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We are relocating into the area from Northwest Ohio. Husband has job in sales and will travel north every other week with concentration being NY, NJ and CT and 6 other surrounding states. Need advice on best areas/subdivisions to live in Martinsburg. Would like it to have easy access to main highways for northward travel. Have heard about no zoning areas and if possible would like to avoid those. We no longer have school age children but want to choose smart in case we have to move again. Also have 22 year old son who is still at home and easy access to a community college would be nice as well as area for part time job possibility. I know, I know, too many parameters! Looking for home in $200,000 - $250,000 range if that helps. Any advice or guidance would be helpful as it's hard when you don't know an area well. Thanks in advance!
First of all, welcome to the area!!! I wish you and your family best wishes in whatever you ultimately choose.
When you mentioned you were looking for easy access to I-81, a community college and your price range was in the $200,000-250,000 range, I thought of The Gallery. The Gallery is a very large, newer (oldest homes being around 10 years old) subdivision with a diverse range of housing options. It is comprised of homes from multiple builders, however Dan Ryan Homes is currently building the most it seems. This development does have a very suburban feel. The homes for the most part are very close together, I personally prefer neighborhoods where homes are further apart, but maybe that doesn't bother you. Ryan Homes is advertising (see the link below) new homes starting in the $100,000s. However, What really made me match this subdivision to your situation is location. Blue Ridge Technical & Community college is maybe a quarter of a mile away, if that even. In fact, you can see the entrance to its campus from the entrance to The Gallery. It is exactly 1.41 miles from the center of The Gallery to the Apple Harvest Drive/I-81 interchange at exit 12. It is also about that same distance to a very nice and convenient shopping center called The Commons. It features Target, Dicks, Bed Bath & Beyond, Petsmart, Staples, TJ Maxx, Michaels, Best Buy, Books a Million, Ulta Beauty as well as several smaller stores and restaurants. Foxcroft Avenue is only 2 miles from The Gallery and features the Martinsburg Mall (Walmart, JC Penney, Bon Ton), and there are several chain restaurants (Olive Garden, Outback, Applebees, Golden Corral to name a few) and a large grocery store. Foxcroft is a rapidly growing commercial area with 6 new restaurants and stores opening at the mall late next year. As I'm sure you have realized, it is very convenient to have all of these amenities all within a 5 minute drive of home.
The area where The Gallery is located is safe. There are sidewalks everywhere for walking that lead to trails in adjoining Martinsburg Station (another development by Toll Brothers). I see walkers at all times of the day when I have driven through. It is located within the city limits, and I have occasionally seen the city police and the sheriff's department drive through there. They aren't there for calls, just patrolling for safety.
Below is some information about The Gallery and a link for Blue Ridge CTC. Let me know what you do and don't like about the information either above and the links and perhaps that can help me reconsider and refine options for you. Also if you have any questions about the area I can most likely answer them. I have lived here my entire life. Best of luck! -mmccul
Wow! I am more than grateful for your well informed and very complete advice. I will check into everything you have told me and as you are the very first person from Martinsburg that I have "met" I must say I am thoroughly impressed. Thank you so very much! I will absolutely take you up on your offer for future advice - especially after we visit in a little over a week - I will have lots of questions then, I'm sure!
Wow! I am more than grateful for your well informed and very complete advice. I will check into everything you have told me and as you are the very first person from Martinsburg that I have "met" I must say I am thoroughly impressed. Thank you so very much! I will absolutely take you up on your offer for future advice - especially after we visit in a little over a week - I will have lots of questions then, I'm sure!
I see what you mean about houses being close together, which isn't a deal buster but we are looking for a 1st floor master which seems to currently be like searching for a needle in a haystack if it's not a ranch. Just to broaden our chances, is there another area in somewhat the same general area as The Gallary that you can suggest? I really love the proximity to college, stores, etc. so I think that general location is perfect! Hope you don't mind my picking your brain!
We live in Village of Washington Trails, it's a Kearneysville address but is in Berkeley Co. about 3/4mi off Rt 9 and about 5mi from Rt 81. Homes were built in 2005-2008, there are a few resale's at the moment but they are also starting to build again and lots are for sale. Homes range from 220K-350K(resale) and new construction is around 200k-275K. We are pretty much in between Martinsburg/Charles Town/ Shepardstown. We have lived here for 3 yrs and have no crime issues, the neighborhood is made up of mostly professionals/federal employess and a few retirees.
I see what you mean about houses being close together, which isn't a deal buster but we are looking for a 1st floor master which seems to currently be like searching for a needle in a haystack if it's not a ranch. Just to broaden our chances, is there another area in somewhat the same general area as The Gallary that you can suggest? I really love the proximity to college, stores, etc. so I think that general location is perfect! Hope you don't mind my picking your brain!
Martinsburg Station is across from The Gallery off of Delmar Orchard Road. It is similar to The Gallery, yet tends to be significantly more pricy due to it's amenities (community center with a pool and tennis courts, landscaping, lighting, etc). They have a listing (first link below) for a single story home at $324,000 which is above want you wanted. Quite honestly, looking at the home myself online I don't feel it's worth that much (again, where it's located). The homes in Martinsburg Station were built by Toll Brothers, a high end building company that generally builds in higher income locations such as Loudoun and Fairfax County, VA ( recently named as two of the richest counties in the US). So that is also another reason for the seemingly unreasonable price (at least to me). Other than that, there aren't too many other subdivisions in that general area that I can recall. I will continue thinking, here is another possible suggestion off of the top of my head:
A litte bit further away, off of exit 14 from I-81 is Apple Knoll Estates. Like The Gallery, it is fairly new and is comprised of multiple builders. The homes are closer together but it is in a more rural setting than The Gallery it seems. It is roughly 1.4 miles from the entrance to Apple Knoll Estates to the Dry Run Road/I-81 interchange (exit 14). It is a little further away from amenities, but on a positive side it is only 1.4 miles from Berkeley Medical Center, our regional hospital. I was unable to find a lot online about it, but I do remember seeing quite a few single level homes the last time I drove through there (perhaps a year ago). I honestly am uncertain what the availability is of homes on the market there. As you can see, I hardly ever drive through there.
Distances from Apple Knoll:
-Martinsburg Mall/Foxcroft Ave: 3.5 miles
-The Commons: 4.2 miles
-Blue Ridge CTC: 4.8 miles
Question: Are you willing to build a home or would you rather move-in to an existing home? I have been assuming you do not want to build, especially with the chance you may have to move again but I want to make sure. -mmccul
Oh good! Yes, a couple of homes are available in Apple Knoll and we are scheduled to see them next week. Perfect! And you are correct, we aren't going to build so are looking for existing homes. Such great info from this board, I hope one day soon to be able to give back when I learn about the area. Thanks again.
This house in our s/d has a 1st floor master, the listing price is a little higher than what you wanted to pay but based on sales it's worth closer to $260-280K maybe worth a look. The second doesn't have a 1st floor master but it's priced pretty well.
Last edited by chrisgsxt19; 06-20-2014 at 07:00 AM..
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