Developer Moves to Rework Its Proposal for 6,800 Homes

For two years, Prince William County officials have been weighing a Faustian bargain of sorts: whether to approve a 6,800-home development in exchange for a developer's offer to overhaul the notoriously clogged interchange of Interstate 66 and Route 29 in Gainesville.

It now appears they will be spared the decision. The developer, Brookfield Homes, withdrew the application for the 1,500-acre development just south of the interchange, dubbed Brentswood, hours before the Board of County Supervisors was to hear it Tuesday night. After supervisors had made clear their opposition to the proposal in recent weeks, saying they wanted fewer homes and more office space, Brookfield decided to take several months to revise the application.

County supervisors said yesterday that their growing opposition to the proposal was based in large part on the improved outlook for the interchange. After delaying the project for years, state and federal transportation officials have in recent months found more money for the work, which includes separating Route 29 from a rail crossing that causes frequent backups beside the interchange.

State and federal officials made clear that they did not like the idea of a private developer taking responsibility for a major project involving an interstate highway, supervisors said. And with the state now saying it's only $20 million short of having the project fully funded, there was less incentive for the county to approve Brentswood at its proposed size.

"This went from being a potential fix to a major transportation problem to being just another land-use proposal. And when that happened, the board's expectations changed dramatically," said board Chairman Sean T. Connaughton (R).

Given its complexity, the interchange overhaul probably will not be done until 2013, supervisors said. But the specter of developers eager to take on the job -- for a price -- might serve as a guard against unnecessary delay.

"I'm hoping that this thing still lingering out there will keep the pressure on," said Supervisor W.S. Covington III (R-Brentsville). "The state has really hustled here in the last year, and I believe that's only because we've had the discussion about this project."