Big Projects Moving Forward in LoCo, Part One

While I was spending time with the in-laws over Christmas, the Loudoun Times Mirror put out a couple of stories on big mixed-use developments to watch in 2014. In case you were wondering, mixed-use means a combination of office space, retail, and residential properties. It’s a way for developers to sell homes in an area where they otherwise may not, and it helps the county by increasing the tax base.

Part one focused on Arcola Center, Dulles World, Kincora, and One Loudoun, here are my 2 cents:

• Arcola Center: Overall I think this is a good idea, there are lots of homes in this area but not much in the way of retail or office space. I’m sure the parents in South Riding and Stone Ridge will be happy to have a few jobs for the high school students closer to home, as well as a few more places to go for dinner.
• Dulles World: In an effort to take advantage of the Silver Line stop of the Metro, this makes sense to me as well. The one drawback for the developer is the amount of office space required before selling a home. Don’t expect to see any residential property there for a few years.
• Kincora: In my 14+ years here, I’m not sure there has been a development with more struggles than this one. I can’t think of anyone who fights the traffic at Route 7 & 28 who is in favor of this project, and losing the ballpark for the Hounds didn’t help their situation any either. They did open an extension to Pacific Boulevard and have a few other road improvements planned which will allow them to begin the residential phase. Here’s hoping they have some good luck in 2014.
• One Loudoun: One of my favorite places in LoCo, Miller & Smith seems to make all the right decisions. It’s not surprising to me, having worked with them to build a home for clients this past year. New retail outlets continue to jump in, and despite construction delays on The Ballpark at One Loudoun, there is a lot of excitement for this project. Last month they were awarded the Master-planned Community of the Year for 2013 by the National Association of Home Builders.

What do you think?

Cheers,
Mike

If you’d like to learn more about these communities or any other part of LoCo, just ask!