Le Tournesol Apartments

Le Tournesol offers two- and three-bedroom townhouse apartments ranging from $1,350/month to $1,850/month with security deposits of $500 to $700 [Feb 2008]. Pets are allowed for an additional deposit. The complex is located on Unitrans D bus line and K bus line. The nearest stop is Russell Blvd. at Arlington Farm Apartments.

Le Tournesol is home to a diverse group of people: undergraduates, grad students, professionals, and families. Parties are rare and the complex is generally pretty quiet. The walls between apartments are fairly well insulated, so you won't hear your neighbors too much unless they have pounding bass on their stereo. Each apartment is two stories, so you don't have neighbors above or below you.

Floorplans

These two floorplans are approximate in scale, but provide the general idea as to the layout. Half of the apartments have a mirrored floorplan from the ones shown.
2 bedroom, 1.5 bath. Approx. 950 sq ft. 3 bedroom, 2 bath. Approx 1200 sq ft.

Photos

Exterior of 2 bedroom units. (Photo provided by management)

Exterior of 3 bedroom units. (Photo provided by management)

Energy Conservation

Le Tournesol was designed with energy conservation in mind (from a 1970s standpoint). The apartments utilize passive solar heating and cooling, which uses little gas or electricity. Additionally, the units have conventional heating and cooling systems (gas wall heater, wood stove, room air conditioners) designed to be used as "back-up."
A diagram of how the passive solar system works. A guide of how to operate the passive solar system.

During the winter, the sunroom keeps the apartment comfortable (above 70 degrees) on sunny days, even if it is cold outside (assuming your sunroom is not obstructed by a tree or another building). The sunroom, however, does little good on cloudy days or at night. During those times, you may need to use the fireplace or the gas heater. The gas heater works without electricity. It uses a pilot light and, when operating, heats by radiation. The circulation fan does not do a good job of distributing the warm air if the bedroom doors are closed (ie: your bedroom will get cold if you keep the door shut). This system does require a bit of conscientiousness on the part of the residents to work well. Neither the sunroom, fireplace, or heater work instantaneously like a forced air furnace. They generally raise the temperature at a rate of 2-3 degrees an hour.

During the summer, the air conditioning is generally only needed during the hottest part of the afternoon, although many people run it more than that. It's worth noting that only the upstairs bedrooms have air conditioners and they really only cool the room they're in, but the first floor generally doesn't get that hot. The sunroom acts as an insulation layer between the outside and the living area. Air temperatures in the sunroom will be well over 100 degrees. The need for air conditioning at night is greatly reduced by having a whole house fan. At night, if you open all the windows and turn it on, it exhausts the hot air and draws in cool air. All of the bedrooms, as well as the living and dining areas, are equipped with ceiling fans as well.

Renovations

The complex has been under renovation for several years during the summers. The work should be completed by September 2008. Some community features, such as storage units, have been added, while others, such as the solar hot water system, have been removed. Individual apartments have received complete cosmetic upgrades. Originally, the living rooms had vinyl tile, which has been replaced with carpet. The apartments also had a water tank in the wall between the sunroom and living area to help absorb heat. These have been removed and replaced with windows, which hurts energy efficiency, but provides more natural light. Ceiling fans with dimmer controlled lights were added in each bedroom, the living room, and the dining room. All kitchen appliances were replaced with new Kenmore appliances and built-in microwaves were added. The tub and shower surrounds were replaced in the bathrooms, as well as the sinks, counters, and fixtures.

Additional Information

• Each unit has its own gas hot water heater, meaning you can easily run out of hot water if you take really long showers. But it also means that your neighbors' water usage has little effect on your showering comfort.
  

• The electrical system is not new. The entire upstairs of each unit is serviced by a single 15 amp breaker and the downstairs living area is serviced by one 15 amp breaker. (The kitchen has several circuits for appliances). Needless to say, you have to be careful about how many high-wattage items you operate at once (ie: hairdryers, computers, tvs, space heaters, etc.)
  

• Every unit has a patio, but the units along Russell Blvd. have private back yards. It is the responsibility of each resident to keep their yard in decent shape (this is considered part of your unit and the landscaping crews will not enter your gate). Some people have a garden or some minimal landscaping, which makes it a pleasant space. Some people let the weeds become a fire hazard, which results in general unhappiness.
  

• The manager lives on site and is generally very pleasant. She knows most of the residents by name. However, she single-handedly runs the office, so the office is closed when she has to go to meetings or run to the bank.
  

