If you’ve ever cruised neighborhoods a few miles south of Old Town Alexandria between Richmond Highway and the George Washington Parkway, odds are you’ve ventured into the area’s mid-century time warp. You can’t miss the distinctive shapes and feel of the neighborhood envisioned by architect Charles Goodman.
With the first home built in 1949, the 326-acre Hollin Hills subdivision now includes 483 homes and was listed was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. In an effort to further preserve the aesthetics of the neighborhood, Hollin Hills began the process of becoming an Historic Overlay District (HOD) within Fairfax County almost two years ago.
But what does that mean for current and future homeowners in Hollin Hills? We wanted to find out, so we recently spoke to Laura Arseneau, Heritage Resource Planner for Fairfax County, to get the low down on the status and progress of the Hollin Hills HOD.
“The community was the one that brought this forward and asked us to start this research,” Arseneau said. “The community got together and sent a petition to [Mount Vernon] supervisor [Daniel] Storck and got a large—I think it’s 70 percent—support for looking into and examining whether or not this could be a historic overlay district.”
The biggest thing the HOD designation would impact, Arseneau said, would be exterior appearance of homes within the district and planned alterations to a home. Such alterations, if a building permit is required, would have to come before the county’s architectural review board (ARB).
“If someone came in for a building permit, let’s say, to put on a deck, they would have to go to the architectural review board to make sure that the deck would not negatively affect either the building that they’re putting it on, but also the surrounding buildings,” Arseneau added. “But that would be the biggest changes if the Historic Overlay District is approved.”
The ARB is made up of architects, historians, legal counsel, and a landscape architect—all specialists in the preservation field, she said.
“So what we’re trying to do is say is that what makes it significant is the unique architecture and the orientation of the buildings to each other, as well as how they’re sighted on the property,” she said, adding that existing zoning for the area would remain in place.
Though the historic overlay district would add another layer of approval if residents wanted to change exterior aesthetics of their home, it’s a process with which many Hollin Hills residents might be accustomed.
The vision of developer Robert Davenport, along with investors Morris and Samuel Rodman and architect Goodman after World War II, Hollin Hills homes must abide by existing covenants that already run with the land.
“All of the houses in Hollin Hills represent a design aesthetic rarely expressed in the Washington Metro area, and certainly not in such a concentrated way,” according to the Hollin Hills Civic Association website. “The houses’ modern feel is shaped by abundant glass to bring the outside in, clean geometry, with both horizontal and vertical lines working in concert, low-slope or flat roofs, and unadorned and uncluttered exterior surfaces.”
Initially this meant any building construction within the subdivision had to be approved by Davenport and the Rodmans.
With initial interest in exploring the HOD backed by 70 percent of residents, Arseneau said the support is enthusiastic as they move forward.
“We’re setting up the same process for Hollin Hills that already exists with the other historical overlay districts, because all of them are so unique; so Woodlawn is nothing like Hollin Hills, so each of them have a set of unique design guidelines that are set up as recommendation practices,” Arseneau said. “They help guide the homeowner, but they also guide the ARB and kind of what we think the defining characteristics are and kind of how we can—not litigate, but compromise—on making sure that homeowners still get their deck or addition that they like, but also doesn’t negatively impact the historic integrity of the district.”
Though the interview took place before the extensive restrictions posed by COVID-19 concerns, Arseneau said they hope to get the finalizing staff report to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in July.
“There are three parts—[there’s a] zoning ordinance amendment, there’s a comprehensive plan amendment, and there’s a rezoning to basically place the boundary on the map,” she said. “The zoning ordinance amendment part is going to be authorized in July, so that’s the first thing, but all the analysis has to be done before that.”
For homebuyers and current homeowners, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the impact such covenants might have on ownership to fully understand your rights and requirements when modifying your property. Arseneau noted that at times homeowners don’t event know they’re in an HOD.
For Hollin Hills, it’s likely a buyer will understand there’s something unique about their choice of subdivision, but be sure to ask the questions that need to be asked. The Hollin Hills Civic Association is a good start.
If you’re interested in a home in Hollin Hills, be patient, because with under 500 homes in the entire subdivision, finding one can be challenging. In the first 100 days of 2020, just five homes in Hollin Hills had sold, according to BrightMLS. Sale prices ranged from $630,000 to $827,000, and as of April 9, there were no homes for sale in the MLS from the entire subdivision.
Christopher Prawdzik, an Accredited Staging Partner® Real Estate Agent, and his wife Angela Logomasini are licensed Realtors® with Samson Properties in Alexandria. Operating as D.C. Region Real Estate, they serve the Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland real estate market and offer comprehensive real estate services, including 4½% full-service listings.
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