AVA Van Ness

Pros: Clean building, nice amenities such a the pool, tennis court and fitness area. The apartment layout is good. Staff is friendly and helpful, maintenance requests are promptly taken care of. The balconies are lovely and the location is great, close to the Metro and Giant. Cons: The building has roaches. I've gotten multiple treatments to my apartment. I'd caulked any gaps I've seen. I keep my drains closed all times. I still have roaches and I see them in the stairwells and the garage. The building can't seem to get this under control, I first started seeing them late spring 2021.

Don’t live here, save your money. They don’t care about resident safety, allow illegal activity and businesses to be run out of the apartments, and the list goes on. I’ve lived in this building a total of 3 years, and I’m a current resident. Let me first say this, there are a few good things about living here-the front desk staff and maintenance staff are amazing! They are pleasant helpful and go above and beyond. Past that there is nothing good to say about the building. Safety is a major concern leasing and the parent company Avalon bay refuse to take any action on. Countless times staff has been warned about building security and safety, warned about lights and building darkness, only fixed after the abduction that took place on the property. All balcony doors on the first floor are left open by residents/college students as well as main building doors constantly propped open. Multiple drug operations rent apartments and operate out of the building. The amenities are poorly maintained including printers broken or down over a year, and “help us go green” water dispensers that don’t work. , and the pool being closed most of the season. Leasing staff is not available by phone and rarely returns calls or answers emails. Building management and Avalon bay send threatening emails about lease violations not enforcing 98% of them only to enforce ones in which residents lose there personal belongings. Let alone not doing scheduled pest inspections, charging new mysterious fees for cable even though you pay for your own, that rats, the puke filled elevators that rarely work, the dorm parties, the hallways smelling like drugs-not just weed-drugs constantly, the active shooter, the abduction, the constant police presence, and the extremely high rent increases at leases end. Wish I didn’t have another year to make it through here.

Maintenance staff, most recently Robert, are excellent here. They always respond to issues promptly and effectively. The front desk staff, especially Rodney, are also superb. Unfortunately, rent continues to rise steeply without corresponding updates to our apartment or amenities in general.

This positive review is for the wonderful maintenance and front desk staff, and for Keith specifically. The staff not management is this apartment's saving grace. Maintenance is always so quick to respond to issues. Keith on the crew is especially responsive and helpful. He took control of a maintenance issue with our apartment. He really did the best one could to make it less stressful and make the best out of a bad situation. He was consistently professional, despite my complaining. Great service on his end, and we appreciate it! But, three major issues: 1. Safety. Management ignores or waives off safety issues. They blame it on tenants keeping the door open for others. But, that's not an AVA - only phenomenon. There is something wrong here, and they are not taking ANY accountability for it. 2. Pest issues. It's never-ending. 3. The building is from 1978- so it jutstttt misses the cut-off for rent control. And you can tell 3 years in, the rent def goes up fast.

This is one of the worst places you could choose to live, especially as a student. There is always something going on in the building rather it is an active shooting or a domestic dispute. Police are called to the building almost every other day due to some incident going on in the building. Most of the front desk staff are friendly. However the leasing office does not make it very easy to communicate with them. People have died here, and it was not from natural causes. Save yourself the trouble, it looks good on the outside, but actually living here is horrible. They also have a horrible pest problem, and I was constantly having to submit maintenance requests due to a broken toilet, or a light that will not turn on. They also entered my lease incorrectly in the system and still expected me to honor the original lease. They are not organized at all.

Overall, this place is average. The location and neighborhood are great, and serve as a major crutch for the draw of this building. While you do get some nice amenities packed into one place, it does come at a cost namely, safety and management that keeps getting steeper each year. The management has been subpar; with several recent safety concerns, they give an equivalent explanation to a shrug. One neighbor on multiple occasions has yelled explicit descriptions of harming anyone who stepped into the hallway, and management's response was that they couldn't do anything since they aren't in the office at midnight to hear it, and I'd just have to hope it doesn't happen again. There was a rash of false fire alarms several days in a row and around midnight and management only took our concerns seriously once we mentioned that we had informed the fire marshal's office of the situation and that nearly all the extinguishers had 'failed inspection' tags from several months prior, and had still not been replaced. They were supposed to do renovations in 2020 they 'surveyed' each unit in February/March 2020 so they could update the flooring and cabinets but in the 2+ years since, have only done updates to a handful of apartments. Would love to have nicer finishes, but rest of the the kitchen changes are... quite a choice, so I'm grateful to not have to look at a chalk wall next to neon paint every time I cook. On to a positive: the maintenance team is pretty solid shoutout to Keith. Whether it's AC trouble, a leak in the living room, electrical issues - they have always been happy to help and find a solution. And saving the best for last, the front desk staff. Rodney and Ben are this building's saving grace. They are always friendly and polite, and you can tell that they care about this community. Despite all the cons of this building, Rodney's kindness and the stresses of moving have kept me here for longer than I expected.

