Park Crest

g_athomas

Resident • 2003 - 2004

Ok for those who do not mind being lied to.

When I move in a year ago they said that they allowed cat's and dog's. I was given no weight stipulations or breed requirements. Only to find out when I go to adopt a 35lb dog. <br>They are also very slow to respond to any problems or questions you have. In additon parking is a nightmare after 9pm and with the price they charge for a spot it is really hard to say which is worst. Driving a round for 30min everytime your late or pay $300 about a month.<br>

Current Resident 446651

Resident • 2003 - 2004

Got out as quickly as I could

Park Crest is by far the worst building I've ever lived in (and I've lived in 3 in DC). You will hear absolutly everything your neighbors do and say. The management is slow to respond even when I had a water leak. Don't fool yourself into believing things will change; THEY WON'T!!! I moved and it is the best thing I could have done. Do yourself a favor and don't even move in.<br>

Current Resident 940855

Resident • 1998 - 2004

A Good Home In The City

I've lived in the Park Crest for 6 years, and have lived all over the DC area for the last 14. Having read the other reviews, I have to shake my head -- the Park Crest has the most reliable building management of any rental property I've ever had; the apartments have the LEAST amount of sound-bleed from neighbors. Moreover, the people in the neighborhood are NICE. It's an actual NEIGHBORHOOD, where people give a ---- about each other. If people think the rent increases are unwieldy here, they should go to Virginia or Maryland, where the units aren't rent controlled. The Park Crest is rent-controlled, people!<br><br>Anyway. Nice post-war buildings, nice people, utilities included, and you don't have to hike 15 minutes to a bus...the D1 and D2 are just a few short blocks away.

AUGraduate

Resident • 2003 - 2004

A little pricey so is the rest of DC

The neighborhood is nice, if a little out of the way. You better get well acquinted with the buses if you want to go anywhere. There is parking but it is pretty cramped in the neighborhood. Conviently close to American University, not far from Georgetown.

Current Resident 86590

Resident • 2002 - 2004

You get what you pay for - very little

I agree with everything bad that has been written in all of the other reviews of this apartment complex. The noise level is ridiculous - I can hear what any of my neighbors watch on television, what they are arguing over, and how they make up. The maintainance staff is very friendly but not always competent - once you can convince the office you really do need someone to come to your apartment. The water temperature is never constant, no matter the time of day. And it is shut off with some frequency. I can be certain when my neighbors are running water, because the pipes in this building howl and whine all the time. <br> <br>You get what you pay for - and since the apartments are cheap, that´s very little besides some nice wood floors. In advertisements they describe the beautiful landscaping but that only happens if you are in a building near the office or one that they show to prospective tenants. There are no amenities here. A year or so ago we at least had a trash room in the basement. Now we walk our trash out to a nearby alley where I have seen racoons feasting in the evening. The reason? An acquaintance of mine looked at an apartment here and was told by the leasing agent that the trash rooms were gotten rid of because the buildings were "overrun by rats." While I can say I´ve never seen a rat in the building, this should give you some idea of the quality and skill of the office staff. Also, they had told us that they had planned to add bike rooms in the basement (should have known it wasn´t true - it would be thoughtful toward their tenants!) so I had hoped that the shut down trash rooms might be reincarnated as bike storage or perhaps additional laundry rooms (we share 3 washers among about 35 apartments - other buildings have 1 washer for about 16 apartments) but instead the rooms have been locked up and not used for anything. <br> <br>Also, a great many of the people who live here are not considerate at all of their neighbors. We have one neighbor who will stand outside the building and yell into the windows of his apartment at his family at all hours of the night. The tenants in one of the buildings let their dogs poop in the building. There are many students here who feel free to throw parties on weekday nights. The list goes on and on. <br> <br>Overall, I would never recommend that anyone move to this building. The noise levels and inconsiderate neighbors make it feel like a college dorm. The staff is friendly, though ineffective. The lack of amenities or services really don´t balance out the cheap rent.

Current Resident 18948

Resident • 1997 - 2004

Decent, safe and quiet

I´ve lived at Park Crest since ´97 and I don´t know what the other people are talking about when they say it´s loud... not my building! My building is ultra-quiet and the walls are totally solid, not like a brand new building made of particle board! You don´t feel like you are living in the city in this neighborhood, but you can walk to Wisconsin Ave in 15 minutes for Whole Foods and restaurants. You can also get to Dupont Circle in 15 mins on the D2 Metrobus. Parking does suck in this neighborhood but if you live in the city you shouldn´t be dependent on a car anyway! <br>The management can be ditsy but they are generally responsive to maintenance requests. Yes, the buildings are old but anyone can see that when they choose to move in! The upside is that most apartments have built-in china cabinets, hard wood parquet floors, a ton of closet space, and new windows. I would agree that the water temp does tend to fluctuate, esp. in the winter. The bldgs do not have central AC but they do have built in AC window units that work well, and since the utilities are included in the rent, you can blast the AC all day if you choose!

