The View at Waterfront

The assistant manager has given me nothing but problems in regards to my assistance animals. She omitted that apartments are scheduled to be built in front of our apartment before we signed our lease and we found out from a concierge. Our concessions for our apartment have been messed up since we moved in and we have received notifications saying that we still owe money each month so far. I have gone into the office only to be told that it will be fixed (we shall soon find out if it has). The assistant manager admitted to not completing an inspection before we moved in and there were still items from the previous tenants in the apartment and it was dirty. Our key fobs that she gave us didn’t work to let us in the building and when we rented a storage unit in the basement, she failed to enter it in their system correctly. The leasing staff seems to pass whatever they can onto the next person instead of actually doing things or learning to do things correctly. I’ve heard one person say a couple times «I just don’t know how to do that, I’m going to ask Shawn (the property manager) to do it». Like he doesn’t have enough things to do while the leasing staff sit there and does nothing.
Apartment Features include listening to everything your neighbors say and do, cheap flooring that will be scratched before you move anything in, even if they just put the flooring in, neighbors who bang on their ceiling (your floor) when you are sitting there eating dinner with out having any noise happening in your own apartment, washers in the laundry room that don’t work even though there is a note on it from the repair company stating that repairs have been made, dog crap throughout the enclosed area and in the fenced dog area.
The only things about this place are: cool and fun neighbors, the maintenance team is quick to respond, Michael and Frederick are amazing at their jobs as a concierge and the location is nice.
I would recommend choosing a new apartment at 70 I Street SE (or one of their other properties within the same area), they have new and better amenities, staff that actually does their job, it is a new building that doesn’t have the problems that come with something that is so old, heating and cooling isn’t decided by the manager (you can actually heat your own apartment at will).
Unfortunately, we still have 9 months left in our lease. I can’t wait to go on my vacation just to get away from this apartment building.

A few years back, this was a pleasant place to live, but it was recently purchased by new corporate ownership, and it has been terrible since, I wouldn’t have thought that new owners would have that much of an impact, but they have. We have had issue after issue, and management has been unresponsive. Yet they have time to send out emails offering free Nationals tickets to the first resident that posts a positive review. First it was a dog that barked incessantly for months straight (turns out the owner just left the dog for days) and the management would not do anything until the police had to take care of it. You can hear everything through the walls. Then it was weeks of malfunctioning HVAC which had the apartments (which have south-​facing non-​opening windows) over 90 degrees at night. Seriously. And management won’t even respond to emails, never mind do anything about it. I have friends who were in a similar situation and management provided portable A/​C and/​or a ceiling fan. I have talked to other residents who have had the exact same issues. Also, if you park your car in the «prospective resident» spot for more than 5 minutes — no exaggeration, 5 minutes, you will receive a $ 250 ticket and be towed within the hour. It has gone from a community two years ago, to a «spend as little as possible, make no concessions, and collect rent» kind of place. Don’t bother with the View, as there are other new buildings in the area that have modern HVAC, the same prices, parking, and reasonable management.
Also, please note that many of the rooms are rented out as hotel rooms. There is a constant flow of people in and out that are constantly confused as to why the place they booked online is an apartment building, not a hotel, and are upset with the lack of service.

This review is about the leasing service I received. While I did not choose to live here, the leasing staff did a fantastic job. I worked with Nick.

I have lived in this apartment complex for the last year and a half and can say without reservation I have the best apartment in DC. I’m moving out soon because of a job transfer, but included on the long list of things I’ll miss about DC is living in this building.
I know there are some negative reviews on this site, but the building fairly recently came under new management. I have only lived here under the new management and can tell you they are wonderful. I have NEVER had an issue with them. They are incredibly friendly and responsive. In the few instances I’ve needed maintenance they were there either within a few hours on the next day. I even popped a breaker once and someone was at my door within 15 minutes to help.
The concierges are amazing. They are all friendly and learn all of the resident’s name. It’s so nice to be able to pick up my packages at my convenience and know that they are locked up until I retrieve them.
The facilities at this apartment are clean, upscale, and create a wonderful atmosphere. The gym and equipment is always clean and in working condition. Summer is particularly fun here because of the pool and two glass gas fireplaces outside. I’ve had several grilling gatherings with friends at the outdoor built-​in kitchen. At the end of the night, we all gathered around the fire pit and just enjoyed the evening.
This building is dog friendly which is wonderful. I don’t personally own a dog, but I’ve come to know many of the owners and dogs in the building. They are all well behaved, friendly, and make living here simply wonderful.
I live in one of the studios and I simply love it. I have floor to ceiling windows with a full view of the capitol. It’s absolutely beautiful, particularly at night. The kitchen has granite countertops, brand new stainless steel appliances, gas stove (a definite plus!), and hardwood floors. The living area is new carpet. And there is a giant walk in closet with built in shelving.
This neighborhood is wonderful as well. The Waterfront Metro is literally across the street, along with a new Safeway, Starbucks, and several new restaurants. The duck pond across the street is also nice and gives the area a warmer, friendlier feel.
I really can’t say enough positive things about this place. I’m truly sad to leave. Ignore the bad reviews. Visit the place yourself and you’ll see how wonderful it is.

