Clearwater Apartments are nestled in what appears to be a quiet residential area, just behind Davis Swim and Fitness Club 
| Location |
| 4141 Cowell Blvd. |
| (South Davis, behind Howard Johnson Inn and Abe's Cafe & Grill) |
| Contact |
| (530) 758-2411. |
| Office Hours |
| Monday - Friday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm |
| Website |
| werent.com/clearwater.htm |
| Features |
| Double-pane windows |
| Central heating/air |
| Assigned, covered parking |
| On-site laundry room |
Clearwater Apartments—formerly Tennis Club Apartments, until a 2010 rename—is an apartment complex located in South Davis at 4141 Cowell Blvd. The complex is known for being home to mostly to middle class families, young professionals, and only a few UC Davis students and staff.
The complex includes a 75 foot swimming pool and two laundry facilities. New front-load Maytag "no coin" washers and dryers were recently put in. It also has easy access to Unitrans' P and Q lines and is pretty close to the A line. Move-In Bonus of High Speed Internet for new tenants signing a 12 month lease. According to the complex website, "This offer is for new tenants with a twelve month rental agreement and may be discontinued at any time at our sole option."
The complex has also just put in (Summer 2010) new double-pane windows and sliding doors. These make heating and cooling of apartments much more efficient and thus much cheaper. All of the apartments have pretty large patios. Especially the downstairs apartments which have huge patios.
Pets are not allowed.
Per the complexes' website, pricing as of January 2014 is:
| * One bed, one bath: $1025/month * |
| * Two bed, one bath: $1,205/month * |
| *Two bed, two bath: $1,275/month * |
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plus a $500 security deposit.
The complex gained the town's spotlight on November 18, 2004 when one of its residents, Dennis Thrower, was shot to death in an exchange of gunfire with one or two individuals at around 5:50 am. The incident was Davis' first homicide since 1998, leaving many residents of the complex and South Davis baffled as to how the murder could have happened in a relatively uneventful and quiet part of town, where crime rarely rises above bicycle thefts and several car burglaries.
To learn about other housing options within Davis, please visit our Apartments page or check out our Housing Guide.
2007-08-30 15:33:05 I've lived here for 6 years. It started out great with a wonderful manager who went out of his way to make sure you were comfortable and who didnt care about "hours" but would treat you like a friend. The next manager was nice as well. But the current management is HORRIBLE. also, the owner only thinks about money and not at all about the people living there. I am moving out after 6 years of NO late payments and the manager won't walk through the apartment with me ONE HOUR later because she doesnt get paid overtime. Even though she lives about 2 seconds away 4 doors down and it is too inconvenient.
no body gives a crap about your needs. They just want to make more money. you are not allowed to bbq anymore either, because the owner doesnt want to pay the insurance increase to allow it. the office hours are during normal work hours so you can never talk to the manager and you get charged extra for needing assistance outside of the regular work schedule.
this place has turned in a stressful place to live where all the residents are being taken advantage of. I am not the only one moving out because of it. I would have recommended this place a few years ago...but now it is a real hellhole. —dbee
2007-09-05 18:05:38 I lived here between Feb 2006 and Aug 2007. They had three different managers during this time and they got rid of the on-site handyman. Luckily nothing in my place needed fixing. When I moved out, I was charged $50 for "light" cleaning, $50 for painting and $81 for carpet steam cleaning. Apparently the "light" cleaning is for dusting the blinds because the manager told me I did a great cleaning job during our walk through. They'll always charge you painting unless you've lived there for more than 3 years.
But the most annoying thing is that they won't refund my laundry card deposit. They have card operated washer and dryers on site. You have to pay $5 deposit when you first buy a card from the machine. I've always been told that after I moved out and returned the card to the manager, I'll get my card deposit back. I was told this even during the walk through. But when I got the deposit refund check and found it was $10 short(I returned two cards), I called and they told me they don't refund laundry card deposits! When did that change of policy happen? And why did they still take my cards if they weren't going to refund me? Are they just trying to scam every possible dolloar out of their tenants? $10 isn't a big deal but this is really annoying. I'm still haggling with them and I'll post updates if there're any new developments.
So bottomline is I don't recommend this place. The rent has increased way too much in the past year and it's really overpriced given the quality you get. —ChWong
2007-09-18 22:27:39 This is an update to my laundry card deposit argument with them. At first they just gave me an email address of their parent company. This is only an email address for suggestions and of course I got no response from them. So I filed a complaint with Better Business Bureau and here's their reply:
"We regret any confusion. Our written Rental Agreement is what we, and our residents, rely on. It is the complete agreement and clearly states there are no other verbal agreements. We do not do refunds for laundry cards. The machine dispensing them asked the resident when he purchased them: "Would you like to buy a card?". The price is clearly shown as $5 on-screen. The customer then must choose "YES" or "NO". Mr. XXX apparently chose "YES" to buy two cards. Nonetheless we would be happy to give Mr. XXX $10 if he will stop by during office hours. This does not however change our policy."
