In three decades developing communities in Northern Virginia, Leonard S. "Hobie" Mitchel has been a provocative advocate for both private and public projects. He likes pushing creative solutions, he said a couple of months ago, even if that makes him a lightning rod.
Yesterday, though, Mitchel acknowledged that his approach had fallen short in a major Loudoun County proposal he has touted for months. Mitchel told county officials that he was withdrawing his controversial plan to build part of a large subdivision on county parkland in exchange for a new park nearby and about $150 million in privately funded public roads.
"They are obviously not ready for this proposal," Mitchel said. "I guess this was a little bit outside the box, and it's unfortunate, but life goes on."
In place of his park swap idea, Mitchel said, he hopes to get county permission to build a different housing and commercial development on the nearly 1,000 acres he controls near Leesburg. He said it would be smaller than the 4,200-home community he proposed as part of the swap because he is no longer seeking to include the county's land. Mitchel would pay for some road improvements as part of the new plan, but the funding total would be sharply reduced, Mitchel said.
County officials were generally noncommittal on Mitchel's substitute plan.
Mitchel's decision to drop the park swap proposal undermines a related effort by a private firm to build $200 million worth of roads in Loudoun.
Bethesda-based Clark Construction Group LLC and its Virginia road-building subsidiary Shirley Contracting have been working closely with Mitchel and had submitted a proposal to build a series of roads using $50 million in public money and $150 million from Mitchel's park swap plan.
"We're just going to have to reevaluate it and see what we can do," said James A. Hooff, Clark's senior vice president. Hooff said the company is looking for new sources of funding and will consider alternative plans to build needed roads in Loudoun. "As everyone knows, there's a shortage of funds, so we try to get creative to come up with solutions."
Mitchel's announcement yesterday came after months of controversy that Mitchel said surprised him in its ferocity. He stepped down from the Commonwealth Transportation Board in March after some officials raised questions about his dual role as a conduit of state transportation funds and developer seeking building permission from Loudoun officials.
"I knew it was going to be difficult. But I think the reaction, especially by the town [of Leesburg], was more extreme than we thought," Mitchel said.
Fans of Mitchel's park swap plan said the county has missed an opportunity.
"It's sad. It's a very innovative proposal, and people without vision couldn't see the benefit," said Supervisor Stephen J. Snow (R-Dulles), who supports spurring additional development in Loudoun. He said Mitchel was "taken aback by the negativity. It's a great offer."
Critics said they were pleased Mitchel has dropped the plan but remained concerned about the traffic and fiscal impacts of its replacement.
Board Chairman Scott K. York (I) said officials were living in a "dreamland" if they believe that allowing developers such as Mitchel to boost the number of homes they are allowed to build will solve traffic snarls. "We're not going to be able to build our way out of transportation problems," York said.
"He's still got a bear of an issue on his hands," said Leesburg Town Council member C. Kelly Burk, who said new home building in that area would limit the use of the town's small airport. "I'm not ready to give up the fight."
Mitchel said he is waiting for a debate on the future of the Leesburg area, scheduled by town and county officials for next month, to refine his proposal. He said he still believes his park swap idea would be good for the county.
"I have all my life tried to be a problem solver and not a problem maker. I want to be part of the solution," Mitchel said.
"Let them have their frank dialogue. . . . Who knows? Maybe this Creekside [park swap] proposal will resurrect itself, when people realize there's a huge loss of funding for roads."
