1. Yes, it's a whole new look! Have questions or need help? Please post your question in the New Forum Questions thread Click the X to the right to dismiss this notice
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Seeing tons of unread posts after the upgrade? See this thread for help. Click the X to the right to dismiss this notice
    Dismiss Notice

Broadlands South Hotel Meeting

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by timtozer, Jul 9, 2009.

  1. timtozer

    timtozer New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2009
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    The Loudoun County Planning Commission is holding a public meeting at the Loudoun County Government Center on July 16 at 6:00 pm to hear from the community regarding a new hotel in Broadlands South. Come and voice your concerns about placing a hotel in Broadlands.
     
  2. mwb2218

    mwb2218 New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2006
    Messages:
    231
    Likes Received:
    0
    Yeah- I sure would not want the local businesses to recieve additional customers from this.
    This land is zoned for Class A office retail and is at the corner of Old Ryan close to the Greenway. It is not going to remain a field forever.
     
  3. msflynn

    msflynn New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2002
    Messages:
    1,095
    Likes Received:
    2
    The property is between the Greenway and the big Broadlands sign/fountain and will be about 1 block from where Moorfield station actual Metro stop will be. If you look at the plans and the property this would be a very good use for Class A office property, but like everything else in the county requires public imput and a special exception There are people opposing this plan, because it will bring in traffic (I guess the Metro station won't). If you have an opinion one way or another please let the planning commission know.

    Staci
     
  4. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2002
    Messages:
    5,281
    Likes Received:
    344
    If people are worried about a hotel, wait until Moorefield Station comes. It consists of 15-20 20 story buildings, among other things.
    To me, this is an excellent site for a hotel....next to a highway, bordered by a couple of major roadways and next to what will become the largest development in Northern Virginia.
    It is also not located next to ANY residential units.
     
  5. wahoogeek

    wahoogeek New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2004
    Messages:
    505
    Likes Received:
    2
    eh? bigger than tyson's or clarendon/courthouse/ballston or cyrstal city? bigger than loudoun 1?
     
  6. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2002
    Messages:
    5,281
    Likes Received:
    344
    It will dwarf One Loudoun. Designed to be the "new" Ballston.
    I believe the entire Moorefield Station when combined with Loudoun Station across the highway was to have a combined size bigger than what Tyson's Corner was when Moorefield/\Loudoun Stations were approved.
     
  7. wahoogeek

    wahoogeek New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2004
    Messages:
    505
    Likes Received:
    2
    Thanks Cliff I had no idear. It will be interesting how it plays out over time. Areas around metro stops in VA have taken many, many, years to grow and be developed. Vienna and Dunn Loring were basically "undeveloped" for all of its existence less the last few years, Ballston has changed dramatically in the last few as well. Will a Loudoun station be developed like these in the last few years or follow the more traditional path? Time and $$$ will tell.
     
  8. timtozer

    timtozer New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2009
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Van Metre has the by-right authority to build office space on the land. Neither the community map on the Broadlands website nor the large map in the Nature Centre show this space as hotel. Rather it is shown as office space. This is very similar to situation in North Broadlands where the residents were taken by surprise that a hospital was going to be put on the land up there. In addition, the hotel, much like the hospital, will operate on a 24/7 basis. Thus, two main reasons why the Board of Supervisors rejected the hospital are also present with regards to the hotel.

    The real underlying issue here, that I have learned by attending a public hearing and a work session, is that the County failed to properly plan for the widening of Old Road Ryan. As part of its proffer, Van Metre is going to “give” the County pieces of its land that abut Old Ryan so it can be widened to 4 lanes and straightened. Van Metre is essentially playing a game of chicken with the County that if the special exception is not granted, then it will build an office park and the road improvements will not occur on Old Ryan.

    Van Metre does not even want to build the hotel for 4 years, so there is an issue of timing. Why does this special exception need to be granted now? The answer is the Old Ryan Road issue above.

    With regards to Moorefield, unlike Broadlands, there is by-right authority to build hotels. Such a right does not exist in Broadlands. Let Moorefield station build the hotels in accordance with their current zoning. There is simply no need to grant a special exception for a hotel that will not be built for 4 years when there will be ample time and money to build them in Moorefield Station where they belong.
     
  9. gunzour

    gunzour "Living on the Edge"

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2007
    Messages:
    586
    Likes Received:
    0
    Not sure why 24/7 matters -- the Harris Teeter across the street is open 24/7 and I haven't seen that be an issue. Plus I think a hotel would be more appealing than another generic office park.

    Those were not the two main reasons the BoS rejected the hospital. There was one main reason -- INOVA. I suspect something similar is at play here. Do you perhaps have an interest in eliminating competition for a future hotel at Moorefield?
     
  10. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2002
    Messages:
    5,281
    Likes Received:
    344
    Moorefield, once it's started, is expected to be a 50 year project.
     
  11. pamD

    pamD New Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2004
    Messages:
    359
    Likes Received:
    1
    Loved the flyer against the hotel in my mailbox today. Ridiculous! Almost makes me want to argue FOR the hotel!
     
