Carlton Place

Cameron Station takes its name from the Army quartermaster depot that operated here from 1942 until 1995, after the 1988 base realignment round selected it for closure. The site, on the south side of Duke Street in Alexandria’s West End, was then rebuilt as a planned residential community. Nearly every home dates from the late 1990s or the 2000s, and the result is a compact grid of brick townhouses and condominium buildings with a consistent traditional brick look.

Townhouses are the main product, usually three or four levels with garages reached from rear alleys, and many have roof terraces or decks. Condominiums come in elevator buildings such as those on Cameron Station Boulevard and Donovan Drive, and in stacked two-level units that look like townhouses from the street. A small number of detached houses sit on the interior streets. The community association maintains the common areas and a clubhouse with a fitness center and pool.

Two city parks bracket the neighborhood. Ben Brenman Park on the east has a pond and athletic fields, and Armistead L. Boothe Park on the west has fields, courts and a playground beside Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School, and the Cameron Station Linear Park runs along the southern side. Paved trails follow Backlick Run and Holmes Run. A short retail block on Cameron Station Boulevard holds a restaurant, a coffee shop and a few services, and larger grocery and shopping centers are along Duke Street, Pickett Street and Van Dorn Street.

Van Dorn Street station on Metro’s Blue Line is about a mile to the southwest, reached by bus, by bicycle or by the community’s shuttle service. Duke Street leads east to Old Town and west to I-395, and the Capital Beltway is a short drive south by way of Van Dorn Street. Freight and passenger trains use the rail line along the southern edge, which is audible from the nearest streets.

I’m glad to explain how the townhouse and condominium options in Cameron Station compare on price, fees, parking and layout.