We have all read the stories of how the railroad opened up development throughout the United States and changed the face of our young nation. When transportation officials and developers began planning the Virginia Rail Express (VRE) along the I-95 corridor in 1992 there were concerns as to whether the lack of housing near the train stations would derail the long term plans for a commuter trail. Just like the Wild West the train brought a new supply of "whistle stop" towns close to the eastern run of the tracks including Belmont Bay, Rippon Landing and Quantico.

The Woodbridge Station sits just at the edge of Belmont Bay and is within a mile of the marina that is the jewel of the community. Still growing Belmont Bay offers buyers the chance to live in a community that includes a marina, the public Osprey Golf Course, Osprey Restaurant and waterfront walking paths. Neighboring a 400 acre nature reserve residents have a chance to not only enjoy the community but watch Osprey's soar and fox run. With waterfront condos, townhouses, golf villas and detached homes residents enjoy a resort style lifestyle all year long.

Only a few miles south of Belmont Bay you hit the Rippon Landing station. When you get off the train you can look up the hill and see the new Potomac Pointe condos. What you don't notice until you top the hill is that the condos enjoy a stunning view of the Potomac River. The lot is general full with commuters who come in from Port Potomac or Eagles Pointe. The station is also within walking distance to townhouse owners at Riverside Station or the detached homes in Dawson's Landing.

The last station in Prince William County is the Quantico Station. Located within the gates of Quantico Marine Base commuters must drive in to the base in order to get to the station. However that doesn't seem to stop anyone who wants to grab a cup of coffee at the Whistle Stop Coffee Shop before boarding the train. New developments including Cramer's Ridge, Lionsfield Valley and the Reserve at Potomac Crest have increased the popularity of the Quantico Station and it is a great chance for active duty military who need to make a morning run to the Pentagon the chance to grab the train and then transfer to the Metro.

The development of the new whistle stop communities on the eastern portion of the VRE are part of the master plans for the Northern Virginia Counties of Stafford, Prince William and Fairfax. With ridership continuing to grow the plans to create more walkable communities on the right side of the tracks in has become a reality. The western stops on the VRE have also spanned huge developements as well.

If you are interested in finding a home within walking distance of a VRE station give the Cindy Jones team a call at 703-346-2213. Let us give you you the whistle stop tour of Prince William County.

There is little doubt that one of the first questions that a family relocating to the Northern Virginia area asks is "what about the schools?"   As real estate agents we can't answer the question directly but can help point prospective buyers to a number of places to research local Northern Virginia schools. Schools often dictate the choice of neighborhood that families will consider.  Living in a "good" school district could mean that parents sacrifice their commute or other community amenities in order to find the right school. 

Looking at the different county and city schools sites for test scores, absentee rates, teacher turnover, graduation rates and extracurricular activities are part of what a buyer can use to make a school decision.   If you are relocating to Northern Virginia you can check out the following local school sites for more information:

Alexandria City Public Schools
Arlington County Public Schools
Fairfax County Public Schools
Falls Church City Public Schools
Loudoun County Public Schools
Prince William County Public Schools
Stafford County Public Schools

You can also check out the Virginia Department of Education site and the independent Great Schools site as well.  If you are also looking for a post secondary school for continuing your own education you can check out the links to local Virginia Colleges and Universities on my website. 

If a move to the Northern Virginia area is in your future give Cindy Jones a call at 703-346-2213.  Let me help you find the information you need to make the best decision for your families reclocation to the area.  No hassle, no pressure just straight talk about lliving in Northern Virginia.

With the construction crews frantically working it appears that some agencies slated for the big BRAC move in 2011 have been given an opportunity for a three year extension.  The Department of Defense has announced that agencies in leased office space may extend those leases until 2014.  

The benefit is two fold.  First in a time when commercial real estate is feeling the pinch of a down market the owners of buildings in Crystal City and Alexandria will have more time to find new tenants.  With the concern over the timeline and completion of buildings and road infrastructure also looming it gives more time to make sure that the impact of 20,000 plus jobs in the area doesn’t cripple the already over crowded roads.

The plan to move all of these jobs to new buildings at Fort Belvoir, the old Engineering Proving Grounds in Springfield and the MARC Center in Alexandria has been controversial from the beginning.  With no metro station within walking distance of any of these locations employees will be forced to drive or take shuttle buses from nearby metro stations.  

No matter how you look at it when all of the BRAC moves are completed Northern Virginia and Fort Belvoir will never be the same again.

