hone their chosen profession. Dark, dirty, romantic. Imagine choosing to live in the backdrop of every Batman film, but paying top dollar so their’s no question that you have stuff to steal.
7. The walk to the BART is just about the most disgusting, depressing, thing you can do to begin your day and be reminded that you’re spending a lot of money to live in the hood. And, coming home at night is always an adventure, between the homeless shelters, and dodging freeway onramp traffic. (I’ve actually seen two people get hit). But, at least you’ll have a greater appreciation for seeing your loved ones walk through the door in one piece every night.
8. NO ONE USES THE BOCCI COURT –It’s basically a dog run for the people in those units. And, I don’t think you’d want your friends, and kids playing in that mess.
I would say that when you pay a premium for rent, you should be receiving the serenity and piece of mind that cost brings with it. A safe neighborhood, a quite night’s sleep, and things to do within walking distance.
This complex is too isolated from the hot stuff in JLS to be convenient for night life. And, you’re safer just driving into the city at night, honestly.
The train situation every morning at ¾/​and 5am is a disaster for anyone trying to be functional at the job they need to keep to pay rent here.
Placed anyplace else, this is a really nice apartment complex. Where it has been dropped, in an abandoned warehouse district at a high trafficked intersection literally in front of a train station, knocks the value of this place down a few hundred pegs.
Find a nice place closer to Broadway, if you have your heart set on JLS, or find a better deal in Lake Merritt where there’s actually a nice lake to walk around, people, and restaurants. –Oh, and a good nights sleep!
–Mr Sunshine *

I’ve lived at Aqua Via about 9.5 months and love my little home. The building is incredibly secure and well maintained. The walls are condo-​thick; I never hear my neighbors. At the most I might hear a door close on rare occasion (they are large and heavy… a plus). The building borders the train tracks; I knew that when I moved in. Windows are triple-​paned; if they are open I hear the train horns, closed it’s white noise I adjusted to immediately.
Staff are responsive and friendly. Personally I didn’t have issues with Doug or experience inconveniences with the management office hours. Gladys was just wonderful! She even placed package deliveries outside our doors knowing some of our work hours are before and after the office closes. The new manager Andrea is always smiling and friendly. I’ve had two very minor maintenance requests: the dishwasher and the fan in the bathroom. Both requests were handled the same day I submitted.
Location is dreamy: public shore access across the street; walking distance to farmer’s market and all the restaurants in Jack London Square; short little drive over to Alameda for groceries.
If I could change anything at all it would be the dated bocce ball court nobody seems to use. I’d trade that in for a hot tub any day.
I looked at a lot of apartments before settling on Aqua Via. None felt as nice or as large. I have a wide-​open floor plan, 790 sq. ft. studio, stainless steel appliances, wood-​like flooring, deep tub, great closet space. In summary, exceptional value for the money.

Wow! Can I say this is about the worst customer service I have experienced. I followed up on a posting of their apartments from craigslist several weeks ago and was told that I would not be able to view the apartment until March 10. I made an appointment for that date. I continue to see their postings on several sites (Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia) and called on 3 different occasions and was continuously told about this March 10^th date. I call again this morning (Feb. 23) to ask about availabilities I have seen listed, yet again, just to check in. Not only am I told by the property manager, Andrea, that there are no apartments available, but that the one that I am schedule to see on March 10^th has been rented out. When I ask about how that is possible, she tells me about how people rent sight unseen all the time and that’s what happened. When I mention that that was never given to me as a option on the numerous times that I had called, she informs me that its not her problem I didn’t know this. When I point out that no one had contacted me to even cancel my appointment that was still scheduled for March 10^th, I was told that she was just getting around to it. The level of incompetence and lack of customer care is astounding! What a sham!

