Landmark Ridge

My wife & I are living here for the last 12 months and the experience has been good. Before we had set out for locating an apartment, we had made a checklist of essentials which we used to match with the facilities every apartment we visited, provided. LMR had more ticks than any other apartment. There are many pros and few innocuous cons.
Pros:
a) rent includes utilities, elevator in community, gas based cooking range;
b) balcony in every apartment, offering good views. Balconies at the back side of the bldg gives a better view (old town alexandria);
c) huge windows in bedrooms offering ample natural light and fresh air;
d) no additional charge for parking. Ample parking spots;
e) an alert and attentive management staff who attend to tenants’ issues at the earliest. Service requests are attended to, with alacrity;
f) 20 min walk/​2 min drive to convenience stores (Safeway, BJs, CVS, International Fair Price Shop). 5 min drive to Grand Mart (Korean store), Ross, Shoppers, Dollar Tree;
g) ample space in 2BHK apartments. Corner apartments have 2 walk in closets, which gives tons of space. The day we moved in, we stuffed the closets with all our boxes and luggage, with the result that the living & bed rooms were neat;
h) Recently, we renewed our lease and the increase was around 1.2%.
Cons:
a) no microwave in kitchen;
b) not all, but some parking bays slightly narrow. Covered parking bays are adequately spaced;
c) a little away from Van Dorn St Metro Stn. But this isnt an issue at all if you have a car of your own;
d) pool hours are short (they close at 7 pm);
e) gym equipment are less.

People like to complain, self included, but there is not much to complain about with this place. 33 year old SWF here who went from living in a luxury apartment in Fairfax to this modest apartment in Alexandria and I really like it. The benefit outweighs the negative in that I can afford to live ALONE in this place! That is worth it’s weight in gold.
The building is not fancy, but it is nice, clean, and the walls are thick. It’s close to Metro and within walking distance to various stores. I have yet to see trash or any bugs and I cannot say the same for some of the «luxury» places I’ve lived. There is a small gym which has all of the basics, a small pool, and a party room.
They accept two cats FO’ FREE! Usually places charge a $ 200+ nonrefundable pet deposit and around $ 45/​month/​cat for pet rent. Ridiculous. Lack of pet rent is pretty awesome.
Parking is odd. You can park wherever you want which is great, but whoever painted the lines for the spots was obviously smoking crack that day. Most (not all) of the spaces are really small. So small that my sporty compact car will fit, but accessing it easily requires losing 20 lbs, resting the door against the car next to me or being a contortionist. I’m always very gentle, but, as you can imagine, not everyone is. Thankfully, the paint on my car is already effed up enough that I don’t care.
The inside of the apartments are not luxury and that is fine for my needs, but may not be for others. No updated kitchen appliances. The oven doesn’t even have a clock/​timer/​temp display on it so I’ve been using my microwave for that purpose (doesn’t come with a microwave). The refrigerator is basic with no automatic ice. The dishwasher is nothing special but it works. The kitchen does include a large pantry which I am fond of.
The common areas are always clean. There is a washer/​dryer room on every floor and they work great. They do not have a cold wash option, but I’m not surprised considering it’s hard to get a cold wash done in a high rise apartment complex. There is a trash chute on every floor but it’s smaller than what I’m used to. Great idea for deterring people from shoving everything and their momma down the chute, but not great for people like me who stuff the bag of trash so full they can barely carry it and then have to strategically shove the thing down the chute. Personal problem, really. The halls frequently smell like ethnic food (yum) or bad cologne, but it doesn’t seep into my apartment.
Everyone in the office seems very nice and have been helpful. No one replies by email which I find odd but they do call to follow-​up. I did have a problem with a service request shortly after moving in. I submitted a short list of things I found wrong and the one thing that was the most important, the horribly loud noise that my AC made whenever it turned on, was not repaired for almost two weeks. I have a feeling they forgot about me, which is an unfortunately side effect of not having an electronic maintenance request system. Yes, you have to pick up that phone and call the office, which brings me to another point.
A couple of gripes about the aesthetics of my apartment, two of the light switches were created so close to the wall that a standard light switch cover does not fit. Maintenance sawed off a portion of the cover to make it fit and it looks bad. That reminds me to call about that. The balcony railing also seriously needs to be repaired. I was outside and touched one of the rails and it fell off… This has happened to another rail since then. Maintenance «fixed» the problem by drilling a hole in the top of the railing to affix a new rail, but it looks bad. That said, balcony repair is supposed to start soon so perhaps this will no longer be an issue.
