New apartments at Branch Ave Metro Station? (Camp Springs: lease, high crime)

[Smilin Joe Fission]

Today I looked at some of the relatively new apartments near the Branch Avenue Metro station on Auth Rd in Camp Springs. I work at the Suitland federal center, so the commute would be easy either by car or metro. I was impressed with the fact that everything is new, fairly decent prices, and the easy access to the beltway.

On the other hand, I know some of the nearby areas, especially toward Suitland have extremely high crime. Anyone know about this area? Since it can only be accessed from the south, and Suitland Parkway is a sort of buffer from the worst areas, it seems like it might be ok. I get the impression that it's new enough that it doesn't have much of an identity yet, good or bad. It does however seem to be up and coming. It's also difficult for some reason to find many reviews of the apartments. I'm looking specifically at "Metro Place at Town Center" and "Chelsea West".

[lscalder]

I think those apartments are nice. I pass by there every morning while taking my son to school. You will be fine.

[Mom21]

Smilin, no, no, no and NO! I don't know how or why Iscalder would pass by those apartment taking her son to school, because there is no school back there, and there would be no reason to go back there unless you would be going to the apartments. So I'm not so sure she is talking about the right apartments.

In any case, I knew someone who lived there and moved out, and I have a close friend who moved to the new section, Chelsa West, just before Christmas, and already she HATES it. She said that they have formed a tenants group because of the many issues with those apartments, the most serious being security. She said that her neighbor was robbed (sounded like an inside job to me) and several cars were broken into. Neither section has the security gates functioning in the parking garage and she said they have refuse to open the gym after dark because teenagers have been caught in there participating in explicit behavior.

Metro Place was where I know someone who moved out immediately after her one year lease was up because as she called it the "riff raff" that was permitted to move in.

But you don't have to take my word for it, read the reviews for yourself:

Camp Springs Apartments for Rent - Camp Springs Apartments Reviews and Ratings

[Smilin Joe Fission]

Thanks for the link to the reviews Mom21. The biggest issue in terms of crime for me is probably the risk of car break-ins. I'm a 27 year old guy with no kids, so I'm not as worried about safety as many since I won't have kids playing in the neighborhood or going to school.

I wonder about the riff raff moving in though. I got the impression that these apartments are too expensive for many people from the surrounding crime-ridden Suitland area to afford.

In any case, I'm going to go drive around the area late at night sometime this weekend to see if there is any shady activity going on. When I tested the commute on the Metro tonight after work, it seemed peaceful and quiet as I walked around. The issue of the gates being broken sounds like it could be a big problem though. Thanks for the advice. I'm still very tempted to move here after seeing how easy the commute is though...

Originally Posted by Mom21

Smilin, no, no, no and NO! I don't know how or why Iscalder would pass by those apartment taking her son to school, because there is no school back there, and there would be no reason to go back there unless you would be going to the apartments. So I'm not so sure she is talking about the right apartments.

In any case, I knew someone who lived there and moved out, and I have a close friend who moved to the new section, Chelsa West, just before Christmas, and already she HATES it. She said that they have formed a tenants group because of the many issues with those apartments, the most serious being security. She said that her neighbor was robbed (sounded like an inside job to me) and several cars were broken into. Neither section has the security gates functioning in the parking garage and she said they have refuse to open the gym after dark because teenagers have been caught in there participating in explicit behavior.

Metro Place was where I know someone who moved out immediately after her one year lease was up because as she called it the "riff raff" that was permitted to move in.

But you don't have to take my word for it, read the reviews for yourself:

Camp Springs Apartments for Rent - Camp Springs Apartments Reviews and Ratings

[Mom21]

Smilin, that question you pose about how riff-raff can afford it -- I posed that to a lady I met in the parking lot who's daughter lived there but didn't like it. She told me "well, you know, thugs have money too -- probably more than you and I" LOL! But seriously, this led me to suspect that there is no proof of income or income verification being done.

If you are a single guy who doesn't have to worry about the safety of a female coming and going, you might be alright. Chelsea West would probably be better because at least they have formed a tenants group, and according to my friend who lives there, the meetings are very well attended. But I hope you read all the reviews because there are a few talking about car theft, cars sitting up on blocks when they came out, etc.

[Smilin Joe Fission]

I've driven by at several different times of day recently, including late at night, and it seemed ok. If anything shady is going on, I haven't seen it.

I really have mixed feelings given the reputation of the area. From my own observations so far the area seems a lot different from the surrounding bad areas. I still need to do more research, but so far I haven't seen anything that would scare me away.

[Mom21]

Smilin, since you're still torn, I decided to ask my friend would she move there if she had it do to all over, and would she recommend. Here is here answer, a straight cut and paste; no editing. By the way, she is married with one daughter temporarily living with them, in her 20's I believe:

"If I had to do it all over again I would NOT MOVE to Chelsea West and I
would not recommend them to anyone else. The moving day alone was
overwhelming. Please advice them if they do decide to move in to get a
moving company. If they use their family and friends to help them move
they will never see them again! Moving trucks can not enter the garage.
Items have to be rolled to the elevator and then rolled down the hall.

I do love the quietness of my surroundings. Maybe they should attend
our next tenants meeting, that just might changed their minds."

[Smilin Joe Fission]

Thanks for checking this with your friend, Mom21! I won't need to worry about the move-in since my employer has hired a moving company for me. The more I think about it, the less worried I am about security, since the apartment I'm looking at is on the top level, and parking is also on top of the garage. Even without a gate for the garage, I can't imagine some thugs driving five levels up to break into my car. I think they'd head for the open lots on the ground level over at Metro Place first.

I would be interested in going to one of the tenants' meetings. If your friend doesn't mind, maybe you or she could let me know when they are. You can email me at westpurdue at gmail, or just post here. Thanks a lot for the advice on this!

[Mom21]

Okay, I will find out when the next one is and post back or email you.

As an aside, I saw both my friend and her husband yesterday, and I asked him what his opinion was -- totally different. He loves them. He said there are some issues, but the tenants are working to try and solve. Meetings are crowded, no seats if you get there late. I will say that's one good thing, because the squeaky wheel ... gets the oil? I don't know, I can't remember the end of that saying but you know what I mean!

[mattjans]

Joe, did you end up moving to Branch Ave, if so, where? I'm starting a job at Census soon and thinking of Branch Ave since it's so close.

Anything to report from your experiences?

-Matt