Where is Countryside VA?
- Dulles Toll Road West.
- Route 28 North.
- East on Route 7.
- North on Algonkian Parkway.
The unincorporated area north of Route 7 has 3 large subdivisions which were built in different decades and offer housing types typical of demand in those eras.
Sugarland Run was built mostly in the 1970s. Smaller square footage, no garage townhouses. Wood siding. Contemporary architecture single detached.
Further west, Cascades was built during the dot com boom of the 1990s and offers colonial upscale housing. 2 car brick sided townhouses and executive detached homes. Main street shopping arcade.
Still further west, Countryside was built in the 1980s as mid range housing and is generally a very quiet area save a few aircraft on their way to a Dulles airport landing.
Detached, Townhouses, Condos
The planned community consists of:
- 1253 single family detached houses.
- 1168 single family attached/townhouses.
- 11 manor homes.
- 102 condominium units--mostly garden style.
With the 1990s dot com boom, the Dulles landscape went upscale as did the interiors of new homes.
Some Countryside homes are found without upgraded replacement flooring and counters and present investor appeal.
Countryside offers a wide array of detached housing, a unique feature to developments in the Dulles area.
Large upscale executive housing (1980s standards) coexist with more standard detached colonials.
Yet as 1980s Loudoun land prices were still low, lot sizes are more generous than more recently built detached homes in the Dulles area.
Unique to Countryside are detached cottage style homes, some of which offer single car garages.
Garages are not offered in the townhouse housing type as these entry level homes focused on pricing for their original sale.
Yet the townhouse areas are noteworthy for generous natural tree save areas and accessiblity via the numerous paved community trail system.
Community Layout
Cul d sacs were popular 1980s selling points and are found throughout the detached home areas.
Townhouses and condos are clustered near the Countryside Marketplace and near Dulles Town Center Mall. Easy walking distance from the Cromwell Rd. area to the Marketplace.
Bicycling possible from both Cromwell and Spotswood Road townhouse areas.
Shopping
The Countryside development incorporated a large shopping center which continues as a commercial focal point for Sterling.
Anchored by Safeway grocery, the Countryside Marketplace is locally known for the Regal movieplex, until recently, Loudoun County's only multiple cinemas.
The new Fox Theatre in Brambleton joins single screen Tally Ho Theatre in Old Town Leesburg.
Equivalent to three normal sized grocery centers, the complex also has Loudoun's only large bookstore, Borders and only Chipolte outlet.
Thai food is represented by the popular 4912 Thai restaurant, also in the complex.
Six office buildings are gathered around a man made pond and are filled with medical and other small businesses.
Parks, Trails
Large areas of tree save land have shaded and paved paths which carry hikers, roller bladers and runners. The most frequently used path runs on both sides of Algonkian Parkway which connects eastward to Cascades and Lowes Island.
This path is designated as part of the Potomac Heritage Trail which connects downstream from Teddy Roosevelt Island (Mount Vernon trail) in Rosslyn-Arlington across from DC's Kennedy Center and through Great Falls Park.
This hiking trail is not yet complete and has several missing links.
A major missing link connects Countryside west to University Center and Lansdowne across Goose Creek.
In next door Cascades, the regionally popular Algonkian Park offers a golf course, amusement area and Loudoun's only paved boat launch at a lake size wide spot in the Potomac River.
This launch is very popular over the summer for watercraft.
Transporation
Loudoun commuter coach buses leave from Our Lady of Hope parking lot for central city destinations.
Route 28 has recently become a limited access expressway with connections to the Dulles Toll Road and I-66.
Future
The location is within the Route 7 corridor which is planned and approved for major office densities of several million square feet.
The major medical research facility called HHMI is located within 10 minutes of most homes in Countryside.
Predictions are for increasing employment and office development as an outgrowth of the research here.
As a mid range community, Countrywide has weathered its first 2 decades well.
Lush landscaping and built out location backing to the Potomac River result in continuing buyer demand that has made housing attractive in the current sales market.
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