Virginia Business

June 11, 2007

Growing Pains: Loudoun's Burgeoning Population Attracts Development, Strains Resources

One of the most active commercial real estate developers in the Washington, D.C., area, Buchanan Partners is known for pioneering projects in emerging markets — including Loudoun County. But as recently as 2003, the vast area around Washington Dulles International Airport gave company officials pause. “They weren’t sold on whether there was a market for the existing zoning,” says Nicole Morrill, vice president of project management for Maryland-based Buchanan Partners.

Today, though, Buchanan Partners is building Arcola Center, a mammoth mixed-use development in what has become the epicenter of change in one of the fastest-growing and affluent counties in the nation.

The project, located along the Route 50 corridor near the Dulles airport property, is expected to cost up to $1 billion over 20 years. It will include 2.1 million square feet of office and commercial space, two to three hotels, and plenty of space for new town homes, condominiums and apartments.