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Scenery on a Par With the Area's Best
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On a hill just beside the second hole is a house unlike any other in the development. The 19th-century structure, flanked by giant elm and holly trees, belongs to Steve and Joanna Etka and has been in Steve's family for six generations. The Lynch family--Steve Etka's mother was a Lynch--tilled the surrounding 110 acres, then called Elmdale Farm, for almost 80 years until 1958, when they converted the land into a privately owned 18-hole par-three public golf course and a separate nine-hole regulation course.
Twenty-five years later, the Etkas sold all but an acre of the land to Edward Carr Jr., the son of the man credited with developing Springfield in the 1960s. In exchange for allowing denser zoning, Fairfax County took ownership of the golf course, which was subsequently redesigned to accommodate nine holes and the 800 homes now called the Pinecrest.
Although not technically members of the Pinecrest's very active community association, the Etkas say they have made every effort to maintain their house in line with the association's strict standards.
"While we've done some renovation inside to modernize it, we don't really meet any of the association's requirements," Steve Etka said. "I guess you could say we've been kind of grandfathered in."
BOUNDARIES: Braddock Road to the east, Little River Turnpike to the south and Old Columbia Pike to the north.
NUMBER OF PROPERTIES: Approximately 800 homes, including town houses, condominiums and detached houses. Condos sell for $95,500 to $160,000, town houses for $165,000 to $230,000, detached houses for $319,000 to $370,000. Golf course views add about $15,000 to a home's price. Seven condos, 10 town houses and two detached houses have sold in the past year.
SCHOOLS: Columbia Elementary, Holmes Middle and Annandale High schools.
WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE: Forest Hollow Swim Club, Mason District Park, Fresh Fields, Starbucks, Hollywood Video, Green Spring Gardens Park, Giant Food.
10 MINUTES BY CAR: Old Town Alexandria, Pentagon City, National Airport, Baileys Crossroads, Wakefield Recreation Center.
Let us know about your little corner of ever-greater Washington and maybe we'll tell everyone. Write to Where We Live, Washington Post Real Estate Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Or e-mail us at where@washpost.com.
