It has been months since we posted a new topic. Quite a few of our most fervent and frequent bloggers have moved on. As I stated in the email, I will do my best to keep this thing current.
Complaints - things in need of repair
Management has been handed a voluminous list of things around the building that need repair (add the walk-in gate -- doesn't lock -- on California to said list). Also, two gentlemen just emailed that there are no tips on the pool cues in therecreation room. Please list anything on this blog and it will no doubt get in front of Roma and Fergie. They seem to be very good about addressing repair issues.
Arbitrary pet rules?
A former tenant emailed that the no-pet rules is being arbitrarily enforced... that some tenants are allowed to keep dogs, while cat owners were told they had to move. Any thoughts or observations?
The "annual" Warriors game outing
I don't know what to tell you on this one. Sean and his party bus have moved to either Las Vegas or Arizona. He and Cornell were the ticket connections. Any new information?
REMEMBER: this blog only works if you use it! We know management reads it, so you may want to keep your posts anonymous or put them on the email tree.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Friday, August 7, 2009
Call for bloggers
If any tenant is interested in adding blog posts as an author, rather than just in comments to posts, please send an email to the administrator. The recession has left me with little time to keep up with the blog, and if there is no interest in adding new content, I'll likely close it up. I hadn't even planned to send this notice, but noticed the lively exchange of the previous post. So here's your chance, otherwise it's curtains.
Monday, June 15, 2009
An olive branch
According to Wikipedia;
"The leafy branches of the olive tree - the olive leaf as a symbol of abundance, glory and peace - were used to crown the victors of friendly games and bloody wars. As emblems of benediction and purification, they were also ritually offered to deities and powerful figures..."
It causes this blogger to wonder if perhaps there was an abundance of "friendly games" in the area? We've certainly been engaged in some "bloody wars" recently. Perhaps there was actually a pressing need for truckloads of olive branches than necessitated the blunt amputation of the silvery green trees around Aviana. Perhaps instead they were offered to some deity as "emblems of purification" to drive the unholy memories of Riverstone management from our collective conscience. We can only hope that the armies of contractors roaming the grounds did not offer them to our new owners. Though powerful figures they may be to those upon whom they depend on for employment in these troubled times, deities they are surely not.
Whatever the reason, we do hope that these trees rebound, though their fate seems in doubt at the moment due to the severity of the work. We can only hope that should anymore "trimming" be necessary in the future, that there is a more careful hand at the chainsaw. Many of us enjoy the shade these trees provide when the temperature climes into the 90s during the summertime. What without in-unit air conditioning, or windows which allow units, fans and shade are often our only escape from the force of the sun.
Many of us await completion of renovations, and the natives are growing restless. Given that improvements have been entirely outwardly cosmetic to this point, and given that many of us have been inconvenienced by these improvements on multiple occasions, it's not surprising that this blogger is beginning to hear a low grumble among the tenants. While we applaud the general effort to improve the buildings and their curbside appearance, it's the opinion of this blog that often landlords often forget that tenants actually attempt to carry on lives within the buildings as this construction continues. Off the top of my head I cannot recall if giving a tenant a date range where their unit will be entered is strictly legal (I'll be sure to look that up soon), but it at least pushes the bounds of common courtesy. We hope that a bit more consideration will be given in the future. Once I'm forced to look into "legality" of issues, you know there's the beginnings of a real problem.
More could be said about the renovations, but perhaps enough has been said today. Moving onto other changes, as many of you know by now, the property is now owned as well as managed by Spieker Companies of Palo Alto. We bid a not-so-fond farewell to Riverstone Properties. We also welcome new live-in managers Roma and Ferdie Deluna, who took over the day-to-day duties of running the Aviana on Monday. Roma and Ferdie most recently managed a property in San Clemente, CA. Both have roots in the Philippines. We're happy to report the venerable George Harris will remain on board a head of maintenance. You can report any and all maintenance problems and other issues to Roma and Ferdie directly at rdeluna@spiekercompanies.com. We wish them luck in their new home and jobs.
"The leafy branches of the olive tree - the olive leaf as a symbol of abundance, glory and peace - were used to crown the victors of friendly games and bloody wars. As emblems of benediction and purification, they were also ritually offered to deities and powerful figures..."
It causes this blogger to wonder if perhaps there was an abundance of "friendly games" in the area? We've certainly been engaged in some "bloody wars" recently. Perhaps there was actually a pressing need for truckloads of olive branches than necessitated the blunt amputation of the silvery green trees around Aviana. Perhaps instead they were offered to some deity as "emblems of purification" to drive the unholy memories of Riverstone management from our collective conscience. We can only hope that the armies of contractors roaming the grounds did not offer them to our new owners. Though powerful figures they may be to those upon whom they depend on for employment in these troubled times, deities they are surely not.
