About Colonial Village III
Established in 1988, Colonial Village III is considered to be one of the best-managed condominiums in Virginia. CVIII contains 172 units and is 8.9 acres in size. According to a brief history written by Jeanne M. Fogle, Colonial Village was originally built as rental housing in the mid-1930s. Its developer, Gustave Ring, is quoted as saying: “People thought I was crazy to build over there…(it was) too far out in the country.” His idea was to build quality housing at moderate prices… a low-rise development in a park-like setting with adequate light, air, lawn and landscaping. In the spring of 1935 construction was begun on Arlington’s first apartments- and the first large-scale rental housing project to be financed by a mortgage issue by the Federal Housing Administration.Established in 1988, Colonial Village III is considered to be one of the best-managed condominiums in Virginia. CVIII contains 172 units and is 8.9 acres in size. According to a brief history written by Jeanne M. Fogle, Colonial Village was originally built as rental housing in the mid-1930s. Its developer, Gustave Ring, is quoted as saying: “People thought I was crazy to build over there…(it was) too far out in the country.” His idea was to build quality housing at moderate prices… a low-rise development in a park-like setting with adequate light, air, lawn and landscaping. In the spring of 1935 construction was begun on Arlington’s first apartments- and the first large-scale rental housing project to be financed by a mortgage issue by the Federal Housing Administration.
So popular was the concept that 15,000 applications were received for the first 276 units. “Young brides in Washington set their marriage dates by (when) their applications for an apartment in the village (were accepted),” stated one long-time resident. Between 1935 and 1940, 1056 apartments were built on a 56-acre site that was once a nine-hole golf course. Twelve acres were set aside for parks. Walled courtyards, playgrounds, benches, arched entryways and two footbridges over streams were included. The gardens were illuminated at night, and a community house with a social hall was built for the residents. In the 1930s Colonial Village had several softball teams, a resident doctor and dentist, and a hobby shop staffed by an instructor who taught residents to make and repair their own furniture. Colonial Village is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is included in Best Addresses: A Century of Washington’s Distinguished Apartment Houses, by James M. Goode, (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988). It received the 1988 Finest for Family Living Award in the Historic Preservation Category. CVIII's exterior appearance and its grounds fall under the purview of Arlington County’s Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board.
For more information on the history of Colonial Village, please click here.
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