In early June the owners of this terrific home in the Westridge community in Prince William County contacted me about whether they should sell their home or hold onto it as a rental until prices recovered. With a deployment to the Middle East looming trying to figure out the best course of action wasn't easy.

Fortunately they owners qualified for the Department of Defense Homeowners Assistance Program and once the decision to sell was reached it didn't take long for the offers to roll in.

Today the husband is stationed in the Middle East while the rest of the family is settled at their next duty station awaiting his return. With the September 30, 2010 deadline looming for PCS orders under the current HAP program if you are hesitating about whether to sell or rent give me a call at 703-346-2213. Let my record of navigating HAP sales and current knowledge of important program changes work for you.

Westridge in Woodbridge, VA offers owners a community club house, swimming pool and walking paths throughout the community. With it's central location within Prince William County residents have access to multiple commuter lots, major roads and the Woodbridge VRE for commuting to DC, the Pentagon or Quantico. Shopping centers are varied and close by and the Award of Excellence Westridge Elementary School is within the community.

View Current Westridge Listings

This older Burke and Herbert bank building in the Baileys Crossroad area of Northern Virginia looks like just about any other bank in the area.  Nothing about it necessarily stands out.  Yet it holds an interesting part of history on it's roof.

The odd looking lights that you might think are an old security system or fire alarm are actually the remaining becons that marked the building for incoming planes to the Cross Roads Airport.   As you can see by the highrises behind the bank no pilot today would want to attempt a landing in the area. 

The original agreement to operate an airport in the area was approved in 1942 but due to WWII the airport license was not issued and named until 1946.  In 1947 the Cross Roads Airport opened and appeared on flight maps.  By 1949 the name on the areonatutical maps now showed the airport being called Washington Airport with two unpaved runways.

As time passed the runways were paved and housing developments going up nearby began to complain about the noise from the aircraft.  In the 1960's even the Goodyear Blimp made a visit to the airfield but as with many of the smaller airfields, such as the Springfield Airport 15 miles down the road the future of airport was determined by the increasing value of the land.

The airport officially closed in October 1970 and the construction of Skyline Plaza, two twenty six floor residential towers began.  The condominiums were completed in 1977 and except for these two lights all traces of the airport are long gone.

Today's Baileys Crossroads is on the radar of Fairfax County for redevelopment to a more pedistrian friendly area with a future metro station.  The area has come a long way from an area that once welcomed airplanes instead of traffic backups on Route 7.

For more information on the Cross Roads Airport, other small airports in Northern Virginia or across the US check out Abondoned & Little Known Airfields.

Grand Opening of the new Kayak Launch facility at Occoquan Regional Park is this coming Labor Day Weekend.

For added fun on Saturday September 4th, Ernie Porta the Mayor of Occoquan is leading two historic tours of Occoquan. The tours will kick off at 10 am and 11 am. 

Participants on the tour will receive a 10% discount coupon for lunch at either the Garden Kitchen or Madigan's Waterfront good for use on the day of the tour.

Per Occoquan Regional Park site the following fees and times are available for Kayak rentals this fall.

"Kayak rental is available from September 4th to October 2nd between the hours of 9am and 6pm, Weekends and Holidays Only"

"Hourly rates are $7.50 for Fairfax County residents and $8.50 for non residents
Daily rates are $33.00 for Fairfax County residents and $37.00 for non residents"

Kayaking on the Occoquan River is a leisurely pastime.  You won't find any whitewater or rapids like you will a Great Falls Park about 20 miles north.  However you will get a chance to watch the Osprey overhead and relax at the end of a long day.  Come join the kickoff event at Occoquan Regional Park on Saturday September 4th, 2010.

As Labor Day approaches the dates for Northern Virginia Fall Arts and Crafits Fair start to fill the calendar.  Now more than ever it is important to consider supporting these local fairs and the artistians who spend a good part of the year preparing for them.

With the economy slowing many local artisians are feeling the pinch.  The cost of the supplies they need to produce their work hasn't decreased but the number of people shopping has.   The fairs are a great opportunity for you to shop "local" to find original gifts for family and friends.

