A little background:
Brambleton is a planned community in eastern Loudoun County located south of Broadlands and north of South Riding, just a few miles from Dulles Airport. Brambleton is in the 20148 zip code and has traditionally been considered part of Ashburn, even though it's about a 15-20 minute drive from here to old Ashburn. Here is
a great article from the Loudoun Independent about what was here before.
There are currently over 2000 homes; when all the phases of Brambleton are finished, it will be one of the largest residential developments in Loudoun. Construction started in 2001, and the first residents settled in 2002. (I moved here in October 2003.) Brambleton was designed to be a walkable community. I took these photos on two separate walks last week.
The main waterfall, facing east at the corner of Ryan Road and Legacy Park Drive
Cars heading east on Ryan Road. Behind them, construction on Phase III - the "Water Tower District" (townhomes, I think). Across Belmont Ridge Road, you can see The Residences (condos by Beazer and Centex). Past the trees in the distance is Briar Woods High School; I didn't walk that far north on this tour.
Along Legacy Park Drive, there are several blocks' worth of park - with trails, this canal, bridges, etc., leading to Regal Wood Drive and the Community Center. (Some people think this is Legacy Park, but it's not, as you'll soon see.)
Christopher Companies' homes facing the park. Christopher only built one street in Brambleton - Highcrest Circle. These homes are really great and there isn't a lot of turnover on this street.
The back of the Community Center. One of the several tot lots sprinkled through the neighborhood. Past it you can see our biggest pool, covered for the season. The Community Center has the HOA offices, and meeting rooms and spaces that are used by clubs and are also available for rent by residents. We rented the main level for our children's baptism party; that's also where I attend a weekly Weight Watchers meeting.
A Stanley Martin home along Legacy Park Drive.
One of several ponds in the community. We are allowed to fish on them, but no boats or swimming. There are paths on either side leading to the pergola.
Stanley Martin homes on Lantana Drive.
Legacy was the first elementary school in Brambleton. Last year, Creighton's Corner ES opened, and there is one more ES planned for the future. Briar Woods HS is in Brambleton, but there are no middle schools here, nor are there any planned. Students currently attend Stone Hill MS in Loudoun Valley Estates.
The Spence family cemetery, behind Legacy ES.
Tot lot/pocket park on Woolsey Drive.
Berms on the southeast corner of Creighton Road and Belmont Ridge Road. Beyond them are the start of some roughed-in golf course holes. (And to the left, Creighton's Corner ES.) A P.B. Dye-designed golf course has always been tentatively planned for Brambleton (despite the nearby public course), but economic realities make it less than certain.
View along Belmont Ridge Road, heading south. More berms. When North Star Boulevard is completed (west of the Town Center), VA-659 will be relocated to run along North Star instead of Belmont Ridge. This will decrease the amount of traffic (especially heavy trucks) speeding through the middle of Brambleton.
Another waterfall - this one at the corner of Belmont Ridge Road and Parkview Drive.
One of my favorite spots in Legacy Park. The park is about 15 acres, and has a giant pond, tennis courts, basketball court, playground and swings, and lots of trails, benches, and doggie pots. I live one block from the park. The park is due east of the Town Center plaza.
Legacy Park by the basketball court. Every fall the HOA sponsors a camp-out in the park - people bring tents, and there's a fire ring so people can tell stories and make s'mores.
View of Legacy Park from the north side of Legacy Park Drive.
Stanley Martin home on Legacy Park Drive. Streetlights and sidewalks!!
Beazer townhomes along Legacy Park Drive, facing the park.
The amphitheatre at the east end of the Town Center plaza. On the other side of it is another waterfall.
View of the BTC plaza from the east end.
Blue Ridge Grill (wonderful food), Johnny Rockets, the Pink Polka Dot, the Papery, Color Me Mine, and Edibles Incredible are in this section. The second level has offices - insurance, orthodontist (who lives in the neighborhood), eye doctor, etc. The green space was supposed to have been a Barnes and Noble, but they pulled out. All of this road-front will be retail and restaurants on the ground level with office space on the second level.
My favorite place at the Town Center. Fox Cinemas was originally built by Consolidated Theatres (a small North Carolina chain) but Regal bought Consolidated last year. It's a 16-screen stadium seating multiplex.
The south end. There's a great comfort shoe shop and hair salon down here. Upstairs is the second location of Broadlands Family Practice, and chiropractors (one of whom is a Brambleton resident). The construction at the far end is a Sport and Health club.
View of the plaza (and Legacy Park beyond) from the western end.
One of the smartest things they did was to hide the parking garages behind the shops. People driving to the Town Center from outside of Brambleton are encouraged to use the Ryan Road and North Star Boulevard entrances to minimize car traffic within the community. The "daily needs" section on the north side has a large surface lot which allows you to get in and out quickly.
View west in the "daily needs" section (I'm standing outside Harris Teeter.)
Miller & Smith homes along Vickery Park Drive. These are some of my favorites in Brambleton. I liked them when we were looking to buy but my husband vetoed the detached garage.
Miller and Smith home on Angel Wing Way (formerly the home of "Lurch" from the Junkies, for you radio fans).
Miller and Smith home.
Looking east on Angel Wing Way - love the leafy trees.
Miller and Smith homes on Courtland Park Drive.
The Residences (Centex condos).
My street (Centex homes).
My back yard, looking down the block through other back yards. We chose this lot because this block has a large tree-save area - these old trees can't be removed unless they are diseased. It makes a huge difference in the feeling of the neighborhood to have so many mature trees.
So that's it - my little slice of suburban heaven. As I've mentioned in other threads, I walk more and drive less now than I did living in Falls Church and in south Arlington. It's not perfect, and transportation needs a lot of work in this area, but as it develops I think there will be more options for people living here who do have to commute towards DC. Brambleton is only a couple of miles from the planned terminus of the Silver Line, so hopefully by then there will be a Loudoun County bus route or maybe even an HOA shuttle to the Metro.
(One other thing - you may have noticed that there are no people in my photos. Don't think that I didn't encounter others on these walks; there are always people out and about here. I purposefully avoided them in my pictures for privacy reasons.)
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Photo Tour: Brambleton
Excellent job! Great photos, and you showed all the things that people moving here from out of town ask questions about. Thanks for including roads, sidewalks, stores, etc. I know a few people who live in Brambleton and they seem very happy there. Your photos show why.
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