Avalon Mosaic

We moved here few months back.
Leasing office/​staff: helpful and nice. But not having a 24 hour concierge sucks for package delivery. They have an option of placing packages in the apartment but I am not too comfortable with it personally. So this is a subjective point, not against them.
Location: it’s the best. Can get groceries from Target and produce from MOM’S so it’s self contained that way. Plus theater and reaturants which are very good in quality
Quality of aprtment: great stuff inside. Cabinets are a bit flimsy and you can see they are not aligned in some places but not bad at all in any other way. Only thing is the floors/​ceilings are very poor material. You hear your upstairs neighbors walk, their music, their garbage disposal. It’s weired.
Overall community: good facilities provided, great gym, plenty parking.
2 things bother me the most are overall sound proofing and pre move cleaning. I can hear my neighbors party upstairs until 2 or 3 AM and they can get loud. The shocking thing is at 4:30 AM this morning I woke up to some people singing out loud to back street boys and Brittney Speres! I thought it’s my upstairs neighbors again but it was from some aprtment down the line and maybe not even on the same floor. So I heard sounds from people who don’t even live next to me! I can’t even figure out which aprtment so can’t complain to management but quality of sound proofing sucks. BTW we live on townhome side not the courtyard side.
2^nd point is this was not the cleanest aprtment after we moved it. There were coffee stains on the kitchen cabinets, toilet bowl was cleaned but not the rims and same with bathroom sink. When I went over it on my own lots of gross stuff came out… it was disgusting. So they need a better cleaning company to prep apartments for moving in.

Terrible move out experience! After living there for over a year and a half we chose the option to re-​rent our apartment since we had to leave before our lease had ended. After being assured by the leasing office that it would be no problem for them to re rent our apartment considering it’s location as well as seeing other apartments fill up within days of being vacated, we thought it would be a good idea. Boy were we wrong, the first thing they hung over our heads was that our carpets needed to be replaced even though we chose the clean sweep option where they are supposed to clean our carpets for us. They said that there was pet urine so they didn’t need to try and clean the carpets they could just replace them, but this was after doing the final move out inspection with them in person and they told us that there was no pet urine or any issue with the carpet. I would like to point out that during that move out inspection the maintenance personnel pulled the carpet up to check for that exact thing and he told me everything was good to go. Upon much back and forth with the service department and the leasing office they told us that the only thing we could do was take them to court. The next thing they robbed us of was our payback of accelerated rent. We moved out end of September and gave them over 4 months notice that we were moving out and not once did they try to show our apartment during that period. Then, we asked how we would know the apartment had been rented so we would know when we were no longer responsible for the rent payments on the apartment and they told us to check the website and if it was no longer listed that it had been rented. Our lease ended December 27^th, and the apartment was removed from the website as available on the 5^th of December, so if my math serves me correctly we should get 22 days of our accelerated rent payment for the month of December back. But wait a minute, the service department is telling me that the apartment was not moved into until the 26^th of December… So I call the leasing office and they explain to me that conveniently the apartment was taken off the market because someone had put an application in for it on the 5^th but decided to not move in until the 26^th (the day before our lease ended, the day after Christmas)…Really… They also explain that they can not control when the person wants to move in and that we are still responsible until those people actually move in… And when I ask how long they will hold an apartment for someone they tell me that it changes and that there is no set time period that they will hold an apartment for. I’m sure you can figure out what the conversation was like between, the now, current tenants and the leasing department during that process.
We had a great experience with Avalon until it was time to move out and they held us at gunpoint and robbed us. I normally don’t write reviews but this was the worst experience we have ever had with an apartment complex. Hopefully this will at least deter one person from being suckered by these people.

