ONE LOUDOUN

After three years of debate and planning, Gov. Tim Kaine and local leaders broke ground today at the 360-acre One Loudoun site, the southwest corner of Rt. 7 and Loudoun County Parkway."It took a lot to get here," David Creek, president and cofounder of Meridian Group, said. "What's been promised will be done."One Loudoun will offer 3 million square feet of office space, 700,000 square feet of retail with fine dining and shopping, two hotels and a movie theater. Some 1,040 homes are also planned, built around the concept of a central park setting, walking trails, a town center, other public and civic spaces. The goal of the development is to create a pedestrian-friendly environment where people can live, work and play and rely less on a car.One Loudoun also features the World Trade Center Dulles Airport, projected to generate up to 14,000 new jobs-promoting international trade and worldwide investment. The World Trade Center Koeln based in Germany, the world's largest private trade organization, has agreed to participate in a joint partnership with One Loudoun. The World Trade Center Koeln's mission is to create new business opportunities by developing contacts all over the world."Other countries want to enter this market," Senator Dietmar Goetz, president of World Trade Center Koeln said. Goetz said his organization would help facilitate that.Miller and Smith, the developer, has proffered to build a new interchange at the Rt. 7 and Ashburn Village intersection because the county had already planned to fund the site's adjacent Rt. 7/Loudoun County Parkway interchange with tax-supported general obligation bonds. Other features of the project-an elementary school site and new ballfields for public use-have made it attractive to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors, which approved the rezoning in January. The project also is one of five finalists supervisors are evaluating as the potential location for a new county government office complex."When we first considered leasing in One Loudoun, it seemed pretty far out. We were focused on closer-in projects. Loudoun wasn't on our radar screen," Creek said, adding a pitch for the county office. "I can't think of a better location for the Loudoun County government center."The more than 150-person crowd filled with local business leaders and politicians clapped in response to Creek's suggestion.Joel Murphy, president of Cousins Properties Inc.'s retail division, said One Loudoun represents a union of Loudoun County, Meridian, and Miller Smith. Murphy said Cousins Properties has branded The Avenue as a "lifestyle center" to various communities since 1999 and has strong relationships with national retailers. Cousin's Properties has plans to do the same with One Loudoun."These retailers and those customers have come to know The Avenue as a place to dine and stroll," he said.Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) said she helped negotiate One Loudoun and make it a reality. "When I approach land use applications, I say 'what will this bring to our community?'"Waters said she supported One Loudoun because of the new elementary school, funding of the roadway infrastructure, and the Loudoun Youth Initiative. LYI, with the assistance of the World Trade Center Koeln, will help foster an international marketing program in Loudoun local high schools. "Loudoun County benefits by your presence in our community," County Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large) told the developer.Kaine complimented local leaders, saying One Loudoun "was about good planning.""As Lori said, it is the mixture of uses, community, residential...," he added.As mayor of Richmond, Kaine recalled the city neighborhoods that worked best, which were those that had a mix of uses. They also happened to be projects that often weren't allowed under existing zoning rules.The value of the project coincides with its proximity to Dulles Airport, Kaine added."The fact that we have Dulles cannot be underestimated," he said. "Dulles and Hampton Roads connect us to the world we need to compete vigorously with. For all the partners, congratulations."

PULLING BACK ON DEVELOPMENT IN LOUDOUN.....GOOD OR BAD? SCARRED!!!

------> "I'll get you and kill your property values too"




A developer has abandoned a proposal to build as many as 995 homes south of Leesburg, announcing his decision yesterday during the final meeting of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors before it reconvenes next month with a new majority that is sharply critical of the county's explosive growth in the past decade.
Ridgewater Park is one of four developments that the board has been considering in the waning months of its term, which ends Dec. 31. Slow-growth activists had feared that the outgoing members would make an eleventh-hour push to approve the projects, which would have allowed construction of more than 4,000 homes in Loudoun, where the population has virtually doubled since 2000.
The developer, Leonard S. "Hobie" Mitchel, said he regretted withdrawing his application, which had been working its way through the county's approval process for four years and had been rejected twice.
"It does my heart sad, and, emotionally, it has drained me to no end," said Mitchel, who was negotiating with county officials as recently as Monday night. "But I think this was the thing to do right now."
County planners had recommended that the board reject Ridgewater Park for several reasons, including the predicted effects on nearby roads and schools. Opponents also said they worried that it would open up a 9,200-acre buffer zone separating the county's developed east and rural west to suburban-style construction. Officials want to keep that dividing zone intact, said Supervisor Sarah R. "Sally" Kurtz (D-Catoctin).
"I thought Mr. Mitchel made a wise decision," said Kurtz, in whose district the homes would have been built, "because the only way you can pace growth is to not open up new areas."
Mitchel's supporters said Ridgewater Park was a worthwhile project by a respected businessman who has volunteered for local boards and developed two of the county's largest planned communities, Lansdowne and South Riding.
Moreover, they said, Mitchel had promised millions of dollars in transportation improvements and land for a school, which would have saved taxpayers money.
Only one of the four controversial projects up for consideration in the past few weeks was approved: Arcola Center, a pedestrian-friendly community of shops, offices and more than 1,000 residences southwest of Dulles International Airport.
Another, called Kincora, was rejected by the board last month.
The other one, Braddock Village, failed to get a yes-or-no vote because of a technicality and will probably be brought before the next board.
All four proposals were criticized by slow-growth advocates after the Nov. 6 election, in which voters replaced four Republican supervisors with Democrats who made controlling growth their key campaign issue. The slow-growth proponents worried that the board's pro-growth Republicans would use their remaining time in office to subvert the voters' will.
In parting remarks yesterday, Supervisor Stephen J. Snow (R-Dulles), who lost in November, took issue with the board's being described as pro-growth, citing a dramatic slowdown in the real estate market.
"This board will be known as the slow-slow-growth board," he said. "The traffic out there is not this board's. The number of children in school is not this board's. . . . The tax problem that you're going to incur on the next board is not this board's making."
Snow has been the board's most vocal supporter of approving large, planned developments in exchange for millions of dollars in roads and amenities.
Although Mitchel did not disclose a reason for abandoning Ridgewater Park, it is likely that the board that takes office Jan. 1 would have been skeptical of the project. And it will probably take a hard line on Braddock Village, which would bring about 500 suburban-style homes to an area southwest of Dulles Airport.
By Sandhya Somashekhar

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