Rockville

The community of Rockville traces its history to 1776, but its downtown is less than 20 years old. Rockville Town Square anchors the Central Rockville neighborhood, acting as the city center for the town of 66,000 people. Most of Rockville’s original downtown was bulldozed more than 60 years ago, replaced by a shopping mall that shuttered within a decade of opening. However, Rockville Town Square filled that gap when it opened in 2007. The mixed-use development turned a city block into dense shopfronts, apartments and outdoor seating. The pedestrian-friendly plaza was fashioned after public squares seen in Italy. “That’s created a newer generation of downtown within walking distance of a Metro stop,” says Dick Stoner, a Rockville resident who is the broker and owner of Reist Corp. There are hundreds of years of history is this suburban Maryland neighborhood less than 20 miles from Washington, D.C. However, the community has blended the antique and the modern since its population began to boom after World War II. The ground floor of the mixed-use development is filled with a mix of national restaurant chains and local spots serving cuisine that varies from Japanese to Peruvian to Lebanese. Rockville Town Center shoppers can pick up local produce, fresh-baked bread or hot coffee at Dawson’s Market. The shop was opened by the Dawson family, whose ancestors have lived in Montgomery County since the 1740s, before the store changed hands to its current owner in 2018. Central Rockville has more to offer besides the town center, including The Spot Asian Food Hall and Regal Rockville Center, which has screened films for more than 25 years. Locals can also shop at the retail centers along Rockville Pike. The Memorial Day Ceremony started in Rockville in the 1940s, and today the parade of military members, veterans and civilians marches through Rockville Town Square. “It’s a down-home, small-town measure that was more the town in the ‘60s that it is now, but it’s a neat tradition that continues,” Stoner explains. A couple of blocks from Rockville Town Square, growers, bakers and shoppers gather on Saturdays for the Rockville Farmers Market. What was once a 19th-century farm is now Dawson Farm Park, a green space surrounded by houses. The historical farmhouse still stands, but it’s otherwise a typical city park, with a playground and picnic tables. In Rockville Town Square, an outdoor ice-skating rink opens every October. Members have relaxed at Woodmont Country Club since 1913. Golfers can play two 18-hole courses, and the north course is ranked among the top 10 best courses in Maryland by GolfDigest. A more modern recreation option is Movement Rockville, where visitors can scale climbing walls before a laid-back yoga class. The neighborhood’s northwest corner makes up West End, one of the oldest settled areas of the city. The grid of streets is lined with Federal homes from the early 1800s, Cape Cods from the early 20th century and other home styles built in between. Before the Civil War, the West End was home to the city’s three communities of free Black residents. Rockville traces its roots to the 1700s, but homes in the neighborhood generally have been built since the 1960s, when the city’s growth took off. These single-family subdivisions often contain Colonial Revivals and ranch homes. Prices for condos near Rockville Town Square start in the low $100,000s, while three-bedroom detached homes begin in the mid-$400,000s. A six-bedroom house can sell for a s much as $1.4 million. Schools draw many homebuyers to Rockville, Stoner says. Children can attend school in the Montgomery County Public Schools district, graded an A by Niche. Students in Central Rockville are likely to take classes at Beall Elementary School and Julius West Middle School, both of which get an A. Richard Montgomery High School, graded an A-plus, was the first in the county to debut an International Baccalaureate program. All students are eligible to participate in the program in their junior and senior years. Interstate 270 runs through the west side of the neighborhood, and drivers can take the roadway to Washington, D.C. The Rockville Metro station sits within a 10-minute walk from Rockville Town Square. Commuters and day-trippers can catch a train and reach Washington, D.C., in about 30 minutes.

