Buchanan Facilitates Slave Quarters Restoration
April 19, 2006
Buchanan Partners Facilitates Planning for 200-Year-Old Slave Quarters Building in Loudoun County, VA
Buchanan Partners Facilitates Planning for 200-Year-Old Slave Quarters Building in Loudoun County, VA
Dulles, Virginia, April 19, 2006…A 200-year-old slave quarters building is slated to become the focal point of a new educational, cultural, and tourism destination in Loudoun County, Virginia. Buchanan Partners, developer of the 400-acre mixed-use Arcola Center project that surrounds the slave quarters, has contracted a team of consultants to work with local residents, government officials, and stakeholders to study the potential of the Arcola Slave Quarters as a tourism destination.
The consulting team, led by Randall Travel Marketing, recently held a feasibility forum with members of Friends of the Slave Quarters, Loudoun County government and public school officials, the Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association (LCVA), and others, including Supervisor Stephen Snow (R-Dulles). Supervisor Snow organized and appointed the Route 50 Task Force, which developed recommendations for redevelopment of a five-mile stretch of Route 50 that includes Arcola Center and the Slave Quarters. The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote in May or June on a Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPAM) that would permit implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations.
“The Arcola Slave Quarters building is one of the few remaining vestiges of Loudoun County’s African American history,” remarked Supervisor Snow. “It can become a destination for heritage tours and an important resource for our children’s education. I will do whatever it takes to make this dream a reality.”
“We believe that a restored Slave Quarters site will attract local residents, school groups, and both domestic and international travelers,” said Cheryl Kilday, President and CEO of LCVA. “It will deepen and broaden the experience of seeing other important local attractions such as historic Leesburg, Oatlands Plantation, Waterford, wineries, and the new Smithsonian Institution Udvar-Hazy Center.”
“Friends of the Slave Quarters will continue to document the history of this important site and work with the other organizations to preserve it for future generations,” said Arlean Hill of Friends of the Slave Quarters.
“The restored Slave Quarters site will provide the opportunity for education and tourism, and will also serve as a memorial and tribute to Loudoun’s slaves and their descendants,” said Diane Ryburn, Director of the Loudoun County Department of Parks and Recreation department.
“We look forward to receiving Randall’s final report and continuing to work with the County, the Friends group, LCVA, Loudoun County government and public schools, and other civic and cultural groups in the County to collectively determine how to best preserve, protect, and enhance this historical site,” said Nicole Morrill, Vice President of Project Management for Buchanan Partners. “Our goal is to enable the Arcola Slave Quarters to become a cultural anchor for the area and for the new Arcola Center community.”
The Arcola Slave Quarters housed slaves who worked on the James Lewis farm in the early 1800’s. The remarkably well-preserved Slave Quarters building, constructed of fieldstone and wood, is situated on 4.5 acres of county-owned land that also includes a farmhouse that was constructed in the 1930’s after the original Lewis family farmhouse burned down. Buchanan Partners plans to donate additional land to the County in order to enhance the planned historical destination site.
Arcola Center is a mixed-use community combining residential, commercial, retail, hotel, and cultural uses. Strategically located at the juncture of Route 50, Route 606, and the Loudoun County Parkway, Arcola Center is planned for up to 2.1 million square feet of office and commercial space, up to 1.1 million square feet of retail space, and approximately 80 acres of high-density housing including much-needed workforce and affordable housing. Pending rezoning, ground is expected to be broken for the first commercial buildings by mid-2007. For more information, see the newly launched Web site www.thearcolacenter.com.
Randall Travel Marketing has over 20 years of travel, tourism, and marketing experience. President Judy Randall is co-author of the annual publication “Top Ten Trends in Travel and Tourism.” Assisting her are Cheryl Hargrove of The HTC Group, who served as the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s first director of heritage tourism; Chris Cavanaugh of Magellan Strategy Group, who previously worked with the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C.; and Frances Harris Smiley, who supervises eight Alabama Welcome Centers, coordinates the state’s heritage tourism program, and authored the nation’s first Black Heritage Tourism Guide.
One of the top 20 commercial developers in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, according to the Washington Business Journal, Buchanan Partners has developed a portfolio of over three million square feet of commercial property. The portfolio includes office, industrial, flex and retail space projects that have been developed, acquired, approved, or under construction. Buchanan Partners also has acquired, planned or developed over 1,600 acres of commercial land over the past seven years. For more information, see the company’s Web site at www.buchananpartners.com.
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