The Collective DC — Local services in Washington

Juan and Oscar are truly the best members of maintenance of whom I have had the pleasure of working with ever. I’ve had various issues in the past, and Oscar and Juan consistently go above and beyond in their professionalism and customer service. The Collective is truly lucky to have them on staff.

Feb. 2025 Update: I am updating this review to add a review for James, who recently started as a concierge at The Collective. As many at The Collective, James displays a professionalism and kindness that only further enhances the joy of living in this great building. Not only is James conscientious to residents’ specific needs, but goes above and beyond in helping out in all matters. James has helped me on several occasions with a large number of boxes that have come at once, and I’ve always been so grateful. As I noted above, it’s staff members like James that make the community here so unique.

Additionally, I’d like to highlight Adam, who is the director of events and amenities at the complex. Adam runs all amenities in such a pristine and careful manner as to engage the entire community here. I rented here specifically because of the gym and pools, and honestly can say, I’ve never been disappointed with my daily experience using them. The residential experience here owes so much to Adam’s leadership vision, and I feel thankful the building has his talents.

June 2025 update: I want to update this review to further highlight the incredible staff here at The Collective—staff who will keep me a loyal resident for years to come. First, Malek, who fills a number of instrumental roles here, is nothing short of spectacular. Malek has helped me on countless occasions with tasks ranging from urgent to routine. And through all, Malek is one of the kindest, most patient people I have met. The building is lucky to have his talents.

Equally, Ryan, who works in the leasing office is superb. Ryan is incredibly conscientious and patient to ensure all residents’ needs are met. I had a relatively urgent lock-out request, and Ryan stopped everything he was doing on a busy Sunday to help me out.

Ultimately, I believe an apartment’s quality is measured by the community feel, and because of the outstanding employees at The Collective, I will forever feel...

I’ve never posted an apartment review before, but I’ve lived here for over 14 months and feel obliged to warn others of the potential pitfalls of living at Park Chelsea. While the amenities and leasing office are good, management and the revolving door of a concierge team leave much to be desired. Three incidents that ruined my experience here:

A concierge accidentally threw away my keys (seriously). I had come home from work after having left the keys with the front desk so my cleaners could enter while I was gone, and my keys were nowhere to be found. The concierge first tried to blame the cleaners, then said ‘they have tapes’. Long story short, after zero follow-up from either management or the concierge team over the course of three days (despite my numerous phone calls and emails), I eventually go back to the concierge desk to be told that they found my keys in the trash and that they were accidentally thrown away by the concierge, who had put them in an envelope and then tossed them. Ultimately, the only thing worse than throwing away the keys was the abysmal follow-up. Management was totally unresponsive, let alone proactive.

My parents came to visit and paid for one of the building’s ‘guest suites’ to stay in. They were supposed to be able to check in during the afternoon, like 2-3pm. After a day out and about in DC, we come back after 7pm, pick up the keys, and find someone else’s stuff still in the suite. After much back and forth with the concierge, they eventually (it’s a weekend) get the place cleaned late at night; meanwhile my parents end up spending the night in my unit. Again there was zero apology from management, or I don’t know, maybe a refund for the night my parents couldn’t actually use the suite they paid (in advance) for?

I had an ant infestation and the response was incredibly slow. I submitted a maintenance request on a Friday through the property management app, and get no response. Finally on Monday I resubmit the request (with the ants by then having made themselves well at home), only to be told that pest control will be there the following (!) Tuesday. Completely unacceptable for a pest situation.

I can’t wait to move out. Hopefully others either avoid this property or have a much better...

I accepted a job in DC and didn't have time to preview apartments in person, so my entire search was conducted on the web. I spent at least two weeks looking at various options, and quickly narrowed down my choices to a few highly-rated buildings, including The Collective. I connected with Arlen and emailed a few questions, which he answered immediately-- sometimes within minutes. This was in contrast to the other complex I attempted to contact, which literally still has never returned a single one of my repeated calls nor answered any emails. Throughout the leasing process, Arlen was outstanding, and went above and beyond what I've ever experienced in customer service, anywhere. The complex itself is beautiful, with an indoor and outdoor pool, steam room, two workout rooms, massage chairs in private rooms, tons of meeting and gathering spaces, and some of the nicest service people I've ever come across. The unit itself was a micro-studio, which included a pull-out bed with mattress which converts to a couch when not in use; and a table with several chairs. All I needed to bring was linens and clothes, no furniture at all. The sound insulation was outstanding-- I never heard my neighbors, ever.

I have only two complaints. One is that I could smell meat cooking primarily on weekends, and I'm vegan. Not sure if it was my neighbors or my unit was connected to some kind of central ventilation system that was channeling scents from the first-floor Whole Foods, which is a wonderful convenience. The last complaint is about my lease renewal. I leased the "micro-studio" for three months to make sure I liked DC, the job, and the apartment. I paid a premium for the short-term lease, $2550/mo, which is expensive but I understand that shorter leases will cost more. After my first month, I received a letter offering a one-year lease "with no increase" from the $2550-- that's right, I could extend for a year, but at the short-term premium expense! I literally thought there was a typo in the letter, since you can lease the same apartment for a year for much less ($1970, I believe). I called to inquire, and-- not a typo. But, none of this was Arlen's fault, and it doesn't detract from my love of the complex and the unit.

You won't regret leasing at...