Check out a list of Northern Virginia Crafts Fairs and Festivals and then mark your calendars for the ones you plan to attend this fall.

A great reminder for millitary families who have suffered the loss of a loved on on active duty.

As a surviving spouse I have had the good fortune in the past to use VA to purchase two different homes.  It is a benefit that many widows and widowers may overlook when they start a new home search.

As I was driving through the Newington Forest neighborhood in Springfield this week I encountered this guy just off the side of the road.  It was a nice reminder that when Newington Forest was being built 50% of the 734 acres of the development was set-aside as community common areas.  This resulted in a community with large mature trees and five miles of hiking and biking trails.

Owners in Newington Forest have a choice of townhomes or detached homes spread out among the remaining 300 plus acres of the community.  Looking for a starter place?  Then the smallest Pepperwood model townhouse may be just for you.  Need room to expand?  Then check out the largest Shenandoah model detached home.  There are plenty of options for you to choose from.

Since Newington Forest covers a large area in Springfield children may attend either schools in the South County HS Pyramid or the Hayfield HS Pyramid.  With it’s proximity to Fort Belvoir and easy access to multiple commuter lots, slug lines and the Franconia Springfield Metro the neighborhood has always been popular with military families.  With the new NGA facility opening in Fall 2011 the neighborhood will also be popular with employees looking to live close by.

Interested in checking out Newington Forest in Springfield VA?  Give me a call at 703-346-2213 let me help you find the home that is just the right fit for you.

Current homes for sale in Newington Forest.

Ask the residents of Northern Virginia who drive through the Springfield interchange everyday and they may tell you that an airport would be preferable to the 50 ramps and 20 lanes they deal with everyday.  Ask a tourist driving through the Springfield interchange and you can bet they would rather be flying over than trying to navigate their way through the maze.  In 1945 this same area was the location of a 3,000 foot long unpaved runway as part of the Springfield Airport. 

The tiny airport offered fuel and maintenance facilities for small aircraft.  One of the mechanics at the airport in the late 1940's was Charlie Kulp who is best known in our area for his acrobatic flying in the Bealton Flying Circus which still operates today and is a great place to go and watch the amazing flying acrobatics.

According to the book Abondoned and Little Known Airfields the Springfield Airport was short lived.  In fact it appears that it was only around for 7 years.  Our family moved to Springfield in 1955 and by then there were no traces of the airport visible in the area.  it was easy to see that the location of the airport is where the neighborhood of Springfield Estates was built. 

Unlike the nearby community of Burke VA which was the original proposed site for Dulles International Airport, Springfield Airport was never designed to be more than a small airfield.

Today pilots who fly small aircraft have a choice of airfields scattered throughout Northern Virginia including four local public airports and another 64 throughout the state.   

Manassas Airfield
Whitman Strip 
Stafford Regional Airport
Leesburg Executive Airport

If you are looking for a home in Springfield VA or the surrounding Northern Virginia area give me a call at 703-346-2213.  Let my knowledge of both old and new Springfield work for you.  No hassle, no pressure just straight talk to help you decide if now is the right time for you to buy a new home.

Photo by Caleb's Photography from Flickr Creative Commons License

If you are looking for a "forest" to live in and you still want to be able to commute to work at Fort Belvoir, NGA, the Pentagon, the Dulles Technology Corridor or anywhere in Washington DC then you might want to check out the "forests" in Springfield Virginia.

Okay that might have been a bit cheesy but the developers who built the numerous neighborhoods with "Forest" in their name did leave plenty of trees. Over the years they have continued to grow and provide each neighborhood a leafy canopy and beautiful displays of colors in our changing seasons.

Is it Cardinal Forest, Newington Forest or Rolling Forest that catches your attention? Or perhaps you would prefer Danbury Forest, Leewood Forest or Monticello Forest? I'm sure you can see where this is going. In fact you can find at least 16 communities with "forest" in their name and there is a chance that I've missed one or two. What I haven't missed is watching most of these neighborhoods mature over the years and having owned a home in every zip code in Springfield, I've lived in my share of them too.

