Jefferson Ridge Apartments

I've had a great experience at Jefferson Ridge, my dog and I love being surrounded by so much open space. It's not the most social place or super close to things, but I don't mind the 10-15 minute drive into downtown to have such a big unit (1300 sq ft) for under $2000 and no pet rent!

Spacious, safe, cheap. What more could you ask for. The only knock is that it is 10-15 minutes away from the law school, but this could also be a benefit. Also not too close to a lot of events happening in Charlottesville.

If this was two years ago I would tell anyone this was a great place to live, but a new management has come in and has ruined this place for good. We have lived here for multiple years and now this new management has come up with so many rules and increased the rent by more than $500 dollars a month. The owners are proud of how the residents are able to decorate their patios as their own, but now they are restricting what you can have and threatening to throw away what they don’t like. They don’t give proper notice for random cleanings or inspections and expect you to have your pets locked up for multiple days, because they can narrow the inspection windows to a certain day. Then they don’t enforce their own rules that are stated in the handbook. The old maintenance crew was great, but now if you have a problem they either don’t show up or they just judge you when they do. Honestly if you're willing to deal with constant rule changes, increased rent, poor communication and bad maintenance crew this is the place for you.

The big advantage with Jefferson Ridge is that the apartments are spacious and pretty nice (especially with some of the options available). It's a nice, quiet neighborhood as well, with lots of young families. It's also among the most dog-friendly places in Charlottesville.

The down side is the location relative to the law school. It's only about a 15 minute commute and it's a good area (safe, near shops and restaurants). But it's not ideal if you want to be able to go back and forth more easily to study at the library, socialize, or use the North Grounds gym (the complex has a gym, but it's small).

Jefferson Ridge is a nice place for grad/law students to live because no undergraduate students are allowed, the apartments are pretty spacious, and, though they don't always have the newest appliances, things work well. The back of my apartment faces a wooded area, so I have a good bit of privacy sitting on my back patio—several other apartments back up to parking lots though. It's great for pets if you stay here for a while or have multiple pets because there's a one time pet fee of $425 regardless of how many pets you have or how long you stay. There's plenty of grassy areas and a trail through the woods to walk dogs as well. The location is strictly okay because it is not super close to many social things, although you're about 5 minutes from Wegmans, Alamo Theater, and a few restaurants. You're about 15-20 minutes from the law school and Downtown. It's a decent value for what you're paying if you don't mind being farther away from school/social things and like having your own space where you can actually spread out.

I have had a great experience at Jefferson Ridge. It is affordable, and the apartment is spacious and clean.