2009 KME “Made In Loudoun” Award Winners

Back in January of this year, DullesSouthOnline.com and KME announced a “Loudoun Business Challenge – Help Stimulate Loudoun’s Economy in 2009.”

Why? Because, as DullesSouthOnline.com stated so eloquently, Fairfax County and neighboring counties through the DC metro area are “eating our [Loudoun's] lunch in their ability to attract business investment via the Internet.”

Ain’t that the truth! If you know anything about the Loudoun EDC and Chamber of Commerce, you know that their on-line presence is dismal to almost non-existent. Hence, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and those of other counties are not only eating our lunch…they’re eating our breakfast, dinner and midnight snack.

So here we are a year later and the 2009 KME “Made in Loudoun” award winners have been announced. You would think that the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission would have paid attention and gotten their act together, right?

Well…(here’s an excerpt – highlights are mine)

After a year, it’s become evident that the only local industry (besides Online Marketers like us) most actively, aggressively and successfully promoting the core economic values of Loudoun County is the Residential Real Estate industry. This is probably to be expected, for by promoting Loudoun and its work/life values, real estate property is therefore more valuable.

It was, however, interesting to discover that the Loudoun business community, aside from Real Estate, simply does not actively and voluntarily help to promote Loudoun online to the outside world – rather, it relies on the local EDC and Chamber of Commerce.

…real estate agents and brokerages are most actively using the Internet and Social Media to cover and distribute Loudoun-centric hyperlocal news and information…

And, in no particular order, the winners are…(drum roll please)

• Heather Elias (Century 21 Redwood Group)
• Kelly Gaitten (Carter Braxton Real Estate)
• Marilee Murphy (Long & Foster Real Estate)
• Tony Arko (Market Advantage Real Estate)
• and, yours truly, Danilo Bogdanovic (Market Advantage Real Estate)

Though it’s flattering to be named as one of the 2009 KME “Made in Loudoun” award winners, I’m disappointed at the same time. I hoped that the Loudoun EDC and Chamber of Commerce would have done something this year to turn things around and increase their on-line presence in order attract businesses (and tax revenue) to Loudoun. Had they done so, some of us would not have been on that list (which is fine with me).

But they did not.

Is there hope for Loudoun?

There may be… Lawrence S. Rosenstrauch, Loudoun County’s EDC Director just resigned on Dec 4 and the county is on the search for a replacement. While praising Rosenstrauch’s service, Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce President Tony Howard said the county now has the opportunity to be “more competitive in the battle to attract new business investment” (via The Washington Post).

Thank you to DullesSouthOnline.com, KME Internet Marketing and all of you who read LoudounScene.com and LoudounForeclosures.com. And congratulations to my fellow winners and REALTORS!

Save Money by Shopping at the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets

Seeing how we’re in the middle of a recession, the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets may be just what the pocket book ordered. You can save 20 to 70 percent by shopping at the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets as long as you don’t mind buying last year’s merchandise.

If you live in Loudoun County, the Leesburg Outlets are not very far of a drive at all. They’re located right next to the intersection of Route 7 and Route 15. If you live in Fairfax County or elsewhere, you may be thinking, “Leesburg is a long way to drive!” Perhaps. But consider the savings – 20 to 70 percent off the majority of your holiday shopping is no small chunk of change and well worth the drive.

If you’re wondering whether there are enough stores at the Leesburg Outlets to cover most or all of what’s on your shopping list, here’s a partial list of the stores you’ll find…

• Adidas
• Ashworth Golf
• Banana Republic Outlet Store
• BCBG Max Azaria
• Calvin Klein
• Eddie Bauer Outlet
• Gap Outlet
• Guess
• Izod
• J. Crew
• Kenneth Cole
• Motherhood Maternity
• Old Navy
• PacSun
• Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5t
• Washington Redskins Official Outlet Store
• Wilson’s Leather Outlet
• Osh Kosh B’gosh
• Gymboree Outlet
• Tumi
• Samsonite Company Store
• Seiko, The Company Store
• Coach
• Kate Spade
• Zales Outlet
• Crate and Barrel
• Pottery Barn Outlet
• Williams-Sonoma Outlet
• Bose
• Yankee Candle
• If you get hungry, there is a food court located inside and restaurants nearby

(Click here for the full list of stores at the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets)

Hours

Holiday hours (Nov 30 – Dec 23) are 9am to 9pm Mon-Sat and 10am-8pm Sun. For all you procrastinators, Christmas Eve hours are 9am to 6pm. Closed Christmas Day.

Directions

Click here for Google Maps – Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets. Once the new window to Google Maps has opened, simply click on “Get Directions” near the top left of the page and put in your starting address.

Special Events/Store Promotions

Click here for special events and in-store promotions going on at the Leesburg Premium Corner Outlets this holiday season.

Note: The Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets is outdoor style mall so dress warm and check the weather to see if it will be raining or snowing before heading there.

Happy shopping!

Tex-Mex Restaurant and Margarita Bar Coming to Brambleton

All you Tex-Mex and margarita lovers stand up and do a happy dance – the space next to Fox Cinemas in the Brambleton Town Center will soon be a Tex Mex restaurant complete with a margarita bar!

