The Brandywine

I have lived at the Brandywine for over three years. I love it so much. Probably the best value in DC! Management and maintenance is fantastic. The manger, Daniela, is very proactive and always looking for ways to improve the building.
All utilities are included, amazing gym, great laundry room. Most importantly it’s very secured. They have 24 hour security and every visitor must sign in.
Additional pros:
–playground/​park across the street
–great schools
–walking distance to metro
–bus stop right outside of the building
–great rooftop, grill area

Awesome! I’ve lived here 3 years and can’t really find a better place in DC. It’s not cheap but it’s worth it. Forest Hills (Van Ness) is the «suburbs within DC” – quiet, safe, green area. If you want to be in the party/​city scene, look elsewhere like Woodley Park or DuPont.
The building seems to be mostly professionals, college kids (well behaved) and elderly people.
Garage parking is about 150/​mo.
I don’t think pets are allowed (maybe cats but not sure) which helps keep it clean/​quiet.
Pros:
+Easily get to downtown in less than 30 min door-​to-​door (driving or metro) IN rush hour.
+Close to Bethesda, Rockville. 495, 270 and River Rd all nearby
+4 blocks to metro!
+Spacious rooms.
+Gorgeous wood floors
+All util included
+No major pest issues
+Great service – highly responsive staff. They have lots of fun events/​goodies: free coffee, cookies, pizza days etc.
+Clean facilities, very well managed
+Plenty of parking nearby. No meters! (Need a DC permit)
+Extremely safe neighborhood. Quiet, not much foot traffic at night. Safe to walk around at 4am, although not recommended – it is still DC after all. Most of the areas behind building are (extremely expensive) single family homes where affluent live.
+Shared BBQ, patio and roof
+Tennis courts nearby
+About half a mile to Rock Creek park trails, etc
+Renovated apartments are gorgeous. Shiny wood floors.
+HUGE windows everywhere for lots of sunlight.
+Best gym I’ve seen in a DC apartment. Huge. Places to do yoga (the big blue mat needs to be changed though) and virtual cardio/​spinning classes. There’s also a Gold’s gym a block away.
+Zips dry cleaning, nail salon, Giant, liquor store, Subway, CVS, Thai, Phở, Potbelly, Starbucks and barber shop… also a sell-​by-​weight-​chinese/​deli, Epicurian, that’s hit or miss. Comet billiards and more restaurants up the street towards and in Chevy Chase.
Cons:
–Older building (again, like most of DC)=thin walls; air vents are like an intercom system – you can sometimes hear entire conversations from other floors while standing in your kitchen; strangely thin steel doors.
–Bathrooms aren’t ventilated
–No washer/​dryers in apartments. Shared laundry is pretty decent, although machines tend to break. Luckily there’s like 20 washers and dryers. They use a card system that’s decent. Kind of expensive – about $ 4 a wash/​dry load
–Package room has some weird hours/​break times

We lived in The Brandywine for 5+ years and it was a wonderful experience! The apartment itself was spacious for 2 BR and had a wonderful view of the nearby playground and park. The apartment and building were always well kept & clean. The amenities, including a gym outfitted with new equipment and a roof deck that provided a lovely oasis of sorts, were top notch. The real gem of The Brandywine, however (and what we miss most) is its staff. They are the most professional and prompt ensemble of folks that I’ve ever come across — and I’ve lived in apartments for 20+ years. Even sent me flowers after having my 2^nd kiddo! Daniela, Larry, Chuck, Abraham, Pam, Jose and Antonio and more! Great crew. Great building.

As a you go professional, it’s a reasonably priced place to live with my two other roommates. It’s three-​ish blocks from the Van Ness metro, and less than a 15 minute walk to Tenleytown. The building has a free gym and free coffee every weekday for people heading to work. The amenities are great and the maintenance staff is super fast! All in all I like living here so far and plan to stay put for a while.

After 3 years of living in The Brandywine, I have nothing but compliments to give. The apartments are very spacious and clean, and the kitchen has everything one needs. The facilities are well maintained and always a pleasure to use. My personal favorite was the rooftop. There is nothing like coming home at the end of a summer day and just sitting down to relax on the roof. The best part though is not what the building has to offer but the staff and the management team that run it. The friendliness, generosity, and understanding of the management team gives the tenants a feeling of security. They will go above and beyond for you. Maintenance will never leave you hanging and fix any problem you have in a matter of hours. From the package room staff and the front desk team to maintenance and the management team, the high quality of the people is what makes this building such a pleasure to live in.
The building is located in a great neighborhood just a short 7 minutes walk from the Van-​Ness red line metro stop. Between the metro stop and the building one can find an amazing bakery, different coffee shops, dry cleaning, banks, grocery stores, and even a Starbucks. In addition to the metro line, the L bus lines stop right outside of the building and will take you all the way downtown. At the same time, a short walk to Tenleytown will put you on Wisconsin Ave where you can hop on a bus to Georgetown.
As a whole, The Brandywine is a great place to live in and this is the fist place I will recommend when it comes to living in DC.

