Citizen Apartments 301 Continental Parkway, Newport News, VA 23602

"Overall, Citizen Apartments is just not worth the price. The place constantly reeks of marijuana and management refuses to do anything about it even though they are officially a smoke-free apartment complex. A new towing policy has been implemented as of November 2023. Registration is an incredibly frustrating experience to say the least. The towing conpany asks for a LOT of personal information which is completely unnecessary. It also seems as though visitors need to register to park every single time... The maintenance guys are pretty on top of things at least, no problems there. This is why I'm giving 2 stars instead of 1. There are no elevators so if you live on the top floor moving furniture is a major hassle. The appliances are very loud while running (specifically the washing machine and dishwasher), and the water pressure on the top floor is laughably weak. To management: I would be more than happy to change my review if these things are addressed."

"I wrote a 7pg review about this place, but when I tried to post it I found out Google has a character limit (which I didn’t know because I’ve never felt the need to tell the public my opinions/experience of a place). Put simply, we moved here in March 2019 before the current management took over and were stuck there for 4 years. We moved overseas in March 2023 and have been busy with that, but leaving a review for this place has never left my to-do list because that's how much I hate this place and I feel the need to warn the public that it is the absolute worst. I feel it is important to note that I grew up in apartments and in the past 14 years we've lived in 5 different apartment complexes–upstairs, downstairs, old, new, all of it–and 2 duplexes across multiple states and now 3 different countries. I know what is normal/expected when renting, from noise levels to competent management, and I can say with absolute certainty that living in the Citizen Apartments was the worst experience I will ever have. Here’s the information I believe is vital: -Record all communication you have with the incredibly incompetent office staff, whether it be in writing or with your phone in your pocket (because they have absolutely no qualms about lying), and keep every scrap of information sent until you are completely free of that place; the best example of shady behavior–that was possibly illegal because we hadn’t renewed our lease yet–was the sudden instruction given to everyone that the renter’s insurance liability was to be raised from the usual $100,000 to $300,000; be sure to check their math every time something changes and when you move out -This place is not for nonsmokers; people get to smoke inside their apartments without repercussion, save for a "reminder" text on occasion, even though the surrounding apartments are being filled with that smell; a particularly fun fact is that the office staff sometimes uses the porch of the demo apartment to smoke -I can’t say anything about the amenities in short detail other than they’re all gone or severely limited without any reduction in the rent costs to reflect the changes; in fact, the rent and monthly fees just kept on soaring to new heights -You will hear every.single.step. all of your upstairs neighbors take and some may stomp around hard enough to knock out the light fixtures–that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Because we don’t have kids and we like our quiet (and kids are inherently noisy because they are kids, it’s not their fault), we've always chosen to live in a one bedroom. At this place, with such unbelievably thin walls/floors/ceilings, we heard screaming/running children everyday even though they didn’t live directly above us, but rather above and over. The adults are worse. My husband, who sleeps through everything, was woken up on a nightly basis along with me when we were stuck with our second upstairs neighbor, the loudest and worst we have ever encountered. To keep it short, we endured 4 months of Hell and so very little sleep because the person we’d had problems with from day one–we just kept tolerating the situation given the thinness of the floors–got herself a dog, which she liked to run around with at 4am and allowed it to run around all hours instead of actually taking it outside. The office ignored us until we sent an email to those above them with “we will be looking into getting a lawyer to help us out of this lease if this is not resolved.” They didn’t do much other than claim they had given her warnings and made sure I knew how cute her dog was (not the point, Pamela). Resolution came when her lease ended. If you are a second/third shift worker, you will never sleep again: no amount of noise canceling machines, TV, loud metal fans, or even ear plugs are going to help you. And for day shift workers, if you don’t have to get up until 6:30am but your neighbor gets up for work at 4am, you’re getting up at 4am. I cannot overstate the noise pollution that comes with renting one of these apartments"

"I have waited the entirety of our lease to write this review…. We liked this complex in the beginning and overtime our experience became really uncomfortable and honestly a nuisance. The price for rent is not worth the experience of noise, being ignored, and having no privacy. From the first night, the walls/ceilings are clearly paper thin, and we had to deal with awful upstairs neighbors. I waited months to complain as I understand apartment living and what comes with it, but out of SEVERAL complaints, many were ignored by management and only a few were addressed (our light fixtures were falling out of ceiling from neighbors stomping). My last one in September was ignored by onsite management and I had to forward my email to the vice principal and director of operations of the leasing company and still got NO response. Some first level apartments have patio gates for “safety” (by the pool), others do not which really lowers your sense of privacy, so that was disappointing in itself. We had some kid knock on our back door essentially “scoping out our apartment” and other people experienced the same thing. Also, this complex is advertised as a “smoke free” complex but management smokes in front of the buildings, by doorways, and while they walk around all while harassing tenants with eviction threats over text message for smoking. Hold your employees to the same standard and follow through with tenants who are smoking on their patios/balconies… The package room is also a massive joke and there’s no much anxiety having things delivered because it’s all piled together, unorganized, and every tenant has access to your packages… They need to rid of it and use the overpriced rent they receive to invest in an Amazon locker…. Again, privacy is insanely lacking here for a “community”. Overall, it was the most uncomfortable year living in an apartment that I have ever had and honestly I do not see it being worth the prices they advertise. To be ignored, have unprofessional text messages regarding accounts/apartment complex issues, and constantly having maintenance in the apartment, it never felt like the tenants are left alone to enjoy their time living here. The price would be worth it if it was gated and actually had a sense of privacy and wasn’t connected to the hotel parking lot/restaurants/businesses. Make sure to document all deposits, previous damage from previous tenants, and that you keep all communications documented via email. And rent here with all of the honest reviews and complaints in mind, because there are a lot of things that management needs to address to make the prices worth it."

"We really wanted to like this apartment but for the price we felt it’s not worth it. They will nickel and dime you on move in and move out. The apartment unit itself appears nice but outside of your apartment the rules of the complex are not enforced unless to the benefit of the complex not the residents living at the complex. The few communications you will receive from the apartment will be about reserved parking. We submitted complaints about dogs being walked without leashes and other residents taking up multiple parking spots with one vehicle. Our apartment was flooded out twice due to negligence of our upstairs neighbor. Our dog was attacked by an off leash dog and when reported nothing came of it from the apartment. We were so displeased we paid the early lease breaking fee to be able to leave. This place never felt like a home to us and for the price we were short changed. The staff here is lazy, entitled and don’t care about residents happiness."