New Mark Commons Homes for Sale in Montgomery County
New Mark Commons is one of Washington Metro’s largest mid-century modern communities. Located in Rockville, Maryland, the subdivision has some 186 single-family homes and 198 townhouses, for a total of 384 properties. The scope of the community means there can sometimes be more available homes for sale than some other mid-century neighborhoods.
Mid-Century Modern Homes in or New Mark
Developer Edmund Bennett bought the Montgomery County site with its 96 acres in 1964. Bennett had previously built a large number of homes in the DC Metro region. For this project he teamed up with the influential Washington architectural firm of Arthur Keyes, Donald Lethbridge and David Condon. The process took time to evolve—the first homes were delivered in 1967 and more followed over a period of two decades.
Contemporary Single-Family Homes and Townhouses in New Mark Commons
The time frame began at the late stages of what is now known as mid-century modernism. As a result, there are a number of home styles, including Colonial Revival, Split-level and a number of fascinating modernist designs for both single-family properties and townhouses. These include cubist structures with gradual roof pitches, wide overhangs, cathedral ceilings and large windows. Some of the earliest townhouses have flat roofs. Facades include clapboard, shingle and brick materials, sometimes in combination and sometimes by themselves.
While the initial designs of Keyes, Lethbridge and Condon carried forward for a number of years, homes built during the late 1970s, as well as a 13 townhomes built after 1985, reflect a contemporary feeling typical of the era. Bennett’s vision as a developer was very much in line with progressive suburban ideals of the post-World War II period, bringing nature and residential development together. To that end, much of the wooded topography was preserved. A 4.5-acre manmade lake complemented a stream that was already present.
Other recreational amenities include a large clubhouse, a 25-metre swimming pool, a children’s pool, tennis and basketball courts, a tot lot and plenty of walking and biking paths. New Mark Commons with its attractive homes for sale is also conveniently close to Rockville’s many features, including Rockville Town Center and Rockville Town Square. Residents in this quiet, tucked-away enclave also enjoy commuter convenience with the nearby Interstate-270, Rockville Pike and the Rockville Station offering Amtrak, MARC and Red Line Metro service. 364
Mid-Century Subdivisions in Montgomery County
While New Mark Commons is an uncommonly large mid-century community, there are lots more examples in Montgomery County, Maryland. Indeed, this part of the Washington Metro region is prime territory for surviving examples of progressive architecture built from the late 1940s to the late 1960s.
Famous Mid-Century Neighborhoods
Carderock Springs predated New Mark Commons and came from the same team: Bennett was the developer while Keyes, Lethbridge and Condon were the architects. This project was done in a more compressed time frame, between 1962 and 1967, and delivered some 400 single-family homes for sale with nine models, plus variations. With one-story and two-story designs, this attractive homes typically had three-to-four bedrooms, lots of windows, and either flat or gently pitched roofs.
Charles M. Goodman, who is widely regarded as the most prolific of the modernist architects in the Washington area during this period, was quite active in Montgomery County. He designed 76 contemporary homes in the Rock Creek Wood Historic District just north of Kensington between 1958 and 1961; 58 homes in Hammond Wood (Silver Spring) plus an additional 20 in Hammond Hill between 1949 and 1951; and 15 in the Takoma Avenue Historic District, circa 1951.
Other notable Montgomery County mid-century modern subdivisions include Mohican Hills and Potomac Overlook (both in Glen Echo Heights) and Oak Springs and Tulip Hill, featuring woodsy angular homes from the architectural team of Robert Campbell Deigert and David Norton Yerkes.
Living in Rockville, MD
Residents of New Mark Commons are conveniently close to Rockville, a city covering 13 square miles in Montgomery County with some 61,000 residents. It’s also a very cold community, dating back to Huntington’s Tavern where presidents including Washington, Jefferson and Pierce once dined. It became the county seat in 1776 and was incorporated as Rockville in 1801.
During the post-World War II period, Rockville grew rapidly. The planning of New Mark Common was done in reliance with the city’s assessment that rapid growth would add appeal to new modern homes for sale. But the recession of the early 1970s contributed to the drawn-out delivery time of new houses in the subdivision.
Be that as it may, Rockville got back on track in the 1980s. The city has continued to boom, and today, you’ll find a large number of shops, restaurants, movies, sports and culture. The Rockville Town Square is a 12.5-acre redevelopment of a former shopping mall, and it joins Rockville Town Center and Rockville Town Center West as prime examples of great places to shop, dine, play and even ice skate! To learn more about homes for sale in New Mark Common as well as other parts of Rockville, call Andre Perez at District Partners at Compass (202) 798-3600.
