4000 Massachusetts

we’ve lived in this building for 4 years.
PRO’s-apt are huge by dc standards. we make our dining room into a den and have a one bedroom that is larger than many newer two bedrooms in the city. this makes more of a difference than you would think. utilities are included, so this really IS a great deal for this area. its a beautiful old 50’s building with ‘great bones.’ not fancy, has older fixtures, but very functional. they have minimum income requirements and no cosigning, so they keep out the kids from AU that have ruined a lot of the other apt buildings in the area by cramming 5 into two bedroom apts (thanks to AU for not providing student housing.) Neighbors are nice, and there are lots of well behaved young kids, so it feels like a neighborhood. The neighborhood is awesome, completely safe, walkable to great restaurants and decent grocery, farmers market in summer, and we often walk to dupont circle, so we feel we are in an amazing location especially for the price. i would say pest control is generally fine, we have seen two mice in five years, but not really any bugs. the trash rooms on the lower floors are not kept very clean though. they updated the windows and they are very nice and energy efficient. frankly we never turn the heat or a/​c on which is a testament to how well the building is built (they don’t build ‘em like they used to.) so why the low rating?
CONS:
we are pretty fed up with the maintenance. we have had our dishwasher fixed 6 times, and it still isn’t working. i’m pretty sure its a plumbing problem, (our shower also squeals) but we have effectively not had a dishwasher since we moved in. our doors and cabinets have been poorly painted so that toxic paint chips fall onto our plates and counters when we are making food in the kitchen. also, our apt smells like cigarette smoke from another unit. we have done everything (tried positive pressure, fans, blocking all vents etc.) and we cannot stop it coming in. when we complained to the front office their response was: ‘what do you expect us to do? we can’t tell them to stop smoking.’ not great customer service. neither of us is sensitive to smoke/​prone to allergies but we have started having throat irritation (i grew up with an occasional smoking mom so i’m not at all oversensitive to it, but this is really strong.) we’ve had friends over and comment on it, it was embarrassing. but the worst is the noise from the adjoining units. if you are in a two or three bedroom this is not as bad (we had one for our first years.) but in the one-​bedrooms, its intolerable. we hear the constant hacking of the (probably chain smoking) neighbor on one side. we hear the very vocal lady who is having fun with her husband on the other side (every word.) we hear the movies of the upper neighbor to the point that we can identify which film it is at night when we are in bed. you obviously hear toilet flushing and showers from adjacent units which i think is common in a lot of buildings, but its exceptionally bad here. if you move here try to find a until with minimal party walls, pay attention to smoke smells (maybe visit the floor above and below in the same area-​if we had done this it would have been obvious, as it was the new paint smell masked it) and look for a unit on the middle floors (8 – 12) as i suspect you will have less plumbing problems than the upper floors and less pest problems than on the lower floors.

UPDATE! I’m leaving my original review below but bumping down to two stars, «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» Why? Because I read through others’ reviews and some dark, cold memories came flooding back…
The walls and floors do nothing to prevent any noise from echoing throughout the apartment. «Bathroom» noises? Like you’re right there. «Kitchen» noises? Well, you’re making dinner with your neighbor! «TV» noises? Hey, I like that movie too!
I’m not sure how the building can correct that but that’s just what you have to live with.
The vents in the bathroom are connected to your neighbors, so if someone is using the bathroom, you can smell it. I don’t mean to sound gross because I realize each bathroom can’t have a separate ventilation system but it’s just a reality of the place.
They also have/​had a requirement that 80%-90% (in any case, quite a bit) of the hardwood floors need to be carpeted. That’s great, because it cuts down on noise but I saw enough neighbors’ apartments over the years and I can tell you that this rule is not enforced. If you comment to the office staff that your neighbor upstairs walks around like a herd of buffalo and you know for a fact they don’t have carpets, the staff won’t bother enforcing their rule. I’m not suggesting tar and feathering people but what’s the point of a rule if it’s not enforced.
«Meh. I’ve experienced better» fits well. Where I live now is like a breath of fresh air. I’ve lived in worse places, too. To each, their own but take a few more days to shop around before you rent. You might not mind the issues I raised here — or there is completely new staff who are much better, nicer, more professional, etc. than what I experienced. Good luck in your apartment hunting! Thanks!
Original Review:
Three stars for our overall time from 2003 to 2013. Some of the staff, like the door staff, valet and mini-​mart, were nice and friendly. The lady who signed our lease but who left soon thereafter was nice, too. The office staff during our time there was largely rude or just unresponsive. The manager, Ms. B-​something, made moving out difficult and overly stressful. I have a feeling she was the queen of the hop, which is fine since we left.
The hallways reminded us, from the moment we saw them, of the hallways in The Shining. Except these were last remodeled in the 1970s. The pool was good but had funny hours. (I forget what they were but I’m sure they’ll tell you over the phone.)
The apartments themselves are large and provide a lot of natural light. The owners were trying to pass off renovation fees onto the tenants and a group of the latter sued the owners, which was a cause for some drama in the ancient hallways. I would look into how it ended up but it’s not important.
The location is good: near National Cathedral and American University. It’s a hike to the AU metro or Cleveland Park but doable. The DC metro buses are unreliable but that’s not the apartment’s fault. (Right!?)
In short, if an older lady is still running the show, don’t sign the lease. There are plenty of other places with patios, nicer halls, etc. Overall, an OK place but we stayed there way too long.
(Side note: we had a diplomat neighbor in the apt beneath us who had nightly raves. Management refused to help since that embassy signed a long-​term lease, so that was a nightmare. Take away: the office staff made it less than stellar. The night front-​desk staff were also terrible and rude but the graveyard shift would do that to the best of us.)