But they failed to explain why all three managers told me I would get my card deposit back at various times during my stay, even on the day of walk-through. And how come I only heard about their no-refund policy when I called them and ask them why my refund check was $10 short? Nonetheless, I'm glad I finally got my money back. I'll leave you to form your own opinion on all these. —ChWong
- For what it's worth, some friends of ours moved into a complex that uses laundry cards, and when they received their card it already had $3.50 on and they were thrilled. So you're probably making someone's day. —ElleWeber
2008-06-23 21:16:03 I have lived at this complex for almost a year now and have had a very pleasant experience here so far (knock on wood). The manager, Liya, is lovely and probably is the best apartment manager I've ever had. My main complaint is that we can't have pets (not even a bird or a reptile) and many of the other tenants have cats up the wazoo because they were "grandfathered in" — I guess the no pets policy is new (though it is obvious that numerous people have smuggled kittens into their apartments anyways). It would be nice if we had the option of paying a deposit in order to keep a pet here. —soledad101
2009-06-18 22:03:35 I have lived here for more than four years and enjoyed the great swimming pool, quiet and safe environment, efficient management. Whenever I have a problem the management will come immediately because the manager really cares about her tenants. The lawn, flower beds and night bulbs are all well maintained and no loud noise have ever been heard because the rules are well respected and obeyed thanks to the wonderful management. —Jeffery
2010-08-09 15:53:09 I'm confused... Are these called Tennis Club Apartments or Clearwater Apartments? Could a tenant or manager please update the wiki page, as well as the prices and policies if they have changed? Thank you! —LauraLibby
2010-08-15 15:55:46 To answer the previous question. Yes this is now Clearwater Apartments. —DHuey
2011-09-11 19:05:36 I have never written a review before but felt compelled to warn people about this complex. I have lived at Clearwater (formerly the Tennis Club Apartments) for two years. Having a semi pleasant experience the first year, I decided to stay for a second year. DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID. Don't get me wrong—the residents here are typically quiet, and the pool area is nice. However, the pool is never heated so you can really only use it during the warmer months. Additionally, the pool is frequently dirty.
The reason why I would NOT recommend renting from Clearwater is the management. The manager, Liya, is frequently out of her office and it becomes a sort of game to try to catch her. She rarely answers the phone or responds to emails and when she does, she is unclear. Furthermore, she is extremely unhelpful and not pleasant to deal with. Being a graduate student, I was lucky enough to have time during the day to track her down, but I can imagine how impossible this would be if I had a full time job. Additionally, Liya is not apologetic when something goes wrong with the apartment and takes her sweet time in the repair. Finally, YOU WILL NOT GET YOUR FULL DEPOSIT MONEY BACK. My apartment was completely clean, no stains on the carpet, nothing broken, yet she requires that her cleaning people come. Additionally, she will require you to pay for a new paint job, even if nothing is wrong with the wall. Thus, even though there was no damage (it was just normal wear and tear), I only received 280 out of my original 500.
In sum, this is a great place to live until anything goes wrong with your apartment. Once something needs repair, the sub-par quality of management negates any positive qualities this complex has to offer. —LawStuff
2012-03-30 12:54:16 I've lived here for two years. This is a great place to live. It's quiet and clean. There are rarely any parties; when there are, you can barely hear them, if at all (I could almost hear my shared-wall neighbor's party if I had all my appliances turned off, everything was still, and I was straining to listen). The neighbors all look out for one another and keep the place looking clean and nice. Liya is one of the best apartment managers I've ever seen (I've lived in 4 different complexes over the past 6 years). She answers all questions honestly and to the best of her ability, and she does what she can to help out the tenants. She keeps an eye out for anyone suspicious in the area, and directly questions anyone hanging around that is not with a tenant. Friends of mine have positively commented about this because she helped them find my apartment. My phone calls and emails to Liya have always been returned in a reasonable amount of time (usually same day, but sometimes the next day). Repairs have been performed in a reasonable amount of time, and emergencies have been responded to immediately. Be aware that the maintenance guy does not live on the property and this is not the only property he maintains, so it may take a few days for non-emergency repairs. The longest I've had to wait was three days.
The only reason I'm leaving is to reduce my commute time to work.
