Fair Lakes

Interstate 66 and Fairfax County Parkway intersect at the center of Fair Lakes, a census-designated place in western Fairfax County. Less than 20 minutes from Washington Dulles International Airport, this community’s convenience for commuters is matched by its proximity to highly rated schools, sprawling parks and bustling shopping areas.

The two major highways divide Fair Lakes into four jagged quadrants. Business and industry dominate the northeastern and southeastern sections, while the northwestern section balances retail and restaurants with multi-family homes. These include one- to two-bedroom condos from the $200,000s to $300,000s and town houses from the $400,000s to $700,000s. A higher-cost condo development, Elan at East Market, fills two brick towers in the northeastern section with units costing up to the $700,000s. Single-family homes proliferate along winding streets to the southwest, from older, contemporary designs in the high $600,000s to 1990s Colonials hovering around $1 million. New constructions with transitional architecture pop up occasionally, ranging from $1.4 to $1.7 million.

Fair Lakes Shopping Center occupies acres of land within walking distance of many town houses and condos, so some residents can run errands without getting in the car. “It’s a storefront area where you’ve got a BJ’s and a Target and some of those very popular stores,” says local realtor Shelley Draheim of Long & Foster Real Estate LLC. “There are additional restaurants, so if you don’t want to cook that night, it’s pretty easy to walk across the street and have any type of cuisine you’re looking for.” Among Fair Lakes Shopping Center’s eateries is Cantina D’Italia, a classy Italian spot known for its fettuccine Bolognese. Across the street, Guapo’s Restaurant welcomes you to enjoy Hispanic favorites while admiring the colorful milieu, complete with fountains and ornate tilework. Meanwhile, Elan at East Market residents can cross the street to grab groceries at Whole Foods Market or work up a sweat at Row House.

If you’d rather exercise outside, you can choose from several green spaces around Fair Lakes. At the northwest corner, Poplar Tree Park features four baseball and softball fields of various sizes, plus soccer and rugby pitches. Arrowhead Park and Stringfellow Park offer a half-dozen more soccer fields to the southwest. Residents around Fair Lakes Shopping Center can walk, jog or bike along several miles of trails passing by community basketball, tennis and volleyball courts. And those in detached homes can enjoy tree-covered views of the Little Rocky Run waterway along the Willow Pond Trail.

All eight Fairfax County Public Schools serving Fair Lakes have Bs or higher from Niche, including Greenbriar East, Powell and Eagle View Elementary Schools. These accommodate pre-K through sixth grade, while most seventh and eighth graders in Fair Lakes attend Katherine Johnson Middle School, which GreatSchools rates 8/10 for test scores. Finally, teens arrive at Fairfax High School, about a 14-minute drive east. Fairfax High features a highly diverse body of over 2,300 students who can experience advanced training in various creative trades at the Fairfax Academy for Communications and the Arts. A few residents in the northwestern section of Fair Lakes attend Greenbriar West Elementary, Rocky Run Middle and Chantilly High School, all boasting extremely high Niche scores.

Draheim says Fair Lakes feels homier than its high concentration of commercial real estate might suggest. “It’s old enough that you still have mature trees and greenery. You don’t feel like you’ve moved into this brand-new area where it’s all plowed down. You enjoy coming home,” she says. “But on the flip side, you’re so close to the amenities — the restaurants, food, shopping and the airport — and there are a lot of corporations locating out towards the airport, so that’s even making it a more popular area.”

Written By

Sally Stimpson