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Focus on Fredericksburg:Fredericksburg culture, activities thrive

By Michele Lerner SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES | Friday, June 6, 2008

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The Fredericksburg area, straddling Stafford and Spotsylvania counties in Northern Virginia, has experienced rapid residential growth in recent years.

Residents are attracted to the area's historic downtown Fredericksburg, along with the variety of shops and restaurants in the region. Mary Washington University provides a focal point for academic and cultural activities in Fredericksburg.

Recreational amenities can be found in abundance, too, including golf courses and boating on the Rappahannock River and nearby lakes. The region is convenient to both Richmond and Washington, which can be appealing to residents of the many active adult communities in the area who want to be near family and friends.

Many such communities, designed for households with members age 55 and older, are under development near Fredericksburg.

While each active adult community has its own style, all of them provide either a condominium, town home or villa or single-family home designed on one level or with a first-floor master suite.

These communities offer a low-maintenance lifestyle that allows residents to leave behind caring for a home and to fill their leisure time with recreational activities such as swimming, walking, golf or learning new skills through classes and group activities.

Active adult community residents are not always retired, with many commuting to work daily or part-time and participating in other community activities through volunteer work.

While some active adult communities are self-contained developments, others are separate neighborhoods within a larger planned community.

At Belle Air Village at Leeland Station, Ridan Builders is creating an active adult neighborhood within a planned community. The active adult neighborhood of single-family homes has its own clubhouse and recreational amenities, including an outdoor swimming pool, a patio and veranda, a clubroom, a fitness room, an arts and crafts room, tennis courts, a horseshoe pit, a volleyball court, a basketball court and hiking trails.

The development is within walking distance of a Virginia Railway Express station. Each of the homes has a first-floor master suite and a maintenance-free exterior, and all yardwork is covered by the homeowner association.