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.
Good information on your community. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day.
Cindy: Took a while for my husband and I to get out of the mindset of driving to the Vienna Metro when we wanted to go downtown. We are so close to that Bristow VRE station.
Cindy, what a great way to highlight communities in your market in the context of commuting. I'm sure it's very reassuring to prospective buyers in Northern Virginia to read this information.
Hi Cindy -- I used to live in NoVa (Reston, Fairfax, Arlington, Great Falls) and I had colleagues who took the VRE in and slept, read the paper, did work, etc. I am a huge fan of mass transit, I used to take the bus and Metro downtown when I worked in Georgetown and it was much less stressful than sitting on the car-choked highways.
Roy-thanks for stopping by. It is always a great day when you wake up to sunshine and a great real estate market.
Chris Ann-between Bristow and Manassas I would imagine you have plenty of options.
Margaret-I had an out of town renter last week who asked about commuting from one of my listings. I started listing all their options and he said "you are the first agent we have met who knew the answer to my question." Made all my years of commuting in NOVA worthwhile.
Chris-the great thing about our area are the choices. You aren't confined to a train. You have the metro, buses of all types and of course our famous slug lines. The expansion of the metro, though it is expensive it will be beneficial to get more cars off the road.
That is good to know. When we visited that area a few years ago, we were very impressed with the rail system.
Cindy,
What a lovely area. The east coast is so different from the midwest, great public transportaion.
Linda Metallo, Re/max Impact, Lockport, Il.
Cindy - This is a very well done blog post! I loved living in the DC area and preferred Virginia, even if my husband was from Bethesda and insisted I 'come back across the bridge where I belonged!'
Cindy,
This is a well planned and easy to follow post for folks who are not familiar with the area. Though I'm located on the Outer Banks and never want to leave, your post makes we want to visit your area.
I love this!
I remember when it was built, , , the Virginia Railway Express, that is, not the transcontinental railroad.
The VRE "opened up" housing alternatives for many in southern PW and Stafford County, Fredericksburg, and the area. That's when Route 95 was dubbed "the road from Hell". It's better now, but . . . .
The VRE helped me sell a half dozen homes in Gainesville when the station near the local airport opened.
Great convenience for folks who hate traffic.
Sybil-we are fortunate to have a great metro and commuter rail system in the area.
Linda-I'd hate to think about how congested our roads would be if we didn't have multiple commuter options.
Christianne-we are loyal to our sides of the Beltway :-)
Linda-and once a year I get to spend a week at the Outer Banks and wish I could live there year round. Come visit anytime.
Lenn-without the VRE and now the expansion of the metro we would be sitting in our cars 23 hours of the day.
Great post - thanks!