With today’s market conditions, you can expect the least expensive homes to sell much more quickly than those priced over $1million.

Lyon Park is located in Central Arlington County just west of Arlington National Cemetery and the Army’s Fort Myer. The neighborhood is bounded on the east and south by Arlington Boulevard (Route 50), on the north by North 10th Street and on the west by North Irving Street. Here is a link to a wonderful Lyon Park walking tour suggested by Scott Sowers, Arlington resident, and available through Arlington County (thanks!).

And if you’d like to get familiar with the neighborhood, another way is to check out the Citizen’s Group.  Arlingtonians can be quite active and involved in their neighborhoods.  They really care.

Clarendon Center in Arlington, Virginia

The Clarendon-Wilson corridor was recently to the top 10 list of “Great Streets in America” by the American Planning Association.  If you enjoy visiting the various and lively shops and restaurants here, then you weren’t at all surprised by the news.  Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards were chosen because of the neighborhood’s above-average use of metro, reduced reliance on cars, a reduced carbon footprint, the mixed-use development, and increased density.

The corridor bounded by the boulevards, which generally run parallel, is full of street-level shops, restaurants, offices and condos. The “urban village,” the association says, “demonstrates how active local government and committed business owners and residents used planning and smart growth practices to take advantage of, and effect, change.”

And here’s a very interesting statistic about Arlington:  20% of Arlington residents don’t own a car and 50% walk, bike or use public transportation to get to work.  

Decades ago urban planning diverted the Metro from its planned path along Interstate 66 and sent it through Arlington county’s commercial center.  The move to redirect Metro, and a succession of plans forged in what officials said sometimes seemed like a never-ending series of meetings, helped transform the Clarendon area into a national darling in development circles. By putting up condos and businesses along transit lines while keeping the area’s funky style alive — the festive Mardi Gras parade is still going strong — planners say Arlington officials, merchants, land owners and residents have pulled off something worth recognizing and replicating.

Clarendon Day 2007

Clarendon Day

is a festival of food, art, music and fun, celebrating the unique offerings of Arlington’s original downtown, Clarendon.  It’s happening this coming Saturday, September 27, from noon to 7 pm.

It would be quite easy to fill up the afternoon even without a Clarendon Day!  It’s a great opportunity to check out the neighborhood and see what all the fuss is about.

photo courtesy of bucky925 on Flickr.

Ashton Heights today is a quiet, residential community of approximately 1800 households predominately in single-family homes on relatively narrow streets with mature shade trees. The long period over which Ashton Heights was established and renovated has resulted in a very non-homogeneous look to the neighborhood, prompting one observer in a 1990 Washington Post article to describe Ashton Heights as having “a feeling of historic depth.”

Check this out:  Walking Tour with the County Board Chair

As of September 5,  there were 5 active listings in this neighborhood, and 3 homes currently under contract.  In the past three months, fully 9 homes have sold — that’s a lot.  This is a popular neighborhood, and once you take that walking tour you’ll know why.

Since the opening of the Clarendon Metro Station in the early 1980′s , Clarendon has become well-known for its eclectic mix of unique shops, trendy bars, and small restaurants.

Clarendon Market

More recently, luxury apartments, office buildings and upscale chain stores have been constructed and gentrified the area, although some of the original businesses do remain. The former Sears store’s parking lot and automotive department, briefly considered as a site for a Home Depot, was developed as a mixed residential/commercial project that now includes townhouses, luxury apartments, and national chain retail stores.

Please click here to search available homes for sale in Clarendon, Arlington, VA.

Clarendon Condos:

Barton Place
Area of 2536 Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22201
Built around 1984

Cambridge Courts Condominium
area of 2507 Arlington Blvd.
Garden Style, built 1943, South Clarendon

Charleston Condominium
2400 Clarendon Blvd.
High-Rise, built 1991, Courthouse/Clarendon area

Clarendon 1021

Clarendon 1021
1021 Garfield St. N
Mid-Rise, built 2005, right in Clarendon

Hartford (also known as The Hartford Condominium)
1200 Harford St. N
Mid-Rise, built 2003, right in Clarendon

Phoenix at Clarendon Condominium
1020 Highland St. N
High-Rise, will be built 2007, right in Clarendon

Station Square Condominium
area of 1205 Garfield St. N
High-Rise, built 2005, right in Clarendon

Clarendon Townhomes

Barton Place
Area of 2536 Fairfax Dr.
Built around 1984

Bedford Park
Area of 80 Bedford St.
Built around 1983

Berkeley Square
Area of 3110 9th Rd. N
Built around 1997

Bromptons at Clarendon
Area of 1111 Kirkwood Rd. N
Built around 2000

Clarendon Center
Area of 2705 11th St. N
Built around 2002

Daniel Court
Area of 1001 Daniel St. N
Built around 1979

Lynnbrook
Area of 1309 Lynnbrook Dr.
Built around 1967

Lyon Park – Duplex Style
Area of 19 Bedford St. N
Built around 1940

Townes of Lyon Park
Area of 904 Fillmore St. N
Built around 1994

Just click here to search available homes for sale in Clarendon, Arlington, VA.