I’ve lived here for almost a year with my fiancé. We have a 1 BR on the 6^th floor — please take note of that since I can’t review the lower floors accurately.
Pluses:
— Location is fantastic if you’re into shopping, eating or working out. Not really close to the metro, but there is a shuttle that only runs on the weekdays during rush hour (can be unreliable). If you like walking, the metro is about a little over a mile away — definitely doable. There are new restaurants/​shops being added pretty regularly, so there’s definitely a lot to do. And it’s really convenient.
— The staff has been nothing but helpful, especially when something has gone wrong. No complaints there since I’ve worked with most of the regulars, and they’ve all been nice, easy to work with, and helpful. We’ve also had a lot of help when things have broken or needed repair.
— We have a balcony on one of the courtyards (not the pool — I’ve heard complaints with noise on that side). Other than maybe the occasional party during regular hours, nothing really noticeable. You do have to talk low when you’re in the courtyard because sound travels easily — but that’s not really their fault.
— Cleaning/​Maintenance staff are always nice! I haven’t caught their names, but the woman in the morning who cleans the office and provides coffee is always lovely, and so is the man I regularly see in the AM cleaning with the mop.
— Mosaic Community is great — they are definitely trying to bring more people to the area though, so be sure to drive around the district when possible instead of right through.
Minuses:
— Soundproofing isn’t the best, so I’m glad we chose the 6^th floor. We can sometimes hear our neighbors sharing the living room wall with us, but it’s only really noticeable if we’re sitting in silence (for some weird reason). I’m not sure about how it sounds to have people above you, so keep that in mind.
— People not picking up after their dogs. For the most part it isn’t too bad, but in some of the grassy areas, people will just leave their dog poop even though Avalon does provide bags. I’ve definitely step in some at night in the darker areas when following my own dog. A lot of people have dogs, so if you don’t like seeing them/​being near them, this probably wouldn’t be a good apartment building for you.
— Parking. I feel a little pointless paying for parking when there are people who park around the building for free. Just FYI — I know there were attempts to regulate this, but so far, I haven’t really seen a change. And the speed pumps are annoying, but that’s a personal preference, not really the fault of the building :)
— Not really too many amenities for the cost, but I definitely see signs of improvement.
— Not really dealing with the apartment building, but there are so many more people here than even a year ago. Be wary of randomly parked cars (especially by the curve on Merrifield Cinema Drive), pedestrians stepping into the street, and generally lack of awareness from people. Parking not in the garage can be difficult on weekend evenings.
TL;DR: The Avalon is a great choice for those looking to eat, drink and be merry. Highly recommend the 6^th floor if possible. Overall, I would recommend the building to friends as a solid choice if they’re looking for a mix between suburbs and city.

I’ve been living here for the past 5 months with my girlfriend. We share a 1 BR/​1 den apartment and it’s quite lovely. Gym is 24/​7, the concierge people are nice especially Carolyn, and the maintenance people come in as soon as they get the electronic request. Great amenities — pool, a couple courtyards.
We love the community here as we can walk to our favorite restaurants like Sister’s Thai, Cava, Chipotle, and Red Apron. We also like being super close to the Asian supermarkets like H-​Mart and Great Wall.
As for transportation, there’s a free shuttle that takes you to the Dunn Loring metro every 12 minutes. The garage parking here is awesome ($ 100/​month for two cars). And there’s a back way to the 495. Unlike the rest of the apartments in the Mosaic District, Avalon residents can dodge the pedestrian traffic in that intersection next the Mom and Pop Coffee shop and go through the back alley onto the I-​495/​66.
The only downside is that I wish our rent was a little cheaper, but I can’t complain with the convenience of this location.

The building is beautiful. The area is awesome-​but there are just things that are frustrating about paying so much for rent but more not being done to ensure tenants are treated the same. The biggest complaint is the courtyard-​people constantly hang out near the grills by the pool until past midnight. They are drinking and loud showing no concern for all of the working tenants. I don’t have an issue with people hanging out and having a good time-​but this isn’t a college dorm. Loud yelling and drinking on a Monday night shouldn’t be allowed to continue yet there is nobody to enforce it.
Visitor parking needs improving– they have 11 spots. There is one car that has been parked there with New York plates for 2 weeks. Again– nothing enforced.
Again– beautiful building and awesome location. Staff is great but the management needs to do more to make this a home not a dorm.

