SYMBOL Scott's Addition

Symbol Apartments appears luxurious on the surface, but don’t be fooled by the website or positive reviews—many are from prospective tenants incentivized to leave reviews after touring, not actual residents.

Misleading Pricing & Poor Management
Rent is among the highest in the area but lacks consistency—some tenants pay far less for identical units, with zero transparency or fairness. Management is unresponsive the property manager fails to proactively address issues. He rarely walks the property, does not enforce cleanliness or security, and frequently shows up late and leaves early.

Maintenance & Security Issues
• Dog park is filthy, with dog feces often left uncollected.
• Trash room was out of order for over a month, causing a bug infestation.
• Elevator was down for over a month, leaving residents stranded.
• Mailrooms frequently left unsecured, leading to stolen packages.
• Homeless individuals often sleep in hallways and use resident facilities.
• The property constantly smells like smoke, despite being advertised as smoke-free.
• Grills and fire pits frequently run out of propane.
• Dog wash station was removed and never replaced.
• During the first snowstorm, Symbol failed to salt the sidewalks and then lied about it.
• My dishwasher has been broken for 10+ days with no repair in sight.

Amenities Are a Joke
• Residents often can’t access the clubhouse because Symbol rents it out most weekends for loud, disruptive parties.
• The pool is overrun with non-residents in the summer, leaving no chairs for actual tenants.
• Steelhead throws mid-workday corporate parties in the courtyard, blasting music, drinking at the pool, and blocking residents from using their own amenities.

Leasing Office: Unprofessional & Unresponsive
The leasing staff is more focused on filming TikTok videos and hosting happy hours than addressing resident concerns. It can take weeks for them to respond to issues—if they respond at all. Meanwhile, residents are forced to pay a mandatory $30/month valet trash fee, even though it only runs five days a week and comes with strict rules and fines.

Exorbitant Move-Out Charges
After my brother and sister-in-law were forced to move out due to bug infestations and a broken elevator (with a newborn!), they were still hit with $1,000+ in bogus charges, including:
• A "cleaning fee" for lint in the dryer lint trap.
• A charge for cleaning the fridge—even though it was professionally steam cleaned.
• A resurfacing fee for the stovetop, despite paying a monthly appliance fee.

Final Verdict: AVOID SYMBOL APARTMENTS
Symbol is a complete disaster. The only time the property is well-maintained is when Steelhead throws a party for themselves. Management is unresponsive, security is non-existent, maintenance is abysmal, and pricing is unfair.

For the rent Symbol charges, there are far better places nearby. Don’t fall for the marketing—this place is NOT worth it.

It's a nice, brand new place to live in the great and upcoming neighborhood of Scott's Addition! You can walk to a lot of places and restaurants. There is parking available. Great clubhouse and outside lawn area.

The complex was brand new when I moved in Summer 2018, and despite a rocky move-in (growing pains), I've loved my experience so far. The management is very transparent and responsive, the community at Symbol is young and friendly, and the neighborhood (Scott's Addition) is so much fun and very walkable. Since the building is so new, the utilities are pristine (unlike much of the older buildings in downtown Richmond) and I haven't had any issues that required maintenance in the six months I've been there (which is such a relief from past apt experiences). The complex hosts many community events, which is a great way to meet people as a new person in Richmond, and I feel very taken care of.

Symbol Apartments is a great place to live. They have a lot of different floor plans, a gym, a pool, grills, and a dog play area. The location is great - Scott's Addition is an awesome place to live with a ton of restaurants and breweries within walking distance. The only downside is that nothing is included in the rent, so I pay extra for water, sewer, electricity, cable, wifi, and parking. It does have a parking lot, which is a HUGE plus, but the majority of it is restricted to the commercial tenants across the lot during the day, which can be very inconvenient.