News Details (Posted: March 6, 2008):

The Changing Face of Woodbridge

Full Description:

Woodbridge is undergoing a "face-lift" and population growth. Over the next five to six years the city will experience a dramatic expansion with the development of many new and luxury single family home, town home and condominium communities along the eastern end of the city (Route 1 Corridor). Many of these communities (Potomac Club, Port Potomac, Eagles Pointe, Rippon Village) will feature amenities such as club houses, pools, tennis courts, hiking trails, parks and large fitness facilities. These communities are attracting many affluent families to the area due to the availability of these types of luxurious amenities coupled with the city's geographic proximity to Washington DC and the local availability of Mass Transit (Omniride Bus Service, VRE). Home sale prices in Prince William County appreciated 20-24% between 2001 and 2005 due to the appeal and affordability of this county relative to other Northern Virginia areas.

In the second quarter of 2008, The Mills (acquired in 2007 by Simon Property Group) and Lerner Enterprises will open an upscale shopping center known as the Potomac Town Center. It will be located at the southern end of Woodbridge, across I-95 from Potomac Mills between Dale Boulevard and Opitz Boulevard. The Potomac Town Center will feature 650,000 square feet of retail in an "open-air lifestyle" town center anchored by a Macy's department store, a Wegman's gourmet food market. and a major bookstore (Barnes & Noble). The project also will include high-end restaurants (Costal Flats, Essential Grille, Cosi), 500,000 square feet (50,000 m²) of office space, 500 residential units and an 8- or 9-story hotel.

"We'll see in this whole area people who are going to be living and working in that same development," says former Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sean Connaughton. "And those who do have to travel some place else will have the ability to very quickly get to Virginia Railway Express, down to the HOV lanes or using one of our bus lines." Connaughton says this development, the construction of which is expected to start in September, will help revitalize the Route 1/Potomac communities corridor. With the Potomac River as an attraction, Connaughton says more developers are seeing its potential. "Over the last two or three years, we've seen at least $1 billion worth of private investment, either on the ground, underway or planned in the entire corridor," Connaughton says. He says the hope is that with the realignment of military bases that may bring 20,000 new employees to Fort Belvoir and another 5,000 to 10,000 to Quantico, defense contractors will relocate to the new office space. A recent study found that nearly one-third of residents in the Potomac Town Center trade area (25 miles) earn annual incomes greater than $100,000.

In the fall of 2008 a brand new private Catholic High School will open in the Harbor Station community located along the Potomac River just south of Woodbridge and north of Quantico in Dumfries, VA. Features such as a "trussed entry" and a "glass-encased chapel" are designed to make the school architecturally stunning but also a very practical and functional educational facility. The state of the art 180,000-square-foot facility (which has not yet been named) will include eight science laboratories, two gymnasiums, a lecture hall, auditorium and a chapel. Courses will include a unique four-year science bioethics curriculum in a region where the biotechnology industry is a major employer. It is expected that by providing local access to a brand new private school of this nature, upscale shopping (not currently available at the eastern end of Prince William County) and luxury housing communities with various commuting options (VRE, Omniride, I-95 HOV) to Washington DC that Woodbridge will attract many more affluent families over the next ten years.