Town Square at Mark Center Apartments, Alexandria VA

Great customer service; they make moving in very easy. I also like the quite atmosphere of the compound.

PLEASE get Verizon Fios here. Having only one internet option this close to DC is unacceptable.

Based on my experience here (lived here for four years) as well as another Equity apartment, I implore you to stay far far away from Equity Residential, as they are all run the same.
Town Square at Mark Center used to be a nice place to live, but it has slowly dwindled over the years. The apartments are poorly configured, easy to hear your neighbors both above, below, and beside you (and the leasing office will not do anything about that).
Maintenance - Everything breaks. AC unit never really worked for our apartment, hallways outside leaked, dishwasher randomly stopped working. Also, the elevators randomly stops working, which we quickly realized on our move-in day (it was 100 degrees outside).
Safety - The community has banded together time and time again to call for increased security, but the leasing office regularly ignores the request, citing that 'cameras do not deter crime'. As a result, expect 1) the gates to always be broken 2) No monitoring or security 3) stolen packages 4) Car break-ins.oh and a woman was shot and killed outside of her apartment.but the resident's are supposed to feel 'safe'.
Predatory Towing - 1) they charge for guest parking, which is absurd. 2) certain guest parking spaces require passes, while others do not (but it's not really clear and they don't have a formal parking policy). You cannot have a regular parking pass and park in a visitor's spot.you will absolutely get towed.
Lack of Common Decency - honestly, the place is a dump.it's supposed to be a smoke free community, but there are cigarettes everywhere, and people are always smoking weed on their balconies. Additionally, people throw trash directly on the ground, and never pick up after their pets.
If you're not bothered by any of the above, TOWN SQUARE IS THE PLACE FOR YOU!

I lived at Town Square at Mark Center for just under ten years, in a two bedroom apartment. It was very comfortable and quiet and the view from my balcony was spectacular and ever changing. The leasing office was responsive and helpful especially Taylor Carlstrom. Maintenance was quick to solve problems. The grounds are nice and I always felt safe. I'm sad to leave. I couldn't recommend it more highly. These are all photos taken from my balcony over the years.

Leasing office is very personable and friendly. They worked with our needs and helped find us what we needed.

Stay away, mice, flooded apartments, leaky roofs, maintenance cuts holes in your walls to find a problem two floors up, base rent 2100 but some how end up paying 2600 a month, NO parking have to walk 5 minutes to get to your apartment, visitors always get towed, belongings STOLEN out of vehicles, trash always gets taken away LATE, to many maintenance issues our sink COLLAPSED and was never fixed, dog poop everywhere to many problems

Lived here for 9 months. The move in was easy and everyone was nice until we actually moved in. It was hard to get in contact with anybody at the office, when they did respond they weren’t very polite and the moving out process was horrible. Parking is always an issue. Whenever I put in a work order there was no note/email saying the issue was fixed. They did not do a move out inspection then charged us for unnecessary things like replacing the rug. If you never have a reason to contact the office or need maintenance, the place isn’t too bad. I would not recommend living here otherwise.

Troy was an amazing consultant. Thanks for your kindness always.

I am a resident for almost a month now and i would definitely recommend this gateway community. Delena Swaby our leasing consultant did an excellent job from processing paperwork, touring the grounds/facilities to following up a week later to ensure we settling well in our new apartment. I had two service requests and maintenance was friendly and promptly dealt with our concerns. I am satisfied and this 5 star rating is a small THANK YOU Delena. Stay Safe!

I lived at Town Square for 2 years and my experience has been enjoyable. Everyone in the leasing office has been nothing but helpful and friendly my entire time there. I have a dog and the community is very pet friendly and a treat to walk around with my dog. They also have a dog park in the community so that I don’t have to worry about trying to find somewhere for my dog to get her well needed exercise. Overall, I enjoyed my stay at Town Square and would live there again if I move back to the area.

Terrible customer service
No one ever picks up the phone when you need to reach out to management
I live right across from the office and if I want to speak to anyone I must get out of my house to literally walk across to speak with someone

I have been without AC for the past week.someone was here a week ago and stated my motor doesn’t work and that they would come back. No one has showed up.
I called the emergency line yesterday, put in several tickets, first ticket at 2: 30pm and last at 11: 00pm and no one from maintenance showed up.

