New Alexandria (between Belle View and Belle Haven) (Fairfax: real estate, house)

[jotaquest]

Does anyone know anything about this little enclave just over the beltway, off the GW Parkway. We have a seven year old and I want to make sure the neighborhood is condusive for children.

I heard rumblings of a community pool in the neighborhood, but want to confirm.

The real estate agent spoke of flooding, however the house we are looking at has no basement and the builder tore it down, raised the foundation and rebuilt the house a couple years ago.

What are the schools like?

Thanks for any help!

[saganista]

Originally Posted by jotaquest

Does anyone know anything about this little enclave just over the beltway, off the GW Parkway. We have a seven year old and I want to make sure the neighborhood is condusive for children. I heard rumblings of a community pool in the neighborhood, but want to confirm. The real estate agent spoke of flooding, however the house we are looking at has no basement and the builder tore it down, raised the foundation and rebuilt the house a couple years ago. What are the schools like? Thanks for any help!

One of my early career mentors lived in Belle Haven for the entire 17 years I knew him. Also coached youth hockey teams that played/practiced at the county-run Mt. Vernon Ice Rink which is smack dab in the middle of the place. It's a very nice area. Upscale, slightly older people than average, slightly fewer kids than average, more predominantly white than average. New Alexandria is one of the neighborhoods within Belle Haven, and it is most definitely susceptible to flooding. But, even during the most recent severe flooding (during Hurricane Isabel in Sept 2003), just 300 of the 2,000 structures in New Alexandria were damaged, and 100 or so of those would have been the usual suspects. Flooding results from being a low-lying area, but also from proximity to the Potomac River. So when it isn't flooding, you've got a nice river nearby. Can't be all bad. The pool you may have heard of is likely Hollin Hills, a members club, like most pools in the VA suburbs. $300 one-time charge to join. $450 or so per season for a family of three. They have a website. The Belle Haven Country Club also has a swim team, but that would be more restrictive and more expensive. Schools would be run by Fairfax County Public Schools, which is one of the largest and most respected systems in the country. The worst FCPS school wouldn't be bad...it would just be not as good as the others. Don't know specifically about the school trees in Belle Haven, but from the rest of the neighborhood, they can't be anything but good. The deservedly criticized Route-1 corridor has its northern terminus at the very far end inland of Belle Haven, but there is virtually no actual interaction between Belle Haven and any of that. And on the flip-side, you couldn't be much closer to the food and other finery of Old Town Alexandria. Close to National Airport...close to the Beltway...pretty close to Metro, too. So obviously, do your homework, but from one who has spent some time in and around that area, you've got no special cause for alarm over it at all...

[scotty2987]

I'm a sub teacher in Fairfax County Schools. Although I haven't been to them myself, I've heard good things about Belle View Elementary, Sandburg Middle School, and West Potomac High. Belle View is a smaller school of only about 450, compared to a size of about 800 in a lot of other places in the county. I would definitely recommend this area.