New property management is needed. Brookfield Properties has failed to correct building safety and access issues since leasing started in 2019. read more

I was looking for an apartment in the Ballston area in March/April. I had scheduled a tour online. I was running a few minutes behind so I attempted to call to ensure I could still tour the building. No answer. So I showed up about 10 minutes late to see if it was still a possibility. Spoke to the concierge who informed me that there were no other appointments for the day so I would be able to tour. As I was filling out the introduction form, the concierge completely dismissed a tenants concern in front of me. I waited another 10 minutes. The sales rep then called to let the concierge know she would not see me because I was late and she was going to go home for the day since I was the last appointment. I took the introduction form with me. The concierge staff was very rude and stated that I would need to set another appointment since I was not timely. I told her I wasn't appreciative of their customer service and would not be back. If you're acting this way to prospective customers/tenants, how're you treating the people who hold a contract with you? I understand if you have a full tour load for the day, i can schedule another appointment but handle it appropriately. Lastly, i am thankful I was able to see how they interact with actual tenants. With the amount of money these apartments are charging, the management should be top tier. read more

You have the rudest downstair staff. I just had the front door man shout at me and he wouldn't stop even though I was very polite back. It was also kind of discriminatory (if i didn't look the way I do, i highly doubt he would have been so rude to me). I never leave google reviews, but I was so taken aback and disturbed by this interaction - that I went out of my way to write this. I really hope you do investigate this incident. read more

Hi Yelp Community! We just moved into the Origin building and could not be HAPPIER!! If you look at all the apartments in the area- this building does not even compare. The Origin is by far the nicest apartment complex in the surrounding area based on both the lavish amenities and the beautiful apartment finishes. Additionally, we've had an extremely positive experience with the management team. Sidney, one of the property leasing managers, has helped us from the moment we toured the place. Anytime we need something he is very responsive, friendly and informative...SIDNEY YOU'RE THE BEST!! The lobby concierges Marvin (am) and Vernella (pm) are also very helpful and enjoyable to converse with. Marvin always provides a solution with any request I have and Vernella always provides me with my daily dose of laughter! They are both a wonderful addition to the building! Finally, all the residents we've met thus far in the building have been very friendly and kind! Like I said, we couldn't be happier and are already planning on signing another year once our lease is up. Origin and team-you're nailing it! read more

The water heater in my unit doesn't provide hot water for longer than 10-12 minutes at a time, which means showering is a timed task. I have submitted 9 maintenance requests, they fix something, and nothing changes for the duration of the hot water. I have lived in much older buildings and never had this issue. The property manager said that, if I wanted to take "really long showers" that was just not going to happen, and that the water runs at 84 degrees until minute 19 so that was acceptable (hmm 84 degrees is not hot for water, google it). To cap all this, maintenance let themselves into my apartment today without giving me any notification that they would. The property manager called and left a voicemail AFTER they let themselves inside my apartment while I was taking a nap naked in the bedroom. Run as fast as you can from here, save yourself from violations of your privacy and full gaslighting from the property manager (because apparently wanting hot water for 20 minutes to shower is unrealistic and it's me being extra). read more

***Update as of 1/11/20*** After a lot of turn over in management and the hotel on its way out the community is living up to its high price tag. The new property manager Aaron has truly developed a team that cares about its residents and are dedicated to success of the property. The only reason why they are not a 5 star property comes down to the fact that there is hotel in the building. Having a hotel in the building has lead to overcrowding in the parking garage ( at times no leaving no spots that residents pay $145/mo for), over use of common areas (lounge, gym, etc), guest wandering around, unattended children causing a disturbance, and overall disregard for residents. I have high hopes that as the hotel is phased out there is will be many happy residents posting 5 star reviews. read more

Unfortunately, I can't recommend this place to live. The management and leasing are disingenuous and unprofessional. They say one thing and do another, very odd for such a seemingly nice building. In times like these, find a place you can trust and rely on. Avoid Lesley. The front desk staff/concierge deal with a lot and are very nice. The units are well-designed. Elevator is a complete nightmare...only one seems to ever work at any given time. read more

Leasing experience was an absolute nightmare. This was hands down the worst apartment shopping experience I have ever had. The building and amenities are beautiful but we often could not get a straight answer resulting in a lot of unnecessary back and forth. We ultimately decided to lease elsewhere due to this and management being totally unwilling to work with us. How is the building at 70% occupancy and out of unreserved parking? We were consistently reassured that we could park monthly at the Ballston mall during the tour and application process. I eventually spoke with parking management at the mall and was told that this is NOT the case and your vehicle cannot be left for over 72 hours. This leaves you on the hook for $250/spot per month at Origin. If you're considering applying, beware that management calls your security deposit an 'application deposit' and refuses to refund it after 72 hours regardless if you sign a lease. Management even called it a security deposit in our acceptance/welcome letter but decided it was an 'application deposit' when we asked for it back. Beware of this and be extremely careful if you decide to lease here. read more

