I've only been living at Origin a little over 2 months and have to move out next month due to…read moreCOVID. Can't say I'm mad about it though. I should have listened to some of the prior reviews. It's a shame because the apartments really are gorgeous, but if you're going to pay this much for an apartment, go somewhere that management makes you feel like a valued resident. The building is still lower occupancy, and for good reason. Super long review, but hopefully it helps someone out.
Pros:
* stunning apartments - I have the 1bed with balcony and have more storage than I know what to do with, which has never happened to me, especially in DC. My balcony is big enough to lay out and work out on, a nice perk during the COVID situation
* great location - can get to the metro without really going outside and there's a Target opening nearby soon
* mostly great amenities - Amazon & Tide lockers; gym is huge with 2 Peloton bikes, though I wish they had more DBs/KBs though than just increments of 5 pounds; large roof deck/pool with TV cabanas; pet spa is useful, but the water is cold with no temperature control, and the dryer is also cold air, so my poor dog is freezing; rooftop dog park is a great idea but it stinks and they're doing some unannounced work on it
* super quick maintenance
* leasing (especially Blake) and concierge (especially Leslie) generally very nice and helpful, though a couple concierge folks can be snarky at times
Cons:
* dryer is awful. I heard several people complaining about theirs, and even management said they're terrible. Takes about 2 hours to dry a load of t-shirts and I had to research the model on my own to find out these dryers require monthly cleaning that management doesn't tell you about
* false advertising on website lists USB outlets in kitchen & bedrooms, but they don't have those (at least in my unit, which the specific unit page said they did)
* building is still used as a Why Hotel, so you have hotel people using your elevator/amenities (which they do disclose, but doesn't mean it's not annoying). There are 2-3 units on my floor still used as hotel rooms, so maintenance and cleaning are pretty consistently around, which is a huge annoyance and distraction considering we are working from home all the time. My dog has never barked so much in a building due to all the hallway noises
* unit wasn't completely cleaned when I moved in - residue in microwave, dirt/dust/hair in bathroom, previous resident's shower caddies still up (ew), lots of knicks and paint marks on the wood floor, and dryer wasn't cleaned...was only offered an apartment cleaning by the leasing office. No one from management reached out to make sure everything was okay or offer an apology
* I also filled out a welcome survey and mentioned all the above with the request someone get back to me, but they never did
* A/C has broken 4 times in the past month. Maintenance generally fixes it within a few hours depending on the time of day, but this is unacceptable for a newer building
* I can hear my upstairs neighbor walking through the concrete - not just once, like for hours a day at times
* I can also hear my upstairs neighbor's shower. It's literally like a running waterfall noise in my apartment, making my work meetings hard to hear, and management has not tried to address this despite multiple notices and attempts from my end
* Piggybacking off the last 2 bullets, management does not seem to care about complaints. When I first emailed about the noise from my upstairs neighbor, Ekow (associate property manager) wasn't relaying the sound properly to the tenant so it couldn't be addressed. It took A MONTH for this to end up not even getting close to resolved, when it should've been an easy phone call requesting she step lighter or get some rugs. Reached out the property manager, Aaron, who said he would take care of it and look into blueprints for the water noise. I saw him put a calendar reminder for a week later to contact me, but he never did.
* Anytime I email management (whether Ekow or now Aaron), it generally takes a week or longer to get a response. No one ever answers the office phone and they'd asked us not to go into the office, so not sure how we're supposed to get in touch with them. I emailed last week asking about paying my termination fee and it's now been 10 days with no response, including a follow up email 3 days ago. Aaron was very gracious in working with me for the COVID circumstances, but unfortunately everything else from the communication and resident concern perspective has been a huge pain.
I've tried not to be too bothersome, especially because things are crazy with COVID right now, but when it takes a month to attempt to resolve an issue or simply answer a question, that's going to cause me to be impatient. Definitely not worth the high price tag to live here.