Parc Vista Makes It Easy to Get Around
Arlington Complex Is 1 Block From Metro

By Aliya Sternstein
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, August 4, 2007

Diana Henshaw, a former U.S. consul general in Berlin, has lived in London, Zurich, Dusseldorf, Moscow and Bucharest for much of her adult life, but she calls Arlington's Parc Vista her "home base."

"I love this place," she said from the lobby of the 298-unit high-rise apartment building as easy-listening music played in the background and a maintenance man waved at her.

Henshaw moved in shortly after the building opened in 1988, when she was with the Foreign Service and was traveling constantly between Washington and Europe.

After returning from assignments, there was always a vacant unit awaiting her back at the intersection of 15th and South Hayes streets, a short commute from the State Department.

When the Berlin Wall fell and she retired, Henshaw stationed herself permanently at Parc Vista.

Nowadays, she volunteers in the District, shops at the adjacent Fashion Centre at Pentagon City and eats at the Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe along Lee Highway.

Parc Vista's main selling point is its convenience, many residents say. The Pentagon City Metro station is a block away. Reagan National Airport is around the corner. And exits to Interstate 395 are hard to miss.

The apartment's other distinguishing features are the washers and dryers in every unit and the age of the complex. "We weren't built in the '60s and '70s like most buildings in Crystal City were," said John Birkhofer, Parc Vista's community manager, referring to the neighboring community's numerous high-rises.

Plus, as residents move out, Parc Vista is outfitting each unit with new flooring, appliances, kitchens and bathrooms. Roughly half the building has been renovated since 2005.

Archstone-Smith, the real estate company that owns the building, is also scheduled to start remodeling the front lobby this month. The project will add Internet kiosks for residents.

Parc Vista is already fully wired. Most residents have high-speed Internet access in their units. Even so, the business center's three computer terminals were occupied at midday on a recent Tuesday.

On the rooftop, the building has a windowed fitness center and an indoor pool. The 24-hour Caliber Sports Club was outfitted in 2004 with new step machines, stationary bikes, treadmills and a cardio theater.

From the surrounding observation deck, residents can see all the way to the Masonic Memorial in Alexandria. "Everywhere you look around, there's just the beautiful thing of having that view," Birkhofer said.

However, there are some less attractive aspects of Parc Vista, some residents said.

"The expenses will kill you," said Nathaniel Kulyk, 25, a research associate at a government information technology consultancy. He moved from Northwest Washington to Parc Vista in January 2006 because the building was close to just about every type of transportation and offered underground parking. When his 10-month lease expired, the rent for his one-bedroom surged $130 per month.

Kulyk is now paying $1,530, plus a monthly fee for utilities.

Birkhofer said lease renewal rates are linked to market conditions and reflect the length of the lease. "In any event, the renewing resident is given a substantial discount over the amount we would charge a new resident."

Several residents criticized the manner in which utility fees are charged.

The rates for water, gas and electricity use, which vary month to month, are based not on personal use, but rather on the square footage and the number of people in the unit. Residents noted that they have to pay even for periods when they are on vacation.

Josh Baker, 26, who moved to Parc Vista three years ago, said that this is not "the most equitable way" of handling utilities. The consultant and his wife chose Parc Vista partly because utilities were included in rent at the time.

Birkhofer said management charges for utilities based on a standard formula because apartments are not individually metered.

Regarding residents' complaints, Birkhofer said, "I would have the same concerns if utilities were included in the rent."

Parc Vista stopped folding the utilities into the rent, hoping that residents would "be more likely to conserve" if they saw the itemized charges each month, he said.