At Home, With Entertainment

At Year-Old Carlyle Mill in Alexandria, A Coffee Bar Is Among the Amenities

Floor plans can include a variety of features, such as kitchen islands, fireplaces and lofts with iron spiral staircases. (Ann Cameron Siegal For The Washington Post)

Alexandria's Carlyle Mill, while only a year old, looks as if it has been anchored to the spot for generations. The apartment complex's impressive dark-brick façade and use of wrought iron throughout -- all designed to recall authentic mills of the past -- contrast sharply with other nearby buildings.

Tucked between Eisenhower Avenue to the north and the Capital Beltway to the south, the 317-unit complex is flanked on one side by the towering, angular glass exterior of the American Trucking Association headquarters, and on the other by the city's deteriorating Public Safety Center. It is just 800 feet from the Eisenhower Avenue Metro station -- close enough for an easy walk but far enough away that you can't hear the trains, said one resident.

Inside, there also is contrast -- on the first floor, there's a dark, cozy brick-walled coffee bar for games and gatherings. Upstairs, the apartments are filled with light. Floor plans offer a range of options including fireplaces, kitchen islands and lofts with iron spiral staircases. Nine-foot ceilings add to the sense of spaciousness.

"The room sizes are very generous and the closets in both bedrooms are huge -- plenty of room for storage," said David Rudd, 45, who moved to Carlyle Mill with his wife in September because of a military transfer.

Twenty-five apartments have balconies just large enough for a couple of chairs and a small table. Some other units have standing balconies just deep enough to step out on or to accommodate pots of plants.

Carlyle Mill has an extensive array of amenities included in the rent. Bicycles, basketballs, tennis rackets and a video lending library are all available to residents. Ignoring the normal Memorial to Labor Day calendar, the community's two-level, heated outdoor pool has a lifeguard on duty and is open until November or "as long as the weather holds," according to property manager Michael Marshall. The small upper level is for "soakers," leaving the larger, lower level to those who actually want to swim.

The sports-bar-themed coffee bar on the first floor, a popular gathering place, includes billiards, darts, foosball and tabletop shuffleboard, in addition to several board games. Eight types of coffee are available from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. In the 24-hour fitness center, a wall of windows lights two levels joined by a spiral staircase.

Jason Faherty, 34, enjoys the rooftop sports deck with its lighted basketball court and tennis court. He finds it easy to join in a pick-up basketball game.

Open 24 hours, the sports deck is also a hit with stargazers. "When Mars was visible, we had people up here every night," Marshall said.

Kelly Curtis and her husband, from Houston, spent a couple of days looking on the Internet for a two-bedroom apartment in a kid-friendly complex that was near the District, within walking distance of Metro. Their children, ages 2 and 4, now refer to their new home as "our new vacation house."

While Carlyle Mill is located only two blocks from the 22-screen AMC Hoffman theater complex, the community has its own small surround-sound movie theater with upholstered bucket seating. Between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., residents can watch the wide-screen television or a borrowed movie on their own schedules. Two nightly shifts are available by reservation.

Carlyle Mill is not a hubbub of organized activities, however. Residents seem to meet each other naturally in the course of pursuing their own interests. Roommates Laura Olenik and Kerry Hunt took social matters into their own hands. The women decided to have a "neighbor party." Along with invitations, they delivered home-made chocolate-chip cookies to each apartment in their building, enticing several dozen residents to a get-acquainted wine-and-cheese party.

When Shana DeJesus and her husband moved from Massachusetts to Carlyle Mill in February, it was the extras that clinched the deal. "We lived in an apartment that was over 100 years old, so the deciding factor for me was the amenities here, simply because I never had any," she said.

DeJesus finds the common areas are very quiet and sparsely used on weekdays, but "on Saturdays, you have to get out to the pool early or you won't get a chair."

Formerly known as Jefferson at Carlyle Mill, this mid-rise community with elevators was purchased this past July by Equity Residential, a Chicago-based company operating more than 1,000 properties in 36 states, including about 20 in the Washington area. The previous owner, JPI, uses the Jefferson name on its buildings, and Equity is dropping the name.

As with any new building, there are some glitches still to be addressed, but nothing as serious as those faced by the Public Safety Center next door, which engineers have said is sinking. The center houses the police department, the sheriff, the magistrate and the jail. The area was once a landfill, and shifting soil is problematic.

Kevin Kerr, Carlyle Mill's maintenance director, said the apartment complex doesn't have the same problem. "They spent an ungodly amount of time pouring concrete footings here," he said of the builders.

Having the city jail next door does not bother David Rudd, either. "I don't see an issue living next to the detention center -- do you really think an escapee would hide in an apartment right next to where they escaped and next to the police department?" he said.

Rudd said, "It was nice living next to the police department during Hurricane Isabel. We never lost power or water, unlike many places in the area."