Park Glen Condominium

I like my unit and the majority of my neighbors. However, parking is impossible and a couple members of the board are incredibly condescending. On several occasions, I believe they were attempting to bully me. The board is ineffective and seems to take suggestions for improvements as person attacks.
Despite eccentric board members and the poor parking situation, I do not think you can find a better deal in Arlington. The community has potential!

Christy M. I read your review.
I moved into an already bed bug infested apartment. I am assuming you are a condo owner and if I lived or owned this type of property, I would question Park Glen Management. Ask them directly about the infestation of bed bugs. There was a mandatory building wide meeting about this infestation because it was so severe. So as a Unilocaler, I think it would be better for you to not state your opinion and only state facts. I would ask the management directly about bed bugs and rats since you, «never once heard any of this during my time there…» You should really get your facts straight before you either knowingly or due to ignorance allow a potential/​renter buyer move in there.
An excellent link about the issues this apartment complex is facing (found on Park Glen’s Website):
PARK GLEN CONDOMINIUM
UNIT OWNERS ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
NOVEMBER 18, 2015
7:00 PM
AGENDA
7:00 PM I. CALL TO ORDER
7:01 PM II. SPECIAL GUESTS
A. Arlington County Police Department
B. RBC Wealth Management Investment Review
7:40 PM III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
7:41 PM IV. RESIDENT FORUM
7:45 PM V. COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. Arlington Mill Civic Association
B. Budget & Finance
C. Covenants
D. Landscaping
E. Newsletter
8:00 PM VI. PROPERTY & MAINTENANCE REPORT
8:10 PM VI. MANAGEMENT REPORT
A. 2016 Parking Permits *****************
B. Bed Bugs ************************
C. Garage Update
8:20PM VII. OLD/​UNFINISHED BUSINESS
8:22PM VIII. NEW BUSINESS
A. Proposal for Snow Removal (SMG)
B. Proposals for Gutter Cleaning
8:30 PM IX. EXECUTIVE SESSION
9:00 PM X. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEXT MEETING —
December 16, 2015
9:01 PM XI. ADJOURNMENT
To all the other positive comments in October on Unilocal,it’s on your conscience allowing people to walk into a extremely bad situation, claiming there has never been any problem there.

Great garden style location within a stones throw of miles of trails, parks and a running creek.

Not too bad of a place to live if you never go out or have a social life ever! The parking here is absolutely horrible! If you come home past 7:30pm, you will not find parking. The street parking sucks especially since APAH and the Community Center opened. The condo office is non-​responsive and basically ineffective. We got our 2015 parking passes in March. They placed dumpsters in parking spaces by building 708, thus eliminating two much needed parking spaces screwing tennants. You will spend hours trying to find a parking spot that you paid for. Don’t even think of going out on the weekend with your car because there will be no parking at dusk.
Be prepared to get nastygrams from the condo board on various subjects such as setting a cardboard box outside of a overflowing recycling dumpster, too big of a doormat for your door, grilling in the courtyard with gasp — a small propane grill! Oh horrid!
The laundry system is a joke as well. They changed over from coin to this card system that’s horrible! Took over a good amount of time to set up account online, since it takes so many steps just to add money to your account. The system sucks. The old quarter machines worked perfectly fine. The old washers were bigger, cheaper, and the dryers actually worked for the most part.
The neighbors at least in my building and the adjacent one are friendly and easygoing and the landscaping is nice and maintained. I rented for the creek and scenery, but don’t go on the W&OD trail, as the cyclists are obnoxious and act as if they own the trail.
Just know what you are getting yourself into. It was a nice starter place, but I’m looking forward to moving into my new home where I don’t have to worry about whether I am going to have a parking space or not when I come home from a date or seeing my friends.