Just did a delivery of boxes to 4000 Mass Ave. I work with front desk personnel all the time — and the doorman and concierge here are really professional and courteous. Residents who live here are lucky to have such nice people working on the property!

All the same unqualified personnel, who lost a piece of my delivery and after treatment in the management looking angrier. Management did not take measures so cautious, Call the police immediately.

I have lived in this apartment complex for 8 years and only moved out when my boyfriend and I decided we wanted to move in together. I have been very satisfied with this place. If anything breaks down they fix it as soon as they can. They are very responsive. When my dishwasher stoped working and one of the mainenance men said it was ok that my dishes were still dirty, the manager called the head engineer (who unfortunately moved out of state) and replaced the dishwasher with a new one after he determined it was not fixable. They also — I believe — fired some of the rude receptionists that used to be there during my first years. They have some really nice ones now like Mike, Jorge, Sam, and Justice who take their jobs very seriously and are very friendly and polite with the residents. Also, of all the places I have ever lived in (and I have lived in many places around the country), this is the only place that was honest and gave me my full deposit back plus a small interest.

This is the worst place we ever lived and we were only here for 1 year in transition. It’s disgusting. Take a stand and refuse to live here!
Here is the gist:
Management does not care about tenants that are 80% elderly, 10% students and internationals with one or two year assignments projects in DC. The rest is the rest. People like us who are in transition.
This building needs total renovation, everyone knows it. But the owners are ignoring the changes that have to take place. The management is unprofessional and ran by this English gentleman who seems to have little to no management skills.
And then there is an elderly lady in her eighties. Some say she is the one who knows what she is doing. A friend of mine who was a student at American university and lived here in the 1980s had the same building manager! Guess who. The same elderly lady! And she is still here, she will act all nice and old sweet lady nice, and will not tell you all the downsides of the building when you check out apartments.
Ok now some facts.
we moved here last summer, for the first six months, every other week we had maintenance in our apartment. Something was always not right. The building needs a major renovation. It’s been a while since they last had a renovation.
And then in Spring there was the asbestos removal where they installed an extremely loud machine in our living room and expected us to live with that.
It’s simple abuse of tenants. In the meantime our apartment looked like construction site. Why?
It’s unfair how this building treats good folks. Shameful!
After the asbestos removal came 3 weeks of hell for pipe work! It has not been done since 1950s. This renovation required 2 weeks of access to our apartment and a cut off of air conditioning in the middle of heat wave. The workers would come first day/​do minimal work then not come for a week! We got steamed in our apartment.
We simply had enough.
Do NOT move here. It’s a question of major abuse of tenant rights. This building needs to be held accountable by DC housing authorities for negligence of tenants rights!
Management team needs to be replaced at the very least.

Such a miserable place, and I couldn’t regret having any association with them any more than I do. The management is awful, and they couldn’t have possibly made you jump through any more hoops. Absolutely disgusting group, and disgusting facilities.

AVOID taking a lease here or you be stock with major building work that is dangerous and they are so cheap that they expect you to stay in your apartment while the work is being done!
They never told us that they be doing major building ASBESTOS removal! when we moved in. THIS BUILDING LIES. They be doing in every apartment removal of asbestos. The work seals off certain part of your apartment and they want you to tolerate living here while they do the work.
We took a One Year Lease in August of 2013. We had a short time to rent a place, so we ignored certain problems and the fact that the building is stuck in 1981! last decorated.
Very old Building-​that is desperate for a makeover-​adding a door man to the building does not substitute for terrible old problems, moldy carpet and overall stuck in 1981!
Appliances are from 1970’s-there are no microwaves-​kitchen reminds me of black and white movies or «I love Lucy» kitchen, it has not been renovated since.
Plus: the Building maintenance staff are miracle workers! they always come by prompt to every problem that one reports, but again they are miracle workers with what they have to work with.
The building has many many seniors living here with rent control. You will notice them and they are lovely, we don’t have a problem with that. But with all due respect the concept of renovation 2014 style maybe a little alien to folks that want things as they were in 1975!

