Groveton offers suburban homes with Huntley Meadows and Mount Vernon District Park to either side
Groveton is a residential subdivision about 5 miles south of Alexandria and contains the 90-acre Mount Vernon District Park and Huntley Meadows Park, which draw nature lovers from around Fairfax County. Groveton also includes part of the famed midcentury community Hollin Hills. Much of the appeal in Groveton is its single-family homes and proximity to Washington-area employers. “For people in the military, it’s close to Fort Belvoir, the Pentagon and Quantico. You [also] get houses with large yards,” says Sarah Brown, an Alexandria local and founder of Bidwell Properties, “There are generational families here; sometimes kids are raised here, they leave to get married, and move back.” Groveton was shaped in the decades after World War II as development pushed out of Washington, D.C., and into the surrounding countryside of northern Virginia. Proximity to U.S. Route 1, an essential travel and commuting corridor, guaranteed its continued growth and gradual increase in home values over time.
Many parks make Groveton friendly for nature lovers
Groveton’s biggest green spaces are Huntley Meadows Park and Mount Vernon District Park. Huntley Meadows is a dense nature preserve with trails through Virginia wetlands, where it is common to catch glimpses of paddling beavers and tortoises in the waterways or hear bullfrogs in the tall grass. Mount Vernon District Park is a neighborhood oasis to the east and is more forested, with simple walking trails through the trees. It is popular for walking, bike riding, or bringing dogs to the Westgrove Dog Park that’s located here. Brown says that Groveton offers “close proximity to nature for people with more active lifestyles, it’s a half mile from the Potomac River, and there’s people who kayak and paddleboard. Along the Potomac, there’s [also] bike trails.” Bucknell Manor Park is a few blocks from the elementary school along Beacon Hill Road. It has a basketball court and a soft-surfaced playground for kids. White Oaks Park, surrounding a portion of Paul Spring Branch, is another Groveton nature space used for mountain biking and nature hikes.
Midcentury Cape Cods and ranchers make up most of Groveton
Home values in Groveton range from $450,000 to $1.3 million, varying by age, remodel status and square footage. Buyers can find an almost nostalgic selection of midcentury American homes on classic suburban street layouts with paved sidewalks and manicured lawns. Brown says that there are “Rambler and ranch-style homes and townhouses that are more accessible to your average first-time homebuyer. We also have homes for upsizers [here] as well. It’s normal to see people find starter homes and actually move into bigger homes because they like [the area] so much.” Townhouse rows rest across the street from brick Cape Cods, ranches, and new millennium Traditional-style homes that offer more square footage. The Hollin Hills neighborhood, which takes up the east end of Groveton and is part of Hybla Valley, is an architectural art exhibit decades in the making. Tours of the homes are regular here, as they are intricate and ornate examples of modernist home designs that blend intimately with the dense tree cover that fills the area.
Beacon Center and Belle View Boulevard feature locally owned restaurants
Beacon Center is a strip mall within Groveton that features retailers like Target or grocery options like Giant along the busy U.S. Route 1 corridor. Groveton is also known for its variety of locally owned businesses; as Brown says, “Shopping centers [here] are a lot more locally owned shops than nationally owned retailers.” For residents seeking to support local businesses, Brown recommends the Bread and Water Company, an artisan bakery, and Wine & Design, a “paint-and-sip” art studio that offers classes. There are also local eateries like Ruby’s Jamaican Kitchen – famous for its smoky jerk chicken- and Rosita’s Restaurant- with a Salvadoran and Mexican cuisine menu.
Students get their green thumbs at Bucknell Elementary
Fairfax County Public Schools serve Groveton for education. Depending on their address, students will attend either Groveton Elementary, with a B-minus overall rating on Niche, or Bucknell Elementary School, rated a C-plus. Bucknell highlights community involvement and environmentally friendly practices by hosting a garden club and holding events like tree plantings. Students will then attend Sandburg Middle, with an A-minus rating and end their grade school journey at West Potomac High, with a B-plus.
Residents can explore Martha Washington Library, one of Fairfax County's oldest
Martha Washington Library, among the oldest library facilities in the county, serves the community from a revamped and modernized floor-to-ceiling glass-windowed building and an adjacent circular building used as a community room. The library offers events ranging from story time for kids to English language tutoring and book club meetings.
U.S. Route 1 leads to Alexandria and Fort Belvoir
Residents of Groveton are 15 miles from D.C. and can take the Capitol Beltway, which is minutes north of the neighborhood. There’s also good access to Route 1, which leads to Fort Belvoir in 8 miles, or the shops and bars of Old Town Alexandria in under 4 miles. The Huntington metro station is the closest rail access to Groveton, less than 3 miles away. Huntington station has a parking garage and offers Yellow Line access through the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area.
