The only good things that can be said about 3003 Van Ness are that the floor plans are large and it's close to the metro. The building is unsafe, the staff is incompetent, and the owners of the building are unscrupulous.
LACK OF SAFETY. During the three+ years I lived there, there were somewhere between ten and thirty burglaries that had similar circumstances: there was no forced entry and they took place during the daytime. In my opinion, if someone is getting into locked apartments without forcing entry, that means that the burglar(s) had keys to the apartments. That's pretty scary. Valuables such as jewelry, electronics, and credit cards were stolen from residents. Management refused to purchase security cameras for elevators and hallways.
Also, multiple women were sexually assaulted by a man in elevators in the building. Management refused to purchase security cameras for elevators.
Additionally, an armed homeless person took up residence in the party room. That's not a joke or an exaggeration. Management responded by refusing to post pictures of the person on the premises to warn the community.
Further, employees of Equity management routinely let into the building people who did not live there and/or who have not provided identification. DC Police noted that lack of security when talking to residents about the crime spree in the building.
Finally, an incident that is too strange to be fiction: a dog was electrocuted while walking in a courtyard at 3003 Van Ness due to faulty electrical wiring.
The sum total of the above safety issues would be hilarious if they weren't so tragic. Management flat out refuses to do what it takes to keep residents safe.
STAFF. There are well-meaning staff and there are staff who simply do not care or are actively and aggressively unhelpful. The well-meaning staff open the front door for you (or prop open the door) without asking for identification or a key fob for entry. The careless or aggressively unhelpful ones leave the front desk unattended for extended periods of time; the front desk and closet across the entryway have been left unlocked, allowing open access to packages delivered to the front desk for residents to anyone who might be dishonest enough to help themselves to them.
BAIT-AND-SWITCH RENT INCREASES. Equity, the owner of the building, has a clause in its leases that charges an unrealistic imaginary rent (let's say, for example, $3000 for a 1-BR) and then tells you that they're giving you a "concession" down to market rate (for example $2000 for that 1-BR, so the "concession" is $1000). If you would like to go month-to-month after your lease expires as is your right as a tenant in DC, you have to pay the full imaginary rent plus the maximum increase allowed by law (CPI+2%). The DC Office of the Tenant Advocate and many tenants believe that this bait-and-switch tactic is illegal and it is being challenged in court presently.
In summary, save yourself the misery and hassle of living at that place. You have a choice to avoid it; there are plenty of other buildings in the area. My heart goes out to the elderly folks who are stuck living there due to rent control keeping their apartments there affordable for them. I didn't fully recognize how horrible management's treatment of their residents was until I left. I'm much happier now. Learn from my mistake.
A man who lived at 3003 Van Ness during his 30s and who moved out in the mid 2010s.