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saturday,april4,2020eZ
4Where We Live south Riding
BY JIM BARNESSouth Riding has an ambitious
vision: to be the most desired
place to live and raise a family in
Northern Virginia.
A quarter-century after its first
homes were built, the picturesque
Loudoun County community ap-
pears within reach of that vision.
Schools, swimming pools and ath-
letic fields a re strategically placed
among streets lined with flower-
ing trees and color-coordinated
homes, many of which have front
porches and white picket fences.
South Riding was the first large
development in the fast-growing
part of Loudoun County south of
Route 50. Trafalgar, the initial
developer, started construction
on farmland in 1995 before To ll
Brothers took over and built out
the project over two decades.
Although South Riding is
f amily-oriented, there are homes
for e veryone, s aid Michael Rush, a
real estate professional with Long
and Foster who has been selling
homes there for 20 years.
The 6,336 residential units are
“a mix of all different styles of
homes, in all different price rang-
es,” Rush said. “You have condos,
smaller townhouses, larger town-
houses; you have smaller singles,
medium-size singles, and then
you have the larger estate-size
homes as well.”
Although amenities lagged be-hind as the community was being
developed, they have now caught
up “100 percent,” Rush said. South
Riding Proprietary, t he communi-
ty association, oversees four out-
door pools and a kiddie water
park, as well as tennis courts,
parks, playgrounds, fishing piers
and other recreational facilities.
South Riding also benefits
from county facilities such as a
public safety center and the mas-
sive Dulles South Recreation and
Community Center, which has
swimming pools, fitness centers, a
climbing wall and a senior center.
A county library branch is also
nearby.
“We have things that we didn’t
have five years ago that make it
more possible to live, work and
play in your community,” said
Kevin Turner, who has lived in
South Riding since 2000.
Several residents said South
Riding’s full calendar of special
events (many postponed until af-
ter t he coronavirus outbreak) sets
it apart from other communities.
“It’s what we’re famous for,”
said Wendy Ta ylor, manager of the
community association. “Part of
the philosophy many years ago
was that there was nothing out
here. So we were trying to create
the community and build the
memories t o make it the f eeling of
a small town.”
Ty pically, among the most pop-
ular events is Celebrate South2004, he and his family rented a
townhouse there for a year before
buying another, where they still
live.
“The people that I worked with
were singing the praises of South
Riding — how great the schools
were and h ow great the c ommuni-
ty w as,” he said. “We checked it out
and immediately fell in love with
it.”
Smith has two college-age
daughters who grew up in South
Riding, and another in kindergar-
ten.
“I thought my kids were
through Loudoun County
schools, a nd then we started over,”
Smith said. “But I’m glad to start
over here with my y oungest. If you
want to raise a family, this is the
place to do it.”
Living there: South Riding is
roughly bordered by Route 50 to
the north; Braddock Road to the
south; Planting Field Drive, the
communities of Bridle Ridge and
Blue Spring Farm and the Fairfax
County line to the east; and the
community of Avonlea and s treets
feeding into Riding Center Drive
to the west. The smaller neighbor-
hoods of South Village, Cedar
Hunt and North Riding, which
fall within the boundaries, are not
part of the South Riding home-
owners association. Association
fees are generally less than $100 a
month. The HOA provides trash
and recycling services and main-tains the recreational facilities
and private streets. Loudoun Wa-
ter provides water and sewer ser-
vice.
There were 253 home sales in
South Riding over the past year,
according to Rush, ranging from a
two-bedroom, two-bathroom con-
do for $280,000 to a single-family
home with four bedrooms and
five bathrooms for $830,000. The
average sale price was $575,000.
There are five homes on the
market, ranging from a town-
house with three bedrooms and
four bathrooms for $450,000 to a
single-family home with four bed-
rooms and five bathrooms for
$719,000.
Schools: Arcola, Buffalo Trail,
Cardinal Ridge, Goshen Post,
Hutchison Farm, Little River and
Pinebrook elementary; J. Michael
Lunsford and Mercer middle;
Willard intermediate; and John
Champe and Freedom high.
Transit: Loudoun County
Transit buses provide weekday
service to the District and the
Wiehle-Reston East Metro station
from the East Gate shopping cen-
ter, less than a mile east of South
Riding. Route 50 is the m ain thor-
oughfare.
[email protected]Riding, an annual weekend event
in June featuring carnival rides,
food vendors and music. Other
events usually include a summer
outdoor music series, fireworks
on July 3, and programs for peo-
ple of all ages, such as comedy
nights, bingo, adult proms, an-
tique fairs and community yard
sales. There are usually at least
two events every week of the sum-
mer, Ta ylor said.
When Gary Smith moved to
South Riding from Florida inChantilly
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South
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Source: Maps4News/HERE
MEGHAN KELLY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
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Detail
Creating eventful lives in Loudoun County
Community keeps residents engaged with a full calendar of activities — and now, all the outdoor amenities they want
John McDonnell/the Washington Post
A man walks the exercise track at Hutchison Farm Elementary School, one of seven elementary schools serving South Riding, near Crossfield Drive. South Riding Proprietary,
the community association, oversees four outdoor pools and a kiddie water park, as well as tennis courts, parks, playgrounds, fishing piers and other recreational facilities.
to see more photos of south Rid-
ing, go to washingtonpost.com/real-
estate.