To the person complaining about the deposit: I've never heard of an apartment that gives the full deposit back in any of the places I've lived, any of the places my spouse has lived, any of the places any of my past roommates have lived, or any of the places any of my friends have lived. It's ridiculous to expect your full deposit back, no matter where you live. —JarredCaldwell
"2012-040-13 1:41AM" I am currently nearing the end of my 1-year lease here, and I have had a very positive experience. The manager is very friendly and helpful. It brightens my day to go chat with her when I have a question to ask. The apartments have a very peaceful and home-like atmosphere. I have also been especially impressed by how clean the laundry room is! This has not been the case at other apartments where I have lived with shared laundry rooms. I recommend this apartment.
I disagree with "LawStuff's" comments about the manager being difficult to get a hold of. This has not been my experience. I walk past the main office every day, and the manager is always in there during the posted hours, which I believe would work with most people's schedule. There are even Saturday hours for if you work during the week. I have never had a problem finding an office hour to fit into my schedule. Perhaps this has improved since that post. —Rkor
2012-07-11 21:08:13 I lived here for a year and unfortunately I did not have a very good experience with Liya, the manager. She is generally friendly but if something breaks and she doesn’t consider it a priority, you may have to wait a long time until she does anything to get it fixed, or it may not get fixed at all. On the plus side, the complex is pretty quiet and in walking distance to the Nugget. —AggieAlumni09
2012-07-29 11:53:17 I'm a law student and lived here for one year (leaving due to transferring for unrelated reasons). When I was originally apartment hunting in Davis I had three main criteria: Safe & quiet, nearby amenities (e.g. grocery store, cleaners, restaurants, etc.), and away from the hussle of downtown but close enough so that getting there would be a hop and a skip. Clearwater apartments met this criteria perfectly.
It seems mostly populated by professionals and graduate students so it has a very quiet and respectful atmosphere, and the manager Liya Ju takes her job seriously so if you were to have a disrespectful neighbor or something of the sort she would do her best to take care of it. The apartments are situated wonderfully in terms of amenities; there's a nugget (a nice grocery store famous in the area) and a couple of good restaurants in walking distance, a safeway and more restaurants nearby, a Target a couple of minutes away, a couple of gas stations, and I even felt fortunate to have Toyota dealership in walking distance when my car was having some trouble. The apartments are also separate from downtown, adding to the peace and quiet. It takes almost no time, however, to get downtown or to the UC Davis campus (I personally drive but I know many people who bike).
I think if you're a graduate student, a professional, or just a more low-key undergraduate student you would be very happy living here. In addition to just being solid apartments and having the qualities I mention above, the staff is wonderful. Liya Ju is the manager and she goes out of her way to make sure everyone is comfortable. The poster below me notes that the office hours are during regular work hours, which is true, but the office is also open on Saturdays and Liya has always accommodated me if I had any special needs. For example, if you have a package (which she'll receive in her office for you) she'll set it out by your door before she closes if you need her to. Also, she has always been readily available through e-mail and other means, and I can't think of a time that I had something I thought couldn't be handled by e-mail, faxing, etc. or wait until the weekend. I've had some bad experiences with apartment management at other places I've lived, so I consider the management at clearwater to be a real plus.
Happy apartment hunting, and be sure to check out clearwater! —Ted2012
2012-07-30 17:04:45 I lived here from 2010 to 2012. These apartments aren’t bad for the price but the manager, Liya, was difficult to get a hold of the few times I needed her help and she was not very friendly when she finally called me back. I found the residents to be friendly and generally quiet, so if that’s more important to you than good management, you might still consider this place. —HistoryBuff
2013-06-24 10:05:50 Lived here for 3 years and it has been a pleasant experience. Liya, the manager, has been wonderful for several reasons: she cares about the property and the tenants, she is VERY attentive and fast to accomodate any fixes or needs you may have, and she's respectful. Clearwater accommodates mostly professional and older people, but I've noticed an infiltration of undergrads recently. For the most part, this complex is quiet (aside from daily dumpster divers and the occasional loud party). I realize others have had a different experience, but here's the secret: DON'T be an idiot AND BE respectful/mindful of others. —buddha563
I will definitely not recommend this place. This place is way too quiet and creepy at night. There was a homicide case right across the street last year and FBI came at your door and ask if you have seen any suspicious person. This makes you feel really unsafe at night. Besides, the manager - Liya Ju was way to bossy and mean to her tenants. She immediately catches you and warned you in a very mean way when she saw you doing something not right for the first time, it makes people want to stay away from her. She is not helpful and acts like she is the boss or somewhat that she has the right to treat her tenants badly if they do not 'OBEY' her rules. I have stayed here for years but I moved away mainly because the manager -Liya, even though it might not be the smartest choice. But it seems to be the best choice to move out when you don't have to 'live' with a person who treats you in a bad way.