I have also talked to GM on site about this issue and nothing changes. Reaching out to him is also extremely difficult to the extent that I have sent him emails and no response. If I get a response is weeks later.

The customer service here is horrendous, definitely not my money worth.

Eleane

Highly recommend living here. The leasing staff is the best in the business. They will work hard to find what you’re looking for. Shenna helped me beyond measure. I am totally happy with the place apartment and the process.

I wanted to say what a pleasant experience it was dealing with the front office folks at TSMC. Amina showed my wife and I apartments and helped us select the right place and Shenna and Delena both provided significant help each time I went into the office. Each experience was awesome! A smile and good attitude go along way and it was a pleasure talking with each girl. Thanks to everyone. All the best. Patrick

Horrible maintenance. Had a hot water heater leak a few months ago, and all they did was patch it. Well here we are and some of the ceiling fell through and after 3 emergency service voice mails, still nothing.

Great place to live, amenities and the grounds well-maintained, underground parking available, quiet neighborhood, easy commute to Washington, DC, management office staff intelligent, helpful and accommodating to all requests; manager always responds to emails. Apartments are spacious and appliances are top of the line. Thank you Town Square for making our stay very enjoyable.

I have been at this place for over a month now on a temporary health care assignment on a corporate apartment provided by my company. Everything has been ok so far and the office staff does their best to resolve matters if there are any in a timely and efficient manner. Their valet trash amenity is very useful and comfortable for people like me that work long hours! I would recommend this property for anyone looking for a home away from home or a permanent location to live.

Great management team, excellent maintenance crew. Been here for 6 years and had a couple of issues that were quickly remedied. One thing I would suggest is avoid taking apartment where you have a large common area. Unfortunately many of the lazy pet owners abuse the fact that their lease allows them to bring their dogs into these common areas and when you look out your door anytime of day you will probably see them right in front of your apartment. This is why I can't give them 5 stars

Really surprised by some of the bad reviews below. I would recommend this place highly. If you are someone who does not like being an adult, or dont have any desire to own your own home, and depend on an office to wait on you hand and foot like a fancy hotel, this isnt the place for you. This place is well run, but lets be honest, its apartment living. Here is an honest review from someone who really takes customer service seriously.i moved in Feb 13 2018. Really love my apartment.i have a pool view and huge balcony. I really recommend this place to anyone who wants to be close to DC, Arlington, and Oldtown without paying an arm and a leg, but still want a quality place to stay. Their balconies are huge! No more fake juliet balconies lol. Property is maintained really well! Well lit in the hallways, which can be an issue for some courtyard style communities.love the basketball court.maybe one of these days i'll see if I still have it! Love the finishings in kitchen and bathroom, and really love how fast the office has been, in getting back to me with service requests.special thanks to the General Manager Robert, for always being willing and available to address questions. Sometimes its not about the problems/issues that occur. Its about the staff. They are extremely courteous and helpful! Special thanks to Chelsea our leasing consultant. Chelsea was absolutely wonderful during the tour and move in orientation. S/O to the other Leasing consultant Jason. Not only do we have the same name, but he is Very personable with the residents as well.my wife and I will be here for a good while until we find a house.good luck with that in the VA market lol.overall, Kudos to the team! I have already recommended this place to people. Keep up the good work

