Reston, VA

Buying into much of Reston includes a relationship with Reston Association as well as Fairfax County. Owners and renters on land governed by the Reston Deed automatically belong to the association. Its membership covers over 22,000 residential units. Members may elect the nine-member board and use association property; owners also vote on certain property matters. Owners pay an annual assessment, and exterior projects may require approval under community design guidelines. The 2026 assessment was $890. It funded maintenance of shared property that includes 1,350 acres of open space and 55 miles of pathways, along with recreation and environmental programs. The pathway system includes bridges and underpasses as well as paved links between neighborhoods. The lakes, paths, covenants, and architectural approval process all come from this community-association structure.

That structure grew from Robert E. Simon’s plan for a new town. Simon bought the 7,000-acre Bowman Farm in 1961, and Reston’s name combines his initials with an English town suffix. Innovative county zoning allowed housing, shops, offices, recreation, and open space to be planned together. Construction at Lake Anne Village began in 1963, and the center opened in 1965. Apartments, townhouses, stores, and offices face a pedestrian plaza and man-made lake, with most parking behind the buildings. The village center became a shared neighborhood destination and an early model for the larger community. Fairfax County later designated Lake Anne a historic district for its role in the 1960s new-town movement and its architectural significance. Reston now has two scales of urban life.

Lake Anne, Hunters Woods, South Lakes, and North Point remain neighborhood village centers with local retail, services, and gathering spaces. Reston Town Center forms a denser grid of offices, apartments, hotels, shops, and plazas near the Dulles Toll Road. The Wiehle–Reston East and Reston Town Center Silver Line stations add mixed-use districts along that corridor. Their access patterns differ: in July 2026, Wiehle offered 2,300 daily parking spaces, while Reston Town Center station had no commuter parking. Both stations listed bicycle racks and lockers that month. Village centers, Town Center, and the station districts differ noticeably in building type, street layout, and access to commuter parking. Office and research uses have lined the Dulles corridor since Reston’s early decades, making work space part of the original plan.

County plans direct new housing and ground-floor services toward the station areas, while established neighborhoods remain lower in scale beyond them. Internal paths connect homes, schools, lakes, and village centers; the regional 45-mile Washington and Old Dominion Trail crosses northern Reston. Reston Association’s four lakes allow boating and fishing for members, though swimming and activity on winter ice are prohibited. The annual assessment also supports outdoor pools and programs at Walker Nature Center. At Lake Anne and Hunters Woods, Reston Community Center facilities add classes, performances, and meeting space. An ordinary trip can follow neighborhood paths to lakes and village services, while Metro and office buildings line the Toll Road.