'The View of D.C.' observation deck in Rosslyn overlooking the Potomac on Aug. 1, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Despite plans to close to the public, the doors to the View of DC observation deck in Rosslyn remain open for now while the property’s new owner finalizes some last-minute details.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was intended to be the last day visitors could access the deck at 1201 Wilson Blvd, according to the Arlington Economic Development website. The Arlington County Board last week agreed to exchange public access to the lookout, which offers free 360-degree views of D.C. and Northern Virginia, for a $14 million investment in renovations at nearby Gateway Park.
This regularly scheduled column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Eli and his team in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach him directly at[email protected].
Question: What areas of Northern VA have the most and least expensive new construction homes?
Answer: The biggest and most expensive new builds in Northern VA are in Great Falls and Mclean. Prince William County offers the most affordability, along with the most house and land for your money.
The following data is based on MLS sales of new construction detached homes in Northern Virginia from 2025-June 1 2026.
Great Falls, Mclean, and Everybody Else
The small town of Middleburg is the only city with an average new home price over $3,000,000.
Dumfries and Bristow are the only Northern VA cities where the average new home costs less than $1,000,000
The average price for a new home in Vienna is $22,000 higher than Arlington
How Big Are New Homes?
Most new homes throughout Northern VA come in around 5,000-6,000 finished square feet
Mclean (8,450) and Great Falls (8,700) average nearly 2,000SF more than homes in Vienna, the city with the third largest average new home
Despite having significantly more room to build, homes in Loudoun County and Prince William County are constructed with a “modest” 4,800 finished SF
On average, 5,700 finished SF in Northern VA is filled with 5.4 bedrooms and 5.1 full bathrooms
If Yard and Privacy Matter the Most
The average new home in Prince William County sits on nearly 2.7 acres and provides new home buyers with the lowest cost per acre for a new home
Privacy in your new home is hard to come by in Arlington, Ashburn, Brambleton, Dumfries, and Bristow with average lot sizes under 0.2 acres
Great Falls (1.69) and Oakton (2.07) are the only jurisdictions within Fairfax County with an average lot size over one acre
In Northern VA, the average new home is built on 0.84 acres
James Morrison, or TMMPO, performing as the Resident DJ in the Team USA House in Paris (courtesy of James Morrison)
In the Team USA House at the Paris Olympics, the nation’s greatest athletes are cheering each other on every day to tunes curated by an Arlington resident.
James Morrison — stage name: TMMPO — is the team’s first-ever resident DJ. From noon to midnight in the historic Palais Brongniart, the Cherrydale resident is responsible for hyping up world-class athletes, including Arlington’s own Torri Huske, and helping their friends and family feel at home in France.
A Goodwill Donation Express center is under construction on Langston Blvd (courtesy of anonymous)
Arlington’s third Goodwill location on 5210 Langston Blvd is “not likely” to open later this month, as was previously reported.
The new Goodwill Donation Express will serve primarily as a spot for donation drop-offs, selling “a very limited amount of merchandise.” The operation was previously scheduled to open its doors on Sunday, Aug. 25 — according to a press release Wednesday — but “a few structural issues” still need to be addressed before doors can open, Goodwill spokesperson Brendan Hurley told ARLnow.
Join Kaiser Permanente for Healthy at the Harbor, a free community health and wellness event taking place Saturday, June 6, from 11 am to 4 pm at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Bring your family and friends for free full day of fun, fitness, and preventive care along the waterfront.
Throughout the day, Kaiser Permanente nurses and physicians will offer no-cost health screenings, alongside a health and wellness expo focused on preventive care education. A lively Kids’ Zone will keep children active and entertained with spin-art bikes, face painting, balloon art, games, and more.
Power outage in Ballston and Virginia Square as of 6:30 a.m. (courtesy Megan J.)
For at least the fourth time since late June, Dominion customers in Ballston and Virginia Square area are without power.
The outage started around 2 a.m. this morning, residents tell ARLnow, and an outage map shows it affecting roughly the same area as previous outages on June 24, July 15 and July 23.