Paying rent is also different than I’m used to. Checks and money orders are accepted, and there is a debit card machine in the office. I’d use that if rent fell on a date I wasn’t at work. Recently they informed me that they do have an MOBILE payment system which is what I have been using, but no online system. Weird, eh?
The office does pick up packages for you which is a nice feature and for that you do not have to rush home to the office before they close. The security guard will provide you the key after hours from 8 – 9 and some other later time. Packages are locked in a closet in the lobby but you are responsible for getting them out yourself so it’s not very secure. You don’t sign a book or anything other than get the key, get the package, return the key. I have had a LOT of packages arrived and nothing has been taken so I am hopeful that everyone there continues to be honest.
I really like this place and hope to live here for many years to come. Price is right, it’s pretty nice, I feel safe, and it’s comfortable.

I lived at Landmark Ridge in 2005 to 2007. At the time they have not done any remodeling of the building. I recently stopped by the property one day when I was down in Alexandria doing business. It appears that they have fixed all the cracks that were visible on the sides of the high rise and replaced most of the windows. I rented a one bedroom unit on the 11^th floor which is a big hassle whenever the fire alarms goes off or if there is an actually fire in the building like the one time at like 11pm there was a kitchen fire on the lower levels and we had to walk all the way downstairs. The building requires a card key access to be able to enter the lobby and the side door to the garbage bins. That was a plus as it offered extra security to the residents. At one time they had a security guard on the premises during the night time hours. I have never lived in a high rise apartment building before and I found it weird to call a hallway my «neighborhood».
The 1 bedroom unit is pretty descent for a single person as if your live with your significant other these units tend to get cramp. The kitchen itself is very small and it does not afford much counter space to do any large cooking. The pantry is pretty small as well. The dinning room is pretty descent as well as you can probably fit a table and 4 chairs and maybe even a China cabinet. The living room can fit maybe a standard sized couch and maybe even a lazy boy recliner or side chair. Anything more and the space becomes tight. The walk-​in closet is also located in the living room so being that the door to the walk-​in opens out into the living room it does not afford you much options of where to place your furniture.
The bedroom is a pretty good size with waist level windows. There are no safety mechanisms to the windows to prevent a fall so if you live in any of the units higher than the second floor your gonna get injured and even die. The bathroom sink is located just outside the bathroom and is separate from the bathtub and toilet.
Every unit except for the 1^st floor facing the parking lot, has their own balconies. The balconies aren’t that large and I would not trust my life to have a bunch of people sitting up in there. Have I mentioned the cracks throughout the building at the beginning of my review? Yeah. Southern Management, the parent company that owns Landmark Ridge allows their residents to BBQ on their balconies, so this is a plus.
Having lived here for almost 2 ½ years I can say that it was pretty quiet. I usually play my music and watch movies loud enough but never had a noise complaint by my neighbors. However there were on occasion during late nights on weekdays that my neighbors upstairs were loud and most likely drinking.
There are two washers and two dryers in each of the floors but you do need a type of «credit card» from management in which you can load money into in order to run the machines. There are trash shoots at the end of every hallway so you don’t have to go outside to dump your trash. There is a small «gym» on the ground floor in which you need to pay a $ 25 fee to have your own key to the gym. There is also a small party/​multipurpose room on the ground floor as well as access to the small swimming pool. At the end of the ground floor hallway there are a couple of vending machines and the trash compactor/​incinerator. All utilities with the exception of telephone/​cable/​internet are all included which is another great plus.
Parking is the worst at this property. They have small garage parking area towards the rear of the parking lot but most of the time it is filled and is a first come first serve basis.
The property is within a good walking distance to the Van Dorn Street Metro Station or you can catch a Metro bus across the street. There are a couple of grocery stores down the block as well as a few shopping centers, car dealerships, mechanics, gas stations, fast food restaurants, and Landmark Mall just a few blocks away.