About 18 miles north of Washington, D.C. and surrounded by green space sits Croydon Park, a neighborhood in a convenient location with easy access to public transportation. Realtor Neil Bacchus with EXP Realty, who has over 35 years of experience selling homes in the area, says, “This is sort of the end of Rockville. It’s the very last stop on the Red Line, but the home prices are lower than in downtown Rockville or Bethesda, but with similar amenities.” This well-established neighborhood borders downtown Rockville Town Square, a mixed-use community with dinner options, a summer concert series and outdoor space to hang out. Closer to home, there are numerous shopping and dining centers as well as an array of parks, providing locals with access to green space. Streets in Croydon Park are wide and walkable, lined with scattered trees. Some embody a single home style; others mix established residences and new construction. Because most Rockville neighborhoods don’t have HOAs, many residents modify their homes as their housing needs change. “You’ll see quite a few additions, expansions and altered roof lines,” says Realtor Ellie Hitt with RE/MAX, who serves clients throughout Maryland and Virginia. She notes that there are various architectural styles, including Cape Cods, split-levels and ranch-style homes in the neighborhood. Potential homebuyers can find a two-bedroom condominium unit for about $375,000 at the lower end of the neighborhood's price range. Some ranch-styles from the 1950s and 1960s cost between $450,000 and $650,000 and can feature between four and six bedrooms. There are also newly constructed Colonial Revivals priced around $685,000 and remodeled bungalows going for a little over $1 million. “The neighborhood’s housing mirrors a lot of what’s in Montgomery County but is larger in square footage,” Bacchus says. “And the price is better for the consumer.” RedGate Park spans 131 acres and operated as a golf course from 1974 to 2018. Visitors can still see remnants of the former course in man-made lakes and paved paths where golf carts once drove. But nature has reclaimed these features, and what was once well-maintained greens has turned to long grass dotted with mature trees. The park is also a sanctuary for birds and butterflies. Bird watchers often see night herons and chipping sparrows flying overhead, while a local Girl Scout troop installed a Monarch waystation to support the pollinators. The waystation is the first step in the park’s planned arboretum. While RedGate Park sits adjacent to 1,800-acre Rock Creek Park, no bike or pedestrian paths connect them. There are also a few smaller parks scattered throughout the community. David Skull Park, Wilma Shelton Park and Croydon Park – which shares a name with the neighborhood – offer similar amenities: playgrounds, open green space and sports facilities. Nearby, 7-acre Maryvale Park combines passive and active recreation. Visitors can wander through the forest preserve, cross a bridge over a swampy pond, play pick-up basketball games or watch their kids play in a youth sports league on the baseball diamond. Croydon Park is zoned for Montgomery County Public Schools. Students can attend Maryvale Elementary School, which Niche gives an A, before Earle B. Wood Middle School, which receives an A-minus. They can finish their public education at International Baccalaureate World School, Rockville High School, which earns an A from Niche. Here, students can choose from rigorous academic options and participate in extracurricular activities such as Academic Bowl, Best Buddies and the American Sign Language Honor Society. The neighborhood’s restaurant scene includes several bakeries and grills, as well as Thai and Chinese restaurants that line Hungerford Drive. Locals can start their day with bagels and coffee from The Bean Bag Deli & Catering. This spot is also popular during lunch hour, with various sandwiches and soups on the menu. After work, folks head to Clear Sies Meadery, where mead is brewed and packaged onsite and available for purchase in the taproom. There are also a variety of options for cooking at home. Residents can pick up a few essential items at Maryvale Market, a well-stocked corner store, or head to Giant Food to restock the pantry. “Dawson’s Market is also a great place to shop,” Hitt says. “They have a lot of natural and local products.” Croydon Park is also just half a mile from Rockville Town Square, the 12.5-acre mixed-use centerpiece of Downtown Rockville. In the summer, locals listen to live music at the Summer Concert Series or take their kids to the splash pad, while during the holiday season, they gather for the tree lighting ceremony or circle the ice-skating rink. But any other time of year, Rockville residents can hang out in this walkable pedestrian space, with scattered green areas, tables and numerous shopping and dining options. “There’s a movie theatre, a nice library and the Metro is right there,” Bacchus says. “If you like to walk, it’s walkable from some points in the community.” The Rockville train station is within the neighborhood, providing commuters with various rail services. It is served by the Metro, which leads to Washington, D.C. on the Red Line; the MARC Brunswick Line, which travels between Martinsburg, West Virginia and Frederick, Maryland; and the Amtrak Capitol Limited intercity trains, which run daily from the nation’s capital to Chicago, Illinois. Ride On buses run throughout the neighborhood and lead to surrounding areas. Their stops are mainly concentrated around Frederick Avenue and North Horners Lane. To reach D.C. by car, locals can head south on Maryland Route 355 for about 18 miles, while Bethesda is about 10 miles south via U.S. Interstate 270. And when it’s time to fly, the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is about 23 miles south and the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is about 37 miles northeast.

