Aria

I toured this place today after having tours at Senate Square and Loree Grand which are also in the area. This building doesn’t hold a candle to either of those yet charges the same and in some cases more. The one bedroom apartment I saw was smaller than the studio plus den apartment I saw at Loree Grand and several grand more. It did have a nice balcony but unfortunately, it overlooked an alley. The bedroom did not have a closet or a proper door; the door was a sliding door. Also, the washer was in the kitchen next to the dishwasher which I didn’t care for. In addition, the «fitness center» consisted of two treadmills and one bike, it also wasn’t open 24 hours. They do not have a 24 hour concierge either. The club room was less than half the size of others I’ve seen and there’s no rooftop. I understand they’re not a luxury building like some of the others in the area but for the prices, they could offer more.

I lived in the Aria from September 2013 — July 2015. While the units look modern (e, g., laminate flooring throughout), and there is some great balcony space, the management ruins the entire experience. I was living there under WC Smith for most of my time there (I would rate them a 0.5 if I could). Then, Vantage Management (VMI) took over in June (they deserve a 0). WC Smith lost our rent checks, tried to charge us undue late fees, and then asked us for a security deposit on multiple occasions after they agreed to waive it upon move-​in. VMI came in and, other than coming by to collect the rent checks, were largely unavailable for assistance. We were thinking of extending our lease by 6 months — after weeks of writing emails and calling the headquarters to get referred to the right person, VMI finally agreed to the extension, but never sent us a lease to sign. DC tenant regulations state that we are allowed to stay in an apartment regardless of the lease, but it was clear as day that it was time to move out. Bottom line: do not live in any buildings managed by WC Smith or VMI. You will be sorry.

I lived in the Aria for 2.5 years. The apartments are nice because of the newness of them, and living there was not bad because there were rarely issues with the building itself. However, the management recently changed from WC Smith, who was not the greatest, to Vantage Management, who is even worse! I moved out shortly after VMI took over, and have yet to receive a response to any of the follow up emails I sent to remove my name from the lease (my former roommate is still in the apartment). Not even an unsatisfactory response — just no response or acknowledgement of my email, at all.
I have friends that stayed in the building that have assured me that this lack of responsiveness is the norm, and even have a broken AC that they’ve not been able to get fixed because nobody answers emails, and phone numbers they’ve been given don’t work.
You’ll like the apartments and balconies, but I would stay away from anything managed by VMI or WC Smith. Their customer service is awful!

I very strongly discourage anyone from renting in the Aria from WC Smith, the owner and manager of the building, after my experience moving out.
I purchased a house and after settling the lease with WC Smith and the manager of my account, Ms Kaitlyn Luper, moved out in October 2014. Ms Luper then attempted to charge me a fee for «damages» to the apartment but only tried to call me once, based on her own statement, before declaring my account delinquent and selling it to a collection agency, who notified me of the delinquency earlier this year.
DC law requires that a property owner notify a former tenant in writing, either in person or via certified mail, of such a charge within 45 days of moving out. Neither of which Ms Luper nor WC Smith, one of the largest property companies in the DC area — and certainly equipped with a staff to handle just such matters — attempted to contact me either in person or via certified mail before selling my account to a collection agency, a move that should be only a last resort. They had my email, forwarding address and phone number when I moved out.
I was able to get the account closed with the collection agency citing the DC statute, however, my advice is to skip this building — and others owned by WC Smith — and look at an apartment in the multiple other new buildings in NoMa.

I’m writing an update to my July 28, 2013 review. I am still living at Aria and I have become happier with the living experience there.
Updated positive aspects:
–Most importantly: Aria made SIGNIFICANT security improvements to the building. These should have been completed upon opening, clearly. However, since they were completed in August, we have not had any security incidents, as far as I know. I’ve had some unpleasant experiences outside of the building, but Aria on the whole has done a great job beefing up their security platform.
–Still brand new, new appliances
–Still great location
–Building management has gotten more responsive and responsible.
–I have not had any problems with hot water since my previous post.
–Concierge staff have become much better. They are very helpful and friendly.
–Lock on my balcony door was fixed in August or September.
–The gym, while small, isn’t too bad for the price of the building. There are two nice treadmills and a small space to stretch.
–The neighborhood is gentrifying quickly, with all the good and bad things that come with that.
Negative aspects:
–Walls and ceilings are still paper thin, but I’ve gotten used to sleeping through it with the help of a white noise machine. This is the main reason I am giving only three stars. It really is a shame that WC Smith skimped on the building materials, because this building could have been nearly perfect if only I didn’t hear my neighbors every move.

