The area around Washington Dulles International Airport already has a 1.2-million-square-foot shopping mall -- Dulles Town Center -- with a something-for-everybody retail mix.
There's a Nordstrom and a Payless ShoeSource.
Wegmans Food Market, opened in February, will anchor Dulles 28 Centre.
(Tracy A. Woodward -- The Washington Post)
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There's a Godiva Chocolatier and a Blimpie Subs & Salads.
So why is the same developer that built Dulles Town Center in 1999 planning a 300,000-square-foot open-air shopping center, dubbed Dulles 28 Centre, just down the road?
"It's all about choices," said Arthur N. Fuccillo, managing director of development for Lerner Enterprises, which is developing the property with the Tower Cos. Both developers are based in North Bethesda. "Dulles 28 Centre is going to give this area more choices."
There's a Waldenbooks at Dulles Town Center, for example. But there is no Barnes & Noble, which, according to Fuccillo, is negotiating with Dulles 28 Centre.
"Yes, Dulles Town Center, which Lerner also owns, is 2 1/2 miles away," Fuccillo said. "But the thing about it is, there is no Chico's, no Ulta cosmetics -- we've had discussions with them, too -- at Dulles Town Center.
"See, the thing about retailing that people need to realize is: You can do this in eastern Loudoun County because not even half the retailers that exist in the industry are represented in this area."
Five car dealerships already occupy the 300-acre Dulles 28 Centre site, at the intersection of Routes 28 and 625, across the street from America Online. And the new center will have a drawing card, Fuccillo said, that even Dulles Town Center can't match: a Wegmans Food Market that opened in February.
The developers are betting that shoppers at the upscale supermarket will be drawn into some of the center's 45 stores.
