Literally the best place I've ever lived…read more I'm a touch annoyed that they're charging an extra $50/month to park in the covered spots. Not because they aren't better, but because they don't have enough parking for the number of units they'll have once they are fully occupied. And, of the open spaces, 2/3 of them are "compact only", and people with full-sized trucks and SUVs arte forced to park in them. There are plenty of spaces now, but in six months when all of the buildings are 95% occupied? Door dings are going to be a thing.

I've lived here for about 11 months, and as we're getting ready to move out, I wanted to leave an…read morehonest review for anyone considering this place. The good: The community itself is genuinely one of the highlights. They host monthly events, and I've met a lot of friendly and respectful residents. The dog-wash station is super convenient, and as a dog owner I appreciated having that available. The grounds are usually kept in decent shape, and communication from the office was generally timely. Maintenance was also consistent in notifying us about any upcoming work, and they always followed through. Also, the cleaning staff deserves a special mention -- they're always kind and do a great job. The area itself is convenient, with the outlets, gym, and gas stations all within walking distance. The not-so-great: The biggest issue during our time here was the constant construction. It's been going on year-round, and early-morning noise has made it almost impossible to sleep in after long work weeks. Parking has been another ongoing struggle due to heavy machinery taking up multiple spots for months at a time. Even though the complex requires DNA swabs for dogs to help with cleanup accountability, there's still a surprising amount of dog waste left around the buildings. As pet owners, it's frustrating and concerning. Door-to-door salespeople also find their way into the building pretty regularly despite the controlled access. We've had multiple people knock on our door trying to sell internet or other services. Safety-wise, I generally feel comfortable walking my dog at night, though there is a homeless encampment in the woods behind the property. It hasn't caused issues for us, but it's worth mentioning for awareness. Final thoughts: Parking: rough. Noise: moderate to high due mainly to continuous construction. Maintenance: solid. Pool/amenities: good. Community: great. Dog waste: an ongoing problem with no real solution in place. Area: convenient, especially for military or anyone who's away from home often and doesn't mind the basics. Not a bad place by any means, but definitely has some things to weigh depending on your lifestyle. P.S. One thing I do want to note: when we moved in, we were told the apartment was "ready," but there were still fleas present. We were told the unit had been cleaned and were initially told it might have come from our dog, but she hadn't been itching at all before moving in. Our move-in date had already been pushed back a week, so it was frustrating to walk into an issue like that. We ended up spending our own money on treatment for our dog and on additional cleaning supplies both before and after the flea bomb was done. Management did place us in the Airbnb-style unit on the same floor during the process, which we appreciated, but ideally this shouldn't have been something we had to deal with during move-in.

Totally love this place, Office staff is always so kind, Maintance always available, girls…read moreactually clean the hallways each week, grounds are beautifully kept up. It's a hidden secret to a beautiful quiet paradise.

I'm shocked that no one has written a review yet! This place is fantastic! Their is always plenty…read moreof parking, no crime or loud noise, it's very peaceful and quiet, has beautiful landscaping, nice facilities, and the best overall apartments I've ever seen! They have a work out center, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, and even a lifeguard on duty while you swim. What impresses me the most about this place is how well they take care of it! They have a landscaping crew (grass, hedging, etc.) that maintains the outside, they have a cleaning crew that comes around and maintains the common areas, and then they are consistently taking care of the building maintenance needs. I once commented to a staff member (who was checking on the building) about how the washing machine coin slot was a little hard to push in. I then went about my business and happened to pass by him in the parking lot approximately 30 minutes later. He then asked me if it was any easier to push in. :) Yeah! They fix things really quick around here! I highly encourage people to check this place out!

Super cool shopping area w plenty of entertainment, restaurants, and hotels…read more Very nice landscaping and water structure. Lively. Parking lot parking. This place is worth a visit, you'll surely find something to spark your interest.

