Camden College Park

Construction constantly. In my apartment. On and off for the whole month of April there are people in here a few days a week repairing the faulty balconies. If you rent in 2016, beware because you might have this too.

Well, looks like the management changed out again, and it seems like so far so good.
As per my original review (please see for a comprehensive overview of my experience at Camdens), my issues with this place has never been with the amenities; and, another shout out to the handyman who is excellent and highly responsive to any requests.
At present, I feel fairly comfortable with amenities and community safety, and would be willing to continue living here for the foreseeable future.

I moved into this complex during the summer of 2013. I enjoyed the property, the staff, maintenance, and the amenities. I felt safe and happy. I enjoyed it so much, I renewed my lease on the spot when I got the chance in August 2014.
Big mistake. I wish I hadn’t signed a 15 month lease because everything quickly fell apart after that. As many other residents, I counted down the days until move-​out.
Since October 2014:
–Most of the staff in the office were switched out for new ones (which happens every six months it seems)
–A lot of property amenities, such as package delivery and 2 week guest passes, were permanently revoked; an amenity many people moved there for
–Entrance gate became broken on and off for months, letting anyone come and go from the property (sometimes even through the exit into oncoming traffic)
–An increase in crime ranging from breaking & entering, home/​storage unit/​car/​bike/​package theft, and then a homicide on New Year’s Day 2015 in the parking garage
–Constant security breaches with gates, doors, and exits
–Constant trash and pet urine on the ground especially the hallways and garages
–Disabled security cameras
–Illegal construction on our balconies with little notice, work that Camden never got permits for (from either the City or the County, which I found out at a College Park City Council meeting) and was shut down for many months in Spring 2015, construction still ongoing in November
With a heavy outcry from the residents, safety issues have been slowly addressed, and steadily returning to previous quality of life. Tailgaiting and propped open doors still remain a problem, and I have been told numerous times by the front office that its «our» duty as residents to take safety into our hands to control and report it. The few times I have tried to prevent a tailgate, I have had the car follow me, harass me, and then get out of their car to threaten me to my face. I stopped doing that after the shooting, and started carrying mace in my hand when walking around the property at night.
This past winter at 2am in the morning, I was awoken by burst pipe that flooded the hallway and many nearby apartments. If you take a tour of the facilities, you will notice it is all open floor plan to the elements. This means in the spring and summer you will find insects, leaves in the fall, and water turning into ice in the halls in the winter… especially if there is a broken pipe with howling winds. The fire alarms still ringing, I left at 4am to go to work early so I could get sleep under my desk. My next door neighbor said the alarms weren’t turned off by maintenance until 6am. A week later, my fiancé’s car was towed from visitor parking even though it had a parking permit in the window. $ 200 fine!
I would also like to mention that although there is concrete in between the different floors to reduce noise, it doesn’t work. I lived next door to couple with a large barking dog, another large family with screaming/​crying children 24/​7, and an extremely sexually active couple above me and I could even hear a fly fart in their units any time of day. I’m not hating, I’m just putting it out there that you can hear everything going on even with ear plugs. Worth mentioning if you work from home or enjoy peace and quiet.
Also, be ready to pay a higher water bill than most complexes. Camden does not bill you based on your own unit’s use, but based on the whole complex, divvied up equally. Because a lot of large families live here and some squat to non-​residents, you are essentially paying for other peoples water consumption. If you don’t own a television either, go out and buy one now because there is a $ 50 non-​negotiable Comcast/​Xfinity cable fee included in your rent. Of course, this is cool if you like TV and were planning on signing up for cable since its subsidized, but if you just watch tv on your computer or were hoping to order FIOS, you are shit out of luck.
Furthermore, if you live at Camden and get any packages mailed to you, you will have to go to the Post Office or UPS/​Fedex, and wait in a long line to pick them up. Everytime. Or just have your package delivered to your door and risk it being stolen or picked up by another random resident.
The only pro’s of the community is their nice maintenance crew, the physical amenities (pool, gym, etc.) and the nearby restaurants and IKEA. That’s about it.
I have lived in PG my entire life, and have lived in some sketchy places, but I have given up on Camden. Not only did I not renew my lease, I actually vacated a month early and took a loss with the rent so I didn’t have to live there another month. Maybe one day it will go back to the way it used to be in the next year or two with the changes they have been making.

