Steelhead Management

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.

Great location, awesome management and nice amenities.

The Ella exceeds my expectations for apartment living within the city. They have plenty of parking, which is rare, and even have guest parking, which is rarer! The amenities are great and the gym is open 24 hours. The pool is the place to be during the Summer.

My dog also enjoys The Ella as they have a pet spa for doggy baths and always stock treats in the office and spa. There are dog waste stations with provided bags at every exit, which is so convenient!

I love my apartment home. My plants love it even more! With all the natural light throughout the day, I picked the perfect community as a plant lover. It is almost pool season as well and I cannot wait to utilize the amazing clubroom and pool deck.

The Ella Scott's Addition is centrally located between the University of Richmond and Downtown Richmond. It's also within walking distance of several breweries and restaurants located in the Scott's Addition neighborhood. The complex has an outdoor pool, a recreation room with a large screen TV and pool table, and a computer room. Each apartment has stainless steel appliances and the apartments are fairly sound-insulated.

Great location - can walk to everything in Scotts Addition. The fan and VMFA are also in walking distance.
Great for pets because of the dog park and a lot of grass space behind the building; in addition to the Commander's park behind the building as well.
Laid back management - great maintenance men
Everything is update and the layout is great

PROS
A good location right outside the main area of Scotts Addition. Easy access for traffic to the rest of Richmond proper and Henrico. Neighbors are generally nice and peaceful. Management throws a lot of social events.

CONS
There have been issues with mail and packages being stolen/delivered to wrong buildings. Management takes a lot of days off/late starts. A few issues with sprinklers/fire alarms going off. Hotel next door is still under construction, so mornings can be very loud.

Good management; good maintenance workers; lots of parking options; nice gym and dog park; helpful staff; awesome pool and lounge area; brand new everything. Great location!! Only negative is the expense. Extra for parking and not many things included.

The amenities at the Ella are great! There's a nice pool, an indoor and outdoor community space, dog runs, a gym and yoga studio, and a decent amount of parking. The apartments are fairly quiet. I rarely hear my neighbors through the walls or the floors. The building opened in the summer of 2021, so the appliances are nice and new, and there's no problem with pests.

The location is great! It's a short walk to Scott's Addition, where there are several breweries, restaurants, and bars. There are 4-5 grocery stores within a 5 minute drive, and plenty of places to eat at.

The management is the biggest complaint. The package room is a mess, and parking was an issue early on. The management is not the most responsive to some of the biggest issues, but it is getting better. Most of the problems can probably be attributed to the new employees learning how the new resident respond to living in a new building.

The Ella is a brand new building and there have been a lot of issues with it and the management running the property. Our apartment itself is very nice, but management has a tendency to over-promise and under-deliver.

The apartment was built in 2020, so it’s super nice and new. The amenities are nice and it’s walkable to Scott’s Addition, the Museum District, the Fan, and Carytown. It is expensive, but worth every penny.

It is a beautiful new building with great amenities. The only downsides are that the ceilings are thin, so you can hear every foot step, and Myers Street can be a little sketchy at night.

I absolutely love my apartment. The rent is pretty pricey, but that is to be expected with a one-bedroom apartment in a 5-year-old apartment complex. Although on the more expensive side, it is not abnormal for similar one-bedroom apartments in the area. At The Preserve, you have the option of renting a unit in one of two buildings. The first is the old Coca-Cola distribution plant which was completely renovated in 2015, featuring more industrial, loft-style apartments. My unit is in the second building which was built from scratch in 2015. These units are less industrial and have more natural light. My unit is very spacious with huge windows, updated appliances, a walk-in closet,

and a huge bathroom. Another feature that is unique to The Preserve is that each unit, including first floor units, have a porch or balcony. Residents have access to so many amenities located on the premises, including a gym (with pelotons!), a pool, a community room, grills, a business center, and a rooftop hangout spot. It is located right in the middle of Scott's Addition, across the street from Veil Brewery and walking distance to many other restaurants and breweries, while still only being a 10-15 minute drive to campus. The property management staff is SO attentive. The building is kept very clean and in proper working order. My maintenance requests are always completed the day of, typically within an hour or two of submitting the request. The building is also always up to date on pest control. Since I have lived here in August, my apartment has been sprayed for preventative treatment (included in rent, at your convenience) twice. I always feel very safe in my apartment, even living alone on the first floor. The preserve is a pet friendly apartment complex, but never loud. Most residents are young professionals or grad students, which creates a fun and vibrant atmosphere; however, everyone is respectful of others. There are lots of different floor plans to choose from, including 2-bedroom apartments. Additionally, there are different lease-term options, starting with 9 months, which is incredibly convenient for law students who don't know what their summer plans are. I 100% feel like I am getting my money's worth at The Preserve and don't plan on leaving anytime soon.

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.