I love going for a stroll here. It is in the middle of the city center shops there is plenty of…read moreparking and even a free parking garage if you look close you will find the water has living fish they look similar to carp and get really big you also see ducks and geese a lot It is very calming and people are kind and considerate as you walk or run I like to go to the local shop and get a smoothie then enjoy my walk They have a cool LOVENN sign celebrating Newport News and they also hold farmers markets and other events throughout the year

Today my mom and I were supposedly served a notice of non-renewal. This letter is a product of…read moreincompetence and a lack of accountability by a corporation that has always cared about the bottom dollar in opposition to residential satisfaction. For over 20 years I have lived in apartments across VA. My mom has 20+ years in addition to me. We have barely even been acquainted with the offices of most apartments in which we've resided, both together and separately, but still maintained amicable enough relations to comfortably coexist with one another. My mom is a hardworking, kind-spirited, loyal, prideful and spiritual woman deserving of all of her flowers. A crooked head manager hiding behind her arrogance and complacent minions in the front office are no testament to my mom's character. We have spent 3 years exhaustively reaching out to resolve residential conflict that we pay INCREASED RENT IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC to have addressed. Instead of conflict resolution or even visiting our unit experiencing problems ongoing, my emails were literally counted (as if emailing residential management about residential conflict/their breaches of lease is a crime) and ignored. The manager gaslit my mental health to a courtesy officer that she sent to my home after ONE single phone call pleading to diffuse neighborly conflict I had withstood for over 2 years prior to finally calling in. The officer literally heard me out and understood where I was coming from, he was kind and attentive to the issues that were still left unresolved by management after he left. To save face, they assured him that they would get to the bottom of everything and continue to fake reviews and sugarcoat testimonials on their website. My current upstairs neighbors were allowed to freely harass my mom with their noise and then send a fire marshall to our home after making a false claim that "she thought our residence was catching fire." We have about 4 smoke alarms, regularly tested, that uttered not a single sound. The aforementioned neighbors have had a problem with the poor insulation I have LONG complained about on a regular basis for 3 years. Now I have a crazed woman fighting my ceiling, surveying my movement and calling the fire department because they can hear the plumbing and the air ducts through the walls. Management has ignored any provisions to their units and any valid criticisms from residence who overpay their meal tickets and for the first time in over 5 decades between my mom and I living in apartments, we are being threatened to leave. We are entitled to our rent refunded for the emotional distress and breach of ordinances that apartment management and residents alike have inflicted upon us considerably during our stay. My grandfather, the finest of gentleman and twice-survived Vietnam veteran who raised me to be a resilient but loving woman, just died on me. I spent every year I've lived here taking care of both my grandparents while my mom worked to take care of us all and still had to deal with the backwash of issues that the apartment management to whom we pay rent should have handled. Do not move here under any circumstance. Your money and your mental health will be siphoned without a second thought. The management is sheer evil.

