Park at Pentagon Row Apartments

I thought my previous building was poorly managed, but in hindsight I would gladly pay more to be there rather than here. Even on the rare occasion when everything isn’t physically broken, management manages to make it feel as though it is. Good riddance.

This apartment is in a great location. A tremendous number of amenities and things to do close by. Although it’s a little older building than some, the staff has always been responsive and professional.
Very good apartment building that is well constructed and quiet. Neighbors are not able to be heard from within the apartment. I love this location and building.

Looked here while trying to find an apartment. Great amenities and nice interiors but still on the expensive side for the area.

CAVET EMPTOR — Don’t let the name fool you. This building is owned and managed by Equity Apartments — since March 2013. Mechanical issues abound in this property including failing boilers and pressure issues impacting heat and airconditioning that is served via CONVECTORS (if you dont know what those are think 1980s), almost daily elevator outages that prevent you from reaching the garage or the roof, and water drainage issues at the street level-​garage.
PARKING/​GARAGE: Renters can have more than one car here and you’ll pay for each vehicle. All are required to have stickers or expect a hefty tow bill and a nice trip to the tow yard (just behind Crystal City) to retrieve your vehicle. The garage has been redone — but you dont want to live in the garage right?
UTILITIES: Renters do not have personal utility meters — their ‘share’ of the utilities is calculated by an obscure/​arcane method that cannot be explained nor shown to renters despite required by law/​contract/​lease to do so. Utilities vary depending on the number of people in an apartment and the size of the apartment– but they’re not static… and they vary exceeding $ 100/​mo for one person living in a one bedroom.
PETS: There’s no limit on the quantity/​size/​type of PET you can have here. Expect to see dogs as big as small horses share those rickety elevators with you as they bound outside to do their business. You may be lucky to discover their ‘presents’ in the hallways, stairways, or even right outside the foyer door to the garage.
MANAGEMENT: Since Equity has taken over the building, the staff are merely figureheads, no longer able to perform services that once were the hallmark of the Archstone name. Rent, leasing, billing, and other services that were once personally handled by the on site staff are managed remotely. meaning good luck getting anyone on the phone to help you. The staff in place may/​not have worked for Archstone before the takeover, so if they look disgruntled, you now know why.
RENT: Equity removed the on-​site drop boxes so that residents will pay on the internet. BE AWARE that the Equity portal is based on CST and not EST — if you’re late with the rent, you WILL be assessed late fees (and no one in the office will help you with that — see point above)
AMENITIES: POOL: See that nice picture of the pool. Thats as close to it as you will get if Equity has their way and closes it for good. It costs money they don’t want to spend.
BUSINESS CENTER: You won’t see a photo of that-​Equity removed the fax machine, copier, (money, again) and left the computers which I’m sure you’ll be paying for soon.
ENTERTAINMENT ROOM: That nice photo doesnt show that the nice coffee machine that was in that room has been removed. It cost money too.
LOBBY: The credenza in the lobby used to have a nice coffee machine in it too — and pastry on the 1^st of the month each month. Not anymore — costs money.
There are computers there, but in a few months they’ll probably be gone too.
MOVE IN/​MOVE OUT CONDITION: KEEP the checklist you used when you MOVED IN to your apartment, as it will be VERY helpful in keeping you from being assessed ‘maintenance fees’ AFTER you have done your walkthrough.
Equity says this is what Move Out Condition includes:
* Kitchen counters, sinks, range, stovetop, microwave wiped down with no stains/​food residue
* Kitchen cabinets and drawers empty and wiped clean of food residue
* All appliances empty, wiped down inside and out, with no stains or food residue
* Bathroom counters, sink, and faucets wiped down, mirror cleaned, toilet cleaned inside and outside, and bathtub/​shower scrubbed
* Vanity drawers and under sink area cleaned out and wiped down
* Carpets vacuumed
* All carpet areas free of stains
* Walls are free of excessive/​highly visible marks, damage, stains, food reside, odors
* Vinyl floor mopped and swept clean of debris
* Balcony free of any items and swept
WHEN YOU GIVE NOTICE TO VACATE MAKE SURE YOU DECLARE YOU WANT TO BE PRESENT AT THE FINAL WALKTHROUGH OF YOUR APARTMENT. Equity won’t tell you but its the law. You have a right to know what you will be charged AT THE TIME OF YOUR WALKTHROUGH. Equity wants its renters to PAINT the apartments, PROFESSIONALLY CLEAN The carpets and basically do the prep-​setup work on the apartment before the next renter. Know that if you have lived there for many years without a carpet change (at 5yrs you were entitled to one) YOU CAN BE CHARGED TO REPLACE YOUR ENTIRE CARPET! They WILL send you to collection-​it says so on their FINAL BILL.
Equity’s motto is ‘how home should feel’ — sorry but customers paying BIG rent shouldn’t feel or be treated like a NUMBER.
BE careful taking a Right out of the driveway as you look for a new place to ‘feel at home’. Those parked cars make a great blindspot that will have you taking out a bike rider in the adjacent bike lane in a heartbeat.