I would give Origin 0 Stars if I could and I have never written a negative review in my life. Since we moved in to Origin in June 19', we were promised that Why Hotel would be gone by October. The hotel did not leave until March 20'. I have requested all of the outlets in our kitchen be checked because they don't work - no one has come to fix them. I have an oven that cooks 50-60 degrees below the set temperature. I have water dripping from my HVAC vent down our wall. When you want to take a bath you need to boil four pots of water because their hot water heaters are insufficient. And to make matters much worse, I was served today with an ultimatum from Brookefield. If I do not renew my lease in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, they will increase our rent $500 a month (%25 increase) to go month to month. Our lease states there will be no price increase without sixty days notice, the letter is dated April 14th and our lease is up June 8th. So not only will the rental agency bend their rules for their own benefit, but they will take advantage of people during a worldwide pandemic. I have asked Brookefield to honor to their rent concessions that were given to new tenants (1 month free) while they only gave their original tenants two weeks - they've denied the concession. And instead of decreasing rent because all of the amenities in the building being shut down, they are now trying to bully tenants into paying additional money because finding a new place to live during quarantine is next to impossible. I strongly suggest finding another building and property management firm to rent from. read more

Current and future residents should read and re-read contracts they have with Origin carefully, because management does not honor them. When the contract agreements have been broken, management has adamantly avoided addressing the issues altogether. It has become apparent that management does not have the best interests of their residents in mind within the short time of living here. The building owners should consider staffing their property with staff who are knowledgeable on the leasing contracts, and general policies and procedures. Aside from these very important issues, the concierge staff are extremely rude and treat their residents very poorly. The building itself is beautiful, but they CLEARLY have a staffing issue. read more

I've only been living at Origin a little over 2 months and have to move out next month due to COVID. 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. read more

EXTREMELY disappointed with this place. Reading other posts, I'm glad I'm not crazy with my assessment. If I could give fewer stars, I would. 1. Walked into the lobby and was not greeted by the front desk. Had to initiate myself. 2. When asked about the units with the larger balconies, I was told by the front desk that they were for the entire building. He went on to say that the only reason they were empty (like an unoccupied unit would look like) was because "we are a work in progress". The website clearly shows the unit I asked about as being available. Excuses, in an effort to avoid showing us. This is unacceptable. 3. Prices online are not competitive to surrounding apartments. 4. VERY unprofessional all around. read more

Absolutely recommend Origin! By FAR the best apartment complex in the area. We've have had a wonderful experience living here over the past year and recently transitioned from a loft to a two bedroom (which they made such a smooth process!). The location, amenities (gym/pool/rooftop dog park/common areas), and units themselves truly can't be beat, and the staff ALWAYS exceeds expectations. They go completely above and beyond to make sure your experience is as great as possible, and care more about the residents than any other apartment complex we've lived in. Definitely would like to give a huge shout out to Alex, Rafael, Wilbur, Mohammed, and all of the other wonderful maintenance/cleaning/concierge team for all that they have done (and continue to do!) to make our experience living at Origin so positive. Can't begin to express how much we appreciate each and every one of them! They are quick to address (and fully resolve!) any and all concerns we've had, and always ensure that common areas are spotless. We've also been so impressed with how soundproof the units are (literally never hear neighbors!), and absolutely love all of the friends we've made living here. So grateful to call Origin home! read more

I will say, my stay didnt start off on the right foot. One of the parking spaces was so narrow, with a pillar at the side. I unfortunately scraped the back of my car, because I didn't see it. When we entered the building, the fire alarm was going off. Fortunately, it was a false alarm. I overheard a resident say that this happens frequently. Better safe than sorry?! Otherwise, the stay was great. For the hotel, you have to take the elevator up to the 5th floor, which leads into a lounge. It's a full service 24 hour lounge. There are electronic check in tablets, complimentary snacks, coffee and iced coffee (from Commonwealth Joe). I stayed on the 4th floor. I was impressed with how spacious and clean it was. My favorife part of the room was the great big closet. It can fit a twin sized bed! The closet in the common room was also quite spacious. I'm on the hunt for apartments, and that in itself surprised me. You can't find that kind of closet space everywhere. I will say that the refrigerator is a bit smaller than your standard, but is adequate for one-two people. The decor of the apartment was very simple, modern and clean. The employees were all very amicable and willing to help. I recommend this place. It's conveniently located right by Ballston Quarter and within walking distance of the mall, and lots of restaurants! read more

Origin - Living room setup - Apartments Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

