February 23, 2007
PDF of Press Release / Pursuit Page
BETHESDA, MD – This week, Loudoun Civic and Transit Center, LLC (“LCTC”) submitted a proposal to Loudoun County for a new Civic and Transit Center located at the site of the County’s planned transit center in Moorefield Station. This proposal comes in response to the County’s Request for Partnership Proposals for a New Government Administrative Center issued on November 6, 2006.
The LCTC proposal has been submitted in cooperation with the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation (the “Foundation”), a philanthropic organization whose mission is to enhance educational opportunities for young people in Loudoun County and across the Commonwealth. As part of this proposal response, the Foundation is making available more than 27 contiguous acres of land in Moorefield Station for the Civic and Transit Center. The land dedication is large enough to house not only the County’s current request for office space but also meet the County’s future expansion needs for decades to come.
Moorefield Station is located along the Dulles Greenway between the interchanges of Loudoun County Parkway and Route 772, three miles northwest of Dulles Airport. In 2000, the Foundation sought to rezone the 600-acre Moorefield Station property to provide additional resources to fund its educational mission. In 2002, Loudoun County rezoned the transit oriented development in fulfillment of its Comprehensive Plan. Now a planned urban development centered on the County’s future transit hub, Moorefield Station will combine housing, offices, shops, galleries, museums, restaurants, and hotels with public services, educational facilities, a library and recreation center to create an urban neighborhood with multi-story buildings and open green space throughout.
The LCTC proposal offers Loudoun County the following benefits:
- Furthers County transportation planning through a multi-modal transit hub: The Loudoun Civic and Transit Center is located at the heart of the County’s transportation network. It is designed around planned mass transit and will connect to all County bus routes. It will ultimately be Loudoun’s first stop on the planned Metro Silver Line. The site provides direct access to major County roads, including Loudoun County Parkway, Ryan Road/Route 772, Ashburn Village Road, and the Dulles Greenway, as well as convenient access to Routes 50, 7, 15, and 28.
- Provides no additional traffic impact: As part of the LCTC proposal, the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation offers to return a portion of density previously approved in 2002 back to the County. As a result, major roads serving eastern Loudoun County will feel no additional impact from the County’s administrative facilities.
- Improves customer accessibility: Moorefield Station is located at the County’s population center, reducing average customer travel times. The Project will offer convenient and abundant on-site parking and connection to all County bus routes.
- Delivers immediate economic value to the County: Today the County leases office space in nearly 20 locations scattered throughout the County. By replacing annually escalating rent payments with consolidated building ownership, the proposal delivers operational efficiencies to County employees and convenience Loudoun Civic and Transit Center News Release, page 2 of 6 to the citizens they serve. At the same time it creates significant savings for Loudoun County taxpayers.
- Resolves a workplace shortage through a flexible 100-year solution: 27 contiguous transit-adjacent acres immediately addresses the County's current, intermediate, and long term needs however large they may be. With additional County government offices in Moorefield Station, the County will have an opportunity, should it desire, to alleviate crowding at the Courts through use of all or a portion of the County’s existing Government Center in Leesburg. The proposed Loudoun Civic and Transit Center offers a compelling and enduring solution for the County’s workspace requirements. A truly transit-integrated civic destination, the proposal provides enough land to accommodate immediate office, transportation, and future expansion needs. It also provides enough land for cultural arts, entertainment, or other community serving facilities.
The Loudoun Civic and Transit Center will become a social engine for the community, promote a positive image for the County, and stimulate high quality community development in the surrounding suburban neighborhoods. Retail, commercial and civic uses are thoughtfully connected. Building architecture reflects the “County of Contrasts” motto with elements both modern and traditional. All transportation needs are met. In short, the proposal meets every requirement of the County’s Request for Partnership Proposals while simultaneously building the foundation for a world-class civic destination that will endure for a century and beyond.
In addition to the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, LCTC is joined by Edgemoor Real Estate Services, a leader in public-private partnership development and construction. The design team combines the world-renowned civic building design expertise of HOK with the local knowledge, longstanding community involvement, and design insight of DBI Architects. Engineering services will be delivered by Patton Harris Rust & Associates, and construction will be completed by the region’s largest and most-capable builders, The Clark Construction Group and Shirley Contracting Company.
For further information, please visit our website:
www.LoudounCivicandTransitCenter.com
Or contact:
Mr. Neal Fleming
Loudoun Civic and Transit Center, LLC
c/o Edgemoor Real Estate Services
7500 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 272-2999