Liberty Tower

Have you ever wondered how much noise it takes for you to go mad? Then this place will show you. The construction noise is constant and enough to drive you made even if you think you have a high tolerance for noise. Do not move in until you can get them to tell you that construction is entirely done.

Very difficult to work from home with the construction noises. Management has offered no good solutions.

The building is nice, and the units are nice, and the staff are helpful. All of that stuff is good. What's awful is the noise. The building is renovating the units one by one as people move out and the noise is unbearable. It's been going on for a year with no end in sight. It's impossible to concentrate while working from home. If you work from home or work nights and want to sleep during the day, or have a child that needs to nap, do not live here. This place is completely inhospitable while they're doing construction which is most week days. Maybe check back in a couple of years when all the construction is done...

I visited several apartments in Ballston - Virginia Square area and found Liberty Tower to be the best option. Here is why. All properties offer similar amenities: pool, gym, etc. All properties are pretty close to each other, so the location is the same. The price is also pretty similar, a couple of hundreds up or down but essentially the same for a two-bedroom. What makes Liberty Tower unique is its stuff. Kelvin helped me from the first moment, answered all my questions, and did not change even after I signed the lease. He is very attentive, professional, and nice; without any doubt, he was the reason that I and my family decided to choose Liberty Tower as our home. Thank you very much, Kelvin!

They're doing a ton of remodeling. It's very loud and lasts the whole working day. Also, they don't do much to enforce their nonsmoking rules.

This building used to be fantastic and I loved living here. But now it is a terrible place to live and I can't wait to get out. Equity (the owner) is renovating it but they are just putting lipstick on a pig. They aren't fixing any of the many years old mechanical systems so things continue to break and will continue to break. They also started apartment renovations recently (again just cosmetic) so it impossible to work from home. Don't fall for the renovations and the pricey rent here, go to a new building that actually is in shape.

To start off, I overall enjoyed living at the Liberty Tower. My two complaints about my living experience are from noise, and from the lease renewal process. The noise came from the very loud construction across the street. If you are looking at a Randolph floor plan, facing Wilson Blvd, you will here endless construction noice due to the lack if noise insulation in the sliding glass doors. It starts before 7am every day, and around 9 on Saturday, and is loud even on the high floor apartments (mine was on 12). If this had been disclosed prior to moving in, there is no way I would have signed a lease. But most of my poor experience came from my lease renewal process. For background, I signed a 6 month lease towards the beginning of this year, when there was a special going on that 6 months and 12 month leases were the same price. Come summer, I get my renewal notice, and I'm shocked at a $300 increase for a renewal of my lease, after living there less than 5 months. After negotiating, they say an almost $200 rent increase is the best they can do, despite larger apartments in other buildings in the area renting for comparable prices to what I was countering. The whole process took almost a month, with very little communication throughout. Equity Residential has no interest in retaining residents, or even treating current residents with respect during the renewal process. My apartment is now posted for the same as they said was the lowest they could possibly go (a $200 increase), despite originally claiming market rate was about $400 above what I was paying. Either they don't know the market, or they want to get current residents out to get new residents in. The prices are similar to brand new luxury buildings, such as the Rixey or Latitude, but the Liberty is not new, and it shows it's age when you live there. Hot water can be inconsistent, there is damage to the hallways that they poorly fix (seriously, look at the poor paint jobs), and leaks on the roof (the many missing ceiling tiles by the bathrooms on the roof). The staff, however have been wonderful. The front desk and leasing office both clearly care about the residents, but unfortunately Equity has no interest in building a community, and every interest in getting residents out.

It's hard to find charm in the Ballston neighborhood, but if you want to live in a high rise, this building is certainly the most charming. Gorgeous view of the DC "skyline" from the rooftop (or your apartment, if you're so lucky) is what sold me when I was shopping for a place. Rooftop pool has been essential this summer. Really all of the amenities are great and the concierge desk is always very helpful. Everything in my apartment is up to date and I've had very minimal issues (broken window latch, beeping smoke alarm) maintenance is pretty quick to fix stuff. The laminate floors were also a big sell for me because I have allergies, I thought noise might be an issue but I never hear anyone walking around upstairs or even through the walls for that matter. Quiet building was key for me because I work night shift. I had a few issues with construction outside waking me up during the day but that's a problem in any building in a city. Everything is walkable: groceries, metro, bars, etc. It's really a dream building. I was hesitant to give it that 5th star because of the rent price (and paying for parking on top of that... Ridiculous) but that's just the cost of the area. Unfortunate that Ballston is so expensive cause I think that's what makes it lack more character.