Portola Senior Apartments

Pros

• The complex has been completely renovated.
• The manager is awesome and very hard-working.
• Tenants feel safe living there.
• The manager is supportive of starting activities.
• Tenants like the changes for the most part.

Cons

• The management company is horrible and imposes stupid, inane rules.
• The manager has school-age children in a senior/disabled community, and the children are noisy and disruptive.
• AWI (Always With Integrity) is described as a joke.
• Margaret Armstrong and Betty are crooked, dishonest, and unprofessional managers.
• Rent never decreases despite medical expenses being submitted; rents go up by about $20 regardless.
• Funds intended for resident activities are allegedly diverted to provide bonuses for managers, with no real activities offered.
• The complex has experienced multiple burglaries, with open CPS cases and non-working security cameras, causing safety concerns.
• Tenants feel unsafe and unheard, with management rarely in the office and poor incident communications.
• Tenants are asked to keep copies of credit cards on file, raising privacy concerns.

Review

Portola Senior Apartments stands as a complex that has seen a long arc of change, controversy, and mixed sentiment among its residents. Over the eight years discussed by tenants, the property has passed through two different owners and two management companies, with opinions about how well it is run shifting dramatically from one period to the next. For some residents, the most recent management has failed to meet expectations, while for others there was some improvement after a recent sale and renovations. What is clear from the recollections across decades is that the experience of living here has depended as much on whom you interact with as on the physical grounds themselves.

A number of residents paint a grim picture of the current management, painting AWI - "Always With Integrity" - as a poor fit for a building that serves seniors and people with disabilities. They point to an environment where rules feel excessive and intrusive, covering everything from how residents park their cars to what items can be perched on a patio. One resident even notes a paradox: the community is marketed as a senior and disabled living situation, yet the on-site manager is described as having school-age children who generate noise and distraction. The complaint goes beyond nuisance to question whether the rules are applied consistently and with the care that a vulnerable population deserves. In these accounts, it is not just a matter of policy; it reflects a broader distrust of the current management's priorities and the impression that resident needs are not being prioritized.

Against those critiques, there are voices that acknowledge a different chapter in the complex's life. A longtime resident who has lived at Portola for roughly ten years describes a transition that began with the sale in March 2019. They admit that the early period after the sale felt aggressive and uncertain, but they also note that the complex has undergone complete renovations since then. For this resident, the changes brought some positive momentum, and with the passage of more than a year, the current manager is described as "awesome and very hard working." The sense here is that while the management team might not be universally beloved, there is a belief that concrete improvements - likely the renovations and the shift in leadership - have improved day-to-day life for many residents. This perspective also mentions the possibility of creating community events and activities, something the writer says some tenants have begun discussing and which the manager appears open to supporting.

Yet the most alarming and stark testimonies come from residents who allege systemic problems that go far beyond surface nuisances. They name Margaret Armstrong and Betty as the central figures in what they describe as crooked, dishonest, and unprofessional management. These residents insist that as a subsidized housing complex intended for low-income seniors and disabled individuals, Portola should be a place of stability and support, not a stage for rent increases and financial improprieties. They claim never to have seen rent reductions in response to medical expenses, while rents allegedly continued to rise for everyone, regardless of individual circumstances. They assert there is a lack of meaningful extracurricular activities available to residents, with only photo albums in the clubhouse showing past gatherings to suggest what life might be like. In these accounts, funds designated for activities are allegedly absorbed by the managers themselves through unearned monthly bonuses, rather than being invested in the community. The office, they say, is often empty or unavailable, with staff signaling that they are out or unreachable despite the needs of residents who rely on timely assistance.

A particularly disturbing line of allegations centers on the personal lives and behavior of specific managers and their households. The claims state that Armstrong's daughter - described as drug-addict-convicted-felon of fraud - lived in a unit at the complex along with her boyfriend, who is identified as a known drug dealer, and their children. The allegations go further, asserting that the couple's presence, coupled with past and present convictions, has brought police attention to the property on a recurring basis. The result, according to these residents, has been a spike in burglaries - four or more units broken into - spanning stolen prescription medications, credit cards, and money, with the front office itself not spared. They contend that the supposed security cameras do not function, leaving tenants with little recourse for identifying culprits or preventing further incidents. The sense of insecurity is compounded by the absence of notices or bulletins to warn and protect others in the building, which residents argue is a basic courtesy the management should provide to a vulnerable population.

In these accounts, the combination of alleged personal misconduct by those in management, alleged misuse of community funds, and genuine concerns about safety and transparency paints a troubling picture. One tenant makes a direct and forceful call to action, stating their intention to report Portola Senior Apartments to the Better Business Bureau and Consumer Affairs, signaling a belief that formal investigations are warranted to address the alleged wrongdoing and systemic failures. The narrative of fear and frustration is reinforced by the claim that residents were compelled to keep copies of credit card information on file, an unusual and troubling practice that the same storyteller says has never occurred at any other apartment complex they've known.

Taken together, these testimonials sketch a complex portrait of Portola Senior Apartments: a place that has progressed in some tangible ways under new ownership and renovations, yet remains a site of serious concerns for a substantial segment of its resident community. For some, the improvements have translated into safer environments and more hopeful prospects for community-building and activities. For others, the day-to-day reality remains beleaguered by a sense of mismanagement, intrusive rules, financial concerns, and real safety risks that affect the well-being of seniors and disabled residents who rely on predictable, stable housing. The divergence of experiences underscores how a property can simultaneously house both renewal and distress, depending on which door you knock and which staff member you encounter.

In the end, Portola Senior Apartments appears to be a place of contradictions: renovations and a more visible, hardworking management team for some, and a governance culture perceived as secretive and misaligned with residents' needs for safety, transparency, and predictable costs for others. The prevailing takeaway from this spectrum of experiences is that the community's future will likely depend on whether ongoing management can restore trust, ensure accountability, and guarantee safety while preserving the improvements that have been achieved. Until then, residents remain divided in their assessments - some feeling a cautious optimism about change, others bracing for deeper, structural reforms to address the more serious grievances they've raised.

Restaurants

• Rhonda's Lil' Frosty (0.2 miles)
• El Bacanora Mexican (0.3 miles)
• Lucky Chinese Express (0.3 miles)
• Maria's Mexican Restaurant (0.4 miles)
• Portola Frosty (0.4 miles)
• Sharon's Cafe (0.6 miles)
• Lena's Cantina (0.7 miles)

Pharmacies

• Kehoe Pharmacy (0.4 miles)
• Loyalton Pharmacy & Floral (15.2 miles)

Transportation

• U-Haul Neighborhood Dealer (0.5 miles)
• U-Haul (1.4 miles)

Parks

• Portola City Park (0.5 miles)

Places of Worship

• Portola Station Baptist Church (0.5 miles)
• Southern Baptist Convention (0.5 miles)
• Holy Family Social Center (0.5 miles)
• Holy Family Church (0.6 miles)
• The Upper Room Seventh day Adventist Fellowship (0.6 miles)
• Assembly of God Church (0.8 miles)
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (0.8 miles)

Cafes

• Nichole's Coffee Depot & Deli (0.5 miles)
• Peet's Coffee and Tea (0.5 miles)

Physicians

• Stanton Christopher D MD (0.6 miles)
• Eastern Plumas Health Care (0.6 miles)
• Eastern Plumas Health Care (14.9 miles)

Hospitals

• Eastern Plumas Hospital-Portola Campus (0.6 miles)