The Porter Del Ray

"I don’t live here but have been in the building several times visiting friends—very well built, friendly staff & sweet amenities. Borders a decent sized dog park and in walking distance to Aldi & Del Ray. One knock is the skyrocketing price of rent."

"I don’t typically leave these types of reviews but after seeing another reviewer post one I completely get it. I did not decide on the Porter as my apartment. However, I want to express that my experience with them was great. Kinesha did not make me feel rushed and took the time to help me narrow down my apartment choices. The community was also very impressive and the apartments are in great condition. I loved that they offer trash valet! They also have a metro shuttle and plan lots of events for their residents. If it does not work out at the community I chose, I will definitely be coming here."

"My boyfriend and I did a tour with Lindsay and although we did not move forward with leasing at the Porter, the building, apartments, and Lindsay were absolutely amazing. Lindsay was so king, welcoming, and informative. We visited 2 bedroom apartments and they were wonderful- hardwood floor, plenty of storage space, great kitchen with island, spacious. It has everything that you need! We ended up choosing a place in DC but had we stayed in VA, we would have chosen this place. So glad I was able to tour it and recommend to others. Thank you Lindsay!"

"I moved into a really wonderful unit in this wonderful area last year. Generally, I can't say enough great things about this building. I absolutely love my apartment. The location in Del Ray is fantastic, with a short commute into the city and so close to anything you would need/want in Del Ray, Old Town, or Potomac Yards. The residents are friendly, respectful and generally quiet. The maintenance staff is beyond fantastic and issues are rectified almost immediately. Garage parking is plentiful and never an issue. Gym facilities are great and the pool in the summer is beautiful. The leasing/management office staff has been wonderful as well...they know so many of us by name and are so friendly and always helpful. The building itself absolutely gets a 5 star review from me. The only complaint is that a dog park was allowed to be located within about 20 ft of the westside of the building and in the last few months the nuisance barking from the park has increased significantly. I'd like to think I'm pretty reasonable and have had dogs my entire life until last year...a few barks here and there are not the issue for me. But this is way, way beyond that and there are daily instances of absolutely incessant barking. It starts by about 715am most days, including weekends. A few really inconsiderate dog owners (likely not residents of the building...there haven't been issues with dogs inside the buildings at all) are really ruining the experience of living here for many of us, as there are days in which non-stop barking is plainly audible with all doors and windows closed for up three hours at a time. I don't even live on the side of the building directly facing the park but its started ruining my weekend mornings, my ability to enjoy my balcony, and my desire to keep any windows open, which stinks as it wasn't at all this bad when I moved in last year. Other residents have expressed that they don't believe they will be able to renew their leases given the disruption from the barking. I was initially concerned about the noise from the close-by trains when I moved it, but that has turned out to be a complete non-factor and something I almost find comforting (weird, I know. I'm also surprised.) If you work from home at all, I would avoid this building unless/until a solution can be found to the dog park noise or unless you can get a unit on the east side or in the courtyard (if you can, wonderful! You'll love it here.) Would really encourage management to help out their residents by working with the city to find some solutions to help mitigate the issue. Hopefully when the Simpson dog park reopens across the street the nuisance noise will be less of an issue right next to our homes, because I otherwise really love it here and don't want to have to leave over this issue. Update: The management at the Porter has not taken action they mention below to residents to remind them to be respectful of neighbors when utilizing the dog park. With the improving weather/daylight barking is starting well before 7am several days a week and residents of this building have their dogs in the park barking past 11pm some nights. I've also emailed management twice now to ask them to discuss this issue (The city has requested the building management reach out to ask for assistance with barking control) and my emails have been completely ignored. Given how disruptive this is and how many residents are significantly impacted by the issue, I was hopeful management would be helpful, but am really dismayed at the complete lack of response to a request to discuss."

"I had to write a review as I cannot say enough good things about this amazing, hidden gem of a community. We moved to Alexandria from Chicago and had to choose an apartment based on online reviews and video tours and did not know what to expect given we were unfamiliar with the area. We looked around Crystal City/Arlington (Ballston/Clarendon area) and Alexandria and chose Porter Del Ray as it was the best value for money in a full amenity building. We moved into a 1 bed 1 den (floorplan A1FN) and was amazed at the amount of space it offered. I am not sure why the second room is called a den as it had enough space for a queen bed, huge windows, closet and wall nook for a chest. We felt we had gotten 2 beds for the price of one. It was perfect for WFH as both my husband and I had separate rooms for our work spaces. The living area was huge and had enough room for our sectional and a 6 person dining table and we loved having a balcony. Kitchen had an open layout and was upgraded. The building itself has amazing amenities - we love the grill and pool area (never too busy which was a concern during covid) and having 2 Peloton bikes in the gym! After visiting Crystal city, we were so glad we chose Del Ray. This area is adorable, peaceful and walkable to fantastic restaurants in Del Ray (check out Dairy Godmother!) and close to Old Town, whereas Crystal city is a construction and traffic nightmare. We love being so close to Mt Vernon trail and bike to DC frequently. Everyone is so friendly, the building has fun free events & food and the leasing office ladies are the best people I ever met (they respond immediately and go out of their way to help - not our experience in rental buildings in Chicago). I could take the bus and metro to my work in Rosslyn. I read negative reviews on noise and you hear no noise from inside the unit. I hope this review helps you as much as other reviews helped me make my decision! Unit tip - get the 1 bed and den as those are usually hard to find in any apartment building and go fast."