Calvert House Apartments

My family moved to Calvert House in July and could not be more happy. We love our sun-​filled apartment, rooftop deck, friendly staff, bike garage, responsive maintenance team, lovely residents, location, and the neighborhood public schools. It is obvious that a team of contentious people work to keep the building in good order.
There are people that have lived in this building for 30 – 50 years. It has a community feel. Wifi is super fast with fios, and the elevators are being renovated. The oversized widows make the apartments feel spacious. We feel at home here.

If you like urban living this THE spot! The location simply can’t be beat. Close to great neighborhoods in every direction, across from Rock Creek National Park and very safe. I’ve lived in DC for 11 years and I’ve looked a lots of other places, always deciding to stay where I’m at. The building, like many inner city buildings is older but well maintained, clean and with staff that are trained to help you feel like it’s your home. Windows are huge and with the unique shape of the building, all of the apartments are slightly different, helping to provide some choice and variety. The management routinely organizes events including wine tasting, holidays and cook outs. Make sure to check out the roof top deck view!

UPDATE on 5.13.2014: Technicians are installing Verizon FiOS in our building as I write this.

Think of Calvert House as the crappy dorm on your campus. That’s what it has turned into.
This building used to have a decent mix of folks, of all ages. Some lifers who have lived here forever, some diplomats, and a bunch of professionals (like me), who appreciate the proximity to the metro, and were willing to pay the exorbitant rent here and sacrifice modern amenities (decent internet or cable packages) for a convenient location. But, recently, the management company that runs this building began hedging against cyclical rental demand by leasing out blocks of apartments to colleges and universities. So now, more and more of the building is overrun by college kids and frat boys.
The building is turning into a bad dorm. Drunken kids storm down the halls late at night on weekends. People urinate in the elevators (this happened maybe 3 weeks ago). Kids pull the fire alarm, causing mass evacuation at 2:00 am (this happened 2x now recently, including tonight, as I write this). There is definitely the smell of cigarette smoke and pot lingering in the halls on a regular basis.
And keep in mind, the building has never been that great a value: the building is old, and not just old fashioned. The elevators are frequently out of order, there is definitely mold on the interior of the walls. (Those with mold allergies will notice this immediately, as certain of my friends have.) That said, for years, the location of the building made up for a lot. And, management and staff are friendly and responsive, which is more than can be said for many, many other properties in DC.
Over time, however, I think the cost/​benefit analysis for this building has tilted against recommending this place. The college-​leasing program is the last straw. For the rent we pay, we should not be dealing with late-​night fire drills, and seeing all our dreary-​eyed neighbors in the lobby at 2am. Avoid.

I really wish I could give Calvert House more stars, but the ownership is terribly unresponsive to the modern age and it’s just unacceptable.
Please note: the management is excellent. The people on-​site are friendly and helpful, and I have no quarrel with them. Ros and Laura work to please residents and do the best they can to make sure everyone loves living here. The longer-​term residents tend to be older but it makes the building a great cross-​section of the neighborhood.
Amenities are good for the attractive price point of this building. Parking is expensive, but at least it’s available. The gym is fairly well-​equipped and the door person is a helpful service.
If you use technology for anything, live elsewhere. I cannot advise that enough. Internet services here are circa 1998 and no signs of improvement. The ownership refuses to bring this building into the 21^st century. We were able to get HD television service in our apartment, but only through DirecTV and only after running a wire from the phone jack (I kid you not) in our kitchen, through our dining room, and into the living room… right next to where the cable jack is that doesn’t actually connect to a cable service. That’s right, no Comcast, no RCN, nothing.
The internet is laughable. It’s all contracted with a company called MDU that offers a single 50MB connection divvied up among all subscribers in the building. The management is sympathetic, but ownership will not acknowledge this as a problem. In effect, residents who want internet are asked to pay the same price subscribers elsewhere pay to receive 100MB service. In return for such exorbitant rates, lucky Calvert House residents may access service up to 9MB. Yes, nine. Up to. Good luck getting that.
Environmental units are also dated, but that’s par for the course in older DC buildings. Electric appliances are less than ideal, but also common in older buildings. Paying rent online is available… if you’re willing to pay the $ 28 fee that the Calvert House’s payment processor charges you.
To be honest, I love to cook and have AC and use the internet. None of these are terribly easy to do in the Calvert House, but at least I can save money on rent and plan for purchasing a house in the future.

this is the apartment provided to me last year by my company. the place is very convenient, metro just minutes away, restaurants just downstairs. the place enjoys double advantages of being in downtown as well as quiteness in suburban areas. the apartment is well equiped, and you can start your life right away after unpackaging. one thing is not so friendly. It is very expensive. For a one bedroom, it costs 3000 bucks.

Great apartment building. Calvert House was the second apartment building I lived at in D.C. and it was a big improvement over my previous building (The Kenmore).
The best part of the Calvert House is the location. When you walk out your door, you are literally at the Woodley Park metro and across the street from Open City. The Woodley Park neighborhood is safe and is home to a rather young crowd of urban professionals and students.
i lived in a studio, and it was fairly large. I was able to fit a king size bed, a futon, a kitchen table, a dresser, a tv stand and a desk. The bathroom was good sized, and I had not one, not two but three closets. One closet had shelving so I used it for my books so I wouldn’t need a bookshelf and could save some space.
For the area, I found Calvert House to be the most affordable building. I think the reason why its cheaper is because it offers fewer amenities. There’s no gym. There’s no pool. There are no tennis courts.
Now for me, it’s perfect b/​c I was not looking for nor expecting those things. I was really going for location which it gave me. There’s a large laundry room with many washers & dryers. I’ve never had to wait for an available one, and it works on the card system so you put cash on your card and don’t have to fret about saving quarters.
The people at the front desk are there ²⁴⁄₇ and very friendly.
Parking is available but expensive. I think its about $ 175/​per month for an indoor space, and $ 135 for an outdoor space. I have a car and have been able to find street parking fairly easy — sometimes it can be tough though.
The A/​C and heat work well, and I’ve had no problem with either which is so important in this crazy D.C. weather.
And most importantly, have never seen a mouse or a bug!
Overall, a clean building with the basic amenities (washer, dryer, heat, a/​c, quick repairs) helpful management and superb location. Never regretted my decision to move here.