What work-weary warrior wouldn’t perk up at the sign that greets residents turning into the Silver Spring oasis of Tivoli?
“Happy hour this Friday, 7:30-10:00,” it reads.
“The homeowners association has worked very hard to increase community activities and start new events,” said its president, Marilyn Roberts. “I feel like if you want that sense of community, it’s here.”
An enclave of 527 single-family and town homes spread over 11 tree-filled acres, Tivoli was developed in 1985 by Richmarr Construction Co. It remains a peaceful haven in ever-expanding Silver Spring, one of Montgomery County’s fastest-growing regions.
Designed as a number of twisting culs-de-sac and loops, the neighborhood’s layout ensures it remains traffic-free. Tivoli Lake Boulevard, which turns off Randolph Road, provides the only way in and out.
“We’re a gated community without the gate,” said Dawn Moody, the neighborhood’s community site manager.
Moody holds down the fort at the Tivoli Community Center, the heart of the neighborhood. Open every day but Sunday, the center houses an exercise room, pingpong table, and space for meetings and parties. It hosts the monthly happy hour and book club meetings.
Behind it sits one of two playgrounds in the neighborhood. There is no swimming pool, however, and, perhaps as a result, homeowner association fees remain low at just $78 monthly for the town homes and $62 for the single-family homes.
The town homes are limited to blocks of four, and the single-family homes are villa and estate styles. In the back of the development, there’s a pond with a makeshift path on which residents stroll and walk their dogs.
“People take a lot of pride in their homes, their yards and the common areas,” Moody said.
Looking for a smaller home but determined to stay in Silver Spring, Roberts moved to Tivoli in 2005.
“I loved all the trees and the layout,” she said. “It’s windy, it’s not a linear layout, which I think makes it very interesting.”
With its abundance of trees, Tivoli can feel as if it is miles from an urban area, especially in the spring and fall. But in reality, it is ideally located for a suburban community.
The Glenmont Metro stop, at the end of the Red Line, is about 1 mile away. A Ride On bus stops at the neighborhood entrance and can take passengers directly to the station. The Beltway and major thoroughfares, like Georgia Avenue and Route 29, are nearby as well.
Just around the corner sits Kennedy High School; this, Glenallen Elementary and Lee Middle are the public schools that serve the neighborhood children.
Some may be too young to have a glass of wine at the community happy hour, but Tivoli residents of all ages can toast to the neighborhood they’ve come to love.
