Bixel at Fifth Lofts & Apartments

This place has a lot of potential and could be a great place to live. The gym and pool are nice. The layout of the units are good with nice kitchens/​appliances and washer/​dryer in the units. The building is very dog friendly. The location is on a nice quiet street. Close to downtown so you get the best of the city life but slightly removed.
Now to the downside. The management in this building is a nightmare. Crystal is an onsite manager that lives in the building. She does her best to dodge residents as much as possible. She is never in the office and does not return emails or phone calls. Like when fire alarms are going off through the entire weekend. CRAZY. It’s almost impossible to escalate issues and figure out who oversees onsite management. The most prominent form of communication is though passive aggressive notes posted throughout the building. Attempts to organize parking or clean up the parking structure are done through written warnings stating violations which will result in fines and such. They usually seem to come out of nowhere. It’s a weird way to treat residents of a building. Like they are children or prisoners that are subject to the commands of management. Not like we all live here together and this place functions because you all pay your rent every month. A little tact could go a long way in making things less hostile here.
The guys that do the repairs here are great, but it can be an issue going through management to get anything done. When we moved in, the neighbors down the hall said they had been using our washer and dryer when the unit was empty because they couldn’t get theirs fixed. Eventually things get done but it shouldn’t be such a struggle.
There are pretty standard rules about quiet hours and such. Also rules about cleaning up after pets. But they are not enforced. Tenants raging every night of the week will go unchecked. Tenants dogs are allowed to piss in the hallways rather than going outside. Also really CRAZY to me. It’s unfortunate when tenants that follow the rules keep getting harassed about new rules but those that are clearly violating those around them can get away with it. It just seems weird where the priorities lie.
Oh, and the street parking is a nightmare in the neighborhood. Don’t be fooled if you come by and see a lot of available parking. The parking restrictions limit most parking to an hour and parking enforcement is ruthless. One parking spot is provided per bedroom. Management was very misleading on the parking situation when we moved in. They offer an extra parking spot for $ 100 a month, but they are so unorganized they don’t know where the extra spots are. It is a rotating fight for the 10 or so ‘guest’ spots in the structure that management can’t seem to get a handle on.
I would love to see this place get a handle on the management and live up to it’s potential. Until then, I would avoid if possible. Especially for what they charge here. For the neighborhood, it’s luxury apartment prices, but it’s ran like a slum.

I lived here for a year (2011 – 2012) and it was such a great experience.
Jesse Wagner was the manager at the time and was incredibly welcoming and accommodating. We were two college students, so we really just wanted a safe place to live that wasn’t near a bunch of students.
There were a lot of working professionals in our building and we were on the fifth floor– with a great view of DTLA. I had initially talked to Jesse while I was in Hawaii… he sent me everything via email and I even signed my lease while I was on vacation, just through the pictures he had sent. It was a very ballsy move on my part, but he was so up front with everything and sent me pictures that I knew weren’t photoshopped.
Whenever we had issues, we had it fixed the next day. The guys who work in the building are also very helpful! We once bought a sofa and he carried it from the garage straight up to the 5^th floor for us.
Great place to live, I really enjoyed my time here.

I am writing to talk about whom ever answered the phone and wouldn’t give me the time of day! You absolutely messed up by not providing me information on your property and here’s why:
If I ever had someone who wasn’t interested in my apartments, I surely wouldn’t send them to you.
First impressions are everything… even IF you were busy to give me information, you can make up for that by offering to call me back or a time when would be better to talk.
We’re all trying to lease our vacancies! I was getting market survey information because I’m having a Fannie Mae inspection that required an updated Market Survey — I could have lied and misled you to think I was a renter — would you have treated me the same way? Hmmmm
Now while I appreciate you being busy, it’s unfortunate you dismissed me all together, hence you’re 1 star.
Good thing you weren’t being shopped by your company OR were you?