This place is okay. They absolutely know NOTIHING about rent though. My two biggest issues with…read morethem were over rent. I like that they offer discounts to teachers but I'm not sure that it is worth it given all the problems I had. I had several problems over the two years I was a tenant here. Great area to live in but saftey wise, there are some question marks and the office did virtually nothing about those safety issues. The office staff is typically very nice about the problems but seriously NONE of them understand math or basic service. When I first moved in there were issues with my move in date, the office asked if we could move it by one day, because the carpet cleaners "couldn't make it" the day before I was supposed to move in and they couldn't let me move in until the carpets were cleaned. We agreed said okay that's fine, the next day I got the keys and opened the door to find, the carpet cleaners there. The office did offer a credit for us for that but it wasn't a great alternative as my family and I were there for another two-three days than we expected. I had to continually put in a request to get my windows in my apartment fixed, because they wouldn't open. Maintenance would come in and claim to fix them but never actually did. The office and the complex did not actually make maintenance properly fix them until I pointed out that it was a violation of fire code. Maintenance showed up the next day with the maintenance manager who commented on the fact that the windows not opening was a fire code issue. The major issue of all the issues I had here, was related to rent, and rent renewal. The first year I was there for a rent renewal they had a different system that did not allow you to look up the amount you were going to owe BEFORE the 1st of the month. Rent was due strictly on the 3rd of the month. I knew I would be out of town on the 1st so I went into the office to get the rent number BEFORE I left town. This was 2 WEEKS before rent was due. Once the beginning of the month came around, I was out of the state, and received a late rent notice. They caused a major issue and the office blamed it on ME, this also meant they hit my credit as a renter as well as a late rent fee, when it was their office staff who could not give me the correct number for rent. I had to speak to the property manager to get everything sorted because the office ladies were not wiling to remove the late rent fee or to remove the hit to my creditability as a renter. Keep in mind they had the check for over 2 WEEKS BEFORE this situation even happened. They could have checked it and chose not too. What's even better, they did all of this and caused such an issue over a $5 difference in rent. Then tried to play off this experience when I went in the following year for another rent renewal. The next time I had to go in for rent renewal, They had a new rent renewal date. the previous year, rent renewals went into affect on the 1st of July. This year they told me "Oh not we didn't do that last year and it doesn't go into affect until your move in date." I was told I would have a prorated amount because they did not have July 31st as an official move-in date on their property. If you see from my previous statement, that date occurred because of THIER mistake with the carpet. The math for this was not adding up but the ladies in the office walked me through it several times. When I finally paid the prorate amount and the rent renewal amount, I revied the prorated amount back from the office. I went in to ask about it and a different person in the office stated, "well we don't prorate for anyone so I am not sure who told you this". When I gave them the name of the person who told me it would be prorated, they said, "well she was recently promoted and if she told you we prorate then I guess she is right." I gave up and cashed the the check and moved on. I moved out about 6 months later.

My move to Norfolk was my first big move on my own and I didn't realize how stressful it could be…read moreuntil I started it. Thankfully, dealing with the staff at the Element was a relief and helped ease some of that stress. Due to circumstances, I had to get my apartment sight unseen, but Harley was very helpful and quick to respond to emails regarding any questions I had. Not only that but the staff seemed genuinely excited to have me there. I showed up to Norfolk without a bed, so getting one was my first priority. When I brought one back it was beginning to rain, my roommate wasn't around, and I saw no other tenants to help me get it up to my apartment. Luckily Janice was there and she went out of her way to help me. She assisted me in getting both the mattress and the box spring off of my car and up to my room. I believe she went above and beyond in helping me during this stressful time. The building itself is very clean and is well taken care of. It's located near a large shopping mall, and is within walking distance of plenty of places to eat and explore. There is a grocery store in the neighborhood, as well as a couple of schools, and a large gym. The Element offers it's own 24 hour exercise room that has free weights, a couple of treadmills, ellipticals, a cable machine, and some other various exercise equipment which just adds to the convenience. There is a pool, and plenty of grills to use in the summer, too. The staff does an amazing job of fostering a welcoming atmosphere by holding social events throughout the month as a way to bring people together. This can be especially nice if you're new to the area and don't know a lot of people. I would highly recommend the Element at Ghent to anyone, especially those in the military as they are quite understanding of the situations that line of work can bring. The staff is very personable and a pleasure to work with!

We are so thankful for the great hospitality during our time at the Element. Everyone was so…read morethoughtful and overly satisfied our needs. Such a great community to be apart of.

Friendly staff, great space and quiet neighborhood The…read moremove in process was fast and I love that they let me see into my townhouse before I moved in.

Needed an apartment ASAP and the young mill start went above and beyond to accommodate to me and my…read moreneeds. They understood what I was looking for and were able to get me approved same day! Honored all promotions that were listed on apartments.com. Highly recommend for the something efficient, affordable and nice!

This place is amazing! No wonder there is barely any turnover! 2 blocks from beach and in the…read morebeautiful historical district! I am blessed to live in such a serene and beautiful place! I don't see myself leaving for quite some time!!!!

