Arris — Local services in Washington

When I scheduled my tour for June 27th, I toured Arris, Guild and Foundry. I was interested in Arris and a floor plan that was listed online as "available" but was told the unit was still occupied and was unable to view it. Instead I saw a 2 bedroom and as was told the lay out was about the same minus the one bedroom. When I asked when the one bedroom would be available I was told sometime in July. When I indicated I was interested, I was told to apply online.

When I got home that evening (June 27th) I decided I wanted to move forward with the apartment. I emailed the leasing agent about next steps and did not hear back.

June 28th I called Arris to ask about when the actual apartment would be available since I needed a move-in date online and was told someone would return my call which never happened.

July 2nd I emailed leasing agent about the apartment asking for the dates I could start the lease and did not hear back.

July 3rd I walked in to Arris leasing office to get the information about the lease start date and was told the apartment was in fact ready for lease but hadn't been cleaned since the last tenants so was currently unable to be viewed. I didn't understand how I could rent an apartment that wasn't ready. They could also not give me a date of when it would be ready but since I was now against the clock on my leasing terms went ahead and applied online.

July 3rd I applied online to start the lease July 18th.

July 10th (7 days after applying online) I had still not heard back from Arris. Since my emails and calls had never gotten me anywhere, I stopped in the office to inquire on its status. I was told that everything was approved and I would receive information on it that afternoon. Again, never received any information.

July 11th, I emailed leasing agent again on the status. Never got a response.

July 12th emailed leasing agent again asking about the status and FINALLY received a response of the move-in statement and saying she would send the welcome letter. She also requested a copy of my pay stubs and photo ID. Since I got the email at 10pm on Friday and was out of town, responded with the information on the morning of July 14th with the documentation.

July 15th I emailed asking about the welcome letter and all the information I still needed to move in and got no response.

July 16th I stopped again into the leasing office to find out the status since my move-in date was within 48 hours and was told there was no one onsite to help me until Thursday. I explained how this was unacceptable and was told they would escalate it and I should hear from leasing agent that evening.

July 16th leasing agent reached out saying she would send the welcome letter and the lease immediately and after a few hours I realized it was again another broken promise. Never received the information.

It is now July 17th, 24 hours from my lease start date and I have neither the welcome letter nor my lease. I have no idea how to set up anything and I have to be out of my current apartment this weekend.

The incompetence of this office is absolutely appalling. If I were able to redo this, I would NEVER have decided on this apartment. If their leasing office is any indication as to how they run the building, I...

First, I must emphasize that the staff was very good and performed their roles with the utmost professionalism and care.

My first and most important criticism: amenities - very poor for a building in such a prime location. Based on the number of amenities and their condition, an amenity fee over $100/year would be unjustifiable. So the waived amenity fee in this case is very much warranted - not just as a limited-time special but as an ongoing practice.

The pool table was in poor condition - the cloth is slow and the bumpers were dead. The only rooftop space was around the pool and was fairly small compared to other rooftops in the area. The pool should be heated and kept open year-round. Additionally, the gym was incredibly small and limited in it's number of equipment. Finally, there is a strange imbalance between the amenity spaces and public spaces.

For example, the lobby is given a huge, expansive, dramatic space (I assume an attempt at to convey grandeur and luxury) but this space, though nice to look at, takes away from the little space that is given to amenities. If the lobby were drastically reduced in size, then the gym of recreational areas might be dramatically reduced. On this note, the leasing office should not be in the resident lounge - it should be near the front entrance not taking up vital amenity space. I should also not the elevator fob sensors are basically broken - but this can be fixed with some due diligence.

Next, the apartment layouts. As I only toured 1B layouts, I cannot speak for all floorplans but I was not impressed with design of the 1B layout I was shown. Having no door separating the bedroom from both the living room and bathroom is not an attractive design by any standard. I'm not entirely sure how such a space can be called a bedroom and not simply a den.

Lastly, the finishes, which do seem to be ubiquitous throughout the building, are outdated and unattractive. The wood finishes on the cabinetry are not a good look (white or grey would be better suited) and the same goes for the dark finishes on the counters and islands. There was also inadequate lighting (and lighting options) in the kitchen and living room spaces.

I really like the location of Arris. The location is, perhaps, it's only attractive feature. The price, however, should be much lower for...

I've toured all but two buildings in Navy Yard and lived in three. Comparatively, Arris just does so many things better.

First and foremost they have a great management team (shoutout Richard and Jennifer). When we were signing our lease we had a really tight turnaround deadline, and both Richard and Jennifer worked on their days off to help us get things finalized. It was awesome. If you've dealt with bad management you know how frustrating that can be, so kudos to them.

Front desk is also always present and helpful, which is not always the case in Navy Yard. It just makes life easier and adds a degree of safety. I can't really speak to maintenance because everything is in pretty good shape, but the one time I needed something they turned it around that day.

As for the apartments, they're well built, well maintained, and smartly designed (I can't stress the smart design part enough). A lot of Navy Yard buildings offer more amenities or rent concessions, but the units almost always have weird layouts, or face noisy streets, or cut corners on little things like appliances, maintenance, or management. Just read the reviews for some of the other buildings and you'll see horror stories about broken elevators, fob systems that can be hacked, homeless people hanging out in lobbies, break-ins, etc.

As for the location, we originally toured Arris because it's in the less chaotic part of Navy Yard, and so far that has remained true. It just feels safer than some of the places immediately surrounding the ballpark or near the highway where homeless people tend to hang out.

The one downside you'll find is that Arris has fewer common spaces than some of the newer buildings, so if that's a priority you may be disappointed. Personally, I've lived in buildings with more amenities and I've found that they're really only good for showing off. So if you want to pay an extra $400 a month to show your friends your plunge pool be my guest. Otherwise you can just join a gym like the rest of us.

All in all we found that Arris is just a smart choice, and if you can't tell I did a crazy (like, spreadsheets-for-months crazy) amount...