2015-05-22 16:08:34 I lived here from August 2011 thru January 2015. Great quiet place. I found the management (Liya) very professional and responsive to my requests. I've read complaints about her, but that is not my experience. One just has to be aware that there are other people she also has to take care of. Her intentions are to satisfy her tenants but sometimes differences in personality/culture might have led people to think that she is rude. And of course she has to enforce the rules of the place. Keep these in mind and you will have a wonderful stay at this place. —bentua
2015-10-10 10:32:33 I lived here from September 2012 through August 2015 and my experience was a pleasant one. I liked that it was a quiet place. I found the manager (Liya) to be very professional. Since she has to take care of a lot of tenants, it is natural that she would have to prioritize certain requests of maintenance over others in order of importance. In any case, I always found that any serious maintenance issue was attended to very promptly. I also appreciated the fact that Liya wanted the tenants to be more aware of waste segregation and tried to be as environment-friendly as she could while taking care of the property. When I first contacted her I was assigned a different apartment. But later when she had to change the assignment, she was professional enough to intimate me of the change (this happened before the signing of my tenancy agreement). I also received most of my deposit money quite soon after the end of my stay. - Jogia
2015-10-10 2:32:33 My wife lived in Clearwater Apartments for three years. When she was offered a job at UC Davis, she was in Europe. From Georgia, I called several apartment complex managers on her behalf and I found Liya to be the most professional among them. Later on it turned out that one of my old friends, also a faculty of UC Davis, lived in the same place (still does). I strongly recommend this place. Nugget is within walking distance, P and Q line buses stop right in front of the apartment complex. The neighborhood is peaceful and quiet. I also liked the management, contrary to what many people apparently feel. If I ever go back to Davis for a long term stay, I will definitely stay here. - Abhyuday
2016-02-05 21:06:34 Such a terrible experience at Clearwater Apartments. The apartment themselves were nice and I will explain that later, but it is by far not worth living here simply because of the landlady. Absolutely the worst landlady I have ever seen or even heard of. Her name is Liya so beware. She has entered the apartment illegally (once to my knowledge but who knows how many other times). I no longer feel safe knowing that she will enter whenever she pleases without consent, criticizing and making threats if any little thing is not up to her standards. Not to mention she is incredibly rude and wont actually fix issues within the units. She is a domineering woman who will only treat you with the respect of a decent human being if you sit alone in your apartment without visitors and basically don't ever interact with her. One complaint to my knowledge has been made, but Liya refused to give contact info about the owners when requested by the tenant. She then suddenly started acting more kindly for about a week and then back to normal. She doesn't seek to solve problems, as a landlady should, only create and intensify existing ones. As far as the actual apartments and location goes it is a decent place, close to grocery stores, parks, a Unitrans stop right on the street if you're a student, and a generally quiet vibe. Would be a very nice place to live if it wasn't for the landlady. Currently seeking to get in contact with the owners as well, but am facing similar obstacles as the other tenant. —mcdavis
Horrible experience at Clearwater Apartments. Like stated by many previous tenants, the place itself is decently maintained with only a few things not working here and there. Other tenants seem very friendly and open. The manager, Liya Ju is easily the most disrespectful person who I have met in my life. She won't put in any effort to fix individual problems with units and will immediately jump to correct anything which she doesn't find appealing. She seems like someone who has had issues in her personal life and enjoys taking out her anger on her tenants when they break any slight violation of the 1 inch thick rulebook that comes with the place. Liya is a very unprofessional woman in every aspect, and would constantly disrespect my guests. Most of them didn't have too many issues with her, aside from one of my African American friends who when walking out of my unit was physically stopped by her and asked "Can I help you?" in a demeaning tone. As far as your deposit money, you will barely get any of it back even if the place is spotless. Spent about 4 hours cleaning from top to bottom and brought in a shop vac along with a full industrial carpet cleaner only to have her say that she needed to charge me for cleaning costs. Would not recommend renting here for the price. Besides all of that I had some of the best moments with my friends in the apartment and would do it all over in a heartbeat.
2017-04-16 09:33:06 I'm a older person returning to Davis next year and looking at various apartments. Can anyone tell me how bad the freeway and train noise is inside these apartments? I lived near Walnut Park before leaving Davis before and it wasn't too bad over there. —ukiyo-e
What did you think of Clearwater Apartments?
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