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Near the Potomac, community has three names and two qualities: Peace and quiet

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September 16, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. EDT

Village Green at Elysian Heights goes by many names.

Nestled among farms, wineries and breweries in the gentle hills of northeastern Loudoun County, the community is commonly associated with the village of Lucketts, about two miles away. The mailing address is Leesburg. The neighborhood’s entrance signs say Village Green, but real estate listings fall under Elysian Heights. And, according to the community manager, the official name is Potomia.

“If you have to call the trash company for something, they won’t know Elysian Heights, they won’t know Village Green, but they know Potomia,” said Guy Slone, a real estate professional with Slone & Associates who moved to the community in 2007. “But if you call about the water, you have to tell them ‘Elysian Heights.’”

However, the residents are in agreement.

“Everybody calls it Village Green,” Slone said.

That name fits, because the homes were built around two large village greens — grassy expanses used for community-building events such as barbecues, Fourth of July fireworks, summer movie nights and winter bonfires.

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Artery Development began construction of the community on 550 acres of farmland in 2006. Under Loudoun’s “rural village” zoning concept, the 280 single-family homes and 33 townhouses were clustered together with most of the land conserved as open space, which serves as a buffer between the houses and the Potomac River.

Community manager Kevin Miller said that various developers and builders became involved with the project over the next decade, resulting in the community’s multiple names. The last homes were built in 2015. The community association oversees a swimming pool, clubhouse, basketball court, tennis court and two playgrounds.

The nearest convenience stores are about two miles away. Otherwise, most residents take Route 15 nine miles south to Leesburg or 15 miles north to Frederick, Md., for shopping.

Several residents said that heavy traffic on two-lane Route 15 during peak commuting hours is the biggest downside to living in Village Green.

“I really do like the neighborhood, but that’s the one thing that gets a little annoying, because it’s gotten worse over the years,” said Lisa Krnich, who moved to Village Green with her family in 2009. “I always add 15 minutes [to travel time] because you never know what’s going to happen on Route 15.”

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“It’s like a thousand other neighborhoods in the metropolitan Washington area,” said Gary Mears, who moved there last summer. “It’s just that it’s 20 minutes from everything.”

Mears and his wife came to the Lucketts vicinity in 2017 to help revive a church community at nearby Faith Chapel, a small Presbyterian church that served the area for 130 years before closing in 2015. They lived in the church parsonage for two years before moving to Village Green.

“We like living in a neighborhood, because it’s what we’re used to,” said Mears, who previously lived in CountrySide in eastern Loudoun. “It’s a close-knit neighborhood, in part because we’re separated from others.” He added that “you get a little more for your dollar in Village Green than you would get in one of the neighborhoods surrounding Leesburg or Ashburn.”

Mears pointed out that, unlike many other rural communities in Loudoun, Village Green has high-speed broadband service and public water and sewer.

“If you’re used to living on a steady diet of takeout or delivery food, the options are limited,” he said. “But that’s a small price to pay to live out here in a quiet, beautiful setting.”

“It’s one of the quietest neighborhoods I have ever lived in,” Slone said. “There is no airplane noise. There is no road noise. And from that standpoint, it’s just wonderful. We can sit on our back porch and have absolute peace and tranquility.”

Village Green’s community association oversees trash removal, landscaping of common areas and maintenance of private streets. Loudoun Water provides water and sewer service, and broadband is available through Verizon. Monthly homeowners association fees are $103.

Living there: The community is bounded by Saint Clair Lane on the south, Arcadian Drive and adjacent cul de sacs on the west and northwest, Heavenly Circle on the northeast, and Eagles Rest Drive and Sylvan Bluff Drive on the east.

According to Slone, 23 homes sold in Village Green over the past year, with a median price of $572,500. Prices ranged from $374,450 for a townhouse with four bedrooms and three bathrooms to $725,000 for a single-family house with five bedrooms and six bathrooms.

There are two homes on the market: a townhouse with four bedrooms and three bathrooms priced at $445,000 and a single-family home with four bedrooms and four bathrooms at $619,000.

Schools: Lucketts Elementary, Smart’s Mill Middle and Tuscarora High.

Transit: The community relies on Route 15 for commuting. MARC commuter trains to the District stop at Point of Rocks, Md., about a five-mile drive from Village Green. Whites Ferry, which crosses the Potomac River to Montgomery County, Md., is eight miles south. The nearest commuter bus stops are in Leesburg, nine miles away.