BACKGROUND
In 2005, leading Washington, D.C. metropolitan area commercial developer Buchanan Partners assembled and acquired approximately 400 acres of undeveloped land at the northwest corner of Route 50 and the Loudoun County Parkway in the Dulles area of Loudoun County, Virginia. The largest portion of this land had been rezoned by its prior owner to permit development of up to two million square feet of flex/office/industrial space and 800,000 square feet of retail space.
Working closely with local citizens and Loudoun County government staff, as well as the Route 50 Task Force appointed by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Buchanan decided to re-plan the property to allow greater density, updated design, and diversification of uses to meet market demand.
In late 2004, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors formed a task force to identify issues and make recommendations that would help transform the Route 50 corridor to an attractive gateway to Loudoun County. The Task Force functioned as a committee that managed the input and recommendations of different working groups comprised of local business owners, landowners, and residents. Arcola Center was discussed in Segment Three of the Task Force. In October 2006, the Board of Supervisors passed the Route 50/Arcola Area Comprehensive Plan Amendment, which formally implemented the recommendations of the Route 50 Task Force.
PLAN FOR ARCOLA CENTER
The long-awaited 400-acre Arcola Center in the Dulles area of Loudoun County, Virginia is beginning to take shape in 2008 with a 640,000 square foot lifestyle retail center, to be called The Shops at Arcola Center, to be followed by the adjacent mixed-use town center combining first-floor boutique retail stores and restaurants with second-story office space.
First Arcola Center Development: Shopping!
The first phase of Arcola Center, breaking ground in mid-2008, is a much-needed retail center serving the Dulles South area. Buchanan and its KLNB retail leasing brokers are presently in active negotiations with some of the best-known stores in the U.S. to become part of the new 640,000 Shops at Arcola Center be located on the eastern portion of the site. Anchored by the nation's most popular discount department store and a big-box home improvement center, this center also will include an array of medium-box stores catering to a wide range of family needs: furniture, clothing, pet care products, electronics, baby products, and more. This center should be open for business by the third quarter of 2009.
Adjacent to The Shops and easily accessible on foot or by auto will be the heart of Arcola Center: a Main Street town center centered around a plaza with a custom-designed fountain and outdoor restaurant seating. Main Street will be lined with approximately 145,000 square feet of boutique-type in-line shops and restaurants with professional office space above the retail. Very few locations in the U.S. combine Main Street and lifestyle center shopping options in a way that allows each center to draw from the others' customer base.
Arcola Center Means Business
Large and small businesses will find a wide variety of office space locations and configurations within Arcola Center -- ranging from traditional leased office space and flex space to office condos, which offer business owners the tax and investment benefits of owning their own business property. Smaller businesses can select office-over-retail locations, providing employees with the convenience and stimulation of a vibrant Main Street environment. In all, Arcola Center will have up to 2.1 million square feet of office and flex space. By taking advantage of the housing opportunities at Arcola Center, employees will be able to walk to work, thus saving money, reducing stress, and providing them more free time to spend with their families.
Living at Arcola Center
Preserving Loudoun's Past
A unique facet of Arcola Center will be the educational and tourism destination to be developed around a restored slave quarters building dating to the early 1800s. Buchanan Partners is working with Friends of the Slave Quarters, the Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association, and the Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services to develop this historic structure as a cultural "anchor" for the area. It will be a focus for heritage tourism, particularly for those interested in African-American history. A feasibility study conducted by Randall Travel Marketing, along with community input, resulted in recommendations that are now being implemented as additional funding is sought to develop the Slave Quarters site.
