A private construction group announced yesterday that it has asked Loudoun County officials for permission to build more than $200 million worth of public roads.
But the plan is contingent upon Loudoun's approval of a complex and controversial proposal from developer Leonard S. "Hobie" Mitchel on county parkland. Without the housing and commercial development, the private construction group -- Bethesda-based Clark Construction Group LLC and its Northern Virginia-based roads subsidiary Shirley Contracting Co. -- does not have the money to pay for the promised highway projects near Leesburg.
Mitchel has asked the county to give him 400 acres of county parkland -- where Philip Bolen Memorial Park is slated to be built -- for his Creekside development in exchange for 500 acres nearby. He also has promised to pay for most of the roads that were part of yesterday's announcement and build the county another park on the swapped land. He would also provide school sites there. The county would give up the parkland, and Mitchel has said the project would include about $50 million in public funds.
The proposal to build the roads was filed under Virginia's Public Private Transportation Act, which allows private companies to seek contracts to build public projects in a less competitive procurement process. It allows governments to get road and transit projects built faster and with less public commitment.
Executives from the construction group did not say why they were submitting their proposal before the approvals were in place. Chris Bucher, a senior vice president at Shirley, declined to answer questions. But critics of such proposals said they are concerned that Clark and Shirley put their proposal in early to get an unfair jump on any potential competitors and to give momentum to the Creekside proposal.
"It's competitive in name only," said Supervisor James Burton (I-Blue Ridge), who opposes the overall proposal. "Whoever submits the first proposal clearly has the upper edge. They have all the time in the world to get their proposal just like they want it. Anybody else is reacting to the proposal, and reacting in a short time period."
Under rules adopted by Loudoun's Board of Supervisors in October, supervisors first decide whether to accept an unsolicited public-private proposal. If they do, the board can close the door to competing proposals after 45 days.
Supervisor Mick Staton Jr. (R-Sugarland Run) said that the county badly needs transportation improvements and that he wants to try to work with Mitchel. Mitchel resigned his seat on Virginia's powerful Commonwealth Transportation Board, which controls state road funding, last month after some officials raised concerns about what they said was an appearance of a conflict of interest.
"Mr. Mitchel has shown he is serious about wanting to enter into a partnership with the county. . . . We should enter into negotiations and see what both sides are willing to accept," Staton said. "Here we have a private interest coming forward saying he'll build a lot of [roads] for us. It would be a mistake for the county to just dismiss it out of hand."
Clark and Shirley are also building interchanges along Route 28 near Dulles International Airport as part of a public-private partnership with the state and others.
Mitchel was among state officials who recommended in 2001 that Clark receive that contract.
