Hollies will drop leaves- and they are not barefoot friendly! And hollies are not noted for rapid growth. But they do take pruning well. You might want to look into some of the newer Red Hollies- Robin, Oakleaf, etc. They stay smaller- 8-10 x 4-5, depending on which one.

With only 10', a fence may be your best bet.

Also, when the construction starts, you should put up some tape or other highly visible marking of your property line so the workers and their machines don't destroy anything. I too would go with a fence, and plant some nice shrubs. I dislike most hollies intensely - too prickly on my bare feet.

A fence won't do it, I need at least 11 feet of height for privacy. I have no worries about the leaves on my feet, it's not a walking area and there is a ton of virginia pine and american hollies in the vacinity. Not to mention spiders, mites, ticks, etc. The question is really which is better in No. VA: Nellie Stevens hollies or Thuja green giant.
The screen must be dense. I thought the stevens hollies would get me that, but the thujas grow faster. They do get 30 + feet, which would put them up with the scrub pines and give the poplars a run for the money. It would be an easier decision if I could get a definate value for stevens holly growth rates. I've seen a range of 6" to 2.5 feet a year and a mature height of 6' to 30' depending on the web site.

Jason,

You might wanna post this on the conifer forum here @ GW. There are some very knowledgeble folks over there. Nellie Stevens has rapid growth compared to other hollies.

I planted a row of emerald green arborvitae in 2000. They were barely a foot tall when I planted them and now they're about 7'. They should max out at around 12'.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nellie Stevens holly