Loudoun County Acquires 257 Acres For Regional Park, Broadlands Hospital Approved

This just in…the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors today approved the acquisition of 257 acres from the Hanson Family Partnership for a regional park serving the southeastern part of the county (the Route 50 corridor and Dulles South planning area). And the Loudoun County Planning Department gave the initial go-ahead to build the Broadlands Regional Medical Center.

Acquisition of 257 acres

Part of the deal included a land exchange of a county-owned 5-acre park site located off of Old Ox Road (Route 606) to Dominion Power and the U.S Department of the Interior. The land will be used to construct two monopole transmission lines as part of the powerline approved in 2004.

The Hanson Family Partnership has agreed to sell the property for $5 million, well below market value, to establish a regional park in memory of Hal and Berni Hanson. The park will be located at 23862 Evergreen Mills Road, near Fleetwood Road, in Ashburn. Dominion Power is providing the funding for the purchase in exchange for the utility's ownership of the five-acre parcel. 

Final settlement on the land and approval of the land exchange is still about a 7 to 13 months out.

For the full story, check out the article on Alert Loudoun.

Broadlands Regional Medical Center

The Loudoun County Planning Department gave the green light Friday to HCA Virginia’s plans to build a full-service, 164-bed hospital in Ashburn known as the Broadlands Regional Medical Center (BRMC).

If the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors approves BRMC, HCA officials hope to break ground on the hospital in 2009 and open the facility in 2011.

Not everyone is a fan of the new hospital, especially Innova Loudoun Hospital who doesn't want a competitor only 5 miles away.

The Planning Commission will hold an off-site public hearing to review BRMC’s application at 6 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Eagle Ridge Middle School in Ashburn.

For the full story, check out the article at Living in LoCo on LoudounExtra.com.

Update on Brambleton Development, Builder Quick Deliveries, New Homes

Here's an update on development in Brambleton including quick deliveries/spec homes available from the various builders within the community:

Brambleton Development Update

• Beacon Terrace Community Pool is now open. It's Brambleton's second pool. The new pool consists of a main pool with a waterfall, spa, wading pool, club room, outdoor fireplace and grill, music zones throughout and wireless connectivity
• The Brambleton Town Center security staff has ditched their cars for eco-friendly Segways.
• The Blue Ridge Grill is anticipated to open on September 24th
• Winwood, Brambleton's first day care provider is set to open late Spring '90. Site development will begin soon at the Creighton Road location
• An update on the Fitness Club at the Brambleton Town Center is coming soon

Quick Delivery/Spec Homes

• Gulick Group – The Gulick Group builds estate style, 4-sides-brick homes in Brambleton.  Some home sites have water views and the option of a 4-car garage. 
  1. Currently, there are 2 immediate deliveries from their Garden Terrace Series priced at $945,900 and $1,269,500 (the Hampton and Townsend floor plans). 
  2. There is also an Ashcroft home from the New American Series available for a winter delivery with views of water and parkland.  This home has almost 5,000 square feet on 3 finished levels including a walk-out basement.
• Miller and Smith – This builder builds smaller, more affordable homes for those looking for high-quality, but not all the space and sticker price of an estate home.
  1. Rhapsody (home site 1273) – September Delivery, $586,770 Approx. 3,400 sq. ft.
  2. Rhapsody (home site 1274) – October Delivery, $573,078 Approx. 3,400 sq. ft.
  3. Rhapsody (home site 1306) – October Delivery, $593,660 Approx. 3,400 sq. ft.
  4. Clara Bow (home site 967) – October Delivery, $661,360 Approx. 4,200 sq. ft. (backs to trees)
  5. Clara Bow (home site 966) – November Delivery, $668,840 Approx. 4,200 sq. ft. (backs to trees)
• Stanley Martin – This builder competes with Miller and Smith at this price point.
  1. 23223 Christopher Thomas Lane – Homesite 1194 – Elden Model – $639,990.  4 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, finished lower level w/private bonus room.  Move in Fall/Winter 2008.
  2. 42576 Ringneck Place – Homesite 1804 – $617,795.  4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, finished lower level. Move in Fall/Winter. 
  3. 42481 Spring Splendor Dr – Homesite 1801 – $584,050.  3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, finished lower level. Move in Fall/Winter.  
  4. 42477 Tourmaline Lane – Homesite 1833 – $569,990.  4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths.  Move in Fall/Winter. 
  5. Model Home with lease back – 42477 Ringneck Place – Homesite 1680 – $649,990.  3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, over 3,300 finish SF.
• Miller and Smith Town Homes
  1. Site 1347 – September Delivery – $439,990. Grand Houdini I end unit, corner site with wooded view. Three finished levels and 2,669 finished sq. ft. Standard features include granite kitchen counter,s extra third full bath, hardwood flooring in the kitchen/breakfast/great room, oversize tile, upgrade padding, bonus electrical and home theater pre-wire and more. For a limited time, Miller and Smith is offering a "Staycation" in your new home.
• Beazer Homes Condos
  1. September deliveries available. Prices range from the low $300s, depending on the model and if it is an interior or end home.

