Seneca

I lived here two years… same unit. Our relationship began with filthy carpeting… I seriously doubt that management checks up on the quality of «cleaning» being done or maybe it was cheaper to dispense with it? The worst was my bedroom carpet… looked like someone used the center of the floor for night relief by-​passing the bathroom. They told me they would «replace’ the carpet when I moved out… two years later?
What was considered «maintenance» was like pulling teeth! The washer and dryer were a nightmare. The washer NEVER spun the water out. I had to put dripping wet clothes into a dryer that took forever… four hours to get from soaked to damp dry then I had to hanged them over ever piece of furniture in the apartment! It took weeks to get them to even begin the repairs. The blinds were pulled out of the wall during the summer when I was away. I began in August asking manager and custodian for repairs. I moved out in May… they were STILL not «maintained.» And they had the audacity to add a charge to the move out statement for blind damage.
Management at the Seneca have a «nickel ‘n dime ‘em» attitude. We paid over a thousand dollars a month in rent. When one pays rent on a property not their own, one would expect maintenance to cover all things not owned by the tenant. The apartment owns all fixtures from water pipes to light bulbs which management should «maintains» during the contract period. BUT not here. Tenants are deemed responsible for the light bulbs in ceiling fixtures not just the lamps they brought with them. If you doubt me, wait for the move out statement.
Expect to «accept» neighbors-​as-​is. The walls are as thin as fly-​paper. If raising h— is what your neighbors desire to do, then you will be asked to pay the price. Management has more important things on their plate like deciding what days they want to ask off.
Seriously, some part of a thousand plus dollars paid each month must cover something besides coffee machine and weekend donuts! Or are they maintenance, too?

I lived here for 3 years from 2008 – 2011 in the same unit. My roommate and I were able to lock in our price, which was nice. I would say we paid the going rate for the area considering our unit was brand spanking new and we were the first ones to live in it. We had decent sized bedrooms and living space. The best part was we both had our own bathrooms and we had a HE washer and dryer in our unit. Although everything was new, it was all builder’s grade/​low end — laminate countertops, faux stainless steel appliances, and TERRIBLE carpeting. The carpet constantly pilled up and was difficult for the vacuum cleaner to suck up the mats/​pills. At least the walls were a pleasant neutral color. Trash day was awful, as our unit faced east, the side of the building where they kept the rolling bins. Like clockwork, even with windows shut and locked, between 5−6am you’d hear the constant LOUD rolling and bumping down stairs of the trash cans. That was the worst when it woke you up. Sirens (kind of on the threshold of living in the ghetto) and helicopters (for a while you’ll think the Grant hospital helicopter is about to crash through your window) didn’t phase me, but the trash cans sure did. Also, I’ve experienced some bad storms while living here. Never had the power go out once (I think the lines are underground). And the building is built of brick — ya ain’t going anywhere and you don’t hear gusting winds or heavy rain.
We eventually got a gym (a few basic equipment) then got a REAL gym, then the real gym went bye bye because they couldn’t properly sound proof the dropping weights and blasting music, then we went back to our basic gym. We were told that a coffee/​sandwich type shop was going to open very soon in the vacant adjacent ballroom space (The Seneca used to be the premier downtown hotel back in the day)… coffee shop never came.
I would say the best amenity this place offers, besides be located next to facilities like CCAD, Capital Law School, Grant Hospital (for students and professionals), is the on-​call service/​repair. Doug, the resident handyman/​head of building maintenance, can and will fix any problem you have. Most problems were addressed within a day or two. It also helps that the leasing office is within the building — although there were a few occasions where they were closed when I needed them and not expecting them to be closed. But in the scheme of 3 years, that’s really not too bad. Plus, Tasha, the main leasing agent, will gladly give you her cell phone number if you need her during closed hours (she also lives within the building).
Only thing that left a bitter taste in my mouth after I moved out was being slapped w/​a $ 300 fee for carpet replacement in my bedroom. I had spilled some nail polish, which I told them about. I was told it should be no more than $ 50. But then I packed up a small rug I had laid down for 3 years and it STAINED the carpet. Bizarre, right? I had used this SAME rug on the same if not similar color of carpet for years before w/​NO staining issues. Obviously, their cheap carpet is treated w/​something and a mild chemical reaction of some sort occurred w/​the rug’s dye (at least that’s my lay person scientific conclusion). I also told them about this stain and they said they should be able to get it out w/​some of their industrial strength cleaner. At worst I figured they’d just cut out the area affected and put in new carpet (which I’m sure they have extra of) and that maybe I’d owe them closer to $ 100. Fair enough. I was too stressed from just having moved out in 90* heat and was about to leave for vacation when I received the bill, so I just paid it in full (the $ 300) w/​no questions asked. I regret not inquiring and attempting to negotiate a better figure, but I was too exhausted and just wanted to be done w/​it all.
Lastly, a vast majority of residents are law students and CCAD students. This can make it feel like a dorm on many occasions. It’s nice to have a lot of your friends in the same building, but the younger CCAD kids can be quite obnoxious as this may be their first time living on their own. However, the leasing office does take noise complaints seriously. I filed one once against a neighbor and never experienced a problem with them again.
All in all I have nothing but good memories from living here. Even being stuck in one of the very small front elevators w/​9 other people for 45 minutes and having 4 fire trucks show up made for a fun story.