See all

I have been with Origin Apartments for a year now and just renewed by lease for another year. First with the good. The front desk staff is absolutely amazing! They are so helpful, polite and always go above and beyond for you. Maintenance is fast and gets the work done easily. The amenities are amazing and the location is unbeatable! It is close to everything and super conveniently located next to the mall and the metro. Second with the okay. The apartment is shared with hotel guests and therefore depending on the season, sometimes the amenities can get packed. The elevators are relatively fast, but with the influx of hotel guests and people moving in, you may have to wait in line for the elevators. It can take quite a while to be able to get back to your apartment. The package system is efficient, but sometimes your packages end up in the hub while other times they are with the front desk and you have to keep track of all that. The price is not cheap and is probably more expensive than most of the other apartments in the area. However, given the above positives I still think it's worth it. Third with the bad. There are NOT enough parking spots. You would have to pay a lot for reserved parking. I do pay $150 for unreserved parking. Even then, if I get back really late at night on the weekends because of the hotel guests, there are no parking spots available! The parking lot is really cramped and it takes a lot of patience to maneuver the car around. I did once break my side-view mirror while in the parking lot and had to pay $100 to get it replaced. In addition, the elevator to the parking is separate from the elevator to the main building, so you basically have to take two elevators to get back. Fourth with the ugly. My leasing agent is Antonio, and I honestly don't think I will be renewing my lease again next year, mainly because I truly feel discriminated against being an Asian female when dealing with him. From the moment I signed my first lease, with the move in, the check in process, literally every time it has been so difficult dealing with him. I understand that I don't fit into the standard demographics that live in this building because of my race. But, now I purposely avoid the leasing office because his attitude towards me it's just demeaning. This really is coming to head again this past time, when renewing my lease, he wrote that I would get a 1/2 month off for renewing my lease by a certain date. I did that and never got that credited to my account. Recently, I've tried contacting him multiple times by email, phone, etc. and have not even received a response despite multiple attempts. Honestly, I don't even want to go to the leasing office downstairs because I get treated like a third class citizen being Asian. It really is bothering me that I'd even considering losing more than $1k in rent concessions just to not have to deal with him. Maybe given enough time and courage, one day I'll go downstairs and get this straightened up. I don't want to say that the entire leasing staff is bad. The few times that he is not there and his partner Blake covers for him, it's been great. I really wish I could switch my leasing agent to Blake instead. Overall, I think that the apartment is good. You can tell that the managing company really cares about the residents since they constantly put out events and other activities for the residents. You can't beat the location and the convenience and the awesome front desk staff! It is a little on the pricier side for the area and if you are not a typical Caucasian resident, you can potentially run into some problems. read more

Our experience at the Origin has been very mixed. It started off great as Lesley is very responsive and helpful. The worst experiences we have had are when dealing with the property manager. Every time we have had an issue or a question it has been met with attitude from her. This has happened several times over the last three months. She is quick to answer with rudeness and comes off as disrespectful. We have found it to be a much better experience working with the assistant property manager as he tries to understand first before responding. Overall the communication from staff is very poor and needs to be improved. I would be cautious about making this your living experience. read more

Front desk staff was pretty disrespectful when we walked in for a tour. Turned us away, saying appointment only (which is fine). What I wasn't expecting was to be questioned how we entered the garage (when he let us in). Then tried calling the leasing office to set up an appointment to tour, and waited for ten minutes and nobody picked up. read more

Just visited the Origin building, as they are promoting tours every Saturday in February. THERE IS NO RESERVED PARKING available for residents- you have to pay $250 to RESERVE one parking space. "Unreserved" parking is $175 per month and there is nothing available. This tells me that residents who live here are not a priority. Other "luxury" rentals at buildings close by offer their residents reserved parking for $125 average/month. What a deal breaker when our Host disclosed "they just didn't make enough parking when they built the place." So if you move in you have no option & forced to pay $250/mo parking. Ridiculous. Granted, the property is fresh and modern and amenities are nice. The 2-Bed/2bath I looked at on 13th floor is nice, with good storage. The 1 bedroom with den is nice, good storage. Only 2BDRM's have balconies. Only 2BDRM's have the upgraded appliances; what a shame that all residents don't benefit from the same, considering the $$$ rent. Gym and amenities are nice. Rental prices are comparable to other buildings in the area. There is onsite storage (a 3x3) but not comparable to the 8x10 offered at other buildings. The one-time $350 amenity fee is good. However no move in promotions offered. For 70% occupancy I would expect more move in specials. No enticing offers or incentives to move in. And the Host did not disclose that apartment Hotel is on-site (see whyhotel.com) allowing coming & going of non-residents use of property. Overall a beautiful shiny new place but when running the numbers the cost savings to move a few blocks just isn't worth it. read more

Avoid this place. The construction is so loud every morning and it starts at 6am until late at night. The windows do nothing to block out the sound. Also, they rent out open rooms as a hotel here so you always have random people coming and going using the amenities. Elevator always seems to be broken. Very disappointed in this place. read more

My daughter lives at Origin, and all I can say is she hasn't had reliable Air Conditioning or heating in months. The entire floor has had no AC for all of July, and it's 97 degrees out. They allowed 2 nights at a cheap nearby hotel, then put in portable AC which can't cool the apartment (it's 83 degrees in there today) while the property manager responds with legal arguments that they really don't have to do anything. I'd look elsewhere.... read more