  12. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2002
    Messages:
    5,281
    Likes Received:
    344
    1. The Office Space allows dozens of additional uses with Special Exception approval. In fact, getting this approval is fairly routine. The previous Board approved 84 out of 85 requests.

    2. There is a huge difference between this and the hospital. There are no residences immediately adjacent to it. There is not a multi-billion dollar competing company fighting against it.

    3. I really don't care if/when a hotel may be built. It's their property and they are trying to get it approved for uses they think they can sell it for.
    The key question is whether that site is appropriate for a hotel or not.

    4. The county does not need to approve this application to get the land for Old Ryan Rd if they really need it. They can eminent domain it.
     
  13. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2003
    Messages:
    5,236
    Likes Received:
    249
    WHY OH WHY do some people think that a hotel will cause traffic problems?!
     
  14. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2006
    Messages:
    2,512
    Likes Received:
    19
    And it's barely even in Broadlands anyway. What do the people in Vantage Pointe think - they're the ones who are right by there? Compared to a lot of uses that could and will eventually be in those nice open fields a hotel seems like a good choice: they're likely to keep their building and grounds clean and neat and do what they can to make it a safe play for people to stay. Beats having a 7-11 pop up there, IMO.
     
  15. timtozer

    timtozer New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2009
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    I have no competing interests here--just oppose the hotel. I'm not anti-development either. The land is zoned for office/retail, and that's fine. Let Van Metre build office space and lease it to SAIC, Boeing, or Booz Hamilton. That would bring the sort of jobs into this county that we need. Hotels do not attract high-caliber jobs. Folks from Vantage Point did show up at the last public hearing and had a petition signed by over 50 people from their community opposing the hotel.
     
  16. beahmer

    beahmer Member

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2004
    Messages:
    849
    Likes Received:
    15
    Timtozer - just out of curiosity , are you a Broadlands resident? And if so can you see this property or something?

    I cant believe anyone in Broadlands would have a problem with this hotel. It sits on the edge of a highway at what will be a very busy intersection once Morrefiled is developed. The property that is IN Broadlands, near it, is a nature area and soon to be office park and a shopping center. So how will a hotel a few hundred yards "FURTHER" away be an issue for Broadlands?

    I think it will be a great site in the future once the other property begins to develop and I dont think the other hotels in the area have brought rampant crime as the flyer in my mailbox suggests...

    Oh and BTW you say Van Metre is trying to give the county land to expand Old Ryan road to get their hotel approved - I think your mistaken. If I remember correctly Van Metre is trying to keep major traffic off DeMott, because the County was trying to extend Demott over to Moorefield which would have made it a direct shot for traffic coming through Broadlands. They dont want the traffic in Broadlands either and thus offered the Ryan road solution as a more direct route into Moorefield.
     
  17. beahmer

    beahmer Member

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2004
    Messages:
    849
    Likes Received:
    15
    Im sure the people that work in the hotel industry appreciate your thoughts on their jobs.

    Businesses tend to look at things such as the nearby hotels when they think about locating into a certain area so that out of town folks dont have to stay to far away. This is something that Loudoun has been without, and why you see hotels poping up all over - and generally filled to capacity from the start. Oh at dont forget these hotels generate tax revenue - something this county could use a little more of!
     
  18. Chsalas

    Chsalas Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2003
    Messages:
    1,619
    Likes Received:
    37
    What a crock of shi---. That note in my mail was just someone fear mongering to stop the hotel. The hotel will certainly be a great addition to the area. I can't believe all this nonsense over a needed resource.

    unbelievable.
     
  19. The Sparrow

    The Sparrow New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2005
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    1
    The flyer in the mailbox talked about a correlation between hotels and crime. Does anyone know if the communities near the two new hotels off Loudoun County Parkway / Greenway have seen any problems? If the claim is true, it seems like we should be seeing a problem over there.
     
  20. timtozer

    timtozer New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2009
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Thank you to everyone for the thoughtful comments and insights. It is nice to hear from members of the community, and this forum is one opportunity. I guess I just have a more negative view of hotels versus office space being I close proximity of a neighborhood. To me, office space will bring higher paying jobs from locals within our community. A lot of them will work, live, eat, and play in and around Ashburn. Hotels bring outsiders into the community. I’m not saying we need to live in a bubble, and understand the Metro is coming. But, we should fight to preserve our neighborhood as residential and office/retail. The plan put forth by Van Metre for prospective buyers of the neighborhood does not list hotel space.

    Beahmer: Yes, I am a Broadlands resident. No, I cannot see the property. As to the hotel jobs versus high-paying jobs, I see this as a net loss to the county. The county should make every effort to attract high-tech or government contractors, such as the new deal inked by Raytheon off Pacific over by Wegmans. As far as tax revenue, I’m all for increasing the tax revenue. I asked Van Metre, but they do not know the difference in tax revenue of a hotel versus office park. But, it may be something that is worth looking into by the Planning Commission or BoS.

    Sparrow: I believe Van Metre asked, but the sheriff’s office does not keep such statistics.
     

Share This Page