There are so many pros to The View at Waterfront that I would love to give it 5-​stars. Great location (50 yards from Safeway & metro, few blocks from national mall and Nats ballpark), secure property with door man, on-​site pool, on-​site gym, and still reasonably priced for the neighborhood. But a few cons bring it down.
1. The Resident Services Specialist while we were there was anything but specializing in our service. She was quick to delegate what she was supposed to do to another staff member who didn’t always know how to solve the problem. When she did choose to help you it was with the utmost delay and disregard for residents’ needs and wishes. Most times I dealt with her I ended up having to go to the Property Manager to make her do what was requested.
2. The place has one heating/​cooling system for the entire building and is switched only twice a year (pretty normal for the mid-​atlantic area). Once in the Fall and once in the Spring. In the fall, once there is one chilly day they switch to heat so if it heats back up, you are sweating 24 – 7 until it finally gets cold a month later. In the Spring they will wait until you are boiling alive in your apartment before turning on the A/​C. So many residents complained the gave an «official» notice in the common areas stating that we needed to open our windows if it was getting too hot. However, the windows are locked from opening any further that about 3 – 4 inches.
3. It is right across the street from the Arena Stage. Great for seeing all the wonderful shows, bad for having a lot of units rented out to the theater to house the rotating casts of the plays. You will frequently hear the actors doing their vocal warm ups and their all-​night cast parties that spill into the hallways.

I have been living at The View for the past year. Overall my experience has been pretty good. The building is older but has been renovated. As a single female, I was a little skeptical to move to SW, but the price of the apartment was good. Since moving here I have always felt safe.
Pros:
All utilities are included. The new courtyard area features a small dog park, grills, and fire pit. The pool is very nice. The concierges are very nice and helpful. No pest or rodent problems. Huge windows! Close to the metro and Safeway. Large laundry facility. Free bike storage. Easy online rent pay.
Cons:
The walls are very thin, and I can hear my neighbors conversations (and parties). There are smokers (tobacco and pot) in the building and sometimes the smell is overwhelming. The heat and air is controlled primarily by the building– This year the building turned the heat on early in the year and the outside temperature was still reaching 80’s during the day. There’s only one operable in my apt and it doesn’t open enough to get much airflow, so there were a few HOT nights. There is a gym but it is pretty small compared to other places I have lived and the equipment is a little dated, but the ellipticals and treadmills do have TVs.

If I could give negative stars, I would. I lived here for a year and the things that happened not only to me, but to others were just appalling!
After being lied to about which apartment we were getting to having a homeless person walk up to my apartment door as I was unloading groceries. A major leak from the AC unit in my apartment that management or maintenance didn’t attend to until 2 weeks later! There were two men who were attacked in the courtyard… one in broad daylight! Sewage leaking into the main lobby dripping on the heads of everyone trying to walk in and out of the building. Elevators that rarely work and would work for enough time for you to get stuck in between floors for hours until someone decided to call the fire marshal to get you out. (The emergency buttons in the elevators never worked). Although you may have a thermostat in the apartment, you can’t control the temperature — that was very difficult for me when I was pregnant in an apartment that registered 93 degrees and the windows barely open 3 inches.
Please, don’t let the beautiful aesthetics fool you. The apartments really are lovely, but if you spend just one night there I’m sure you won’t sign a lease.
If you do decide to live there, read your lease very carefully. We went through 5 leases before finally leaving because they couldn’t get the rental/​parking/​pet amounts correct and we ended up never even signing one because they could never fix it completely! Also, the manager at the time would not initial the waiver on asbestos or lead paint until we signed it. Honestly, that scared me… to this day I don’t know whether she would have initialed on the «yes» or «no».

This place should get negative stars if possible. I agree with the other review, DO NOT under any circumstances move into these apartments. I moved in September of 2009 and from the start the elevators in the buildings never work, I mean NEVER work. There is always a sign on the elevator doors that say they are under renovation but that is a big lie. The fire department has been out there so many times extricating people that have been stuck for sometimes hours in the elevators. I was stuck several times as was my fiancée. The manager of the complex is a joke as well. All she said to us was «SORRY», are you kidding me! This place has been cited many times by the DCRA for having broken elevators. I met a lady that lives on the 8^th floor who had to sleep in her car because she could not make it up the 8 ½ flights of stairs to her apartment with her very old dog. I also observed the pool man taking the cover off the pool 1 day before the opening and just turn the water on and filled the pool up with all the sludge and grim that had accumulated over the past year. All he did to clean the pool after it had been filled was skim the very top of the water. Absolutely horrible!!! Security is a joke! In conclusion, do not under any circumstances move to this place or to any of the other properties they own. If you do, you will regret you did.

