The Reserve at Eisenhower or the Carlyle Mill? (Arlington, Alexandria: apartments, for rent) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

BrownEydGirl · 02-05-2010, 08:25 PM

My daughter will be moving to Virginia to work in the Hoffman Buildings near the Eisenhower metro stop. What are the plusses and minuses of the two properties she is considering? Her personal safety is my primary concern - although a broken car window or missing car would ruin her day.

I have read about noise/smells/jail and other potential negatives at the Carlyle Mill location. Can you actually walk from the Carlyle Mill to the Hoffman Complex? It is only about 3/4 of a mile on the map, but that does not mean it is necessarily walkable. They have a shuttle to the Eisenhower Metro stop - but today it was not running so it occurred to me that she might need to be able to walk home.

The Reserve at Eisenhower has a shuttle that goes from the Van Dorn metro stop to the Eisenhower metro stop and also stops at the Hoffman Buildings. The unit available in the Reseve is a ground floor unit - that always concerns me a little more for break ins as well as bugs

She will have a car but prefers the convenience of the shuttle. How is parking at the Hoffman Building? It is $10 a day - but at some parking garages, if you are not there early, you might find that there are no spots left.

Which property would you choose and why?

Thanks for your input.

pcity · 02-05-2010, 11:24 PM

Walking to Hoffman from Carlyle Mill is a breeze. I can't believe it would even be 3/4 of a mile. Sidewalks the whole way and plenty of crosswalks to get across Eisenhower.

If it were me deciding, I'd probably take Carlyle Mill. I don't know how the noise is, though the fact that there are noise walls between the Beltway is reassuring. The smell in that area is definitely a person-by-person thing. It doesn't smell often, and it doesn't bother me personally- it's treated sewage, so it's just a slight chemical smell.

I wouldn't worry about home break-ins in either location. They're very uncommon in this part of Alexandria. Car break-ins are the only crime worry, but don't keep stuff in plain sight in your car and you'll probably be fine.

I'm not a huge fan of the area around Reserve At Eisenhower because it's more of a light industrial area and there's nothing within walking distance besides the Metro. No problems safety-wise, but just kind of a blah, isolated area.

Alicia Bradley · 02-06-2010, 12:20 AM

Carlyle Mill's location is awesome - it's in a semi-quiet little nook in Alexandria (City) with *the best* Metro access, as well as restaurants, etc. within walking distance. Dunno about smells or crime there.. although the crime can't be worse than where I am now (in Huntington, across the Beltway from the City of Alexandria). I actually considered moving there about a year ago, but my roommate was strongly opposed to going through the hassle of a move to a place so close by.

slduvall · 02-06-2010, 06:48 AM

I second the Carlyle. My husband works at the Hoffman and one of his office mates lives in the Carlyle Mill. He walks, there is no way he would pay to park at the office. It is $90 a month ($10 a day if you don't get the monthly pass) I would also say there is a huge police presence in that area, as there is the Federal Jail (you wouldn't know it was there unless you really looked, as well as the Court house up the road. She would have many more dining options on that part of street. As well as starbucks and other cafes. There isn't anything over by the other one, just businesses.

BrownEydGirl · 02-06-2010, 03:21 PM

Thank you all so much for your input. The Carlyle Mill is now our first choice! Living at the Carlyle Mill, do you need a car? How do you grocery shop? How do you get to Arlington or the Pentagon? Take a cab? Take the metro?

If you get off work late (like midnight), is is safe to walk back to the Carlyle alone from the Hoffman? Or do you really need a car?

slduvall · 02-06-2010, 03:38 PM

The Metro is really right there, the Yellow line which will go to the Pentagon, then moves over the river to DC. If she wanted to get to Arlington she would just get off and wait for a Blue line train on the same track. There is a Whole foods not too far..maybe too far to walk with groceries. But my husband walks from the Hoffman to go to lunch there almost every day. She could survive without a car for a bit, but it would get really old. I think it would be a pretty safe area to walk home, as there is the movie theater there so has night time traffic.

mikeva · 02-06-2010, 03:49 PM

I lived at Carlyle mill 3 years ago. It was nice, but the management company at the time were jerks. They ended up putting my rent up 20% after the first year so I moved to a cheaper, better place in Arlington.
Overall it was good. Had minor problems with security in the garage, pigeons in the garage, and construction.
Walking to Hoffman is very easy.

BrownEydGirl · 02-06-2010, 04:03 PM

mikeva - where was the cheaper better place in Arlington? I think she will be at the Carlyle Mill for now since it is so close to work but in the future her job could be elsewhere so I would like to pick your brain while you are available. Thanks.

BrownEydGirl · 02-06-2010, 04:06 PM

Her job comitment is only til June 1 - and moving the car that I own that she uses here in MD to VA and then possibly right back to MD would chew up a lot of money. Not to mention time. If it were for longer (and it might be until the end of August) it would make more sense but for only a few months, I hate to do it. Of course, she might end up living in VA forever - lots of jobs there and none in Maryland right now. And she likes VA.

mikeva · 02-06-2010, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrownEydGirl

mikeva - where was the cheaper better place in Arlington? I think she will be at the Carlyle Mill for now since it is so close to work but in the future her job could be elsewhere so I would like to pick your brain while you are available. Thanks.

My rent went up to ~$1900 a month for a one bedroom with a loft at carlyle mills not including utilities. I can't remember if that included parking.
I moved to a apartment building that was even closer to the metro, "Virginia Square apartments" owned by Dittmarr at 801 N Monroe st. that was ~$1650 for rent and that price included heat, electric, water,trash. The only down side was VA Square apartment didn't have a pool.

Arlington seems to be a younger crowd than the Eisenhower/King street area of Alexandria.
VA Square was a nice area for us. It was a pretty quiet neighborhood, but was 1/2 mile to the ballston mall with the movie theater and a bunch of restaurants, and 1/2 mile to clarendon which has a lot of good restaurants and is a meet up place for a lot of the arlington crowd.