The Brambleton Town Center is still a ways from being completed. Here's a map showing the future development of the town center and the businesses coming in (click to enlarge):

 

If you'd like more information about the Brambleton community, builders or available lots/homes, please don't hesitate to contact me – danilo.bogdanovic@gmail.com or 703.582.6900 (cell).

Two Major Mortgage/RE Headlines – Fannie/Freddie, Silver State Bank

     

***UPDATE (9/7/08): It's official… Feds seize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

It was looking like it would be a fairly quiet week when it came to mortgage news. But then Friday afternoon rolled around… Two huge headlines were made yesterday – the likely government take-over of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Silver State Bank being shut down by Nevada regulators.

It looks like the government will take over Fannie and Freddie, possibly as early as this weekend. Rumors have been flying for weeks now, but this one looks like it's the real deal.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and James Lockhart, the companies' chief regulator, met Friday afternoon with the top executives from the mortgage companies and informed them of the government's plan to put the troubled companies into a conservatorship.

The government take-over is of no surprise to many, me included. There's no way Fannie and Freddie could have kept going without help. The two companies combined lost $3.1 Billion between just April and June.

So what will the Fannie and Freddie bail-out cost taxpayers? An estimated $25 Billion. But who's counting…

As for Silver State Bank, regulators shut down the bank because it failed due to losses on soured loans, mainly in commercial real estate and land development. Nevada regulators closed Silver State and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was appointed receiver. The bank had $2 billion in assets and $1.7 billion in deposits as of June 30.

Silver State Bank is the 11th failure of a federally insured bank this year.

The question I have is how much does the FDIC have left in their reserves? Rumors have it that IndyMac alone wiped out 23 percent of the FDIC's reserves. How much did the other 10 banks that went under wipe out?

How will all this affect you and I, the common man?

Some say that the government take-over of Fannie and Freddie will calm the nerves of investors worried about the collaps of Fannie/Freddie and that rates will dip down, at least temporarily. On the flip side, it'll cost you and I money out of our pocket on the back-end (when the government spends money, they bill you and I for it).

And if there's not enough money left in the FDIC's reserve to cover your bank should it collapse…well, then you're just outta luck.

Keep a close eye on rates and other reactions to this news next week.

UPDATE: Fed expects more bank failures, Blair warns banks to expect premium increase

No “Summer Slump” For Loudoun County Real Estate In 2008

Many people talk about the July/August "Summer Slump" and how Loudoun County home sales "mysteriously" drop. Well, there's been some truth to that in years past. But not this year. In fact, 2008 had one of the most fast paced residential real estate buying summers in recent years.

To show you what I'm talking about, let's look at a comparison of the summer of 2007 and this summer (2008)…

In 2007, we did see a bit of the "summer slump", specifically in July and August. Here's a graph showing the number of new listings coming on the market (supply) and the number of homes selling/going under contract (demand):

  

As you can see from the graph, the rate of new listings coming on the market stayed fairly steady only dropping 7.5 percent from June '07 to August '07. But buyer demand dropped 26 percent from June '07 to August '07, which is a significant amount. A significant drop in buyer demand compared to only a slight drop in inventory levels is one of the main reasons why prices decline. And a drop in prices is exactly what happened during the summer of 2007.