Edit:
They have done a speedy job of making all necessary repairs and overall, the complex really is fantastic. Everyone who lives here is friendly and sweet and the managers do a good job of listening. There are also recent brunches and events hosted for the residences to try to create a better sense of community here.
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1^st Review
My move in day is today into this complex. The complex itself is nice and you get a lot for the price. However the process of getting my apartment was like pulling teeth. No one communicated anything to me during the entire process and when they did, I was fed multiple versions of contradictory information making it very frustrating and difficult to plan accordingly.
Some of the issues I had were appointments made, but no manager was there for those appointments, zero feedback on anything including leftover deposit amounts etc unless I took the initiative to contact them, they never even gave me an email contact until I asked for it.
In addition, when I moved into my unit my unit was in horrible condition. The bathrooms are hideous, dirty, and needs new grouting, the kitchen is dirty, the toilets and bathtub are so uncleaned I do not want to use it. The kitchen drawers have crumbs of whatever everywhere and underneath my kitchen sink I found a can of paint and paintbrush! I’m pretty upset, to say the least and don’t even know if I feel comfortable staying in this apartment I just moved into because of it’s unready condition. There’s no excuse for this apartments condition whatsoever.
The complex itself is great but my review is in regards to communication process while trying to sign for the unit in addition to the condition of my unit upon move-​in. To be honest, I’m not surprised that my unit was not ready upon move in based on the process of getting the apartment. Beautiful complex but I could not have imagined a more terrible process of getting an apartment. I’m just hoping all of this is not a reflection for what it’ll be like living here for the next year. When I first checked Unilocal for this apartment a few months ago the reviews were fabulous. I’m unsure what has happened since, but it seems like others agree with me.

I have lived here for about a year and a half. When I moved in, they had a Eurotech washer/​dryer system. This already discontinued product is supposed to wash and dry your clothe in one unit. The washer/​dryer has been broken since I moved here. The fan and pump doesn’t work and my clothe gets steamed because its still wet. The dryer just puts heat on the wet clothe. I have contacted the manager multiple times for over a year. They say it’s been discontinued and give false promises to fix it. It has been over a year and a half and nothing has happened. They eventually changed the manger to someone new called Crystal. She is very rude and not helpful. She just tells me that its not her fault. She gave me a written notice that they will change it but nothing happened on the agreed date. Her response was, «I’m sorry I ordered new washer/​dryers but I did not know yours was the 2 in 1 type. We have not bought one yet.» I contacted her supervisor Lily regarding this matter on over 25 e-​mails. Her last response was as follows in the picture below. I feel this is unfair and not just. The apartment complex is nice but is not managed properly. If someone moves to a place where they provided a fridge and the fridge doesn’t work, they usually replace it or fix it. They have not done anything to solve this matter. You make the choice whether you want to move to a place like this.

Great place to live. Clean and quiet just the way I like it. You get parking as well. Overall it’s a good deal.

I’ve been living here for over a year; just resign my new lease, and I’m very happy. The staff is great, and neighbors are nice and friendly — working professionals that want the same thing, peace and quiet!
Jesse the manager is great, and he responds every time you need something. The parking is great! My guests always have a space to park!
The one complaint is the noise between units. I never had a noise problem from my neighbors, but my neighbor one floor below comes and knocks at my door, when I’m not making any noise — just watching TV! He’s older, so I guess he’s more sensitive to the noise. Anyways, NICE PROPERTY!

I’ve been living here for about a month and I couldn’t be happier. The people that live ere seem very nice whenever I pass them in the halls and everyone seems to be of the younger working professionals age. So no wild parties and drunkards keeping you awake to 6 am but not too many old folk that make you feel like you’re living in a retirement home. The apartment manager lives on site and between him and the security staff there is someone available to help you with anything ²⁴⁄₇ which is amazing.
The units are rather open and airy not as lofty as you would hope an apartment by downtown hope definitely feels like an apartment but is still pretty nice inside. The included gym is pretty fulled stocked and provides open space. The lap pool isn’t large by any means but definitely gets the job done on a hot summer day. The parking situation is pretty good plenty of guest spots and street parking is pretty easy except for the weekend. I’m guessing everyone just has plenty of guests over and the place fills up.
My only complaint about this place is the lightness in the construction of the walls and floors I seem to be hearing my neighbors tv and walking more often than usual but doesn’t bother me much. All in all great place: D

I have lived here about ten months now and I find the place excellent. Downtown isn’t cheap but these guys’ rents were extremely competitive with similar full-​service apartment buildings. One of the managers is on the premises in person almost 24 hours a day, and the staff are quite responsive to requests. The common areas, including a pool with barbecues, are typically clean and well-​maintained. At first the neighborhood around the building doesn’t look as upscale as, say, Wilshire, but don’t let that hold you back. The building is fully gated, and there’s a school and a community center here which seem to be well-​liked by the community, so I’ve never seen anything bad go down in this neighborhood. I just can’t beat the commute — living here allows me to walk to work, a mere 4 blocks to Wilshire & Figueroa, which is worth quite a bit to me in terms of gasoline and time not wasted in commuting. I can walk home at my lunch break!