I say if you choose to live here be ready to enjoy yourself because the staff members are great and the community is great; it’s like every other place and every other city, you have the good and the bad… hopefully more of the good than the bad. But when it happens you just want there to be action and response to the incident. This community provides that all of that security and attentiveness. I moved into Camden College Park in May 2014; I love the properties of Camden. I lived at 1-​in Las Vegas and I loved the office staff. The attentiveness of the property security and apartments was excellent. I loved how professional the staff was. I moved at Camden College Park because it was close to the Washington VA Medical Center and close to Baltimore’s VA as well.
However, I’m going to put out a warning for future residents, there are college students who live. Sometimes it can be difficult because they always loud and throwing parties but if you speak with them about the music and noise, most of the time they are willing to comply with the policy for «quiet hours». As of safety, since living here I have only felt danger on two (2) occasions. #1 being the robberies/​thefts and the crime #2 residents propping open doors. There is no lack of security if residents following the guidelines and respect other neighbors. People talk about the shooting and I have to say this, the danger was that another resident gave their belongings to this individual that was killed here. Some residents who live here don’t respect others safety and took it upon themselves to endanger the rest of us and the propping open of the doors by residents is because some of them choose not to carry their keys. I hate to say, some residents prop open doors when they move in or out. Instead of using the designated areas to accommodate their moving process, they block traffic and prop open doors, which leaves the community open to all sorts of visitors. Some residents complain about «lack thereof security» and whatever but some residents just don’t value where they are paying rent at but I do.
I haven’t been the best resident for this complex because I found myself at eviction notice earlier this year. I had knee surgery and I wasn’t being paid from my job for my time off because I didn’t have leave to carry me through my rehabilitation plus I was paying on my home in AZ. Majority of my money coming in from my compensation was going to my home however I called the VA and they were able to come help me out. There aren’t many who have help like that. However, I didn’t hate Camden this is a business and I understand that. I am paying there mortgage and I understand I must do so by valuing my community and neighbors. I would be upset if a resident was living here free and so would you. Protocol must be followed at all times. The leasing agents are always professional and this community is a great community to live at. Just understand this is like many places everywhere… you have positives and negatives with each resident just make sure you communicate the issues & concerns constructively to those who can help make it better.

I’ve lived here a little over 4 years now. Let’s start by saying I like where I live and that’s the reason I am still here.
I’m aware of everything that’s been occurring at Camden, but choose not to let it interfere with my daily life.
I’ve watched the community go up and down over the years. When I first moved in, there were monthly or quarterly events, different management crew. Natasha, Kelly and Danielle were all very personable and very involved with the community.
The last 2 years, things have declined tremendously! One can speculate, but overall management and community issues. There are/​were some loopholes somewhere that cause things to decline. Things were VERY strict when I moved in. Tow truck drove around constantly, not much tailgating, etc. However, the gates stayed broken.
Yes, there have been A LOT of unexplained events. However, you get the GOOD with the BAD wherever you go! Since Jan 2015, Camden have been making changes as far as security, lighting, etc. The community didn’t decline overnight, therefore I understand the changes being made won’t happen over night.
Suggestion: Management should be more involved with the community a such as hosting events, hire «real» security and keep the community happy. Over the last 1 ½ years, the leasing office has been a revolving door. I have no clue who’s who. Again, I carry on and if I have issues, I will contact them.
***Dislike the new package procedures. This is one way for management to get to know the community, by us coming to grab our packages. Put names and faces with apartments.
Overall, I enjoy where I live. I really haven’t had any concerning issues. At times, I had thought about moving out, but the good such as 24 hour GYM, close access to 495, the shuttle services are excellent, the fact that I do know my surrounding neighbors all outweighs the bad. We all look out for one another. When you’re hungry, you can walk outside your door and grab food! I LOVE that. $ 10 Long Islands at BWW.
P. S., I’ve lived in 2 different units and being on the top floor really makes a difference. It’s a little pricey but well worth the sanity lol. My first apt was on the 3^rd floor in the back and I complained almost every week.