FYI, they ran a contest to get positive reviews on here, so I wouldn't trust these reviews.
I lived here 2016-2017. First, for pet owners, I want to warn you of the numerous AC and heating issues I had, as well as the fact that the grounds have glass all over the places you walk your dog. I would not live here ever again, particularly with pets, in addition to it being over-priced on rent alone plus all the added fees for parking and trash. When I first moved in, I had no hot water, so that was my first call to maintenance. I moved in during August, and I called to fix the AC about 2 weeks after moving in. The temperature was quickly getting up to 80 degrees and the complex refused to put me in a hotel as per their lease agreement to find other lodging when the apartment is uninhabitable. The complex even fought me on reimbursing me for rent that night. The apartment manager argued with me telling me my dog could live in 80 degree weather, until I called the management company. I called on the AC not working an additional 3 times that week. I called 6 times in total through October. There were numerous times maintenance ignored my emergency request even though I was on the third floor with a pet and it was getting too hot for my pet. Also, I was told I could switch the thermostat from heat to AC as needed, but turns out I couldn't until maintenance came to flip a switch. I also called 1 time in December since the heater was throwing cold air. Specifically on a Monday in early December, I woke up to the apartment temperature at 68, even though the thermostat was set to 70. Maintenance tried to tell me there was no issue. This showed the heating system failing after months of the AC failing too. I had to call maintenance two more times due to the heat not working up to the temperature it was set at. Additional problems included knats coming out of the drain during the summer that I had to clean and fix, the door to my balcony frequently sticking even though they said it would be fixed before moving in, not all the outlets in the apartment working, glass all over the grounds and not picked up, office staff that ignores any current resident's phone calls, and office staff waiting on you till absolutely last when you enter the office building to report an issue. Town Square tried to fine me for boxes sitting outside my door while I was in the process of moving in because they weren't broken down. Town Square also sent complaint letters if you're garbage can sat outside your door for one day, yet that can't seem to fix their own maintenance issues. Even though the carpet was stained when I moved in, they told me I had to pay to replace it. Never forget they legally have to replace the carpet every couple of years, so the only way I got this reduced was by making sure it was pro-rated. They also tried to charge me for streaks on the mirror when I cleaned it with a wipe and water stains around the faucet. I have cleaned every apartment I lived in upon move-out with no issue except this place. They were doing this to collect any maintenance fees they could come up with. In addition to all of this, their payment system told me when my final payment was due, so I sent it by that date. They told me it was due earlier than that and sent my fee to a collection company even after I told them I could prove it with a screen shot of their payment system. Without a doubt, this is the worst place I have lived and is so OVER-PRICED.

FOLLOW UP MARCH 2018:
I've been a resident for almost 2 years now. (OH before I get started, add about $150-$200 to you rent listing price for their fees and if you want basic parking). The above review still remains on my initial move in to this area. However, now that I've been here for 2 years, you began to notice things. The only issue that I'm currently going to address is the noise my apartment makes. I haven't slept well in about 3 months. No one can tell me what's wrong, or they're too lazy to fix it. I have sent countless videos and emails to the GM and the leasing office and no one seems to want to take an initiative to solve it. The sounds started happening in early Nov, wasn't too big of a deal until about December 2017. Some may wonder why have i dealt with it so long. I literally have been giving them the benefit of the doubt because I believed that we had that great relationship and I thought they would have done something by now. Even my guests hear the noise. It's bad enough that they're expensive, yet I can't even get this handled. It's a nice place to live but everything here that glitters isn't gold.

INITIAL REVIEW (2016) :
I currently have the 2 bed 1.5 bath. Being that I signed a lease prior to even seeing the place in person all the way in Chicago, I was a bit nervous but excited about moving. Once I arrived, I found the community just as nice as I saw in the pictures. The apartment was really nice and renovated but there was one problem. One of the rooms was extremely small. I thought to myself, there's no way I can stay in this room with all the stuff I had, but was going to try to make it work. One of the Leasing Consultants, Tarah C, as I was walking to the office to retrieve my other keys, asked how I liked the apartment. I explained my thoughts to her and she began to have the look of determination. She explained that she wants to make sure we are happy with our apartment and will work hard to find something for us within the next day and guess what. SHE FOUND AS A BIGGER APARTMENT THAT'S SPECTACULAR WITH NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. Well besides the difference in the apartment price. The next day we signed the lease for the other apartment and moved in!

The only downsize to our specific apt (2 bed 1.5 bath) is that the shower is in the master suite. The neighborhood has 2 gyms, a nice sized pool, and a computer room, where I did most of my work at the beginning. Parking can also be a little hectic.

The Best Apartment Home Community in Alexandria with the most friendliest staff I've ever met. Thanks for the hospitality.