Van Metre Honored for Philanthropic Work by NAHB!

Quiet Leaders

Virginia’s Van Metre Homes has been a reliable behind-the-scenes corporate steward for nearly six decades.
This spring, groundbreaking is scheduled for the 48,000-square-foot, 21-bed Adler Center for Caring in Loudoun County, Va. The Center—an inpatient hospice care facility associated with Capital Caring—will sit on four acres donated by Van Metre Homes within its Stone Ridge community. Each June since 2007, Beau Van Metre, the company’s chairman, and his wife Dee have hosted the Van Metre Polo Cup, which has raised nearly all of the $15 million needed to complete the Adler Center, slated to open in 2013.

The Polo Cup perpetuates the legacy of Al Van Metre, Beau’s father and the builder’s founder, who until his death in March 2008 had been a longtime supporter of Capital Caring, a hospice dedicated to palliative care and counseling for advanced illnesses.

A world-renowned sailor and yachtsman, Al Van Metre and some friends in the 1970s came up with the idea of a charity race on behalf of Capital Caring (then called Capital Hospice). That regatta, known as the Hospice Cup and held on the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Md., celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. During that timespan, it has raised more than $9 million to help fund patient programs, education, and research. “The Van Metre family and the company have been absolutely pivotal to Capital Caring over the past several decades,” says Dr. Cameron Muir, the hospice’s executive vice president of quality and access.

The Adler Center might still be in limbo were it not for the builder’s land donation, “which was the tipping point,” says Muir. Al Van Metre was his patient, and Muir notes that the family’s and builder’s longstanding involvement with the hospice “isn’t just a business transaction; it’s a heartfelt commitment.”

Since 1982, the Van Metres and their company also have been faithful contributors to Children’s National Medical Center. In 1991, Richard Rabil, the builder’s president and CEO, who is a runner, helped launch the Van Metre Five-Mile Race on behalf of the Medical Center. (Rabil’s son was born with heart disease and has been treated there several times.) To date that annual race has raised more than $1.7 million, which enabled the construction and operation of the Van Metre Cardiovascular Operating Room, a state-of-the-art surgery suite that opened in 2010.

Between 70 and 80 company employees volunteer each year to help manage the race, and Beau Van Metre last year hosted a party on his 110-foot yacht in Palm Beach, Fla., that raised $2 million for the Medical Center, an event he plans to repeat in late February.

Rabil says the families and the company focus their philanthropic activities on those areas where “we can really make a difference.” That is certainly true of the 37 acres that Van Metre and Rabil recently donated to George Mason University for its new Loudoun County, Va., campus. “That moved the campus from wish list to reality,” says Rabil. Marc Broderick, the university’s vice president of development and alumni, couldn’t agree more. “I’m glad [Van Metre Homes] is being honored because they are terrific people.”

Read the article in Builder Magazine.

Library Update!

Here is a release from FROGS. How exciting!


Just one year from now we'll be hanging out at the Gum Spring Library - checking out materials, meeting neighbors, attending programs - we can't wait, and we know you can't either!

When Will We Open?

We are on schedule to open in December 2012. The date of the Grand Opening has not been set, but one thing is for sure: it will be a BIG celebration!

This month the Board of Supervisors will be asked to approve the contract for Brechbill & Helman to complete the interior build out of the library. (It has already met approval from the Finance Committee, and we expect this final signature to be a formality.)

Because of the latest demographic reports for Dulles, the entire first floor will be dedicated to our children's collection! The Teen Area and Adult collection will be on the 2nd floor.

Reasons to Buy Now!

A great article was just published in the RealtyTimes by Carla Hill. She discusses five reasons you should consider buying now.
1. Equity: buying while the market is down means you can build equity as the market returns.
2. Relationships: this is perhaps the most important. Renters move in and out. People who own in a community, build relationships and lives together.
3. Predictability: fixed mortgage rates are at an all time low. You'll be able to count on what your payment will be and manage your finances better.
4. Ownership: no relying on anyone else. You own your domain.
5. Great Deals: there is no questioning that you can get the best deal on a new home today than at any time in the recent past.

It's sort of like the perfect storm of home buying. Take advantage of it!
To read Carla Hill's story, click here:
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20111102_great.htm

HGTV Furniture Sale

We wanted to let you know that we will be selling the furniture from the HGTV Decorated Showhouses on the 19th. We will also have miscellaneous other furniture (odds and ends) from other models that we will also auction off. Please invite all of your friends and family! This is open to the Public!!

Click this link to view the flyer in HTML which has links to photos of the HGTV furniture and directions to Hamilton Grove Townhomes:
http://www.vanmetresalesplus.com/eflyers/auction_11711.htm

The auction will be in the actual showhouses in Stone Ridge on Fluvial Drive off of Destiny Drive and Moreland Mine Terrace in Stone Ridge Towns.

The View From the Roof

Van Metre is preparing to move their corporate headquarters to the new Stone Ridge Professional Center. The Library will occupy the first two floors, and Van Metre will take the 4th floor for offices and their new Design Center. The move is planned for late November. It's going to be tough to concentrate on work though. The view overlooking Stone Ridge and the mountains is spectacular.

Welcome to Stone Ridge Van Metre employees! You'll love it here.

Elaine Wins Rookie of the Year!

Congratulations to Van Metre's Elaine Dai who won the Sales Rookie of the Year last night at the Washington Sales and Marketing Council Gala. Elaine is selling the new Mercer Park Flats and Towns...and doing a fabulous job. Go visit her sales center and see why she was voted number 1!

Stone Ridge Does Green Screen Photos!

On Saturday, Oct. 22nd, hundreds of residents and Stone Ridge "wanna be" residents came out to take Family and Pet Photos. It was a beautiful day, and true to any Stone Ridge event, everyone came out to play. There was the Boulder Dash to entertain the kids, custom street signs, leather bracelets, and military dogtags to make. Brats, dogs, and pretzels fed the crowd. Pics will be photoshopped onto one of 5 backgrounds people picked and will be available for download on stoneridgeva.com.

Van Metre is now selling their Classic and Estate Single Family Homes. If you haven't seen them, stop by the sales office.