Is Lake Barcroft a hidden gem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love that neighborhood but it is *right* by a very obvious gang area.

+1000 it's pretty much gang land, they tag the shopping center at culmore all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Lake Barcroft is hidden because there are few obvious through streets. Getting to a Sleepy Hollow Road fromm Seven Corners is very tricky.

When I was a kid they used to advertise it on the TV and radio so not so hidden.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Lake Barcroft is totally over rated. It's expensive for what you get: bad schools, sewage filled lake...just not worth it and that's why so many people are selling their houses there right now.

So many? I see a few houses for sale. And typically those when listed the homes don’t stay on the market very long.

For the most part, people that trash our schools on this board have no personal experience with the schools.

Nice try 10 homes at least for a very small area some of which have been on the market for months.

Anyone can check on the schools and see they are not great at all.

There are only six houses in the Lake Barcroft development on the market now. Other houses to which you’re referring are in nearby neighborhoods that aren’t part of Lake Barcroft.

The market is hot sometimes and less so at other times. In an area about the same size as Lake Barcroft in the Langley district (the areas off Balls Hill Road), 13 houses are for sale. Does that mean the schools there suck or people are fleeing the area because of the construction projects near 495?

There are 10 in lake barcroft, 14 in surrounding areas! Many have been on the market MONTHS.

+100 There are few that have been on the market for 60+ days!!! They are not moving even in this tight, low inventory market. That speaks for itself.

Are you speaking about lake barcroft or surrounding areas? There’s a difference because only certain homes have access to the lake.

DP, but I don't see any homes in Lake Barcroft that have been on the market for 60+ days. People who don't know much about the neighborhood and know even less about the schools post about LB.

If it's FCPS, there's really nothing to know. All the schools are pretty much the same despite what people working in the real-estate industry will tell you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love that neighborhood but it is *right* by a very obvious gang area.

+1000 it's pretty much gang land, they tag the shopping center at culmore all the time.

It’s not like the people living in Lake Barcroft have been patronizing that particular strip mall (apart from Peking Gourmet Inn) for a long time. There are other retail areas.

[Anonymous]

Another reason why most people don’t know Lake Barcroft exists is because it is a private lake and not a park. That may be why the neighborhood is a “hidden gem” as the locals say. It’s nice that the homeowners there found their little slice of peaceful paradise. I personally don’t know anyone who lives there but I’m sure they must feel very lucky. it looks beautiful on google street view.

I personally avoid driving anywhere near there, on Rt 7 or through Seven corners because it’s often a traffic nightmare. Plus there are other Targets, Safeways, Chick fil A’s, Five Guys and Barnes and Nobles in Arlington, Tysons and Alexandria.

Some of the Eden Center cafes nearby are nice but parking there is always impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol people literally refuse to send their kids to schools like Justice, fight against rezoning & busing, fight against multifamily housing in their own neighborhoods…and then wonder why the areas near Lake Barcroft have such concentrated poverty & associated problems.

You all caused that.

Barcroft didn’t cause the poverty around Bailey’s Crossroads and Culmore. The Metro did.

Early plans had the Yellow Line terminating around Bailey’s Crossroads by following 395. Huge apartment buildings and other multi family housing was built in anticipation of a train that never came. As a result these developments found themselves in a car-dominated “middle of nowhere suburbia.” It didn’t take long for their desirability to fall and began capturing low-income and immigrant populations.

Or lack thereof.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol people literally refuse to send their kids to schools like Justice, fight against rezoning & busing, fight against multifamily housing in their own neighborhoods…and then wonder why the areas near Lake Barcroft have such concentrated poverty & associated problems.

You all caused that.

Barcroft didn’t cause the poverty around Bailey’s Crossroads and Culmore. The Metro did.

Early plans had the Yellow Line terminating around Bailey’s Crossroads by following 395. Huge apartment buildings and other multi family housing was built in anticipation of a train that never came. As a result these developments found themselves in a car-dominated “middle of nowhere suburbia.” It didn’t take long for their desirability to fall and began capturing low-income and immigrant populations.

While there were a bunch of plans from the early 1960s that were scrapped, I don't think this is accurate. The low-income housing near Lake Barcroft today consists primarily of older garden apartments that pre-date plans for Metro by decades and the stations elsewhere actually got built before new housing got built around them.

