SE DC, by National Stadium-Safe area?? (for sale, apartment, rent)

[dcgirl1]

My son, 23 will be working in L'Enfant Plaza and wants to live at the Axiom at Capitol Yards, by Nationals Stadium. Is this area safe? Are there restaurants and shopping around? Any input would be helpful, thanks!

[brooklynborndad]

its definitely safe during the day on weekdays, with lots of office workers from the Navy Yard, USDOT, and several other office buildings. And lots of folks around when there is a baseball game. Not so sure about late at night on non game nights though.

No, there is very little in the way of shops and restaurants in the immediate area, though its not too long a walk to the 8th street shopping/restaurant area in capitol hill south.

There should be LOTS of shopping and stuff coming in a couple of years when The Yards development opens, I am not sure of the schedule.

[akorosdc]

It's more or less safe. The biggest issue is that it's pretty quiet outside of working hours and baseball games. Very little retail or restaurants, but it's not too far to Barrack's Row in Capitol Hill. Justin's Cafe isn't bad, my roommate and I liked it (in the bottom level of the Velocity building). The economy slowed down the plans for retail and dining, so he'd have to be patient.

[dcgirl1]

Thanks for your input.....my husband and I traveled to DC this weekend. Our son, (who is out of the country right now) told us he was pretty certain he wanted to live at the Axiom at Capitol Yards, sharing a 2br w/den with two others. This would significantly reduce the rent for him. We were not sure about the area though.

I have to say, we were pleasantly surprised. We talked to over 25 people, of various ages, mostly in their 20's, some young families, one dad who was living there with two 20ish boys......everyone loved it and felt safe. Not one person hesitated about the safety issue, just like in any city, if you go out at night, travel in a group or take a taxi.
One girl said she walks her dog sometimes at 1 or 2am and feels safe.....now, don't think I'd do that anywhere!

I would not wander a few blocks west of there, but otherwise, this is definitely an up-and-coming area. This area, which I guess is considered Capitol Hill East, has a bad reputation to anyone who has not been down there and have seen the changes. But to all those who live there, they love it, and could not be any more friendly, and you could tell they really liked the area.

I agree, there is not a whole lot to do there yet, but there are so many great areas to take the metro, or car or taxi to. We happen to meet one guy, about 26, who will be my sons neighbor.....is in military at Naval Yard and goes into gov. office.....runs about 6 miles everyday, around Tidal Basin, National Mall and White House.......pretty cool! Said it is a great location! The area still has a ways to go, but I feel my son will be safe, of course being smart about it.

And the Axiom was beautiful and spotlessly clean. At 5.30pm, there was music going and about 15-20 people relaxing by the roof top pool. Capitol view to the north and Nationals Ballpark to the south.

I think my son will love it......I think this is the right decision. Hope this can help anyone else looking in the area.

[The Heartbreak Kid]

It is pretty much safe. Just have a little city sense and he will be good.

[akorosdc]

Originally Posted by dcgirl1

I would not wander a few blocks west of there

Yeah, the area right around South Capitol is a little rougher, and then it starts to get better a few blocks west of that. Overall, it's really not that bad, though I tend towards the cautious side and take cabs later in the night (especially if I'm alone).

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by dcgirl1

Our son, (who is out of the country right now) told us he was pretty certain he wanted to live at the Axiom at Capitol Yards

he's out of the country, yet knew exactly which building he wanted to live in, and referred to it by the name under which you're, I mean the property management company is marketing it?

also, you're supposedly from out of town and have a 23 year old son, yet your handle is dcgirl1?

and you're aware of all the "changes" there, and that people who live there all love it?

Originally Posted by dcgirl1

Hope this can help anyone else looking in the area.

I'm sure you do, because I bet you're under pressure right now to move some units

now you fooled some people here, so good job, most agents just copy and paste the text from their marketing brochures, you built some credibility by raising some issues with the neighborhood and the lack of restaurants nearby, next time though, I'd suggest:

1. a new handle that's more generic and doesn't suggest you live in a city you had to allegedly make a big trip to over the weekend
2. don't talk about people "loving" it, be more subtle
3. don't use the full marketing name, say something like "someplace called the Axiom, anyone heard of it?, he's also looking at a place in the Velocity" - mention your competition even if they're condos
4. don't say it's the right decision so firmly, no mother checking out an apartment for her kid in the city will say that, they'd still show a lot more hesitation - maybe something like "it might work out, but I'd be too tempted to check up on him"
5. post somewhere else first so your ID has more than the posts associated with the thread you're trying to use to sell your property, maybe you could even add to the many lively discussions on this board about the city you actually live in
6. I work in sales, it's all about the details and you skipped over a couple here

I'm a pretty big Nats fan, and would like to support your efforts to enhance the neighborhood. So please try and be more credible next time.