This place is horrible. They finally fired the literally useless manager, Doug, who was either never there, never returned phone calls or just simply didn’t seem to give a rip, but they have replaced him with just as useless of a manager.
Who doesn’t do there job when they are brand new? Who isn’t in the office, during work hours, when they are brand new? Aren’t you supposed to be at your best when you are brand new? Aren’t you supposed to not slack off, especially on the beginning and in this economy, when you’re brand new?
From the lack of professionalism to the lack of cleanliness and safety, I can say this place is a sad excuse for an apartment community.
Please hire more professional people that actually care about their job and the people that are paying their salary! Otherwise you are going to find yourself going out of business.
Oh! And also, if you are at all interested, look at the pictures posted on here. They speak for themselves.
Also, if you’re handicap and need to use the automatic door button, too bad, it’s broken. Illegal in the state if California? Yes.

Downsides:
1. NOISE — the first 2 floors on 2^nd Street are rented to a cross fit gym. I thought when i moved into the 3^rd floor, i had a floor of apartments below me. Wrong! Beginning at 545 a.m. — 8 p.m., you hear the bass of the gym, bouncing of the huge balls, and screams of the gym-​goers, who also work out on the sidewalk, directly below residents windows and run around the perimeter of the building at all hours. Here i was thinking I moved into the «quiet side» of the building. In between all of this, you hear the very loud Amtrak train that is on the other side of the building, 3am to midnight.
2. I’ve complained about the gym noise several times without any response. I would assume there would be hours they could request the gym not play the bass for example (i.e. not before 7 a.m.).
3. Laundry room, Bedroom and Den isn’t wired for overhead light. You have to light it with floor or desk lamps. Den doesn’t have windows either so it is very dark, even with the floor/​desk lamps.
Upsides
Location — 6 block walk to bart
* Secured building and garage
* Pet-​friendly
Rooms are large/​spacious. Kitchen has a nice layout. Walk-​in closet in master.

We just renewed our lease for another year. Aqua Via has really been a great place to live. The management, Doug and Gladys, are really pleasant people and glad to help you whenever you need it. Our unit has a great view (we love the loft-​like windows) and the layout of our unit is open so there is plenty of natural light. Having our own washer and dryer in the unit has been so convenient (and they’re nice ones too).
We like that Aqua Via is close to the Sierra Deli, World Ground Café, and Nido. A new nail salon is opening up on the first floor soon too.
Yes we can hear the trains but they aren’t loud enough to bother us. The sound only lasts a few seconds anyway.
Overall this place is great and I would highly recommend these apartments!

the freight train is extremely loud. If you dont hear the train every other hour you will certainly wake up every morning before 8am on the weekend or 5am during the week days do to the very loud screams from a the group of people who do their cross training workout on the sidewalk right outside the main entrance. The bottom floor is rented out to a cross fitness gym and they take over entire side walk and main entrance of the building for training.
The location is very unsafe. we witnessed two people getting mugged two blocks away from the apartment in broad daylight.
Management is the worst. they never answer emails or the phone. they barely get anything fixed. some of our appliances including one of our alarms was broken and never got fixed.
don’t move there. its overprice apartments for a bad location and an overall terrible experience

I have to amend my review as written previously…
It’s true, this place is priced to be a luxury building but it’s just not. They recently removed the concierge desk all together. The leasing office has been moved to the third floor temporarily but that seems to give them an excuse to never be there. It’s a good thing I don’t have anything urgent delivered to my apartment, it takes me a week to get it out of the closet. One of the doors in the stairwell has been broken for several weeks now and there is a war of notes going on between residents. Some want to leave it propped open and some (mainly one) wants you to leave it closed and take the elevator. Whatever, the point is, it’s been broken for weeks and still hasn’t been fixed. They also decided to replace the nice patio furniture with cheap Walmart quality stuff. I’m not sure why, the other sets made it seem like a patio at a luxury building. not the public pool. The sidewalks are also saturated with dog pee. I get it, it’s a dog building and we should expect it. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations but I actually think the building should clean the sidewalks. When I lived in NY that’s what expensive buildings did– they made it pleasant to be outside their building. I guess with the market they just don’t care? Also, the same owner is responsible for The Bond. The Bond was just converted to condos so you can probably anticipate these being converted in the near future. Overall, I might stay because I hate moving but I’m no longer in love with the building. The management is poor, the sidewalks smell, and CrossFit will wake you if the train doesn’t.
This apartment is great. It’s well maintained, has thick walls, is spacious, and is pet friendly. At first we didn’t want it because we thought it was too far away from things but ended up going back because it was by far the nicest place we had seen. The leasing staff are great and are always friendly. Doug remembers my name (well he thinks it’s Heather, but he gets so excited to see me I don’t have the heart to tell him otherwise) and he bought me coffee the other day. I think that’s pretty nice. The maintenance man is also super nice, a native New Yorker which I love, and comes within 24 hours of a service request. The train is loud. Any person who reviews this place poorly because of that is an idiot. I made the leasing agent sit in the apartment with me till a train went by so I could hear how loud it is. It doesn’t bother me anymore unless I have all the windows open. The units have central air, I don’t need to leave them open at night. At my prior apartment you were asking to be robbed leaving your windows open at night so it’s not a change in habit keeping them closed. This place is wonderful and I really couldn’t find better in the East Bay (unless I gave away my dog which wasn’t an option).

