The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-07)

THE

WASHINGTON

POST

.

SATURDAY,

MAY

7, 2022

EZ

2

“It was verythoughtful theway

it was done.It’s not justacookie-

cutter,repeatapproach,”Dough-

ertysaid. “Theyreallytookalot of

efforttomaintainthatindividual-

ity and uniqueness.”

Thearchitectural boardfor the

firstHOA ensuresthatdeveloper

KenThompson’s original vision

remainsintact, thoughthe rules

allowfor sustainabilityupdates

suchas addingsolarpanels.

HOAfees alsofundprojects

likethe 2017 redesign of the

neighborhoodpark,whichhas a

playground,abasketball court, a

flowerpatch with shrubs and

benches, andanopen greenspace

shadedby matureoak trees.

TheTalwars’homelooksout

ontothe park.Whentheymoved

to the neighborhoodin 1998,the

coupleexpected to leave for a

biggerhouseafter havingkids,

but never did.

“Oncewe gottoknowpeoplein

the neighborhood,we gotcom-

fortablewiththe area,the loca-

tion, we were like, ‘Wehave

enough room. We don’t need

more space.’”Marie Talwarsaid.

TheTalwar children found

plentyoffriends in KingsManor.

“Therewereso manykids in

thisneighborhood,we wouldall

taketurnsjustdoingfun things

withthem,”Talwarsaid.In the

are $420per quarter.Fees go

towardtrash removal, roadmain-

tenance,landscapingandsnow

removal, saidMatt R. Dougherty,

treasurerfor the firstHOA and a

residentsince2013. Thediffer-

encebetween the twoisparking.

ThefirstHOA has streetparking.

ThesecondHOAhas parkinglots.

Althoughthe townhouseswere

builtin the ColonialWilliams-

burgstyle, thereare variations,

saidDougherty.Somehavepaint-

ed brick.Somehave gableroofs;

othershave mansardroofs.

eveningsafter school,theywould

blockoffthe streetfor the chil-

drento playhockey.Theyalso

organizedmovienights.

Theadultsare alsotightknit.

On the Talwars’block,thereis a

traditionof getting together every

Fridayat5p.m.

“Rain,shine,snow,sleet, hurri-

canes,we comeoutandgeta

drinkandjustsay hello,”Talwar

said.Thegatheringsmay last

hoursoronly 10 minutes,but no

matter theirduration, neighbors

comeout to sayhello.

Otherblocksaroundthe neigh-

borhoodhave theirown tradi-

tions, as well. Dougherty said

somehavearotatingbackyard

happyhour;Millersaid others

have apig roast.

Neighborhood-widetraditions

include an annual Easter egg

hunt andaFourth of July parade.

Halloweenin KingsManor draws

trick-or-treaters from across

NorthernVirginia.Thecelebra-

tionincludesacostumecompeti-

tion,withprizesfor the scariest,

funniestormostcreative get-up.

“When covidhit, it’s the thing

I’ve heard mostfrompeople

aboutwhattheymiss,”Dougherty

said.“Veryfew placestodayhave

thatsenseof community, espe-

ciallyin the greater D.C.area,

whereit’s averytransientcom-

munity.”

Livingthere:Accordingto Mil-

ler,ofKellerWilliams,the neigh-

borhood’s boundariesrunalong

BaronRoadto the north, PineHill

Roadto the east, Route123 to the

southandChurchillRoadto the

west.

Miller said10 homeshave sold

in the KingsManor areain the

pastninemonths—seven town-

housesand threedetachedhous-

es. Townhousesales ranged from

afour-bedroom,three-bathroom

homefor $812,000to afour-bed-

room,three-bathroomhomefor

$965,000.Detachedhousesales

ranged from athree-bedroom,

three-bathroomhouse for

$989, 999 to afour-bedroom,

three-bathroom home for

$1.25million.Themedianhome

salespricefor townhouseswas

$867,000;for detachedhouses,it

was $1.1million.There are no

properties for sale.

Schools: Churchill Road El-

ementary, CooperMiddle,Lang-

leyHigh.

Transit:KingsManor is a10-

minutedrivefromthe McLean

Metro station, or a25-minute bus

ride on the Fairfax Connector.

If you’dlikeyourneighborhood

featured in WhereWeLive, email

[email protected].

WhereWeLiveKingsManorin McLean

BYMICHAELLORIA

Located within walking dis-

tanceof downtownMcLean, the

KingsManorneighborhoodoffers

the benefits of high-densityliving

in the middleof suburbanNorth-

ernVirginia.Developedinthelate

1960 s, it has 195 townhousesat its

center,but its compactnessis bal-

ancedby intermittent greenspac-

es. Thevibrant communityis

known forits annualcelebrations

and weeklygatherings.

Many residentschooseKings

Manor for its convenience to

downtown Washington, Mary-

landand otherparts of Northern

Virginia.

“You can’t beat” the conven-

ience,saidDianeMiller,aKeller

Williamsreal estate agent whois

a24-year resident of theneigh-

borhood.“We’relikeseven lights

fromD.C.”

Familieswithchildrenchoose

the neighborhoodfor the public

schools,which are regardedas

someof the bestinVirginiaand

are withinwalkingdistance.The

Millersraisedtwoboys in Kings

Manor.Theyoften foundit was

morepracticalfor the boysto

walkto schoolthangetaride

becauseof morningtraffic.

Comparedwithhomesin the

surrounding areas, the Kings

Manor townhouses are an afford-

ablewayintothe school area that

feedsintoLangleyHigh. Theme-

dian home price is $867,000;

homesinthe surroundingneigh-

borhoodsrangefrom$1millionto

$10 million,accordingto Miller.

However,the sales prices for

KingsManor townhouses are

creepinghigher.One recentsale

of aremodeledtownhouse

reachedalmost$1million.It sold

for $965,000after beinglisted for

$899,900.

Although several dozen de-

tached,single-familyhomesare

on the neighborhood’s periphery

(andare includedin its activities),

the townhousesformthe heartof

Kings Manor.The community

fallsunderthe supervisionof two

homeowners associations. Fees

for the KingsManor Association

are $480per quarter; fees for the

SecondKingsManor Association

Where

geniality,

proximity

reign

Walkableareawith

townhousesis known

for its get-togethers

123

Pimmit

BendPark

Salona Village

GEORG

ETOW

NPIKE

DOL

LEY

MAD

ISO

NBL

VD.

BARON RD.

McLean

CentralPark

CHAINBRIDGE

RD.

PINEHILL RD.

McLean

CHURC

HILL

RD.

Source:OpenStreetMap contributors

HANNAHDORMIDO/THEWASHINGTONPOST

Kings

Manor

D.C.

MD.

VA.

FAIRFAX

CO.

Detail

1/2 MILE1/2 MILE

PHOTOSBY MATTMCCLAIN/THEWASHINGTONPOST

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: GatheringsinKings Manorcan occuraround abasketballhoop, on astreetblocked offfor hockeyorin

frontofamovie screen. AchildwalksdownstepsatKingsManor Park. Theareahas townhouses at its core,detachedhouses at its edges.