I have lived here off and on for 4 years, basically because it is convenient and I can park my car there safely. But that is about its only redeeming feature. The management tries to maintain the place, but it has been steadily going downhill over the years while rent has been increasing annually. Specifics: walk-up stairs and breezeways to parking lot are tortuous; kitchen is old, small and poorly configured; kitchen cabinets are old and dysfunctional; no overhead lighting in living room; walls are old (plaster' sheetrock') and chip when trying to hang items with nails or screws; closet space is minimal, poorly configured and closet doors run on tracks that are obsolescent; inadequate number of electrical outlets for the modern (electronic) era and wiring is not grounded (no three-pronged outlets); power fluxes are common (if you have sensitive electronic equipment); (tv) cable has to be strung openly in rooms and around doorways; windows don't work very well; bathroom is small and management has not been very responsive to fixing things properly (like broken/cracked toilet); heating and cooling units are old and insulation is very poor; it is difficult to cool the place in the summer (I basically run the ac the entire summer, to keep the apt 70-75 degrees- the most it will cool off, from the time they turn on the system in the Spring- AC/Heat is centrally controlled); laundry facilities are nearly useless- broken machines are not identified with loss of money- managment shrugs their shoulders at these complaints because it is managed by a third party- laundry water doesn't get hot enough to clean thoroughly, laundry room is dirty and not well cared for; storage bins are spacious but accessing them can be a pain, especially on short notice or over the weekend; management monitors the parking lot fairly regularly so your reserved space is reasonably well protected, but lack of visitor parking is very inconvenient; management responsiveness seems to depend on a single individual, so when there is a fill-in, it is difficult to get a response; Metro is a schlep (BLA is exactly halfway between Behtesda and Medical Center), although the free Bethesda shuttle (every 10 mins or so) is about 2 blocks away; County parking garage is 1 block away and the county will give you a free parking deal on weekends and non-business hours (between 5 pm and 7 AM) with proof of residence.

I've jumped ship now for better digs- not worth the convenience anymore. For the immediate post-college crowd, NIH'ers without cars (lots of foriegners here), and others who can put up with a dated and somewhat deteriorating facility it might be a reasonable option.

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