Is Fauquier County becoming the next sprawling DC suburb? (Arlington: apartments, townhomes)

[Kieran Keating]

Fauquier County, although not currently a part of the DC metro area, is a rural, but wealthy county here in northeastern Virginia. It is also one of the fastest growing counties not just in VA but in the entire east coast too. Although much of the county is still rural, the parts of it closest to DC are rapidly growing in population, with many new, upscale homes being built. The DC area is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the US and shows no sign of slowing down, so it only seems logical that exurban places like Fauquier will eventually get built up. In Fairfax and Loudoun, NOVA's two most populated counties, most of the land is already built up and most new residences nowadays are high-density townhomes and apartments. Prince William County is also very built up by now with very few rural areas left. Obviously, the problem with Fauquier is that compared to Loudoun, Fairfax, and PW, it is quite far from DC and lacks major highways and a transit system. It's possible however that the government of Fauquier county will lobby hard to keep the county rural and eventually limit the amount of new construction, though. So, does anyone else here think that Fauquier will be the next suburban hot-spot of NOVA and the DC area in the near future?

[nva06]

I think developers will opt more to the 95 corridor than 66. I know Fauquier County will grow off Rt 29 near Gainesville. And Warrenton. But developers had a stopping point. Like developers were developing on Interstate 66 to Manassas . Then 20 years ago they extended it to Rt. 15 because PWC was growing and was being pretty friendly to developers. If developers go into Fauquier County it would be a commitment. And the next stopping point would be Front Royal which is 30 miles from Warrenton. I think Stafford County will be the next DC sprawling suburb. Which it is already. And developers have a stopping point at the Rappahannock River and Fredricksburg.

[NOVA_guy]

Do I think Fauquier will continue to experience growth? Yes. Do I think it'll get to Prince William County or Loudoun County levels of sprawl within the near future? No. I also don't think the demand is there... yet.

I don't know as much about Fauquier but from what I do know, the political landscape there is somewhat different than the counties in NoVa, they're not as development/developer obsessed and there is somewhat of a concerted effort to ensure the county doesn't abandon its rural roots.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by Kieran Keating

Fauquier County, although not currently a part of the DC metro area, is a rural, but wealthy county here in northeastern Virginia. It is also one of the fastest growing counties not just in VA but in the entire east coast too. Although much of the county is still rural, the parts of it closest to DC are rapidly growing in population, with many new, upscale homes being built. The DC area is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the US and shows no sign of slowing down, so it only seems logical that exurban places like Fauquier will eventually get built up. In Fairfax and Loudoun, NOVA's two most populated counties, most of the land is already built up and most new residences nowadays are high-density townhomes and apartments. Prince William County is also very built up by now with very few rural areas left. Obviously, the problem with Fauquier is that compared to Loudoun, Fairfax, and PW, it is quite far from DC and lacks major highways and a transit system. It's possible however that the government of Fauquier county will lobby hard to keep the county rural and eventually limit the amount of new construction, though. So, does anyone else here think that Fauquier will be the next suburban hot-spot of NOVA and the DC area in the near future?

Trying to figure out how this can be a troll post that you are so good at. Give me a minute or two to figure this one out.

[Kieran Keating]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Trying to figure out how this can be a troll post that you are so good at. Give me a minute or two to figure this one out.

So you think everything I post on this forum must be a "troll post" because you disagreed with my stance about a neighbor issue? You're mistaken. I thought of creating a thread for this thread because my girlfriend and I went to a vineyard in Warrenton VA (which is Fauquier county) last week and I was surprised about how rural the area seemed considering that it wasn't that far from the DC metro area.

[spencgr]

Loudoun County is the wealthiest county in Virginia because of the combination of tech-rich suburbanites in Ashburn/ Leesburg/ Aldie as well as generations old wealth of land owners in Western Loudoun.



Faquier County is only wealthy because of the landowners, who are historically very protective of their land. I don't see those in power changing the current plan.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by Kieran Keating

So you think everything I post on this forum must be a "troll post" because you disagreed with my stance about a neighbor issue? You're mistaken. I thought of creating a thread for this thread because my girlfriend and I went to a vineyard in Warrenton VA (which is Fauquier county) last week and I was surprised about how rural the area seemed considering that it wasn't that far from the DC metro area.

Well it is possible I am wrong but your short time here has been a little on the strange side and a few have been wondering. Warrenton is a small area in Fauquier Co. But the county in general is rural and will stay this way for many years.

[NOVAmtneer82]

If I recall correctly most of Fauquier County is off-limits to conventional suburban development - similar to western Loudoun County. There are exceptions of course around Warrenton but I think the county zoning is designed to keep it largely rural. As with Loudoun County, it doesn't really stop the sprawl it just causes it to jump out to the next frontier such as West Virginia, Winchester/ Stephens City and Front Royal.

[Veritas Vincit]

My view is with remote work becoming more accepted and widespread especially in the industries commonly found in this area, these types of places will grow at an accelerated pace. If you have the kind of job where you can get away with coming into the office once a month or so for a few meetings, and increasingly that's where a lot of jobs seem to be heading, then those areas on the fringes become a lot more sensible for folks.

[sonnymarkjiz]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit

My view is with remote work becoming more accepted and widespread especially in the industries commonly found in this area, these types of places will grow at an accelerated pace. If you have the kind of job where you can get away with coming into the office once a month or so for a few meetings, and increasingly that's where a lot of jobs seem to be heading, then those areas on the fringes become a lot more sensible for folks.

Yeah I have a friend who's looking to buy a house in Fauquier. You can buy a really good sized SFH out there for about 400K. You won't be able to find many SFH's for 400K in Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria or Loudoun these days. With many companies going remote, I see there being a boom to these areas, especially if you want to raise a family but still close enough to be near DC if you want.