One North Fifth Apartments — Local services in Tucson

Well, the location itself is pretty nice. But, the management team is just awful. They never respond on emails, so you have to call or meet them in-person . Do not chose the first floor , because it always smells like you live 5 feet from the garbage. 1)Their schedule says they work 8-5 but they actually come around 11, work till 12 then have a lunch and you won’t see them after 2,except some days(I think nobody knows their actual schedule). Honestly you’re lucky if you see them in-person. However , the maintenance team works really great , I would say 5/5 here because they can fix broken things at the same day once they receive your report. 2) This building has a central heat/ac so you cannot have ac running during the winter on hot days. They also turn on the floor heat or something like that during the winter season, so sometimes expect to have 77-82 degrees in your unit with no option to cool it. If you came from South Africa - you probably will be comfortable there. 3) The Playground bar is doing night parties every Thursday, Friday and Saturday till 2am and nobody cares about that. So if you don’t need to sleep or you work night shifts - you probably should consider this place.

Anyway, I should definitely add that they include bills, TV and internet access, which is very nice (this is why I leave 1 star, not 0). Downtown Tucson has some underground parking lots, in case you care about your car - this is a good option.

P.S. if something is going to change, I’ll update this review.

Update 2024: New property manager Justin is a magician, responsible, extremely friendly, probably one of the best property managers I've met in my life. Maintenance team is great as always. Adding a couple of stars to this review.

Update 2025: Lived here for 4 years. This year, my unit became infested with cockroaches, full-grown and baby ones. It took them over 2 weeks just to do the first treatment. It got worse after, at one point I killed 10+ roaches in a single weekend, including one crawling on my bed while I was sleeping. It got so bad I had to put duct tape around my bed and kitchen cabinets to stop cockroaches from crawling into my sleeping and food areas. I’ve attached photos showing cockroaches stuck to the tape, this was the daily reality in that unit.

When I talked with Destiny Hill (new property manager) and shared health concerns, she told me: "If you're speaking with an attorney, I stop talking to you.". Such a barbaric and hostile communication skills more suited for a stone age than a property management with "Exceptional living" on their doors. When I reminded her they delayed a treatment for weeks, she shrugged and said "It happens". No apology, no accountability.

This is how tenants are treated here when real problems come. If you, your family or kids have extra thousand dollars and are okay living with cockroaches, smelling pesticides, having potential health problems from it and being gaslit by management while paying a premium for it - welcome to One North Fifth and their version of “Exceptional Living”.

At the end Destiny charged me $3360 for her own mistakes to pay a lease break fee. Bonus: trying to communicate with Destiny is a waste of time. Stone-age customer service, wrapped in canned corporate language. She showed a lack of competence or basic empathy in handling the issue.

Rent was also increased by nearly 50% in the last 2 years, with zero improvements to justify it. Just higher prices, pest issues, and worse service. The internet is also removed from utilities package which adds another $90 per month. I honestly miss and simply cannot believe how good this place was just a couple of years ago, and me complaining about the noise or AC at the beginning of this review was just a minor thing.

P.S. Pictures with cockroaches, baby-ones and eggs...

Location Is the Only Perk—Everything Else Is a Mess

The only good thing about this apartment complex is the location—and even that isn’t worth the ongoing stress and frustration of living here. My experience has been overwhelmingly negative, primarily due to the property manager, Destiny Hill, whose conduct has been consistently unprofessional, unethical, and retaliatory.

We went back and forth trying to schedule the required unit inspection, and she showed a complete disregard for the fact that I work from home. After finally agreeing on a date and time, she never showed up, and is now retaliating by refusing to return my deposit.

She is illegally withholding my security deposit, claiming I should have somehow figured out how to return my keys after moving out on a Saturday when their office is closed. I was never given instructions, and there is no key drop-box on the property that I was aware of. She also charged me $75 for a stove cleaning, despite the fact that I have video evidence proving I left the unit cleaner than how it was given to me. When I requested a copy of the original move-in inspection sheet to support the charge, she ignored the request entirely.

I have asked to speak with her supervisor five separate times since April, and each time I was blatantly ignored. That alone speaks volumes about the complete lack of accountability and transparency at this property.

Sadly, the mismanagement doesn’t stop there. The hot water frequently shuts off, sometimes for hours or even days. The shared laundry room is disgusting—I’ve personally found used sanitary pads left behind. The common areas are dirty, poorly maintained, and show a clear lack of care for the residents’ well-being.

Between the blatant disrespect, poor communication, unsanitary conditions, and the potential need for legal action just to get back money I am rightfully owed, this place is absolutely not worth your time, money, or peace of mind. Avoid this complex...

Thank goodness I did not end up moving here. I was interested in getting a studio here back in January. Submitted my application online and after a week I had not heard back. I called and left a few messages about getting my money back but NOTHING. After about 12 days, I got ahold of a lady named Sheila. I was told that I should receive an email soon and a call back the following day. No call the next day, So I called and no answer. After a few more attempts, I finally got ahold of someone by a different name. I believe it was Linda, but could be wrong. Anywho, both stated they were the property managers and Linda told me she did not have anything regarding an application or notes about my situation. Frustrated, I wanted my application fee back. Never got it, and Still is next to impossible to speak to anyone here. Ironically, An Acquaintance lives here from high school. When I told her about my situation, she said I was lucky. She had mentioned that the main lady is hardly here and the one that fills in for her is rude and is never available. Thank goodness for a bad first impression. Be careful and personally I would...