Fort Belvoir: Lorton Station

"Easy Access to I-95"

Lorton Station Subdivision is divided into two neighborhood areas both run by the same HOA. This review will primarily be on Lorton Station South as that is where we lived.

The neighborhood has many townhouses and about two dozen single family homes. There are two community pools which are open and staffed with life guards from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There is a small game court with a basketball area and a wall for hitting tennis balls or similar-this area is fenced in but entry is not limited or controlled. There is also a separate larger area with two tennis courts-also fenced but not locked or controlled. There are two playgrounds, one is a tot lot and the other is a more traditional size with swings and several play structures as well as benches for sitting. There are sidewalks throughout the neighborhood. The yards are typically small and there is not a great deal of common area or green space. Parking is limited to driveways and a small areas of permit and visitors spot. Street parking is not allowed except in few designated sections.

The subdivision is very close to a shopping center that has a grocery store, several restaurants (Chipotle, Glory Days, Tokyo One, Baskin Robbins) a hair cut place, pet store, mail store,bank etc. Having this shopping center so close is a wonderful convenience-it is an enjoyable walk from most places in the subdivision and our family walked down there on many occasions to enjoy ice cream after dinner etc.

There is easy access to I-95 from the subdivision and also a short 5 minute car ride to the Lorton VRE. There are several Metro bus stops within the neighborhood also.

However, the neighborhood is adjacent to Hagel Circle on two sides. Just a thin row of trees separates Hagel Circle from Lorton Station. As a resident of Lorton Station, this would not have bothered me except that the residents of Hagel Circle used the amenities of Lorton Station (except for the pool) freely and often without care or concern for maintaining it. For example, the basketball court was almost always full of teenage boys playing rough games of ball, using curse words and not sharing the court or leaving when they saw others waiting for their turn. Children (young and old) would play on the playgrounds-often hanging out to smoke cigarettes and frequently using curse words loudly. They would throw the swings up and over the top bar so that little children couldn't use them b/c they were too high. All of this despite posted signs indicating the playground was only to be used by residents of Lorton Station. Much of the playground equipment was damaged or destroyed. The residents of Hagel Circle had worn a path through the tree line that separated the neighborhoods. There was always a lot of foot traffic on that path as residents of Hagel Circle would park their cars on the very limited amount of street parking that is available in Lorton Station South. There was often a great deal of trash left near this street parking area.

The HOA was contacted repeatedly about this ongoing problem, but there response was that trying to build a fence to separate the neighborhoods hadn't worked in the past as it had just been torn down and the expense of replacing it over and over again seemed futile. On more than one occasion I contacted police regarding events that I witnessed in the neighborhood and did not feel safe about. Grown men gathered in the streets fighting with a crowd cheering them on, a young teenager soliciting drugs to myself and my 8 year old on the playground and the sound of gunshots to name a few. Just before we moved, the HOA hired a security company to roam the neighborhood in an attempt to deter some of these and other happenings. I cannot comment if that has proven helpful as we moved shortly after it was implemented.

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