It is UNBELIEVABLE that I got my package stolen for TWICE!!! (The delivery guy left he package at the front door) I wonder who did this??? I don’t understand why can’t the management held the packages for us after a LOT of stolen package cases has been reported by the residents here. The management never do anything to solve this issue. If you are an online shopping person, my suggestion is: DO NOT LIVE HERE. It is really frustrating to worry about my packages everyday. I would give a zero star if I could.

I moved to Camden back in 2013. Unfortunately, I lost my job and was unable to afford the rent and had to move out before my lease was up. But while I there, I didn’t have too many issues but here are a few. Parking was bad but I was able to secure a reserved spot about 5 months in for an additional $ 50/​month. If you didn’t have a reserved spot, don’t come in late or else you’d be parking on the roof. Also, the complex isn’t visitor friendly. Not many guest spaces.
Because of where my apartment was situated, I had horrible cellular service. Dropped calls all the time. I would literally have to walk outside to take calls for jobs or schedule phone interviews when I wasn’t home. The price for everything was expensive. I was paying about $ 1900+ per month, which was entirely too expensive. Some of the things I enjoyed were the gym and computer room, I liked the garage parking even though the gates never stayed closed. I also liked the valet trash. It is a convenient location with several dining options within walking distance and close to the beltway. Overall, if I could’ve afforded to stay, I would’ve.

Funny how I gave Camden a 5 star just a few months ago. It has been a total rip off since October of last year. On top of the mandatory basic cable package that was apparently «included» in your rent which nobody uses (basic cable for the value of $ 50 and cannot be voided), the package holding service was randomly canceled because all of a sudden «there is no enough space in the leasing office». On top of that, a man was MURDERED in my building with bullet holes all over the car on New Year’s Eve. Just shows again the lack of security this apartment complex has. Why taking away so much service (the package holding service was one of the deciding factors when I signed the lease) without lowering one penny on our rent? The management is slow, inefficient but never fails to charge us extra when we are late for rent. Not to mention the ridiculous high utility bills ($ 1500+ rent doesn’t include anything utility related, literally NOTHING). I am so disappointed because when I first moved in I loved this place (thanks to Frank again and it’s a shame he doesn’t work here anymore), and now I’m thinking seven springs may be a better choice. Even though they only have outdoor parking (not to mention garage parking here is a joke, after 4 o’clock most likely you will end up parking on the top floor, which has no roof). Camden, please do something about your service or let us end our lease earlier without giving us penalty charges.