The low-income housing isn't in the "middle of nowhere" either. It's in a fairly close-in, desirable location, and that's reflected in the prices of single-family homes in the area, which are high despite the concerns about the schools. If the garden apartments in Seven Corners, Culmore, and Bailey's Crossroads were torn down and replaced with single-family homes and townhouses, they would command a fairly high price - particularly if they were replacing the worst housing in Culmore - but the local politicians in the Mason District don't want that to happen. So the slumlords continue to rake in dollars from their run-down properties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol people literally refuse to send their kids to schools like Justice, fight against rezoning & busing, fight against multifamily housing in their own neighborhoods…and then wonder why the areas near Lake Barcroft have such concentrated poverty & associated problems.

You all caused that.

Barcroft didn’t cause the poverty around Bailey’s Crossroads and Culmore. The Metro did.

Early plans had the Yellow Line terminating around Bailey’s Crossroads by following 395. Huge apartment buildings and other multi family housing was built in anticipation of a train that never came. As a result these developments found themselves in a car-dominated “middle of nowhere suburbia.” It didn’t take long for their desirability to fall and began capturing low-income and immigrant populations.

While there were a bunch of plans from the early 1960s that were scrapped, I don't think this is accurate. The low-income housing near Lake Barcroft today consists primarily of older garden apartments that pre-date plans for Metro by decades and the stations elsewhere actually got built before new housing got built around them.

The low-income housing isn't in the "middle of nowhere" either. It's in a fairly close-in, desirable location, and that's reflected in the prices of single-family homes in the area, which are high despite the concerns about the schools. If the garden apartments in Seven Corners, Culmore, and Bailey's Crossroads were torn down and replaced with single-family homes and townhouses, they would command a fairly high price - particularly if they were replacing the worst housing in Culmore - but the local politicians in the Mason District don't want that to happen. So the slumlords continue to rake in dollars from their run-down properties.

+1 the SFH neighborhoods literally across from Culmore on 7 are generally selling for $800k+. Culmore is a self-contained area.

[Anonymous]

The Metro had been planned to travel west along Columbia Pike from the Pentagon to Annandale. That line was cancelled due to budgetary concerns and was not included in Metro’s final adopted plan in the late 60s. But Metro did build a stub tunnel in the direction of Columbia Pike from the Pentagon, so that expansion in that direction would not be precluded from happening.

Metro recently resurrected the Columbia Pike line to Annandale via Baileys but the Metro board voted for the Blue Line loop (with Georgetown Station) instead, which is still in the early planning stages. So no Columbia Pike line for another 40 years or so.

The planned Columbia Pike streetcar from Pentagon City to Baileys xroads almost broke ground and was approved by both Arlington and Fairfax Counties. But then a populist wave swept over Arlington and the Arlington County board was replaced with budget conscious board members who were very anti-rail. The Fairfax supervisors were livid that Arlington went back on their word. The streetcar was the linchpin of redevelopment in Skyline and Baileys, the culmination of a decade on planning.

In place of the streetcar BRT was promised, but that never happened and will likely never happen.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Schools are not good, but neighborhood is nice.

This is the issue at present. Back in the day, several decades ago, it was a highly desirable area with very good schools. Congressional School is a good K-8 private nearby (on Sleepy Hollow), but one would then need to transfer DC somewhere else for HS.

I heard that back in the 60s and 70s the public schools in the Lake Barcroft were among the best and wealthiest in all of FCPS. The crew team even won the Henley Royal Regatta.

There’s still a contingent of wealthy kids from the Lake who go to the public schools. It’s probably under 50% though. Feel free to correct if wrong.

In the 60s and 70s there weren't huge differences among the public high schools in FCPS. There were differences, just not big ones like now.

The Stuart crew won the Henley Royal Regatta in 1968.

The enrollment at Stuart started to decline in the 70s. The School Board changed the boundaries and redistricted part of then-Jefferson to Stuart. But for that boundary change, they probably would have turned Stuart, not Jefferson, into the STEM magnet school in the 80s. Immigrants started pouring into the area by the mid to late 80s.

There are affluent kids who live in the Lake Barcroft/Sleepy Hollow area who go to Justice, and Lake Barcroft isn't the only expensive neighborhood that feeds into Justice. The majority of kids who attend Justice, though, are low-income kids who live in the garden apartments near Seven Corners, Culmore, and Bailey's Crossroads. Decades ago, it was mostly singles without kids who lived in those apartments; now there can be multiple families living in a single apartment.