I have a bug phobia and I wouldn’t live anywhere else in Arlington. My building never had a bedbug or roach or any other bug problem — unlike many newer mid– or high-​rise buildings nearby or even in more upscale neighborhoods. There’s an exterminator who comes on a regular basis and that helps keep the buildings and units bug-​free. Of course, since the complex is in the middle of landscaped gardens across from woods and trails, sometimes the occasional centipede, stink bug, moth or grasshopper will sneak in, but it doesn’t happen too often and it’s far from being an infestation. The few times (3 in 12 years) that I found a grasshopper in the stairwell of my building, the maintenance office was always responsive and immediately sent someone to take care of it.
Sure, the buildings are old (from the 1940s if I’m not mistaken) and some units (like the one I live in) haven’t been upgraded since the early 1980s, so you have to put up with old appliances, windows and bathrooms if you’re a renter, but the bucolic setting of the apartments largely makes up for it. You’re 5 minutes away from several bus lines and major roads/​highways, yet tucked away from the noise and traffic of Columbia Pike. Trails and parks are just across the street. The views from many units overlooking the creek and park are unbeatable. This isn’t the most upscale area in Arlington, yet I wouldn’t trade the surrounding nature for a more luxury or urban neighborhood, although it would be nice to have better stores and coffee shops at walking distance (but that would just be a matter of upgrading the existing shopping center). By neighborhood standards, though, Park Glen is super proper and decent — easily the best apartment complex in Columbia Heights West! Also, it’s pet-​friendly and most neighbors are nice and polite.
It’s true that parking has become an issue, but the complex was built when even one car per family was a luxury. I don’t have a car, so this isn’t a problem for me and I find the location unbeatable for both rent and access to public transportation (even though it isn’t close to the metro — about 20 minutes away by bus, but that’s why rents or even selling prices aren’t so high!). I’m always walking on my own (except late at night) and never had safety issues in the nearby streets or even on the trails.
The only downside for me is that the old units don’t have walk-​in closets, so closet space is somewhat limited and very few units have a washer/​drier, but every building has a laundry room in the basement. Until a few weeks ago, Comcast was our only option for cable and high-​speed internet, but we can now also sign up for Verizon Fios, so Comcast’s monopoly on the community is no longer an issue.

DO NOT BUY HERE. If you rent, you’ll be okay since it is temporary and some buildings and units are nicer than others.
Our building had rats for months on end this winter. The condo management «fixes» were ineffective. It was not until we got Arlington County involved that the issue was fixed. Currently, we are experiencing flooding of the storage units every time it rains. The office has been notified multiple times. We have found the emergency management line does not work; there is not a guaranteed person to come out to address an emergency situation.
The condo front office is non-​responsive to all questions and is ineffective. Parking stickers for 2015 were sent out in March. A unit in one building had bed bugs so bad that they had to tear out all of the walls (find it for sale on RedFin:
). An older gentleman has a dog on the first floor in one building that sits in the window and barks anytime someone walks by (which is pretty much all day).
There is not enough parking for all the units. If you arrive after 10:00 PM, you may not have a parking spot. Unfortunately the neighborhood street parking is also hard to come by. Most of my neighbors have had their cars towed at one time or another. To top if off — the condo association president is super condescending.
There is a reason the costs to purchase here are low.
There are a few pluses: the majot of the neighbors are delightful and it’s close to bus lines and running trails and is pet friendly.

Nice spot, but never any parking. Most nights is park 2 neighborhoods over, over half a mile away. Ridiculous considering I had a street permit AND parking pass.
Neighbors 2 floors up were obnoxious and nothing was done about it. At one point they threw a soiled diaper off their balcony and the mess landed on my window sill. Office wanted nothing to do about it.
Other tenants/​owners do nothing but complain, and upon moving out I was harassed severely by manage my for putting a small love seat in the dumpster. It’s against policy, and that’s fine, I was going to correct the situation. I got a warning from 1 last, then 5 minutes after she came back with a grounds keeper who was very invasive asking my first and last name, which building and unit I was in, and followed me around like a shadow as I tried to call a friend who could help me move the thing. After he left, he came back immediately with a THIRD person to tell me again to move my chair out of the dumpster. That’s 3 times in 10 minutes when I politely asked for some time to find help. Yes, if I never put it there in the first place it wouldn’t have been a problem, but I felt very disrespected after I apologized and made efforts to rectify the situation.
$ 150 move in fee is a joke too. They said it was to clean the hallway carpets after we moved in. I lived in the unit right next to the front door, and never saw carpet cleaners come to clean the 2sq. ft of carpet we walked on.
New laundry system is a joke as well. Took over 30 mins to set up our account online, since it takes so many steps just to add money to your account. The old quarter machines worked perfectly fine. They were bigger, cheaper, and the dryers actually worked. So happy to have moved out today. Would never recommend to a friend
The stream is the only redeeming quality, until you include that 2 people were stabbed on that trail at night. Seeing a dozen police cars in the parking lot started to seem like a normal thing over the 2.5 years we spent here

I can’t wait until they finish building the Arlington mill center because it just makes that corner look more horrible than usual. Unfortunately I am not so in love with the unit that I have rented. My landlord just gave me a filthy apartment and refused to have the place professionally cleaned and sanitized from top to bottom… it’s my fault for not asking before signing the lease… now I am stuck here for a year.
My bathroom is poorly painted. paint is chipping off everywhere… the windows were never updated… the doors knobs are so old with paint chipping… even the light switches are black dirty .and the bathroom is so stained with dirt that I am so embarrassed. I don’t know how to clean it and I don’t have money to hire a professional. If the association is so good they should know the call box in the entrance of my building does not work at all…
This is what I get for not asking before signing the lease… I am so disappointed.