Jia Apartments

This review is based on my almost six months of living here at Jia. It is absolutely terrible DO NOT MOVE HERE. Since more people have been moving in, this place gets dirtier and dirtier. There are trash piles left next to the elevators, hallways, garage. And today I saw two drunk people peeing right in front of the leasing office door and no security was there to even say anything. Also, the leasing office never noticed me about a package I ordered and if I never have mentioned it to them, they would have probably never notified me. This place attracts a lot of drunk and homeless people since it is in the middle of downtown la. I have seen stray cats and homeless people in our garage since the gate has been broken for weeks and they are too lazy to even fix it. Management is terrible, and the location is terrible because there’s always traffic or construction going on. For the price you are forced to pay for this place it is definitely not worth it. You deserve more for the price.

I have been living here for over one year and I am writing a very candid review.
The location is more than great. Jia is only 0.8 miles away from Union Station and 0.6 miles away from the Chinatown Gold Line Station. More importantly, it is in Chinatown, which means the surroundings are much safer than the other ones in other parts of downtown. Believe me, I often walk around by myself around 9:00 in the night without fearing anyone even if I occasionally see some strange acting guys. 99% safety warranty in Chinatown!
However, there are two very serious problems that downgrade my experience with Jia. One is not Jia’s problem but the other one is.
Problem 1:
The nearby construction site
It is crystal clear that whoever employed those workers severely lacks money. They have been building just a small temple for over 1 year; however, there is still no sign of any kind that the construction is close to its end. The construction makes the surroundings SUPER dirty. I never utilize the BALCONY and now it is covered in a very thick layer of dirt! The construction is on and off. Usually the work starts from 7:30 and ends on 4:30 on weekdays. On Saturdays, they work from 8:00 — 4:00. I have reported them THREE times complaining that they work too early on Saturdays. I received an email from one leasing agent saying that they had agreed to not start working until 9:00 on Saturdays, however, they were just saying and abided by that agreement for no more than 2 weeks. One Saturday morning they even started making noise at 7:30 (the bylaws says no construction is allowed before 8 on Saturdays), I was super angry and called the police. The construction site seems a big BAD ASS to me, although nothing can be done about it
P. S. I haven’t talked about the noises they make.
Problem 2:
The always-​the-​same music
The common place in the apartment plays music from 9:00 — 22:00 everyday. It sounds nothing is wrong here but what about you hear the same song over and over, for over one year, and without any way to escape. To make things worse, half of those songs are pop music you will hear in many other places. How about listening to Taylor Swift, Nick Jonas, and Lady Gaga Everyday, 7 days a week non-​stop?! I want to VOMIT! I don’t know for what reason the apartment stopped doing that for 3 months, but they carried out the old practice just recently, and they are still the old songs! Won’t you vomit after hearing the same songs over 1,000 times? I can’t even stand 100 times! Jia, please STOP, or at least play some other music. They are NOISE rather than music at all! Please stop bombarding other’s ears with the same songs over, over, and over again!
P. S. I am not saying that you will only hear those noise in the common place, I a mean I will hear them in every room of mine.
In other reviews you can find the merits of this place. I don’t need to mention them.
That’s all.

Great location, but noisey, but that’s what happens when living in the City. Use to love this place but now it’s pretty gross. Don’t know if it’s the new tenants coming in, but the hallways and garage smell like trash ALL the time. Management needs to power wash the trash areas more often and have better porter services. So disgusting. And instead of warning people not to put furniture on patio or put up things on their doors (which doesn’t bother ANYONE BUT MANAGEMENT), they should be making sure people appropriately throw away their trash.

Renting a place is not an easy commitment and since I’ve committed for a year myself. I’d like to share some honest truth about this community.
Pros:
–Location: really convenient for commuters or people who go out a lot since several freeway entrances are just around the corner
— Building: nice big hallways as all the other Equity properties; good amenities with pool, party room, study room and 24hr gym and even food trucks once in a while in the locking area
— Management team: nice, fast and attentive, great security guy Jessie, as mentioned in other reviews, he does go above and beyond his duty to take care of not only security but a lot of details in the community
— Animal VERY friendly: more dogs than you can imagine and dogs in all shapes.
— Smoke free
Cons:
— NOISE: surrounded by Caesar Chaves, Hill St and Broadway, three busy street leading straight to freeway. Car noise is absolutely an issue, despite the double paned windows which do help a lot when closed. I suggest you open the windows when you visit the apartment and really feel the noise to see if it is bearable to you. You can choose to face courtyard or Zen garden if you really hate street noise but can deal with people noise.
— Structure: the building shakes. At certain hour of the day, you can feel a subtle rolling shake like a minor earthquake, especially if you are at high levels. Management said the ground is still settling, but just FYI if you are in concern.
— Still structure: hardwood floor in all units so that it resonates. When your neighbor or upstairs party, you rock with them. (not a problem if you would want to join them though)

