Four Winds at Oakton

Four Winds at Oakton is a 366-unit condominium neighborhood in Oakton.

The neighborhood was originally built starting in 1985 as the Summit Square apartments.[1]

Starting in 2005, the now-aging Summit Square was bought by Orion Residential of Illinois, which changed the name to Four Winds of Oakton and began converting the apartments to condominiums.[2]

However, the market for condos was softening, and Orion began reducing the prices on their unsold units.[3] Furthermore, the conversions Orion made were the classic "lipstick on a pig" type; mostly cosmetic, and did not address badly needed (and expensive) maintenance.[4]

For example, the metal stairs in many of the units were rusted, with rebar showing through broken concrete. Condo owners, frustrated with Orion's intransigence in performing the needed repairs, eventually called in county inspectors, who threatened to condemn the property.[4]

Orion quickly transferred control of the condo association to its residents and settled for $600,000, far less than the $1.6 million it would eventually cost to repair the stairs.[4]

Even after over a decade, the values of the units purchased by many early residents of Four Winds tens of thousands of dollars less than the prices they paid.

Incidents

On July 5, 2008, 54-year-old David M. Przewlocki was shot to death outside of his apartment at 3178 Summit Square Drive by officers of the Fairfax County Police Department in a suicide by cop.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Downey, Kirstin. "Going Mondo Condo; Projects Flooding the Area with New Neighborhoods could Dent Housing Prices." The Washington Post Oct 08 2005. ProQuest. Web. 8 Dec. 2017.
  2. ↑ Downey, Kirstin. "Supply Hits High in Condo Craze; 47,000 Units are in the Works, and Demand is Up." The Washington Post: D01. Oct 06 2005. ProQuest. Web. 8 Dec. 2017.
  3. ↑ ElBoghdady, Dina. "Condo Developers Sweeten The Bait." The Washington Post. WP Company, 02 Dec. 2006. Web. 08 Dec. 2017.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Trifone, Nicole. "Four Winds Residents Grapple with $1.6M Decision." Oakton, VA Patch. Patch, 26 Oct. 2012. Web. 08 Dec. 2017.
  5. ↑ Fairfax County Police Department. Public Information Office. UPDATE - Name of 54-year-old Man Released. Fairfax County Police Department News Releases. Fairfax County Police Department, 7 July 2008. Web. 2 Jan. 2012.