Rhode Island Row

I moved here last week! LOVE IT. Management very responsive and good price for the excellent location. Thank you Ramfis and Gina!

If you live in Apt 516, there is a gym with hard floors over your head. Don't make the mistake of renting here and paying $3,000+ per month for lack of security and lack of management working to solve the problem. The Bozzuto name used to be synonymous with luxury. Rhode Island Row is definitely not that. Please read ALL yelp and Google reviews on this property. You'll notice the positive reviews are all from several years earlier. The reviews on the Rhode Island Row website are all positive as well and refer to "staff friendliness" but not the multiple issues at the property. The staff at this location has at least 200% turnover due to these issues. During our 7 month stay at RIR, our concierge at 2350 changed 5 times. If the staff refuse to stay, it's very telling. Be well informed of the vagrants who are allowed to camp in the Rhode Island Row stairwells freely, the rampant drug use in the stairwells and hallways by residents AND outsiders. The building has a supposed " no smoking policy" that is not enforced. The fire alarms go off multiple times per month due once again to vagrants easily gaining access to a supposed "secure" building.
Bozzuto does not care about the residents of this property and the management on site will do nothing but say "we are so sorry you had that experience." Nothing is proactively be done to fix these ongoing issues. If there is an issue, the management sends a memo reminding residents of the rules, but it is as ineffective as you think a memo would be.

This little area in DC has a a lot of fast casual food choices and a dc dmv. I saw an urgent care situation. I just went for the coffee. I honestly wanted that small business feel. I didn't see many business over there that fit that bill. Maybe the Thai restaurant, but it was 9 am on a Saturday. I thought about the smoothie spot, it they were to expensive and I had a free drink at Dunkin' so Dunkin' it was. I can be super cheap at times.

Giang at 2350 Lobby desk is the best! He goes above and beyond. Takes the time to remember the tenants' names & faces. Always on top of new package deliveries (some people take much longer "putting it into the system.") So reliable when you call. Not only is he extremely helpful, but he is ACTUALLY there (when the other lady that used to work at the desk "stepped out" for over an hour. My roommate forgot her keys one morning and she had to wait for that lady to come back since 2300 Main Lobby didn't have the keys either.)

I give 4 stars because I signed my lease thinking it would be 24hour front desk service. But when Giang's not working, I don't think anyone else is working there. This needs to be changed. Thank you.

Rhode Island Row (RIR) is the perfect example of what happens when gentrification meets capitalism & corporate profits outweigh the needs & safety of people.

I want to share my experience as a four-year resident. The mismanagement, poor communication & service that my neighbors & I receive is anything but the Bozzuto standard RIR claims to uphold.

Recently I moved to a larger unit to accommodate working from home. Residents are given access to available units before they are shared publicly. I found a unit that was going to be available at the time of my move. I reached out to the leasing office which agreed to show me the unit & start the paperwork the next day. Over the next 2 days I reached out via phone & email to no avail. By the time I did reach someone, the unit had been leased from under me.

I find another unit that kinda works, though not as nice in design or price point. I work with the Asst Property Manager who started the paperwork. He sends me the papers with the wrong dates, so I ask him to provide me an updated copy. 3 days later, he sends it with a note explaining that he had miscalculated my fees & I need to come up with an additional $1000 to move into my new place. When I asked about the miscalculation I was told it was "a typo". $1000 is a pretty big typo, dear.

The new unit is down the hall from my previous. I plan for a simple move. Before the move, I asked to view the unit so I could get a feel for the space. Although no one replied, I was able to view the unit 2 days prior since the maintenance team had the door open. There, I met the maintenance manager, who assured me that everything would be move in ready.

Moving day arrives & no one in the office contacted me about picking up keys & the moving cart. I head to the leasing office & trip on tarp when walking out of my apartment. The management office scheduled hallway repairs on the day when a resident with a disability (me) was moving.

I get to the office where the lead concierge was unaware of my move & had to find someone to help make my key. I spot the manager Brian, who had been unresponsive to my emails & calls earlier in the day & ask about his lack of response. He assures me that the team is looking for the carts & that my keys would be ready soon. I sat in the lobby for 30 mins while the staff attempted to make my keys. While waiting, Brian is again confronted by residents claiming they had not received responses from him.

Two hours later, after my movers leave,I am finally let into my unit - still w/o a cart. Immediately, the paneling on the kitchen island & face plates on outlets fall off. I see paint on the countertops + a swarm of GNATS erupt from every drain & kitchen appliance.

The maintenance team left the apartment prep checklist on my counter - according to it, they made every repair. The checklist also showed that while it was required for a member of the office staff & housekeeping do a walk-through of the unit, they had not.

Days later I met with Brian to talk about the condition of my unit & the infestation of gnats. He told a series of lies & excuses for the delays. I was assured that maintenance would work with my schedule to fix the unit & pest control would happen in a few days.

When speaking with the Regional Manager, Lauren, the lies continued. She assured me that a crew did flip my apartment despite the checklist (the one they left was 'outdated'). She praised Brian for his ability to turn "properties like RIR" around, hence he was hand selected to manage the property.