• This complex follows the Davis Model Lease and adds a few common sense addendums, such as agreeing not to climb on the roof. The only significant change is that you get 1.5% interest on your deposit instead of 5%, but that seems to be a fairly common practice in Davis.

For more information on rental housing in Davis, take a look at our Housing Guide as well as our Apartments pages.

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Older Reviews

• Reviews from 2005 to 2008

Current Reviews

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2010-02-11 14:06:35   My wife lived in "Tourney" for 5 years before we got married, in two different 3-bedroom apartments (they moved from one to the other because of the renovations). She and her roommates absolutely loved it, and I always found it to be a nice complex. Tons of shade, and for the last couple of years since they took care of the worst of the bugs-causing-the-trees-to-drip-sugary-stuff problems, parking is no problem there. The remodeled units are a lot brighter and nicer—and it sounds like they're all remodeled by now. Prices used to be quite a bit lower than comparable apartments before the remodel, and as of last year, they were still a little lower. I always heard reports about how the management was really nice, and the couple of times I bumped into them it certainly seemed that way. —TomGarberson

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2010-04-05 23:39:04   This is a great complex. The manager is really friendly, nice, and understanding (of late rents, repairs, etc). She makes the place feel like a real place to live, not another apartment complex. For example, the carpet was still wet when we moved in, so she had a staff member help us unload all of our stuff. The maintenance guy is quick, friendly, and funny. He's lent me tools/supplies on multiple occasions and given me lightbulbs/nails/etc (other places make you change lightbulbs). The place is a good price, has a patio and sunroom (with another storage closet) which means you have plenty of storage space. There's even a fenced off area perfect for parking bikes and its nice to have outdoor space. The parking lot is NEVER full (even at 3am on a sunday night) and there is street parking on the street outside. I've never been woken up by the leafblowers/garbage (like other places) and really like the townhome setup.
My only gripes:

-The foliage gets on your car in summer, but it mostly blows off when you drive


-Its about 2 blocks to the bus stop (both Silo and MU lines) which isn't far, but gets tiring. I bike most of the time anyways.

Other than that, its an amazing place to live; the manager really makes the place all the more better; the maintenance guy is funny/friendly; and I'd live here again happily for the price of rent and layout.

—omnipotentdude

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2010-06-24 21:45:37   Le Tournesol is the best place to live in Davis. The manager is sweet, friendly and always willing to help. I have lived here over 3 years and I have to leave now. I will miss it so much. Le tournesol is not just another apartment complex. You can call it home. Residents are treated with respect and love. Sherri will always help you and make you feel at home. Management is always there for you and solve problems sooner than later. Thank you Sherri!! —TomSayer

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2010-07-28 16:58:27   FABULOUS! Le Tournesol is the best place to live in Davis. If I weren't transferring schools I definitely would've stayed. It's in a fairly safe neighborhood and has enough parking. Sherri, the manager is great. She's super nice, understanding, friendly, and truly adores her residents. Although she is a one woman management (which means sometimes she'll be gone from her office to run errands, which is understandable) Sherri is always on top of things. Prior to winter break she even threw Le Tournesol a little party, it was cute. In addition to Sherri, the maintenance is just friendly and attentive. He's easy to find as he's always around the complex, and whenever we had a problem he would be on our doorstep in minutes. Even if he was busy, he'd definitely let us know when he was available to come by. In addition, the gardeners kept the place good looking, "home-y", and classy. Despite the countless leaves and sticky sap from the trees in the fall season, everything would also be taken care of.

The apartments are clean and spacious. I still remember walking in on the first day our lease began with all the carpet still damp from just getting shampooed and cleaned, it was perfect. I lived in a 3 bedroom with a backyard, which was great since no one could see us through merely a window and our backyard provided us with space to grow some flowers. The layout is good, especially the upstairs rooms and bathrooms with the 2 sinks being outside the toilet/shower room so my roommates and I never had to fight for bathroom space. The bedrooms are spacious and all rooms include a ceiling fan. The sunroom is awesome and gives us extra storage space with so many roommmates.

