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Loudoun County
(web | news) , Va. - Northern Virginia may be the new home to a minor league baseball team; a developer wants to build a 6,500 seat stadium in Loudoun County where Routes 28 and 7 intersect near the Dulles Town Center.
The 400 acre site would be the home to a $3 billion project. It would include offices, multi-family homes, 400,000 square feet of retail space, three hotels and a ball park. The project, located near another major development in the works called One Loudoun, will draw in more people, but it's something people have mixed feelings about. "Revenue builder for the people around here but, at the same time, all of the area that used to be trees is no longer trees. So you got to take the good with the bad," said Chuck Bowley, Ashburn resident.
But developer Mike Scott sees the major project as a gateway to Loudoun County. "That traffic goes by there everyday looking for entertainment, but it goes into Fairfax and into the District, so this is a way to keep some of that money at home."
People who work in Loudoun agree the area is long overdue for a baseball stadium. "I mean even though you have the Nationals down in D.C. That's D.C. and Loudoun County. I mean we're a fairly large population center around here," said Loudoun worker Chris Cippel.
But with increased population comes traffic. Loudoun County board chair Scott York says developers would help ease traffic issues in the Dulles area by paying for road improvements. "It would help to finish up the completion of Pacific Boulevard as well as Gloucester Parkway which includes a couple of bridges that need to be built, which there is absolutely no funding for," said Scott York, Board of Supervisors chairman.
The project would also create more affordable housing and a shopping center. "Most of the people now are working class, middle class and it's a great way to create more homes," said Jamie Ou, Loudoun worker.
The board of supervisors didn't take any action on the proposal, but in the next few months, they will bring it back to the board and hope to get approval. Overall, the developer expects the project will take about 10 to 15 years to complete.
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