Rejuvenating Loudoun

Young people are being priced out of the inner suburbs and are trickling farther out into Northern Virginia, said Robert Lang, director of Virginia Tech's Metropolitan Institute.

But that doesn't mean Loudoun is inexpensive. The median house price is about $500,000. Businesses in the area have found that the lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest impediments to recruiting hires, particularly young ones.

Even so, there are young people settling down. Janine Hussey, founder of Image Matters, a software technology company in Leesburg, said her young employees are starting families in Loudoun.

"I do think that those of us who live here forget the good press Loudoun gets for being one of the fastest-growing counties," Hussey said.

And jobs are keeping those who have ties to the community.

M.C. Dean has hired six members from one Loudoun family.

"Hey man, you gotta do what you gotta do," Dean said. "When you're stuck in Loudoun County, you got to hire everybody. Maybe we should get a strategy to hire the kids of people who live and work here."

Loudoun natives never have to leave if they don't want to, said Stephen Fuller, director of the Center of Regional Analysis at George Mason University.

"The traditional pattern of suburbanization is that people leave to find high-paying jobs," Fuller said. "Good jobs were in urban centers. That has moved out and spilled out to Loudoun because of the highway system and airport."

Mixed-use and town center developments could propel growth and encourage younger workers to stay in Loudoun after they leave the office.

Developers have offered pedestrian-friendly streets, upscale shopping and a variety of restaurants and entertainment near condominiums and townhouses in hopes that this city-like atmosphere will attract more young professionals to live, work and play in the suburbs.

"If you build it, young people will come," Lang said. "The region and regional economy attracts people from college grads through age 40."

Lang said he expects eastern Loudoun to become a denser region, much like Reston is. Urbanization will accelerate when the Metro extends to the Dulles International Airport, he said.

Projects like One Loudoun and Moorefield Station, which promise to bring vibrant destinations into the community, could also increase the county's cool factor, Morin said.

"For the young, single, we're not a hip place," Morin said. "But that's changing with these urban centers."

Brambleton, a development near the airport, is starting to work on affordable loft-style condominiums to bring young people into the development's commercial hub.

"Single families aren't what we want next to it," said Kim Adams, Brambleton's director of marketing. "We want that mass feel."

Adams compares Brambleton's movie theater to the one in Union Station. Brokers have been traveling to Alexandria and Arlington to find ways to imitate the success of those downtowns.

"The younger crowd creates an environment and lifestyle," she said. "They bring the nightlife we want the town center to have."