The changes at Fort Belvoir continue as the date for the BRAC influx gets closer.  On post housing is just one of the many transformations taking place but it is one of the most important ones for families who choose to live within the gates of Fort Belvoir.

Gerber Village is what you might term "traditional" military housing.  The brick cape cod style homes sit on nice tree lined lots.  The photo taken last fall shows the trees right before Halloween and before the neighborhood began its transformation.  Gerber Village is made up of 68 single family homes (and 6 duplexes) built between 1930-1939.  With slate roofs and all brick construction the homes were built to last.  The homes are reserved for E-7 to E-9 Army personnel.

Today when you drive through Gerber Village you see the transformation of the homes taking place.  Though the basic style of the home remains unchanged the Cape Cod homes are being updated to include larger kitchens, a true master bedroom, expanded second floor bedrooms and the screened in porches are now enclosed family rooms.  Detached garages and new alleyways are being added to reduce street traffic and parking issues. 

Gerber Village is just the latest housing project on Fort Belvoir that reflects the Army's commitment to "green renovation" as well.   All of the homes will have energy star appliances, energy efficient windows and insulation to keep them cozy.  The first phase of the updates is scheduled for completion this fall.

If you are headed to Fort Belvoir and want to learn more about your options on post contact the Villages at Fort Belvoir Welcome Center at 703-454-9700,   If living off post is in your plans then give the Cindy Jones Team a call at 703-346-2213.  Let our personal experience with military relocation help you find the right place to call home while you are stationed at Fort Belvoir.

The evidence of the BRAC deadline for development and movement of personnel is starting to take shape in the Fort Belvoir area.  Not only can you drive through the main post and see the changes but outside the gates local neighborhoods can see the impact as well.

Two of the most visible projects in Springfield include the extension of the Fairfax County Parkway along Rolling Road and Fullerton Roads and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) building.   The final leg of the Fairfax County Parkway has been on the books for years waiting funding.  The push to ease the impact of 8500 personnel headed to the new National Geospatial Intelligence Agency building at the old Engineering Proving Grounds in Springfield has made the road a reality. 

Now as you exit the parkway at Rolling Road instead of seeing the woods and fences that hid the grounds from sight you see the long stretch of future roadway and the dust from earthmovers.  Utility lines along Rolling Road by the Saratoga neighborhood are being moved in anticipation of the widening of the roadway there as well.  The new NGA building is a little harder to spot but you can see it emerging from the tree tops off of Fullerton Road.

Now that the road work is well underway some nearby neighborhoods are starting to realize that what they though would never happen is indeed true as shown in this
Fox 5 News Clip.






Though only a small portion of the new jobs coming to the area due to BRAC are from outside our region, there are transferees coming and they are looking in neighborhoods close to Fort Belvoir.  If you find yourself coming to the Fort Belvoir area as part of the BRAC changes or with PCS orders give the Cindy Jones Team a call at 703-346-2213. We understand the stress of relocation and are ready to help you make a smooth transition to Fort Belvoir and the surrounding areas. 

Anyone with PCS orders to Fort Belvoir looking for an affordable townhouse community just minutes to the Telegraph gate should take a look at the Village of Mount Air.

As one of the smaller townhouse communities close to Fort Belvoir, the Village of Mount Air has 182 townhouses, both garage and non-garage models. Originally the Village of Mount Air was part of a historic estate that dated back to the 1700's. The estate changed hands over the years and of course parcels of land were sold off. The original home on the property burned in 1859 and second home was built on its foundation. The second home and property remained in use from 1859 to 1992.

The last owner of property in the Village of Mount Air deeded 40 acres of the estate to developers to build the townhouses and kept 25 acres as a buffer to the estate property. The current townhouse community was built between 1986-1989. Shortly after the owner of the estate died a fire destroyed the historic home on the property and the remaining land was sold to a second developer. You can still find the ruins of the two homes that stood on the property as well as a few outbuildings which are maintained by the Fairfax County Park Authority and protected as part of a Historic Overlay district in Fairfax County.

Today the Village of Mount Air provides owners with access to all of the modern amenities. Besides the close proximity to Fort Belvoir, it is only a few miles to the Landsdowne shopping center and the Kingstowne library. The Springfield or Van Dorn Metro Stations are within a 15 minute drive and the neighborhood has easy access to I-95 & I-495 and the Fairfax County Parkway. A recent change in bus service has discontinued the Fairfax County Connector Bus that ran through the neighborhood.

