Arlington Real Estate
Arlington County is an urban county located on the west side of the Potomac River across from Washington, D.C. It is bounded on the west by Falls Church City as well as the McLean community in Fairfax County and to the south by the City of Alexandria. It is the smallest self-governing county in the Unites States with an area of 26 square miles. As of 2008, the estimated population was just over 208,000. Arlington and Washington, D.C. are linked by three bridges, Key Bridge, Memorial Bridge and the 14th St Bridge. Arlington and Washington, D.C. also are linked by the Orange, Blue and Yellow lines of the Metrorail system. Ronald Reagan National Airport, the closest facility to Washington, D.C., is located along the Potomac River in Arlington. Major roads that run through the County include Interstate Route 66, Route 50, Wilson Boulevard, Washington Boulevard, Lee Highway, Clarendon Boulevard, Glebe Road and Columbia Pike.
Arlington is well known to many visitors as the home of Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon. Yet, it is primarily composed of residential communities that are contained within many unincorporated neighborhoods. Given its proximity to Washington, D.C., Arlington was the first suburb in Virginia to develop. Its streets contain an architecturally diverse collection of homes reflecting its initial development and later redevelopment as a close in suburban location.
Up to the beginning of World War Two, the County has a rural feel with relatively fewer homes on larger estates. As the Federal Government grew rapidly in size, Arlington became a prime residential location for Federal workers. Many thousands of red brick ramblers, split level and colonial homes were built during the 1930-1950’s to house these persons. These homes joined many frame cottages and farmhouse style homes that had been built in preceding decades. Many of these frame homes were Sears “catalog homes” as those homes could be delivered by trains which ran in what is now the right of way for Route 66. As the County developed in a denser manner, the size of the building lots established by the zoning ordinance lessened. Today, the majority of single family lots are zoned for 6,000 square feet with lesser numbers zoned for 8,000 square feet, 10,000 square feet and with a few neighborhoods being zoned for 20,000 square foot lots. By and large, the lots become larger as one moves in a northerly direction toward the Potomac River.
In recent years, many hundreds of Craftsmen style homes have been built. These homes are reminiscent in style of many of the early cottage and farmhouse style homes but the floor plans have been adapted for today’s lifestyles. Also, many thousands of condo units in low, mid and high rise buildings were built starting in the 1960’s with a large number of high rises having been built recently in proximity to Metro stops along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Many townhouse communities also were built near Metro stops.
The more urban neighborhoods that are closest to major roads and the Metro lines include:
Other neighborhoods with a more residential flavor include:
| Alcova Heights |
Aurora Hills |
Arlington Ridge |
| Barcroft |
Bonair |
Boulevard Manor |
| Brandon Village |
Country Club Hills |
Crystal Gateway |
| Dominion Hills |
Donaldson Run |
Douglas Park |
| East Falls Church |
Maywood |
Nauck |
| Waycroft |
Woodmont |
Yorktown |
Arlington has been recognized for its smart growth policies. The EPA awarded the County with its National Award for Smart Growth in 2002. Much of the new development over the past thirty years has been focused near Metrorail Stations and along major roads. Within these areas, the County has encouraged mixed use development with mid and high rise office and residential buildings, townhouses and retail. Outside of these areas, the predominant development is single family housing. Reflecting its status as a great place to live, in 2008, Business Week ranked Arlington as the safest city in which to weather a recession. In 2009 CNN Money ranked Arlington second among the best places to live for “Rich and Single” persons and in June 2010, Parenting Magazine named Arlington as among the ”Best City for Families” in the US.
