Retreat at McLean and Mehr Farm – ‘Indoor-outdoor living on every level’

The Washington Post

February 25, 2020

Retreat at McLean is a Toll Brothers community. Base prices for the single-family houses range from $1.8 million to $2.1 million. (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post)
Retreat at McLean is a Toll Brothers community. Base prices for the single-family houses range from $1.8 million to $2.1 million. (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post)

Arash Raoufinia and his wife wanted to escape the traffic and congestion of Tysons Corner, but they also wanted to stay nearby and to buy another single-family house.

“We only looked at new construction, most of which was from small builders who built one or two custom homes at a time,” Raoufinia said. “The neighborhoods didn’t have the homogeneous look we wanted.”

Eventually, the Raoufinias found Mehr Farm, a Toll Brothers community in nearby McLean.

“We really like the contemporary, modern design of the houses, with lots of indoor-outdoor living on every level and big windows that bring in lots of light,” Raoufinia said. “We loved the custom-designed spiral staircase and the open floor plan. We don’t have many walls at all on the main level.”

Buying New | Retreat at McLean

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The Retreat at McLean is a development of single-family houses that Toll Brothers is constructing in McLean, Va. (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post)

The couple and their two children, ages 8 and 12, moved into their newly built house a few months ago.

“We have 20 or 30 guests over every couple of weeks, so we really appreciate the large kitchen and the huge island,” Raoufinia said.

Only one lot is left at Mehr Farm, a development with just eight lots. But an adjoining Toll Brothers development, the Retreat at McLean, offers the same five home designs and has 21 lots, 13 of which are still available.

Flexible design: Toll Brothers communities give buyers many ways to personalize their homes, such as the option to finish the lower level (basement) in Retreat houses, and Raoufinia said he appreciated the builder’s willingness to customize his family’s floor plan.

“When our house was being built, my mother-in-law was ill, so we asked them to add a first-floor bedroom to our house,” Raoufinia said. “They went back to the architect and modified the design to accommodate a bedroom, a big closet and a full bathroom on the main level.”

The kitchens include stainless-steel appliances, an oversize island, a walk-in pantry, a subway-tile backsplash and a choice of granite or quartz counters. (Bemnjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post)
The kitchens include stainless-steel appliances, an oversize island, a walk-in pantry, a subway-tile backsplash and a choice of granite or quartz counters. (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post)

The couple also asked Toll Brothers to create a study for the children out of a walk-in closet and space for an optional elevator.

“We didn’t want the kids doing their homework around the kitchen island, so this is a great space with a huge worktable and a computer in the room close to the kitchen,” Raoufinia said.

The model home at the Retreat has a contemporary exterior design and 4,898 square feet. Retreat houses with this floor plan are priced from around $2 million.

The model home has a front porch and an adjacent two-car garage. Inside, an open wood staircase connects the foyer with the upper level (second floor). The main level (first floor) has an L-shaped open floor plan, with a dining area next to the stairs and then a great room with a gas fireplace at the back. Around the corner, a breakfast area is next to the kitchen and its massive 5-by-13-foot center island.

Kitchen cabinets extend to the ceiling, with frosted-glass cabinets at the top. Next to the kitchen is a sunroom with a glass door to the back porch. The porch has optional Phantom screens that can be remotely raised and lowered. It also can be reached through a three-panel sliding glass door in the great room.

Optional elevator: Between the two-car garage and the kitchen, the model home has a mud room, a walk-in closet and a walk-in pantry. The model home also has the optional first-floor bedroom, which sales manager Sean McMahon said many buyers are choosing. The bedroom has a large full bathroom, a triple window and a walk-in closet.

McMahon said many buyers also choose to have an elevator installed. The houses are designed with stacked closets, making it easier to add an elevator later if buyers don’t want one installed at the beginning.

On the second floor, the stairs arrive at a loft with a glass door to a covered balcony above the front porch. Many buyers use the bedroom-level loft as a family room or playroom for their kids, McMahon said.

The back porch has stairs that lead to a patio (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post)
The back porch has stairs that lead to a patio (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post)

A wide hallway leads from the loft to the back of the house and a large master suite that has nine-foot-high ceilings and a tray ceiling in the bedroom. A glass door opens onto a wide balcony, an optional feature. The master bathroom has an oversize shower, a free-standing soaking tub, a linen closet, a water closet and two vanities. The walk-in closet, reached from the bathroom, has high windows and extensive space for clothes and storage.

Next to the master suite, a walk-through linen closet leads to a spacious laundry room, with cabinets, shelves and a window. (Raoufinia said he is considering converting his laundry room to an exercise room.)

The upper level has three more bedrooms, each with a walk-in closet and a private full bathroom. The unfinished basement has 10-foot-high ceilings and can be finished with a bedroom, a full bathroom, a family room and two storage rooms.

What’s nearby: Residents can walk to the McLean Community Center and to restaurants and shops in downtown McLean using a walkway that connects the community to Old Dominion Drive. More shops and restaurants are within a few miles at Tysons.

Schools: Franklin Sherman Elementary, Longfellow Middle, McLean High.

Transit: Bus stops are nearby on Old Dominion Drive and Chain Bridge Road. The nearest Metro Station is the McLean station, on the Silver Line, about two miles away.

Retreat at McLean

1352 Monitor Lane, McLean, Va.

Base prices for the single-family houses range from $1.8 million to $2.1 million.

Builder: Toll Brothers

Features: The houses have hardwood floors, high ceilings, oversize windows, porches, a linear gas fireplace, a loft on the upper level and a two-car garage. The kitchens include stainless-steel appliances, an oversize island, a walk-in pantry, a subway-tile backsplash and a choice of granite or quartz counters. The master bathroom has a ceramic-tile floor, an oversize glass-enclosed shower and a free-standing tub. The houses have keyless entry and a programmable thermostat.

Bedrooms/bathrooms: 4 to 7 / 5 to 8

Square-footage: 3,964 to 5,957

Homeowner association fees: $150 a month

View models: Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday and Monday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.

Contact: Sales managers Sean McMahon and Jennifer Fracasso at 703-442-0209; or visit www.tollbrothers.com.