PLEASE keep in mind that these are condos or townhouses, and as such will have a condo fee or Home Owners Association (HOA) fee associated with their ownership. Details are specific to each community, and change over time. One way to find out more is to contact the Associations for each community directly.

Wherever possible I’ve inserted a link to the specific communities information. However, I can do a quick MLS search (or you can here) for any of these buildings to let you know what’s sold, for how much, what the current inventory is, what taxes look like, the price per square foot, etc. Just let me know what you’d like.

[I've compiled a lot of information here, and made every attempt to update and verify it as I put it together. However, I cannot completely guarantee its accuracy. Please let me know what you're looking for and I'll update the info, and always be sure to conduct your own due diligence before buying or selling any real estate.]

Arlington County Courthouse

The Courthouse neighborhoods consist primarily of high-rise residential and business buildings including office buildings, county administrative offices, and an 8-screen AMC movie theater.

Here you will also find one of the first garden-style apartments complexes built in the United States. Colonial Village, built in the 1930s, consists of both private condos and affordable apartments for rent and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Following is a list of the condominium and townhouse communities located in and around Courthouse. Although 22201 is the main zipcode for Courthouse, a few of the following communities branch into Rosslyn (zip code 22209).

You can search specifically for what you seek here.

CONDOS

1800 Wilson Boulevard Condos
1800 Wilson Blvd
Mid-Rise, built 2006

Astoria Condominium (The Astoria, Astoria Condo)
2100 Lee Hwy
Mid-rise, built 1987

Charleston Condominium
2400 Clarendon Blvd
High-Rise, built 1991

Colonial Village Condominium
in the area of 1742 Rhodes Ave
Garden Style, built 1940

Courthouse Hill Condominium
1320 Wayne St.
Garden Style, built 1999

Odyssey (The Odyssey Condominium)
2001 15th St. N
High-Rise, built 2006

Palatine (The Palatine)
1301 N. Troy St.
High-Rise, built 2007

Taft Towers Condominium
1210 Taft St. N
Mid-Rise, built 1959

Williamsburg Condominium
1276 Wayne St. N
High-Rise, built 1992

Woodbury Heights Condominium
1301 Courthouse Rd. N
High-Rise, built 1983

TOWNHOMES:

Bromptons at Courthouse
Area of 1622 Rhodes St. N
Built around 2004

Chelsea Landing
Area of 1845 Uhle St. N
Built around 1983

Courthouse Heights
Area of 1209 Taft St. N
Built around 2006

Courthouse Hill
Area of 1317 Barton St. N
Built around 1995

Courthouse Park
Area of 1026 Cleveland St. N
Built around 1983

Courthouse Square
Area of 2352 Lee Hwy
Built around 2002

Courthouse Triangle
Area of 2619 Fairfax Dr.
Built around 1999

Ft Myer Heights
Area of 1415 Scott St. N
Built around 1999

Highlawn Highlands – Duplex Style
Area of 2021 29th Rd. N
Built around 1940

Hillcrest
Area of 2103 21st Rd. N
Built around 1995

Potomac Place
Area of 1908 Veitch St.
Built around 1988

PLEASE keep in mind that these are condos or townhouses, and as such will have a condo fee or Home Owners Association (HOA) fee associated with their ownership. Details are specific to each community, and change over time. One way to find out more is to contact the Associations for each community directly.

Wherever possible I’ve inserted a link to the specific communities information. However, I can do a quick MLS search (or you can here) for any of these buildings to let you know what’s sold, for how much, what the current inventory is, what taxes look like, the price per square foot, etc. Just let me know what you’d like.

[I've compiled a lot of information here, and made every attempt to update and verify it as I put it together. However, I cannot completely guarantee its accuracy. Please let me know what you're looking for and I'll update the info, and always be sure to conduct your own due diligence before buying or selling any real estate.]

It’s hard to read, but the top of this gate leading to the neighborhood playground says “Lyon Village Park” in yellow lettering. Maybe it’s the scroll work, maybe it’s the yellow, but it reminds people of The Wizard of Oz. Just follow the yellow brick road to this delightful Arlington neighborhood and you won’t be disappointed.

Most people who already live here don’t leave, they just move around within the small cluster of homes in North Arlington. Walking around the neighborhood is a popular pastime, as is taking a stroll into Clarendon for ice cream or shopping or a nice book browsing session at Barnes and Noble. The neighborhood is situated between Lee Highway and Clarendon Boulevard, and at the dinner hour you will find professionals walking home after getting off the bus the brought them out of the city.

Lyon Village homes are all very unique, with lots of craftsman and cottage style homes in the area. Home prices these days range from $825,000 to slightly over $2 million.