AVA Little Tokyo — Local services in Los Angeles

Oh… The joys of moving. I'm very sad that I am moving out of this beautiful apartment complex that has been my home for the past two years. When I started looking for a place all I wanted was a washer and dryer in my apartment and a covered parking space, as it is difficult to find parking in Los Angeles. Well, AVA Little Tokyo was everything I was looking for and more. It has the best gym I've ever seen in an apartment complex, with a split level and plenty of space to work out. It has amenities like A pet washing room, bike maintenance room, and a DIY room that they will provide you with tools to build any furniture that you might have to put together. It also has probably my favorite communal areas and copious amounts of barbecue grills, so that having guests over is such a fun experience. The location of AVA Little Tokyo is very easy to get to compared to other apartment complexes in downtown LA, plus it's located near a lot of delicious restaurants and fun bars that you can walk to. I've seen a lot of changes in the area and it seems like this is the happening place to be. My only gripe that I would have is that the elevators can be slow, and there's no floor indicator on the higher floors so you have no idea whether you should walk down the stairs or wait. There's also no guest parking, so they can pay for retail or street parking. I have had a very good experience with the leasing staff at AVA Little Tokyo, especially Monique, Juan, and Angela (who is a recent addition to the AVA Little Tokyo family). I was always greeted with a big smile and an inquiry about how I was doing. If I ever had any issues, it was always taken care of with great speed and alacrity. And speaking of issues, if there ever was any with my apartment the maintenance staff at AVA Little Tokyo is the best that I've ever experienced in any apartment complex. Walter is a treasure and should be given a raise. His work ethic is fantastic and responds to all maintenance requests almost immediately. Not to mention, his attitude was always pleasant and helpful. Luis H was also a great addition to the AVA family and was excellent at his job and very professional. No apartment complex is perfect. People will always find problems and issues. Understand that it's the experience of living here that makes you appreciate exemplary service. The cost-of-living increase in downtown LA made it so I could not stay in this area longer. Also, my work is closer to the valley, so that led me to move to a different apartment complex. But I had such a good experience at AVA Little Tokyo, that I decided to stay with the Avalon company. I wish everyone the best at AVA Little Tokyo and I hope this review helps people make the decision to take a chance on this gem of...

I really like the maintenance staff at this building (they do a great job and are friendly and reliable), but I do not approve of the way that management treats rent paying residents. Since lockdown management has shown little consideration for residents, no amounts have been returned for unusable amenities during the lockdown, the only communication is to say that things are closed and to wear masks. In an apartment building with hundreds of residents there are now 40 pool spaces a day available finally over specific time slots, but you can only easily reserve more than 24 hours in advance, gone are the days of inpromptu amenities. The gym remains shut, as do all other common areas like the rooftop. There is a facebook group where people have asked about amenities availability to which management has access, but is now simply ignoring resident questions, or actually gives false answers saying grills are open in areas where residents can no longer access without special key fobs - which we do not have. The latest issue is that management refuses to conduct fire alarm tests on a weekend day, and is insisting on doing this on a weekday while we are all working from home. The tests last a full day. and we will have hours without power, coupled with exceptional levels of noise which is harmful to infants and pets. Management is ignoring residents requests for a schedule by building location for the test to facilitate them to continue to work from home during this test, and therefore not kill vacation days. They have been wildly inconsiderate to residents to say the least. How hard is it to actually provide a plan to residents? Apparently impossible! Due to Covid 19 DTLA in general has really lost its appeal. Little Tokyo also is proximate to skid row and vagrants frequently get into the garage and main building and cause destruction and damage to both cars and common areas. There are guards now at the property, but not 24 hours. Last year the neighbor upstairs from us subleased their apartment without management consent and we had 6 months of a DJ hammering music through our ceiling, who was verbally threatening to us when we asked them to turn it down after quiet hours. It took many months to get them out of the apartment, and we were therefore literally unable to use half our apartment for 6 full months. I moved into this building liking the setup, area and management, but now wish I had not chosen this location to live. I wouldn't recommend this building to prospective renters. Finally, be careful with the positive reviews. Management asks residents to write them around year end for bonuses and raises, and incentivizes with giveaway items for positive reviews. Take them with a...

I have been living at AVA for a decade this year; I very much plan to continue living here (unless my rent gets raised too high). I havent done one of these surveys in years, but because Rhea personally gave me a call, I will. Here is my honest and genuine experience: Between both buildings, I have lived in a studio, 1 bd and now a 3bd. I love the floorplans and light in the apartments facing Los Angeles St, it makes my plants grow nicely. There is an amazing vet downstairs. And that she lives in our building! there's an older Hispanic staff member who cleans so diligently. I really appreciate his work in making the community clean and nice. There is a very jovial guard named Arthur who knows all the neighbors. I usually see him in the day. He's my favorite guard, he's so helpful and kind. Walter was my favorite maintenance tech. Im not sure what happened to him, but he always fixed things well. Don't get me started on the elevators. Why is Building B elevator 1 always out of service? Please get it properly fixed -- corporate, make sure that there is sufficient budget for this to be implemented. Security is subpar. I had all my belongings stolen from storage in Building A in 2023, including expensive work equipment. The little plaza in front of 711 is not only filthy, but also unsafe with not enough security. I've seen many a fight there. There isnt enough insulation between walls and floors. I feel like I hear elephant feet upstairs but I know its probably just a flat footed person upstairs or something. the WORST experience I've had with management was when I first moved into my 3bd apartment. They handled the noise situation extremely unprofessionally. Roland personally came to my door and knocking furiously and angrily telling my gf that they were going to remove my emotional support dog. I have never had that happen to me at any of the other complexes I have stayed at in DTLA. When the EV chargers turned into blink chargers, I was getting charged a total of about $500 for "idle fees" from my car being in the parking spot that I lease. lastly, when I renewed my lease about a year ago, I was informed that my rent would be $200 above the market rate for the floorplan, as I saw that the unit above me was going for less. I really don't appreciate that as a long term resident. I feel like I'm probably the longest term resident here -- my rent shouldnt be increased like that.

Overall, I have had an overall great experience here. I have noticed a positive change in management's engagement over the last few months. I appreciate the effort to continue Food Truck Thursday and tacos and tequila resident events. It seems like...