The Bennington

"Do not move here! The apartments themselves are decent but the management is so poorly handled even with a new company taking over. It has been a nightmare trying to change things and live through the seasons at these apartments. It’s not possible to give less than 1 star otherwise I would. Your problems are never taken seriously and are most likely swept under the rug. They turn off the AC at times that are convenient for them and you just have to live with your apartment being 80+ degrees in the summer. Management consistently tells you there’s nothing that they can do while they sit in their air conditioned offices. My unit AC was broken at no fault of my own. It took over three weeks for them to come and fix it at the start of summer. But that was the least of my concerns. They have three maintenance people that are in rotation. The head of the maintenance people is aggressive, rude, and unprofessional. He cursed and stormed out of my apartment the first time he saw the ac was broken. Multiple other times I felt unsafe with him in my apartment because of how aggressive he acts. Another time I knew they would be in the apartment to try and fix the ac unit during the three weeks it took them to fix it, and I am a night shift worker, and a woman, so I locked my door to sleep. The head maintenance person woke me up by screaming and banging on my door to open my door. I was barely clothed, and in my most venerable state. Marcia, the concierge, meanwhile blew up my phone to figure out why my bedroom door was locked. This man was pounding his fists on my door….I was surprised the door didn’t break. I clothed myself and opened the door only got him to slide into MY BEDROOM, to check the vent. Btw, they didn’t fix it and it took them another two weeks to fix it. In addition to this there have been multiple instances that the parking garage has been an unsafe space for residents. When my roommate and I moved in there were gunshots in the vending machines. The garage is supposed to be a card access garage only. But that would only work if the garage door wasn’t broken for months on end. They will not fix the garage door and it will just be open for anyone to walk in. There have been break ins into cars and broken windows. Yet the door is not fixed for months and months. The elevator compartment that takes you up to the apartments also has a door that you need card access into. However the doors are so cheap that they don’t even close properly to lock out anyone that isn’t a resident. Half the time I go out these doors they are being kept open by drafts. There is no mechanism to close them behind people. So not only can random people get into the garage, they can take the elevator right up to your apartment where they can do God knows what. You and your family are NOT safe here. There have been multiple concierges that have all been scared away by the main concierge, Marcia, who is the rudest and most invasive person I have ever met. She will call you back to back if you don’t pick up packages on her timeline. She will bother you when you are with family and friends. She will make it the hardest thing to get into contact with management. Other concierges have left because she is such an abhorrent person to work with. She will not help, and instead takes her breaks at the most inconvenient times. When management was made aware of the issues that multiple residents were having with her, all they did was listen and not do anything. It’s like she has tenure and nobody is willing to remove her. Another time there was construction happening right above my bedroom. I called management to figure out what was happening as I had to get some sleep. I got a rude reply back from Kara Gibney, the alleged property manager, that “we have a right to do whatever we want during business hours.” When I asked to speak to someone above her, she said “You can google their number.” And hung up. Your issues and concerns are not important to these people. I feel unsafe here. I feel unheard. Nothing changes."

"Haven't slept all weekend because management turned off the AC for the whole complex for the winter despite it being unseasonably hot. They insist there's nothing they can do about it, and have not provided any explanation. So dont live here if you have any expectation of being able to live comfortably in your own home."

"A few caveats here: 1. They make you pay up to 20% service fees (payment by cash, by credit card or debit cars)when move in. Unlike most other properties, the company REFUSES to take ANY physical checks. 2. They welcome you to move in without checking the conditions of the apartment. Then you WILL wait for weeks to get everything fixed. However, they make you fill in move-in inspections on an APP with 3 days. 3. The building manager and agents WILL stop answering your emails once you move in, as many other reviews have stated. 4. The building WILL increase the monthly rent, regardless how long (over one year) your original lease is. 5. One should ask to view the lease (unnamed) before paying an application fee. If they refuse, it'd be illegal."

"Absolutely the worst residential apartments in Silver Spring. Maintenance requests are never handled quickly. It took me six months to get a washing machine fixed after more than a dozen complaints and 5 floods in my unit. Front desk staff is unfriendly to the point of being rude. If the weekday morning concierge staff person smiled or greeted me more than three times over the course of the year, I'd be shocked. Property Managers are less than helpful, bordering on incompetent. They don't respond in a timely manner and they don't know their own policies. Do yourself a favor and run from this building as fast as you can!"

"1 year down, many more to go! I love living here because the community is great. Downtown Silver Spring is a great area to be in but the building you pick matters the most. The bennington is a great place to be because of the staff. They are helpful, patient, professional and accommodating. Avie is the Leasing Agent and she does an excellent job making sure you are helped from your first visit, to your move in day, to any problems you may encounter while you live here (what to do when the rent website is down, how to get a maintenance order done as soon as possible, the best public parking spaces!). The rest of the staff is excellent as well and work to create an environment where you the tenant are always at ease and anything you could possibly need is made immediately available to you. If you are searching in downtown silver spring, consider this building and stop by for a viewing"