Current Resident 766083

Resident • 2003

Nice, safe and affordable

After reading some of the other reviews, I felt compelled to write. I moved here about four months ago and so far have been very satisfied. My apartment, an efficiency, is super tiny, but all my appliances are relatively new as are the windows. I have yet to have a problem with bugs etc. My toilet was leaking at one point, but when I notified the office, maintenance came to fix it within forty minutes. The building itself can get slightly noisy sometimes, as the walls are thin. Parking can be a problem after 8pm or so, especially on Sundays. Overall, I feel safe and satisfied. My apartment is nothing special, but it is clean and within my budget.

Current Resident 605069

Resident • 2003

Nice

I was terrified about moving here after reading the other comments, but actually it´s a very nice place. I live on 42nd St. and it´s the quietest place I´ve ever lived--you only hear crickets at night! The neighborhood is safe and friendly with a diversity of people. There are nature trails right outside my door, the streets are well lit, and they even put out a neighborhood newsletter updating you on the events going on in the area. I have some bugs in my apt., but only mosquitoes and the occasional ant...oh, and I did find a spider the other day...but I have yet to see any roaches. The maintenance people seem to be here all the time cleaning the hallways and keeping up with the landscaping. Overall, I´m very impressed and I´m paying about 300 dollars less a month than all of my friends--a great place for students. The management can be a little shady sometimes, but overall a good place.

Current Resident 260194

Resident • 1999 - 2000

Not worth it

Although the apartments are pretty spacious, the buildings are very old and not kept up well. And although I lived on the top floor of my building (3rd) and am very clean, we still had problems with bugs. Tenants in the basement had FAR WORSE PROBLEMS. And the laundry room, where you are trying to get your clothes CLEAN, was not maintained at all and there were always roaches. <br>It may be cheaper than other DC apartments, but I´d pay a little more for better amenities and a cleaner living space. Also the management was not very responsive, which was extremely frustrating.

Current Resident 689391

Resident • 2003

Stay Away!!!

I assure you that you can find a better place to live in the city! I have lived there for a little under a year (I know this because I just got my TREMENDOUS rent increase notification) and it has been the WORST living experience possible. <br><br> <br><br>Parking and buses were not so inaccessible, if you don´t mind walking a bit. However, the office must have taken lessons on how to poorly manage for them to be as bad as they are. The water is constantly (once a week in the summer at least) being turned off without notification. When we do have water it runs from medium to burning hot to ice cold. Things take ages to be fixed (had to sleep in the living room during a snow storm because they didn´t fix a broken window and there was no heat!) The fuses blow when you use two appliances at once. <br><br> <br><br>The noise is unbelievable!!! You will hear every word that your neighbors say. If you have someone next to you who is especially loud they will do NOTHING to help you solve the issue. <br><br> <br><br>Please, don´t fall for the charming appearance of the apartment. You really can do better! <br><br>

marshall

Resident • 2002 - 2003

so-so? no way. stay away from park crest

I have lived in DC for 7 years and this has been the most disappointing experience I have had renting an apartment. Do yourself a favor and stay away from Park Crest. <br> First, dont plan on owning a car. There is zero street parking. Get used to the 15 minute walk to Wisconsin Ave to catch a bus. <br> Second, dont plan on the rental office being any help whatsoever. It takes an average of 2 weeks for simple maintenance requests to be honored. The office does a terrible job of keeping its residents informed of major manintenance issues. For example, our building was without hot water for multiple days but the office never thought to keep us posted on developments, or lack thereof. And they never apoligized. <br> Third, dont plan on a quiet night´s sleep. I wake up every morning to my neighbor´s alarm. Televisions blare on at all hours. And its not the fault of the residents. The walls and floors are paper thin. <br> Fourth, do plan on doing laundry. In fact, you really have to plan a good time to do your laundry in these buildings. There are just 3 washers and dryers for some 36 apartments. <br> The plus side is that utilities are included in your overprice rent (and expect a hefty rent increase). But you dont get a dishwasher or much counter space in the small kitchen. <br> I could go on and on. This place is just not worth the hassles (of getting there, of the rental office, of the noise). <br> You can do better.

Current Resident 595339

Resident • 2001 - 2002

so-so

The service is good, for the most part (although getting packages from the office on Saturday can sometime be tricky). But the area, while safe (although not nearly enough nitetime outdoor lighting) and nice, is so inaccessable - no Metro, a 20-minute walk to WI Avenue, and horrible street parking past 8:00 pm. The apartment we have is fine, nothing special. Large, with plenty of windows and hardwood floors (which we have to cover up with rugs) but there´s a tiny kitchen, old refridgerator, lots of bugs and the front doors are LOUD. Amenities? None. No central AC, no dishwasher, no washer/dryer (very inadequate 3 washers and dryers *per building*). The front door buzzer is always out. And it´s not a fancy building - it´s pretty ugly, frankly, and needs its hallways cleaned. And yet, no pets?? why??!?!? Dogs are all around the neighborhood, but not from this building. The areas outside are well-manicured and pretty, but it doesn´t make up for how ugly the building is. Oh -and the fuses are always blowing in everyone´s apartments. WAter temp fluctuates in the shower, too. ANd we´ve had frequent power outages this year.