Archstone Newport Village

I think the place is ok because of the location and living space but I am definitely moving out when my lease is up because parking is a real problem here. I have to park at the back of the complex when I live at the very front. I made the mistake to park in a guest parking once and my car got towed, which is a shame to happen in your own complex.
Also, I live in a ground level unit and the footstep from the unit above me is so loud it is ridiculous. I feel bad having people over to watch a movie or to hang out because it is so distracting and can really drown a conversation.
There’s a lot of pet owners here but I don’t understand why the complex only has 2 (I’m guessing 2 I have only seen 1) litter posts.
I don’t think this place is environmentally friendly either, thermostats are old and there is really no recycling efforts here which is sad.
I think for the price there are other better places in the area.

One disaster after another — broken appliances, flooding washing machine and flooded floors, leaky windows, black mold, stinky /​scary trash rooms in the basement.
In just 3 months we have experienced a flooded washing machine, broken dishwasher, water pouring through the windows whenever it rained, inability to OPEN the windows after they’ve been «fixed», more flooding windows, black mold and moisture seeping through the wall.
The french doors and the windows are old, warped, full of splintering wood, and are constantly either impossible to open or impossible to close.
Although the units LOOK very nice and have a good amount of space & closets, unless Archstone is willing to invest a significant amount of money to upgrade the brickwork, windows, roofs, gutters, and plumbing, everything is going to continue to degrade.

I don’t require luxurious surroundings for my living situation. I expect some challenges when living in an older community. But there are certain things that I cannot deal with especially when I am paying rent. At first the rent seemed reasonable for the area, but then I moved in.
They gave me a welcome package which was nice. The rental office took care of all of my repair concerns in a timely matter. The walls looked like they had been patched up by a 5 year old and painted, but I didn’t really care about that. I would see an occasional bug, but nothing that I couldn’t get rid of with an occasional bug fogger. They have you roasting in the spring until they switch to A/​C, and freezing in the fall until they switch to heat… but I expect this in an old building.
There are 2 major reasons why I can’t recommend Newport Village:
1. THE RAT DROPPINGS! I can’t deal with rats. They had a trash room in the basement of my building that just smelled horrible. This room was just a rat magnet. Oh the horror! I had rat droppings two levels up in my 1 bedroom apartment, and I keep a clean house. I didn’t even want to cook knowing that rats were somewhere around.
2. The floors seem like they are going to cave in. I could hear everything that the guy above me was doing. I heard every conversation. I knew his daily schedule even though I had no desire to know. I could hear him having sex with men and women or whatever he was in the mood for. I’m no prude, but I am a professional woman who needs rest so that I can get up and go to work. I couldn’t get sleep living in this place. Can you imagine your neighbor above you waking you up every morning at 2:30 am just because this is the time he wakes up to pee? The floors are so bad that a person walking sounds like a person stomping.
Archstone had the nerve to raise my rent $ 100 with all of these problems, but I was moving anyway after 1 year.
Hell No to Archstone Newport Village. I say HELL NO!

Ok… I still stand by my initial posting of why I live and why I have stayed at this complex, but the one issue that I do not like about the complex – the centrally controlled heating and air – has come to a point that I could move out when the lease is up.
Right now, we are experiencing 100 degree temps in DC and the AC is broken on the entire property. Today is Tuesday and it broke Saturday night. I knew it wasn’t right when I went to bed that night. By Sunday, it was roasting. Not a word from the apartment management about the broken AC. Let me remind you that the system is as old as the buildings are with a massive underground system of pipe-​cooled water that runs the AC units in the apartments. Also, the windows are the least energy efficient things on the planet, so whatever temp it is outside… is coming inside.
Sunday night, I called maintenance because after being told the problem was fixed my apartment was still too hot. Maintenance came over and «fixed» the alleged new problem with my specific unit. Monday, got home from work… still too hot. And again, no word from management that the system was down, had been fixed, was being fixed… nothing. Tuesday, still not working at a 100%. I just got off the phone with someone in the front office and they indicate it is still broken. Let me remind you…100 degree temps today in DC.
There are people who have lived on this property for 10, 20 and 30+ years (I’m not kidding. I’ve met them.) and the rent is raised a least a little every year and NO IMPROVEMENTS have been made to this property in the almost 5 years I’ve lived there. It may be time, after this debacle, to move when the lease is up.

