My sister and I moved in to Crescent Tower just over a year ago despite some of the terrifying reviews I read about the building. For the first six months or so, there were definitely a lot of problems--the AC, like another reviewer mentioned, malfunctioned repeatedly for the entire summer and one or the other elevator was out about half the time. Then, in the beginning of the year, the building transitioned management companies from GHA (NEVER move into a building managed by this company) to a well-established firm. Since then, maintenance issues have been resolved more quickly and building-wide problems, like the old risers, are being addressed. The property manager is very responsive to residents. Overall, it's a great place to live. Close to 14th St., restaurants, and grocery stores, but still quiet. Street parking is relatively easy if you don't luck into a spot in the garage or the lot. There's a highly-rated vet less than half a mile away. It's about a 10-15 minute walk to either the green or orange-blue-silver metro lines, as well. The residents are friendly, and the rooftop pool is beautiful! I expect the maintenance issues to only improve over the next year or so. read more

epilogue: as of this morning [Aug 9, 2022], AC is apparently blowing hot air again. Based on emails from the old distro, the maintenance issues, particularly water and AC, have continued unabated over the last few years. Lest you get the impression otherwise, and for whatever it's worth, figured this post was worth an update. :) read more

Can't beat the location, pool and views! Older buildings do tend to have more maintenance issues but new management and recent renovations have really brought this place back to life in recent years. read more

I am a long time owner (about 12 years now) and you could assume I am biased, but I lived in the building myself for some time and have been renting it out since so I have enough information to make a judgment call. Honestly, the location simply can't be beat: it's half a block from the 14th street corridor while still being on a quaint and quiet street facing gorgeous churches and architecture. The pool area is gorgeous with amazing views, and the building has all the basics like a small gym, parking, concierge etc. Yes the building is older than some (built in 1964) and has had its share of maintenance issues, but most of them piled up in the summer of 2017 which have caused a lot of these bad reviews; the old property management company was fired after it and I must say, the new property management and the board have been doing a good job since. Issues have been addressed, reserves have increased significantly, and the board is now in a position to tackle some big and small projects such as replacing more of the building equipment, sprucing up the gym etc. Overall, my experience has been great, and I can see how if you can't be inconvenienced, 2017 must have been a bad year, but I don't think some of the reviews are justified. read more

The only positive part of this building is the Amazing location. Otherwise, the condo association and management company do not do anything for the renters of the building. The building is pretty old so there are constant emergency water outages, and they are finally fixing the pool since it was not open in summer, which means alot of construction is going on. elevators are out of service often. the office manager is nice and the people who live there are young. if u live here, make sure to get cheap rent and each apartment is different, so updated apartments are always a plus. read more

I was a renter in this (wonderful location) terrible building for several years. If you are looking to rent or god forbid buy in this building...run, run far far away. The positive things about 1239 Vermont Ave. are the location, the pool and some of the people that live there. The negatives (in nor particular order) are the board that runs the building, the god awful building management, the termites that have infested the building, the mice, the hoarder that lives in the building, the constant elevator problems, the constant AC problems, the constant water temperature problems, the garage that is always flooded, security issues, the marijuana smell, the leaks that ruin people's apartments, and the lack of overall organization to properly run/maintain an older building in the DC area. There are some great people that own and rent in 1239, but please please do not buy or rent in here. The pool and location are not enough to deal with this mismanaged and poorly maintained building. read more

I have lived in Crescent Tower for almost 12 years. This is an older building and has some issues, but many have been addressed, others are in the works. The a/c was replaced this year and many leaks addressed. The pool is gorgeous and the building has one of the best views I've ever seen. Perfect location for checking out everything on 14th street and a block off so we get none of the traffic noise. read more

I bought a condo here in November 2019 and so far, I'm very happy with this purchase. The Few maintenance issues that have come up were quickly and effectively resolved. The new management company and the building manager are very responsive and friendly. The building is clean and attractive, and the residents seem to be friendly and responsible neighbors. The location is prime. I'm looking forward to enjoying the pool and rooftop deck this summer. read more

Great location and great building. It's slightly older, so there is the occasional maintenance job in the building, but people used to living in a city will not find anything out of the ordinary. I can't hear my neighbors; the neighborhood is the best in the city; and it super convenient for work. Love this place! read more

Some of the board members and owners would love everyone to believe the "under new management" story to convince prospective buyers to look the other way and ignore the endless problems in this building. Nevertheless, this building continues to be a nightmare for the people who live here. Floods, leaks, inoperable air conditioning, water outages, burglaries, mysterious odors, hallway urination, years of grossly ineffective maintenance, on and on. It's just exhausting. read more

I've owned and lived here for five years, and I love it. It's a great area, and the folks in the building have been fantastic neighbors. When we purchased in 2008, sure, the management was a wreck. Since then, there have been great improvements. Material improvements are slowly being made, and the current management and board really seems to have their act together. I'll complain about the condo fees. They're very high. But, it now appears that they're going towards real improvements, so I pay them with only minimal grumbling. All in all, it's been a good investment and a great place to live. read more

