Confused about US 1 (Richmond, Arlington, Alexandria: for sale, real estate, apartment complex)

[AnalyzeThis]

I've been reading some things on here about how shady US 1 is. I was under the impression that US 1 is Jefferson Davis Highway in the Arlington/Alexandria area where Potomac Yard (?) shopping is with the Target, PetSmart etc. Is this the area that you all are saying is bad? I thought that was supposed to be a generally nice area? Or is US 1 some where else? Help me clarify please!

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by AnalyzeThis

I've been reading some things on here about how shady US 1 is. I was under the impression that US 1 is Jefferson Davis Highway in the Arlington/Alexandria area where Potomac Yard (?) shopping is with the Target, PetSmart etc. Is this the area that you all are saying is bad? I thought that was supposed to be a generally nice area? Or is US 1 some where else? Help me clarify please!

the US 1 that is commonly referred to is Rt. 1 north of ft. belvoir and south of the alexandria city limits. potomac yards you should be fine.

[Flamingo13]

Rt. 1 runs for quite a ways (down to FL I believe?) - Potomac Yard area is fine, as is some of the area through the Fairfax County portion of Alexandria (that's where there are some "issues") - there are portions that are rundown, etc. - not sure what you've read, but you certainly can't judge an entire Interstate by a small section or two.

[AnalyzeThis]

Ok that makes alot more sense to me. Thanks!

[Nancy in Nokomis]

what is considered "shady" in NOVA is pretty tame compared to the rest of the country - in my opinion anyway

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

what is considered "shady" in NOVA is pretty tame compared to the rest of the country - in my opinion anyway

I wholeheartedly agree.

I had never spent much time in the Route 1 Corridor, not in recent years at least, until around one year ago when I became good friends with someone who lives right off of Route 1 in Groveton and wound up hanging out in the area a good amount. On my first visits there, there was a sense of "this is it? This is "big bad Route 1?" while I was driving through. Given the area's reputation, I was surprised by how profoundly "normal" the area was. There were a few rough-looking apartment complexes, a few older-looking strip malls, a trailer park or two, some shady characters lounging around and there's still a few of the seedy hotels remaining, but as a whole, it's not really anything all that bad and seems to be improving greatly. Don't get me wrong, I'd steer people away from a good number of the apartment complexes around there, and I know the schools perform poorly and that the area has the highest crime and poverty rates in the county, but well, if this is the worst that Fairfax County has to offer, we're in pretty good shape.

[saganista]

Yes, the Route-1 Corridor is basically the Beltway to Fort Belvoir. That area used to be quite a bit worse, but it could still stand to get better. I think all of the trailer parks are gone, most of the run-down, stand-alone, legacy commercial structures are gone, and most of the seedy motels are gone. And a lot of the petty crime has gone with them. Both the County Board and the County Police have put extra effort into trying to clean up the corridor over the past decade or so, and I think you have to give them pretty decent marks on that score overall. Still, I doubt many people would say that the work is done, or that all of it has gone as had been hoped for. There have been zoning issues, and stormwater issues, and low-income housing issues, and it has sometimes been difficult to get private investors to go where you might have preferred them to go, but there's still a good deal of progress that's been made. Twenty years ago, driving that stretch down into and through Hybla Valley would have been downright scary at many hours of the day. That's not the case anymore, and while this isn't McLean or Great Falls by any means, it's reached the point of being a pretty reasonable area all in all, not so much different from what you would find further north in the Potomac Yards area. Like <dullnboring>, I wouldn't recommend the area over very many others, but it's certainly not the take-your-life-in-your-hands sort of place that it often felt like not all that long ago...

[AnalyzeThis]

Well, I think these posts put some things in perspective. Out of all the areas I have been to in and around D.C., the only area I have been to where I really felt uncomfortable (even in daylight) was outside the Anacostia base. But again I was not really 'hanging' out, just unknowingly took the metro there to detailed assignment early enough in the morning when the sun had not even risen, and did not know the metro was not very close to the base.

Regardless, I am originally from yhe East New York section of Brooklyn, NY and I have seen many frightening things first hand (murder, drive-bys, robberies, riots). So I hardly doubt a 'rough' area of NoVa is really going to frighten me. However, as a single woman with a decent budget I do not want to live in a flight-or-fright mode and am looking for some of the nicer, safer areas. And if current residents say to take heed of certain areas, I will most certainly question and if necessary...oblige :-)

[jclark2]

AnalyzeThis-
There are homes in Jefferson Manor for sale and I encourage you to look there. It is in Alexandria just off of Rte 1, walking distance to the Huntington Metro. I am also a single female and I live amongst some great neighbors in Jefferson Manor. And as you can see from the threads about Rte 1 it continually improves...so if you're a real estate investor I'd take note of that...

[FindingZen]

I'm a relatively new resident (2+ years) who lives in an apartment complex off route 1. It's not Shangri-La but I don't live in fear of my life. If anything, I fear the cars that race up and down Richmond Highway trying to get to and from the Beltway or I-95... but I've learned that's standard procedure in NOVA. In terms of retail and restaurants, I've seen a lot of positive changes even in the relatively short time I've been here. You won't find McCormick and Schmick's or the Capital Grille, but you will find TGI Friday's, Chevy's, Chili's and such. And the Safeway that opened over a year ago may not be inexpensive compared to the Shoppers across the street but it can be convenient to the apartment and townhouse dwellers in the community behind it.

The immediate area is interesting because you can go from a slightly worn down but livable neighborhood to an relatively exclusive area, all within a mile. I'll admit that east of Route 1 towards the waterfront is generally nicer than west of Route 1 but there are exceptions on either side of the road. As far as schools go, if one has grade-school kids, it would be ideal to get them into Stratford Landing which has a magnet section for the gifted/talented. (My lady happens to teach there. )The other three or four elementary schools in the immediate area aren't bad although some are a reflection of their lower income or ESL communities. It's my understanding that West Potomac High is pretty good as well. It's inevitable that this area will only improve as economics will force people to consider underrated areas... especially if/when the people reassigned to Ft. Belvoir due to BRAC come a-callin'.

To answer question about this same area... Holly Hill Townhomes are probably "okay". If you have your heart set on a townhome in the immediate vicinity, I'd sooner consider the ones in the back of Mt. Vernon Square or maybe even the Village at Gum Springs.