Pickleball Estates Coming to Arlington

In its last official act of 2023, the Arlington County Board approved plans for Pickleball Estates, a new 78-unit single-family development where every luxury residence includes a full-sized backyard pickleball court.

Pickleball Estates will be located on an 11-acre former Army-Navy Country Club driving range. The parcel straddles 18th Street South and South Edgewood Street. Olney, Maryland-based builder Drummey Homes purchased the land earlier this year for 18.5 million.

At a county board meeting on December 31, chair Christian Dorsey said Pickleball Estates is the perfect solution to community pickleball concerns. Sparks have been flying between pickleballers and neighbors of the nearby Walter Reed Community Center, with neighbors saying the courts there are too noisy, busy and overcrowded. 

"More pickleball courts are the answer to our community's woes," Dorsey said. By concentrating 72 courts within a single community, the Board's auditory consultants say those decibels will easily drown out the sound coming from Walter Reed.

"Most of the hardcore players are already asking how to put down a deposit. Pickleball Estates will distribute play time and pock sounds across south Arlington with greater equity and fairness amongst neighbors," said Tim Dellinger, spokesperson for the Arlington Pickleball Club.

Pickleball neighborhoods are the fastest growing type of planned community in the country, according to Drummey Homes CEO Roger Drummey. Pickleball Estates is Drummey's third pickleball-based community, where HOA committees measure court lines and impose fines when they don't meet league specs. Other Drummey communities included the 118-home Pickleball Manor neighborhood in Olney and 180-home Pickleball Overlook in Great Falls.

Homes in Arlington's Pickleball Estates are expected to start at 1.2 million.