I lived in the Residences at the John Marshall for two years -- from early 2018 until the beginning of 2020. Like most housing situations, at any given time, this review would've fluctuated between a solid 1-star and sometimes as high as a 4. Probably not a 5.
If you take nothing else away from this: just know, it was a generally comfortable unit, but external factors in the second year sometimes made it intolerable.
It looks like a not-recommended review here also mentions one of those main factors: the dang nightclub that opened across the street. Thursday to Sunday night from 10 pm to 2 am, even though I lived several floors up and on the side of the building not facing the club, the bass would straight up shake my apartment. And at 2 am, police lights would often light up my space as kids trickled out onto the street. It was not ideal, but very much also a nuisance to property management and out of their control.
What was in their control was my direct neighbor. Also in my second year, a horrifically loud guy moved in next door who loved being super noisy between 1 and 5 am on work nights. Management response was pretty poor at first; eventually he was moved away from me though..after several months of me complaining and then him harassing me on social media under a fake name for filing the complaints. One positive of the building is that they do have an on-site security attendant for noise complaints -- so stuff like that is reported fairly easily. The follow through when it becomes a chronic issue is where it can become messy.
Other key things to note:
- They do not offer on-site parking. It's right downtown, so you need to select from one of the paid garages if you have a car. I paid $85 for a roof spot in the creepy garage across the street that didn't have an elevator.
- Studios are small. At 385 sq ft, with a cat, after two years it can start to feel claustrophobic even if you are a minimalist.
- It's expensive for what it is. Over $1K for my studio and not all-inclusive like some others downtown as one of the cheapest options. You pay extra for a washer in your unit. I instead paid per load for the community laundry downstairs, which was tedious. Often I had to wait for machines to become available, and I had to wait for my clothes to clean/dry, so no one would touch them.
- Trash chute was almost ALWAYS clogged. Other tenants also often left their trash sitting in the trash room when that would happen, which wasn't allowed.
- The gym is really nice. No need to have a membership elsewhere.
- There are weddings here all. The. Time. Get used to walking through the lower level/crashing bridal party photos.
- Homemades by Suzanne is a lunch option right in the building. So delicious and helpful on sick days!
- Management is responsive to emails, even on weekends.
- Maintenance is great. I hardly had any issues at all, but when I did, they were on it.
- They have a book exchange in the mail room. I was a frequent flyer.
- Some of the folks living here have been for a while. They have a resident Facebook group. But be positive on it or management will delete your post.
- I almost stepped in dog pee in the lobby more than once (see above about management deleting posts in the FB group). But the lobby is otherwise stunning! One of the best features for sure. Super cool history as well. How neat to say you've lived in a place where so many key figures in history have slept?
All in all - if you have the money, want to live downtown, don't need a pool, can sleep through whatever, and want a unit with minimal maintenance issues - this could be your place.
It's hard to put a rating on a living situation since we're all different and we all have varying tolerance levels. I waited several months before reviewing, but looking back, despite the issues, it was a decently nice place to live for the specific chapter in my life. read more