Archive for the 'Arlington Urban Villages' Category
Shirlington Goes Wireless
August 18th, 2009 Categories: 3, Around Arlington County, Courthouse, Nauck, Neighborhoods, Shirlington
Bring your laptop to lunch here at Shirlington. If you are tired of working from home- bring you laptop to Shirlington & enjoy some sunshine while you work.
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Arlington’s Smart Growth Journey- Part 5 Life After Metro
June 30th, 2009 Categories: Around Arlington County, Commuting, Going Green, Rossyln, Virginia Square
The late 1970s– I66 was being built through Arlington along with the metro. Now the Arlington planners take advantage of it’s new metro stations with a 20 year plan for growth around the metro stations. These planners have given us the Arlington we know today.
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Arlington’s Smart Growth Journey- Part 3 The 1960s
June 22nd, 2009 Categories: Around Arlington County, Commuting, Going Green, Rossyln
In the 1960s, Arlington was out. Moving away from the city to Fairfax county was in. But– everyone still worked for the Federal Government in DC. The only way to get to DC from Fairfax county was the drive through Arlington. Even today- every road connecting Virginia to DC is in Arlington. The Arlington County Board stood strong and was not going to let Arlington be just a overpass from Fairfax. You gotta love these guys! They are the reason why I66 is still only 2 lanes through Arlington.
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Arlington Smart Growth Journey- Part 2 The Boom
June 17th, 2009 Categories: Arlington Urban Villages, Around Arlington County, Clarendon, Commuting, Neighborhoods, Pentagon City, Rossyln
In this chapter of Arlington’s Smart Growth Journey you’ll hear from long-time Arlington residents and their lives after WWII. I love these long-time residents- their oral histories are a treasure to the history of the county. Here you’ll learn about the start of its development plans with Rossyln.
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The Rap On Arlington
June 12th, 2009 Categories: Arlington Urban Villages, Around Arlington County, Ballston, Clarendon, Condos, Neighborhoods, Rossyln, Shirlington, The Native Tourist, The Road Less Taken
A big shout out to GoRemy for a funny look at Arlington on the Orange Line. He puts the urban in urban village! Check out his website for other raps.
He’s already been on the local news. Hey– Remy– come to Shrilington and let us know what you think!
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Arlington Smart Growth Journey – A Series
June 12th, 2009 Categories: Around Arlington County, Commuting, Courthouse, Going Green, Neighborhoods, Virginia Square
I love the history of Arlington County. If you are a client of mine– you will often get a histroy lesson as we drive around the county looking at homes. I love Arlington County for its history, for its mix of old and new; for its ever changing neighborhoods. I love its vision.
Arlington’s Video Channel has documented its Smart Growth plan dating back to the 1940s. I will share it here with you over the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy it. This first edition sets the ground work for the post-WWII era of the Northern Virginia suburbs. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog so you can watch each chapter of Arlington’s Smart Growth History.
Thinking about living in Arlington?– contact me to find just the right place.
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Clang..Clang…Clang Went The Trolley
June 11th, 2009 Categories: Arlington Urban Villages, Around Arlington County, Columbia Pike, Commuting, Going Green
The Columbia Pike Trolley project hit a milestone today when the metro board approved a $5M environmental and engineering study. But- will it ever get built? WTOP was running the story today while I was driving(!) around the county– any trolley won’t appear before 2014.
The Columbia Pike Trolley will run between the Pentagon in Arlington & Skyline Business park in Fairfax county. It’s not far– and that’s the controversy– should Virginia spend its precious transportation money on a short light rail route when it should be looking at expanding metro beyond the beltway?
For me- the answer is YES! Why? because
- The Pentagon is a major metro hub– it will connect a lot of people who work in Skyline to metro;
- Columbia Pike is a major commuter route without any metro access. South Arlington has been neglected for too long;
- Arlington County has major revilization plans for the Columbia Pike corridor– this residential & business density is only going to increase.
- It’s a low cost option to building a new metro line. If you look at a metro map– this area is sorely under-served. I think it should continue down Columbia Pike through Annandale to Fairfax City. All these areas have no metro access– and would reduce traffic! Imagine that!
I’ll be watching this one. It’s taken more than 20 years to get a metro line out to Dulles airport– and that project is only just starting. Let’s see if it takes another 20 years to get this.
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Shirlington Crest: What Housing Slump?
June 11th, 2008 Categories: Buyers, Nauck, Neighborhoods, Shirlington
While buyers are out there sitting on their futures, there are people seem to be ignoring all the media stories and buying up Shirlington Crest.
The sales office opened the end of 2006– with what they called “pre-sales” and now the sales office is in full force. The first phase is already sold out and people are flocking to get one of the best deals in Arlington.
Stanley Martin was finally able to break ground a few weeks ago after getting all the needed permits from Arlington County– and the development is starting to take shape.
The prices for these townhomes are good. When first announced in late 2005, the townhomes were expected to be priced in the $700,000s. When the plans were finally released, they were expected to sell in the mid-$600,000s. But I have to applaud Stanley Martin for not ignoring market conditions and settling on a base price starting in the $560s—$580s for the first phase. That is a fabulous price for a new 2–car garage in Arlington– not one you will find anywhere else. I expect prices in start increasing as they continue to sell into the second and third phases.
Sure- there is no metro in walking distance- but there is a new bus station with a short ride to the Pentagon metro. And it is walk-able to Shirlington Village- which is proving to be one of Arlington’s more popular urban villages.
If you take a walk through the models that are now open– you will find that the townhomes themselves are not big– about 1800 sq ft of living space (not including the garage). But that’s consistent with the other homes in the area– only Windgate end unit townhomes are larger- but there aren’t garages in Windgate and they are townhome condos. (Still a great place to live– I know– I live there!) One unquie feature of these townhome is the roof terrace– not something you will find anywhere in the neighborhodd.
If you walk through the models– don’t fall in love with “the Barn”– an end unit that has a gambrel roof- they ditched that model in favor for a modified version on the other popular end unit model. And thank goodness for that! Another smart move by Stanley Martin. (That unit is for sale btw- for a steal!)
Do’s & Don’ts To Know BEFORE You Buy
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Time To Get Answers: Tuesday April 22, 2008 Buyer Seminar
April 20th, 2008 Categories: Around Arlington County, Buyers, Mortgages & Loans, Nauck, Neighborhoods, Real Estate News, Shirlington
Save the dateâ
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It’s Spring! Get Out And Enjoy
April 2nd, 2008 Categories: Shirlington, The Native Tourist, The Road Less Taken
Spring is one of the best times of year here in the DC area. If you donâ
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