Opened in 1972, it was Reston’s second village center, originally designed as an interior shopping place, with nearly all stores unable to be seen from the road. Founder Robert E. Simon, Jr. envisioned that each neighborhood would have a themed village center - the Hunter's Woods neighborhood focused on nature and horses featuring a stable, pony barn, and paddock.  It had appropriately named streets such as Colts Neck, Bugle and Steeplechase. The village center, designed by Cohen Haft Associates of Silver Spring, included shops, restaurants, a library, and offices. It was developed by Gulf Reston. In the late 1990's, it was redesigned to an open shopping plaza as we know it today. Reston Community Center opened there in 1979.