No YMCA for Broadlands
After some testy exchanges with the Board of Supervisors in the last month, the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington has withdrawn its proposal to build a facility in Broadlands.
The county had requested that the YMCA conduct a feasibility study prior to forging a formal partnership under the Public/Private Education Act. The YMCA requested a formal partnership before investing in a feasibility study.
Neither would budge, and so the Broadlands YMCA, which would have been located on Truro Parish Drive with a small frontage on Belmont Ridge Road, is no longer in the cards.
'A Shimmer of Light' for Bolen Park
Months after a developer withdrew his offer to fully construct Bolen Park on a separate site in exchange for building rights on the original site southeast of Leesburg, the county is still looking for ways to fund the park and get it opened in the next few years.
Ball field construction is at an estimated $8 million, and construction costs for the entire project have gone way beyond the $16 million approved by voters in a 2003 bond referendum.
"I know many of us are continually concerned about the funding available for the park," said Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) on Tuesday. "There is a shimmer of light of good news."
The Loudoun Youth Soccer Association has agreed to pitch in funds to help get field construction underway, Waters said.
"I don't think they're the only league out there that are willing to help. There are others," she added.
That didn't stop Supervisor Jim Clem (R-Leesburg) from calling the park "the biggest boondoggle" Leesburg has experienced.
"The people are not getting their money's worth. I'm not sure we did our job right," Clem said.
564 More Homes Approved
After a year of working with county staff on its proposal, the McKelvie Family of Washington, D.C., has received approval to build a development called Goose Creek Village North.
The mixed-use development's 141 acres will include 564 residential dwellings, 164,000 square feet of retail space and up to 1 million square feet of office space.
The land is located north of the Dulles Greenway and west of Belmont Ridge Road.
Another Waters Coming
Supervisor Lori Waters and her husband, Matt, are expecting their first child, a daughter, on Sept. 20.
While the board typically takes a one-month recess during August, Waters said Tuesday that she will continue to be available to the public as much as possible before and after her daughter's birth.
"Despite the weird rumors out there, I will not be moving to Lovettsville to live with my in-laws," Waters said. "I will not be disappearing for eight weeks."
Waters added that after a few weeks of tending to her daughter exclusively, she will try to reinstate her schedule as a supervisor.
Other supervisors offered their congratulations, but cautioned that Waters would probably not be back on her own schedule after a "few weeks."
"More like 20, 25 years," said Supervisor Sally Kurtz.
— Suzannah Evans