Leesburg Approves Mixed-Use Project

Town Center Planned For Potomac Station

The last undeveloped plot in the Potomac Station section of Leesburg will become a pedestrian-oriented community under a plan the Town Council narrowly approved last week.

Market Square at Potomac Station will be the neighborhood's first development that blends retail, residential and office space. The council voted 4 to 3 in favor of the proposal, as a majority agreed with project developer Clark Realty that a mixed-use development in the style of a town center would be a welcome change from nearby strip malls.

Potomac Station, just north of Route 7 and east of the Route 7/15 Bypass, is a sprawling mix of about 700 apartments, townhouses and single-family houses. It is served primarily by a shopping center, Marketplace at Potomac Station, and strip malls anchored by big-box retailers.

Clark Realty will build the project on a 13.3-acre tract at Battlefield Parkway and Potomac Station Drive. The development will include up to 320 apartments or condominiums and up to 44,000 square feet of commercial space centered on a public courtyard. Some of the retailers will go on the first floor of the two residential buildings.

Executive David Ritchey said Clark Realty hopes to attract at least one high-end restaurant, a coffee shop, a bookstore and clothing boutiques. A restaurant similar to Coastal Flats or Sweetwater Tavern "would obviously be the ideal type of tenant," he said. Construction could begin next year and take up to two years to complete.

The Leesburg Department of Planning and Zoning had recommended rejecting the project, noting concerns about the developer's promised contributions toward public amenities, known as proffers. The department also cited a lack of recreational amenities and affordable housing units.

Some council members shared concerns about the proffers, saying the developer's funding toward transportation upgrades, schools, parks and fire and rescue services would not be enough to mitigate the project's impact on public services.

"We will have enormous additional costs from a school system perspective that will be permanent and long-lasting," said Leesburg Vice Mayor Katie Sheldon Hammler, who voted against the project, as did Mayor Kristen Umstattd and council member Thomas S. Dunn II.

Clark agreed to provide up to $2.5 million toward school costs.

Dunn said Clark's promise to put $100,000 in the town's transportation improvement fund was insufficient.

"I'm just wondering how much this is really worth and what we're trading off to get that," Dunn said. "You probably wouldn't get an entire signal light in most locations."

Some council members also complained about Clark's application for a special exception allowing a bank on the site to have a four-lane drive-through, saying such a feature did not belong in a pedestrian-friendly development. Clark plans to issue a lease to BB&T Bank.