This place is just as horrible as the lying regional(s) and so on. They make maintenance cover up…read moreall their "bs" then blame maintenance as being incompetent. This place is infested with uncontrollable mold, and pest. The residents are lied to daily. The regional manager James aka JR is not a straight shooter. He duck and hide from residents then tell his bosses lies. Also of you have a run in with the maintenance facilities manager Anna hamiton, she is rude unprofessional, and she act this way because of her connections with what is considered the higher up she's allowed to date her own employees, their work directly under her. She is not capable of doing much outside of changing lightbulbs and battery changes. So many of her attempted work orders are not correct and result in backs or she'll reassign back to others. I have so much more to say, but I'm gonna leave on this note. THIS PROPERTY HAS BEEN OVERCHARGING RESIDENCE FOR WATER FOR A KNOWN SITUATION SINCE OCTOBER THERE'S A BUILDING LEAK IN FRONT OF 414 AND 416 THAT IS DOMESTIC WATER FROM THE CITY. THEY ARE REFUSING TO FIX IT. THEY KEEP TALKING ABOUT THEY'RE GETTING BIDS WHICH IS TRUE, HOWEVER, IS CAUSING RESIDENCE DOUBLE SOMETIME TRIPLE WATER BILLS, WHICH SHOULD BE ALL CHARGED BACK TO THEIR ACCOUNT ACCOUNTS BECAUSE IT IS ON THE PROPERTIES END. I have text messages and photos to prove. This just the start. I'm sure it will be removed but it's only gonna make it worse. Because I will go to L5 owership group next. (Pending legal actio)

This place should be your last resort…read more Living here has been a constant source of frustration. You're charged for pest control, but there's no sign it's actually being done. I've had to handle all treatments myself. In two years, no one has changed my air filter even once. The sidewalks and parking areas are not ADA accessible, and the pet waste bins are cleaned maybe once a year, despite being fully exposed to the elements. They frequently do not provide 72 hours advanced notice prior to entering your unit, this has happened numerous times while they have tried to get their internet services up and running over the last year. The parking lot frequently floods during storm events. Sometimes the water will reach the bottom of the vehicles. The exit of the complex also floods, preventing entry or exit for some vehicles. They've partnered with a predatory towing company and falsely claimed residents would be notified before their vehicles are towed. That's simply not true. Communication is terrible. They rarely answer the phones, and maintenance requests are often ignored. You'll likely need to submit multiple tickets or wait months for even basic issues to be addressed, and the repairs are hideous. Be prepared to take leave/vacation hours from work to *try* to catch someone in the office. And be prepared to do that multiple times before an issue is addressed. Save yourself the stress and look elsewhere. This complex is not a good value at all.

I can't say enough good things about living at the Pearl. It feels like being in a luxury resort,…read moresurrounded by the nicest humans and their pups! I loved my 4th floor corner front side apartment - sunsets from my couch and sunrises from my balcony can't be beat. Pro tip: rent a garage so you can charge your Tesla from your private parking spot :)

Also, there is NO smoking here, no "element", no noise, strict income requirement, no vouchers, no…read moreone loitering in the parking lot, you can hear a pin drop Monday-Sunday night, very safe, everyone looking out for each other.

If you live here and have a Hyundai/kia, your car WILL BE BROKEN INTO AND STOLEN. Management does…read moreNOTHING to inform residents of this, they keep it quiet. I had my Hyundai in the parking lot for only THREE. DAYS. before it was stolen. I informed all other Hyundai owners I saw about this, and ALL OF THEM HAD THEIR CARS BROKEN INTO OR STOLEN. EVERY SINGLE ONE. WHAT? Management does NOT send out any emails about this warning residents. Here's my window on the ground of the parking lot, right where my car should be. I wouldn't have left a scathing review if they cared, but they truly do not.

The area is amazing. Shopping, restaurants, parks - all great!…read more Downsides: 1) The apartments with cracks in the walls and floors. Management says nothing to do about it, this is the cheap material of the building. 2) Trash, furniture and "storage stuff" are outside apartments. Nobody cares. 3) Damaged lights in the corridors wouldn't replaced because nobody cares. 4) Every single day at the entrance the alarm goes off. Management says it's a security's responsibility, the security wouldn't come even after they get a call because: "we already did our checks". When they do come and silence the alarm, it goes off again couple hours after it. 5) Management put signs and sent emails to require everybody wear masks, but their own staff are without masks or with mask under the chin.