I lived here for 2 years prior to the renovations. Since this time, they’ve done a complete rehaul so I won’t speak too much to the conditions and amenities during my time. I shared a 2br, 1ba with a friend and looking at prices now, we got a steal back then! We had the corner apartment and had amazing views of the Washington Monument (which made for awesome 4^th of July parties). The pool is good sized and the gym was decent. I appreciated the package acceptance and it was never too cumbersome to pick up.
Location wasn’t the best, but it’s a block from the metro and the seafood market wasn’t too far away. It was nice having such a large space in DC.

Do not — under any circumstances — move into The View at Waterfront Apartments.
We moved in to The View in the Sumer of 2009 after checking out the website. From the start, we got a bad feeling about the place.
Security — The building supposedly has security but what this really means is that at any point in time, there may or may not be someone with a uniform on listening to loud music in the lobby or smoking a cigarette and talking on their cell phone outside. They do not have phone at the security desk, so if you were to see a prowler in your hallway, for instance, you would not have any recourse other than calling the police because you would have to walk out in the hallway past someone you’ve just decided was shady in order to alert security. Also, the grounds are not secure. Anybody can walk through the courtyards and walkways of the building — and they do — at all times of night. Usually they’re nice enough to yell and carry on to let you know they are down there. But, you say, «Just close your windows and you wouldn’t hear them!!»…which leads to my next complaint.
Heating /​Cooling — The entire complex (both buildings) are temperature controlled by one boiler room. What this means for you is when the building is required by law to begin providing heat (usually mid-​October) you will no longer have air conditioning. Instead, your options will be to turn the unit on in your apartment which will blow hot air or leave it off and it will act as a radiator due to the hot water being pumped through it. The beautiful floor-​to-​ceiling windows installed in the apartment do not open. Instead, you will have two tiny windows that rotate out (about 3″ max) to provide very little ventilation. If you get a studio, this window will be in the living room area which will leave your bedroom without ventilation. If you get a one-​bedroom, the window will be in the bedroom leaving you with a very hot kitchen and living room area.
Workmanship — This building was «recently renovated» however I’m suspicious of what was actually renovated. It *appears* as though the only things replaced were cosmetic — floors, walls, carpet, appliances, cabinets, etc. I can only guess, but it seems like none of the plumbing and insulation was upgraded. What this leaves you with is paper thin wall which will allow you to hear and smell your neighbor. This includes the smoker who lives 2+ floors below you on the other side of the hallway. There is nothing like going to sleep every night and getting in your last cigarette of the day. It’s even better when you’re not a smoker. There were *numerous* times we entered the lobby to find sewage leaking from the ceiling. Apparently old pipes don’t hold up that well. I never personally experienced it, but there were other residents who had pipes burst in their apartment and had to deal with other mold and mildew problems as a result. There were also times where we would be sitting in our apartment and no amount of candles or air fresheners could cover up a smell that seemed to be eminateing form the a/​c unit. The maintenance workers could never find a problem, but other people confirmed there was a smell. I would recommend reading your lease carefully before signing.
Elevators — There are two elevators in the building and they, too, have been «recently remodeled». What they did here was leave the skeleton of the elevator in tact and just replaced the aesthetics. We lived right near the elevator and heard it bang, clunk and slam up and down all night long. We talked with other residents and they said it had been going on since the start. Also, the elevators routinely broke down and trapped occupants in the elevator. In the 3 months I lived there, the fire department came 3 times to pry the doors open. I’m not sure of what the normal stuck elevator rate is in a building, but once per month is too high for me. We complained to management and they were of no help. It took a call to the DC Elevator Inspector for the elevators to apparently be brought up to code. They still weren’t quiet or fixed completely, but might’ve been made a little safer. Be ready to take the stairs if you’re moving in, because you can usually count on (or both) of the elevators being broken. Don’t expect to take the stairs to the lobby — they don’t go there. Instead, you can take them right outside or to the basement.
Management — The property manager is very nice. She smiles a lot and will never raise her voice to you. However, she is either powerless to do anything or just doesn’t care. Her personality is the only thing that sets her apart from the rest of the office staff who are all flat out rude. It seems as though management doesn’t care about running the place into the ground — maybe that’s what their trying to do?
Overall, the place is way more expensive than what you’re getting. I often contemplated how much I thought was a fair price for this place and finally came to the de