DelRay (Newport News, Hampton, Alexandria: apartments, rentals, condos)

[melzee]

what is this area like? i have been hearing quite a bit about it,,is it part of Alexandria? We will be working at Andrews AFB and trying to find a single family home or townhouse in alexandria.. DO NOT LIKE HIGH RISE LIVING.. any comments or suggestions for rentals , purchase?? thanks in advance for any info

[Flamingo13]

Del Ray is part of Alexandria City (as opposed to parts of Alexandria that are in Fairfax County) - it has alot of charm, older bungalow houses, small shops, places to eat, very pet-friendly, etc. Depending on what time of day you'd be commuting the drive could be OK or Awful - It's not inexpensive though for the most part - if you like the feel, you might want to look a little outside the area but still close: West End for example (where we live), just South or even in Southern Arl. county. I'd suggest looking on Realtor.com to get an idea of the prices. There are some apartments there (not sure on availability) but they are only smaller, garden-style - no high-rises there.

[The Dissenter]

i dont know what to tell you. DelRay has a really good reputation but from what i saw i'm not sure i'd live there. I worked in the Wachovia on Mt. Vernon Ave for a few days. I'm from the Hampton/Newport News area and let's just say Mt Vernon Ave brought back a few memories of the rougher parts of H-town and NN. I'd say defintely go for a SFH in Delray, Rosemont and Beverly Hills are the ones i'd go for. I can only speak for Mt. Vernon Ave but not for any other parts of Delray.

Also i'd look at Millbrook or Stoneridge at Mark Center on the west end. Nice little communities.

[alexandrian]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

i dont know what to tell you. DelRay has a really good reputation but from what i saw i'm not sure i'd live there. I worked in the Wachovia on Mt. Vernon Ave for a few days. I'm from the Hampton/Newport News area and let's just say Mt Vernon Ave brought back a few memories of the rougher parts of H-town and NN.

Is that the bank up near Glebe Road? Pretty far north of what would be considered Del Ray and well into Arlandria, IMO.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by alexandrian

Is that the bank up near Glebe Road? Pretty far north of what would be considered Del Ray and well into Arlandria, IMO.

actually it's at the corner w glebe and mt. vernon.

[alexandrian]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

actually it's at the corner w glebe and mt. vernon.

Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of. That's Arlandria.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by alexandrian

Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of. That's Arlandria.

oh man, i never knew. Wachovia calls it Delray.

anyway i've heard mostly good about Delray. Really popular neighborhood.

[notinnj]

Delray is a neighborhood of Alexandria that has a small town feel. Mt Vernon Avenue is the main drag, and it consists primarily of light commercial including a number of very good independent restaurants and a smattering of other eclectic shops, a very popular coffee house, and a few cafes. It is all very walkable and the commercial does not overwhelm the residential which consist primarily of 1920s and 1930s detached houses, many with front porches. Many of the homes are Sears Craftsmen houses, and a good number of them are renovated and expanded. There are also some townhouses of various vintages and some garden style apartments, and some older commercial buildings that were converted to apartments/condos. There are also two high rises in the northern part of Delray. Some negatives are the costs; a decent 3 br 2 ba house is easily north of $600k, and probably more like $700k. Some are not happy with the Alexandria city schools.
I live nearby and I am in Delray every day and always enjoy being there.

[babob]

I just ran across this forum, I may be late, but I'll share my opinion on Del Ray. For the past 4 years, I've lived in Rosemont, which is an Alexandria neighborhood next to Del Ray. I frequent Del Ray, especially for community events (more on that below).

Del Ray, especially its main street, Mt Vernon Avenue, used to be a rough area until the 1990's, when St Elmo's coffee pub started up. Then Del Ray started getting some gentrification and trendiness. More shops and restaurants moved in.

The poster who mentioned working at a bank in a rough area was not in Del Ray, as someone else pointed out. Del Ray ends at Mt Vernon and Commonwealth. Still, Del Ray is nearby to lower-income housing replete with drug and crime problems, and near to Arlandria, which I believe has the worst crime statistics for the city. That said, Del Ray is not suffering from a crime problem (certainly not more than what you'd find in other places near to your work at Andrews). I've heard of bikes being stolen off front porches.

Today, Del Ray is a nice little neighborhood with a main drag that people hang out on (in a good way). It's currently trendy, probably why you've heard about it. There is not really a whole lot going on in terms of businesses - some residents have bumper stickers saying "Visit Del Ray", and I always laugh and think, "why?" That is, Del Ray doesn't offer a lot as an entertainment destination. The businesses are mostly a few restaurants (One Thai, several Mexican/Latino, and American), a small musical instrument shop, several antique stores, a cheese shop, a pet treats store, and lately, more and more spas. As a neighborhood with a small town feel, it's good, I'm just saying it's not a real happening place like some city boho neighborhood (which at my age, is a plus).

Del Ray also hosts several annual festivities. One is the Halloween parade, in which they close Mt Vernon Ave to cars, and all the kids parade in their costumes. Also, Arts on the Avenue, where arts and crafts vendors set up booths on the avenue. In warm months, they have First Thursday, where on the first Thursday of each month they have some theme and get together with an outdoor band and some freebies for the kids (and dogs). It's nice to get out and see your neighbors at these events.

There is a city library in Del Ray, plenty of churches, playgrounds, banks, a couple of elementary schools nearby, a middle school, and Alexandria has one high school. The school system's performance is decidedly lower than nearby Fairfax County, but they are making improvements. I've been happy so far with my kids' education in public schools. There are also a number of private schools nearby.

Plus, Del Ray is near to Old Town Alexandria, and there is a nearby subway (Metro) station to get you into DC (not too far a drive, either). Your commute to Andrews would take you over the Woodrow Wilson bridge, be glad that they have a new bridge and you won't have to drive over the old one! You'll experience backups crossing the bridge, and traffic down Route 1 in Alexandria at rush hour can be frustrating, but a Del Ray to Andrews commute would be better than what most people in the Northern Virginia area have to put up with.

Housing in Del Ray, and Alexandria City in general, is high, even though it's a down market all over. A 3 BR single family house under $575,000 will be rare, likewise a 3 BR townhouse under $450,000. In this down market, properties are sitting for a LONG time, but I'm guessing owners are not budging much on price. homesdatabase.com is a good place to start looking.

An alternative may be to look at the garden-style condos or the townhouses in the Belle Haven / Belle View area, in Fairfax County just south of Old Town Alexandria. Your commute would be about the same, housing prices may be lower, but you wouldn't have the "Main Street USA" neighborhood feel.

Good luck!

[seiketsu]

I'm moving again....does anyone have a street by street breakdown of Del Ray? Specifically, how is the area around Commonwealth Crossing and Caylor Apts (Cliff St. and Commonwealth) compared to other parts of the neighborhood?