After living in this building for almost three years (three different apartments), I am leaving for a variety of reasons. Anyone considering this building needs to consider the whole package.
The apartments are small, but nice if you are lucky enough to get one that has been recently updated. I Suspect they only replace appliances, carpeting and fixtures every ten years. I have always considered my balcony too big. It is space I would have rather out in my living room... and this coming from a former smoker who spent a lot of time out there.
The roof deck an gym have great views. The pool is WAY too small. The gym gets VERY crowded (go before 6 AM or after 9PM). The roof is not well maintained. You will get frustrated with these areas and not use them after a while.
All of my apartments were within ten feet of the elevator and there was never a lot of noise. I think this is because the building has a good mixture of ages.
Being on top of the metro is nice, especially if you don't have a car. There is a zipcar in the garage. This area also makes things a little more dangerous. Someone tried to break into my apt two seperate times.
The rent has increased dramatically in my time there. When I moved in, my rent was 1440/mo before any utilities, so it was about 1530/mo in the end. Not bad for a 1 br on top of the metro? 3 years later, the same apartment is 1700 and utilities are over 200, in addition. They have a crazy system where rent fluctuates daily. This may mean that you are forced to chase deals within your building and move every year.
Warning: utilities in this building are very high because the apartments are not individually metered. In addition to residents not having any incentive to limit their consumption, you pay for lights in the hallways, heat for the business center in August, and for an outside company to do management's job (calculate how to gouge you on the utility bill). There are buildings in the area that meter utilities based on what you actually use, like ACh Plac on veitch street (across 14th street from this building) and the Meridian on Taft street, just a few blocks away.
The parking garage is a joke, but cheap. They just "redid" it. I think that means they sealed the floors and painted new lines over the old ones. If you have an SUV, good luck!
Management could go on vacation and nobody would notice the difference. Maintenance is quick, but rarely get the job done on the first try. The one person I will miss in this building is Ms. Harrington. Stanley (the day concierge) is nice and good at his job, but the night woman is a few bricks short...
I would not recommend this building based on managements lack of incentive to retain residents and STEEP rent increases. In fact, stay away from Charles E. Smith/Archstone buildings all together. The only corporate incentive is their 30 day relocation guarantee. I enjoyed my apartments, not the building.
Before you rent, review http://www.arlingtoncourthouseplaza.com/