As a current resident, I feel that the existing reviews of this building are generally accurate. Overall, the Meridian is a fine place to live, if you realize it's short comings. The executive summary is that it's a solid place to live for young urban recent grads/grad students that can share the room, but you are better off looking to one of the many other Mass Ave buildings nearby if you are more established and want to escape the sometimes dorm-house feel. First off, the benefits:

Location

The location is prime. You are a short walk away from major public transportation options (several Metro lines, Union Station), as well as the Circulator and other buses. The neighboorhod has lots of restaurants, shops, and entertainment options (theaters, museums, bars, Verizon Center, etc.). You really can't say enough about the amount of things to do close by. The lack of a grocery store within easy walking distance is annoying, but they are supposedly opening a Safeway nearby in Fall 2008, plus the close metro/buses take you right to several grocery stores.

Rooms

The rooms are spacious, if functional. The materials are study if uninspiring - light gray wall-to-wall carpet, white walls/countertops/cabinets, etc. There is nothing that is fancy but nothing that is shoddy either. The biggest draw of the rooms (in fact, the whole building) is the sunroom, which can be used as a spare bedroom. I see A LOT of mid-20s residents that share a 1BR with one person using the sunroom as a bedroom. Some floorplans have bigger sunrooms than others, but it can still be done relatively easily. Having a HUGE walk-in closet with two doors allows both residents to share the closet. I would say that this feature defines the building, since it attracts so many recent grads/junior staff/grad school students that define the building's demographic.

The rooms have all the necessary amenities - washer/dryer, dishwasher, etc. They are also quiet - I never hear my neighbors, the only noises I hear are from people talking in the hallway (infrequent) or from a siren on the streets (a hazard of urban living in general). An important caveat: I would live on the south-side rooms, as high up as possible. The north side faces Mass Ave and some other (still being constructed) buildings - not exactly ideal. The south side faces a rent-controlled building, which is less ideal unless you are high enough up (8, 10 stores) to look more over the building. The SW side is the best bet since the rent-controlled buildig is on the SE side, and there is only a 3 story building behind you. The south side in general also has the views of the Capital and Washington Monument.

Amenities

The building's amenities are good but not great. The gym is functional and not too crowded (obviously the peak times get a little busy). The treadmills/bikes/stair climbers all have TVs, although not all of them work. There is a variety of equipment, good if you want to do a lot of different exercises (e.g., life weights then run then bike) but bad if you only want to do one thing (e.g., bike) since that piece of equipment might be used. The pool is a decent size - about 15 yds. Only part of the roof is accessible so pool space can be crowded on peak weekend times. There are two grill areas but they can also get taken up quickly by big groups. The club room on the top floor is nice but I don't really see a need to use it - if I am having guests over, I am more likely to use my personal space since it is more private. Having a dry cleaner/market on the premise is OK - the market is exhorbitantly expensive and not open after 9pm/Sundays. CVS at the end of the block is the best bet there. The entrance is nice but not amazing. The hallways are muted tan and also not amazing. The overall feeling is of a hotel.

The cons:

MANAGEMENT. MANAGEMENT. MANAGEMENT. This building is absolutely horribly managed. The "concierge" is nice enough but usually just refers you to the building staff. The door person is really only there during 9-5 M-F, which is when most people are away at work anyway. The leasing office/management staff are very impersonal and unhelpful. You really get the feeling that the building is run by a corporation (Paradigm) that only wants your money. Everything is done completely by the book - they won't alert you to something or help you out, no matter how small, if they aren't contractually required to. I purchased a parking pass for only the first month. (More on parking later.) When I paid my next month's rent, I turned in my pass (they are very strict about turning in the pass, so that you can't give it to someone else). Later I was called by management who asked me why I gave them the pass, and I explained it was because I didn't want parking anymore. However, I had to provide them with 30-day written notice of my intention to cancel parking, although I had made this intention very clear to my leasing consultant when signing up for it (he told me all I had to do was turn in the pass). Although this 30-day notification is in the lease agreement, I feel that I was misled by the management company - when I told them when signing the lease I only wanted parking for the first month, it shouldn't have been an issue when 3 weeks later I turned in my pass. (I guess my verbal notification was not sufficient.) This same issue happend a few weeks later - I was woken up several times at 730 AM by loud drilling and banging noises. After 3 days I inquired about the noise, and the management team explained that they were doing some remodeling on the building's exterior. The workers started at 7 am, although when I asked what about the work required them to begin at 7, I was greeted with a shrug. (The building manager only knew that his boss at Paradigm told him to begin then). When I asked why I wasn't presented with advance notice of the work, the building manager said that it's not their policy. Sure enough, when perusing the lease, management reserves the right to make improvements to the building "without regard to the resident's convenience." Also, under no circumstances would a discount in the monthly rent be offered for this work. I can only imagine what would happen if my water heater broke and my apartment flooded, but I still had to pay the full rent. The next day I recieved a notice under my door notifying me of upcoming maintence - 4 days after it had begun. All this happened within my first month of living in the building. I also find the office hours inconvenient - 10 am to 6 pm M-F, which is again not helpful for people who have jobs. Every time I have gone down to the staff to inquire about something (amittedly not very often, since I am hesitant to bother other people for things), the person I talked to was not knowledgable about my question and had to get back to me. My first month's rent was improperly billed - they failed to realize that I paid a required fee and thus showed that my account was in debt when it was not. I am also notified of things through a slip of paper under my door, instead of a more personal and direct phone call. When their records showed that I hadn't transferred the gas bill to my name (I had), I got a notice under my door. You think that my gas about to get turned off would have warranted a brief phone call to one of the several numbers I listed for contacting me. When my girlfriend's fob didn't work, they asked her to wait a day to ensure that it was malfunctioning before she got a new one. Since the fob is the ONLY way you can access the building and elevators, this solution didn't seem very practical. The company perferred to save the $5 cost (to them - $15 to us) of saving the fob rather than putting their resident's concerns to ease with a simple fix.

Parking

The parking situation is poor. Parking is expensive ($200/month) with no reserved spaces. The parking spaces are also comically narrow. Small cars have trouble fitting into the spots; larger cars and SUVs almost always take up a second space, which makes parking that much harder to find. The parking lot isn't that big and has tight turns.

Cost

The place is expensive. As I mentioned before, the possibility of turning the sun room into a second bed room attracts a lot of 20-somethings, which I appreciate. However, I would not pay the price of a 1BR on my own. For less you can find buildings close by (there is no shortage of apt space along Mass Ave) with the same square footage. Also, they charge you with fees for everything - application fee, move-in fee, occupant fee, etc.

Overall, the Meridian is not a bad place to live compared to other buildings in other locations. BUT, if you want to live in Gallery Place, look at one of the area's many other buildings before you consider living here.

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