Loudoun Now for Sept. 27, 2018

Page 1

LoudounNow LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE

[ Vol. 3, No. 45 ]

[ loudounnow.com ]

Special Discover Loudoun Section Inside This Issue

September 27, 2018 ]

Comstock, Wexton Spar in Battleground Debate BY RENSS GREENE

Renss Greene/Loudoun Now

Construction is underway on an ice skating center and Super Walmart at Compass Creek south of Leesburg.

Microsoft Buys 332 Acres Near Leesburg

W LOUDOUN NOW STAFF

hile it has been Amazon and its search of a second headquarters that has been the focus of economic development efforts in recent months, another tech giant just made a huge investment in Loudoun County. Microsoft Corp. last week closed on deal to purchase 332 acres on the west side of Leesburg Executive Airport from the Petersen Companies. The Compass Creek property, just south of Leesburg’s municipal boundary, is a 550-acre tract approved for construction of 2.5 million square feet of office space, 550,000 square feet of retail development, 300,000 square feet of flex-industrial uses and a hotel. Already approved on the property is the 100,000-square-foot center ION International Training Center and a Super Wal-Mart. The sale was valued at nearly $73 million. Supervisors Tony R. Buffington

(R-Blue Ridge) and Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin) said Monday night the site will likely be used for data centers. Under the property’s current zoning, data centers are permitted. “I’m very excited that Microsoft has made this commitment to Loudoun County. Loudoun continues to evolve as a technology location, and I’m very confident this will be a very successful campus for the future of one of the world’s great companies,” Loudoun’s Executive Director of Economic Development Buddy Rizer said. While the land is located south of Leesburg’s municipal limits, it is located in a zone the Town Council is targeting for possible annexation. The land is located within the Joint Land Management Area, where the county board controls zoning, but the town is expected to provide water and sewer service. Because the town charges significantly higher utility rates to its out-of-town customers, there may be an economic incentive to move the property inside town limits if Microsoft plans data centers, which use high volumes of water in their cooling systems.

Microsoft’s new property adds to a de facto Leesburg technology corridor, with spinal technology company K2M and engineering company Electronic Instrumentation and Technology LLC also in the area of Battlefield Parkway and the Dulles Greenway. “I’m most certainly excited at the prospect of a major company coming to the Leesburg area and hope this translates into new high-paying jobs for the residents of Leesburg,” said Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burk. The Microsoft deal is the latest in a series of tech company land grabs. Days earlier, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority sold 424 acres of surplus land on the west side of Dulles Airport to Digital Realty Trust LP for $236.5 million. In July, Sentinel Data Centers paid $82.5 million for 280 acres of undeveloped land just north of Dulles Airport. Also in July, the Board of Supervisors approved plans by Zebra Ventures LLC, a DuPont family venture, to build four data centers on 61 acres at the former WorldCom campus in Ashburn.

The candidates in one of the mostwatched races for Congress debated before a packed house at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne Friday morning. Both sought to advertise themselves as bipartisan and effective legislators. “I stepped up to run for Congress because I truly fear how much damage can be done to this country in the next two years by this president and the Congress that enables him, but also because I have proven that I am a thoughtful and successful legislator who delivers real bipartisan results for my constituents,” said State Sen. Jennifer T. Wexton (D-33), during the event sponsored by the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. “This race is about results versus the resistance,” second-term representative Barbara Comstock (R-VA-10) said. “My opponent is rated the most left-wing senator, and has said she wants to represent the resistance. I want to and have represented you and have gotten results.” Wexton’s attempt to unseat Comstock has been one of the more closely watched races in the country. Virginia’s 10th congressional district is one of the nation’s most politically mixed districts and quickly changing. Voters have backed a combination of both Republicans and Democrats at the local and state levels. In its most recent elections, the area has seen a rising blue wave—flushing out all but one Republican member of purple Loudoun’s state House of Delegates representation, and supporting Democrats Hillary Clinton for president and Ralph Northam for governor. RealClearPolitics ranks the race leaning Democrat. Comstock, however, has handily won her elections, even when Democrats won elsewhere on the ballot. But she has seen her electoral margin shrink—she won her first election with 56 percent of the vote, and in 2016 with 53 percent. The race has been closely watched as DEBATE >> 35

ECRWSS Postal Customer

Permit #1401 Southern MD

PAID

U.S. Postage PRESRT STD


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.