Dulles Greenway Tolls Going Up…Again

The tolls along the Dulles Greenway are about to go up…again. Effective January 1, 2009, tolls at the Mainline Plaza/Route 28, Route 606/Ox Road and Route 607/Loudoun County Parkway will increase by $0.40 for a 2-axle vehicle. During rush hour, the toll at the Mainline Plaza, Route 606/Ox Road and Route 607/Loudoun County Parkway will increase $1.00 for a 2-axle vehicle. 

The increase means that those passing through the main Dulles Greenway toll plaza are looking at $3.90 during non-rush hour, $4.50 during rush hour* (each way).

Though not too many people are happy about it and haven't been for quite a while, it seems that the State Corporation Commission's ruling has been made and there's not much that can be done about it.

*The Dulles Greenway defines rush hour as 6:30 am through 9:00 am (Eastbound) and 4:00 pm through 6:30 pm (Westbound)

The "good" news? The Dulles Greenway has improved their VIP Cash Back Program. That's right folks… Toll prices are about to go up 10 and 22 percent, but you still get 5 percent back!

Related Articles

Complete list of Dulles Greenway toll prices

History/background of the Dulles Greenway

Brambleton’s “Green” Public Safety Center Gets Red Light

Brambleton's "green" public safety center just got the red light from Loudoun County last month due to funding concerns. The Brambleton public safety center is one of 22 projects Loudoun put on a 90-day hold last month because of concerns about funding.

Loudoun is putting the Brambleton public safety center and other projects on hold until they review the budget. But Loudoun may also be putting this project on hold until they see whether a group called Climate Communities will succeed in their plea to President-elect Barack Obama to free up $10 billion nationwide for conservation and energy-efficient block grants and $18 billion for mass transit improvements. Should Climate Communities succeed, Loudoun will try and get some of that money to use on the Brambleton public safety center and other projects.

But Loudoun is not the only player in the game. The county is facing stiff competition from Arlington County, Alexandria, Montgomery County and other jurisdictions locally, as well as across the U.S. Everyone is battling for a piece of the stimulus pie.

About the planned Brambleton public safety center:

Plans for the Brambleton public safety center include a $7.2 million, 22,350-square-foot facility that would house a county fire and rescue station and sheriff's office. It would have a geothermal system for heating and air conditioning, bioretention pool, premium parking spots for car poolers and hybrid drivers, low-flow shower heads and urinals, ground-source heating pumps and bike racks, among other energy-efficient features. This would result in a savings of about 30 percent a year, or about $14,000 at the current rate, according to Loudoun County Supervisor Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac).

The planned Brambleton public safety center is designed to reach the silver level of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building standards and recoup the county’s investment within three years.

Source: bizjournals.com and washingtonpost.com

Photo credit

News Stories, Developments Affecting Loudoun County Real Estate

In case you missed them, here are a few news stories and recent developments that affect Loudoun County real estate:

- Stephen Fuller, Economist, outlines how important Dulles Region is to Loudoun, Fairfax – calls it a "magnet"

- Developer, Mike Scott, wants to build Minor League baseball stadium in Loudoun County – revenue, traffic impact?

- NVRPA plans new Loudoun County park along Potomac north of Leesburg

- Leesburg making it easier for developers and businesses to set up shop downtown 

- Loudoun County and Town of Purcellville reach agreement on new high school

- Loudoun County Planning Commission recommends approval of Broadlands Regional Medical Center land use applications

- Loudoun County hiring senior budget analyst to be part of Loudoun's budget team

Loudoun May Hit More Financial Turbulence Soon

In case you haven't heard, Loudoun County is facing a huge budget shortfall and is currently cutting fat from every agency. The latest news is that if Loudoun can't issue more municipal bonds by the end of November, the ride is going to get even more bumpy.

Roger Zurn, Loudoun County Treasurer, summed it up well in a WUSA9 article about Loudoun's financial situation:

Loudoun Treasurer Roger Zurn says he's nervous. He's worried about getting the money to pay for everything they've built, like their jail that's still under construction.

"The markets have shutdown in terms of municipal bonds, that's been a major source of financing for us because we've been growing so fast," says Roger Zurn.

Loudoun officials are reassuring residents and the media that bonds will be issued and that things will be ok. We'll see what happens as the year goes on. I'll keep you posted.

LoudounExtra.com and ABC 7 News Now On Twitter

When Twitter first came out, it seemed to just be a "tech geek" communication platform with no practical business applications. Well, that's changing. Mass media such as LoudounExtra.com (Washington Post) and ABC 7 News have all gotten on Twitter and are using it to connect with those in the community. 

Feel free to follow LoudounExtra.com and/or ABC 7 News to keep up with what's going on in the area as it happens. And feel free to also follow me on Twitter if you'd like.

Related Articles

A Way To Find Others With Similar Interests

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.

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

Loudoun May Increase Zoning Fees – Offset Costs or Curb Development?

Loudoun County is considering drastically increasing rezoning fees. This will directly affect individual landowners and developers as well as future home buyers. Why? Because it will increase the cost of new construction homes on land rezoned to residential or higher-density (e.g. rezoning from single family homes on 3+ acres to clusters of town homes).

Currently, developers and other landowners who submit a rezoning application must pay Loudoun County a processing fee of $15,730, plus $80 for each acre above 200 acres for properties that exceed that size.

Under a proposal endorsed last week by a Board of Supervisors committee, the base fee would jump to $35,605 for residential rezonings and $27,723 for nonresidential rezonings.

The rezoning application fees are among several land-use fees that the board is expected to consider raising this fall.

Some say that the increase in fees will put an added burden on property owners and small businesses. Others say that the increase in fees is necessary and overdue (fees haven’t been raised since the early 1990′s).

Is this increase, among others, being considered in order to offset costs to the county or to curb building and development? What do you think?

Source: Washington Post

A Way To Find Others With Similar Interests

Curious as to who has the same interests as you? Wondering what people are saying about and doing in Loudoun County? Want to make friends and communicate with others near you? One way to do so is through Twitter and TwitterLocal.

Twitter brings people together that have the same interests whether it be due to geographical area, work, organization or some other common thread. Twitter is a "micro-blogging" platform that allows you to post 140 character snippets (aka "Tweets") of what you’re doing, your thoughts, comments to other Twitters, etc.

Twitter is a good way to post about stuff that is not necessarily worth a phone call, blog post or email. Your friends and associates can "follow" you and get your updates sent to them directly on their computer or their cell phone. You can see who else has the same interests or likes to go to the same places as you do. The common interest brings you and them together online and eventually, offline/in person (if you choose to do so).

TwitterLocal is basically a search/reader for Twitter. Just put in a keyword such as "Ashburn" or "Loudoun County" and it will search through Twitter and send you all the "Tweets" that have those keywords in them. You can get real specific with the keywords such as "Ashburn Ice Rink" or "Spartan Football". You can see who’s talking about what’s of interest to you and see what they’re saying. Same goes for others – they can see that you’re talking about the same things of interest to them and get your take on it.

Twitter and TwitterLocal are an integral part of social media and social networking, a movement that is gaining tremendous momentum and will not be going away any time soon. It’s amazing how it can bring people and information together that may never have been brought together otherwise.

For a great and simple explanation of Twitter and how/why it works, check out these two short videos:

Twitter in Plain English

Twitter is Like Cheers

***If you’re on Twitter, feel free to share your handle here in a comment. And please stop by and say hello on Twitter – my handle is DaniloB. You can also check out my "Tweets" on the Twitter widget located near the top of the right hand column of the page.

« Previous Page — Next Page »