My high school aged son played Justice in baseball. I thought the parents/team were nice.
Then again, my kids go to a school most of you would never send your children!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are not good, but neighborhood is nice.

This is the issue at present. Back in the day, several decades ago, it was a highly desirable area with very good schools. Congressional School is a good K-8 private nearby (on Sleepy Hollow), but one would then need to transfer DC somewhere else for HS.

I heard that back in the 60s and 70s the public schools in the Lake Barcroft were among the best and wealthiest in all of FCPS. The crew team even won the Henley Royal Regatta.

There’s still a contingent of wealthy kids from the Lake who go to the public schools. It’s probably under 50% though. Feel free to correct if wrong.

In the 60s and 70s there weren't huge differences among the public high schools in FCPS. There were differences, just not big ones like now.

The Stuart crew won the Henley Royal Regatta in 1968.

The enrollment at Stuart started to decline in the 70s. The School Board changed the boundaries and redistricted part of then-Jefferson to Stuart. But for that boundary change, they probably would have turned Stuart, not Jefferson, into the STEM magnet school in the 80s. Immigrants started pouring into the area by the mid to late 80s.

There are affluent kids who live in the Lake Barcroft/Sleepy Hollow area who go to Justice, and Lake Barcroft isn't the only expensive neighborhood that feeds into Justice. The majority of kids who attend Justice, though, are low-income kids who live in the garden apartments near Seven Corners, Culmore, and Bailey's Crossroads. Decades ago, it was mostly singles without kids who lived in those apartments; now there can be multiple families living in a single apartment.

My high school aged son played Justice in baseball. I thought the parents/team were nice.
Then again, my kids go to a school most of you would never send your children!!

Justice has enough kids with different interests to continue to be able to field varsity teams in all sports, which can’t be said for all the schools in NoVa, including Lewis in Fairfax and Unity Reed in Prince William.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are not good, but neighborhood is nice.

This is the issue at present. Back in the day, several decades ago, it was a highly desirable area with very good schools. Congressional School is a good K-8 private nearby (on Sleepy Hollow), but one would then need to transfer DC somewhere else for HS.

I heard that back in the 60s and 70s the public schools in the Lake Barcroft were among the best and wealthiest in all of FCPS. The crew team even won the Henley Royal Regatta.

There’s still a contingent of wealthy kids from the Lake who go to the public schools. It’s probably under 50% though. Feel free to correct if wrong.

In the 60s and 70s there weren't huge differences among the public high schools in FCPS. There were differences, just not big ones like now.

The Stuart crew won the Henley Royal Regatta in 1968.

The enrollment at Stuart started to decline in the 70s. The School Board changed the boundaries and redistricted part of then-Jefferson to Stuart. But for that boundary change, they probably would have turned Stuart, not Jefferson, into the STEM magnet school in the 80s. Immigrants started pouring into the area by the mid to late 80s.

There are affluent kids who live in the Lake Barcroft/Sleepy Hollow area who go to Justice, and Lake Barcroft isn't the only expensive neighborhood that feeds into Justice. The majority of kids who attend Justice, though, are low-income kids who live in the garden apartments near Seven Corners, Culmore, and Bailey's Crossroads. Decades ago, it was mostly singles without kids who lived in those apartments; now there can be multiple families living in a single apartment.

My high school aged son played Justice in baseball. I thought the parents/team were nice.
Then again, my kids go to a school most of you would never send your children!!

Justice has enough kids with different interests to continue to be able to field varsity teams in all sports, which can’t be said for all the schools in NoVa, including Lewis in Fairfax and Unity Reed in Prince William.

Unity Reed (stonewall jackson) used to be a sports powerhouse a few years ago? Isn’t it surrounded by middle and upper middle class suburbia?

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Mantua - at the time FCPS was 2nd in the country behind Orange County. I have no idea what it is like there and I know Annandale has changed a lot. It was great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Mantua - at the time FCPS was 2nd in the country behind Orange County. I have no idea what it is like there and I know Annandale has changed a lot. It was great.

Mantua is supposedly one of the best hidden gem neighborhoods in Fairfax County, and the parents on here rave about the schools there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Mantua - at the time FCPS was 2nd in the country behind Orange County. I have no idea what it is like there and I know Annandale has changed a lot. It was great.

Orange County? Florida? NY?

Orange County Calif has multiple school districts for each town or city. Like Fullerton Union HS District, or Anaheim Unified.