I take exception with the review by LR. I love living at 4000 Mass! My kids love it here. We have been living here for 6 years and for the most part we have been incredibly happy. Front desk staff, repairmen, just about everyone is friendly and professional. Yes, the office staff can be a little distant, but I have to say that we have had very minor problems… The repairmen always come right away and fix whatever is broken; the pool is always clean (yes, it could be updated) and we have a lovely little store, drycleaner and hairdresser in our building. So no complaints. My complaints are with the owner of the building who is not a nice person. He lacks respect for the tenants; has not made necessary repairs and is, I believe, not a very compassionate man. But, apart from him, we are happy. The apartments are big and are the best value in the area.

I just posted this on Apartment Ratings, but wanted to continue to get the word out. I currently live in this building (lease ends ⁹⁄₁₂) and I look forward to moving out. The apartments are actually quite nice – very large for the area. It’s an older building, so you can’t expect recent upgrades. Again, for the area, it’s reasonably priced. However, there are many problems I don’t want to deal with anymore. The walls are paper thin, particularly between floors – our neighbors upstairs have children and we can hear them moving back and forth. We’ve had mice (even though I’m a clean freak) and there are stinkbugs year round. I have no idea how they get in. Additionally the building is mostly senior citizens and people with small children. Not friendly to young professionals. Every day seems to bring a new passive-​aggressive note to our door about making noise walking around at 8am! How else do you get ready for work? Finally, the management is incredibly incompetent and difficult to deal with. My roommate asked for months to pay for a parking spot, to which they told her to park in a visitor’s spot. One day she came to find her car had been ticketed and towed (Total Cost $ 650), all because she listened to building management. I don’t think the relatively low ($ 2135 for a two bed) rent is worth the hassle of living here.
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My roommate and I signed a year-​long lease with 4000 Massachusetts due to the decent location and apartment size. Little did we know we would be trapped for a year in this horribly managed hell hole.
Within the first week, the pipes in the walls broke and we had an indoor waterfall — literally: gushing. I came home to find my rugs soaked and several personal items ruined. That would be the first of four separate pipe incidents… all of which took more than 24 hours to be resolved by management. Those 4 incidents also fail to include the multiple times our sink disposal has backwashed and spewed water ALL OVER OUR KITCHEN, COUNTERTOPS and FLOORS… even after they sent maintenance to fix it.
Also, maintenance will come in, without advance notice, but leave a unintelligible note after the fact. As a woman, that not only makes me feel very uneasy that they feel it is okay to barge in whenever, but as someone with nice possessions (e.g. jewelry), I had to go out and buy a safe to start locking up all of my valuables — I simply do not trust the unsavory maintenance people they employ.
As far as their claim of «all utilities included», they did not turn the A/​C back on until some time around mid-​May (according to the manager, they needed to wait until temperature was in the mid-​80s for multiple days in a row.).
With an apartment building that is 75% people over 80 years old, it is either a serious lack of concern for residents or total negligence on the part of management that they would endanger their residents in such a way. When I reached out to the manager (as an asthmatic having to sleep with my windows open every single night was leading to asthma attacks), he replied with a canned answer that made me doubt whether he even read past the first complaint I had posed. Customer service — don’t even think about it.
Even when they aren’t leaking from busted pipes, the walls and ceiling/​floor are paper thin: we could hear every conversation or hacking cough from our two side neighbors and every single footstep of the tenants above. We were *lucky* enough that the tenants above had three children under 6 — lots of running, screaming, crying — you name it.
Even the parking situation is atrocious: despite the fact that few people park there (break-​ins and broken windows are a frequent problem), they randomly decided to increase our monthly payment for parking from $ 100 to $ 115 — even though there are 40+ cars that likely have not been touched in 10 – 15 years (covered in dust, rotting tires, you name it). According to the old man at the front desk, «they belong to the owner» — who feels fine leaving his numerous cars to rot, while price gouging for parking. And if you do happen to park in a different spot (say because someone else parked in yours), they will call the police on you and slap you with $ 250 fine.
While on the topic of the front desk, if you pass by it during the hours of 11pm-​6am, you will 80% of the time see the surly front desk woman sleeping. The leasing office (through which you have to do all business) is only open during the week from 9 – 5, meaning that anyone who has a standard job cannot get anything done with the incompetent leasing manager without taking time off from work.
The list goes on and on… SAVE YOURSELF — DO NOT LIVE HERE.

Absolutely a terrible place to live. Lived here a year and had to put up with the most depressing, rude staff ever. There are doormen which is suppose to a luxury in reality is a few rude individuals that often get in the way of opening the door.
Great location, but the management, front desk, and door staff needs to be replaced with a more professional staff.

What a HELL HOLE. That is being nice. Old building with leaks and most of the tenants are just waiting to die there (average age is over 80) The pool looks like a small to medium pond that you would see in a swamp
The rental office is run by several totally insane women. Even the lobby staff is rude and most cant speak English. Appliances are in very good condition if you are coming from Haiti or the mid 1700’s. In my opinion the building should be destroyed and it should become a parking lot for American University. The only reason someone should live there is if they are being punished. Hope this helps. Look at other places before you live in this dirty hell hole.