I don’t live here… and never will because of my experience at the Archstone Pentagon City during the «Taste of Archstone» event this past weekend. I just started a new job in DC and am looking to move closer to the city, but when I sat down to speak with the lady in the leasing office (I do not know her name) she was extremely rude. Before I had much time to even say what I was looking for, she immediately asked what I was looking to pay and then made it very clear that she didn’t want to waste her time even showing me an apartment. She just brushed me away and said, «That’s never gonna happen. You won’t be able to ever live here.» I was very turned off, and now do not plan on leasing with any Archstone ever… even the more reasonably priced ones. There are soooo many other apartments in that same area with better prices, better space, and waaayyyy better customer service. Respect and kindness go a long way.

The staff is nice, and the amenities are cool. The views are spectacular if you are facing crystal city/​dc. Having the store inside the building is awesome. And the gym is great.
Make sure you give a 60 day notice if you plan to move out, because they will charge you for a full 60 days — even if your lease is expiring. I made that mistake, and they wouldn’t work with me on it (I only gave a 30-​day notice).
Also, you will smell everything your neighbors are cooking inside your apartment, and hear everything they say. Not pleasant — esp when your neighbor smokes so much pot, that your clothes begin to reak of it – and you don’t even touch the stuff!
The elevators SUCK. One of them doesn’t go to the penthouse, and, of course, that’s the one that always comes when you’re trying to get to the penthouse.
For about a month each year, the weather gets hot and the apartment won’t turn on the air — meaning April is horrid. The gym is so hot it’s unusable, and the party room — well, don’t even bother.
Also, the pool… it seems like a cool idea to have an indoor pool, but the hours are sparse, and it closes usually at 9 pm (doesn’t open until 6 pm). Plus, the pool is small, and slippery as hell. Not fun to have the life guard hovering over you the whole time, either.
The tiles and sides open up on the pool in the summer, but most of the roof tiles have quit working, so it really doesn’t do much but allow some moister to escape. I’d much rather have an outdoor pool, and be able to catch some rays while at the pool.
Also, beware the pictures — the roof top deck is not as nicely furnished as pictured.
Finally, Due to this being an Archstone Property, expect your rent to go up $ 200 to $ 300 each year. Meaning, it is often cheaper to move to another unit than to stay in your current one — inconvenient to say the least!
I honestly expected a better living experience than I got here. If I had it to do over again, I’d have moved elsewhere.

1 star: The staff at the leasing office and front desk are professional, friendly, and give you very personal service. The maintenance crew, though I have never met them personally, always perform service as promised. There is a 24-​hr service guarantee and if they can’t fix the problem that day (which is extremely rare), they always leave a note letting you know that they came by to take a look and decided that they know how to fix the problem and will come back the next day.
1 star: The apartments are built very well. The walls are solid, the lobby and hallways are updated, and at least the unit I was in has good appliances. The units I’ve seen are planned well and have nice spaces.
1 star: The location is great, it’s a hop-​skip-​and-​a-​step from the metro, within walking distance to a 24-​hr grocery store, restaurants, shopping mall, and other stores.
1 star: The neighbors are nice and friendly. Most people exchange hellos in the elevator, no one has ever been unfriendly to me. I love the dogs that live in the apartment, they are so cute and well behaved!
0 star: The only reason I’m not living here anymore is because of the rent. I could afford it with a roommate, but when my roommate moved out of town and I decided I wanted to live on my own, I wasn’t able to afford their 1 bedroom or studio units.
If I could recommend improvements, it would be to make the pool more fun. It’s just an indoor rectangle-​shaped pool and maybe when it’s nice, they’ll open the ceiling up. At least it’s something. Another recommendation would be to install a system that would allow for metering of utilities. I don’t like the idea that I am paying the same utilities as someone who is wasteful with their energy usage.
The best thing about this apartment is the fact that it’s not a community of several high rises. I think this really helps management manage the property, thus keeping residents happy.
I really have no regrets about having lived here. I had a great experience and know that I really got what I paid for.