The place is nice and the location is fantastic. I will start with the bad things that does not give this place 5 stars.
Sound proofing there sucks. People out on the hallway can be heard like they are inside your apartment. If you live with a roomate and you pretend to bring someone over for sexy time forget it. Your roomate can hear you from the living room and vice versa. Its easier to get a motel. The second thing that takes a star away is the courtyards. They have beautiful and very confy courtyard but you must talk like you are in a library even during okay noise hours. Also as usual the lower floors can always hear the neighbors above. My neighbors above are very heavy footed and soemtimes it is a bit annoying.
Now for the good things. The front office people a very nice and helpful. Especially Carolyn. She is great! There used to be another gentleman named Adam that also was great but he left. The ameneties are good. The pool is nice, the courtyard have bbqs (gas ones) and they have a pool table next to gymn. The gymn is good however they are missing a couple of machines. So do not expect to get a full work out. In order to do that you must be creative. So far the parking garage there is great. Plenty of spots… just wish it was free. Pets are welcome here and i do not have one. However i have not have had bad experience with left over dog poo on the grassy areas which is great. This place is also very close to metro. My roomate uses it everyday for work.
Bottom line besides the sound proofing, this is a great place to live.

Clean and fantastically located in the heart of everything hip, new & upcoming! Free shuttle to & from the Metro, gym, pool, pool table, fire pit & coffee ready to brew in the lobby every morning. The maintenance guys are on it and they are super dog friendly.
Love this place & pleased I’m living here for the next 40 days!

A little bit of background:
My husband and I have lived here for a year and are leaving in a week. We have a 720-​sq. ft. 1-​bedroom apartment. We’re moving .6 miles down the road to an apartment that is 100-​sq. ft. bigger but $ 430 less expensive.
Pros:
— Situated in Mosaic District
— Not too far from metro
— Nice apartments (stainless steel kitchen appliances, «hardwood» flooring, etc)
— Has a good pool
— Staff is nice enough
Cons:
— Rarely any community/​residential events
— Water quality is AWFUL, both smell and taste
— Noise level at night in the courtyard (by night, I mean 10pm-​2am)
— Mosaic District is an incomplete community — not fully developed yet and always construction going on
The Pros are pretty self explanatory, but I’ll elaborate on the cons. When we were looking to move out of Avalon, we checked out Halstead. We looked at a room that was comparable in square footage, but $ 150 less. That was surprising considering I thought apartments would be more $$ closer to the metro. They showed us a calendar of their residential events — there’s basically at least 1 or 2 events every week! Wine tastings, cooking classes, «Bourbon & BBQ» parties, gameboard nights, sports games parties… everything! This made us feel ridiculous to have been spending MORE at Avalon and not getting all the extra perks and amenities. They did have one event once where a leasing agent stood by the elevators with an ice cream cart, passing out popsicles and ice cream sandwiches… that was really exciting.
So the water: I have a heightened sense of smell so this issue has been awful all year long, but I’ll admit, it probably doesn’t bother everyone. I’ve grown up drinking tap water my whole life without any problems, and I grew up less than a mile down the road. Here, using the water in the kitchen sink for dishes (or even cooking with it — yuck), getting a swig of water in the bathroom after brushing your teeth, or just taking a shower — it smells awful. It has this metallic/​sulfuric smell that hit me every single time. It also tastes gross… just makes me wonder what exactly is IN the water… My husband recognized the horrible taste but would drink it sometimes, on «good» days — some were better than others I guess. I got to the point where I would just go downstairs to the gym every day and fill a gallon with their filtered water.
Noise level was never a problem with next-​door neighbors, but every now and then the courtyard would get really noisy. And I’m not talking about 8pm… this would happen around 1am or sometimes even later… it was just a little annoying.
Lastly, Mosaic District is nice, but it’s not complete. There’s constantly new shops and restaurants opening up and there’s even going to be a new apartment complex built where that big patch of grass is right in front of Avalon. This means constant construction and fire alarm testing. If I’m going to pay almost 2k for a 1 bedroom, it’s going to be so that I can live in a developed community. The reason I actually felt compelled to write this review is because I’m sitting here enjoying my day off and have been listening to the constant melody of alarms for the past 45 minutes. If you love the sound of tractors reversing and fire alarms going off though, this is your place.
All in all, this place really isn’t too horrible, it’s just REALLY not worth what you’re paying.

I visited the Avalon Mosaic today with my Husband and we were really impressed with the location, amenities and spacious bedrooms and bathrooms. However we received very poor customer service by Farrah Ali who rushed through the site visit and cut us off when we asked questions and made us feel like we were a bother. Later that day we received an excellent tour of the Town Square at Mark Center by Nathly. You can have the best product but at the end of the day people remember how you made them feel.

