Former U.S. attorney general Alberto Gonzales is finally officially leaving Washington behind for good. He and his wife are selling their five-bedroom home in the McLean Hamlet area of McLean, Virginia. The Washington Post reports that Gonzales is moving his family closer to his job at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

The home was bought in 2005 through a trust for $1.05 million. The center-entrance Colonial home has hardwood floors, a kitchen with granite countertops and a fully finished walk-out basement. What makes this home distinctive is the security. It has a video security system with four separate cameras. There is also a safe room behind a secure metal door off the master bedroom. The home is listed at $1.075 million meaning that Gonzales isn't making any money off this deal.

[via Berg Properties Big TIme Listings]

Four years ago, Washington Life Magazine reported that 1015 Basil Road in McLean, Virginia sold for $9,895,000, the highest price ever for a non-waterfront property in the area at the time. (Washington Fine Properties has the sale listed at $8,727,327).

Now the 16,000 square-foot four-bedroom residence is back on the market for a far greater price, $17,777,777. The Eaglecrest compound is located on three and a half acres which are security fenced and gated. The property includes a swimming pool, gardens and an indoor tennis court as well as a butler house with a separate residence. The home, which was built in 1999 includes a wine cellar and home theater, exercise room, double-islanded gourmet kitchen, music room, children's playroom and a large wood-paneled library.

All across the U.S. historic hotels are getting sold off. Up next is the Patrick Henry Hotel in Roanoke, Virginia. The Roanoke Times says that the 125-room hotel is set for auction at the city courthouse on Wednesday. The sale is the end of a long journey that began when the owner of the 89-year-old building, Affirmative Equities Co., a New York real estate investment and development company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Later the company converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy because it was unable to reorganize enough to begin paying off its debts.

The company does not have enough income to pay the necessary expenses for the Patrick Henry and so the lender Potomac Realty Capital of Delaware, is moving forward with a foreclosure sale. No sale price has been set but at the time of the sale a deposit of $275,000 or 10 percent of the price, whichever amount is lower, is required with a 30-day closing. The building and its land are assessed at about $3.7 million, according to city real estate records. Affirmative Equities bought the hotel in 1990 for $3 million with plans to turn it into senior housing.

What will become of the historic property? Many Roanoke residents are hoping that the property can be turned into some kind of business. In the past the building has held retail businesses and a restaurant in addition to a hotel. It is in need of major renovation named one of the Roanoke Valley's endangered sites and a neglected property by the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation.

UPDATE: The property has sold for $2 million to Kristin Duffy of Potomac Realty Capital who was the only bidder.

Kimpton Hotels is opening a new luxury hotel in Alexandria, Virginia. The Lorien has 107 guestrooms and suites, designed by Vincente Wolfe. The rooms include custom-made furnishings, such as wingchairs and trellis-style headboards in soothing gray and white tones. Suites and specialty spa rooms also have bathrooms with claw foot tubs and rainfall showers. All rooms have 42" flat panel televisions, a spacious work area, wireless and wired high-speed Internet access, an iHome clock radio, laptop safe, plush robes, and an honor bar with organic and healthy options.

The Terrace suites include couches and seating for hosting gatherings for up to 30 people and the hotel offers a "Terrace Menu" with choices that range from private wine tasting and alfresco dining to dance lessons and such as sleeping bags, blankets, telescopes for outdoor stargazing.

The Lorien Hotel will also have a full-service spa with five treatment rooms and be home to a restaurant, tasting room and a retail cheese shop. The restaurant is overseen by chef Robert Wiedmaier and will serve Belgian cuisine with American inspiration. The hotel opens this month and grand opening rates start at $139.