RIR is a 90% African American living community with 98% African American staff. The property manager Brian, is white.

It's clear that RIR is given little concern or care from the corporate & management offices due to the demographic of residents & the location of the property in N.E. D.C. If this property was in a more affluent neighborhood, with predominantly white tenants, my experience would have been much different. At every level leasing agents, property managers & Regional Managers told lie after lie as to why my move-in process was anything but the Bozutto standard & refuse to take responsibility for their shady actions to keep property costs low at the expense of service to residents.

While many repairs have been made, I still have some gnats & pending maintenance requests.

Outside of my horrific moving experience, here are additional issues my neighbors can also attest to:

The office hardly answers emails or phone calls. The high turnover means you'll most likely get the wrong answer about almost anything you need.

The brick sidewalks along RIR are loose & crumbling, making a serious tripping hazard for everyone. The elevators are often out of service for days at a time & shared community spaces & appliances are outdated or often out of service.

I advise anyone who values honesty & professionalism to live elsewhere. RIR is acutely aware of their faults without a care.

I have been a resident of Rhode Island Row for almost three years .There are several great features that make it an ideal living , enjoyable ,and safe community .The complex has a 24 hour concierge and security workers.The staff at Rhode Island Row -leasing ,maintenance/repair, and cleaning crew all do outstanding work .Ms.Ahbi, the leasing agent is the best .She exhibits concern for residents and works diligently to address their needs.She is an excellent listener and works effectively in resolutions.The apartment buildings include a business center (computers/printer ,shredder, private meeting room),entertainment room,reading room,swimming pool,and exercise rooms.The complex is also surrounded by many amenities-METRO station,CVS,GW Urgent Care,3 banks,Home Depot,Giant Food,nail salon,beauty/barbershop,DMV office,and Allstate .If you are looking for a great place to call home take a tour of Rhode Island Row and ask for Ms.Ahbi.

I'll give it one star because it's right beside the metro.

I lived here for 2 years and initially the concierges were fantastic but they moved on and we got a new head concierge with no personality or services skills. He was always rude and must not pass on messages very well because Alexis, Chris, and Danielle never seemed to get them.

The management is constantly in turnover and it is run more inefficiently than the federal government. They always refused to talk to residence and avoided them at all cost. It took them 3 different occasions to fix a leak and our wet carpets after their neighboring mechanical room had an incident.

I had a package delivered to the front desk, it never got to me until after contacting FedEx about the issue, getting the name of the concierge who signed for it, making several attempts to contact management only to be told by Chris that "he was investigating it himself". After I threatened to call the police my package magically appeared, ripped open and re-taped.

The initially provided a dry cleaning service through Capitol Valet, I returned one evening to retrieve it assuming they had failed to let me know it was here. The on-duty concierge went to the back for several minutes to find it, only to return empty-handed and ask my name and apartment, once again. After shuffling around in the back a little longer, he returned with my bag in hand, just as I dropped it off, un-laundered. He presented it to me as if it were completed and said nothing. When I asked why it wasn't laundered, he just stated: " I wasn't here, I wanted you to see it." I then informed him he might as well leave it and I will email Capitol Valet and find out the issue.

Capitol Valet was very responsive, unlike the previous management at RIR, and informed me, "Unfortunately, last week the manager from Rhode Island Row came to our plant to drop off our laundry bags and requested for us to no longer pick up from the building. It was a total surprise to me, because we have been delivering there since the day the building opened, and I can't think of any real issues we have had with anyone! I even give free cleaning to the manager!"

Now, my question is, when was management going to inform the residents this service was no longer available? How long was my laundry going to sit on the floor in their back office before I was informed it would no longer be picked up? Why did the concierge not tell me this last night instead of taking it back? I had hoped management could provide me with these answers but Alexis only stated Capitol Valet was lying and they were notified over a week prior to the incident, but clearly the time lines didn't add up to her excuse considering her staff didn't even know this.

If you do need an associate to get back to you, I learned that a tweet to Bozzuto gets a really fast response.

During my time as a resident I have experienced the following:
- Concierge staff unlocking my door to allow people into my residence without my consent not once but TWICE. To this day my unit is the only one with a dead bolt top lock installed for that reason.
-For at least a year a external door was broken it was either unlocked or locked and the key fob would not allow residents into the building.
- 2 years of AC issues. Going without air for 4 months in the summer. I still have the portable AC unit when I was restricted to one room in my apartment.
- Lost/mishandled packages
-2 years of astronomical water bills due to the property management's negligence. My Bill went from approximately $25 per month to $80 per month. I complained and was told the cost of water went up. Only to learn the meter in my unit meter was broken and the seal in the tank of the commode was worn causing a leak.
-Pet owners are allowed to use entry ways, side walks, flower beds and the parking garage to walk and relieve pets. I have had to step over urine and feces.
-The elevators constantly go out, sometimes for days at a time. People have gotten stuck in the elevators.