Lived here for 6 months now and Avalon Mosaic is ideal for singles and families with the amount of shops, restaurants, and activities right in the Mosaic District neighborhood. It all will become even better as the stores on the bottom level open up. It is located very conveniently by major highways, free shuttle to the Dunn Loring metro, and 10 minutes away from Tysons.
As for the building itself, it is kept very clean and the staff is friendly. Someone is always using the lounge area playing billiards, people seen working in the upstairs work area, and the fitness center is large and accommodating. I also wish there were more weight machines, rowing machine, and barbells maybe.
I haven’t had a problem with seeing pet urine or feces during my stay here as others have noted. As far as the parking garage, I picked this place because it offered one and not only that, you are free to park wherever you want in the garage and no inconvenient guest pass is needed for guest parking.
Regarding noise, I have very little concerns about it. Really the only time it’s evident is when people walk in the hallfways and talk — seems like there’s no sound barrier at all with the front doors. Walls between apartments are fairly good, only a problem if you’re right against the wall and your neighbor has their TV or couch (talking) on the opposite side of it. But again, I may be lucky with both my neighbors being respectful and go to bed at which what seems like the same time as me.
Overall highly recommend it.
EDIT: At the time of the review, no guest parking passes were needed. Parking policies have now changed and guests will need a parking pass that you sign out from the leasing office. Unfortunately this is not ideal for drop-​in/​unplanned visits after they close.
Other than that, still a very enjoyable living experience.

Classy place– friendly management and staff! Best place I have lived EVER!!! Close to great restaurants, awesome theater, walking distance to great Urgent care and down the street from the train and a world class trauma center.

Pro:
The leasing staff are terrific. Can’t say enough good things about them.
The maintenance staff are responsive, polite and very helpful.
Close walking proximity to a great selection of restaurants and wonderful movie theater.
Brand new apartment; building is aesthetically pleasing in common areas and lobby.
Con:
The walls are paper thin. A major problem when you live beside problem people.
Extremely low brow neighbor on one side. The woman screams constantly and they argue constantly, profanity, throwing things, late into the night. It’s horrible and very discouraging, especially at this level of rent cost. I did ask to move to another close vacant apartment, was told that the policy didn’t allow a move outside of initial 30 day window.
There is dog waste everywhere. I love animals, however there are no designated pet stations and many people have no sense of decorum. Dogs are curbed anywhere without picking up the waste — including on resident porches and staircases. You can’t walk to your car, across the lawn, on the sidewalks, in the building hallways, elevators or lobby without side-​stepping urine or feces. Really disgusting.

I love it here! The apartment is really nice, great amenities, wonderful staff. It’s a pretty large complex and after living here for a month I still get lost. Thats not a bad thing though, as it’s two connected buildings.
The ONLY cons are things the staff can’t really control. People in this building are disrespectfully disgusting. Dog urine in the elevators, dog poo left everywhere, they don’t put trash down the chutes and just leave it in the trash room, you have to duck for your life in the parking garage because the turns are narrow and the entitled Northern VA douches have no sense of going slow for safety. They are the Veruca Salts of the country on the road, at work, why wouldn’t an apartment be different? But what’s the complex do?
Out of all the places I viewed in this area Avalon has the best value. It’s a quality place, quality amenities, less than a mile walk to the metro (and there’s a shuttle to the metro), and close to all the fun Mosaic shops. The apartments are beautiful and the wood flooring is to die for. It’s 13 miles to the city, tons of free guest parking (and they don’t require those permits that are so much of a hassle) and lots of things to do. I can do Yoga (soon), go to dinner and a movie and get my nails done within a short walk of my apartment. I’m pretty happy with my choice!
Only recommendation I have is fewer cardio machines and more weight machines in the HUGE gym. Or maybe a rowing machine!

I can’t believe that I’m paying for substandard conditions. I wrote to the corporate office 2 months ago and have yet to hear back. The building is non smoking, but guess what, people blatantly sit out side of the building and on their balconies smoking. The cleaning crew cleans once a week, so if trash is in the trash room or halls expect to see it all week. Management is nonresponsive including headquarters. I have had maintenance at my apartment for the same problem twice in one day. What they charge for rent is not worth it. I’m out!!!