I just moved out of the Brandywine after living there for 2 years. I was a student at American University, so the commute was as good as it gets (I could walk easily). We were also really close to the Van Ness metro so it was really easy to get downtown. The building was priced really well so even on a student’s budget, it was affordable. The apartments were bright and clean and had updated appliances. The best part of the building was the staff. If we ever had a complaint, they would send someone from maintenance to fix whatever was wrong that same day. The front desk was very friendly and made an effort to learn our names. The leasing office was great too. Overall, a great place full of great people.

This was absolutely the worst management experience I have had as an adult. Management was often rude on the phone and difficult to deal with. Multiple phone conversations with management seemed to have been forgotten by them immediately because requests never became realities without further phone calls. I regret signing the lease in the first place after they changed the price between our confirmation and lease signing, but it was too late to search for another. I would never live here again and I recommend you don’t either.

I lived here for about a year and a half (been in DC for 6 years).
In terms of apartment complexes/​buildings in DC, The Brandywine is probably the best. The management staff is EXTREMELY responsive, usually less than 24 hours for a response. If you have a service issue such as plumbing or paint, the on site mechanics/​plumbers are usually available within 24 hours. I’d wager that The Brandywine has the best building management in all of DC.
Furthermore these are the largest apartments you can get in DC for the price, the spaces are HUGE. There’s plenty of lighting, the central HVAC is in top-​notch condition (with utilities included!!!) such that you can have it your way winter or summer.
Other amenities: rooftop lounge area, fitness center, on site laundry, in-​door parking (extra), concierge, package room (with Saturday intake), online web portal to file service requests and rent payments.
Ultimately when apartment hunting, it comes down to money and maintenance. And for that, The Brandywine is the best bang for your buck. I regularly recommend friends to check out this place as a place to rent because the management is fantastic, the staff is amazing, and the price can’t be beat.
There are a few new developments in the area: Van Ness Town Center and BreadFurst bakery.
Local walkables:
Van Ness Station (7 minute walk)
Giant Supermarket (next to Van Ness Station)
CVS (next to Van Ness Station)
Walgreens (next to Van Ness Station)
Phở 14 (highest rated Phở in DC) (next to Van Ness Station) starting to see a trend here…
Bus stop at [Brandywine & Connecticut]: L2/​L1, takes you straight North/​South on Connecticut Ave, Cleveland Park is a 5 min bus ride, AdMo a 13 minute ride.
Dupont Circle is about 12 minutes from door of Brandywine to Dupont Metro.
Columbia Heights is about 13 – 18 minutes driving (or Über/​Lyft/​Sidecar/​Hailo) since you can cut across the city. The [Van Ness & Connecticut] bus stop services H2, which cuts across and takes you to CoHi station.
I would’ve probably continued living here, but I moved in with my fiancée so I gave up an amazing apartment. Don’t make that mistake! ;)

Though I ultimately decided to rent somewhere else (an apartment for my mother), I strongly recommend that you consider the Brandywine if you would like to live on Connecticut Avenue above Cleveland. Beautiful public spaces, huge one bedroom apartments with gigantic closets. Exceptionally friendly and helpful staff who can answer all questions clearly.

I’ve lived here for two years with my roommate, and if it were slightly less expensive I could see myself living here for many more in a single.
The apartments are spacious, clean, and have lots of natural light streaming in from huge windows. Maintenance requests are dealt with within 24 hours, with very few exceptions. The package room is staffed by the friendliest people in the world and I’m a huge fan of most of the people who work at the front desk too.
The building and the area are both very safe and residential. There are places to eat within walking distance. A wide variety of people live here, from students to diplomats. There’s a well-​stocked business room and a bookshelf where people give as good as they get that is always overflowing with lightly used books and where’ I’ve offloaded many of my own.
The only downsides are the price (which, despite being ridiculously high, is competitive for the area), the fact that the apartments are not soundproof (I hear one of my neighbors crying every night, showers from other apartments in the morning, and the little kid upstairs, as well as the occasional annoying-​as-​anything college party), the endless construction that has been going on for 7 or 8 months now right across from my apartment (actually, thinking of this, I wonder if I should ding them another star), and the fact that you will have to hike through the building a bit to get the the mail room/​laundry room or to the front door– this place is huge.
Overall highly recommended.