The space was originally being built out as a Mexican restaurant by the name of Cantina Cove, but that fell through after the owner, Osama El-Atari, was brought up on fraud charges and became an internationally wanted fugitive. The space sat vacant for a while, but another local, and seemingly more legit restaurateur, took over the space and is turning into a Tex-Mex restaurant and margarita bar.

My sources tell me that there is no official name for the restaurant yet, but one should be coming out soon. They also say that the restaurant may be ready for operations and having a “soft opening” sometime mid-December. Having worked in the restaurant business in a previous life and seeing the progress (yes, I was snooping through the windows), I’d say a mid-December soft opening is optimistic. But then again, where there’s a will (and money), there’s a way.

Regardless of when it opens, it will be a nice and much needed addition to the Brambleton Town Center and for all those in the Brambleton community as well as Ashburn and Loudoun County in general.

Click here to see some photos of the exterior of the space (in case you want to snoop and take a peek through the windows as well).

“aloft” Hotel Raises the Bar, Brings Urban Feel to Loudoun

The new "aloft" hotel in Ashburn has raised the bar for hospitality in the area while bringing a much needed urban flavor to Loudoun County. "aloft" is owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts and has the same high level of customer service and guest amenities you get at a Westin. But what sets "aloft" apart from Westin and the rest of Starwood's hotels is the very modern and funky feel it has, similar to that of a Kimpton boutique hotel. 

Though "aloft" hotel in Ashburn has been open for some time now, their official grand opening event was last night. The place was packed, the DJ was spinning house and lounge music and the free drinks and food were being enjoyed by all. BMW of Sterling and VW/Audi were showing off their latest line of cars including the new M3 outside the hotel while "aloft" was showing off their rooms, gym, pool and guest amenities inside.

The list of attendees included residents, local business owners, execs from large corporations such as VW/Audi and AOL, a few Redskins and prominent Virginia and DC bar/club/restaurant owners, managers and promoters.

I took a tour of the hotel and here's what I thought… The hotel's lobby/lounge area is well designed, very inviting  and has it all – modern couches and tables throughout, a bar that changes colors, fireplace, pool table, tv's, computer stations, local artists' work on the walls, a healthy snack bar and even a live streaming ticker with the latest US and international stock market info.

The rooms aren't huge, but they're definitely nothing like a NYC hotel room. All the rooms have a work desk, 42 inch plasma, comfortable beds (though that's only from sitting on one), good-sized bathrooms, the latest "cool" fixtures in the bathrooms and on the walls, two sets of windows so you can actually tell if it's raining before you get down to the lobby, safe, free coffee (24/7), etc.

Though "aloft" may seem more like a leisure-stay type of hotel at first glance, don't be mistaken – they know where their bread and butter is and they do a great job of catering to the needs of business travelers. The hotel has wi-fi, high-speed internet and multi-port hookups in all rooms and all the other stuff a business traveler would need. You can even go over your PowerPoint presentation the night before or morning of on the 42 inch plasma in your room while still laying in bed.

At first, you may wonder what a hotel like this is doing in Ashburn and in that specific location. After all, there's nothing much else immediately around the hotel except a gas station, a Hilton right next door and residential homes down the street.

But there's a method to their madness. Their long-term vision including choice of location is excellent – the hotel is right off the Dulles Greenway, Verizon and AOL are just down the street and, most importantly, the future Moorefield Station development and Dulles Silver Line metrorail stop will be walking distance from the hotel. With the urban feel Moorefield Station will bring to the area, "aloft" will fit right in while reaping the benefits of the increased people count and business travelers.

"aloft" hotel is definitely a break from the hospitality and business norm in Loudoun, it raises the bar for other hotels in the area and brings a fresh, urban feel to the area. I'm glad to see it here!

P.S. If you want to keep up with what's going on at "aloft" hotel in Ashburn, check out their blog as well.

Loudoun Business Spotlight: Pristine Acres – Estate Management

 

This Loudoun County business spotlight falls on Pristine Acres, an estate management company based in Ashburn, Virginia. The company was born when Steve Waldron came up with the concept and Kevin Calderwood provided VC funding. I had the privilege of working with Steve Waldron a while back and think that his first-of-its-kind concept in the area is great and definitely worth talking about.

Pristine Acres is an estate management company that consolidates many of the various services that homeowners require and currently have to use different vendors for. For example, if you need your lawn mowed, siding replaced, a deck built, your gutters cleaned and your pool maintained, you're probably going to call a lawn service, a general contractor, a gutter cleaning company and a pool company. This means contacting and coordinating with 4 different companies, numerous people and writing 4 different checks or giving out your credit card information to 4 different companies.

Pristine Acres offers all 4 of these and other services under one roof. This mean you'll have one point of contact, you'll only have to write one check or give your credit card information to only one company and you'll pay less overall than you would by using 4 different vendors. This saves you time, energy and money, which are all very valuable to most of us. And you don't have to pay for the entire service(s) all at once – you can pay for the services over a period of up to two years.

Here are the various services Pristine Acres offers:

• Garden Services
• Lawn Maintenance Services
• Landscape and Lawn Installations
• Irrigation and Landscape Lighting Maintenance
• Pool and Water Feature Services
• Exterior and Interior Home Cleaning and Maintenance
• Home Improvements and Solutions
• Snow Removal

Though Pristine Acres is based in Loudoun County, the company provides services throughout the DC metro area (VA/DC/MD). For more information, check out the Pristine Acres web site or contact Steve Waldron directly.