When looking into apartments in Merrifield, I looked at this and three other comparable properties. Truth be told, one might argue that the other properties were slightly more finely appointed (e.g. nicer appliances, floors) for essentially the same price. However, I ended up going with Avalon Mosaic for two reasons: location and, more importantly, the service and attention I got during the selection process. The personnel in the leasing office were a huge factor in my decision, with the expectation that my experience would be similarly positive as a resident. I have not been disappointed. The staff here are exceptionally friendly, helpful, and responsive. I highly recommend this property.

My husband and I have been here for about a year and we love it. There’s nothing that we don’t like about it. The staff is awesome. The apartment layout is perfect. Only a few slight things… the hardwood floor finish is amazing! The amenities are great!
1. We wished there was more storage (in the loft layout).
2. (I agree with Matt D. about the complaints.) We have the contemporary modern kitchen finish but the appliances seem cheap and the cabinets seem cheap and felt like it was built in a rush.

My boyfriend and I moved in here in May and we love it. The hallways and entryways are always clean. There is an occasional dog smell in the elevators because a lot of people with dogs live here, but it never lasts long since the cleaning people are super on top of things. All the staff is also really nice and helpful. Our screen flew off in a storm and it was replaced within a few days on our schedule. The pool doesn’t get a ton of sun after 4pm, but before that its great and the «game room» and workout room is really nice and also very clean. The courtyards are awesome and we grill all the time. Overall we really like living here and recommend it!

My wife and I moved into the Avalon Mosaic apartments about 6 months ago. We are very happy with our decision. Our floor plan is awesome and the apartment itself is beautiful. The planners of the building did a fantastic job designing the common areas. We find ourselves parking in the retail parking area just so we can come home and walk through the main lobby. The gym, pool and upper courtyard areas are beautiful.
Our complaints are fairly minimal. The kitchen cabinets feel a little cheap and it seems the veneer could start peeling away soon. And we wish they required dog owners to use a specific elevator or stair well. The other night we invited friends over for dinner and when we went downstairs to let them in there was urine all over the lobby floor and in the elevator. It was a little disgusting tracking the germs into our house.

What a joke this company and apartment complex is. I won a contest in early December and they refuse to return any of my messages or provide me with my prize. My customer service experience was terrible and reflects poorly upon their entire brand. Stay away.

My husband and I moved into the apartments in October, 2013. We were the 10^th unit leased and one of the first residents at this location. I will say prior to them opening, I struggled with getting information from them and was sent to an operator that wasn’t affiliated with the company. It made me hesitant to lease here, HOWEVER, I will say I am so glad we chose this property.
We wanted to be very close to my husband’s new job and we have a chocolate lab over the weight limit of most «dog friendly» apartments in the area. While there are breed restrictions here, there is no weight limit for pets.
Pros:
1. We absolutely love the apartment staff here. I’m not sure who the other reviewers met with but we have absolutely never had any issues or concerns with any of the staff members. They respond quickly to all of my emails and are always available to answer questions.
2. We live in a 5 minute walk from the Mosaic District. Amazing.
3. This building is truly pet friendly. They keep biscuits in the office and my dog is always the quickest to return to the building because he knows he is going to get one from them. The other tenants are also dog friendly and it’s been great.
4. We love our unit. We pay a premium for the view and the 2 bedrooms, but we really love the set up and finishes.
5. Great amenities. Love the gym.
6. Shuttle to the metro station via Mosaic/​Edens. Although, I am disappointed they cancelled the shuttle for the weekend because that’s when we go into DC. But, that was not the apartments decision, it was Edens/​Mosaic.
7. The building is well maintained. The maintenance staff respond to requests almost immediately, they are cleaning the main/​common areas of the building constantly and even the maintenance people are friendly.
8. Rent is easy to pay online and maintenance requests can be completed online. Everything is done through the avalon website. Very convenient.
Cons:
1. Still under construction. Noise isn’t a problem but there are always trucks and workers around the building which can be a pain trying to drive in and out of the parking garage.
2. Parking garage. The turns are tight and other residents come flying around the corner which makes for a tricky driving situation when you don’t want to get hit head on by another vehicle.
3. The pool doesn’t get sun. I’m not sure who designed this building and put the pool where they did, but the architecture was not planned very well. What’s the point of having a beautiful pool without the sun?
4. Rent is expensive. We are from Ohio and certainly had sticker shock moving here. But, they are competitive with the other buildings around the area, are within walking distance from everything we need and allow large dogs.
I’ll update this review again as the construction goes away and summer comes to evaluate the pool situation!