My first 30 days were fabulous! The customer service is awesome! I got a welcome bag with some apt essentials which I thought was very sweet. I also got a call a few weeks later to see how things were going. The apt move in check list was completed with the leasing agent. She walked through the apt with me. Everything seemed perfect.
However, one issue really upset me. I put in a service request online and stated that I wanted maintenance to call me to set up an appt. However, they entered my apt without my permission. I’m sure that Archstone hires trustworthy individuals, however I specifically stated that I wanted to be present. When I saw that it was not specified online due to a internet glitch, I proceeded to call the leasing office to let them know that I wanted to be contacted for an appt. The leasing office made those notes, however maintenance still entered my apt without my permission. When I called the leasing office to complain, the leasing agent apologized and said he would put me on a red tag list which means I will be contacted prior to anyone entering my apt. Why would I not be on this list in the first place?
I also find that I live among very noisy neighbors. It has nothing to do with the neighbors in my building, but the one’s across the street. They like to have parties and loud conversations outside. I have called the police once and things seemed quiet for a week or so, but the parties continue at all hours of the night. I have had to purchase ear plugs to tone out the noise. I’m not going to hold Archstone responsible for that. They have no control over who moves in. They can only address the issues in community newsletters, but they can’t force anyone to comply.
Speaking of inconsiderate neighbors… My number one pet peeve is slamming doors. The front door unfortunately automatically shuts behind you violently. Make sure your hands aren’t in the way and you have your house keys with you at all times. You will get locked out if you don’t pay attention.
Also, I did not realize that utilities are paid not by your personal usage, but per square footage and how many people live in the apt. Archstone gets the bill and then charges everyone based on their calculations. I’m not sure I like this particular way of paying utilities. Had I known this I would have reconsidered living here.
It is pretty awesome that Archstone has a website where you can set up to pay your rent and utilities automatically through your bank account.
The one bedroom apt is very spacious, yet there are things here and there that I don’t like about this community.
Since my work shift changed, I have a hard time finding a parking space around midnight. I also dislike the fact that guest parking is very limited and their guest parking rule is pretty strict. They don’t allow anyone to park for periods longer than 24 hours. If your guest visits for more than 24 hrs they have to display a visitor decal that is one dollar a pop per day. I am also limited to two guests for the pool and I have to present my pool pass every time. Lame!
Finally, I am also pretty upset that I received a notice on my car stating that I needed a City of Alexandria parking decal. No one from the leasing office explained that all residents needed this. Luckily it was a notice and not a ticket. I’m not sure what the fees are for the decal since they don’t charge military. Apparently they base the fee on the vehicle/​property tax. It’s pretty ridiculous that you have to pay a fee to park within the City of Alexandria.
I guess you get what you pay for. The luxury of living here vs. a ghetto. The location is awesome and I have an overall good opinion of Archstone. The issues that I experienced could have happened anywhere. They are resolved and I will enjoy the remainder of the time I have here.

Mice, mice, mice. On three separate occasions, we had a rodent infestation issue. We kept our apartment clean, but the cold winter drove the pesky critters someplace warm… specifically behind the stove and under the sink. Each time maintenance came, they put down sticky traps. They failed to properly seal the gaps in the walls and holes leading to the basement (which was connected to the other two adjacent apartments). As we were leaving, we actually had a mouse die of old age on the carpet. It slowly walked across the carpet and died in a corner!
EVERY wall had cracks in the ceiling. The maintenance folk said that it was the building settling. After 30+ years, you would figure the foundation had finally settled, but I guess not. He said they would just paint over the crack… good luck to the next tenants.
Window panes are thinner than paper and the seals between the door and windows are enormous. When the wind blew, you could feel the gusts in the living room, even with all doors/​windows closed and locked. One of the bedroom doors did not fully close because of «the foundation settling».
Not military friendly. Many people including myself have had issues breaking a lease due to deployments. We gave 30 days notice but still were made to pay the entire following month as well. The clause they use is that you need to give 30 days notice from the 1^st day of the next pay period. For example, if you give your notice on 1 January, the 30 days notice begins on 1 February. This means that you will have to pay the entire month of February as well. So I just paid for an extra month of rent when I won’t even live there.
This place is pet friendly because everyone leaves their bags of pet waste next to the sidewalk for the maintenance folk to pick up. Just gross.

I promised an update, and here it is.
This place is wonderfully pet-​friendly. Ever since I got a dog, I think I’ve met every other pet owner on my side of Braddock Rd.
I was worried that the maintenance would let me down after living there for more than the 30-​day-​no-​obligation period thingy… but it hasn’t. Though all I’ve requested since then is that they fix the fan over my stove. I have one in right now for the screen in my room. It doesn’t quite line up with the frame, and the nights have been wonderfully cool. I submitted it yesterday, maintenance is scheduled for tomorrow. Win!
I still find good parking, not matter what hour I come home.
The 7B bus is my best friend! It gets me to the Pentagon in about 15 minutes during rush hour.
I still don’t really see bugs in the apartment. It’s great.
I’m still happy here.
The utilities (calculated, not metered) were $ 180 for 2 people in a 2 bedroom apartment. I can live with $ 90/​mo.

I’d give zero stars if it was possible.
Well, I know I’m not alone in having issues with management here, since everyone in my building has voiced dissatisfaction. They attempted to evict ME because there was a mice infestation in the building (apparently my apartment was unsanitary, something Code Enforcement assured me was not the case once I called them in to inspect), whilst not actually doing anything constuctive to fix the problem (meanwhile, I had mice climbing my night stand inches from my face — YUMMY!). I wonder how many dead mice lie in our walls now…
And god forbid you actually have a problem with something, which I guarantee you that you will, since the complex was built way back when (1970s) and has not been maintained since. Of course, that might not be an accurate statement, but it certainly doesn’t seem like maintenance has been done.
And since the current maintenance will enter your abode without prior consent (apparently they have magical ways of enterpreting that at the management office), beware — they might just leave your door open while they «go get something», which will take several hours. I kid you not, I’ve come home to an open door, with no one to be seen, and no apologies made for it occuring either. Yeah, I was pretty livid.
Oh, and then there’s the utilities… When I moved in they were included in the rent (super!), on the next lease, they were not (big surprise). Only problem is that you don’t pay based on actual usage, but on some twisted formula they use (number of people on lease, sq ft, etc.). And as if that’s not bad enough, utilities are considered to be part of your rent (even though that’s not the case), so if you pay rent on time but you’re slow with utilities, they will attempt to evict you (only 5 day grace period) — after tacking on a 10% late fee, of course. It makes no sense! And your utility bill WILL be high regardless, because you can feel a draft even with the windows closed…
And all this is such a shame, because the apartments have a great location, great floor space (although not much closet or counter space), and the apartments themselves could look 100 times better if they just put some work into maintaining it properly. I.e. they LOOK like they’re from the 70s. May god have mercy on the people who are unfortunate enough to have wall-​to-​wall carpeting (thankfullty I don’t), as it’s probably infested with all sorts of stuff. Then again, wall-​to-​wall carpeting is just plain un-​hygenic alltogether IMO… ICK!