Potomac Club, Potomac Town Center Community Profile

Across I-95 from Potomac Mills Mall in Woodbridge VA, a new medium density community called Potomac Club is under construction.

Across the street, land for Potomac Town Center is being cleared. This new multiple-use community is anchored by Wegman's grocery which has recently opened.

Buyers are ignoring the hundreds of foreclosures surrounding the property to purchase new construction in an amenity rich community--and paying more for updated features.

Potomac Club

• I-95 south from Capital Beltway/495.
• South of Optiz Blvd.
• North of Dale Blvd.
• East of I-95.
• West of US 1/Jeff Davis Hwy.
  

With no detached units, Potomac Club's townhouses and condos require a $300/month +- HOA fee which includes home owner's insurance and exterior maintenance.

• Card access, gated community.
• Across the street from Potomac Hospital.
• Next door to public library.
• Across street to the east from new Potomac Town Center; Wegmans Grocery.
• Nearby proximity to Northern Virginia Community College-Woodbridge Campus.
• Next to I-95 exit.
  
• Across I-95 from Potomac Mills Mall and adjacent big box shopping areas.
• Village Green.
• Steep hilly site with tree save areas.
• Biking distance, 2-3 miles, to Rippon VRE rail transit station.
• Rippon Landing Park and Lake.
  
• Swim and fitness center onsite.
• All units have a garage.
  

Prices for condos and townhouses range from $270.000-320,000 base. Nearby, new townhouse foreclosures are listed at $265,000+.

Builder incentives include up to $40,000 including up to 3% in closing costs and downpayment assistance.

The physical layout appears packed with rows of brick fronted buildings. Trees are located only along the perimeter of the development. The landscape is very hilly offering many units views of a water retention area and of Potomac Town Center construction which lies on a higher hill.

The village green offers minimal greenspace for this higher density development. This factor can be ameliorated by planting more trees along roadsides.

Strict parking requirements reduce occupancy to 2 cars maximum. There does not seem to be enough parking areas if residents follow patterns from similar communities.

Yet, despite these downsides, Potomac Club is nearly 50% sold out due to a combination of builder incentives and buyer demand for mixed-use developments.

Buyers prefer the higher level of amenities offered and are not dissuaded by the higher HOA fees.

Potomac Club should not be confused with Port Potomac, another new community under construction, several miles south along US 1.

Potomac Town Center

The integrated mixed use project offers a "main street" retail experience anchored by Wegman's Grocery. Active adult housing fills in residential portions. This development mirrors the same layout as Village at Leesburg and the retail mix may preview what will open at that location.

• Barnes and Noble Booksellers
• Pottery Barn
• REI Sporting Goods
• Aeda Spa
• Anne Taylor
• Red Hat
• P.F. Chang's
• Coach
• Cheesecake Factory
• Coastal Flats

Buyer's markets are fully formed when new construction pricing exceeds that of resale homes. A situation that is evident in this area but is not yet complete in Loudoun.

Banks are struggling to stay afloat. Bureaucratic rules continue to delay transactions involving foreclosures, pushing impatient and cash short buyers into newer housing.

Buyers are choosing developments that offer no yards and a location next to an I-95 exit, coupled with the appeal of main street commercial area with adjacent amenities.

Sprawling cookie cutter suburbs without amenities are so yesterday.