I am so surprised to see this Unilocal page still standing and not filled with more negative reviews. My boyfriend and I moved here in late 2012 and are moving out for many reasons BEFORE our lease end.
We just could not wait to get out of here. We have lived in many apt complexes before and experienced the norm apt complex living blunders. We chose Camden because it is advertised as upscale and gated secure community. We read negative reviews but the frosting on their offer sucked us in. We thought people were just being snooty with their reviews and petty. I wish we had listened. Gosh I wish we did…
Trouble started when I would have packages delivered. Since it was a gated community, they had all packages delivered to the front office. The problem was they often signed for packages without actually received them and twice they gave my packages to another resident. They had done away with that system since then and now you have to pick up your packages at the post office if by USPS or the other carriers leave it at your door. Inconvenient yes. But this might not be such an issue had it not been for the alarming spike in crime here at Camden College Park.
The news reports 6 burglaries within the time span of 6 months. As a resident I can say that this report seems highly understated! Camden has a social network for residents. Between October and November there were at least 12 reported incidents on that network. That’s 3 break ins a week!
During this time my boyfriend and I were renting out a storage unit. We had several items in it. Camden somehow ends up renting our our own storage to someone else and fails to tell us that they removed all our items or where they put it. When we showed up asking why we couldn’t get into our storage they said «you don’t have a storage» What? Then they had the nerve to tell us it was our fault. How!!! Why? We applied for the storage and we paid for it. How? Oops no. they just overlooked things and didn’t communicate. This is when we had had enough and decided to move out. The many times we had any sort of issue the staff was aggressive, pushy and NEVER took any responsibility for any of the mishaps or lack of communication or the major screw up of renting out OUR occupied storage unit.
If you could read they way they respond to resident comments on their network you would see just how awful and arrogant these staff members are.
Residents demanded, begged, pleaded for more security, They even banded together to start a community watch. Camden would send out emails with subject lines «Great news!!» body reading we now have a community watch group. Thanks to who Camden???
Not you! The weight of making change happen falls on to the shoulders of the resident. Meanwhile the staff stays up front responding with condescending replies to our complaints. The most camden has done to offer any additional security is offer deadbolts to residents who want them. except we have to pay an additional $ 50 for it. Slap to the face. No word if you get to keep the deadbolt when you leave since YOU pay for it or if the next residents get to keep it etc.
At one point one of the staff members sent out an email to the residents saying the social network was for positive posts only and to send negative ones to the leasing office privately by email. What for? So it can be ignored? So we can stay in the dark? When I moved in the leasing office told me to report tailgating either by phone or email. Our community security is seriously threatened by the amount of people who tailgate in behind residents. many residents dont help the matter as they get lazy and dont bother swiping their key fob, causing the gate to come down and MANY times breaking the gate. We had months after months with the gate wide open to anyone. But emails sent to the front office were often ignored. The tailgating policy is not enforced.
**********The main reason I decided to write this review was because on January 1^st 2015 at 2:00 AM a man was MURDERED in the parking garage, The man was not even a resident here! But he had a gun on him and whoever killed him shot him down. What in the hell where they doing here? Again the proof is in the pudding. ******************* you can easily google «Camden College Park murder» and pull up the video the local news reported where they catch people tailgating in still even after the burglaries and homicide. What is Camden doing? NOTHING!
Burglaries, Murder, and STAFF that acts oblivious to it all.
And don’t even get me started on the noise… Despite being told this place has concrete between floors you can hear everything. I hear my upstairs neighbor throwing up every night at 8, I hear her high heels in the morning I hear her watching Family guy, I hear her conversations, I hear her and her partner having relations. Compared to the other issues this place has these other ones just pale.
Stay FAR away!!! This place has much to improve…

I lived here for about a year and a half. The first year was ok. Aside from a few issues with the garage being broke, it was fine. But within the last few months there have been MULTIPLE break-​ins, assaults & auto thefts. I’m not a disgruntled tenant complaining about pricing spikes, noisy neighbors or anything associated with «normal» apartment living. I’m talking about tenant SAFETY! The response from Camden College Park and Camden Corporate has been «snail-​like” – at best! Several requests have been submitted to Camden to fix broken gates, poorly-​lit garage areas, security cameras, secured-​access breaches and more. Many of these requests are STILL pending.
Lastly, TODAY Camden College Park helped give PG county its FIRST HOMICIDE OF 2015. Sad…
Do your homework before considering this place. I’m counting down the days until my lease expires.

My fiancé and I have lived here for 15 months and will be moving out in a few days. If we hadn’t bought a house away from the area, I would’ve renewed my lease. When we first moved in, we had a huge problem with our upstairs neighbors and an on-​going problem with fighting and yelling at 3am. At first it seemed as if the leading staff weren’t doing much to help is out with the situation, but finally they did something about it.
I feel that the maintenance and housekeeping staff are great. They were always extremely quick to complete a maintenance request and go above and beyond what they needed to do. For the most part, all of the leading agents were friendly, except for the old manager… she was rude. There’s a new manager now and we have had a positive experience with her. Our favorite leasing agent/​staff member was Natasha, but she left a few months ago.
Recently, there have been issues with break-​ins and parking, but I parked in the garage on the first floor and never had an issue with parking. As far as the break-​ins, I honestly feel as if one of our own neighbors from the Camden community have been commuting the crimes… so far, no one knows for sure. I’ve always felt safe living here… even at night. The management have been hit hard with criticism and negative ‘press’ within the community, but I feel that a lot of the issues may take time to remedy and a corporate policy may cause things to move slowly.
The amenities were great… great gym, pool and business center. It’s a really great location, it’s extremely convenient to the beltway an I-​95. My biggest issue that plagued us the 15 months living here were a handful of lazy neighbors who refused to pick up after their dogs in the designated areas. Camden provides several bag stations and yet certain neighbors thought that cleaning up after their dogs was optional. Unfortunately, this comes with the territory of living in a communal area.
Despite everything, I honestly would renew my lease if my fiancé and I hadn’t bought a house elsewhere.

