Neighborhood profile: Great Oaks

The neighborhood is across the street from the Army Navy Country Club. “A lot of military families, including high-ranking officers, have lived here,” said Patty FitzGerald, an original resident and real estate agent. “President Gerald Ford’s daughter, Susan, lived here when the neighborhood was first built.”

Retired administrator Rowena Morris said demographics have changed dramatically. “When I moved here in 1985, there were no kids; it was mostly young professionals. Now it feels like half and half, old and new families.” Original owner Dick Olson, a retired journalist, said the neighborhood has also become more ethnically diverse.

(Gene Thorp/The Washington Post) - Great Oaks in Fairfax

Great Oaks is within walking distance of Van Dyke Park and the adjacent Sherwood Community Center, which offers classes and cultural activities. Fairfax High School is on the neighborhood’s border; Patty FitzGerald invites friends to her house each Fourth of July to watch the fireworks display that the city holds at the high school. The Old Town core of Fairfax City, with its myriad restaurants and shops and frequent events, is so close that Khalil and her husband often walk there for date nights.

“I love the responsive city government here,” said Patty Fitz­Gerald. “Another benefit is that the property tax rate is lower than in Fairfax County.”

There is one road in and out of Great Oaks, with multiple cul-de-sacs off of it. “I like the feeling of being safe here, there are no through streets and the people are friendly,” Olson said. That sense of security is aided by the HOA’s block and neighborhood watch programs, which monitor for security and illegal parking.

Residents said neighborhood issues include updating the pool, maintaining streets and deciding whether to allow Verizon FiOS to be installed (some are concerned about landscaping and streets being torn up). They noted that the community has struggled with frequent power outages, but recent meetings with Dominion Virginia Power about tree trimming and equipment upgrades seem to be helping.

The HOA sponsors occasional social activities such as pool parties and an annual holiday get-together at the Army Navy club, but FitzGerald said this is not a neighborhood with block parties on every street. “Everyone kind of does their own thing here, but for the most part it is a very caring neighborhood.”

That caring attitude led original owner Helen Fitzgerald, who works in the hospice field, to offer neighbors free painting classes in her home every two weeks for three years before she and her husband, Dick Olson, recently relocated. “This is an intelligent community, filled with interesting people,” Helen Fitzgerald said. “It’s a friendly community.”

“The people who’ve been here forever are very welcoming,” Khalil said. “And those who are new are committed to having a close community.”

Cheryl A. Kenny is a freelance writer.

ZIP CODE: 22030

BOUNDARIES: Fairfax Boulevard (routes 29 and 50) to the north, Fairfax Circle to the east, Old Lee Highway to the south and Rebel Run to the west.

SCHOOLS: Daniels Run Elementary, Lanier Middle and Fairfax High.

HOME SALES: Between December 2011 and December 2012, seven houses sold, at prices ranging from $460,000 to $659,900 according to Patty FitzGerald of Long & Foster. Two houses are now on the market, priced at $639,000 and $659,000.

WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE: Army Navy Country Club, Fairfax High School, Blenheim Museum, Van Dyck and Daniels Run parks, Sherwood Community Center, restaurants and shopping.

WITHIN 15 MINUTES BY CAR: Old Town Fairfax City, Inova Fairfax Hospital; Vienna Metro station; George Mason University; major routes, including I-495, I-66, Route 123, Little River Turnpike and Chain Bridge Road.

TRANSIT: From the community’s entrance on Old Lee Highway, a Fairfax City Cue bus provides transit to the Vienna Metro station (Orange Line), Fairfax City and George Mason University.