I lived there in Aqua Via for almost half a year, and actually really enjoyed living there. The area is very nice, and the Cash and Carry store right next door supplies the cheapest groceries in town. The streets aren’t the safest to leave your car on, I had mine broken into once and stolen once, so it might be an issue if you have more than one car.
The reason for the one star is from my experience leaving the place. We cleaned the apartment well, and I accompanied the manager (Doug) on a walk-​through before we left. He informed me that the place would require only minor cleaning and should not be an issue. When we tried to get our deposit back though, we were told that they were keeping all the money to cover cleaning and repainting costs. This was a bit surprising after what Doug had said, so we (there were three of us living in the apartment) tried to get a hold of Doug to ask what was going on. I think between the three of us, about 10 calls were placed and messages left before he responded (took about two weeks). He basically avoided any questions and acted like there was nothing to be done about it. So yeah, not a bad place to live, but don’t expect to get any of your deposit back, and don’t expect any help from them once you are gone.

So, I absolutely hated the prior management. Everything that could go wrong did. Nothing ever-​ever got done. They were also very rude.
The new management started a month ago and there is a slight improvement. I will give it a few more months before writing an update, but they are nice and professional. A bit slow in responding, but they are at least friendly.
The location is beautiful and you get used to the trains. The gym is clean and well appointed. The outdoor patio is really nice to use in spring and summer.

Our year lease with Aqua Via is coming to an end and we will not be renewing. If you’re thinking about making AV your new home, let me share some of the things that brought us here:
* Location
* Secured building and garage
* Pet-​friendly
* Spacious units equipped with stainless steel appliances along with full-​sized stacked washer & dryer plus «condo-​rated party walls.»
* Concierge — Friendly and professional Service Solutions Desk staff.
* Fitness room
Here are some of the things we could’ve done without:
* Elusive-​like-​a-​yeti building carts — Like some mythical beast, these alleged 4 – 5 carts were never available after grocery runs.
* Bikram-​HOT units — Not all units are equipped with a/​c. If you’re facing the tracks, the hot side, this is not namaste.
* Industrial carpet and what-​material-​is-​this countertops.
* Pet-​stained carpets. Cleaning up after your pet doesn’t always apply.
* Obsolete bocce court.
The inescapable:
* TRAIN. Building is next to the tracks. Yes. Windows that face the tracks are triple-​paned. Yes. Even with the windows closed you can still hear the blaring horns from the train. Remember, no a/​c means open windows. CHOO-​CHOO! The trains are loud. Real loud. Blaringly loud. You-can’t-hear-yourself-think LOUD.
Despite the train and sweltering unit, I am going to miss living in Aqua Via. We made some great friends in the building and around the neighborhood. You do get a sense of community. With a new owner comes new management and new rates; an increase that could easily cover costs towards renovation. I understand that AV plans to renovate units with granite countertops, hardwood flooring and a/​c.
The move to exclusivity is underway. Those who aren’t bougie need not apply. The Man has spoken. Mission Gentrification, SUCCESSFUL.