I’ve lived here since early 2012 and the only reason I’m leaving is to move to another Camden property which is closer to work and Metro.
In my time here I’ve rarely had anything go wrong, but on the few occasions something has broken maintenance has come to fix or look into the problem with 12 hours of me filing a request.
The front office staff has had some turnover during the past couple of years but everyone has been courteous and friendly every time I’ve interacted with them.
With one exception, all my neighbors have been courteous and quiet. (And the loud neighbors weren’t intentionally loud… just impressively stompy when they walked around. Or they had a pet elephant. But I’m pretty sure that’s against community regulations.) Of course you’ll hear people from time to time but if you want total peace and quiet you’ll have to go buy a house in the country with a few acres. Some daily noise is simply a fact of living in an apartment building.
The only reason I give four stars (instead of five) is because of Camden’s policy of requiring payment for cable TV service. I don’t own a television so it’s just money down the drain as far as I’m concerned. However, as I said, this is a corporate policy and not directly a result of the way this community is run.
I’ve been very happy with my time living here and would recommend it to anyone.

I’ve lived at this complex for over 6 years. In the last year it has gone to hell in a handbasket. I think this was in large part due to a bad management team. There were repeated issues with broken garage gates, unauthorized access to what is supposed to be a secure complex, and repeated break ins into cars and apartments. That management team was removed in September 2014. The new management team makes the last one look excellent. The break ins have continued – four apartments broken into in one afternoon! All sorts of unauthorized access to the complex continues. Cars and storage units have also been broken into and vandalized. Management has been unresponsive, defensive, and combative on these issues. The billing office lost a cashier’s check I sent and the manager treated me like it was my fault and my problem and has yet to follow through on a number of promises made in connection with that incident. Residents formed a community association to try to address some of these matters. On-​site management refused to meet with the residents and corporate management completely ignored a letter from the association on a lawyer’s letterhead.
And the culmination of all of this incompetence was a murder on New Year’s Day – first murder of 2015 in Prince George’s County. The person murdered did not live in the complex yet somehow was in an allegedly limited access garage with a car.
Avoid this place like the plague.

I don’t even reside at this community but experienced the most unprofessional attitude from the Assistant Manager yesterday. I sent a package a friend that was in the midst of transferring apartments and I received confirmation from the post office that it had been delivered. After checking with my friend it was determined that the package had not been received but she had also decided on a different apartment number than the one she had originally planned to move into. After a couple trips down to the leasing office for her and looking through the package room, she still had not found the package. They also allowed her to check the mail box of the apartment she had intended to move into. She was also told that all packages from USPS come directly to the leasing office. However, it was not in the leasing office.
Because of the worth of the package and the fact that I really wanted to her to have the birthday gift I was sending, I put in a call to the leasing office yesterday myself just to double check that the package was not there and to get an understanding for the procedure. As I am a manager in the property management field as well which I explained, I was just curious to see how this particular community handled packages. The male (assistant manager) I spoke to was very matter of fact initially and when I persisted about checking to make sure that package was not there he said that it would be the «5^th, 6^th, or 7^th time that this had been done, but if I would hold he would check again.» He was extremely brash and came back quickly saying it wasn’t there. I made it plain that it was obvious that he did not care but the fact is that it was delivered by the post office to that address and accepted by their leasing office.
He went on to say that the next time I called I should «ask to speak to a Community Manager.» At this point I had had enough of his never ending attitude about the situation and told him that «the next time anyone called, he should be more sympathetic.» If he felt he could not handle the situation then he should have asked to have Community Manager assist him with the issue.
While I do not reside in the DMV area any longer, I had visited the community on several occasions and thought it quite nice in appearance however, you could not pay me to live there with a staff member in a management position with that attitude. I would hate for anyone else to have anyone of this caliber handling mail and speaking to people as if they are beneath him.
Afterwards I contacted my friend, and she concurred that this could only have been the assistant manager and that he was generally rude in his demeanor.
At the end of the day, it wasn’t his fault that the package could not be found and I am dealing with USPS on a claim for the lost package. However, I don’t feel that is was unreasonable for me to call and inquire and get some information before moving forward with USPS. His attitude was truly unnecessary!
Very disappointing for Camden…

