Orange vs. Blue: Condos on the Metro Line in Arlington & Alexandria

Among the attractions of condo living in Northern Virginia are affordability compared to single family homes and townhouses, less maintenance than a large home, and convenience of location. Location plays a big factor especially in Arlington and Alexandria where many condominium owners commute to work in D.C. As the two suburbs closest to the District, Arlington and Alexandria are always in high demand among homebuyers and these two areas have not been hit as hard by the housing decline as many of the further out suburbs in Fairfax County, and especially in Prince William and Loudoun Counties.

One factor that plays a large role in the commuting equation and thus in choice of location is presence of the subway, or the Metro, as we fondly call it here in the Metropolitan Washington area. (A side note, did you know that the first ever underground subway was the Metropolitan Railway which is now part of the London Underground, or "Tube"?) Condos within easy walking distance of a metro stop command a premium price as some Northern Virginia commuters eschew their cars altogether throughout the course of the work week.

As a result of the live/work/play/commute concept, much development has occurred centered around the various metro stations. Restaurants, nightlife, shops thrive when they are located along the metro corridor. There is no better example of this than in North Arlington along the Rosslyn to Ballston Orange line corridor.

The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority released numbers detailing the amount of weekly riders in each station of the various lines. Along the Orange Line in Arlington, the Rosslyn Station has a weekly ridership of 15,462 passengers, while Ballston sees 12,564 passengers per week. Looking at Alexandria, the numbers are in stark contrast. King Street is the city's busiest station with weekly ridership of about 8,500 people. Braddock Road station sees only 4,200 weekly riders, while Van Dorn has about 3,800 riders per week. These Alexandria stations are in the bottom-third of ridership in Metro's 86-station system, according to the Washington Business Journal.

There appears to be a direct correlation between the number of condominiums within walking distance to the metro and the number of metro riders and this correlation is readily apparent when comparing the five stations on the Orange Line in Arlington: Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, Virginia Square, and Ballston with the three stations on the Blue Line in Alexandria: Braddock Road, Van Dorn Street, and King Street.

Here's a list of the condos within walking distance of each of these metro stations. Click on each link to view detailed information about a currently available condo in each condo community.

ARLINGTON

ROSSLYN STATION:

ATRIUM CONDOS 0.3 Miles to Metro BELVEDERE CONDOS 0.3 Miles to Metro

1800 WILSON 0.5 Miles to Metro WOOSTER & MERCER LOFTS 0.3 Miles to Metro

COURTHOUSE STATION:

CHARLESTON CONDOS 0.2 Miles to Metro

COLONIAL VILLAGE 0.4 Miles to Metro

COURTHOUSE HILL 0.2 Miles to Metro

1800 WILSON 0.3 Miles to Metro

ODYSSEY CONDOS 0.2 Miles to Metro

WILLIAMSBURG CONDO 0.4 Miles to Metro

WOODBURY HEIGHTS 0.3 Miles to Metro

CLARENDON STATION:

CLARENDON 1021 0.2 Miles to Metro PHOENIX AT CLARENDON 0.1 Miles to Metro

STATION SQUARE 0.2 Miles to Metro

VIRGINIA SQUARE STATION:

LEXINGTON SQUARE 0.2 Miles to Metro MONROE 0.3 Miles to Metro

VIRGINIA SQUARE 121 FEET WENTWORTH PLACE 0.2 Miles to Metro

BALLSTON STATION:

ALTAVISTA 0.1 Miles to Metro BALLSTON 880 0.4 Miles to Metro

BALLSTON PARK 0.3 Miles to Metro BERKELEY 0.1 Miles to Metro

CONTINENTAL 0.3 Miles to Metro EASTVIEW @BALLSTON 0.1 Miles to Metro

HAWTHORN CONDOS 0.4 Miles to Metro SUMMERWALK I & II 427 FEET

WESTVIEW @BALLSTON 0.2 Miles to Metro

ALEXANDRIA

VAN DORN STREET STATION:

EXCHANGE AT VAN DORN 0.7 Miles to Metro

BRADDOCK ROAD STATION:

BRADDOCK PLACE 0.2 Miles to Metro OLD TOWN GREENS 1.0 Miles to Metro

KING STREET:

CARLYLE TOWERS 0.5 Miles to Metro CARLYLE SQUARE 0.7 Miles to Metro

OLD TOWN VILLAGE 0.3 Miles to Metro ROYALTON 0.2 Miles to Metro

1600 PRINCE STREET 0.2 Miles to Metro

VIEW AN INTERACTIVE STREET MAP WITH AN OVERLAY OF THE METRO LINE ON THE D.C. METRO WEBSITE.

CLICK HERE TO START YOUR SEARCH FOR A CONDO ALONG THE METRO LINE