Now let's look at what happened this summer:

This graph tells a completely different story. The rate of new listings coming on the market dropped 13 percent, nearly double that of 2007. This meant less new (and existing) inventory on the market. Looking at the number of solds, it's clear that buyer demand actually increased from June to July and was still higher in August than it was in June.

So what does this mean to buyers and sellers?

For sellers, it means:

• Less competition
• More negotiating power
• Higher chance of selling faster if priced correctly

For buyers, it means:

• Fewer homes to choose from
• Less negotiating power when it comes to price
• Higher chance of competing/multiple offers on the properties that are "deals"

If you're a seller who was waiting for this year's "Summer Slump" to be over before listing their property, you missed a great opportunity. With many sellers waiting until the "fall market" to sell their property, it'll be interesting to see what happens with inventory levels and buyer demand this month and next.

Related Articles

Loudoun County Real Estate Market Statistics – 1st Half 2008 vs 2007

Loudoun Real Estate Inventory Levels Well Below National Average

Demand For Distressed Properties Outpaces Supply For First Time

Ashburn Sports Complex Is a Go

It's official…the Ashburn sports complex was approved yesterday by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. The large, multi-field sports complex will be located on 40 acres along Belmont Ridge Road, south of its intersection with Route 7, in Ashburn.

The sports complex should be completed in about year at a cost of $40 million (in private funds). Once completed, the complex will house 6 artificial outdoor fields plus 3 more inside of a 225K square foot building. It will also include multipurpose courts, offices, a gymnasium, a restaurant and a swimming academy.

Loudoun Soccer, the Northern Virginia Football Club and the women's professional softball team, the Washington Glory, are among the groups signed on to use the facility.

The project has been a hot topic for while now. Though many hailed the Ashburn sports complex, some residents were against the project and others wanted more time to study the impact from road noise, unwanted lights and the possible impact on Goose Creek.

Source: Loudoun Times-Mirror

Moorefield Station Developer’s Update

 

Representatives from the developers of Moorefield Station gave a presentation today at the Dulles Area Association of REALTORS® office in Leesburg, VA. The project is being done by Clark Construction and Edgemoore Real Estate Services, a sbusidiary of Clark Construction.

Here are some of the specifics:

• The project was approved in 2002 by a "Smart-Growth" administration
• The project is about 9.5 million square feet of mixed-use space
• The proposed Dulles Metro Rail will end at Moorefield Station
• Moorefield Station is being compared to Reston Town Center and Rockville Town Square - "a community defining place"
• Civic plaza, art center, concert stage, retail, restaurants, office space, etc
• Bike/walking trails will connect to other trails throughout Loudoun and the W&OD Trail

Loudoun County is also looking for a new administrative/government center. Here are some details:

• Loudoun County sent out RFP in 2007 due to need for more space for administration/employee
• Loudoun County wants to own space rather than leasing it
• Need 500K square feet with expansion to 800K total
• Final 3 sites for Loudoun Administration/Government Center were narrowed down to Moorefield Station, Oaklawn and The Village at Leesburg
• Loudoun County will announce the final location of its new government site sometime early next year

The also talked about the economic development and impact. Here are some of the stats:

• $25 million in yearly real estate taxes from new development
• New jobs from businesses moving to Loudoun from surrounding counties and from out of state
• Will stimulate additional commercial development as companies/businesses expand
• Dulles Metro Rail is predicted to produce an estimated $41 million in taxes

Some other points:

• Not "green buildings", but LEED certified
• Can't do a "Kiss and Ride" due to layout
• Rail will be on one side while entrance will come in on other side – that may prove to be a little tricky
• George Mason University (GMU) has been in talks wtih Moorefield Station about new campus, but GMU wants free land

Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, which has given over $9 million in grants to local organizations is donating 27 acres to the project along with funding assistance. Part of the future profits from Moorefield Station will go back to the Claude Moore Foundation to go back to the community.

In a nutshell, it's a ways out, Loudoun County hasn't chosen it's new administrative/government office site and the Dulles Metro Rail is still in limbo. I'll keep you posted as new things materialize…

Related Articles

Details on Proposed County Government Center at Moorefield Station Revealed

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