This review is based on a year of living at jia.
1. The most disturbing aspect of Jia Apartments is that it is less than 100 yards from what is quickly becoming Los Angeles’ new skid row. When we first moved in the number of homeless and vagrants in the area was next to nothing. However, over the past 7 months it has grown exponentially. The area of Spring St. beginning on Ceasar Chavez is the new home for close to a hundred homeless people who pitch up their tents at night all along the street. Moreover, a large majority of them do not leave the area even during the day and liter the streets with trash and junk from their shopping carts. In the last month alone, this undesirable area has doubled in size and has slowly crept closer and closer to Jia. This needs to be adequately accounted for in any estimation of market rents in the area.
2. Rental Units with windows facing either Broadway or Ceaser Chavez suffers from more negative factors than other units in the building.
— The two avenues are high traffic street for cars and people. This leads to many negative impacts on the apartment.
— High levels of dirt and dust. This apartment accrues large amounts of pollution from buses and cars. There is no way to allow fresh air to enter the apartment by opening the windows without also letting in all the smog and pollution. This is bad for people’s health and a major inconvenience. It is especially bad since the unit faces the street and is also at the lowest elevation in the building for residents (floor 2).
— Noise pollution is especially high and will only get worse.
— When I first moved in to Jia, the apartment was advertised as being double paned meaning the windows would be sufficiently insulated from outside street noise. Unfortunately, the noise is so great on Broadway that my unit even with the double panes, cannot keep it out. Part of the problem is that although the windows are doubly insulated, each pane is not very thick. Also, the patio door has a large window in it but that is only single paned so noise still reaches the inside rather easily.
— The other part of the problem is simply Jia is at the crossroads of two major bus stops. Literally, hundreds of buses will make their stop at or around Jia every day.
— Because Jia is a bus magnet, it also attracts people at all hours of the day and the night. Often times, you will hear people hanging out below during the day chatting quite loudly. At other times, during the night you will hear people having arguments preventing you from sleeping.
— The amount of noise is set to get even worse. Since there are going to be businesses directly underneath the Broadway facing units for 2015 and 2016, there will be even more disturbances coming from patrons on the street.

Was visiting my friend who lived there. We were about to leave and I had to go to the bathroom. Went to the lobby restroom and the staff their had it locked and said it was only for staff. They told me to go use the Starbucks restroom. They clearly took what was meant to be a public restroom and took it only for themselves.

This review is based on one year tenancy. I recently moved out as the lease was up and the rates went up.
Pro’s
Brand new building (at the time I moved in)
Con’s
Management service–
1) Greatest pain point is they do not understand what customer service means. On several occasions with any misunderstanding management does not know how to be professional while delivering any message. If you have a complaint or disagree on any terms they will automatically get defensive and are very rude. The whole team seriously needs to be aware of this and work on their delivery or just simply get out of the service industry.
2) Upon moving out management advised that it would be fine to park the truck on premise and the night of I was told by security that the truck must be moved otherwise it would be towed. This basically made me waste non refundable fees on movers and go through extra trouble of solving the issue with no help when management was called the night of. Which brings me back to SERVICE again as no accomodation was made by them the night of or the next day as of course the next day they basically denyed everything. Typical Jia management with the long face and rude responses. Come on!
3) Another Jia/​Equity apt employee and tenant issue. Upon moving a new mattress in the elevator with security guard approval the lady who said she worked for the building basically stood in the elevator and basically made every excuse under the sun to try and not let me in the elevator while I was holding a heavy queen mattress. The horrible lady and her dog basically said she worked for the building and acted like the police for the building asking me a million questions about authority to move a dam mattress. She basically said this elevator cannot be used as a capacity issue. Clearly the sign on the elevator says 4000 pounds max and this was just 100 pounds at max mattress. Not only was she so crazy, anal, and rude by trying to ride the elevator so I won’t be able to get in but she showed great ignorance by making such a ridiculous statement. So if this lady happens to read the review: you should know that people like you should not even exist because you obviously do not understand how to coexist as a normal human being.
Security Deposit–
Current and future tenants beware! As I expected Jia totally gouged the fees charged to move out. They charged for excessive cleaning although I left the place as clean as when I moved in per civil code section 1950.5 (e). They charged $ 80 for what they call repair and paint and they were referring to a frame I hung on the wall seriously! Refer to my pics for this one and you will see how obscene this charge is to hang a frame and how clean I left the place. Of course this is in violation as well, as they are only to charge one third of cost if you lived here one year. I am referencing all of these statues and laws as those who need to should really refer to California Tenants guide published by the Department of Consumer Affairs Legal Division.
Location–
Anyone thinking about moving in should think twice as prices are no longer market competitive for location. Jia says they have market competitive prices but they are using downtown price for comparison but they are no where near financial district or south park in downtown LA. Any apt facing the larger streets of Broadway and Caesar Chavez is not recommended. Their claim of double pane windows does not help at all. Overall area is not convenient for shopping, gas, grocery. Throughout the past year the area has been extremely run down by surrounding streets. Not family or dog friendly.
These are just some of the con’s about living at Jia. With that I would highly recommend NOT living here as with these issues the main point is that they do not have any sort of idea what customer service means so if you run into any problems it would just be hopeless to resolve. There are so many better options in the heart of downtown or even J-​town. Do NOT even consider this place even if you think it is a last resort. And yes it is that bad! If the people with whom you have to deal and work with don’t grasp the idea that they have a job because you live there and cannot provide just normal service it is huge sign that things will just get worse.

