ANOVA uCity Square, philadelphia-pa

‼️THINK TWICE BEFORE LEASING HERE‼️ I've been a resident at ANOVA, and I want to give future tenants an honest picture of what living here is actually like. Every morning between 6 and 7 AM, the trash truck slams into the metal trash cans for about 30 minutes, loud and clear enough to wake you up daily. One of the elevators is usually out of service. The door lock at the parking garage has been broken for quite some time with no apparent intention to fix it, which puts every resident's safety at risk. There are also occasional middle-of-the-night fire alarms — I understand those are a safety protocol, so just as a heads-up. And as I'm writing this, the entire building has had no running hot water for a week (since 07/03/2026). Individually, these problems might happen at any apartment (just more often at ANOVA), what makes it worse is how the management and leasing team handle them. The staff at concierge are all lovely, but the leasing office is a different story. Whenever an issue comes up, the leasing front desk seems to exist mainly to shield the manager inside the office from having to deal with it. You'll be told there's nothing they can do, and when you ask for the contact information of their manager or a colleague, you're simply told they don't have it. That kind of dead end makes even small problems feel impossible to resolve. They make you feel like YOU're the problem they want to get rid of. For $2,000+ a month in rent, this apartment is not worth it. As someone who has lived through all of this, I hope future renters can make a more informed decision than I did and find a good place to live with peace of mind.

I want to give a mini-update of my time here at ANOVA U City and update over time. I would say the amenities are great to have access to and the location has been beneficial for my commute to school. However, a very large and concerning problem ANOVA U City has is transparency. For example, I read my contract thoroughly, and it said that subletting was allowed and that ANOVA could coordinate the sublet with me given I present them with an appropriate opportunity and permission. However, when reaching out to the leasing, they said while I was "right" in showing them that clause, they did not want to allow a summer sublet. Read your contracts and ask a list of questions to this apartment before renting with them because the written policies change to their beliefs. The second thing is events. The community events have been welcoming for the most part except for some that I found strongly concerning. Today with a collab with an organization called Hungry Panda they were going to give out "complimentary bubble tea" as noted in the flier. I come there being asked to download an app called "WeChat" which I found was an application that has "a lack of end-to-end encryption, surveillance, and data sharing with Chinese authorities." I declined and asked management, and all he could say was he was not aware and to not download it (and also this meant to not partake). In addition, happy hours from 4-6pm still yet have any options for those who can not drink alcohol (even juice or 0% alcoholic beverages). In the beginning of my time here at ANOVA I would have given it a 5/5, but my time here has decreased in quality and I'm at a 2. Hopeful for better months and for management to listen to these concerns to make this location more welcoming and more importantly, transparent.

I would not recommend living here to anyone. We are currently on day six of no hot water and have just been told that the soonest we MIGHT have it again is for another two days. Management has yet to provide any alternative or compensation to residents. We have routinely lost hot water, even during the winter months, and other amenities such as elevators and trash rooms, are also regularly out of service. There are also regular fire alarms that are incredibly loud and disruptive, and the wifi is unreliable yet you are not able to secure your own servicer. The staff here are very nice, so I want to be clear that this review is no reflection of them.

To call this building luxury living is a JOKE! No hot water for six days, and now being told a second part is needed which will not arrive for several more days. This is a City of Philadelphia health code violation since a landlord cannot leave tenants without hot water for more than 48 hours, and we are now going on 120+ hours with no hot water, and an ANOVA management team that seems to think this is all acceptable. Calls have been made to 311 and City Counsel because violations and fines need to be assessed to this organization! The latest is the management team saying they will come up with a list of local of places where residents can find hot water. Are you kidding??? Plus, the management team seems to only provide lame excuses right as their office is closing at 5pm. This is not how the management team of a 'luxury' apartment complex should be handling such a massive fail! The building has been without hot water three times this year, elevators have not worked multiple times for extended periods, and don't get me started on the disastrous mail system that tenants are required to pay for with management being very flip about the issues while they continue to collect their outrageous amenity fees and rent! BEWARE before signing a lease at ANOVA!

Terrible communication and attitudes from the leasing office especially ones after our WEEK LONG WATER SHORTAGE. This is inhumane and unacceptable. they have refused give useful updates and keep dragging to say “maintenance is at work around the clock and overnight.” So they are saying they’ve been here for 5 consecutive days around the clock and there is not one bit of progress?? The lies are crazy. The lack of communication is crazy. The lack of accountability is crazy!! Seems like there is still no progress and not update unfortunately. DO NOT RECOMMEND