The city of Rockville, Maryland, is a community with hundreds of years of history but the trappings of a postwar suburb, and East Rockville is no different. Most of the neighborhood is covered by the Twinbrook subdivision, which broke ground in 1946. Residents of this primarily residential neighborhood have access to well-rated schools and strip malls full of shops and eateries. At the same time, East Rockville is the site of Glenview Mansion, a century-old neoclassical estate where locals can stroll its gardens and explore its halls. Next door is the 270-year-old Rockville Cemetery, where author F. Scott Fitzgerald was once buried. This is typical of the city 15 miles from Washington, D.C., says Dick Stoner, a Rockville resident who is the broker and owner of Reist Corp. “It’s a town with a rich history, even though there’s been more housing built since the ‘60s than was in Rockville before then.” Rockville Civic Center Park is a well-rounded recreation facility in the neighborhood where people can get active at the playground and pickleball courts or hike more than 2 miles of trails. The adjacent Croydon Creek Nature Center has a live owl and reptiles on display while the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre hosts more than 100 shows annually. The theater is named for the author of “The Great Gatsby,” who is buried a mile away at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Residents can also buy memberships to Twinbrook Pool, a neighborhood swimming spot that hosts a kid swim team and a summer camp. Those who join the Twinbrook Community Recreation Center nearby get access to a gym, game room and library. Another five parks around East Rockville put playgrounds, tennis courts and baseball diamonds among houses. Locals can cruise Rockville Pike and Veirs Mill Road to run errands or shop at the banks, convenience shops and big-box stores along the roadways. Grocery options include Aldi, Asian supermarket Lotte Plaza Market and Adarash Market, an Ethiopian food store. The neighborhood’s 20-plus restaurants span a variety of international cuisines. Maki serves donburi rice bowls and ramen, while Mastiha specializes in baking Greek goodies such as kourabiedes cookies. The ground floors of apartment complexes along Fishers Lane are filled with a walkable strip of restaurants and shops. A handful of Christian churches dot the neighborhood, though practitioners of other faiths will have to head to other parts of Rockville or to Silver Spring to worship. Glenview Mansion next to Rockville Civic Center was built in 1926 by a well-to-do Rockville family, but today it’s a free museum and art gallery. In January and February, the estate hosts an art show comprised of pieces submitted by local students. Throughout the year, it’s booked for private events, namely weddings. F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre is the site of International Night, an annual showcase of music and dance from China, El Salvador and other nations. Throughout the week, the Twinbrook Library puts on story readings, craft workshops, yoga classes and more. Houses began to pop up in this neighborhood after World War II. Modestly sized homes, namely minimal traditional, ranch and Cape Cod designs, are packed together on small, square lawns. Winding streets are lined by sidewalks that residents can stroll through on the way to the pocket parks scattered about. Prices vary from $425,000 for a three-bedroom minimal traditional house to $1.2 million for a six-bedroom home that was recently renovated. The median price is $550,000, less than the city of Rockville’s median price of $610,000. Children who attend Montgomery County Public Schools can stay in the neighborhood at Twinbrook Elementary School, which gets a Niche grade of B. Older students can go to A-rated Julius West Middle School and Richard Montgomery High School, graded an A-plus. Ranked the eighth-best public high school in the state, Richard Montgomery High offers more than 25 Advanced Placement courses and three International Baccalaureate programs. Evergreen School provides a private Montessori education option for second and third graders in the neighborhood. Resident Alecia Scott, a Realtor with Long & Foster, says Rockville’s access to the Metro’s Red Line is a plus of living in the city. The Twinbrook station provides a place to hop on the train in the neighborhood and ride to Washington, D.C., in about 30 minutes. Motorists are close to Veirs Mill Road and Interstate 270, which route to the nation’s capital. The 15-mile drive may take nearly two hours on weekday mornings.

King Farm was literally designed to be the perfect neighborhood. This mixed-use community of single-family homes, apartments, townhouses and retail businesses is an active, master-planned development built as the ideal place to live, work and play. The community has 12 acres of outdoor amenities, easy access to public transportation, shopping and dining options and great schools. “Designed to be a walkable, New Urbanist, mixed-use community, you have everything at your fingertips,” explains Alecia Scott, long-time area resident and Realtor with Long & Foster. Buyers looking at King Farm have options, including townhouses, condo units, single-family homes and even apartments. Prices can range from the mid $500,000s for a three-bedroom two-bath condo to $850,000 for a four-bedroom four-bath townhouse to upwards of $1.2 million for a six-bedroom five-bath traditional build, featuring an expansive front porch and small yard. Residents have access to community pools, a clubhouse and a gym. The King Farm Citizens Assembly homeowner’s association governs the neighborhood and holds events like Food Truck Fridays, summer concerts and a yard sale. Schools are a big reason people move to King Farm. Kids can attend Montgomery County public schools, considered the second-best school district in Maryland. “People live here for all of the business and educational opportunities,” says Scott. “All three of my kids graduated from Gaithersburg High School,” adds Scott. “And they loved it.” Local schools include Washington Grove Elementary (rated B-plus by Niche), Gaithersburg Middle School (rated B) and Gaithersburg High School (rated B-plus). Gaithersburg High School students can take advantage of dual enrollment programs to earn college credits while still in high school. In the middle of the neighborhood is the King Farm Village Center, a brick retail plaza within walking distance of most homes. Locals grab lattes and sit by the glass windows at Coffee Republic and shop for groceries at Safeway. They eat pizza and pasta at Fontina Grille and taste wines at King’s Craft Beer Wine & Deli. The King Farm Village is also home to several additional spaces, including the Irvington Business Center, the Ingleside Retirement Community and the Sheraton Hotel. In 10 minutes, King Farm residents can be at the Rio, a lakefront shopping and entertainment district known for its big-box stores, boutique shops and restaurants. King Farm has several different parks and green spaces for residents to enjoy. The 26-acre Mattie J.T. Stephanek Park has tennis and basketball courts, athletic fields, a playground and a nearby dog park. King Farm Park has baseball and softball fields, grills and a playground. Residents can take advantage of city bikes and an electric scooter program. A free shuttle bus service is available Monday through Friday to and from the Shady Grove Metro Station to Washington, D.C. Highways like Interstate 270, Interstate 370 and the Intercounty Connector are nearby. Driving to D.C. takes about an hour, with traffic.