This is my updated review.
We’ve been here over 8 months and still like the place.
* Location: closed to freeway. Easy access to most activities in DTLA, little Tokyo, Dodger stadium. There are many activities in this area! 4+ star.
* Management: great comparing to others we had to deal with in the past (Palazzo, the Vermont…) The maintenance team is fast. We put in the request online, things get done on the same day! 4+ star
* Security: Jessy is awesome and takes pride in keeping things safe around the area! They have been increasing security at night! After some incidents of car got broken in, the security is increased and we have not heard any further incidents. 4 star
* Costs: reasonable. Monthly bill is clear, accurate, and easy to access online. 5 star.
* Neighborhood: There are so many great restaurants around the area with very reasonable price. There are more hip places popped up like Pok pok pad thai, Blossom, Ramen Champ, etc. Everyone is friendly and pleasant! 4+ star.
* Condition of the unit: everything seems running well so far. The gym and pool area is well kept. The building is shaking sometimes during morning traffic hours! The sound insulation is actually good. We did not hear a thing last month when there was a big fire in DTLA! 4 star.
* Parking: we have free tandem parking for 2 cars with good size. Can’t complain comparing to our previous place (barely fit my 2 door z… and costs $ 90 per month at Palazzo, $ 100 at the Vermont). 4 star

Quite a surprise, Equity, who owns/​runs most of the apartments in Little Tokyo/​DTLA, also manages JIA.
Their other locations are very nice, have front desk security, seem secure, and packages are not left to be stolen in front of apartment doors. Not the case here at JIA. Security is present, but not… physically. I’m not even picky. I’m very high tolerance and low maintenance.
Management is also below average. We wanted to move additional furniture of ours without telling them (which apparently is not allowed here) and were told we cannot. They need a heads up, so they can add padding to their property so we don’t scratch it up. Wasn’t a problem at my other Equity apartments.
As for the apartment itself. It isn’t too bad. Clean, nice, but unfortunately not worth the money for the size, street noise, and Chinatown smog and pollution. You can get way more for your money in Little Tokyo and DTLA.
Lastly, the parking garage. I drive an SUV, and those speed bumps are harsh and unnecessary. Leaving the parking garage, where the ticket machine is, has the strangest turn and I’m not surprised if many people have damaged their cars leaving this place.
I feel that not much thought was put into the development of JIA.
So sorry JIA.

Me and my neighbors have been having issues with this apartment. They let whoever in and security here is questionable. Also whenever me and my neighbor have problems, management seems to avoid us. NO RECEPTIONIST to keep packages. Two of my packages have been stolen. Management here are very RUDE, NOT TRUSTWORTHY, and SHOULD NOT be in the customer service/​hospitality field. Not recommendable.

Great place to live. Convenient and excellent housing service. Really close to everything, union station, USC, Plazita Olvera, Chinatown, Dodger Stadium, and all the main freeways for your convenience for travel.

residents don’t use CleanCierge dry cleaning service. Awful service
Other then that love living at Jia

I have been here 3 months now and I just love it here! The staff in the leasing office is awesome, and the maintenance people get things corrected in a very timely manner! Between the Business Center and Gym provided, I rarely need to get in my car and leave! For once I can say i completely love where I live! Jia was made for me!

