Victory Square Apartments

    600 Barnes St NE, Washington, DC, 20019
    4.0 · 14 reviews
    • Independent living
    AnonymousCurrent/former resident
    3.0

    Kind staff, persistent maintenance issues

    I've lived here since 2012 and appreciate the kind, respectful, and responsive staff, sympathetic management, on-site services, friendly neighbors and fun monthly activities. That said, maintenance and cleanliness are inconsistent - leaky/dirty windows, mold, old appliances, sinking floors, dust and persistent odors are real issues, so inspect units carefully.

    Pricing

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    Amenities

    4.00 · 14 reviews

    Overall rating

    1. 5
    2. 4
    3. 3
    4. 2
    5. 1
    • Care

      1.0
    • Staff

      4.6
    • Meals

      4.0
    • Amenities

      1.0
    • Value

      4.0

    Pros

    • helpful and respectful management
    • kind and friendly staff
    • responsive and sympathetic management
    • quick maintenance response (per some reviewers)
    • professional property manager
    • awesome maintenance and cleaning staff (per some reviewers)
    • fun and appropriate monthly activities
    • management open to new ideas
    • on-site/in-house access to services
    • clean building (per many reviewers)
    • nice building and lovely atmosphere
    • quiet building
    • friendly neighbors
    • long-term resident satisfaction (resident since 2012 reported no problems)
    • positive apartment tours and easy application process
    • overall satisfied residents who 'love it here'

    Cons

    • dirty conditions and poor overall maintenance (per multiple reviews)
    • mold and mildew present in units
    • leaky windows and window maintenance concerns
    • old appliances
    • cheap carpet and carpets not replaced
    • fake wood floors sinking or coming apart
    • rotten egg odors and other strong foul smells
    • smell of urine and feces in some areas
    • tobacco smoke smell
    • dusty environment
    • units not painted and toilet seats not changed
    • lack of privacy and perceived lack of oversight
    • tenants sick or died; reports of serious resident health incidents
    • reports of senior gang activity and safety concerns
    • tenants moving out due to conditions
    • highly negative claims calling conditions 'disgrace' or 'horrible'

    Summary review

    Overall impression: Reviews for Victory Square Apartments are sharply mixed, showing a pronounced divide between residents who praise staff, services, and the atmosphere and others who report serious facility, cleanliness, and safety problems. Many reviewers emphasize excellent interpersonal experiences — warm, professional, and helpful management and staff, timely maintenance for some residents, and a welcoming, quiet atmosphere. At the same time, a substantial set of reviews describes significant physical deficiencies: persistent odors, mold and mildew, failing floors and carpets, leaky windows, old appliances, and dusty or dirty conditions. This polarization suggests inconsistent experiences that may depend on unit, building section, timing, or management responsiveness in particular cases.

    Staff and management: The dominant positive theme is the quality of staff interactions. Multiple reviewers call management and staff kind, respectful, sympathetic, and responsive. Specific praise includes a warm property manager who assisted applicants, management open to new ideas, and staff who run appropriate monthly activities. Some reviewers highlight quick maintenance responses and describe maintenance and cleaning staff as “awesome.” Conversely, other reviews accuse management of being uncaring and negligent, reporting a lack of oversight. This split indicates that while many residents experience attentive, professional staff, others feel management fails to address recurring problems or take adequate action when issues arise.

    Facilities and maintenance: Facility-related comments show the widest range of opinions. Positive reports describe a clean, nice building and well-kept apartments (including long-term residents with no problems). However, multiple negative comments point to serious deferred maintenance and sanitation issues: leaky windows, mold and mildew inside units, rotten-egg and other strong foul odors, urine and feces smells, tobacco smoke, heavy dust, old appliances, cheap or damaged carpeting, and fake wood floors coming apart or sinking. Some reviews also note units not being repainted, toilet seats not changed, and carpets not replaced when expected. The contrast suggests inconsistent upkeep: some units/buildings are reported as clean and well-maintained, while others suffer from long-standing physical problems that affect livability.

