Photo Tour: Brambleton (Arlington, Annandale, Fairfax: apartment, condo, houses)

[Alicia Bradley]

I like the whole "being able to shake hands with your neighbor through the window" thing. Rockin'!

[TheseGoTo11]

looks like the set of the Truman Show

[540_804]

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

looks like the set of the Truman Show

Thats actually one thing I dislike about these planned communities.
They're almost eerily "perfect"....

[michgc]

Thanks for the tour; I enjoyed it. It reminds me of the Kentlands and Lakelands in Gaithersburg. I was always attracted to these planned communities that including shopping and other everyday conveniences in their developments rather than just housing.

[eastli84]

Great pictures! I've been living in Brambleton the past few months and it's a great place to call home. It's nice to have lots of sidewalks, connecting trails/roads, and a town center you can walk to for grocery shopping. I will second the review on excellent food at Blue Ridge Grill, the burgers are the best in NOVA!! Seriously, you've gotta try the "Leesburger." Compared to a standard subdivision closer to DC, I definitely prefer being in the master-planned community of Brambleton. Very thoughtfully planned (which is a rarity for NOVA!)

[SteelCityRising]

I'll third the burger recommendation for Blue Ridge Grill. I've been a happy diner there thus far on two separate occasions. It is interesting to learn that Barnes & Noble had originally intended to become a tenant and then decided to pull out, but I wouldn't necessarily view this as a negative. If anything this may promote someone from within the Brambleton community to someday open their own independent bookstore in one of the yet-to-be-developed commercial areas. One thing I really hate about Reston is its heavy emphasis upon chains, and so far Brambleton has a nice mixture of both chains AND independent businesses. It would be nice for that blend to continue with both more new chains and mom-and-pops cropping up. Some unique niche retailers would definitely be helpful to draw in shoppers from South Riding, Broadlands, Loudoun Valley Estates, and even beyond---businesses perhaps such as a gourmet dog bakery, ceramics studio, Irish gift shop, comic book store, Brazilian steakhouse, etc.

I'm very pleased with this tour and am only saddened that I can't "rep" you. While many on this sub-forum hate me because I'm a constant thorn in their sides to their otherwise pretty and perfect cul-de-sac/SUV/McMansion lifestyles with my evangelizing I maintain that Brambleton is indeed a model suburban community that needs to be emulated. Sidewalks? Check. Curbs? Check. Neighborliness? Check. Ability to walk to businesses? Check. Recreational space? Check. Schools? Check. Perhaps another thing to consider adding though would be a few houses of worship (Roman Catholic church, Protestant church, synagogue, temple, mosque, etc.) Where do people who live in Brambleton now have to drive to in order to attend worship?

Also, cdmurphy, I'm in total agreement about the parking arrangement. Moving the garages to "hide" them was a BRILLIANT move. Reston really screwed up many parts of its town center, and the very visible presence of surface parking and the low-rise garages are one of my biggest complaints. If you're trying to create a downtown area for people to be able to feel some sort of attachment to and to feel proud of it just feels more "fake" to be reminded around every corner that 9/10 of the people strolling the sidewalks HAD to drive there and park in a surface lot.

I know this will shock some, but believe it or not I have actually been checking into moving to Brambleton myself. Assuming all of the contingencies fall into place (Silver Line being extended to within a couple of miles from the community, shuttle service being started between Brambleton and the Metro station, more retail moving in, houses of worship moving in, etc.) I could actually AFFORD to live the sort of walkable lifestyle I seek. I could easily take mass transit to work, walk in the evenings to relax in the park or to grab a burger at Blue Ridge and see a movie. I could walk to church on Sundays and then do my shopping at Harris Teeter. Brambleton is what suburbia SHOULD be---not the poorly-planned "Oops. Our bad!" car-centric environment that is much of the rest of NoVA outside the Beltway.

[Nebat]

I still have mixed feelings on these "lifestyle centers". They are definitely a thousand times better than the typical bland vinyl coated subdivision. I guess in a 100 years they will feel like a real little town/village. But right now they just feel and look so manufactured, almost like a elegant Lego set. In my town in the Shen Valley, they are actually rehabbing an old sanitarium/prison into a village like center. It's a 20 year or so plan, but when finished it will have apts., condos, shopping/dining, and office and retail space. There are already some buildings done with people living in them already. The thing I like about it is they are using existing historic buildings dating from the 1800's with character instead of demolishing them in favor of something shiny and new...and soulless.

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Perhaps another thing to consider adding though would be a few houses of worship (Roman Catholic church, Protestant church, synagogue, temple, mosque, etc.) Where do people who live in Brambleton now have to drive to in order to attend worship?

There are three churches that meet in Brambleton: Brambleton Presbyterian Church at Legacy ES; Grace Community Church at Briar Woods HS; and Belmont Ridge Church of the Resurrection at Creighton's Corner ES. They rent the space from the school district; this is a very common arrangement in Loudoun where land and commercial rents are expensive. There's even a church that meets at the Regal Countryside.

We are Catholic, and are registered parishioners at St. Theresa (in Broadlands), but we've been attending Mass at Christ the Redeemer in Sterling. I know some other Catholics in Brambleton who attend Mass at the Corpus Christi Mission in South Riding, St. John Neumann in Reston, or elsewhere. (There are a variety of reasons why people do not like services at St. Theresa, and I think that the current construction of the new church may address some of them.) The Catholic Church used to own a parcel of land right across from the main waterfall in Brambleton as a possible future parish, but they've recently sold it to Van Metre; Corpus Christi will be building a church and school of their own and are on the path to becoming a full parish. It is possible that Brambleton would be "redistricted" there to alleviate the overcrowding at St. Theresa.

I have Mormon friends here who attend church in Ashburn Farm. The closest synagogues are Beth Chaverim (Reform) in Ashburn and Congregation Sha'are Shalom (Conservative) in Leesburg. The All-Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) has services in Ashburn, Sterling, South Riding, and other locations. There are a lot of Protestant churches in Broadlands, Ashburn, and South Riding.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Nebat

I still have mixed feelings on these "lifestyle centers". They are definitely a thousand times better than the typical bland vinyl coated subdivision. I guess in a 100 years they will feel like a real little town/village. But right now they just feel and look so manufactured, almost like a elegant Lego set. In my town in the Shen Valley, they are actually rehabbing an old sanitarium/prison into a village like center. It's a 20 year or so plan, but when finished it will have apts., condos, shopping/dining, and office and retail space. There are already some buildings done with people living in them already. The thing I like about it is they are using existing historic buildings dating from the 1800's with character instead of demolishing them in favor of something shiny and new...and soulless.

If you don't mind my asking, where, exactly is your "town in the Shenandoah Valley?" I would be very interested in scoping this place out for a photo tour. From your description this sounds like the exact sort of new mixed-use project I would personally be interested in because they retained the historic character and charm of the area.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

If you don't mind my asking, where, exactly is your "town in the Shenandoah Valley?" I would be very interested in scoping this place out for a photo tour. From your description this sounds like the exact sort of new mixed-use project I would personally be interested in because they retained the historic character and charm of the area.

Upon Internet research would this happen to be Staunton?

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