The old red brick River Place apartments look somewhat out of place among the glass-sheathed office towers of Rosslyn, but if you can look past the appearance of these 50s-era buildings you can find some very reasonable deals on decent, if worn, apartments, all in a perfect location for metro commuters.

A quick overview of the North building and what's new: complaints about the elevators are no longer relevant, as the management installed entirely new elevators about a year ago. The new ones are remarkably quick and have never once broken down in my year at the place. Management has also just set up high-speed wireless internet throughout the building, giving each resident a free account and the option of additional accounts for ten dollars apiece. All utilities except cable TV are paid, which is a nice convenience although they tend to skimp on both the A/C and heat.

The apartments themselves are showing their age, particularly the kitchens which are really too small to prepare anything other than the simplest meals. Closet space is also limited. The renovated fitness center finally opened this summer and is free for all residents - the place has a ton of aerobic and weight-lifting equipment as well as ping-pong, pool and foosball tables. The building has a large foreign/immigrant population, particularly Mongolians with young and large families, but there are plenty of students as well - generally everyone keeps the place clean and safety has never even been an issue.

Here's my list of pros and cons and other facts:

Pros:
---Perfect location, especially for metro commuters, as the Rosslyn metro (blue and orange lines) is just a block and a half away
---Brand new huge fitness center
---Ample nearby conveniences (mini-supermarket on-site, CVS, Baja Fresh, Safeway all steps away)
---All utilities included (except cable) plus free wireless internet
---Extremely safe place
---Clean and well-kept
---Reasonable rents for the location
---Thick walls that keep out virtually any neighbor noise, or your own loud music from your neighbors

Cons:
---Parking, if you don't have a spot with your apartment, is expensive ($90-100/month), and there is no visitor parking
---Tiny kitchens and not enough closets
---Central air never quite cools it down enough in the summer, and things can get downright chilly on cold winter days
---Apartments generally show their age and can be a bit shabby
---Management could be better at responding to repair requests
---Airplanes are always flying overhead, but the noise is hardly noticeable after a week or two - the apartments are well sound-proofed


Other facts to aid you in making your decision:
---Very large Asian and immigrant population- you will not hear a lot of English spoken at this place, but there are a lot of students around too
---Children of said Asian families all over the place, they are generally well-behaved
---Units are individually-owned but management is responsible for repairs
---Laundry room in basement- no in-unit W/D: $1.50 per use of machine

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