Development of $1B Mixed-Use Project in Northern Virginia Begins

McLean, Va.–Development of One Loudoun, a sprawling 358-acre master-planned community in McLean, Va., has officially gotten underway. Commercial real estate developer Miller & Smith is partnering with SEKISUI HOUSE Ltd., an Osaka, Japan-based real estate company, to bring the $1 billion project to fruition.

One Loudoun, sited about 30 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., in Loudoun County, will ultimately encompass 1,040 singe-family and multi-family residences, as well as 3 million square feet of office space, 702,000 square feet of retail offerings, 750 hotel guestrooms and approximately 150 acres of public land and walking trails. The mixed-use property will also feature such amenities as a movie theater, a community center and an amphitheater. The World Trade Center Dulles Airport will also be built at One Loudoun. The complex is expected to generate as many as 14,000 new jobs.

Miller & Smith will tackle construction of the behemoth project in phases, with the 60-acre South Village kicking things off. This initial phase, scheduled to reach completion in spring 2013, will encompass 124,000 square feet of office space, 39,000 square feet of retail, in addition to 168 single-family homes and 146 townhomes that will be built in groups of four to seven units. Apartment units will not sprout up at One Loudoun until work commences on phase three of the endeavor. The 100-acre third phase, referred to as Downtown, will feature 446 apartment residences and 155 townhomes.

In the multifamily sector across the country, the apartment market is thriving, while the condominium market continues to struggle. However, the landscape may look very different by the time phase three delivers. “Right now, most multifamily projects in the country are getting done as rentals, as opposed to condos; our hope is to do a combination of both,” Bill May, a vice president with Miller & Smith, tells MHN.

The developer believes that certain conditions will attract apartment dwellers, as well as condominium and townhome buyers. “The location itself–we’re at Route 7 and Loudoun County Parkway–is prominent, and by having the first phase retail and residential, I think that is going to be a major attraction,” May says. Additionally, while One Loudoun will be a live-work-play destination, it will also be a transit-oriented development, which is another factor that will lure residents. “Rail to Dulles is coming and it will end in Loudoun County. It will make a stop at the airport; it will stop at Greenway; and the final stop will be Moorefield near Loudoun County Parkway, and we are located right on the Parkway at Route 7. We’ll also have a bus connection to the rail and the airport, so that will be a major plus as well.”