Liberty Lorton combines new construction with adaptive reuse, offering apartments, townhomes, single-family homes, and more.
Courtesy Elm Street Development

Developers of a new community in Northern Virginia took on the unique task of building a mixed-use community within the walls of a former prison.

A public–private partnership between Fairfax County, Va.; Madison, Wis.–based developer Alexander Co.; and McLean, Va.–based Elm Street Development transformed the historic Lorton Reformatory into the Liberty Lorton master-planned village of apartments, townhouses, single-family homes, amenities, retail, and commercial space, which opened last May.

Inspired by Progressive-era ideals of social reform, President Theodore Roosevelt opened the original complex in 1910 to offer inmates from nearby Washington, D.C., an idyllic setting for work training and rehabilitation before their release back into society. Light-filled dormitories were built as an alternative to cell blocks, and open, airy spaces replaced traditional prison enclosures. In the 1930s, a traditional prison with walls and guard towers was added to house maximum-security offenders.

By the late 1980s and ‘90s, the condition of the correctional complex had deteriorated significantly.

“At that point, the prison was no longer way out in the countryside surrounded by farm fields—it was right in the heart of Fairfax County, and it was no longer embodying the social reform ideal that it was created under,” says Jack Perkins, vice president at Elm Street Development.

The reformatory, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was sold to Fairfax County in 2001. Developers teamed up with local citizens groups on an adaptive-reuse master plan that would respect the property’s history and transform the dormitories into 165 loft-style apartment units, 44 of which are designated affordable housing.

“It’s a little hard to imagine taking a prison and turning it into a place where people would like to live,” Perkins says, but the developers’ task was made easy thanks to attractive Colonial Revival design elements in the original buildings and the original site plan, which structured the prison like a residential campus. “Because we were benefiting from good architectural design and construction that’s 100 years old, it wasn’t that far of a leap to convert it into bright, airy residential space.”

The Liberty Lorton apartment buildings surround a 2-acre green space called Liberty Greens, which used to be the inmates’ baseball diamond. The revamped area will serve as a space for community events like concerts, farmers markets, and family movies. The reformatory dining hall and kitchen building has been transformed into a community amenity center with a fitness center, yoga studio, and community lounge room. In addition, the outdoor pool is surrounded by the freestanding walls of a former warehouse.

The apartment units, built by Alexander Co., feature expansive windows, exposed brick walls, polished-concrete floors, custom maple cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops.

Liberty Lorton also includes 83 contemporary townhouses and 24 single-family homes built by Ashburn, Va.–based Van Metre Homes. The newly built single-family homes offer unique floor plans with 10-foot ceilings on the main level. Their four-sided brick design is inspired by the historic prison buildings, which were built by inmates with bricks manufactured in on-site kilns.

The four-story townhomes include rooftop terraces with views of the historic campus and neighboring parkland. The townhome prices start in the $575,000s, while the single-family homes start in the mid-$800,000s.

“Our first few homeowners have tracked us for a few years to see when we would open,” says Rumana Ahmed, community sales manager for Van Metre. “You can live, work, play from the same community. You don’t see that very often in this area.”

Community residents have walkable access to parks, tot lots, future retail, and a cross-country trail that cuts through the property. Later phases of the development will deliver up to 40,000 square feet of retail space and 30,000 square feet of office space, combining new construction with adaptive reuse of existing buildings.