Most recently-April rent overpayment resulted in the need for a credit to be issued. I was informed by Desmond Cross - Asst Manager he would issue a credit to my account. May invoice (no credit), June invoice (no credit), July invoice (no credit). Each month I remitted my rent payment along with a note to correct my account. Not only was no credit issued but the outstanding amount continue to increase above and beyond my monthly rent. On June 24th I called the office to report my hot water was out (a ongoing issue where a part STILL needs to be replaced). Because Brian Belsky-Property General Manager answered I mentioned my account. Brian stated Desmond was out but upon his return he would follow up with me. I never heard back from Brian Belsky as he promised. I received a "non payment email" on July 19th for July's rent I called the office immediately. Once again Brian answered, once again Desmond was out of the office and apparently operations depend on his presence. Brian told me that there was a "non payment" of June's rent. I corrected him that I remit my rent payment every month so it is not a non payment issue. Perhaps you lost or misplaced my payment. I offered to call my bank to see if the check cleared. I asked if he could let me know something before close of business because this has been a ongoing issue and I didn't want to go into the weekend with the issue outstanding...that's when Brian informed me that he was off at 4pm and it is now 4:15pm. Brian committed to follow up with Desmond and call me on Monday. On Monday Brian did not call, rather after 4pm I received a email indicating "non payment" of June's rent and a erroneous account ledger. AGAIN I called the office , when I spoke to Brian he had a attitude. He became irritated that I questioned his email and why he continued to use the term non payment when I had already advised him that I remitted payment. Each time I spoke He would yell over me. I ask that he not be rude, disrespectful ...he has had months to correct this issue and has failed miserably and the very least he can do is allow me to complete a sentence without yelling over me. He continued to be unprofessional and nasty at one point he stated "I didn't loose your payment, YOU DIDN'T GIVE IT TO ME!

I escalated to Tom and Toby Bozzuto and Lucretia Kumah to inform than I would not be interacting with Brian Belsky going forward as I found his conduct not only unprofessional but discriminatory based on his tone, attitude and comments. I got no response, instead I receive a warning letter from a law firm of violation of my lease. Well needless to say I have not violated my lease. This was a malicious act of retaliation and a intimidation tactic.

I will be exhausting my legal recourse on this matter as I have done nothing but live here, pay my rent on time and expect Bozzuto to live up to their contractual responsibility.

This is the abbreviated version of my experience. I have included some screenshots to verify some of the facts I have mentioned. I am fully aware that people will continue to rent at Rhode Island Row if nothing more than the location. The purpose of my review is not to deter potential residents. However it is my hope that residents be informed and educated. Be sure to document ALL interactions and communications, take pictures and record conversations, keep a record of all incidents and be aware of who you're dealing with.

So many things to say! Im actually a current resident and have been living in the building going on 4 years. Let me start off by saying that the building has a lot of great potential, is mainly doing a good,but has areas that need improvement.

Each year when it's time to renew the lease I look around at other places to see if I'm getting my monies worth and each year (so far) I decide to renew my contract. Based on the proximity to the metro, the size of the apartment,and the amenities I think this place is totally worth it!

Positives:
The apartments are really a great size. Each apartment is about 700+ square feet! That plus the fact that you literally can't live any closer to the metro makes this place ideal.

Again the proximity to the metro! Honestly it's the best selling point to this place! You can roll out of bed and jump on the bus or metro at anytime.

The outdoor and community space are also really nice! In the summer I love lounging by the pool and feeling like I'm on vacation.

TJ Maxx and the grocery store are basically my home away from home! I love that the grocery store so close and that I can go browse the racks on any day.

Negatives:
You can hear EVERYTHING going on outside of your window. They must have gone for cheep windows because they let in every single sound! You can't hear your neighbor but you can hear every laugh from outside.

The freight elevator kills me!!! I live closer to the freight elevator so I usually try to take the freight elevator BUT most days it doesn't work! I convince myself that I'm getting in my workout but after a long day of work I hate that I'm forced to take the stairs. Imagine how much it sucks carrying groceries up all the stairs.

No residential parking anywhere! If you have a car you have no option but to pay to put it in the garage. $175 each month! There is no zone parking for residents so your only option is to get rid of your car or pay to keep it in the garage. There is very limited street parking but you have to pay for it by the hour and it's extremely limited.

On move in day our apartment was not ready and we sat in the leasing office for 3 hours for them to clean. Arriving in our apartment, there were still multiple things that needed to be repainted or fixed. Our garbage disposal was full of glass! When contacting management about concerns during our time at RIR, it took at least a week to be called back.

The concierge desk was hardly staffed after 3 pm to get packages, the pool was filled with sand, and the fire alarm goes off at least once a week.

When it was time to move out, our inspection was approved via a walk through by management. I checked to make sure there was not a balance on our account. Now here we are a year after leaving, I find out there was a balance added. I was never contacted by phone, mail, or email. This bill was sent directly to collections. Office staff still has not replied to our follow up questions to resolve the issue. Daily operations by this management staff are poorly conducted, shady, and at times illegal.