The view from an office in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
More Construction for Crystal City — “JBG Smith Properties continues to say it anticipates getting nearly 10 million square feet of new development, mostly in National Landing… ‘shovel-ready’ by 2025. Matt Kelly, the Bethesda-based developer’s CEO, said in his July 30 second quarter letter to shareholders the company ‘expect[s]’ to get 18 assets ready to go for new development by the end of next year.” [Washington Business Journal]
Clarendon Barnes & Noble Robbery — “A witness notified a store employee that two suspects were stealing merchandise. A second employee located the suspects in the store who then began to yell at the employee before one suspect attempted to strike the employee. The employee then left the area to call police during which the suspects collected merchandise and exited the business without payment.” [ACPD]
APS Phone Policy Emerging — “Under the draft proposal, which will be aired at the Aug. 5 meeting of the School Board’s policy subcommittee: Elementary- and middle-school students would be required to have personal devices put away for the duration of the school day. High-school students would be required to have the devices out of reach during instructional periods but could access them at other times.” [Gazette Leader]
Grant for New Rosslyn Eatery — “A nonprofit supporting women-owned food businesses has handed out $5,000 grants to 10 food startups from the D.C. and Baltimore region, including makers of French macarons, beignets, Mexican-style popsicles, dumplings and more… Kam and 46, a Hawaii and Filipino food pop-up, recently opened shop in Rosslyn food hall Upside on Moore.” [Washington Business Journal]
Skepticism Over ‘Fittest’ Status — “I absolutely refuse to believe Arlington and D.C. are the top two healthiest cities in America. I lived in Arlington for around four years and I’ve lived in D.C. for nearly six. I’ve never seen any area of the country with unhealthier habits than the Washington, D.C. metro area. D.C. has the highest percentage of heavy drinkers in the entire country, according to data from the CDC. While the CDC doesn’t specify Arlington’s binge-drinking rates, I’m sure it’s nearly as bad.” [Outkick]
Trump Proposal’s Local Impact — From state Sen. Scott Surovell: “Has anyone noticed that Trump’s platform promises to move 100,000 [federal] workers out of the DMV (so does Project 2025)?” [Twitter, WAMU, WUSA 9]
GOP Questions Climate Spending — From the Arlington GOP, in response to Arlington naming a new top climate official to steer the county toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050: “Your tax dollars at ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶ waste.” [Twitter]
Kaine Co-Sponsors Child Care Bill — “Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) are unveiling two bipartisan bills Wednesday aimed at making child care more affordable through beefed up tax credits and grants for child care providers.” [Axios]
Local Man Convicted in Federal Case — “A 34-year-old [Arlington] man was convicted Wednesday of illegally accessing the private medical data of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2019 but acquitted of posting the information to an online message board where conspiracists falsely claimed Democratic politicians were covering up her death.” [Washington Post, Dept. of Justice]
It’s Thursday — Showers and thunderstorms are possible after 5pm, with a mostly sunny and hot day reaching a high of 97°F and heat index values up to 104°F. Winds will be light and variable, turning west around 5 mph in the afternoon. On Thursday night, expect a chance of showers and thunderstorms mainly before 8pm, mostly cloudy conditions, a low around 77°F, and a 30% chance of precipitation. [NWS]
Showers and thunderstorms are possible after 5pm, with a mostly sunny and hot day reaching a high of 97°F and heat index values up to 104°F. Winds will be light and variable, turning west around 5 mph in the afternoon, and a 30% chance of precipitation. On Thursday night, expect a chance of showers and thunderstorms mainly before 8pm, mostly cloudy conditions, a low around 77°F, light south wind, and a 30% chance of precipitation. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Life is short, live it. Love is rare, grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Memories are sweet, cherish it.” – Unknown
The sun shines down above a tree on a hot summer day with a heat advisory (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Another stretch of dangerously hot weather is on tap.
The National Weather Service just issued a Heat Advisory for Arlington and surrounding jurisdictions including D.C., Alexandria, Fairfax County and Falls Church.