I lived at Crescent Towers back in 2006 - 2007. The bulding itself is your typical DC hodge-podge apartments. These are old converted dorms. The halls and trash rooms smell like poison. The elevators are slow. The AC doesn't work. The gym is a joke and the pool hadn't been filled (or unlocked) in about three years. My apartment had, inexplicably, white marble floors throughout. It also had a sliding door installed in liu of a window and a second bedroom so small that we had to take the doors off of the closet so that a bed could fit in the room. It also caught on fire once, had two floods that caved in our ceiling, and had water that turned orange for about a week. So why the two stars? The other bedroom was huge and pretty nice AND it was dirt cheap. You get what you pay for. We could have sued them/broken lease over the pool, but we were cool about it. Good neighborhood too; a touch sketchy because of the two homeless shelters, but lots of good places to eat/hardware/drugstore/drycleaning/Whole Foods right next door. read more

Crescent Tower is a great building to live in. I've owned my unit for over 2 years and have enjoyed every bit of it. The building itself is very charming and the location can't be beat!! Owners and renters have all been warm and friendly, creating a positive living environment. I originally wasn't looking for a building with a pool but having it has changed my mind - I love having the pool and rooftop area. I highly recommend living at Crescent Tower! read more

I bought a condo in the Crescent Towers about a year ago. I wish I had done more research because the building is horrible. Endless problems, ineffective board, incompetent management company. The roof leaks, individual units flood or have ceiling and wall damage from leaks above, hot water and air conditioning stop working for days, elevators malfunction, cars parked in the basement garage are broken into several times per month, odors and gas smells permeate the condos. Major repairs will require costly assessments on top of our already excessive condo fees. The condo board ignores the owners and is completely ineffective at addressing these problems. Living here is a nightmare. read more

I've owned a condo in this building since Feb. 2013. Although the building is on the older side and has some issues associated with the same, I have found the location unbeatable and the community of neighbors fun and supportive. It's worth mentioning that the new management company (as of Feb. 2019) has been exceptional and alleviated many of the issues discussed on this chain. The newly constituted board has also done a very good job of addressing current issues and preparing for possible future ones. In short, it's a great place to live for someone looking for easy access to 14th street, Chinatown, Downtown, Shaw, etc. and the rooftop pool in the summer is a total game changer! read more

Yet another fire burned out a condo unit here in the wee hours of March 20, 2011. This is a converted Howard University girls' dormitory. The majority of the very poor quality single pane aluminum windows were never replaced, and they are now falling apart. Stay away! read more

Great place to live, conveniently located to all the main attractions. Wonderful community of people. I just moved here and I'm looking forward to seeing all of DC. read more

I've owned a unit in the building since 2010. As other reviewers have said, the building has had its share of problems - as would most older buildings in an urban area. I'll admit, some of those problems, combined with the high condo fees, made me wonder at first if buying my unit was the right decision. However, the association has put a lot of money into repairs over the last 5-7 years and the current board is working to continue to make improvements. The association now keeps the walls freshly painted and is replacing the carpet in the common areas, the gym has new equipment, we're making progress on some of the big upgrades/repairs around the building, and there's nice furniture on the rooftop patio. There aren't many kids in the building, so the pool usually just has a handful of adults reading or talking quietly and it's a great place to relax on a hot DC summer day. The location is fantastic - walking distance to all metro lines and a number of the best restaurants in the city, and I love my unit. All of those positives definitely outweigh the negatives and I have no regrets about buying in the building. read more

I've lived here for over a year now. Unbeatable location, stunning new rooftop/pool, quiet building with pleasant neighbors, and a very active and responsive condo board. Love it here! read more

I'm sorry that I decided to buy a condo in this building a few years ago because it has been nothing but problems. Great location, but the building is awful. Owners constantly get emails from other owners about burglaries, leaks, damaged ceilings or floors, broken this or that, plumbing outages, air conditioning outages, an odor that smells like gas leaking through the walls and no one can figure out. The parking garage in the basement has been broken into so many times that people just leave their car doors unlocked. But they're not really "break ins." Thieves just walk in past completely ineffective security systems that the management company and board can't figure out how to fix. Apparently, one thief even defecated on the floor as he was robbing our cars. It's like adding insult to injury. Just over a week ago thieves stole the building's FedEx and UPS packages when they walked through the front door's broken swipe lock and bypassed the so-called security systems, which apparently were inoperable because the management company wasn't testing or repairing them. A lot of these problems happen because the management company is run by amateurs who criticize the residents instead of finding solutions. I would love to sell, but I expect to lose all my equity and I would feel guilty about passing these endless problems to some unsuspecting buyer. read more