Slowed Down, but Planning Big

These fears keep Robert Chung and Carl Runk, owners of an Anytime Fitness franchise, on edge. They opened their small fitness center at the River Oaks mall in May 2007, excited by all the activity they saw at Kettler's nearby projects. They liked their location, near a Giant Food, and within the first six months reached their target of signing 400 members.

Last month, however, they learned the Giant is going to close this spring because of weak sales. And gym memberships are slowing.

Runk, a martial arts expert, said that if he could have predicted the extent of the housing downturn along Route 1 and if he had known of Giant's plans to close, he would not have chosen Woodbridge for his fitness center.

"We're looking around us and seeing some really bad signs. There's a huge level of disappointment," Runk said.

Attention to Detail

Runk still sees hope in Harbor Station, if for no other reason than Kettler has a track record to pull off such a project.

Kettler transformed Lorton in south Fairfax County, which was best known for the county's penitentiary, with sprawling developments of luxury single-family homes and town homes that have pushed the ceiling on prices for middle- to upper-middle-class buyers in the area. He brought executive homes to the rolling cattle farms of western Prince William County where his Piedmont subdivision has attracted higher-end retailers like a Harris Teeter grocery.

Borrowing from lessons of his father, who developed the planned community of Montgomery Village, Kettler, 55, is fond of creating subdivisions with the themes and amenities one might find at a vacation resort. He pays attention to detail, hand-picking street light designs and reviewing landscapes. At his Port Potomac development along Route 1, the $12 million clubhouse hosts wine and cheese tasting parties, while his nearby Potomac Club, which appeals to young professionals, has a three-story rock-climbing wall.

Driving his black Suburban down the winding concrete golf cart path of the Signature Jack Nicklaus golf course several weeks ago, Kettler talked enthusiastically about the expensive grass seeds needed for the putting greens compared with the bluegrass sod on the fairways. Each hole on the course, he said, was designed with the idea that golfers like to feel they are descending a terrain.

"Psychologically, people don't want to look up at a hill, it's bad for their game and they don't feel good about the course," he said.