Whatever the reason, we do hope that these trees rebound, though their fate seems in doubt at the moment due to the severity of the work. We can only hope that should anymore "trimming" be necessary in the future, that there is a more careful hand at the chainsaw. Many of us enjoy the shade these trees provide when the temperature climes into the 90s during the summertime. What without in-unit air conditioning, or windows which allow units, fans and shade are often our only escape from the force of the sun.
Many of us await completion of renovations, and the natives are growing restless. Given that improvements have been entirely outwardly cosmetic to this point, and given that many of us have been inconvenienced by these improvements on multiple occasions, it's not surprising that this blogger is beginning to hear a low grumble among the tenants. While we applaud the general effort to improve the buildings and their curbside appearance, it's the opinion of this blog that often landlords often forget that tenants actually attempt to carry on lives within the buildings as this construction continues. Off the top of my head I cannot recall if giving a tenant a date range where their unit will be entered is strictly legal (I'll be sure to look that up soon), but it at least pushes the bounds of common courtesy. We hope that a bit more consideration will be given in the future. Once I'm forced to look into "legality" of issues, you know there's the beginnings of a real problem.
More could be said about the renovations, but perhaps enough has been said today. Moving onto other changes, as many of you know by now, the property is now owned as well as managed by Spieker Companies of Palo Alto. We bid a not-so-fond farewell to Riverstone Properties. We also welcome new live-in managers Roma and Ferdie Deluna, who took over the day-to-day duties of running the Aviana on Monday. Roma and Ferdie most recently managed a property in San Clemente, CA. Both have roots in the Philippines. We're happy to report the venerable George Harris will remain on board a head of maintenance. You can report any and all maintenance problems and other issues to Roma and Ferdie directly at rdeluna@spiekercompanies.com. We wish them luck in their new home and jobs.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
George and Harleen
We're happy to say that at the moment, George and Harleen are still with us. Rumors of their early departure the other day turned out to be exaggerated. While we're happy to report that they have not left at this point, their future at Aviana does remain uncertain. We hope that new ownership will see the advantages of keeping on experienced staff that knows the grounds and its tenants. George has been busy for the last couple days fixing what ails us, and Harleen has been instrumental in seeing that things get scheduled and done. I'm sure we've all seen far than our fair share of staff turnover in a short period of time. This blogger, for one, feels that keeping experienced staff around while other transitions occur might provide some stability during the transition of ownership.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Aviana Tenants Reboot
Welcome fellow Aviana Tenants! We've removed old posts and will be updating information on the sidebar regarding ownership and management as it becomes available. We hope that with the departure of Riverstone Residential, improved relations with tenants and improvements in management of Aviana in general is on the way. This blogger has some reservations however. Following Amanda's unannounced disappearance a few weeks ago, today saw an abrupt mid-day departure of our beloved maintenance, and all around good guy, George and the newly returned Harleen. The management desk was left empty for the remainder of the usual business day. Is it possible sudden and unjust staff turnover is imminent? You will hear news here as soon as we know more.
These rumors do make us wonder, who shall repair the window in the recreation room from the recent break-in, and the handle to the front gate that was hacked off sometime last weekend if George is on leave with no obvious replacement handy (no pun intended)? What of the courtyard shrouded in darkness as light bulbs have burned out and there seems to be no one to replace them? It's yet to soon to fear a Lord of the Flies scenario, but this blogger may take the lead of many ex-tenants should the wind not turn in our favor. Some friends of this rag-tag group of troublemakers have already headed for more well attended lands, as some of us were suckered into lease renewals with rent reductions made to facilitate a sale of our crumbling abodes. These lords of leases and princes of properties may have pulled the proverbial wool, but rest assured that the rug under our feet is being guarded with a weary eye.
This, for now at least, is our home. We all sincerely hope our new leaseholders treat it as such. Consider the tenants when staffing decisions are made. These are tough times for many. There need not be more feet pounding the pavement unnecessarily. We anxiously await news of George and Harleen and hope for a new spirit of transparency and respect.
In the meantime, here are some Yelp! reviews of Spieker Companies
These rumors do make us wonder, who shall repair the window in the recreation room from the recent break-in, and the handle to the front gate that was hacked off sometime last weekend if George is on leave with no obvious replacement handy (no pun intended)? What of the courtyard shrouded in darkness as light bulbs have burned out and there seems to be no one to replace them? It's yet to soon to fear a Lord of the Flies scenario, but this blogger may take the lead of many ex-tenants should the wind not turn in our favor. Some friends of this rag-tag group of troublemakers have already headed for more well attended lands, as some of us were suckered into lease renewals with rent reductions made to facilitate a sale of our crumbling abodes. These lords of leases and princes of properties may have pulled the proverbial wool, but rest assured that the rug under our feet is being guarded with a weary eye.
This, for now at least, is our home. We all sincerely hope our new leaseholders treat it as such. Consider the tenants when staffing decisions are made. These are tough times for many. There need not be more feet pounding the pavement unnecessarily. We anxiously await news of George and Harleen and hope for a new spirit of transparency and respect.
In the meantime, here are some Yelp! reviews of Spieker Companies
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