From the smallest community of Park Forest with only 13 townhouses to Cardinal Forest over 1000 condominims or Newington Forest with 1800 homes you can find communities of just about any size that you like. If you are looking for amenities you will find most neighborhoods have pools and tennis courts available.

As a Fairfax County resident you can also enjoy South Run Recreation Center, Burke Lake Park, Lake Accotink, Hidden Pond and dozens of community parks scatterd throughout the area. Springfield commuting options abound with the metro, VRE, commuter lots, bus lines and slug routes scattered throughout the area.




If you are thinking you might be interested in living in a "forest" this year give me a call at 703-346-2213. We can meet to talk over your options and see if this year is the right time for you to buy a new home. And if living in a "forest" isn't for you, don't worry Springfield has plenty of "woods" and other great neighborhoods as well.

Long before Homer Simpson made the TV town of Springfield famous, before the Springfield Interchange was created or Slug lines came to town their was a small ‘country” highway stop fifteen miles outside of DC that would come to be known as Springfield Virginia.

In 1946 the developer Edwin Carr realized that their was a huge piece of undeveloped land, close enough to DC to be appealing to government workers who worked in town and that would provide space for larger homes than were currently available in Arlington or Alexandria. My parents were one of those families who decided that Springfield provided a chance for them to buy their first home. In 1955 they bought a brand new split level home in the Yates Village neighborhood of Springfield.

When we moved in to our new home there wasn’t much around us. The only grocery store in the neighborhood was a small store called Bon Foods, there was a drug store with a soda fountain and Fischers Hardware had been open a couple of years.

My parents thought about a bigger house in one of the new West Springfield neighborhoods but in the end they stayed in their original home for 45 years. When I bougt my first house in Kings Park my mother said “who would want to live all they way out there?”  Of course "out there" was less than 5 miles away.  Over the years my family moved around Springfield and lived in  Greentree Village, Springfield Oaks, and Charlestown to name a few. My kids laugh about the fact that we have lived in every zip code in Springfield and multiple generations of our family attended Fairfax County Schools.

Today Springfield is a bustling area with a wide selection of neighborhoods, dining choices and commuting options.   It's central location makes it a great choice for military familes with orders to Fort Belvoir, Pentagon, or the Military District of Washington. The new NGA facilty is bringing numerous defense contractors and government agencies to Springfield as well.

If a move to Springfield VA is in your future let's meet to talk about your options and whether buying a home is the right choice for you in today's market. If you are thinking about selling your home in Springfield VA give me a call at 703-346-2213.  With my personal knowledge of the neighborhoods and successful marketing strategies together we can put the SOLD sign in your yard.

For anyone looking to buy a home in Springfield Virginia you will hear the term "school pyramid" used to describe the schools that feed into the four local high schools.

West Springfield, Robert E. Lee, South County Secondary School and Lake Braddock Secondary School are the four high schools at the top of the pyramid for children living in Springfield neighborhoods. There are multiple elementary schools that feed each of these schools. There are also elementary schools in the Burke Centre community that also feed to Lake Braddock and South County as well.

The following chart shows you the current schools assigned to each the top schools in the pyramid.

Lake Braddock and South County both have middle schools as part of their "campus" and do not have a separate feeder middle school.  Detailed information about each school serving t Springfield VA neighborhoods can be found on the Fairfax County Schools site.

New to the Springfield or Fairfax County area?   Make sure you check out the Fairfax County Public School Website for information for the 2010-2011 school year.

Need to know which school your children will attend?  Enter your address in the Fairfax County School Boundary link to find out.

If you are still looking for a home in the Springfield VA area or anywhere in Fairfax County give me a call at 703-346-2213.  Not only did I attend Fairfax County Schools from kindergarten through high school graduation so did my children.  Let me show you the neighborhoods that meet the needs for your family. 

You can search for your new home by school with my automated home search tool.  For example Homes in West Springfield HS boundary*