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.

This apartment building is definitely on the expensive side, but compared to other apartments in the area, the price IS worth it because of all the amenities. A lot of apartments in the area are either the same price or only a little cheaper, and that small difference in price isn’t worth it when it means a lot less amenities. We have a gym, pool, hot tub, grills, common areas, game area, study areas, and even a package service, which is super convenient. They also host fun community events which, as a student, is my favorite part about living here for sure. There are a lot of fees upfront when you first move in, which can be a bit overwhelming, but so far it’s been worth it. I’ve only been living here since August, but the apartment itself is very nice, and any issues that have come up have been handled. The staff has been friendly, responsive, and very willing to help, which makes a big difference. Overall, it’s been a great experience so far.

Our unit had no hot water for more than five days during a declared heat emergency, and management declined any credit, describing it only as a “temporary partial disruption.” For a building at this price, I expected a basic utility failure to be taken far more seriously.

I wish I could give 4.8 stars but since we can only give whole star ratings this is mine! There’s only a couple minor cons which are the elevators being extremely slow, and very often at least one is down. The other issues are ones that are issues you’ll have in any apartment, like the fire alarms going off a couple times a year and the walls are pretty thin and it’s easy to hear what’s happening in the apartments, especially above you. The events, quality of life, responsiveness of managers, 24/7 concierge, maintenance resolving issues makes this an amazing place to live. The cost is more than other places but I think the attentiveness of the apartment maintenance and management makes the cost well worth it. I’m a full time graduate student and I can always offer my apartment as a place to group study when everywhere else is closed or full. There are areas to play games, the pool and the hot tub when I have guests. The front desk is always helpful and nice. The building itself has the T1/trolley 10 stop right outside and the L1 subway is a 7 minute walk away making it extremely easy to get downtown. All of these aspects make this a great place to live.