A year ago I wrote about the Vineyard Estates real estate project in Charlottesville, Virginia on the grounds of the Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard. Vineyard Estates is a joint venture between winemaker Patricia Kluge and First Colony Resorts on 511 acres of the 2,000 acre vineyard property on Carter's Mountain near Monticello. The first house to be built in Vineyard Estates at Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard is Glen Love Cottage. It is located in Meadow Estates, the first of Vineyard Estates' three phases. The house was created to set the standard for Vineyard Estates. The five-bedroom home has 6500 feet of indoor living space with clean, classic country estate lines. Outside there is a swimming pool, covered porch, formal flower gardens and a half-acre vineyard. It is listed at $6.8 million.
Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

I wondered back in 2006, when I first saw today's estate listed, if it was a bit overpriced. It turns out I may have been right, it has gone through a major price reduction since then. Luxist reader Ryan reminded me of Edge Wood in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is a large six bedroom home which was built in 2002 and sits on the waterfront. It has two docks, three boat lifts and a sandy beach. The compound is over three acres and has more than 21,000 total square feet of space including a large guest house. The home includes details such as a billiards room with a bar, a large art studio and a master suite with a wet bar. It is listed at $16 million, which is less than two-thirds the price it was two years ago when it was listed at $24.5 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

In case you might be feeling a little sad for the end of summer as you head back to work, let's check out a home with nothing but beach and marshes all around. Today's home is located in Painter, Virginia and boasts some of the best Chesapeake Bay shorelines to be found anywhere. The property is 450 acres and is totally secluded from the outside world. Ospralia was built in 1992 and has four bedrooms. The 3500 square-foot home has two wings with a bridge connecting them. There are two full kitchens, one gas and one electric and four decks. The home is listed at $3.5 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

I've got a fun one to show you today. Lioncrest is a 30,000 square foot English Tudor manor home overlooking the James River in Maidens, Virginia. The castle-like home is on over 56 acres that include formal English gardens as well as more rustic space. It looks old but the MLS says it was built in 1995. It certainly aspires to a different age with its large stone fireplaces, stone arches, use of shields and crests and a huge beamed grand hall that could easily be a setting for a scene in Harry Potter. Some of the wood and stone dates back to the 1600s and there is a concrete tiled roof. The huge house includes a tavern area, elevator, library, multi-car garages and a full apartment. The lower terrace level is home to woodworking shop, garden shop, morning room, pub, three wine cellars, rec room, sauna and more. The listing pics don't show much of the private spaces (the listing says there are nine bedrooms and 10.5 baths) and some are a bit blurry but I bet this is one fun house to tour. It is listed at $15 million.

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.

A classic piece of Virginia acreage has just hit the market. Green Plains is a 642-acre estate in Virginia's Matthews County located 30 miles from Williamsburg. The property has a long history. It is believed Green Plains was established in the 18th century with a Colonial King's Deed (the original documents were burned in Richmond during the Civil War). The property has been owned by just four families including the Cabots, one of Boston's first families, and former Texaco CEO and Chairman Augustus C. Long. The property is now held in The Augustus C. Long Trust, his daughter Dorothy Long is sole trustee and beneficiary of the property.

The property includes three miles along the North River in Mobjack Bay and it has deep water access via a 360-foot-long private pier. The main house is a red brick Georgian mansion with seven bedrooms. No interior pictures of the home unfortunately so we can't speculate on how the shape it is in. The property includes a four-foot wall which surrounds an acre of gardens and orchards. There are five Cape-Cod style cottages and three equestrian barns with 20 stalls and fenced paddocks. The property also includes property for hunting and fishing. Green Plains estate is listed at $22 million.

Life in the aristocratic Piedmont region of rural Virginia from Middleburg to Charlottesville, known as "Hunt Country," is of course mainly centered around equestrian pursuits. However, the preservation both of open land and historic architecture are of equal importance. Foxhunting has been popular in the area since the late 1740s, when the young George Washington rode to hounds, later establishing his own pack at Mount Vernon.

In a beautiful new book called Hunt Country Style, Kathryn Masson escorts us through some of the prettiest purlieus, including the seat of the Orange County Hunt, with which Jackie Kennedy often rode. While these days (as in any other desirable locale) there's been an influx of new money, for the most part the emphasis is still more on tradition than ostentation.

Click on the gallery below to take a tour of Hunt Country. Tally-ho!

Another huge estate has hit the market. Point Farm is located on a promontory on Virginia's Eastern Shore where two and a half miles of white-sand shoreline surround the estate's 130 acres with panoramic views across the Chesapeake Bay. The farm was purchased by Virginia Beach developer Dan Hoffler in 1989 for $2.5 million (hence the scrolled H on the home's gate). It includes a 16,000 square foot mansion and two parcels with several buildings. The large brick home, built in 2003, sits on a parcel that was assessed in 2004 at $5.4 million while the second parcel of 14.9 acres with a restored farmhouse, a boathouse, pool and pool house, tennis courts and a large garage with living quarters was assessed at $1.76 million. This means that the two parcels in 2004 amounted to $7.16 million which makes the home's price of $41.75 million quite staggering. According to this AP article, a new assessment is being undertaken.

