Loudoun's ever-changing landscape will change again in 2003 and the years beyond as several large-scale projects add to the county's offerings.
"It's going to be an exciting year for economic development," said Larry Rosenstrauch, director of the Department of Economic Development.
Several projects planned in the next several years in the county include:
THE ADULT DETENTION CENTER
The county plans to break ground on the adult detention center in spring 2003 and open the facility in 2005. The detention center, an 80,000-square-foot facility near Sycolin Road and Courage Court, will include 196 secure custody and 48 community custody units. The facility will cost $20.92 million to build.
"We're finally moving forward with that process," said Sheriff Stephen Simpson. "That's a long overdue project."
The current jail facility in downtown Leesburg is deteriorating and overcrowded, Simpson said. "We have inmates scattered all over Virginia. We don't have room to house here," he said.
THE ASHBURN LIBRARY
The Ashburn Library, near completion, is planned for a 2003 opening, but budget constraints may delay the actual opening date.
"It’s absolutely needed, and it will be over my dead body somebody cuts the operation budget out," said Supervisor Chuck Harris (D-Broad Run).
The county paid $6.2 million to purchase books and furniture and to construct the 23,400-square-foot building at Hay Road and Breezyhill Drive to serve a 30,000 population living in the Ashburn area. The building will require $1.3 million to $1.5 million for operating expenses next year, an additional cost that the Board of Supervisors will be asked to approve in the 2004 fiscal year budget. The library has 70,000 books and other materials for the opening day collection.
"Every new expenditure is being scrutinized as well as older ones. The new ones stand out because they will be a plus-up to operations," Harris said.
BROADLANDS HOSPITAL
Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) plans to build a 180-bed hospital near the Dulles Greenway to replace two existing facilities in Northern Virginia and combine their services into one building for psychiatric care, general acute care and medical and surgical services. The proposed site for Broadlands Regional Medical Center is about five miles from Loudoun Hospital Center's location in Lansdowne. Construction on the medical center is expected to begin in September 2003 for a January 2006 opening date.
The Loudoun Hospital applied through a Certificate of Public Need (COPN) to add 32 beds to the facility. The application was filed July 1 and is still under review. The COPN for Broadlands Regional Medical Center also is under review.
HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE RESEARCH CAMPUS
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a nonprofit medical research institute, plans to build a research facility on Janelia Farm, a 281-acre site near Route 7 and Janelia Farm Boulevard.
"We have a user coming in that’s implementing our vision," said Board of Supervisors chairman Scott York (R-At large) in reference to the county’s 20-year vision as outlined in the Revised Comprehensive Plan.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute plans to build a 720,000-square-foot biomedical research facility and training center with offices, laboratories, housing for visiting scientists and supportive service facilities, along with a conference center. The facility plans to employ 300 people.
Janelia Farm Research Campus is scheduled for completion in 2006 with groundbreaking in spring 2003.
"It will put us on the global map for biomedical sciences," Rosenstrauch said.
MOOREFIELD STATION
Moorefield Station will be a mixed-use development built around the last transit stop on the planned rail line to Washington Dulles International Airport. Located south of the Dulles Greenway, the development will combine 4,700 residential units and 16.7 million square feet of office, retail and hotel space on a 596-acre site.
"It will be like a downtown area with the bundle of activities you have ... measured in blocks, not miles," said Randy Sutliff, Leesburg attorney representing the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation.
Once the project is fully approved, the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation expects to take a year to finish detailed engineering plans for the project. Occupancy is expected at the earliest in 2004.
IN 2002, commercial enterprises expanded current facilities and located to several sites in Loudoun, adding to the county's retail and commercial mixture. Several of the commercial projects were completed last year.
* The Nordstrom department store opened in the Dulles Town Center in September 2002. The retail store covers 144,000 square feet of a new wing in the Dulles Town Center, called the Town Court Wing. Another 60,000 square feet in the addition are reserved for upscale retail stores, pushing the mall's total size to 1.4 million square feet.
Nordstrom has 200 employees on staff.
The Dulles Town Center, which originally opened in Dulles in August 1999, is owned by Dulles Town Center LLC, partnered by Lerner Enterprises, based in Bethesda, Md., and Connecticut company Cigna.
* Dulles Town Crossing behind the Dulles Town Center opened several retail stores in 2002. The shopping center has a 1.2 million square-foot build out and will open in phases.
* Michael's, The Arts & Crafts Store, and Stein Mart opened retail stores in the former Hechinger building in Leesburg. Michael's opened a 24,000-square-foot store in May 2002. Stein Mart also opened in early 2002.
* Security Moving & Storage Co. opened a 130,000-square-foot moving and storage facility in May 2002 in Dulles. The facility is apparently the tallest single-story concrete moving and storage facility in the world, as reported by the Department of Economic Development. As of now, 12 employees work there, though the company plans to expand the staff.
* Hampton Inn & Suites opened a mid-priced hotel in fall 2002 in Leesburg. The hotel is located across from the Leesburg Premium Corner Outlet on the Route 15 bypass and Fort Evans Road. The 58,100-square-foot, four-story building has 101 rooms and a staff of 25 employees.
Operated by Pennsylvania company JDK Management, the hotel is the first Hampton Inn in Loudoun County.
OTHER PROJECTS completed in 2002 involved community-use facilities.
* The Northern Virginia Community College — Loudoun Campus in Sterling opened the Charles L. Waddell Building, which was dedicated to Waddell in April 2002. The Waddell Building houses the Interior Design School and the communication design, information systems and technology, art, theater and speech programs. The building features a 250-seat theater and an art gallery.
Waddell was elected to public office in 1967 when he became a member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. In 1971, he was elected to the Virginia Senate and was re-elected for seven additional terms to represent Loudoun and western Fairfax counties.
* The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) opened a community center in Sterling in November 2002 a year after construction began. The 25,000-square-foot building straddles the Loudoun and Fairfax county line.
COMMERCIAL GROWTH ties into residential growth as new populations move into the county and seek services from the local government and the industrial and commercial sectors. In 2002, the county added 14,000 to 15,000 residents, according to the Department of Economic Development. As of 2001, the county's population was 184,891 with a housing inventory of 68,294 units.
In 2002, the county approved several residential projects and developers continued and completed other housing projects, increasing the total inventory. The county will have detailed information on the number and types of units sometime in 2003. Some of the large-scale projects the county approved in 2002 include:
* Red Cedar, a rural village development located on Evergreen Mills Road south of Leesburg, with 317 single-family detached units, to be developed by West Terra of Ashburn.
* Churchhill Meadows, located west of the Washington Dulles International Airport on Route 606, with 266 single-family detached units, to be developed by Toll Brothers in Ashburn. The proposed development is by-right in a CR-1 (Countryside Residential) zoning district that the county plans to rezone as industrial by adopting the zoning amendments to the Revised Comprehensive Plan.
* Belmont Hunt, east of the Belmont subdivision in Ashburn, with 162 units, including 142 single-family detached units and 20 townhouse units, to be developed by Toll Brothers.
* Waterford Ridge, north of Waterford, with 115 single-family detached units, to be developed by R & C Investments in Hamilton. The development is by-right.