Commonwealth Center is approved for 2.2 million square feet of office space at the SE corner of Loudoun Parkway and Route 7 in North Ashburn VA on the former Bles South property. The site has a 20 year history of approval and no development. The 1987 approval for low density, "big box" office buildings still stands yet market conditions have initiated a developer rezoning request to densify the complex-mainly by adding retail and hotel uses. These changes require county approval, a process that is ongoing.
So far, VISA Card International is constructing a freestanding data center, bringing 400 jobs to the site from Fairfax County.
Some Ashburn Village residents have confused Commonwealth Center with One Loudoun which lies west across Loudoun Parkway.
Here's the info on Commonwealth Center.
Commonwealth Center's Upgraded Commercial Rezoning Request:
- Large Data Center, already approved for VISA. 119,000 sq. ft. office, 356,000 data center. VISA has purchased the subdivided land and plans to construct a building specific to its uses.
- Two parking decks.
- 8 office buildings.
- 1 hotel.
- 7 retail sites.
Commonwealth Center borders Broad Run and a minor floodplain area on its eastern boundary. Across Broad Run is the site of the proposed Kincora complex which was denied in late 2007 by the outgoing Board of Supervisors.
These areas are to be linked by Russell Branch Parkway which runs in non-joined sections south and parallel to Route 7 from Loudoun Parkway to Battlefield Parkway in eastern Leesburg. Russell Branch plans join Pacific Avenue at the Kincora site to Nokes Blvd. and forms a western frontage arterial along Route 28 to Old Ox Road north of Dulles Airport.
Also proffered is construction of Richfield Way which will serve internal Commonwealth Center traffic.
Proposed recreation/environmental proffers:
- Trail systems both within the development and through some natural areas next to Broad Run.
- A large wetland bank. This is mandatory as developed floodplain land doesn't get insurance.
- Vast open space. Hard to build on the steep slopes near Broad Run.
Approval and construction of large mixed use developments like One Loudoun and Village at Leesburg is increasing land values to a higher commercial use. Land prices may relegate future data centers and wet labs to Loudoun's industrial zone north of Dulles airport along Old Ox road, west of Route 28. There is a Dulles area trend among small businesses to open offices in industrial parks as "B" class office space is cheaper.
Light industrial uses have not yet been integrated to most mixed use developments as the focus has been on combining retail with residential. If approved, Commonwealth Center will test market acceptance of integrating light industrial (data center) with retail and office uses.
The site and data center use is well positioned near the US east coast's largest physical internet backbone along Route 28. This data infrastructure was installed by AOL, Worldcom, UUNet, Network Solutions, and other area companies during the dot com boom in the late 1990s. Medical treatment hypotheses require a large amount of computing power and direct access to the processing prowess of the internet. Physical location near this internet superhighway is highly advantageous for exploring solutions based on hyper-complex mathematical analysis.
The Commonwealth Center site is also near the proposed Loudoun Technology High School, The Ideal School (private), HHMI, George Washington University and the Dulles World Trade Center. Proposals for the development of wet labs are the last piece of the development puzzle to form a life sciences industry.
All that's needed is the people and intellectual property products they produce.
Construction is due to continue on the data center throughout the summer of 2008. Piping and landclearing are ongoing. If Loudoun County approves the commercial rezoning changes, the entire complex will take 5-8 years to construct.
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