The property includes a stable and indoor riding arena, a skeet-shooting range, three stocked saltwater ponds, a hunting lodge, a pier with a boathouse, a heated mineral-water swimming pool and a copper and slate-roofed poolhouse that has a kitchen and a terrace and a tiki bar. The estate also includes the original farmhouse which was built in 1730 and has been elarged and renovated. It has six waterview bedrooms, a kitchen and loggia, a waterside tennis court and brick terraces facing Remus Cove. The main house has a large office that opens to a media room and an exercise room with a full bath. The home includes many porches and balconies and there is a widow's walk on the roofline. The interior design style is cottage life on a grand scale with murals, chandeliers, marble and lots and lots of floral-printed furniture.

Michael Vick may have sold his Virginia house which was used in a dogfighting ring last May, but the home's infamy lives on. The home was appraised at $747,000 but sold for a bargain price of $450,000 (don't feel too sorry for Vick, he paid $34,000 for the 15 acres of land in 2002 and built the house). Since then, the house has been put up for auction but last month at the auction real estate developer Wilbur Ray Todd Jr. rejected a final bid of $747,000. Todd says he put another $50,000 into fixing up the home which had been vandalized. The property includes the main house, a basketball court, four outbuildings and many dog cages. The main house has two master suites, a media room and a two-car garage. It is now listed at $1.1 million. A non-profit called Jalie's Butterflies wants to turn it into a shelter for abused dogs. Organizers have raised over $11,000 so far. They say that if the do not raise enough money to buy the house, donations will go to the ASPCA. You can donate at The Vick House Project.

[via Baltimore Sun]

Update: As of August 28, Vick's home was listed at $995,000 and Jalie's Butterflies has raised $13,000.

You know a listing is posh when it has aerial shots. Today's estate is located in Governor's Land, a private residential community located at the confluence of the James and Chickahominy Rivers seven miles from Colonial Williamsburg. The community is designed for low population density with 60% o f the 1,482 total acreage preserved.This new home is surrounded by 10 acres of lawns, woodland paths and is on the banks of the James River. It even comes with its own private island. The home is a 19,000 square foot residence but with just five bedrooms there is room for a whole lot of other add-on rooms like a library, home theater room, or elevator. The home is a modern version of a grand Southern home, complete with a sweeping staircase entrance. Of course older homes don't have an indoor pool and spa area, an open kitchen or a bathroom in green stone and dark wood that resembles a library. This home is listed at $10.5 million.

I don't have great pics on this one, still it's worth sharing anyway just because I have a weakness for those grand new builds and this is one of the grandest. It is located in McLean, Virginia and is a 25,000-square-foot massive faux chateau. What makes this one really stand out is the huge gold-leaf decorated coffered dome with a giant chandelier which is above a large main staircase with an ornate hand-wrought balustrade.The listing doesn't tell us how many bedrooms there are but it does have a formal dining room that seats 24, a large grand salon, media room, fitness center, wine cellar, library, staff quarters and a huge garage. It is wired with a Creston security system and its own Cad5 fiber optic phone and cable system, emergency generator and a Lutron lighting system. This home is listed at $17.5 million. I'd love to know more about this one so if anyone has any additional info please let me know in the comments.

Here's a new way to live your winery fantasy. Vineyard Estates is a real estate project in Charlottesville, Virginia on the grounds of the Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard. Vineyard Estates is a joint venture between winemaker Patricia Kluge and First Colony Resorts and will be developed on 511 acres of the 2,000 acre vineyard property on Carter's Mountain near Monticello. More than half of the 24 planned home locations will have vineyards. There are six home styles available: Early Virginian, Georgian, Federal, Gothic, Beaux Arts and Early Modern and each home will be customized to the owner's preference both inside and outside including pools, tennis courts and other outdoor amenities.The homes vary from nearly three acres to over 32 acres and are pricey ($6 million to $23 million).