Stacy was my favorite staff member in the leasing office. She is Korean so she was always looking very nice. Magan, I think lived in the property as I have seen them a few times going up to her place for lunch. Odd. The management honors military personnel so don’t be surprised if you have a lot of military services members as your neighbors. In 2007 when I moved out my rent was about $ 950. 2012 I looked up their prices for the same 1 bedroom unit and it has gone up to $ 1,200 or so. All in all, this place is good if you are a single person. If you have a small family you might be able to comfortably live in the 2 bedroom units. It isn’t as upscale as the other apartment high rises in the area but you make do what you have.

I’ve lived in Landmark Ridge for about a year and a half now. I moved in with a new roommate, took over the lease, and will be moving out in about a month. If you’re thinking about moving in here, I say go for it, but please read this review. Know what you’re getting in to.
Parking:
Parking is the absolute WORST aspect of this property. If you have a nice car, I would almost suggest you don’t live here simply because of the parking. It’s open parking, but the spaces are the smallest I’ve ever seen. Even when perfectly aligned in your space, you have barely enough room to open your door. Since most people are not perfectly aligned, be prepared to get dings and scratches on your doors, and get ready to climb in through other doors some mornings.
The property decided to repave the parking lot, but only ever did half. And they didn’t widen any of the spaces, instead writing us all a letter telling us to be more careful. And if you have to park in the back, be careful. It’s guarded by a speed bump that is short, sharp, and very unfriendly. Also, BE SURE you know about guest parking and keep things up to date. They are very tow-​happy, even when they shouldn’t be.
Office:
The office staff is very hit or miss. Stacey and Magan are wonderful to work with and very friendly. The other two staffers are pretty awful. The newest guy seems annoyed every time I enter the office. The other female is absolutely clueless.
If you are trying to do anything with them, register your car, move apartments, etc. be SURE you have asked them everything, gotten all the answers. Be thorough. Numerous times, I would ask them about something, they would tell me all the steps, and once I had completed them, they would tell me two more steps.
Overall, they are a good staff, but you need to be ready to hunt down the right people and hold them accountable. Maintanence is friendly and prompt (most of the time. We’re still waiting for them to paint over the repairs they did to fix a Hurricane Irene leak).
Amenities:
The biggest thing in this category is that utilities are included. You must provide cable and internet (and your choice is basically only Comcast), but everything else is included.
They do rare events. Maybe one a quarter. And they aren’t nearly as nice as the parties thrown at other apartments where I’ve lived. But at least they do them.
They do not have a shuttle to the Metro, so be prepared to pay for the bus or drive. They do have a small pool, but it is located on the side of the building that gets morning sun, and is surrounded by trees. By 1PM the pool is in shade. So don’t expect the water to be warm, or to tan in the afternoon.
There is a small workout facility, which requires a $ 25 ‘deposit’ (I have no idea if you get it back when you move out). It’s very small, but there is one treadmill and one elliptical, so it usually gets the job done.
There is a laundry room on each floor. However, the residents above my floor don’t seem to understand how to measure soap, so there are often floods. But, it is rare that I have to wait for a machine.
Apartment:
We have a two-​bedroom. It has two bathrooms and huge storage closet in the hall. You could practically turn the thing into a teeny tiny bedroom if you had to. You get a balcony and large windows in each bedroom. Overall, the apartment is very spacious. It’s old, but clean. The smaller bedroom has a smaller closet, and its bathroom is right outside in the hall. The larger bedroom has a small walk-​in closet, and a tiny, but full, bathroom. We’ve had some plumbing issues (leaks from above, running toilets, etc.) but maintenance is always quick to fix it. There is a good amount of storage in the kitchen. Overall, it is a very spacious, liveable apartment.
A few other drawbacks to keep in mind…
–They do find a million reasons to enter your apartment. It seems like every other month, they are cleaning filters, inspecting smoke detectors, or having the exterminator in. Each visit means you have to move something. I’ve never had reason to worry about the people coming in, but it is annoying.
–I’ve had a rent increase each time I’ve renewed. I believe they were $ 30 and $ 60. Not awful, but very irritating. And each time they do it, they write a nice letter telling you how you’re still getting such a great value for the area. Sadly, in the DC area, rent keeps going up, so I don’t think much can be done here.
–I’ve never felt unsafe in the building. There’s a security guard, but I think all he really does is find cars to tow.
–Be ready for funny smells! The neighbors are very ethnic, and I’ve smelt some crazy things being cooked on my floor.
Overall, go for it. It’s probably one of the better offerings for the money. Just be ready for a few major frustrations.