Why Choose Greenbelt Station?

So, why did we choose to buy a home in Greenbelt?

I've mentioned before how the two most important factors for us were price and Metro accessibility, which narrowed our search considerably. But I thought it might be helpful to talk a little bit about how we chose the Greenbelt Station neighborhood in particular.

1. Distance
The community sits less than ten miles as the crow flies from where we work in downtown Washington, and less than a mile to the door of the Greenbelt metro station. (We actually measured this in Google Maps ourselves, and it's exactly .78 miles. Trust, but verify, right?)

2. Neighborhood
With our budget, we couldn't afford to buy a home we liked that was both in a well-established neighborhood and close to DC. While I'll admit the area immediately surrounding the subdivision is a little industrial looking, Greenbelt already has a nice community – you can see lots of different organizations here – and stores that we frequent (Target, IKEA, groceries, local restaurants, etc).

The other thing that really caught our attention is that the surrounding area is seeing a lot of positive development and growth. Some examples...

• Greenbelt is one of the top contenders under consideration for the relocation of the FBI headquarters. There's a good Washington Post editorial about that here, and Greater Greater Washington blog posted the renderings of what it would look like if the FBI moved in.
• Whole Foods is moving in just down the road in Riverdale Park, and will include space for "upscale restaurants, cafes and coffeehouses, boutique shops, a fitness club and a hotel." (Source here.) Construction is already underway on this project, and an Apple Store and Founding Farmers are among the rumored future tenants.
• Several projects in neighboring College Park: new Urban Outfitters, new Marriot TownePlace Suites, new Courtyard Marriott, new University of Maryland Hotel, Knox Village, Target Express, etc. This map really gives a sense of just how many large scale development projects are in the works.
• The mixed-use Hyattsville Arts District project.
• Support for the Purple Line light rail project is uncertain, but Obama has said he's be willing to put in $100 million in federal aid. (Source here.) Dan Reed at Greater Greater Washington reports that Hogan is setting aside $313 million for the Purple Line and $106 million for the Red Line — enough to keep the projects progressing. Edit 7/25/15: Purple line is officially a go. It isn't projected to be completed till 2020, but it's still great news.

Especially as these projects come to completion – many of which are scheduled to finish by the end of 2015 – not only will these revitalize Route 1, these will translate to an increase in property value. Win for the community, win for our pocketbook.

3. Nature
The model of townhouse we're building doesn't include a yard, as you can sort of tell from the site plan, but the community has a lot of opportunity for greenspace. The neighborhood is building a two acre park, and there are all sorts of parks and trails nearby. We are not nearly this ambitious or fit enough to do this, but you can even bike all the way from Greenbelt to downtown in fourteen minutes!

The Real Reason We're Buying in Greenbelt Station

Close to church of IKEA, y'all!

Okay, we're kidding. Maybe half kidding. But it sure will be dangerous nice to have it a ten minute drive down the road.

House Hunting: Ryan Homes Matisse at Greenbelt Station

And, finally, what probably drew you to this blog: we checked out the Ryan Homes community at Greenbelt Station. There were two models in our price range, the Matisse and the Picasso, both of which are townhome condos. The Picasso is a great size at 2,600 square feet, but we ruled it out for the same reason we nixed the nice condo in Rockville: too many stairs. So, on to the Matisse.

The Matisse clocks in at 1,642 square feet, with 3 bedrooms, and 2.5 bathrooms. It has a reasonable condo fee of about $250, which takes care of snow shoveling, mowing, and landscaping around the community.

The Pros:

• Under budget & closing assistance
• Safe neighborhood
• Home would be under a 10-year structural warranty
• Home would be energy efficient
• Lots of natural light
• Less than a mile to the metro & MARC trains
• Community includes plans for a 2 acre park
• Garage for the car
• Inside the Beltway

The Cons:

• In a struggling school district
• The Matisse's first level doesn't leave a lot of room for a dining table

Obviously, a big plus was the price tag, especially with how expensive the DC Metro area is. Buying a place under-budget gives us the breathing room to save for house repairs, furniture, or just paying down the mortgage faster. It also means we have the flexibility of going out to eat every once in a while without feeling like we're breaking the bank.

Beyond the price tag, though, we loved the home's design. Each room receives a huge amount of natural light, and the master bedroom is enormous, with two separate walk in closets. We liked that the laundry was upstairs, convenient to all the bedrooms. We also liked that the home came with a lot of luxury items standard: double sinks in the master bathroom, granite in the kitchen, stainless appliances, etc.

We took a while to make our decision, but the combination of having a great house, Metro access, and under budget makes it the perfect fit for us.