    Safety, privacy, and resident population concerns: Several reviews raise safety and community concerns beyond maintenance. Reports include lack of privacy, tenant illness and death, and even allegations of “senior gang activity.” These are serious claims and appear alongside reports of inadequate oversight by management in some cases. Other reviewers, however, describe a quiet, lovely atmosphere with friendly neighbors. The conflicting accounts indicate potential variability in resident mix and building security or in how incidents are handled and communicated.

    Activities and services: Many residents appreciate on-site services and regular activities. Positive remarks highlight fun monthly programming and the convenience of in-house access to services, meaning some residents rarely need to leave home. A few reviewers asked for more after-hours activities, and some working residents noted daytime events conflict with their schedules, limiting participation. Overall, activities appear well-regarded when they suit residents’ schedules.

    Patterns, reliability of reports, and implications for prospective residents: The reviews present two recurring patterns: (1) consistently positive feedback about staff, interpersonal service, and community activities; and (2) repeated, specific complaints about physical building conditions and odors. Because both types of reports are substantial, it appears that experiences vary significantly by unit, building section, or over time. A small number of extremely negative reviews (including one urging viewers to “check YouTube” and labeling the place a “disgrace”) amplify the negative side but should be weighed alongside multiple positive accounts from long-term residents and those who describe a clean, well-run community.

    Bottom line: Victory Square Apartments receives strong praise for staff professionalism, responsiveness (in many cases), and onsite services/activities, which create a welcoming environment for many residents. However, there are recurring, specific, and serious complaints about cleanliness, mold, odors, flooring, window leaks, and overall maintenance that have driven some tenants to move out and raised safety and health concerns for others. Prospective residents should treat the property as a mixed-report community: schedule an in-person tour, inspect the specific unit for odors, mold, flooring, and window condition, ask management about recent remediation and maintenance records, inquire about security and oversight, and speak with current long-term residents to gauge consistency of the positive experiences described.

    Location

    Map showing location of Victory Square Apartments

    About Victory Square Apartments

    Victory Square Apartments is a senior living community built in 2012 with 97 one or two-bedroom units, and it does have some building issues related to water damage that residents should consider, but it offers a lot for adults aged 55 and older who want to live on their own while still having access to care and support when needed, so you'll find apartments that are roomy and open, some with floor-to-ceiling windows and even walk-in closets in select units, with a few offering nice views of the Anacostia River, and it's good that there are full kitchens with pantries and breakfast bars in every apartment, plus there are emergency call systems and grab bars in the bathrooms for those who need a little more help getting around, and you're allowed to bring small pets under 35 pounds, even cats or dogs as long as they meet the weight limit.

    The community is quite accessible with two elevators, ground floor apartments, and wide hallways that make it easier for people using wheelchairs and walkers, and there's uncovered and gated resident parking with about 25 spaces available, but it's also easy to reach public transportation if you want to get out and about, and when it comes to staying active or social, you'll see amenities like a fitness center, beauty salon, coffee bar, fireplaces, arts and crafts room, community room with a kitchen, library, and centrally located laundry rooms on each floor, and they have a CONNECTS Life Enrichment Program to provide activities and events that focus on physical, social, emotional, and even spiritual well-being, including things like group outings, health and wellness programs, educational workshops, and even entertainment events so residents have plenty of options for staying busy if they want to join in.

    Victory Square Apartments does offer different levels of support, so you might see services like independent living for those who prefer privacy but want to skip home maintenance, residential care home options if you need someone to help you with dressing and bathing, temporary respite care to give breaks to primary caregivers, as well as memory care features meant to reduce confusion or wandering for people living with dementia, and you'll find onsite management and maintenance teams, including after-hours on-call service for problems that come up, plus healthcare staffing for those that need medication management and help with daily activities like meals and personal care.

    Safety is present with smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, controlled access entry, and emergency pull cords or pendants, while the social spaces give residents places to gather and relax, whether it's enjoying the coffee bar, using the fireplace, or attending something in the multi-purpose community room, and laundry rooms on every floor mean you don't have to carry clothes very far, and while units are modern and comfortable, residents with questions about terms, amenities, or care plans might need to check details directly with the staff or at the website http://www.victorysquareapts.com since sometimes information isn't as clear as it could be.

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