Been living here for a moment and so far it has been very pleasant. The leasing staff have been very helpful and are on top of everything that they need to do to help you move in. I have really enjoyed the bathroom space, extendable faucet head at the kitchen, HE washer/​dryer unit, and kitchen cabinet space. Keep it up JIA and dont make me have to update this review! (in a bad way)

I just moved into the jia last week. everything is brand new and the apartments are extremely beautiful. I had to find a place within a relatively quick time frame and spent 1 weekend looking at 12 properties on saturday and another 7 properties on sunday. the jia was the best combination of location, property and price — and not to mention, the layout and floor plans were really nice too. don’t get me wrong, there were a few other places that were super nice but you were also going to pay a significantly hefty price for them plus they’re not next to food places and union station (transportation hub). heather, the leasing consultant, was extremely helpful, awesome to work with and always smiles and waves when she sees you.
if you are looking for a new apartment, jia may be your next home and you won’t regret it! go talk to heather and find your next home now!

Though I do not live here, my son has lived here seven months and every time I have come to visit him there is always something wrong with the elevators. This particularly has been an interesting visit because I have heard from multiple residents how unhappy they are with the way Jia is being managed by the local staff. There have been many inconsistencies from where you can or can’t be on the property at certain times of the day including how many people can be there. What is a shame is this is a beautiful property and has a multitude of potential but unless local and regional management align their strategic goals of making their residents happy and focusing on service recovery, I foresee this place continuing to receive bad reviews and going further downhill than it already has since my first visit in February. As a parent, I would not advise my son or anyone for that matter to chose Jia as their residence. For the prices being paid, the residents should be receiving 5 star service. Not what is currently being displayed.
Best of luck!

I really like living here! I’ve lived at quite a few apts in dtla and this one is better than most. The apartments are big and brand new, management is friendly and responsive, and the amenities and common areas are dope and have free wifi!
The only problem I had was with my neighbor b/​c she tried to have a DIY dog run for three large dogs on her patio which is attached to mine. It was gross but the management finally got her to abide by the rules and get rid of it. Thank god!

I’ve been living at Jia little over 3 months now. I live in 1 bed apartment and so far I have no issues. I don’t understand why people are crying about the tandem parking when leasing staff clearly stated during the tour for 2beds apartment. If they ddn’t like the tandem parking for 2beds why did they sign the lease and moved in??? Many so called «luxury» apartments actually charges for parking, however, that ia not the case here at Jia. Also, I just read a review that is complaining about the common area hours. If you let people hang out late at night or early in the morning the surrounding residents would suffer. I like the fact they have a time limit and the policy is enforced. Like I said, so far so good… there are too many stupid ass people crying on Unilocal after the fact.

Being one of the first residents to move-​in, I’m loving it so far. I love that its so quiet despite it being a huge apartment complex and I love the fact that I can use all the amenities without having to share with anyone else. I do know that this is short lived and pretty soon the occupancy here will increase. :(
The new apartments are what caught my eye from the beginning. i love brand spanking new things! My apartment overlooks Broadway street and you’d expect a lot of noise but its actually pretty quiet in my apartment since the windows are double paned. My apartment has views of dodger stadium and its quite refreshing having the best view on the block: D The walking distance to chinatown is amazing– as you can get really cheap food right at your fingertips. not to mention groceries at never before seen prices. The apartment complex is dog friendly which is always great.
There are also plenty of parking spaces which is HUUUGGGEEE in LA, so you dont need to go to war everyday trying to fight someone for a spot.
There is a downside to this apartment complex, which is that its a no smoking environment so if you are a smoker, good luck trying to find a place to smoke. I had my parents visit and they were smoking on the balcony and management almost shit their pants seeing them smoke by calling incessantly.
I previously lived in a complex that had 24 hour security with a doorman in the front lobby so not being able to have that is a little bit of a minus. if you have guests come over, they’re going to have to wait in the parking lot rather than a lobby where they can sit. But other than that the complex in itself is clean and stylish. It is a little pricey for a 1bedroom apt in the area but if you are able to afford it, I’m sure you’d have little complaints.

Let me start off with the positive items first. It is brand new, the floor plans are quite nice, the washer and dryers are of high quality and stackable, and Heather, Meghan, and Jose are outstanding leasing agents. Additionally the property maintenance staff is amazing as well. Truly top of the line customer service. The maintenance staff is quick to solve issues. I have also had the pleasure of meeting amazing residents that I have become friends with. I have also been impressed with some new amenities that have been added in the gym.
Though there have been issues, my current one and only complaint is the curfew. Residents are not allowed to be up after 10:00 in the common areas such as the pool, eating area, grill area, etc… Additionally I would like to see more community events on a monthly basis. I have known many other properties that host breakfast for their residents, margarita parties, taco stands, etc. It really doesn’t cost that much and its a nice way to bring the residents together and give back to the community. Though I was unable to attend the last event, I believe it was held in the parking lot with free beer for the guest and an overpriced lobster truck. I think we can class it up a bit…