A Charles Goodman-designed cluster community in the heart of Reston — contemporary architecture, shared open space, and one of Northern Virginia’s most distinctive MCM addresses.
Hickory Cluster is one of the original cluster communities developed as part of Robert E. Simon’s groundbreaking Reston planned community in the mid-1960s. Designed by Charles M. Goodman — the same architect behind Carderock Springs and Hollin Hills — Hickory Cluster brings his distinctive MCM vocabulary to a tighter, community-oriented cluster format: contemporary homes grouped around shared green space, connected by pedestrian paths, and designed to function as a true neighborhood rather than a collection of isolated lots.
The homes feature Goodman’s signature flat and shed rooflines, natural wood siding, and generous glass walls oriented toward the trees and shared open spaces. Unlike the larger single-family lots of Carderock Springs, Hickory Cluster homes sit on compact footprints that maximize community connection — residents share courts, green buffers, and a neighborhood identity that is rare in contemporary Northern Virginia.
Add the Reston Association’s network of paths, pools, tennis courts, and the Silver Line Metro at Wiehle–Reston East just minutes away, and Hickory Cluster offers a combination of architectural character and practical connectivity that is exceptionally hard to find in this price range.
Reston was founded in 1964 by Robert E. Simon on the radical premise that a planned community could be both beautiful and genuinely livable for residents of all incomes. Simon hired Charles Goodman to design several of the early cluster communities, applying his MCM principles — honed at Hollin Hills and Carderock Springs — to a denser, community-centered model. Hickory Cluster was completed between 1966 and 1968 as part of the first phase of Reston development. It remains one of the most intact examples of Goodman’s cluster housing work in Northern Virginia.
Hickory Cluster sits in the heart of original Reston, just off North Shore Drive near Lake Anne. The Silver Line Metro at Wiehle–Reston East is approximately 2 miles east. Washington Dulles International Airport is roughly 15 minutes by car. Downtown DC is 25–35 minutes via the Silver Line.
School assignments vary by address and can change over time. Buyers should verify any specific property’s assignment directly with Fairfax County Public Schools before relying on it.
Hickory Cluster is a specialist market. The homes are architecturally distinctive — flat roofs, glass walls, natural siding — and buyers who understand what they are looking at compete hard for them. Inventory is chronically low.
Come pre-approved, understand the cluster community structure (Reston Association dues and rules apply), and work with an agent who knows MCM construction and what good condition looks like in a 1960s Goodman home.
Sellers in Hickory Cluster benefit from a national and international buyer pool specifically searching for authentic MCM architecture. These buyers are motivated and often willing to move quickly for the right home.
Presentation matters: declutter to let the architecture speak, shoot the glass walls with proper lighting, and price with an agent who understands the Goodman premium and can articulate it to appraisers.
This is a specialist market with a national buyer pool. Whether you’re buying your first Goodman home or selling one you’ve loved for decades, let’s talk.