My husband and I used to live at AVA Van Ness from 2018 until May of 2022. We were hoping to stay longer, especially since the front desk and maintenance staff were kind and it's a convenient location. However, there were a constant string of issues that put our health and safety at risk so we decided to move. Some of those issues include: -20% rent increase within a year. It was not worth renting out a 700 sq ft, unrenovated, one bed apartment. -Continuous cockroach issues that never got resolved. Since October of 2021, my husband and I have constantly seen cockroaches throughout our apartment and basement. We did everything in our power cleaning, covering holes, putting out traps, etc. and got the building involved. It was the same thing for months: take out items in kitchen and bathroom, have ORKIN spray the affected areas, find them again well after the spray took effect, and repeat the process until we moved out. -Safety issues. From break-ins to the active shooter in April 2022 to expired fire extinguishers on every floor. We, the tenants, asked for change and clarity after every incident like routine security and more cameras and better communication, but AVA never did anything about it. After the active shooter in April, they offered to look into counseling services for its tenants in an email to us, and provided us coffee and donuts the next day after the shooting. Then, that was it. Nothing. No update, nothing offered to tenants after a traumatic experience. -Lack of communication from the building. There were a number of safety concerns and incidents that occurred but we never heard back from the complex unless the tenants bugged AVA. During 2021/2022, there was a dumpster fire that occurred in the building. AVA never said a word on the incident and the only reason tenants found out the cause is because we had to ask the firefighters ourselves and pick up the missing information. Moreover, the high turnover in management often caused miscommunication to its tenants. For example, when my husband and I moved out, my husband turned in the move out notification form and was told that was it. Then, three days until our moveout, I noticed AVA's emails kept referencing a "move out" packet. When I talked to the office, it turned out that upon turning in that notification, we were supposed to receive a packet with information, including two inspections upon moving out. We were only able to get one in before moving out. We were still charged for a general move out cleaning fee even though I waived that and deep cleaned the apartment before we moved out. This is just the gist of our experiences in AVA, and we wanted to make everyone aware of them. I understand no place is perfect, but, at the very least, we deserved a safe and healthy environment to live in.

There was a shoot out in this building and the apartment complex did nothing to accommodate residents for the trauma they experienced or the inconveniences they had. They were not allowed to break their lease and still required to pay rent at full price even though many lost friends, family members, and loved ones. This apartment complex shows no human compassion and is only concerned with making profits and I would never live in a place like this again

We have been complaining for months that the air conditioner was on its last legs and were consistently told that they wouldn't replace it as long as some cool air was still coming out. When the AC froze over, the maintenence team defrosted it and swore there was no other issue. The HVAC system died two weeks later. Since they refused to replace the system off-season when it should have been replaced, we have been waiting for 3 weeks with no new system in sight. After two weeks of not even responding to our emails, we finally got another email this morning that they still have no idea when we will get our HVAC will be replaced.

Overall the AVA Van Ness offers some value but when you consider this dated building, unsavory/unsafe community, unsanitary conditions and horrific recent events — I would steer clear and currently can’t wait until my lease ends so I can be out of this place. PROS: - There are quite a few amenities both in-apt. and for the building overall for the price from every unit having a balcony and a decent amount of sq. footage to the tennis court, pool, outdoor/grill space, gym, and Amazon Locker hub for packages. - The location is very accessible with the red line and multiple bus routes on Conn. Ave. CONS: - The community of the building is unpleasant, unsavory, and flat out unsafe at times. As most probably know, there was a mass shooting in April of this year from within the building by a resident on the 5th floor. Apparently prior to the rampage, the shooter who ultimately took his own life in his apartment bathroom was able to amass a stockpile of weapons which went completely unbeknownst to the security cameras, front-desk concierge, maintenance/building staff, and residents. Since then, management has taken little if any steps to address the security problem. Most recently, there was an armed kidnapping that occurred in July. - A good portion of the residents are college students and many are athletes which brings a particular set of issues. On my floor alone, I have seen at least 3 rent arrears notices over the past year or so taped prominently on front doors which can also give a sense of who is renting in this building. - As others have reported, the building has a pest problem. Despite numerous building-wide extermination attempts, there remains bugs creeping in and out of the kitchen areas. No matter how clean you keep things, you will find bugs that appear as they seem to be making their way throughout the ducts of the building. - In addition to the bugs, the trash rooms often overflow with cardboard boxes and items left by departing residents. The laundry rooms are also very unpleasant to use with the machines often times requiring, as a precaution, to be cleaned prior to use. - As referenced in the first point, due to the make-up of the residents, the building does get loud on the weekends. The walls between apartments are also thin and you will inevitably hear your neighbors. Luckily, though not really, the incredibly loud droning of the air conditioning units will help to drown out the noises from your neighbors. - The location of the building is accessible to public transportation but not very convenient. Meaning, Van Ness as a neighborhood does not have many restaurants or shops. In terms of quick and easy access, the grocery and CVS are it. In all, save yourself the hassle and disappointment and move into an actual luxury building if that is what you are looking for. If you think you can tolerate all the above then best of luck do yourself a favor and at least get a renovated unit. After 3 years here, the first half of which were actually decent, the building and community have definitely changed for the worse and I for one can’t wait to leave.