Preserved views: Oriented to views of the Potomac, the row-houses have private rear decks off the living room and a walkout basement. These outdoor spaces and the rooftop deck provide vantage points from which to gaze at tree-lined slopes and vistas of McLean and Rosslyn across the river.

The wooded views are preserved because the homeowner association owns the hillside behind the residences and the 1.6 acres have been placed in a conservation easement. A landscaped common area and terraced plantings will screen Brookes Ridge from the Intelligence Community Campus next door.

Nearly completed, the exteriors of the townhouses are brick with corbeled cornices and steel window lintels and sills. Every other residence in the row has bay windows. “The design is traditional, based on row-houses in the city, but not traditional with a capital T,” says Sassan Gharai of Bethesda-based SGA Cos., the architect and developer of the community. Interiors are contemporary with floor-to-ceiling glass and large sash windows to fill the rooms with sunlight. A stairway winding up one side is illuminated by more windows and a triangular skylight. “Townhouses are typically dark, but these have tons of light and views,” says Gharai. “When you are climbing the stairs, it feels like you are going into a treehouse.” Room layouts are adaptable, “so you are able to change the spaces to your lifestyle,” Gharai says. At ground level off the garage is a living/media space that could be turned into a bedroom, since it incorporates closets and a bathroom. Below that is a walkout basement, with two bedrooms that could be used as a home office and a hobby space. The main living level extends the full length of the second floor with the kitchen set into the center and a gas fireplace at one end. This open floor plan allows the spaces on either side of the kitchen to be turned into a family room or a dining space, depending on the homeowner’s preference

Two master suites bookend the top floor, where a washer and dryer are tucked into a hallway closet. “One way to look at this [layout] is as one massive master suite with two bedrooms, two bathrooms two sets of closets,” says Gharai. Master bathrooms are fitted with double-sink marble vanities, radiant floor heating and rain shower heads.