In the Washington, D.C. suburb of Rockville, the west side of town is known for its late 20th-century residential architecture and suburban streetscapes with grassy lawns and shady trees. A private country club with rolling hills and lakes forms the western border of this residential area, and on the other side, people plant herbs and vegetables in 25 ft. by 25 ft. plots in the community garden. “Houses were built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and they’re mostly ramblers or ranchers,” says Neil Bacchus, team leader with the Bacchus Group with eXp Realty and 35-year resident of the area. “It’s where you pay more compared to the east side of town.” Ramblers and mid-20th century colonials are common in West Rockville, but the neighborhood also has upscale models like brick colonials with rectangular columns and farmers' porches. Brick townhouses sit next to each other in subdivisions, and single-family home communities like Fallsgrove have community pools and playgrounds for kids. Houses sit behind rolling front lawns in enclosed suburban neighborhoods with shady oak trees and sidewalks. Prices range from $367,000 to $1.5 million. Green spaces and parks interweave with West Rockville’s residential streets. Wootton’s Mill Park, which sits at the site of a former saw and gristmill, spans 106 acres. At the park, people fish for trout, walk on paved pathways, play tennis and plant seeds in the community garden. Glenora Park, which spans about 5 acres, has a playground for kids, athletic fields and volleyball courts. The private Lakewood County Club has an 18-hole golf course that spans 7,100 yards and tennis courts. There’s an outdoor aquatic complex where kids can learn to swim, compete on the swim team and eat at the Poolside Pub. Admission is based on a lengthy membership interview process where candidates get to know existing members. Rockville sits just outside the so-called D.C. Beltway, north of where Interstate 270 connects with I-495. Because it’s outside the Beltway, home prices trend lower than inside the Beltway communities like Silver Spring, says Bacchus. “It’s a $600,000 to $700,000 difference inside the Beltway versus outside,” he says. But the commuter access is still great. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the National Institute of Health are 15 minutes away, driving into D.C. takes about 45 minutes and the Red Line ride from Rockville into the District takes 40 minutes. It's easy to get around from Rockville, but with all its amenities, there’s almost no need to leave. In nearby North Bethesda is Pike & Rose, a 10-year-old modern outdoor mall that’s essentially the local version of Disney Springs. It’s the kind of place where people walk down a freshly paved sidewalk, past outdoor patios reverberating from the energy of weekend brunch and bottomless mimosas, past shops for big retail brands like REI and L.L. Bean and enter the iPic movie theater and kick back into reclining chairs to watch the latest Marvel movie. Pike & Rose has everything from ramen to boba tea to a dog café to a Porsche dealership. Above the movie theater, people sip cocktails in plush chairs at City Perch Kitchen + Bar. Pike & Rose sits along Rockville Pike, a busy thoroughfare with grocery stores like Aldi and Food Lion, big-box stores like Best Buy and car dealerships. “It’s a very busy road with about 150,000 cars per day, up and down,” says Bacchus. “It goes all the way north to Frederick, Maryland, so it’s a nice distance. On both sides there are restaurants, retailers and stores, apartment rentals and office buildings. It’s what we call ‘mixed use.’” Kids in Rockville can attend Montgomery County public schools. The school district is considered the second best in Maryland. Neighborhood schools include Lakewood Elementary School, Robert Frost Middle School and Thomas S. Wootton High School. All three schools are well regarded. Lakewood and Frost have A-ratings from Niche, and Wootton, considered the sixth-best high school in Maryland, has an A-plus rating. Wootton students can enroll in its Academy of Information Technology, which exposes them to careers in the digital space.