…at least, the development around the ballfield did. The ballfield was already approved. Obviously this is a huge project, so I’ve had a few people ask me what I thought of it. Here’s the recap of the project, as best I can determine:

Kincora is a $2 billion, 336 acre multi-use development, located in Sterling across from the Dulles Town Center Mall, where Route 7 and Route 28 intersect. The plan for a 5,500 seat, 75,000 square foot baseball stadium was approved by the Loudoun Board of Supervisors last year, and also included just over 900,000 square feet of office space in 8 buildings, and 74,000 square feet of other uses, to include restaurants, banks, and other services. The mixed use portion that the Board of Supervisors approved this month totaled 2.7 million square feet of office space (not sure if that is in addition to what was already approved?), nearly 400,000 square feet of commercial, 575,000 square feet of hotel space, 277,000 square feet of ‘civic uses’ (including a fire/rescue station and a performing arts center), and 1,400 multi-family residential units.  The residential component allows for 228 Affordable Dwelling Units and workplace housing units.  The development is owned by a partnership of Tritec and Norton Scott called NA Dulles Real Estate Investor LLC (according to an article in the Washington Post.)

The plans also include road improvements: extending Gloucester Parkway over Broad Run, and providing shuttle service from the community to the Metro station planned at Route 606/ Old Ox Road.  The baseball stadium will be used by a new franchise of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Kincora’s website also details plans for a 150 acre park and nature preserve including a wetlands trail and linking to the W&OD trail.

All of the information I’m listing here is from past Washington Post and Leesburg Today articles, and from the Kincora website. After reading the comments left on the prior articles, it appears that locals are divided on this; some are ardent supporters of either baseball or the growth coming to Loudoun, while others complain that a Board of Supervisors elected as ‘slow growth’ proponents are not fulfilling their promises.  Either way, with a timeline of completion of over 15 to 20 years, it may be a moot point.

As I was researching this post, the Loudoun Times Mirror wrote an article that echos my own thoughts…many of the mixed-use developments approved in Loudoun have not come anywhere close to breaking ground yet.  While it looks like the plans for the baseball stadium will be completed (the VIP Baseball group is planning to announce a timeline and a team name soon) there is no guarantee that the entire project will be finished as proposed.  The first phase is to include the completion of Pacific Boulevard and the construction of the fire station, followed by construction of an affordable housing development. The Times Mirror article quotes the developer as saying the retail, commercial, and office units will be built as soon as they have lease commitments in place.

Personally, I’d much rather see a well thought out approach to development, with a smart combination of mixed use. I like the way that the Village at Leesburg and the Lansdowne Town Center have added to our community; that kind of combined use is appealing in the use of space, the proximity of housing to restaurants/retail/office.  Loudoun needs more ‘walkable’ communities…or at least multi-use where you can accomplish multiple activities at the same place.  If Kincora allows live/work/play to happen in the same place (eventually, anyway) I think that’s smart growth.  Whether it gets accomplished without causing huge traffic issues remains to be seen. I’m optimistic for the positive impact  a minor league baseball team will have on Loudoun and the youth here;  I will certainly take my kiddos out to watch a game.

What do you think? Please comment and share your thoughts, I’d love to hear them!

Cheers,

Heather

(photo courtesy of B Tal)

Last night was date night, so we snuck over to Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm, their Ashburn location, to have a late dinner.  After a fantastic dinner (and dessert, the brownie sundae is awesome!) the sky looked so amazing that I had to double back to snap this photo. Hard to do a sunset like that justice.

Cheers,

Heather

It’s that time of year again. As I sit here typing this, with my morning coffee beside me, my son and my husband are at the second weigh-in and tryout for the Upper Loudoun Youth Football League.   This is Wil’s sixth season playing tackle football (he’s 12, soon to be 13), and he absolutely lives for it.  Who would have thought that my intellectual, somewhat bookish, computer game-loving son would be happiest strapping on shoulder pads and cracking helmets on the field?  I was certainly surprised.

I write about youth sports quite a bit here on LoCoMusings, not in small part because I have four kids that participate on varying teams in Loudoun.  My three girls all play softball (two within the Western Loudoun Girls Softball League, and one for the Loudoun Storm travel team), Wil also played lacrosse with Western Loudoun Lacrosse, and this year two of my daughters will play basketball with Western Loudoun Basketball in the winter.  One of the best things about raising a family in Loudoun is the smorgasbord of activities across the county that the kids can choose to participate in.

What my son and daughters have learned from their team experiences is how to work together with their teammates, a sense of camaraderie, and a quiet confidence (well, sometimes loud confidence, but still) that comes from doing your best and having success with it. You can’t put a price tag on seeing your child completely excited with their achievement, and proud of him or herself. Worth every moment spent in the stands to get there.

Football is a huge time commitment, not only for my son but for our family.  My husband helps coach, and practices (starting the second week of August) are every weeknight until school starts, then twice a week plus Saturday games through the fall.  What you see at the practices though, is the best of western Loudoun: families spreading out to watch, moms and dads chatting, little brothers and sisters playing together, picnic dinners.  For games, parents and siblings (and grandparents, too) dress in team colors and rattle cowbells to fire their boys up. True community, and I’m looking forward to it. I love being a football mom!

By the way, please mark your calendar for Upper Loudoun Football’s second annual Football Fest…it’s slated for Saturday, August 28th, at Loudoun Valley High School. There will be music, food, and exhibition games, and it’s the primary fundraiser for the league for the year.  Keep an eye on the league’s website for more details.

Cheers,

Heather

After a tremendous fundraising effort from the PTO, Emerick Elementary in Purcellville now has a snazzy new entrance sign. Pretty cool!

Cheers,

Heather

If you are a regular reader here at Musings at all, you know that I enjoy social media…Facebook and Twitter, in particular, although I harbor a secret crush on blip.fm (I love music, ya know) and I do maintain a profile at LinkedIn. What I’ve noticed lately is that quite a few businesses in Loudoun County have now built a presence in these places, and it has made it so much easier for me to keep up with what is happening here locally. Whether it’s restaurants like Cajun Experience tweeting to let us know about an upcoming crawfish boil, or news updates from Loudoun Independent that are so timely the proverbial ink isn’t dry on the story, there is so much rich sharing taking place. Here’s a cheat sheet for some of the places I’ve found in LoCo that are active on the interwebs… (and please feel free to comment and share, I know there are others I’ve missed!)

• My LoCo Peeps and Places list on Twitter (137 people, businesses, or organizations, at last count)
• Advanced Corrective Chiropractic
• Bluemont Vineyard
• Brambleton
• Cajun Experience
• Catoctin Creek Distilling Company
• Cheers Sports
• Cloud Nine Salon
• Crooked Tree Entertainment
• Fabbioli Cellars
• Holy Brew
• Jerry’s Flowers
• King Pinz
• Leesburg First Friday
• Leesburg Magazine
• Lost Creek Winery
• Loudoun County Parks and Rec
• Loudoun Magazine
• Loudoun Times Mirror
• Made in Loudoun
• Magnolia’s at the Mill
• Main Street Wings
• Night Light Stories
• Reflections Auto Salon
• Village at Leesburg
• Virginia Wine Time
• Visit Loudoun
• Viva Loudoun
• Westpark Golf Club
• Windy City Red Hots

Cheers,

Heather