While I did look at all available options to me e.g. looking at other communities I settled on renewing my lease and going for a larger apartment. I will give it to Doug and the rest of the Aria team they worked very hard to earn my business which included finding me the apartment that was right for me. Initially, I wasn’t particularly happy because my apartment was too small hence me looking at other options. When I told Doug what I was looking for he pretty much zeroed in on the unit. I am so in love with my apartment it’s not even funny. One of the issues I saw with other complexes is that they were either too small or too large and I’m in something that is just right. I felt like the Princess and the Pea. It’s perfection for me. One of my takeaways for the team is that every floor plan should be on the website. Every other community puts all of their floor plans on the website and WC Smith really needs to do that too. They also need more pictures they are not doing themselves any justice and there are some really great apartments. I know I live in one. :-)

What a joke! I don’t even know where to begin…
I was one of the first people to move into this building as they started leasing apartments 2÷1÷13. My apartment is still not finished being painted, they forgot huge parts in the bathroom. We said something to the management and they did nothing. The paint itself is so cheap! It is a matt finish so there is no using the magic eraser (which I love!) to get off marks on the walls, it just leaves nasty smear marks. The building is already falling apart, you can tell they took the cheap and easy way when building it. In the 1 year that I have lived there I have been locked out of the garage (which I pay $ 185 a month to park in) at least 4 times, I had to get 3 different garage door remotes. The front door has been broken at least 5 times which means people can just walk in without a fob. And yes we had a few thefts in this building. The elevator has been broken about 4 times. THIS IS SUPPOSE TO BE A NEW BUILDING. Oh and the «gym» is a freaking joke, I had to pay an extra $ 100 a month to sign up for a gym. To make things worse the management SUCKS! Jim was the building manager at first, total joke, I believe he is now managing their new property by Harris Teeter, I feel bad for those residents. They then brought in Doug Crawford… he is no better, actually he may be worse. I can’t get him to answer an email or phone call for the life of me! I am so glad to be out of this shit hole. If you are looking to move into this neighborhood, I recommend Loree Grand. I am kicking myself in the a$$ of leaving (my company moved me in there for 6 months and I tried to go the cheaper route, big mistake). The apartments are bigger at LG, yes a little more expensive but if you work out and need a parking spot is evens out, and the staff/​management are so much better!

This has been a big disappointment. I was very excited to move into this building because of it’s beautiful interior and unbeatable location, but it has turned out to be poorly managed and cheaply built.
The building is seemingly great – it is brand new, is in a great location, has very nice appliances, two balconies, bike storage, concierge, and grilling area.
Unfortunately though, it is NOT SAFE. It has been broken into 3 times since I moved in less than four months ago. The bikes of 6 residents were stolen, and management didn’t even notify us of it.
I can also hear absolutely everything my neighbors do – in particular, I can hear every single step of the people who live above me. I have lived in buildings my entire life and this has never bothered me, but the quality of the insulation here is pretty bad.

We moved in recently, and had three bikes with us. There is a garage in the basement with a section for bikes (not lucked, but the garage is locked). I left my bikes there, including one very nice bike that I recently bought. Lo and behold, a few days later I get an email — from my neighbors — that there has been bike theft. I go down, and sure enough, my nicest bike is gone! Apparently there is an issue with one of the doors, it doesn’t lock properly.
That was weeks ago, and we still have not received any reply from the management, and nothing has been done. Installing a lock on bike room is a simple idea, but it hasn’t reached them yet. What is worse, is that there has been bike theft from that exact place before we moved in, and nobody warned us. I’m now keeping my bikes on the balcony, if I had been warned, my bike won’t be stolen.

I just moved back to DC and wasn’t sure where to live, until I found Aria on L. I love the location — you can’t beat it! 5 minute walk to the metro (red line), 2 grocery stores within blocks of the apartment, a short walk to H St. and all the fun activities there, and friendly and always smiling staff that is quick to respond to any of your needs! I’m not sure I could have found a better place to live in the District! The apartment is great too — brand new with a big balcony, lots of light, new appliances and a sleek look. I’m thrilled to be living here!