Orchard Bridge Apartments

"Seeing all these bad reviews, I felt it was necessary to give Orchard Bridge a fair review. I find it funny that people constantly complain about issues that they had to sign and agree to before they even moved in there. No dogs, weekday-only moves(this policy seems to have changed now), 45 days return of deposits, etc. Yes, these are inconveniences, but they make them clear before you even move in. They also charge about $100 as a cleaning fee once you leave the apartment, etc. They don’t hide these policies! THE GOOD: Price - On the contrary of what one of the reviewers said, there definitely aren’t “too many other properties around this area that offer the same if not more”. I looked for a while before deciding to move in to Orchard Bridge with my wife back in January. For the price we got a 1200 sq.ft. 2BD 2BR apartment, there are barely any 750 sq.ft 1BD/1BR apartments in older buildings in Centreville and even Manassas. Comparable size places go for around $1800-$2000/mo as of June 2022. Location – Orchard Bridge is conveniently located 10mins away from I-66. Of course, I-66 is another set of problems with all the construction, but I would not want to live any further down Route 28 as it was a torture pre-COVID19. Now, it’s smooth sailing for the most part, of course. (10/25/21 - route 28 now is ALSO under construction and traffic gets really bad during rush hours). Safety – We have lived here for 3 years and we haven’t seen any issues. Most residents are families. I’ve had packages sit in front of my door for weeks and no one took them. Most residents are respectful of each other. Also quite a few cops live in these apartments. Staff – Orchard Bridge staff have been helpful and responsive. We had to call maintenance a couple of times and they would show up quickly and fix the issues without any hassles or headaches. Also, any questions are answered promptly and courteously. They accommodated our unique situation and let us move in before my wife was a full US resident which was extremely helpful. THE BAD: Appliances – This is one of my biggest pet peeves as I really wish they would put in a bit better appliances. They really use the bottom of the line washers, dryers and stoves. They probably waste more energy and cost the landlord more money in maintenance in a long run. Again, this wasn’t a surprise to us, but I wish they would invest a bit even if they have to raise the prices slightly. Community – There is no sense of community. I created an FB group with hopes that residents will join, but so far, no luck. Management isn’t willing to help, either. I really wish people would be a bit more willing to join in an active community group of some sort as that would give us all a bit more sense of community. Clubhouse – That’s one of the few things I can agree with negative reviews. They have had a beautiful clubhouse built for a few years now and yet they refuse to open it for some reason. They constantly say that it will open “soon” as a way to attract residents, but so far it doesn’t seem that it will open anytime soon. Especially now, with COVID-19 pandemic still looming. Bunch of gym equipment is just gathering dust. Fortunately, there are plenty of gyms in the area for all price ranges. Quality of construction – this is a minor thing. Our bathtub makes creaking noises and so does all of our neighbors, as far as I can tell. Guest bathroom mirror has black spots. There is dark carpet in living room, which I am not a big fan of. I wish there was more vinyl/wood instead of carpet, but hey, this would obviously increase the prices. 12/7/23 UPDATE: We are still here, although our rent has increased thrice now (50,50, and 90 this year) and the management keeps blaming the inflation and the administration. The management and the support are still good but the clubhouse is STILL closed. May start looking at other options soon."

"Also, the leasing office told me via email to come up to the office to sign a paper, but when I asked if and when I can come up there, they ignored me. The office is appointment only but refused to make an appointment to sign a necessary paper. Also, they hung up on me when I called and asked a question. They are demanding, passive aggressive, and just plain rude. All they care about is getting residents in for the money and then they don't take care of them after that."

"The club house which includes half the amenities has been closed since COVID-19 and has not been opened. Don't let them fool you with the "amenities" as benefit. One would think that the lease agreement is a written notice, however apparently a 30-day notice is required. Although, we called to give notice back in April. I suppose they assume all occupants are squatters."

"I wish I can give 0 stars to this leasing office! I went to my appointment today and he said ; you can't enter without a mask ! it is fine but my issue is I don't carry a mask with me because the mask requirement has been removed. I told him to give me a mask and he sent me to go and find it somewhere. I think they should be more kind and help the customer more. I will never rent an apartment from here"

"I’m honestly quite surprised with how many bad reviews there are of this place. Maybe they’ve listened and changed their ways because my husband and I have lived here for 5 months now and we love it! The rent is absolutely unbeatable for this area, you get so much storage space, and the floor plan is open and gorgeous. They never raise the rent and they even automatically roll you over to a month to month lease after living there for a year- seriously this is unheard of for this area! We consider this place a hidden gem. From the interactions we’ve had with management, they are eager to help and are responsive. Sometimes communication is a little spotty, like we didn’t know the pool was open until another resident told us and then we had to ask management to make us an ID badge to get into the pool. It would’ve been nice to have an email sent out to residents to let them know they actually opened the pool this year. Still not a huge deal though considering they made the badges and had them ready in 5 minutes. There also isn’t a clubhouse or gym, but that wasn’t a dealbreaker for my husband and I. A bunch of cops live here so the place feels very safe. A lot of families live here as well, so it has a nice homey feel to it. I think one of the biggest downsides is that there aren’t many shopping centers close by. You’ve gotta go either 15 min to Centreville or 15 min to Manassas. So maybe that’s why the rent is so cheap. Either way, we’re so glad we decided to move in here."