Growing town is home to planned communities

The town of Haymarket, established by the Virginia General Assembly in 1799, began life as one of the state’s earliest planned communities.

The town was chartered on land belonging to William Skinker, according to Haymarket’s official Web site (www.townofhaymarket.org).

Skinker developed an official plan for the town with 140 lots and 13 streets.

Haymarket was chosen as the site of a district court to serve Fairfax, Loudoun, Fauquier and Prince William counties, creating the need to construct a courthouse, clerk’s office and jail in 1801.

As a result of the court’s location, the local population and businesses grew until 1807, when the General Assembly abolished the district court system in favor of a circuit court system.

The courthouse in Haymarket served in other capacities for the community until it was deeded to the Episcopal Church and became St. Paul’s Church in 1833. The church remains a landmark in Haymarket.

St. Paul’s Church was one of just four buildings left standing after the town was burned by Union troops during the Civil War. The church was used as a hospital by both sides in the war.

In the years since the Civil War, Haymarket has evolved from a rural area into a more suburban one with planned communities and housing developments. The town’s population was 879 in 2000, according to the Prince William County government (www.pwcgov.org).

Prince William County itself has seen a population increase of 36 percent between 2000 and 2007.

Among the planned communities near Haymarket, one of the largest is Piedmont. The gated community of Piedmont includes the private Tom Fazio-designed championship 18-hole golf course and clubhouse, plus a community center with an athletic club, aquatic center, tennis courts and a business center.

Though most of Piedmont has been sold, at the Parks at Piedmont Engle Homes is building town-home-style condominiums. The condominiums have three finished levels with 1,705 to 1,775 square feet. The homes have three bedrooms, 2½ baths and a one-car garage.

Base prices begin in the low $300,000s.

Call 703/754-7170 or visit www.englehomes.com.

At Piedmont Mews, Engle Homes is building single-family homes priced from the upper $400,000s to the lower $500,000s.

These homes have 2,261 to 3,075 square feet, with four bedrooms, two or three full baths, a powder room, a gas fireplace, crown moldings, a center-island kitchen and a two-car garage.

Call 703/754-8385 or visit www.englehomes.com

M/I Homes Inc. is building garage town homes and single-family homes at the Villages of Piedmont, a planned community adjacent to the golf-course community of Piedmont.

Residents of the Villages of Piedmont may join the golf club, but their own community will include recreational amenities such as a swimming pool, a clubhouse, walking trails, tennis courts, basketball courts and volleyball courts.

The town homes are priced from the $320,000s. Single-family homes are priced from the $460,000s.

Call 571/248-6691 or visit www.mihomes.com.

Toll Bros. Inc. is developing the planned community of Dominion Valley Country Club, a gated, guarded community in Haymarket centered around an Arnold Palmer Signature golf course.

Residents can enjoy a sports pavilion with fitness equipment, basketball courts, swimming pools and tennis courts. Other recreational amenities in this resort-style community include a clubhouse with casual and formal dining and meeting rooms, hiking and biking trails, playgrounds, ball fields and acres of open space.

Market Square, a retail center with a grocery store and restaurant, has opened.

Single-family homes, many with mountain, golf-course and water views, are available at Dominion Valley base-priced from the low $500,000s to the high $700,000s. Patio town homes, priced from the upper $300,000s, also are available.

An active adult community, Regency at Dominion Valley, features single-family homes with first-floor master suites, condominium homes and patio town homes. Prices range from the low $300,000s to the low $500,000s.

Call 703/753-TOLL or 703/753-8900 for Regency or visit www.dominionvalley.com, www.regencydominionvalley.com or www.tollbrothers.com.

Other developments near Haymarket include Beazer Homes Corp.’s Residences at Market Center, which are two-level town-home-style condominiums. Community amenities will include a retail complex, a swimming pool and multipurpose court.

The two- and three-bedroom homes have two or 2½ baths, 1,547 to 2,215 square feet and a one-car garage.

The homes are priced from the upper $200,000s to the lower $300,000s.

Call 703/968-5733 or visit www.beazer.com.

Stanley Martin Homebuilding LLC is constructing 25 single-family houses on quarter-acre lots at Stoney Branch Crossing in Haymarket, off U.S. 15.

Ranging from 2,830 to 3,118 square feet, the homes are base-priced from $439,990 to $535,990.

Call 703/753-1401 or visit www.stanleymartin.com.

K. Hovnanian Homes is building town-home-style condominiums and single-family homes at Westmarket, a planned community with a swimming pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, tot lots and basketball courts.

The single-family homes, which have three or four bedrooms with 2½ baths, include a two-car garage.

These homes have 2,754 to 3,257 square feet, with base prices from $399,990 to 479,990.

Call 866/407-3690.

The town-home-style condominiums at Westmarket have brick fronts, three finished levels and a two-car garage. The models have three bedrooms, 3½ baths and 2,080 finished square feet, with base prices from $344,990.

Call 866/407-3676 or visit www.khov.com.