When you need more activities you can head to the Lee District Recreation Center (pool closed Aug-Sept 2009 for renovations) or the Greendale Golf Course both run by the Fairfax County Park Authority. The restaurants and movie theaters at Kingstowne are close by as well as historic Mount Vernon and Woodlawn Plantation. Elementary school children attend Island Creek Elementary School and older students attend Hayfield Secondary School. Always check the schools boundaries with the Fairfax County Schools as schools do occasionally change.

If living in a smaller community close to Fort Belvoir with a bit of history close by appeals to you then give the Cindy Jones team a call at 703-346-2213 to take a tour. No hassle, no pressure just straight talk about whether buying a home in today's market is the right choice for you.

Photos of the Mount Air Historic Site

Perched high overlooking the Potomac River the Fort Belvoir's Officer Club has one of the best views in all of Northern Virginia.

The Officers Club isn't the only place to enjoy time with Mother Nature on post. In fact Fort Belvoir which is comprised of over 8,500 acres also has over 1,300 acres of dedicated wildlife refuges as part of the base property as well. The largest piece of the refugee established in 1980 is the Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge on the north post. The trail offers nine miles of walking paths through a variety of wildlife habitat and includes a handicap accessible Pohick Trail.

On the south post of Fort Belvoir is the Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. Established in 1988 to protect a local wetland area the refuge is a great spot for local fisherman (with a valid VA fishing license) to cast a line in the pond. With a one mile paved walking trail and places to picnic it makes a great spot to exercise during lunch.

Both of these wildlife areas can be accessed by civilians as well as military families with proper identification and are open dawn until dusk all year. If you have orders to Fort Belvoir and are looking for an agent who knows their way around both inside and outside the gates of the post give Cindy Jones a call at  703-346-2213.  Put my personal experience of the Fort Belvoir and surrounding area to work for you.

Located just a few miles from the main gate of Fort Belvoir the neighborhoods that make up the Lorton area have a long tradition with the military and military families in Northern Virginia. Lorton history goes back to our first Commander in Chief, George Washington. There are older neighborhoods such as Harborview which are just as popular today as they were when they were built in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Over the last 10 years a "new" Lorton has emerged which has brought a renewal to southern Fairfax County.

Most of the "new" Lorton growth came about when a prison Complex located in the Lorton area was ordered closed in 1998. With just over 3200 acres the prison complex gave Fairfax County developers an opportunity to create an entire new vision for the land and its usage. With a Virginia Rail Express Station already in place in Lorton (1994) the area was poised for growth.

To the east of I-95 a new town center Lorton Station has grown up around the VRE station. Currently featuring multiple restaurants and a pharmacy more stores are slated to open next year. Just down the road Lorton Market offers a large Shoppers Food Warehouse, UPS store, emergency medical center and banking. All of shopping options make it easy for homeowners to stay in the neighborhood for just about everything they need.

In 2006 the new South County Secondary School opened and the Laurel Hill Elementary School will be open in fall 2009. The Laurel Hill Golf Course an 18 hole championship course operated by the Fairfax County Park opened in 2007 and with a 9000 square foot club house it has become a terrific place for Lorton residents to gather. Bike paths and walking trials connect different sections of the community and also connect with the Fairfax County Cross County Trail

The jewel of the redevelopment is the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center. Officially opened in September 2008 the site has retained the old brick Lorton Prison buildings and revamped them into a blend of artist's studios, classroom and performing arts center. Proposed new stores and restaurants will round out the neighborhood making once was depressing area the newest "it" place in Northern Virginia.

With it's convenience to Fort Belvoir, easy access to I-95, community VRE station and community amenities it is easy to see why the "new" Lorton has become a re-development success in Fairfax County.

If you are interested in learning more about relocating to the Lorton area give me a call at 703-346-2213. We can meet up for coffee in Lorton Station and talk about about whether this is the right time for you to make a move. No hassle, no pressure, just straight talk about the home buying process property in today's market.

Are you looking for a new place where the woods are at your back door and you can walk to the water at the Occoquan Reservoir? Then this townhouse in the Ridgeleigh section of Lake Ridge should be on your viewing list.

The kitchen features stainless steel appliances, ceramic tile floor and a sunny bay window for your table. The living room dining room combination ha two sets of sliding glass doors that lead to the deck overlooking the trees. 

Head downstairs to a recreation room with another double set of sliding glass doors. Step outside and enjoy the quiet. The lower level also has a "bonus" room for an office, full bath and utility room.

On the top level check out the amazing master suite. With cathedral ceilings the room provides loads of interesting nooks and crannies. The master bath is in the loft overlooking the bedroom and features a soaking tub with jets, dual sink vanity and separate shower.