[dcgirl1]

Wow.....this is so laughable!
...........and I was worried about a rough neighborhood, how about right here on this forum!

If you could see me now......I am nothing more than a stay at home mom, who's youngest son is finishing up his college degree in Italy! When he left 4 wks. ago, he had no job, but was notified and offered a job a week later. He even had to fly home two weeks ago for drug testing, b/c our government would not accept a lab out of the US.....missed a great weekend of sightseeing at a cost of $1000 to us.

So I get knocked down by you, b/c I am a concerned parent and came across this forum when googling "SE DC-safe ?" You are so funny! If you had only seen me this weekend, questioning all these people about the neighborhood and it's safety......my husbands eyes were certainly rolling!

And do you know why I am on-line at 3.20am right now.....b/c it is 9.30am in Italy, and I want to correspond with my son, who just had his wallet pick-pocketed while we were in DC checking out the apartment situation. all this happened while I asking about DC safety questions.... here my husband and I were watching the World Cup Soccer in the Marriott around the corner from the Axiom, in SE DC.... and my son was watching it in Italy, not knowing he was being targeted! A little ironic, now that I think of it!

and, can you imagine this, the "new" technology in Italy allows him to see web-sites,such as the Axiom.....oh and he did tell me about the Velocity....but, those units are only for sale, not rent.....oh, but they do offer parking for $2oo/month! Should have mentioned that!

I do not live in DC, we live in a small town named Princeton, NJ, have you heard of it?.....not exactly a big city!! ......so I am not at all familiar with the DC area, took our boys to DC, once, about 15 yrs.ago.

....and about DCgirl1......I guess I'm brilliant! wanted to post a question on here....was about DC and I'm a girl......someone already had DCgirl, so I had to put a 1 after it.

.....and I did not say "it is the right decision".....I said "I think this is the right decision" and I do hope my post will help others looking into the SE, DC area, because other people were kind enough to post replies back to me and
also those that were kind enough when I stopped them in and around the "Axiom" neighborhood.

Thanks for being such a supportive person.....I'm a nurse, but maybe my new career should be a sales person! I guess I'm pretty good at it!
and those I spoke to, did "love" the area!

[clarksonknight]

I'll give you the 411 on the Axiom and it's sister building, the Jefferson (where I just moved in about 2 weeks ago).

All three of the Greystar buildings (Jefferson, Axiom, 909) have built a "frat house" reputation. Most residents are younger (20s-30s) and on the weekends these buildings are party central. I've not had a chance to use the amenities yet, but have heard from a few residents that they tend to be monopolized by the same people.

Parking is a problem because all of the buildings are currently commercially-zoned, so you can not get a Zone 6 parking permit to park on the streets in the surrounding area. Street parking around the buildings is hourly during the day, and because the tenants are mostly young couples/young professionals with roommates (such as your son), they have oversold the parking (at least in my building) so people who have a legitimate need for a parking spot get waitlisted and are forced to find other options while waiting for a spot in the garage. Management has said that the DMV will take petitions with signatures from a minimum of 50% of the people in the building who have DC licenses (fat chance, because many residents are new to the city and are not changing their residential status) to allow for zoned parking permits. Management also refuses to champion this petition-gathering, so little will be done there.

It seems that nearly everyone in these buildings have dogs. While this may seem cute at first, they seem to make exception to their own 75lb weight limit policy in order to increase occupancy. It's also hard to miss that the pets have ruined what should be some nice landscaping in front of the building due to their "waste disposal".

The buildings themselves are very nice. Lots of amenities, close to transportation, the ballpark, and a nice walk to Barrack's Row (probably my favorite area of the city), as others have stated. However, had I done more thorough research beforehand I would not have rented here due to issues with the management beyond what I've already stated.

[brooklynborndad]

DCgirl

I figured he had picked that building cause his pals were going to be there. Some folks just want to "troll".

The area is called Capitol Hill South, or just the Anacostia waterfront, or whatever. Capitol Hill East would be over towards 8th and beyond, I would think.