This rating is for the leasing staff, not the units themselves. I called to inquire about renting one of their units a bit ago, and was treated rather rudely. I spoke to a young woman and was just asking basic questions about the cost to rent, so I could accurately assess if we could even afford to live there or not. She was short with me, then just out and out rude to me. I was totally taken aback by Kim’s tone and behavior, and wound up just hanging up after about 20 minutes. She got defensive when I asked the simplest question and acted like I shouldn’t consider living here if I even had to ask. The questions she responded this way to were «are utilities included» and things like «so you have this option that is 700 sqaure feet and that’s the floor plan I’m interested in, do you have those available?» I mean really, really basic questions… things I am POSITIVE any prospective tenant would ask! Upon asking the latter, she snapped that they did have them available but I probably wouldn’t be interested in them since the higher the floor, the higher the cost. I was shocked by her response, and would never live here after receiving such poor service. I don’t care how phenomenal the units are, because they are really nice, undeniably.

This is a clean, nice, secure place to live but you will pay and pay for it. Rents keep going up, you can’t pay a bill in person, and comcast TV is a required added cost along with valet trash pickup. There is also many unwanted solicitors that somehow make it into the building. The leasing office is great though and the staff are good about working with you. It just seems to be very pricey for being such a long walk/​bus ride to UMD and not near a metro station.

I lived at Camden College Park for a little over two years before moving out. The prices are somewhat higher than expected (1400 $/​mo for a studio in College Park?). There is a pool that works during the summer, ²⁴⁄₇ well-​equipped gym, and a recreation room with TV and couches that is available all-​day-​round to the residents. What you will find to be in addition to your monthly rent are trash pick up (about 50 $), mandatory TV charges (another 50 $ or so, does not include internet), and then there are the water bill, electricity bill, renter’s insurance. It does add up.
Apartments themselves are excellent. You get full-​sized washer and drier, kitchen with refrigerator/​stove/​microwave, huge bath tub, and high ceilings. walls have an interesting texture to them — they are not flat. As with all not-​too-​tall apartment buildings, you will hear people around you a bit: when my upstairs neighbor would wear heels, or when next door to me they would have a party — it was audible. Since the apartments are located next to major roads (route 1, I-​495, and I-​95) you will always have a bit of traffic noise, but you tune it out soon enough.
Two parking spaces come free with the apartment — they are not assigned, but there is always ample space in the garage. The garage levels come out onto each floor — I typically had to walk less than 100ft to my door. The territory is secured with gates and is accessible only via FOB keys, although on more than one occasion I had a car follow me into the garage without letting the gate close, or saw a door that should have been locked was not. During my stay there, I recall two incidents of malicious entrees that led to somebodies car tires stolen in one case, and vandalized apartment in the other. Management is committed to safety, but sometimes stuff happens.
The leasing office is very good in holding packages for residents for several days (or more, if you alert them that you will be away). Residents can put requests for repairs through a web site, and the few that I needed were attended to within a day or two.
I had absolutely no problem moving out. When my lease came up for renew, I declined by the date indicated, went through a walk-​though on my last day — and was done.
Overall a pleasant experience living at Camden College Park.

I had to get an attorney and am in a legal dispute with this place … ALMOST A YEAR AFTER I’VE MOVED OUT!
Please do yourself a favor and not move here. You can even message me personally for the horror stories about this place.
It looks absolutely gorgeous. But that old saying that ironically never gets old is true: All that glitters is not gold. This place is the epitome of that statement.