Ask Val: Walkable Neighborhoods — Falls Church City

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Val Sotillo, Northern Virginia-based Realtor and Falls Church resident. Please submit your questions to her via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: Can you tell me about some of the walkable neighborhoods you suggest living in around Tysons?

Answer: Falls Church City is a charming community with a Downtown vibe. It’s a roughly 2-square-mile city with so much to offer. It is a walkable, bike friendly, vibrant downtown so that people don’t have to leave their community to get services, goods and entertainment.

Top Reasons that Make Falls Church City an Awesome Neighborhood:

Great Location

Metro — The West Falls Church station and the East Falls Church station, both on the Orange Line, are about two miles and one mile away, respectively.

It’s located just a few minutes from I-66, 495, Dulles Access Toll Road and just 4 miles from Tysons.

For joggers and bikers, the W&OD Trail runs east/west through the northern part of the city with intersections at North Washington Street, Little Falls Street, Great Falls Street, North Oak Street, North Spring Street, North West Street, Grove Avenue and West Broad Street.

Many Things To Do Within The City Limits.

The area has many parks with climbing equipment, playgrounds, a public library and a Saturday morning farmers market. During holidays, the city sponsors events like a July 4th parade that runs along Broad Street, the area’s main street.

There’s also a range of ethnic restaurants. My favorite are Plaka Grill (Great Greek food. Try their beef souvlaki!), Northside Social (everything from great coffee and avocado toast, to amazing pizza and wine)and Lucky Thai. Plus a number of bars like Ireland’s Four Provinces, Mad Fox Brewing Company and Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (they have trivia on Wednesdays). There’s also the State Theater with great shows every week.

Many Housing Options

There are different options from detached homes, townhomes and condos. In Falls Church City, there are currently 22 properties for sale, ranging from a one bedroom condo for $397,000, to a $1.45M 6 bedroom home built in 2006. You can see all active listings here.

Twenty properties are currently under contract, ranging from a one bedroom condo condo at $385,000 to a 5 bedroom Craftman house at $1.6 million.

In the past 6 months, 15 condos were sold for a median price of $399,000, 10 townhouses were sold for a median price of $626,000, and 54 single family homes sold for a median price of $925,000.

One of my favorite buildings in Falls Church City is Spectrum, a Condominium built in 2008. It’s located in 444 W Broad Street and it features a “green” rooftop. The roof provides a great view and it is covered with sedum plants that provide a multitude of benefits including thermal insulation for reduced energy consumption, filtering storm water and increased sound insulation for residents. 

Great Quality Of Life.

This small city Ranked as No. 1 Healthiest Community in U.S. in 2018. Need I say more?

Changes on the Horizon

While the area has a timeless quality to it, things will change a bit in the next few years. Founder’s Row is a mixed use project located at the corner of W. Broad and N. West Streets.

It will include a 6-8 screen dine-in movie theater with 850 seats, 5,000 square feet of office and 60,000 square feet of retail-restaurant space and 72 senior and 322 market rate apartments. I’ll tour it for you as soon as possible!

If you’d like more information, or would like a question answered in my weekly column, please reach out to [email protected]. I hope to hear from you soon.

Val Sotillo is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, 703-390-9460.