I could go on but I'm no novelist. Basically, I HIGHLY recommend living at Le Tournesol. You won't regret it. —OliveGreen

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2010-09-13 13:54:05   I just want to thank all of my wonderful 09/2010 residents that I have lost this year. You all are the best! Good Luck! I'll miss you.
Sherri —ashleyinthemist

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2010-10-12 19:12:37   Le Tournesol is a great place, and I've never regretted my decision to live there for any reason. The manager is incredibly accommodating and nice, and the maintenance man, who is there everyday (now that's reliability!), is funny and super easy to get along with. They do everything to get you to feel comfortable and at home.

1. Sherri is really understanding about circumstances
2. Repairs get done quickly
3. Sherri always has sweets in her office :)
4. There is always parking
5. The leaves are constantly getting cleaned up so that it won't look like a jungle
6. If used properly, the sun room can make life much more enjoyable

I can't say enough good things about this place, so I'll just stop myself there, but if you are on the fence about living here, don't even think twice about it. Go for it. —TamerSaleh

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2010-11-16 10:29:15   I would second what most have said above and say that this is one of the better (best?) complexes in Davis. Location is great, maintenance is speedy, and Sherri is a wonderful manager. I lived there for only three months on a sublease but had no problems whatsoever. —jamesegraham

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2010-11-23 22:27:20   About time I get around to writing this review.. Lived here for two years, and to be short I can highly recommend Le Tournesol to any group looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom.

Pros:
Awesome management
Excellent maintenance
the units are really a step above most anything else you'll find in Davis

Cons:
If you have a vacuum, a hairdryer and a computer running upstairs at the same time you'll probably blow a fuse. (not really a con) —NicFl

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2011-01-04 12:44:39   I lived at Le Tournesol for two years. Sherri was great - any time we had a complaint or needed an accommodation she was always extremely helpful and timely. The only complaint that I have is the walls are pretty thin. We knew our neighbors pretty well, so if they were being loud at night we could shoot them a text and they would turn the TV down...But, if we had not known them we may have gone crazy. —Roberta

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2011-06-14 18:36:04   Hey! check out Le Tournesol's new web site @ letournesolaptsdavis.com Call and find out about the specials we have to offer as well! —Sherri

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2011-06-26 23:31:59   A MUST TO AVOID, and let me tell you why. Although I cannot deny that Sherri is a wonderful manager, her enforcement of complex policies is lax at best. In particular, I am referencing the pool hours policy. I have lived here for ten months, and noise at the pool has been a constant problem. The management makes weak attempts to "control" the minority of residents that make it their duty to ensure no one in the complex gets a good night's sleep. Usually, when complaint levels become too high to ignore, Sherri will put up signs warning that the pool closes at 10pm, and may even lock the pool gate the first night after these notices go up. However, within less than a week, the same noisy characters are back in full force, showing no respect for Sherri or her rules. At most other complexes, a security guard with shoo away pool goers after hours. This is not the case at le tournesol. In fact, with summer in full swing, life has become a 24-hour pool party. I live across the parking lot from the pool, and I can hear these people loud and clear. I really can't take it anymore!!! In fact, it is 11:30 on a sunday night, and they are out there showing no signs of going away. My only comfort: I am moving to another complex after this summer. —JarenHayashi

If it's a really persistent problem, you might want to try making noise complaints to the DPD. They'll generally come kick people out of the pool, although if the officer is feeling grumpy or if it's a recurring problem, they may write the people citations. —TomGarberson

Actually, I have called DPD twice this year. Unfortunately, I wait just about until I can no longer bear it, and the pool partiers disperse soon after I call. Not sure if the police ever showed up either time. -jh

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2011-07-29 16:13:23   J.H

I am so sorry you have had a bad experience. To my recollection I have only had 2 people complain to me. It is the 1st year we have had this problem. When I heard of this we locked the pool at 10:00. I am on call 24 hours a day. Why didn't you call me. That is what I am here for.


We are making changes for this next year. I think that will insure that we never have the same problem in the future.

Again, I apologize,

—Sherri

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2012-01-26 10:46:48   I have lived in Le Tournesol townhouses for just over a year, and am very happily signing up for another year. Sherri is wonderful and if anything is wrong, she is more than happy to fix it. (plus she has candy in her office)
Once over winter break, my sliding glass door shattered! It was fixed the next day, causing me and my housemates little to no inconvenience.

I have noticed though that if you are running multiple computers, a tv, and try to turn on a vacuum, the breaker flips (power goes out) for that floor; but it is easily avoided by turning off said computers temporarily.
Other than a few extra steps in order to vacuum without hard crashing my computers, I have had no issues with the complex and its amiable staff! :D —AnneElvin