Here are some more details about the neighborhood:
Ballston is a stop on the Orange line about halfway along the Rosslyn-Fairfax corridor in Northern Virginia. In colonial times, the entire neighborhood was part of the Ball family farm, hence the name of the town. Several of the family were buried here, and their graves can be seen at the church on the corner of Fairfax Drive and Stafford Street.
Prior to the opening of the Metro stop in 1979, Ballston was dominated by low and mid-rent development, such as pawn shops, car dealerships, and single-family housing. In recent years, the neighborhood has seen a resurgence, and is now one of Northern Virginia’s most vibrant neighborhoods. Local commerce centers around the Ballston Common Mall, and also features the offices of prominent organizations like QWest Communications and The Nature Conservancy. Several mom-and-pop shops and restaurants line Fairfax Drive, and the food lover can walk just steps to find cuisine ranging from Thai to Mongolian Barbecue to American Barbecue to Middle Eastern to Italian – along with just about anything else one could imagine. Across Fairfax Drive, luxury town-homes have lifted the fortunes of all area homeowners. Single family dwellings, condos, and townhouses get snapped up as quickly as they come on the market, and good values can be had for as little as $250,000 to as high as $750,000.
Note: This w/u moved from Ballston