The Prime at Arlington Courthouse Apartments — Local services in Arlington

UPDATE: Our rent was jacked up another 10%, so for two years our rent has been increased 25%. I get it if there something they have done to earn it but nope. Stay far far away.

We all have to remember they lost a lawsuit in DC for artificially raising the prices which are now being thrown on to us to the recoup money they lost. There are multiple new beautiful buildings which they are using as comps that are extremely expensive. These new buildings are the best of Arlington, The Prime is not. The elevators and hallways are still constantly filled with construction material that your pet may eat and get sick or worse die. BEWARE of THE FALSE 5 REVIEWS. If you love the noise of construction then come live at the Prime. They are renovating when a tenant moves out. This will take years upon years. The actual renovated apartment which costs drastically more just uses different color builder grade materials. They charge for a renovated all ready run down gym. They like to sport the outside seating but it actually belongs to Arlington County. Long term residents get nothing in return but fees on more fees. The front end leasing will leave out most of what I said.

Update: After getting hit with multiple 4-5% increases in rent, they asked if we wanted to move into a renovated apartment. They would provide zero help with the moving costs. Since we turned it down, guess what! They hit us with a 12% increase in rent. Coincidence? Another tip - Don’t get the apartment with floor to ceiling windows or you will be paying a $400 electric bill with blackout curtains. The windows are cheap and look’s like they have never been replaced or even resealed to keep the heat/cold out.

As much as I appreciate the response. The front office really can’t do anything but show you an apartment or let you in if you are locked out. They now give a random number to haggle with a person about rent increases. This person will not budge at all, so what is the point. The problem is the cost. In three years our apartment went from $3150 to over $4000. Now it’s going to cost another 6k just to move out. The Prime charges the Commodore prices but without any amenities or real luxury. They prey on recent graduates hoping they will stay when they jack the price up. Tally up how much our 2 bedroom costs before you take the plunge. Apartment - 4000 Car Spot - 290 Electric bill due to poor insulated windows - 400 They added a technology fee so the residents would pay for there new locks - 25 You HAVE to pay for the AC in the building - 25 Now let’s look at the Meridan, which is right next door. It’s cheaper and nicer across the board. They have a whole outside for grills, playing outside games, a POOL, a PATIO. I know this sounds like a jaded resident, but I am not. I’ve actually lived here for years. The price gouging has become extreme for the little value you get. One last warning…Do Not live on the P floor. Everyone will be able to look in your apartment, plus you get the luxury of hearing the outside door slam each time someone takes there dog out or a weight gets dropped. Anyone thinking about The Prime needs to read this. They will jack your rent up a ton each year. If you choose floor to ceiling windows, you will have a $400 electric bill. The windows are beyond repair. You can feel the cold/heat coming in. It took six months for us to get a new dishwasher. They installed number door locks which they now charge us for, tech fee lol They now charge us for the air conditioning in the building which sometimes works in the gym. The construction has been on going for years and will continue for years to come. There are zero outside amenities. We have had two incidents where someone came in and broke into the bicycle area and literally stole everything. Now people are coming in and stealing tires off cars in the parking garage. You will be locked into Comcast internet which...

Run away. A quick google search will show you that the management company Equity Residential has been investigated by State Attorneys General and sued across multiple state for predatory practices. I have lived in large high rise buildings for over a decade, and have never once had issues like I had here. I've never had anything deducted from a deposit before (not once! i take care of the places I live in), and I've never had a leasing office that was so clearly trying to stick it to tenants.

They will nickel and dime you for absurd charges - pest control, common space utilities, garbage disposal, "tech fees", admin fees, etc. Take whatever your "rent" and expect to pay hundreds more on top of it for random fees. For the amount that you pay, you would expect better amenities but the parking garage is a disaster (it's never clear which spaces are reserved and which ones are not, because they use inconsistent signs and markings), there is no pool or other nice lounge amenities, the front desk staff (great people and really nice) tend to leave early in the evenings, and the leasing office is often contradictory, irrational, or downright rude. The building will gouge you at every turn.

Not only that, but they've been doing extensive renovations for over two years now and the loud constructive noise is insanely disruptive. When we moved into the unit, there was construction dust and grime everywhere, the blinds were filthy, and the microwave spewed dirt and tried paint. Every fall and winter, there was extensive mold along the windows. We submitted several tickets and it was never addressed, and the maintenance team on numerous occasions just wanted to paint over it. One of the doors was broken and consistently stuck (which was a nightmare to have a loud noisy door for the newborn's room!), and the maintenance team came in with a crowbar to try to "loosen" the door. Now those markings and scuffs and filthy blinds are being deducted from our deposit, even though they were caused by the staff.

It should have been a red flag when we tried to sign the lease and at the eleventh hour they informed us that a promo no longer existed and they were going to tack on the application fee they previously told me was waived. When you move out, they will charge you for everything and anything (in clear violation of Virginia regs for what is reasonable wear and tear and what is not). If you do not give "sufficient notice", they will gouge you for thousands of dollars for a new rent price (you signed away your right to negotiate) and for insufficient notice (which was never an issue with other major cities and is clearly within the discretion of the...

Pro: safe area, near courthouse metro (4 min walk), nice gym, clean indoor common areas, hardwood and tile floors in apartments, and no dog weight limit. View of the Washington monument from the courtyard deck, sufficient garage parking spaces.

Con: very thin walls and ceilings- you will hear everything happening above you (even if your neighbor drops a pen you will hear it) and next to you; landscaping is in poor shape and not just because of people’s dogs- there are large areas of dead trees and branches that are falling hazards. The deck courtyard amenity you are paying for is actually considered public space- it is not gated and falls under Arlington Park rules so they have little to no ability to enforce any rules there that do not fall under an Arlington park and as it is public space non residents make use of it (which nothing wrong with that except they list it as notable in their amenities listing, really the only “private” amenity out there are the grills). Also occasionally homeless people are lounging there. The courtyard is really no place for kids to hangout and play as the number of dogs using it as a bathroom area makes it very unsanitary for children.

Back to noise- insulation is so poor that you can hear someone’s private conversation in their apartment clearly in the hallway when you walk by their door. Inside your apartment you can also hear someone talking in the hallway and whenever someone closes their front door it rattles all the doors in that hallway since the doors are poorly hung. If you are on the Plaza floor, music and dropped weights from the gym can be heard in apartments (and sometimes felt when someone drops a really heavy weight). There have been occasional break ins/theft in the garages in the bike racks.

Overall: there are worse places but for what you are spending there should be better noise insulation and better amenities (you really only get a business center, gym, and grills).

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